#adding dina also feels like cheating

[videogamestrack23]

Bill and frank would dominate if I added them. Besides the couple that got most of my friends to watch, which is the best TLOU couple?

[darklydeliciousdesires]

The Dark Passenger - Chapter Sixteen.

I am, as ever, hugely appreciative to you all for your engagement in this. As usual, 40 notes are needed to unlock the next chapter :) let’s try not to leave it all to @r3dskywaterfall​ and her endeavours, though!

Previous chapters - One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine  Ten  Eleven  Twelve  Thirteen  Fourteen  Fifteen

Words - 3,836

Warnings - 18+ content throughout, minors DNI!

Tag list - In the comments. Please DM to be added/removed

5am, and the chirping of birds came with the orange and pink light bathing the sky in a rich glow as the sun was welcomed back upon the horizon it rose from, the light coming in through the open blinds. Looking down at her snuggled against his chest, EZ could barely believe she was really there.

“There are things I need to tell you, things I have to tell you, before you make a decision that this is... that I am what you want.”  

Camille’s smile was as warm as the sunbeams that shone over his apartment, her nails gently stroking his chest. “My decision is made.”  

He looked uncomfortable, sitting up a little. “It might not be, once you know some of the things I did to you over the utter disaster that was our six-month long relationship. Well, disaster from my point of view, at least. You were perfect, the only thing you did wrong was putting your trust in a man who didn’t deserve it.”

“EZ.” She leaned to kiss him, her nail softly tapping his forehead. “That was this thing in there, not you who caused all of that. I understand. I always knew it wasn’t you.”

“I still need to confess, though.”  

She nodded, sitting up properly, drawing up her legs to her chest and hugging them. “Okay, I’m listening.”

He chewed the side of his thumb with trepidation, scared of her reaction, but knowing he had to give her honesty. She deserved it, and so much more. “When I first met you, that guy who grabbed you, I paid him to do that. I set it up to make myself look like the hero, because I wanted to get in your good graces faster. Also, I was never faithful to you either. I cheated on you with three other girls, one regularly. I used to leave you and come right back here to her, to Dina. I would deliberately leave you hanging to make you become hooked on me, the number I gave you isn’t even for my actual cell, it’s for my burner, and yeah, yeah I think that’s it other than what you actually saw in my temperament and mood swings. Feel free to get up and leave, and not once look back.”

She looked hurt, he saw pain there clouding her pretty blue eyes, but her actions did not match, nor were they what he expected. Leaning to him, she rested her forehead to his, tutting softly. “Do you think they’ll let me have that brain tumour once they’ve gotten it out? Because I'd like to soak it in kerosene before throwing a lit match onto it, for what it did to me.”

He sat there stunned, shaking his head in wonder. “How can you even be this calm and accepting of it, of being treated so fucking horrifically? I’m more upset about it than you are, and I’m the one who did all of that to you!”

“Because it wasn’t you. It was the thing inside your skull, and I get that. Of course, it’s hurtful to hear such, and I’ll need a minute, but I know it wasn’t the man I fell in love with, the good parts of you that still shone through, those parts that I’m seeing nothing but right now. In fact, do you mind if I take that minute right now?”  

Reaching for her cheek, he stroked it, his smile weak, but so very, very fond. “As long as you need.”

Getting up, she patted her leg, sliding her feet into her flipflops. “Come on, waggy butt. Let’s let you out for your morning pee.” Sally slowly manoeuvred from her bed, being told by Camille that her stretch was big, as was the unwritten law when dogs did that. You had to tell them it was a big stretch, scampering down the stairs after her into the empty clubhouse, Camille pausing to duck behind the bar, grab a bottle of rum and a shot glass, and pound back two in quick succession.

“Phew!” she exclaimed, taking a second to let it warm through her. “Okay, better now.” After hearing what she had, she’d needed something to take the edge off the hurt at hearing her beloved had never been faithful to her, even though she knew his actions were because of what had hampered him for so long. Catching up to where Sally waited at the door, tippy tapping her paws, she unlocked and swung it open, the little, chunky dog running across the yard, squatting down next to the wreck of an old Lincoln, Camille taking a seat on the steps.  

She felt it hit her in waves, him arranging to have her manhandled, knowing he’d been unfaithful, knowing who with, too, the girl who often eyeballed her in a certain way whenever she’d encountered her within the clubhouse, the girl Dina, who was not well liked among the women. Bella in particular loathed her, after finding out she’d made a play for Angel while she’d been away on tour.  

Her reaction had been the only time her gentle friend had acted in physical aggression in her entire life, so she’d revealed, telling Camille that she’d slapped her around the face for it and told her if she ever waved her pussy near her husband again, next time, her fist would be closed.  

“You have to become a little tougher, to survive in their world. There’s no other way around it.” Bella had told her at the time, her words resounding with her right at that moment, but for a slightly different reason.  

Scraping her fingers through her hair, she massaged her scalp, resting her forehead to her knees, her shoulders tensing. “He couldn’t help it, it was the tumour.” No matter how many times she uttered that, either aloud or in her head, it didn’t quite quell the anger. Camille, she was mostly her mild-mannered, easy-going father, but sometimes, only very occasionally, she was very much her mother’s daughter. The Randazzo fire was hard to extinguish entirely.

EZ looked up from where he’d been having a mass delete of promotional emails on his phone to see his girlfriend striding towards him, her jaw set, folding her arms as she came to a stop at the foot of his bed. “I know it wasn’t you, I know this. But I need to yell. I need to let tumour EZ fucking have it, even if that manipulative bastard isn’t in control right now.”

He placed his phone on the nightstand, turning back to give her his full attention. “Go for it. I know you need this; I can handle it.”  

Go for it. Oh, boy. How she did.  

“You lying, sneaky, low down, fucking asshole! How dare you! How dare you set me up to be hurt, how dare you be unfaithful, fucking other women while you were with me! What kind of scumbag are you, to do that to me, to someone who loves you! And excuse me!” She paused, gesturing to her body with a vigorous sweep of her hands, her eyes wide. “You really had all of this, but still looked elsewhere? What are you, insane? I might not be the most confident woman a hundred percent of the time, but I still know what I got. I’m a five foot five, size two, E cup, tanned blonde, with the best blowjob lips in the entire state of California and an ass like two ripe peaches bound in a handkerchief, and you choose Dina to fucking climb on?”  

He couldn’t help it. When she got to the part about her ass, he snort laughed. Even more so when she mentioned him climbing on Dina. It was the exasperation as well, and he really wished he could have held it in, but he couldn’t. As soon as she saw him crack, neither could she. They tried, though. Lord, how they tried, before they promptly fell into hysterics.  

“I don’t know what’s funnier, you likening your ass to two ripe peaches in a handkerchief of all things, or seeing you lose your temper in the first place. Jesus Christ!” he hissed. “Apart from you completely cracking me up, and giving me the first real laugh I’ve had in weeks, I’m damned proud of you for doing that, because you needed it, even if the me who did it couldn’t hear it. The me who truly loves you says you can scream at me whenever you like until you feel better.”  

Camille took a big breath, letting out a little ‘ahh’ on the exhale, climbing onto the bed with him. “I think I’m good now. Yeah.”

“All berating over?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Sure? You can shout some more, I don’t mind.”

“Nope, I feel cleansed for it.”

He leaned to kiss her forehead, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Well, the offer is there. Just so you know, when I’m better, I’ll really make it up to you, you know. Anything you want. In fact, I’m pretty much going to treat you like the royalty you deserve to be treated as from now onwards. I love you so much.”  

She looked up at him, moving her head to rest against his thigh. “Yes, I’ll take that.” He chuckled softly, leaning to kiss her again, the sunshine of her love brightening him inside. “Love you so much, too.” Hearing her say it again was a tonic he needed, and one he knew he’d be relying on as they weathered the storm together. He was returned to his safe island, at least, no longer adrift and alone. The rage of the storm was easier to withstand with her there with him.  

He smiled fondly at her, his thumb stroking her head. “You look sleepy. Lovely, but sleepy.”

Those were choice words, coming from someone who looked as haunted in the eyes with sleeplessness as he did. The truth was, though, she’d only nodded off here and there throughout the night, watching him sleep when he’d managed to rest, being there for him while he’d been under the duress of sickness, gently massaging his pounding head, rubbing in her thick cocoa butter hand lotion to soothe the area just above his forehead where the skin was affected from the radiation.  

“I’m fine,” she vouched, sitting up again, stretching her legs. “How are you feeling?”

“Not nauseous, which is good. I only start feeling sick when I eat, though. I’ve tried everything, no dairy, no meat, good fats, low fats, junk food, everything makes me feel sick.”

She was thoughtful for a second. “How about fruit? Also, have you tried things like pasta and rice? Relatively plain, but a good source of carbs for energy.”  

“Full confession time, I’m really lame at cooking pasta. I overcook it and it goes all squishy, same with rice. As for fruit, I’m not much of a fan other than bananas. My stomach doesn’t like those, either.” His eyebrows fluttered, a small frown creasing his forehead, reaching out to pick at a stray strand of cotton on the flannel shirt she wore, a shirt it took him a moment to realise was actually one of his. Oh, how his observances sucked, his mind running a little slower. Still, seeing her wearing his clothes gave him a little fizz of happiness he hadn’t expected. He knew it was something he’d come to like.  

