#american secret service

[bookloversofbath]

A North Africa Story: The Anthropologist as OSS Agent 1941-1943: With Historical Settings from the Editors of Gambit :: Carleton S. Coon

[simply-ivanka]

These pieces of shit, above, are emboldened by the Biden/Harris Administration penchant for hiring perverts and others who groom children, either directly or indirectly. Now with the Village Idiot out of the campaign and his woke, imbecile surrogate at the helm of the Democrats all hell will break loose!

Now, more than ever, do Americans need to get off their collective asses and get involved. Support Trump and let's restore American traditions and principles.

You're a Democrat? Who gives a shit. If you love this country, love your job and your family, put a pit bull in The White House for 4 years and let him clean house!

[sunnifer]

cmon curt you can do better than that

[my-midlife-crisis]

[jangillman]

[ginnyrules27]

Look I know I'm going to sound horrible right now but...I truly believe the 'assassination attempt' was staged by Trump's people.

You're honestly telling me Secret Service wouldn't have every possible building surrounding the rally covered?

The shooter hits Trump's ear yet we're not told of anyone behind Trump getting shot or the crowd panicking? And now PA police are saying that it's more likely Trump got his ear cut by glass from the teleprompter screen shattering from the bullet

Can you honestly tell me that the Secret Service, the people tasked to protect current and former Presidents, can not overpower an overweight 78 year old man long enough for him to be able to have a photo op where he's standing with his fist in the air with a bloody ear and the American flag in the air above him? I repeat, the man is 78 years old. Secret Service should have immediately dragged his ass off the stage and into a car.

Look, it's not abnormal in American History for presidential candidates to be shot--Teddy Roosevelt was shot point blank in the chest and continued his speech. William McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo, New York when attending the Pan-American Exhibition (fun fact, it was after this assassination that the Secret Service stopped being in charge of protecting the currency and started being responsible for protecting the President). But unless the Secret Service didn't want to do their jobs, there's a high chance this was staged to get people's attention away from Project 2025

[fictionadventurer]

Time to talk about historical presidential security!

Or, rather, the lack of it.

In the early part of American history, the idea of giving the president bodyguards was seen as a betrayal of republican principles. Guards were for kings--leaders who weren't elected, had to hold their power by force, and who kept themselves aloof from their subjects. A president was chosen from among the people, by the people, so he had to be accessible to the people. The president should walk down the street like an ordinary citizen, free for any ordinary citizen to approach him. People could just stroll into the White House on any given day and ask to meet with the president.

We might see this as an insane lack of security, but back then, people didn't see much danger in it. What reason would anyone have to kill a leader who had been fairly elected? It wasn't like he was a king who had arbitrarily demanded loyalty from his subjects--the people had chosen him themselves. The system of democracy was the only protection a president needed. The president's safety proved how well the system worked.

Lincoln's assassination didn't change this perception, because it was seen as a fluke. He was a wartime president; the Civil War put the president in a unique kind of danger. There was no reason a peacetime president would ever need protection from his people.

Fifteen years later, James Garfield was shot in a train station (while Lincoln's son was with him, fun fact) by a guy who thought the president owed him a government job. You might think that this would convince people that the president needed some kind of security detail. You'd be wrong. For the first time in American history, guards were posted outside the White House and the gates were closed, but after the immediate crisis was over, security went back to business as usual.

Only when William McKinley was shot at the 1901 Pan-American Expo in New York (another place where Robert Lincoln happened to be), by a guy who met him in a receiving line and shot him point-blank, did people finally begin to think that maybe the president should have some level of protection. Since there happened to be an anti-counterfeiting organization (founded by Abe Lincoln on the day of his assassination) with some guys to spare, the Secret Service took on an additional role as the president's bodyguards. Even then, the Secret Service remained under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department until 2003, when they were shifted to the new department of Homeland Security.

Nowadays, it's normal for the president to be under guard at all times during and after his term. But it's wild to think how very not normal that idea was for the majority of American history

[gamer2002]

[random-jot]

Top 15 Current Favourite Movies Tag

Tagged by @smalltownfae !!! Thank you 😸

Fair warning, this is gonna be a long’un, but here we go, starting with the top spot:

1. Jurassic Park

Dinosaur kid gang rise up! Everything about this movie is so good, as a kid I loved it because big dinosaurs make brain go brrr, growing up I grew to appreciate the direction, the cast, the storytelling element of it, the character arc of Alan Grant learning to accept the responsibilities of being a parent, with commentary on the dangers of abusing scientific progress and trying to subdue nature oh my god this movie is good. No wasted space in this movie as well, every single scene adds something, some other layer to it. God, remember when the Jurassic movies were actually about something? This movie absolutely rules.

2. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

You do not have to follow me for a long time before realising I FUCKING LOVE Lord Of The Rings, I grew up with these movies and rewatching them - especially this one - feels like coming home. The attention to detail, the care taken in adapting Tolkien’s work, the cast, the insanely-good-for-the-time special effects (I’m talking about the Balrog sequence, not so much the Elrond’s floating head bit) the goddamn score? Howard Shore went off. These movies will always hold a special place in my heart. Buckle in, ‘cause you might’ve guessed what the next two are gonna be.

3. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers

What can I say here that I didn’t say above? Well, I love the new characters we get; Treebeard, Faramir, Éomer and Éowyn, et al. The way this movie takes time to really demonstrate the impact of Saruman’s warmongering and devastation; the Two Towers is a war movie disguised as a fantasy movie. I adore the further development of Merry and Pippin’s character arcs, forcing the two seemingly most dependable members of the Fellowship into a situation where they have to fend for themselves, allowing them both to grow. Helms Deep. Just, all of Helms Deep. And of course the absolutely incredible performance of Andy Serkis as Gollum/Sméagol is just the cherry on top of it all.

4. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

C’mon, you knew this was coming. This is one of the earliest movies I really vividly remember seeing in cinemas, feeling the sheer excitement of it all as the New Line Cinema logo fades in. The emotional payoffs in this movie are second to none. “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you” “Are you going to leave me? No Merry, I’m going to look after you” “I am no man” “My friends, you bow to no-one” “I will not say do not weep for not all tears are an evil.” Pippin’s growth as a character is incredible and not talked about enough, and the way that Frodo returns after the war but knows he is so fundamentally changed and traumatised by his experience that he can never truly return to the life he once had and aaaaaaaaaa i just really fucking love Lord Of The Rings!

5. Spider-Man (2002)

“I had a father. And his name was Ben Parker.” It’s more than just nostalgia goggles on this one; was Tobey a bit too old to play a high-schooler? Yes. Did Raimi take some artistic liberties with the source material? Sure. But do Tobey and Kirsten have