“Well, why not let me go and grab some? The convenience store three blocks away opens at six, so if I take little miss for a walk, it’ll be open by the time we arrive. I’ll pick up a bunch of stuff, try different things.” She knew that he sometimes had a predisposition to be lazy with his cooking, using packaged foods, except for the large quantities of chicken, fish, eggs, oatmeal, quinoa and broccoli he ate for health reasons, to fuel his workouts cleanly, so perhaps a few foods he wouldn’t normally choose might be of benefit.  

“You sure?” Her smile confirmed. She was off the bed, flipflops back on, Sally called for and her bag picked up within a blink, kissing him goodbye, EZ lying there wondering how the hell he’d gotten so lucky. He had his baby back. The contentment settled right down into his tired bones, lying back, managing to fall asleep, his eyes permanently heavy but sleep mostly evading him. Little naps were what got him by, just like he had that morning, waking just under an hour later to see Camille stirring a pot at his stove, humming to herself softly.  

“Please don’t be offended if I end up not being able to keep down whatever it is you’re making. It’s a fifty fifty if the anti-nausea meds kick in first, or my stomach decides to be pissed off,” he spoke, Camille preparing things further before turning to him, walking over and handing him one of the bowls she carried, EZ taking it from her with thanks.  

“Oatmeal with honey, blueberries, bananas and I noticed you had chia seeds, so I threw some of those in as well as a swirl of peanut butter. I tried to combine taste with nutrition, should you actually manage to keep it down,” she smiled, EZ leaning to kiss her, resting the bowl down and opening his nightstand drawer, pulling out pill bottles, Camille’s eyes widening.  

“These for the mood swings,” he explained, gesturing to the first two, “these to keep the tumour from growing any further, these for the headaches, these for the seizures and these for the nausea.”

“I thought I heard a rattling noise when you turned over earlier.” Her joke had him laughing softly, counting out his doses and drinking them back with a few mouthfuls of water, placing the bottles back and picking up his breakfast. If there was one meal he usually kept down, it was that, and he hoped this time wouldn’t fall into the fifty percent chance he wouldn’t. It smelled too good for one thing, and tasted even better.  

Two hours after eating, and it had stayed down, both of them deciding since it was only 8:45am and they’d been awake for most of the night that they’d go back to sleep, EZ curling around her, the scent of her hair sweet and comforting in his nose as he drifted off, no nausea and no headache to bother him. They managed a few hours, EZ waking first, his head pounding again. Not wanting to add more nausea to that, he decided to skip lunch, letting Camille sleep, going for a shower and dressing.  

Walking outside, he found the source of the occasional clanking noises he’d been hearing while pouring himself an icy soda water, seeing Bishop there working on his bike in front of the steps he sat down on.  

“Don’t you have a garage for that?” he asked lightly, his VP poking his head around the front wheel, his hands and arms streaked with grease.

“I also have two daughters who like to nag me to death into this and that, Cece with expecting me to have her treehouse built in an afternoon and Hadleigh finding ways to punk me. Believe me, I get more peace here.”  

“What’s Hadleigh’s latest?” he asked, swirling the ice around in his glass.  

Bishop snorted laughing despite being the target of it, shaking his head. “She’s back to the ole’ faithful of sneaking up and screaming. She did it this morning, but I saw her reflection in the toaster, and turned around and got her before she could get me. She nearly pee’d her pants, but I know that I have something coming, hence part of the reason I’m here, so I can do this without worrying what she’s up to.”  

While EZ chuckled quietly, Bishop jerked his head backwards at the red Mustang parked just behind where he worked. “So, I couldn’t help but notice that.”

“Yeah,” he confirmed, smiling. “We’re back together. Fuck knows how, though, what I put that poor girl through. I got some serious making up to do there, even though she keeps telling me that she knows it wasn’t me. I still need to do it, prove to her that the good person she always knew was there beneath it all is worth everything she went through, you know?”

Bishop had been noting it all, the damage control EZ was currently undergoing as much as he could around how weak and sick his treatment was leaving him. He’d quietly wondered if he’d change his mind and reach out to Camille in order to do the same. “I don’t know, no, but I get it. Rewarding her devotion, something that girl really does deserve.” He softened a little there, placing his spanner down, picking up the old rag he had nearby and wiping his hands, satisfied the repair was adequate. “We all know it wasn’t you, EZ. Nobody doubts that. It’s real commendable that you’re rectifying the heap of shit that fuckin’ tumour caused, though.”

His statement was Bishop all over, giving kindness when it was called for, but not sugar-coating whatever truth was to be said also.  “A heap of shit is perhaps the most reasonable way you could describe it. In truth, I fucked us. Now we deal fentanyl laced heroin for a woman who has since decided to permanently cut her product with it, since it halves the cost, leaving the predictable trail of dead you all tried to warn me over. I gotta get us out of it, Bish.”  

“One sec.” Getting up off the floor, Bishop entered the club house, returning with two cold beers, handing one to EZ as he sat. “And how do you propose to extract us from it all, el jeffe?”

EZ took a swig of beer, the cold bubbles tingling his tongue. God, he hoped he didn’t throw it back up again. He’d been avoiding alcohol on account of the fact it tasted so foul once it came back up again, but for what he had to propose, he felt a drink harder than his usual soda water a little more appropriate.  

“Now, it’s tentative, but all the same, feel free to jump in with your superior wisdom if you feel, to use a Bella-ism, that I’m completely off my bloody rocker,” he began, Bishop rumbling softly with laughter. “So, we need to move something else to keep the money rolling in, something significant, that something being weapons. I propose we go to Chibs and ask him if we might sit down with his wife, see if we can negotiate something in that department.”  

He turned to his side, watching his face twist into a slight cringe. “EZ, Soledad isn’t about to cease a trade that’ll ultimately end up netting her a third more than the movement of weapons to the cartel.” He put his president’s slightly ill-thought-out idea down to him being sick, choosing the gentler route than exclaiming ‘are you fucking insane?’, which he kept up in his head instead.  

EZ bit his lower lip as he nodded, swigging his beer. “Who said anything about Soledad? If she wasn’t around, there are a dime a dozen other cartels we could reach out to in order to push IRA guns south of the border, thus opening up a new pipeline for the cause.”

Bishop scoffed lightly. “And how is Soledad not gonna be around? We can’t just cut her out.”

“Nope,” he agreed, grinning. “But Abigail Telford can make her disappear. She has motive to as well, since us running heroin through her husband’s turf is causing all of this carnage between the clubs. If we remove the cause, and give hers the chance to net even more bank while smoothing tensions with the Sons, we tie up every single loose end, and everybody is happy.”

Swigging his beer again, he looked out into the bright sunshine, feeling a hand grip his shoulder. “Would you fucking look at that?” Bishop began, EZ turning to see him beaming. “The president you were always capable of being is finally here. I missed the shit out of smart, shrewd EZ.”  

He reached back to grasp his forearm. “Thanks for being patient while his return was delayed.”  

“Of course,” Bishop nodded, swigging his beer. “So, when do we take this to the others?”

“Let me get the radiotherapy done with first and see how the land lies there. If it isn’t shrunk enough then I’ll likely be put forward for another course after a rest period, but if it has then I have an operation and subsequent downtime to factor in. Even if it’s bad news for me though, I want you to take it to them. If I’m not gonna make it, I want to see it put into action while I still have the comprehension to know that I did the right thing before I die.”

“I get it, but EZ, you ain’t dying,” Bishop vouched, his hand returned to his shoulder. “The devil ain’t taking you back on my watch, hermano.” El Rey Oscuro might have been no longer, but he was adamant that the rest of him would not follow.

“And I’m gonna try like hell not to let him either, but I have to be realistic, and I know I can be with you.” Bishop realised it then, that he was his stable person, not as emotionally close to it as his family or girlfriend. He was the one who he was trusting with the task of getting his affairs in order, should his long-term prognosis be bleak. “There’ll be a lot I’ll need to confide in you, should things go sour.”  

Bishop nodded. “I’ll be here for that.”  

“If you’ll excuse me for now,” he began as he stood, draining his beer. “There’s someone I have to go and be there for now, continue the damage control.” The look on EZ’s face left Bishop in no doubt exactly what he had on his mind, and lord, if he had Camille in his bed, the same thoughts would never be far from his either.  

Coming back into his apartment, he found Camille in the bathroom, rinsing with mouthwash, his hands gripping her hips as his thumbs stroked her bare skin. “So, I’m actually feeling pretty good for once. Slight headache coming back, but if you felt like distracting me, I can assure you I’d make it very worth your while.”  

Spitting into the sink, she ran the tap to rinse, turning to stroke his chest, her hands lowering, cupping his cock in a gentle grasp. “Baby, you never need to talk this up.” He returned her smile, picking her up with ease, carrying her out to the bed, tugging her undies down.  

“I wasn’t going to give you that first.” He wasted absolutely no time in burying his mouth between her legs, Camille gasping softly as she lay back and let him eat her alive.  

[nappe-plays-the-sims]

Hi, feel free to ignore this but I was wondering if you have any tips/recommended mods for someone hoping to start a sims 2 blog like yours?

It’s your lucky day, because I actually wrote up a mods list a while back!!

Bolded the most important ones to me.

ACR

Anti-Redundancy

Attraction Traits Fix

BodyShop Sliders Added to CAS

Confess To Cheating Social

Cops Can Fight Burglars

Enemies Stop Being BFFs

Faster University Education Mod

Female Impregnation From Alien Abduction

InSimenator

Just Be Friends Social

Multiple Subhoods - essential in order to use the clean subhoods made by meetme2theriver, highly recommended if you are a big fan of the premades.

New Lifetime Wants

No Kissing Hi/Goodbye Unless Sims are Crushes/in Love

Pregnant Sims Wear Any Outfit - 50/50 on this one, it’s good because you can make your sim sport more fun outfits during pregnancy, but it can also become tedious to change outfits repeatedly if the outfit in question doesn’t have a pregnant morph.

Realistic Sickness - 50/50 on this one as well, disease becomes much more dangerous, albeit perhaps a bit too dangerous, so make sure you have comfort soup available.

Sleep on Community Lots

Smart Beds - sometimes bugs out so you have to click on “clear all” in the pie menu.

There Can Be Only One (Professor)

Townie No Memory Loss

Traits

Trim Inaccessible Bushes

Triplets & Quads - I have odds set to low but the game still seems to spawn way more kids than planned which is annoying, but if it ge ts overwhelming you can easily prevent the situation by saving just when the pregnant sim is about to give birth and exit without saving if quads come out for the 100th time.

Witch No Change Outfit on Level Up

As for tips:

This is a computer game and should be treated as such. Always put real life and more fun games first (Crusader Kings 2 anyone?).

Play 1-2 day rounds. I used to play 7, but it got boring and often ended up with me going AFK to do pushups.

This may sound silly, but for some it really isn’t obvious: Sitting by the computer for hours isn’t good. Pick up exercise if you haven’t already, stretch at least once a day, eat food 6 times a day (breakfast, brunch, lunch, “fika”, dinner, night meal) put an alarm clock to ensure you take a break from the game and go eat when necessary. This is especially important now with COVID19 going around!

Block stalkers and harrassers.

Don’t be afraid of posting your take on things. You want Dina Caliente to be a gold digger? Do it. You want Mortimer Goth to be an old creep? Do it. You want Nervous Subject to be the one torturing Circe and Loki? Why the hell not? Do it.

Don’t bother trying to create a “perfect” neighborhood. You’ll end up restarting it over and over. Embrace the imperfections and try to make sense of it.

[emmelfish]

So, it looks like the roaring success of a wedding party added to Brandi’s reputation. You sure you don’t wanna roundhouse kick your BFF Dina there for smooching your firstborn son?

(John Burb – lover of drama, sitter of fences, gossip extraordinaire and never met a dirty joke he doesn’t like – glides by without a word but a mental note to regale his wife with all the sordid details.)

I still don’t know which of the two of them initiated that, but I guess this is what happens when you combine cute blond Fortune sims, one of whom has recently reached an... eligible age?... and our old friend ACR.

Darren had at least five of those six beers, so this doesn’t surprise me in the least. Dreamer, I’m cutting you off!

Time to celebrate the transition of the terrible twins, the perfect ending to this... interesting wedding.

Growing up next to a rain puddle, is it everything you ever dreamed of Skip Jr?

Sadly, it’s also time to say goodbye to the Mortimer Goth cosplay and the buzzcut...

... and hello to... this! I’m pretty sure given he’s Sloppy and Playful, SJ’ll be a Nature sim, so it’s not even like this is hobby-appropriate costuming (it’d be better for his sister, she’s bound to be Sports or Fitness with her personality points).

There’s something so ritualistic about the way they stand around cheering somebody aging, I love it. It’s even better in weddingwear.

I’m also a big fan of how different Skip Jr looks to his older brothers. And this genetic correctness! I’m not sure how we ever put up with the gender-reversed Brandi clone EAxis stuck in the vanilla game. THANK YOU @meetmetotheriver 💟

I’m excited that he grew up well, but scared of what kind of child he’ll be. Nowhere near as terrified as I am re: Suse though.

Darren finally told one dirty joke too many? And in front of A CHILD?! No wonder he and John Burb get along so well.

Beau: Hey I’m gonna be a teenager in like a day, I can take it.

We’ll be the judge of that.

Oh god, I don’t know if I even really want to do this, but here we go.

Yo Bran, when did you change into your afterparty gear? (Seriously, I had no idea she had that maternity formalwear lurking in her wardrobe.)

Susie: *stares at fire* Yes, yes, consume the souls of my nemeses...

Skip Jr: Uh, Mr Dad, I think you’re supposed to put her down.

Beau: This is gold.

Skip Jr: Seriously DreamerDaddy, I really think she’s meant to be on the floor...?

Skip Jr: I can’t watch.

(Legitimately though, at this point I was hiding from the screen and peeping through my fingers to take these screenshots. I love a good glitch, but this was beyond terrifying.)

OH MY GOD.

THEY’VE MERGED INTO SOME KIND OF MONSTER.

Oh thank heavens. I just had Darren do the ‘put Susie here’ action and while her arms did get stuck like this for a while, everything went back to normal and she was a child and not some warped giant baby. Good bloody lord! Darren, had you forgotten how to transition a toddler? Dirk’s not that old!

Hey Suse, you’d better not be hunting bugs just to set fire to them.

Susie: Well I won’t be setting fire to anything if my stupid jar stays this empty.

While I’m kind of loving Susie’s blazer and jeans, gotta get those twins into the colors they were in as tots. It’s my rule! (When feasible.)

Yeah we get it guys, you love each other because you’re both pretty awful. Had enough of this yet Beau?

Beau: Urgh. I’m disappearing into a place where I can control everything, thank you very much. This here dollhouse.

That sounds like a strangely familiar concept.

Ah, back to some semblance of a (relatively) normal life! Skip Jr’s already making good use of those Playful Grouchy traits by beating Beau to death with a pillow, and Susie’s slyly charming her way into an older brother’s affections just as she did with Dustin.

This loading screen will look rather different... imminently. Room for two more?

Oh yeah! Remember Dustin’s strange schoolfriend who marched brazenly into the Broke trailer and randomly picked up and snuggled the twins when they were but babes? Skip Jr clearly does, and now that he can articulate this experience, is telling Beau just how traumatic it was.

Back to plate-making, you! Yes I know you want a vacay, and you’ll get one when you sell several more of these. Also what’s that ‘get caught cheating’ fear? Why is cheating even crossing your mind? You literally just got married and it upped your chem with Daz by one whole bolt – three is the magic number, don’t mess with perfection!

With Susie being an active-grouchy sports lover, I got her a nice Goal of Paul to play with. Of course the first thing she does is stand in it and jeer her brother.

Skip Jr: Listen sis, this is your game not mine.

I’m fine with whatever happens as long as that ball doesn’t hit poor Darleen’s gravestone.

Susie: So what we got going here.

Beau: Well we have this whole saga, see. Shirley here has been struggling with her feelings towards Muriel for quite some time now –

Susie: So she sets fire to Muriel’s hair in a passionate fury and then these two ladies over here come and chop her good with samurai swords to avenge Muriel?

Beau: Uh, no –

Susie: ‘I curse the day Shirley was born!’ ‘As do I, we will demand blood for blood!’

Beau: *sighs* Not really what I was going for. How exactly are we related again?

Susie: This is great! Do you have any of those little green army men? Let’s have them explode the house in an act of WAR.

Oh hi! Tinkering Lady is COOL! Dirk finally bagged the elusive invite to go play with cars and trains and robots. I think he’s our first too.

I am going to aggressively marry her into one of the families at some point, I have to. Boho style, badass purple streak in her hair and pink eyes too? She has it all!

Brandi, that is not acceptable. You have a pottery badge for crying out loud.

Oh okay, you’re going into labor. I suppose that’s a fair excuse.

Even cool Tinkering Lady is running to see the miracle of life!

Darren: Oh, you’re having the babies, love? That’s nice.

THE MOTHERFUDGING VERTICAL RING GLITCH IS BACK AGAIN ON HIS SECOND FRIGGING MARRIAGE

Susie?

Susie: Astarte and Proserpine are busy avenging Muriel and fending off acts of terror, god, leave me alone.

Dirk looks like he’s singing a power ballad and I’m loving it. Meanwhile Beau is like, this ain’t my first rodeo.

Here we go... again. AGAIN.

The cramming into the doorway while Brandi gives birth in the narrowest place in the whole house is a treat tbh.

And here they are! We gots two gals. Not saying they’re not lovely, call me a picky sim breeder but I was expecting them to be... at least S3? The genetics in this game confuse me sometimes.

Speaking of genetics, look at this brown-eyed babe! Take your pick, they could be from Brandi’s dad or either or Darren’s parents. I’ve named them after surrealist artists (because I figured their parents’d be into that), so we have little Frida here...

... and mere seconds younger, her sister Remedios!

As per usual everybody cheers the firstborn twin and poor Remy doesn’t get a look-in. Even Susie dragged herself away from her macabre soap opera to say hi.

Susie: Who run the world? GIRLS! Who run the world?

Skip Jr: Bang bang!

Beau: No. I only have three Playful points. I refuse to engage in your nonsense.

And here are the twin ladies in their matching rubberbabybuggybumpers. Next up, we have our dearest Beau hitting teenhood! I’m gonna miss him as a kid.

[jenna--sais--quoi]

WEIRDEST SIMS 2 GLITCH: I FOUND BELLA GOTH AND SHE’S NOT IN STRANGETOWN

ALRIGHT Y’ALL. I’M ABOUT TO TAKE YOU ON A CRAZY ADVENTURE. AND YOU’LL WANT TO READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

Also, disclaimer: Sorry some of these pictures are super low quality. I was in a state of extreme panic/excitement so this was the best I could do.

So, I’m playing the Sims 2 Ultimate Collection...you know, the version EA gave away for free on Origin awhile back.

For the past few days, I’ve been playing with the Goth family. Thus far, lots of shit has went down. Dina Caliente married into the family (for the money, of course), Mortimer died, Dina and Mortimer’s twin children died (at the hands of witch-Cassandra setting the house on fire with a spell), Dina then married the family Butler....normal sim stuff!

About an hour ago while I’m playing with the family, the social worker comes to take away the child of Dina and her now-Butler husband. For some reason while taking the kid away, the social worker decides to lecture Cassandra instead of Dina.

I’m zoomed in on the social worker and Cassandra talking in the front hallway of the house, and out of the corner of my eye, I see this sim wearing RED walking out my front door. Which was weird, because the only guest sim inside the house at the time besides the social worker was Don Lothario.

So I zoom out, curious to see who this random-ass stranger is walking out my front door and why the game allowed someone to come in without someone in the household greeting them.

So I zoom out, and IT’S MOTHER FUCKING BELLA GOTH. IN THE HALLWAY. WALKING OUT THE FRONT DOOR.

HOW COULD THIS BE? SHE SHOULDN’T BE HERE? IT TAKES CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF EFFORT AND SKILL TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE YOUR GAME CODE TO GET HER BACK INTO THE HOUSEHOLD? THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE?

Let me tell you - I was SHOOK. I’ve literally wanted to see Bella in the Sims 2 since the game came out in 2004. All my simming career has led to this moment!!!

Before I had the chance to take a screenshot of Bella in her classic red dress, she walks out the front door and changes into her outerwear.

(Note: For some reason, the game only saved two of my screenshots (?) so some of these are bad quality pics on my phone)

So, in a state of panic, I try to get Cassandra to talk to her, but it says Bella is leaving the lot! Quickly, I enable testing cheats to make her selectable. Even though I now can control her, she is still trying to leave the lot, no matter what I try to make her do.

Knowing this, I go through her family tree, memories, and relationships to try to see if this really is the real Bella Goth before she leaves forever.

Also, I am aware that there is a FAKE Bella Goth in the Sims 2 that appears as a townie. THIS IS NOT THE FAKE. Here is a comparison image I found online to show that the Bella I saw has the appearance of the REAL BELLA. The eyes give it away.

So anyway, here is the family tree I found.

This Bella is related to all the right people! She must be real! (She’s not married to Mortimer in the family tree because he is dead).

Here are some more snaps I got.

(Sorry, that’s supposed to say Bella Goth but it turned out blurry)

Then, IT HIT ME! I had an idea of how to get Bella to stop leaving the lot.  Still using the testingcheats, I forced an error on her, making the game reset her, and VOILA, she reset and I now had the ability to do whatever with her! She was not longer trying to leave the lot!

I had her go back into the house so I could take some pictures with her in her red dress.

Now that I showed you all the picture proof, time to discuss some weird stuff...

1) When I added Bella back into the household via testingcheats, she had no relationships in the relationships panel, although she recognized her kids as her own during interactions. When I had her interact with Cassandra and Alexander for the “first time”, the relationships still never popped up in the panel. Weird.

2) Bella’s memories were very odd. It seems that all of her memories were wiped, BUT, she has memories of the household after the time of her disappearance, but BEFORE she showed up again. For instance, her first memory was Cassandra getting married, which happened about two game days before she appeared on the lot. Does this mean she was somehow present during that time? It seems that the game picked a completely arbitrary point in time for Bella to start gaining memories, as many significant things had happened in the household before Cassandra’s marriage, such as many births, deaths, fires, etc. So WHY did she start gaining memories TWO game days before her reappearance?

3) And lastly, I just really wanna know HOW THE FUCK DID BELLA JUST APPEAR IN MY FRONT HALLWAY. I know from experience that the Sims 2 Ultimate Collection free Origin version is kind of glitchy on my computer (graphics and stuff are great and the game runs quickly, but WEIRD stuff happens quite frequently), so maybe the game just had an extreme moment of glitching out and randomly spawned her in the house and then was trying to make her leave? Bella DOES exist in the game code, so I guess a glitch like that wouldn’t be impossible. I’m just pissed because I was zoomed in on Cassandra and the Social Worker and I feel like I missed her grand entrance or something.

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed my story. I’m going to continue playing with Bella since I was oh-so-lucky to RANDOMLY get her back! I am savoring my moments, however, since I’m sure the game will decide to take her back as quickly as they gave her to me! I might make a follow up post of pics of her reuniting with her kids.

[lehenrys4challenge]

Cursed Penis Challenge 18+

Story: While studying an alien artefact you were hit by a pulse blast coming from the artefact. You were knocked unconscious for several hours, and when you awoke you felt an intense pain in your head, you decide to go home and attempt to sleep it off. The next morning the headache has faded away, but in its place you feel something strange between your legs, something.... warm. You pull down your pants to find that you have grown a penis overnight. After the shock has passes you hear a voice in your head explaining that you have been cursed by the alien artefact. The curse is hard to lift, the voice says. You are given 2 options... Option #1 impregnate 10 human (or vampire) sims. option #2 build a rocketship, travel to planet Sixam and impregnate 2 Alien sims. Once you have completed either one of the goals the penis will disappear.

Goals:  Impregnate 10 sims to lift the curse, you have to reach girlfriend/boyfriend level with the target sim before you can attempt impregnation. or; Build a rocketship, travel to Planet Sixam, and impregnate 2 female alien sims.

Rules: You must play as a female sim that has a penis, check the required mods section for a link that will allow you to do so. Any traits and aspirations are allowed. You may have a supporting family in your household to help you with money making. But you can only play as the cursed sim, and your household sims can not be the target of impregnation. Your sim may be a vampire. Life duration may be set to whatever you want, though long or unlimited is recommended. Cheats are not allowed. You must be in the scientist career. Your sim can not be an alien. You must become the girlfriend of the target sim before attempting impregnation. You can't break up with a sim you have impregnated, this is to make it harder to hide your "cheating". You must take each "target" on at least 2 dates in public and reach a silver medal on them. WW settings: you may play with either pregnancy setting, if you choose the menstrual cycle you may want to change the cycle to short. If you choose simple mode the pregnancy chance percentage may not exceed 45%.

Point system: -50 for being caught "cheating" |_ Getting caught again increases the penalty by 25 points, to a maximum of 150 points. (the 150 repeats though) +10 for impregnating a sim (human, alien or vampire) +15 for impregnating a sim in a household you already had a prior target.* |_ each additional sim in a single household you impregnate nets you +5 on their total. ie. Sim#1 10, Sim#2 15, Sim#3 20. etc. +25 for each silver medal date, +30 if you reach gold. +30 for impregnating a female sim afflicted by the same curse as you.** +300 for getting the sex skill to max level. +500 for completing the rocketship +200 for reaching Planet Sixam * for example: you already impregnated Dina Caliente, and you managed to impregnate Nina Caliente afterwards. ** Add sims with the tag #CPChallenge to your game, i have added at least one such sim to that taglist that is capable of getting pregnant. For the sake of difficulty i'd like you to happen on these sims by chance, so please don't go into CAS and look at their "biological information".

Use the tag #LehenryCPChallenge if you want to upload sims to the gallery for this challenge. Note that you will need to check the custom content checkbox, otherwise nothing will show up. I have uploaded some myself already, but I implore you to add your own so others may have a larger collection to pick from.  The idea here is that you download sims without knowing whether they have "the curse" or not, so that it is a surprise when you find one. Hopefully this keeps it from being too predictable.

Required mods: WickedWhims and a mod that adds penis models that can be fitted to females. i use this mod myself: https://tinyurl.com/fppmod . it also allows to give aliens and vampires appropriatly coloured penises. If you find alternatives yourself it's fine, as long as it works.

Required sims 4 packs: Get to Work (for the scientist career). ^ When i say "required" it's more for roleplay purposes in this instance, you can do the challenge without having the pack.

That’s about it.

As this is my very first challenge i’m open to constructive criticism, if you think something could have been done diffrently to make it better, please let me know.

[everettwilkinson]

POLITICO Playbook: RICHARD SHELBY tells Tapper he didn’t vote for ROY MOORE

Good Sunday morning. BUZZ — SOME HOUSE DEMOCRATS are talking about skipping the State of the Union in January.

THE PRESIDENT is at Trump International Golf Club this morning. He is scheduled to return to Washington later today. TRUMP’S MONDAY: The president is lunching with VP Mike Pence and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. He will also sign a space policy directive.

Story Continued Below

BEHIND THE SCENES AT 1600 — THE BIG STORY — “INSIDE TRUMP’S HOUR-BY-HOUR BATTLE FOR SELF-PRESERVATION,” by NYT’s Maggie Haberman, Glenn Thrush and Peter Baker: “Around 5:30 each morning, President Trump wakes and tunes into the television in the White House’s master bedroom. He flips to CNN for news, moves to ‘Fox & Friends’ for comfort and messaging ideas, and sometimes watches MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ because, friends suspect, it fires him up for the day.

“Energized, infuriated — often a gumbo of both — Mr. Trump grabs his iPhone. Sometimes he tweets while propped on his pillow, according to aides. Other times he tweets from the den next door, watching another television. Less frequently, he makes his way up the hall to the ornate Treaty Room, sometimes dressed for the day, sometimes still in night clothes, where he begins his official and unofficial calls.

“As he ends his first year in office, Mr. Trump is redefining what it means to be president. He sees the highest office in the land much as he did the night of his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton — as a prize he must fight to protect every waking moment, and Twitter is his Excalibur. Despite all his bluster, he views himself less as a titan dominating the world stage than a maligned outsider engaged in a struggle to be taken seriously, according to interviews with 60 advisers, associates, friends and members of Congress.

“For other presidents, every day is a test of how to lead a country, not just a faction, balancing competing interests. For Mr. Trump, every day is an hour-by-hour battle for self-preservation. He still relitigates last year’s election, convinced that the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, into Russia’s interference is a plot to delegitimize him. Color-coded maps highlighting the counties he won were hung on the White House walls. …

— KEY PARAGRAPH: “Before taking office, Mr. Trump told top aides to think of each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals. People close to him estimate that Mr. Trump spends at least four hours a day, and sometimes as much as twice that, in front of a television, sometimes with the volume muted, marinating in the no-holds-barred wars of cable news and eager to fire back.” http://nyti.ms/2Ap5Fe1

— NYT NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY: “Glenn Thrush contributed to this article before he was suspended pending the result of an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior.”

IN ISRAEL — AP at 7:51 a.m.: “JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli police: Security guard seriously wounded in stabbing at Jerusalem’s central bus station.”

— DAVID KENNER in Foreign Policy: “Trump Administration Blindsided Palestinian Leaders on Jerusalem Designation”: “Just last week, Palestinian diplomats were cautiously optimistic that U.S. President Donald Trump was on a path that could deliver what the president termed the ‘ultimate deal’ — a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“According to a senior Palestinian official, their optimism was bolstered by a series of interactions with Trump, culminating in a previously unreported meeting on Nov. 30. The meeting included Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, and Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell, who met with three senior Palestinian intelligence and diplomatic officials.

“The American side, however, did not inform the Palestinian delegation that Trump would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital at the meeting — even though the president had insisted on doing so in internal deliberations days earlier.

“The meeting, which was confirmed by a National Security Council official, a former U.S. diplomat, and a senior Palestinian official, was held as the first news reports that the Trump administration would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital were already breaking. The Palestinian delegation asked whether Trump would sign the waiver to prevent the U.S. Embassy from moving to Jerusalem, which the president did sign this week, but the American side did not volunteer the additional information about Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem.” http://atfp.co/2BXzm37

— “Israeli defense chief calls for Arab boycott after protests,” by AP’s Aron Heller in Jerusalem: “Israel’s defense minister called Sunday for a boycott of Arab businesses in an area where residents took part in violent protests against President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, said the Arabs of Wadi Ara in northern Israel were ‘not part of us’ and that Jewish Israelis should no longer visit their villages and buy their products. Hundreds of Israeli Arabs protested Saturday along a major highway in northern Israel, where dozens of masked rioters hurled stones at buses and police vehicles. Three Israelis were wounded and several vehicles were damaged.” http://bit.ly/2kNVOYg

— REUTERS/BEIRUT: “Violence flares at protest near U.S. Embassy in Lebanon”: “Lebanese security forces fired tear gas and water canons at protesters near the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on Sunday during a demonstration against President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.” http://reut.rs/2Ar3max

— CHEAT SHEET: “The Jerusalem Issue, Explained,” by NYT’s Max Fisher: http://nyti.ms/2ycz6u5

CALLING IN THE REINFORCEMENTS — “Booker, Patrick rally black Alabamians for Jones,” by Gabe Debenedetti in Selma, Alabama: “Democrat Doug Jones needs African-American voters to turn out in big numbers for him to have a shot at beating Roy Moore in Tuesday’s Alabama Senate election. So the former U.S. attorney brought in two of his most prominent surrogates on Saturday to help: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

“Their message, amid fears of lagging enthusiasm among black voters and polls showing a neck-and-neck race between Jones and Moore, was that there is no simply excuse for not voting in this election. ‘I know you all made, already, a million phone calls, but I’m here to try to get some folk woke,’ said Booker, addressing a crowd of roughly 200 at Alabama State University in Montgomery, three hours after Patrick appeared with Jones in Selma. ‘Some people don’t understand: the opposite of justice is not injustice. It is inaction and indifference.’ ‘Bad people get elected when good people don’t vote,’ Booker added.” http://politi.co/2jDvmx6

— THE STEP BACK: “Alabama, Despite History of Unruly Politics, Has ‘Never Seen Anything Like This’,” by NYT’s Campbell Robertson and Jonathan Martin in Montgomery, Alabama: “‘I don’t think you can compare this one with anything,’ said Bill Baxley, 76, whose first foray into Alabama state politics was as attorney general nearly five decades ago. ‘I haven’t seen in my lifetime — a long time, I’m 83 going on 84 — one this unique,’ said Sen. Richard C. Shelby, who was first elected to the State Legislature in 1970 and is now the dean of the Alabama congressional delegation.

“‘Never seen anything like this,’ said Glen Browder, 74, a former congressman, during whose political career different Alabama governors were convicted of bribery, brought down by sex scandal and indicted on a charge of stealing money to buy fancy shower stalls and a riding lawn mower.

“The special Senate election here, to be decided Tuesday, has made for one wild and ugly campaign season. It was never going to be afternoon tea, but with the airing of allegations in November that Roy S. Moore, the Republican nominee, had hounded and molested teenage girls when he was in his 30s, the race tightened — and the dialogue went south. Mr. Moore has gone about creating a real-life political science experiment, testing whether last year’s presidential campaign was an anomaly or whether voters remain just as willing to shrug off truth-stretching, multiple charges of sexual misconduct and incendiary speech.” http://nyti.ms/2BXI41j

WAPO’S BOB COSTA and MICHAEL SCHERER: “Bitter Senate race tests Alabama’s image in the country — and at home”: “For many Alabama voters, unaccustomed to a competitive election and the national attention that has come with it, the bitter showdown between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones has become something more personal than a race to fill an open Senate seat. It is now a referendum on the state’s identity. Supporters of Jones say with concern that a win Tuesday by the firebrand Moore would derail the state’s efforts to escape its painful history and rebrand as a forward-thinking place welcoming to Fortune 500 companies and a highly educated workforce.

“And they express a nagging feeling that a Moore victory would be a deflating sign that Alabama remains beholden to its past. … Supporters of Moore, meanwhile, see his candidacy as a conduit for their rejection of the national media and political elites who they believe unfairly caricature their home state as a cultural backwater.” http://wapo.st/2jlYfB6

— WAPO’S DAN BALZ: “For Republicans, there likely can be no truly good outcome. If Moore wins, the party will have preserved the seat but will be saddled with a new senator under a cloud of allegations, including assaulting a teenager many years ago as well as a pattern of pursuing teenagers half his age when he was in his 30s. If he wins and is sworn in, he probably will face an ethics investigation that will keep the controversy alive until his fate is resolved and perhaps much longer than that. For the Republicans, it’s a hot mess.” http://wapo.st/2BR5hRQ

— HOWELL RAINES (former NYT exec editor): “In a sense we are all Alabamians now, wincing when sophisticates abroad satirize our willingness to be beguiled by abnormality. Electing Mr. Jones, who is admired nationally for prosecuting racial crimes, would be a cultural watershed for Alabama voters and a sign that the Trump base will fracture with unexpected ease. Deep in their bones, Alabamians know that if Roy Moore goes to Washington, the wardrobe department at ‘Saturday Night Live’ will surely accommodate them by finding a cowboy vest, a tiny pistol and a Girl Scout dress, and they’re prepared to feel very put upon.” http://nyti.ms/2Arg1tW

****** A message from PhRMA: A medicine’s path from the biopharmaceutical company to the patient involves many entities across the supply chain. A new report examines how money flows through this system – which includes wholesalers, pharmacy benefit managers, pharmacies and insurers – and how that impacts what patients pay at the pharmacy. Read more. http://onphr.ma/2kgd6Nu ******

ISAAC DOVERE — “Why Democrats win even if they lose in Alabama”: “Democrats head into Tuesday’s Senate election in Alabama confident that they’ll come out on top no matter who wins. And many Republicans agree with them. If Doug Jones prevails, Democrats expect it will further excite their base, bolster candidate recruitment and fuel fundraising heading into 2018, coming off their near-sweep of last month’s elections. They will revel in picking up a Senate seat in the Deep South, especially in a state so central to President Donald Trump’s political rise and where he earlier backed the loser of the GOP primary. Practically, Republicans would have a 51-49 Senate majority, leaving them with a single vote to spare assuming Democrats stick together.

“But the alternative won’t make for bad politics, either, Democrats say. If Roy Moore wins, they’ll spend the next year yoking every Republican they can to the accused child predator and a president who welcomed him into the GOP fold. They’ll be quick to remind everyone of all the other comments Moore has made against Muslims and gays and in favor of Vladimir Putin’s view of America as evil, as well as his rosy view of slave-era America. ‘He’ll be the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats. If you’re running in 2018, Roy Moore’s going to be your new best friend. As a Republican, to think that you can win without the baggage of Roy Moore is pretty naïve,’ said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).” http://politi.co/2jkfF0U

— “Trump to cut robocall for Moore,” by Alex Isenstadt in Mobile, Alabama: “Donald Trump has agreed to record a robocall for Alabama Republican Roy Moore ahead of next week’s special election, the president’s most direct involvement in Alabama on behalf of the embattled candidate to date. The call, according to a source close to the Moore campaign, is expected to go out to Alabama voters on Monday, a day before the election.” http://politi.co/2A8teU5

SUNDAY BEST, ROY MOORE EDITION — JAKE TAPPER talks to SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-ALA.) — in Tuscaloosa — on CNN’S “STATE OF THE UNION”: SHELBY: “Well, I’d rather see the Republican win. But I hope that Republican would be a write in. I couldn’t vote for Roy Moore. I didn’t vote for Roy Moore. But I wrote in a distinguished Republican name and I think a lot of people could do that. Will they do it? I’m not sure. I don’t know what’s going to happen. As a Republican, I had to vote Republican. I wanted to vote Republican. I understand where the president is coming from. I understand we would like to retain that seat in the U.S. Senate. But I tell you what, there’s a time — we call it a tipping point — and I think so many accusations, so many cuts, so many drip, drip, drip. When it got to the 14 year old story, that was enough for me. I said I can’t vote for Roy Moore.”

TAPPER: “You’re going to wake up on Wednesday, and one of these two men, Roy Moore or Doug Jones, is going to be your fellow senator from Alabama. Which one would you rather deal with on a professional level?”

SHELBY: “Well, I don’t have to answer that question today. I — I had rather see another Republican in there, and I’m going to stay with that story. I’m not going to vote for the Democrat. I didn’t vote for the Democrat or advocate for the Democrat. But I couldn’t vote for Roy Moore. The state of Alabama deserves better. I think we have got a lot of great Republicans that could have won and carried the state beautifully and served in the Senate honorably.”

CHUCK TODD talks to SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.): TODD: “You know, there’s been some concern that the election of Roy Moore is just going to send a larger negative message about what the Republican Party stands for. You have been somebody, as a leader in the party, to try to talk about inclusion. I wonder if comments like this that Roy Moore said when he was revering the age of slavery when he said, ‘I think it was a great time in America at the time when families were united, even though we had slavery. They cared for one another. People were strong in their families.’

“And then I thought about that quote and this tweet from Steve King earlier this week. And he says this, ‘Diversity is not our strength.’ And then he quotes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán quote, ‘Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life, but a lower one.’ This stuff inside your party, look Sen. Scott, I know you don’t want to associate yourself with that. But it’s associated with the Republican party. What do you do about this?

SCOTT: “Well, very little that I can do about people who speak ignorantly. And you just have to call it for what it is, No. 1. No. 2, the bottom line is both when Steve King and Tim Scott arrived in this country, we were actually creating diversity because the Native Americans were already here. So that is just a ridiculous statement. Listen, I wasn’t supporting Roy Moore before the allegations. The allegations reinforced why I wasn’t there. The good news is, thank God for leaders like John Ratcliffe, Trey Gowdy, Mia Love, a diverse group of young thinkers who will take our country and our party in a better direction.”

— MARTHA RADDATZ speaks with REP. TERRI SEWELL (D-ALA.) on ABC’S “THIS WEEK”: RADDATZ: “And congresswoman, I want to get your reaction to [a] mailer that the Jones campaign sent out to voters, which says, ‘think if a black man went after high school girls anyone would try to make him a Senator?’ Many view that mailer as racially insensitive. One African-American voter told a local news outlet he no longer plans to vote after receiving the ad, saying, for his campaign to put this flyer out it is a complete slap in the face. You’re the only African-American representing Alabama in Congress. Was that a mistake?”

SEWELL: “Listen, ads don’t, mailers don’t vote, it’s people who vote. And I really believe that the folks of Alabama will see through all of this nonsense about Roy Moore. At the end of the day…” RADDATZ: “But was that mailer a mistake? Do you think that was a mistake? I know people vote and mailers don’t, but was it a mistake?” SEWELL: “Yeah. Well, listen, I don’t think that the folks are concentrating on one piece of literature. I think that we have to look at the whole body of evidence and facts that Doug Jones has been, you know, saying as to why he is the right candidate for the state of Alabama.”

CLIP AND SAVE — NIKKI HALEY told CHRIS WALLACE on “Fox News Sunday” that she wouldn’t take secretary of State of she was offered. She said she’s happy in New York.

AROUND THE TAX REFORM HORN …

— “As tax plan gained steam, GOP lost focus on the middle class,” by WaPo’s Damien Paletta: “The GOP tax plan on the cusp of becoming law diverges wildly from the promises President Trump and top advisers said they would deliver for the middle class — an evolution that shows how traditional Republican orthodoxy swamped Trump’s distinctive brand of economic populism as it moved through Washington. The bill was supposed to deliver benefits predominantly to average working families, not corporations, with a 35 percent tax cut Trump proposed on the campaign trail as part of the ‘Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act.’ …

“But the final product is looking much different, the result of a partisan policymaking process that largely took place behind closed doors, faced intense pressure from corporate lobbyists and ultimately fell in line with GOP wish lists. As top lawmakers from the House and the Senate now rush to complete negotiations to push the tax plan into law, it amounts to a massive corporate tax cut, with uneven — and temporary — benefits for the middle class that could end up increasing taxes for many working families in future years.” http://wapo.st/2kNXReU

— TRUMP ON TAX REFORM: @realDonaldTrump at 8:35 a.m.: “Getting closer and closer on the Tax Cut Bill. Shaping up even better than projected. House and Senate working very hard and smart. End result will be not only important, but SPECIAL!” … at 8:30 a.m.: “Things are going really well for our economy, a subject the Fake News spends as little time as possible discussing! Stock Market hit another RECORD HIGH, unemployment is now at a 17 year low and companies are coming back into the USA. Really good news, and much more to come!”

ON THE WILDFIRES — “Southern California’s fire devastation is ‘the new normal,’ Gov. Brown says,” by L.A. Times’ Ruben Vives, Melissa Etehad and Jaclyn Cosgrove: “Gov. Jerry Brown surveyed the devastation Saturday in Ventura — the area hardest hit by firestorms that have displaced nearly 90,000 people in Southern California — calling it ‘the new normal.’ The visit came four days after Brown declared a state of emergency in response to the wildfires. In all, blazes from Ojai to Oceanside have destroyed more than 790 structures and burned 175,000 acres.” http://bit.ly/2nRk8K7

ZINKE RESPONDS — “Zinke attacks reporting on helicopter rides,” by Ben Lefebvre: “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Saturday attacked POLITICO’s coverage of his use of $14,000 in taxpayer-funded helicopter rides in the D.C. area — but offered no facts that contradicted the story that ran Thursday. ‘Here are the #facts the DC media refuses to print,’ Zinke said in a statement on his official Twitter account.

“‘Recent articles about official Interior Department helicopter usage are total fabrications and a wild departure from reality.’ His statement went on to note — as POLITICO’s story had said — that the trips in question had included a visit to an emergency management exercise in West Virginia and a flyover of a power line project in Virginia. Zinke also defended a separate helicopter flight last summer over two national monuments in Nevada. POLITICO had reported in September on that flight, which Interior Department documents said cost at least $40,000.

“POLITICO’s reporting was based on records that the Interior Department had released under the Freedom of Information Act. Zinke’s travels got more attention Friday in a follow-up story by The Associated Press that mentioned all the helicopter trips.” http://politi.co/2iLKlEd … Ben’s original story http://politi.co/2BOD0Lw

— SPOTTED: ZINKE dining with family at Landini Brothers Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, last night.

WHAT CONSERVATIVES ARE READING — “Republicans step up defense of ‘not qualified’ judicial nominees,” by Seung Min Kim and John Bresnahan: “Senate Republicans have declared war on the American Bar Association. Since 1953, the venerable legal organization has played a critical, behind-the-scenes role in assessing judicial nominees and their fitness to serve on the bench. But with the ABA emerging as a major stumbling block in President Donald Trump’s effort to transform the courts, the GOP is accusing the non-partisan group of holding a liberal slant and is seeking to sideline it.

“The ABA has deemed at least four of Trump’s judicial nominees ‘not qualified’ – a high number, although other administrations evaluated candidates privately before they were nominated. Democrats warn of dire consequences of ignoring the group’s evaluations. But Republicans are intent on a dramatic reshaping of the federal judiciary that could last for decades and so far, haven’t been persuaded by the ABA’s ratings.” http://politi.co/2BPLulW

MEDIA CRITIC IN CHIEF — @realDonaldTrump at 6:14 p.m.: “.@daveweigel of the Washington Post just admitted that his picture was a FAKE (fraud?) showing an almost empty arena last night for my speech in Pensacola when, in fact, he knew the arena was packed (as shown also on T.V.). FAKE NEWS, he should be fired.” … at 5:01 p.m.: “.@DaveWeigel @WashingtonPost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo!”

— @daveweigel at 5:04 p.m. replying to Trump: “Sure thing: I apologize. I deleted the photo after @dmartosko told me I’d gotten it wrong. Was confused by the image of you walking in the bottom right corner.”

— @NicolleDWallace: “Some free PR advice for my pals in the media – Donald Trump would love to have a fight about whether the press tells the truth – FACT: there are higher standards in every newsroom than on potus twitter feed and White House press briefing- do not take the bait. Carry on.”

LISTEN IN to the latest bonus Playbook Audio Briefing episode from our live recording Thursday night at Sixth and I Synagogue. Today we’re posting Jake and Anna’s discussion with NRCC’S JOHN ROGERS and DCCC’S DAN SENA http://bit.ly/2iMHyuF Make sure you subscribe on your favorite podcasting app (Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/2uK0bDc … Stitcher http://bit.ly/2BTyvQZ) so you don’t miss our daily briefings.

— ICYMI here’s a link to our talk with NYT’S Michael Barbaro http://bit.ly/2AGWD96 and POLITICO all-star panel of Seung Min Kim, Rachael Bade and Annie Karni http://bit.ly/2iGgf4X

FUN CLICK — SNL’s “Visit with Santa Cold Open” — “Santa Claus (Kenan Thompson) and his elf (Kate McKinnon) field some uncomfortable Christmas present requests” from kids related to politics. 6-min. video http://bit.ly/2iMtO2P

PHOTO DU JOUR: An Army Black Knights cadet celebrates the win over the Navy Midshipmen on Dec. 9 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Army beat Navy 14-13. | Elsa/Getty Images

AT FOGGY BOTTOM — “U.S. Diplomat’s Resignation Signals Wider Exodus From State Department,” by FP’s Dan De Luce and Robbie Gramer: “An award-winning U.S. diplomat who was seen as a rising star at the State Department has issued a scathing resignation letter, accusing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the Donald Trump administration of undercutting the State Department and damaging America’s influence in the world. Elizabeth Shackelford, who most recently served as a political officer based in Nairobi for the U.S. mission to Somalia, wrote to Tillerson that she reluctantly had decided to quit because the administration had abandoned human rights as a priority and shown disdain for the State Department’s diplomatic work, according to her letter, obtained by Foreign Policy.

“‘I have deep respect for the career Foreign and Civil Service staff who, despite the stinging disrespect this Administration has shown our profession, continue the struggle to keep our foreign policy on the positive trajectory necessary to avert global disaster in increasingly dangerous times,’ Shackelford wrote in her Nov. 7 letter, which is published below. One phrase was redacted on Shackelford’s request. ‘With each passing day, however, this task grows more futile, driving the Department’s experienced and talented staff away in ever greater numbers,’ she wrote.

“Her former colleagues said her departure — and the sentiments expressed in her letter — reflect a wider exodus of midcareer diplomats who have lost confidence in Tillerson’s management and the Trump administration’s approach toward diplomacy. ‘She’s emblematic of what we’re losing across the board,’ said one of Shackelford’s former State Department colleagues. ‘She is the best among us. We should not be losing the best among us. And that should concern people that we are,’ the former colleague said.” http://atfp.co/2ASUiKz

VALLEY TALK — “Tech’s new D.C. partner: Charles Koch,” by Nancy Scola: “The tech industry has found a surprising new ally in its effort to shape public policy in Washington: the 82-year-old libertarian billionaire Charles Koch. Two organizations founded by Koch, one an education-focused institute and the other a grant-making foundation, have spent the past year ramping up their efforts to shape public debate on tech policy topics like self-driving cars and the rights of online publishers.

“And despite their ideological distance on issues like the Paris climate accord, the Koch groups and left-leaning Silicon Valley are working together to advance the argument that innovation is most likely to flourish when legislators and regulators leave it alone. … The deep-pocketed Koch groups have the resources to help tech put on educational events, co-host conferences and fund academic research. But the alliance with Charles Koch also allows Silicon Valley to expand its contacts and influence in the age of Donald Trump — in a Washington that looks much different from what the tech executives who supported Hillary Clinton had expected after the 2016 election.

“For an industry in need of new friends in D.C., amid threats of antitrust scrutiny and criticism of its role in enabling Russian election interference, the Kochs’ deep ties to conservative circles may prove useful.” http://politi.co/2kPTf7V

****** A message from PhRMA: A medicine’s path from the biopharmaceutical company to the patient involves many entities across the supply chain. A new report examines how money flows through this system – which includes wholesalers, pharmacy benefit managers, pharmacies and insurers – and how that impacts what patients pay at the pharmacy. Read more. http://onphr.ma/2kgd6Nu ******

DEMS TRY TO MOVE FORWARD — “DNC ‘unity’ panel recommends huge cut in superdelegates,” by Kevin Robillard: “A commission set up to help reform the Democratic presidential nominating process has voted to restrict the number of superdelegates as part of a slew of changes. The Democratic Party’s Unity Reform Commission is recommending cutting the number of superdelegates by about 400, equal to a 60 percent reduction. Many of the remaining superdelegates would see their vote tied to the results in their state.

“The commission is also suggesting that absentee voting be required as an option for presidential caucus participants. It is calling for automatic voter registration and same-day voter registration. And it wants to mandate public reporting of raw vote totals from caucus states. The recommendations will now go to the Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws committee, and then likely to the full 447-member Democratic National Committee for consideration sometime next year, where it will need two-thirds support to pass.” http://politi.co/2ARNnkR

— “Democrats eye gains in Pennsylvania trial on ‘goofy’ gerrymandering,” by Reuters’ Joseph Ax in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania: “The 7th congressional district has become a national poster child for critics of gerrymandering, the process by which one party draws district boundaries to ensure an advantage among voters. Democrats say the lines have helped Republicans like U.S. Representative Patrick Meehan, the four-term incumbent [Democrat Daylin] Leach seeks to unseat, to stay in office.

“That could soon change, however. On Monday in state court in Harrisburg, one of three lawsuits challenging those boundaries heads to trial. The outcome could shift several battleground districts in Pennsylvania and in turn boost the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, where they last held the majority from January 2009 to January 2011. The 7th district is so precisely engineered that at one point it narrows to the width of a single seafood restaurant, snaking past two other congressional districts so it can link two far flung Republican-leaning areas.” http://reut.rs/2iO5fCG

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:

— “Tales of War and Redemption,” by Phil Klay in the American Scholar: “A soldier may call out to God while in combat, but the experiences that cause him to do so might be the very ones that later cause him to abandon his faith altogether. What kind of God would allow any of the innumerable things that happen in a war zone? This old complaint takes on a particular urgency when you’ve seen children dying slowly after going through more pain than any human being should ever experience.” http://bit.ly/2y80OIn

— “Chronicler of Islamic State ‘killing machine’ goes public,” by AP’s Lori Hinnant and Maggie Michael: “For nearly two years, he’d wandered the streets of occupied Mosul, chatting with shopkeepers and Islamic State fighters, visiting friends who worked at the hospital, swapping scraps of information. … He forced himself to witness the beheadings and deaths by stoning, so he could hear the killers call out the names of the condemned and their supposed crimes. … He wasn’t a spy. He was an undercover historian and blogger.” http://bit.ly/2BP4iS4

— “Hillary Clinton meets Mary Beard: “I would love to have told Trump: ‘Back off, you creep,’” by Decca Aitkenhead in the Guardian: Clinton: “There is a deliberate, very well-organised, sophisticated assault on facts and reason and evidence. In our country, it’s driven originally by a cabal of billionaires and religious fundamentalists, and their view is that it doesn’t matter what they say. If they say it often enough and they put enough money behind it, they’ll convince a significant number of people.” http://bit.ly/2BheTsV (h/t TheBrowser.com)

— “The Consent of the (Un)governed,” by Laurie Penny in Longreads: “The search for a more human understanding of power and consent is not simply stage-dressing for a bigger fight. It is the big fight. It’s all about the grabby old men, and it always has been.” http://bit.ly/2nFAvsZ

— “My Experience at Charlie Rose Went Beyond Sexism,” by Rebecca Carroll in Esquire: “In 1997, I joined the production team of Charlie Rose’s popular interview show. I was the only black journalist on staff. … Twenty years later, in this watershed moment of examination and reckoning as one powerful white man after another is disgraced … we’re still not talking about the ramifications for black women — or the broader connection to structural racism in America.” http://bit.ly/2jxjMUb

— “Ryan Zinke Is Trump’s Attack Dog on the Environment,” by Elliott D. Woods in Outside: “Early in his political career, the interior secretary irked fellow Republicans with his willingness to stand up for conservation. Things have changed, and whether you love or hate his ideas, know this: he’s one of the few Trump-era cabinet secretaries with the juice to make things happen, and he’s got the boss’s back.” http://bit.ly/2BXFXKP

— “Can Sexual Predators Be Good Scholars?” by Becca Rothfeld in the Chronicle of Higher Ed – per ALDaily.com’s description: “Writing and thinking are intimate activities. Does that suggest brilliant men pay an intellectual price for mistreating women? It’s comforting — and certainly false — to think so.” http://bit.ly/2A4VQO8

— “Success Academy’s Radical Educational Experiment,” by the New Yorker’s Rebecca Mead: “Inside Eva Moskowitz’s quest to combine rigid discipline with a progressive curriculum.” http://bit.ly/2AHgDIR

— “The true story of the fake U.S. embassy in Ghana,” by Yepoka Yeebo in the Guardian: “Last year, the U.S. State Department said it had uncovered a fake embassy in Accra that had been issuing a stream of forged visas. The story went viral – but all was not as it seemed.” http://bit.ly/2j9jaXU

— “Young Americans,” by Michael Hall in the December issue of Texas Monthly: “Pedro Villalobos is a star prosecutor. Gerardo De Loera is a musician. Joseph Ramirez is a tech entrepreneur. They’re young, they’re smart, they make America great. They’re also undocumented, able to live in the country legally under controversial legislation set to end. Now, with time running out as Congress mulls their fate, they—and thousands more like them—face being sent back to a place they’ve never called home.” http://bit.ly/2BUWBuF

— “When Does Work Actually Get Done?” – Priceonomics: “Sustaining focus year-round is more of a Herculean pipe-dream than a reality of the modern workplace. We come into the office with resolve and determination, pump out a few tasks, eat lunch, then gradually deteriorate into a potpourri of Reddit posts and cat videos. But there are certain times where we’re more likely to get our work done.” http://bit.ly/2jcS1Dn

— “Millennials Have Officially Killed the Holiday Office Party – Thanks Vox.com,” by The Weekly Standard’s Matt Labash: “It is a time-honored tradition … Show up to your company’s voluntary holiday gathering, where absences are informally noted by supervisors who will passive-aggressively punish the missing come January. Pretend you enjoy socializing with colleagues that you wouldn’t invite over to your house on a dare.” http://tws.io/2kPe1Vk

— “9 common-sense rules for getting the most out of meetings,” by Ray Dalio on TED.com: “Veteran financier Ray Dalio has been in every kind of meeting: the good, the bad and the ugly. Here’s how he keeps his meetings focused and productive.” http://bit.ly/2iGmPIH

— “Longform Podcast#273: Zoe Chace,” a reporter and producer at “This American Life”: “Radio is a movie in your head. It’s a very visual thing. It’s a transporting thing—when it’s done well. And it’s louder than your thoughts. It is both of those things. It would just take me out of the place that I was, where I was lost and couldn’t figure things out.” http://bit.ly/2AGqheT

— “Will Trump Inspire the Next Great American Novel?” by Tom Rosenstiel in POLITICO Magazine: “Once upon a time, Washington spawned towering works of political fiction. What about now?” http://politi.co/2kaApEP

SPOTTED: John Kerry and Jon Hamm on Thursday night at “Hamilton” in London’s West End, where the two took a selfie together at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Kerry first met Hamm after Kerry’s speech at the Charlotte Democratic Convention in 2012. While in London, Kerry had a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace climate change dinner with Ambassador Bill Burns and met with friends from Parliament (both Labour and Tory) who work on foreign policy. Kerry, whose birthday is tomorrow, is heading to Paris for French President Emmanuel Macron’s Tuesday climate change conference titled “One Planet” …

… Rex Tillerson doing the opening coin-toss at the Army-Navy game yesterday in Philly. Also in the stands: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford and State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert with her brother Joe Nauert, a Navy midshipman — pic of the Army kids storming the field after they won 14-13 http://bit.ly/2BsFmUn … Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) last night in the lobby of the Kimpton Lorien Hotel and Spa on King Street in Old Town Alexandria

HOLIDAY PARTY CIRCUIT — SPOTTED at Ron and Sara Bonjean’s annual Christmas party last night at their house in Alexandria where the special surprise celebrity guest was Tori Spelling: Don and Shannon McGahn, Sean Spicer (pic of Sean and Spelling: http://bit.ly/2BqYKkI), Rodell Mollineau, Brian Walsh, Doug Heye, Brian Baker, Aaron Keyak, Tim Burger, Scott Mulhauser and Kara Carscaden, Brad Rateike, Adam Kennedy, Zach Parkinson, Tyler Ross, Sarah Westwood and Jon Conradi, Michelle Fields and Jamie Weinstein, Janet Donovan, Michael and Mary Kathryn Steel, Sam Feist, Polson Kanneth, Marie Harf and Joshua Lucas, Dan Conston, Kelley Hudak, Lauren French, Mark Paustenbach, Mitchell Rivard …

… Andrew Kovalcin, Craig Gordon, Michael LaRosa, Steve Shepard, Benny and Katelyn Rieley Johnson, Brian Danza, Mike Dubke, Michael Falcone, Zeke Miller, Josh and Ali Rogin, Jahan Wilcox, Hadas Gold, Rob Saliterman, Bill McQuillen, Lauren Pratapas, Matt Dornic, Hanna Hope, Neil Grace, Jeff Grappone, Matt and Rebecca Haller, Liz Johnson, Stuart Roy, Steve Shepard, Robert and Katie Zirkelbach, Ben Jenkins, Sean Sullivan, Kevin Sheridan and Erika Gutierrez, Patrick O’Connor, Alice Lloyd, Jenna Lifhits, Hannah Yoest, Meridith McGraw, Vanessa Morrone and Mike Ambrosini, Becca Glover, Katy Summerlin, Ryan Hughes, Eli Yokley.

SPOTTED at Robert Draper and Kirsten Powers’ holiday party yesterday at their house near Catholic University: Chris Stirewalt, Karen Tumulty, Alice Stewart, Juleanna Glover, Christopher Hale, Brendan Buck and Rebecca Berg, Rebecca Cutler, Todd Harris, Tim Burger, Doug Heye, Phil Rucker, David Swerdlick, Sally Quinn, Asawin Suebsaeng and Elizabeth Brown.

WEEKEND WEDDING — OBAMA ALUMNI — “Mary Baskerville, Theodore Newman”: “Ms. Baskerville, 30, is a public relations manager in the corporate and financial practice of Burson-Marsteller in New York. Until January, she was a sponsorship manager at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, part of the Clinton Foundation. She graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. … Mr. Newman, 35, is an insurance claims manager at the Starr Companies, an insurance and financial services company in New York. He graduated from Northwestern and received a law degree from American University. … The couple met in 2013 at a happy hour at Alero, a Mexican restaurant in Washington. Ms. Baskerville was working in press advance for the Obama administration.” With pic http://nyti.ms/2yWdZj5

BIRTHDAYS OF THE DAY: Megan Whittemore, deputy chief of staff for Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and VP of the Senate Press Secretaries Association. A trend she thinks deserves more attention: “Opposites really do attract. My husband and I are a bipartisan couple living and working in a partisan political city, and I believe we can always use more bipartisanship in this town. That’s why I enjoy working with the Senate Press Secretaries Association, which is one of the few bipartisan organizations on the Hill that help bring people together.” Read her Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2AIhQzE

… Dateline NBC correspondent Andrea Canning. How she got her start in journalism: “I started at ‘Extra,’ where I babysat editors’ kids so they’d make my resume reel for me. I mailed out 50 VHS tapes and was off to Greenville, MS for my first on-air job.” Q&A: http://politi.co/2BZ2reh

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Brian McGuire, policy director at Brownstein Hyatt and a McConnell alum, who celebrated with his wife Ashley in New York City for the day (hat tip: Scott Jennings, who was on time).

BIRTHDAYS: Mike Shields of Convergence Media and a CNN political commentator … Symone Sanders … Fox News’ Mike Emanuel is 5-0 (h/t James Rosen) … Mercury CEO Kieran Mahoney (h/t Jon Haber) … Michael Bodley … Justin Ahn … Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) is 68 … Charlie Watkins … Politico Magazine’s Katie Fossett … former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is 61 … Greg Rothman … Misha Belikov, analyst at Point72 Asset Management … Google alum Steve Johnston (h/t Tim Burger) … Mitchell Rubenstein … N.Y. Daily News’ Erin Durkin … Robert Maguire … Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) is 48 … Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) is 57 … Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) is 64 … Edelman’s Shawn Stafford … Kip Wainscott, senior adviser on Silicon Valley at National Democratic Institute … Chris McGrath … Bill Baroni, former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey …

… Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) is 67. He’s “celebrating with his wife, children and grandchildren and is looking forward to a big birthday cake from world-renowned Rick’s Bakery in Fayetteville” (h/t Tim Griffin) … Jennifer Cox, chief of staff for Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) (h/t Mitchell Rivard) … Ryan Beene … Jackie Etter-Krause … Gigi Anders … Lisa Rowan … Tom Zampino … David French, SVP of gov’t relations at National Retail Federation … Ellie Bartow … Kristin Wilson Keppler … Matthew Gagnon is 37 … Doug Rosenthal … Don McDowell … Susan Milligan, political writer for U.S. News & World Report … David Kieve, partner at Hilltop Public Solutions … Laura De Castro … Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List … Doug Badger … Scott MacKay … Jess Peterson, president and CEO of Western Skies Strategies … Gloria Loring … Hope Hodge Seck … Mitchell Schwartz … Rick Siger … Michelle Mayorga … Wayne Smith (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

****** A message from PhRMA: In the competitive marketplace for medicines, negotiations between pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and biopharmaceutical companies result in substantial rebates and fees. According to a new report, in many cases, this system often creates incentives for PBMs to prefer medicines with higher list prices and higher rebates. Read more about how money flows through the supply chain here: http://onphr.ma/2kgd6Nu ******

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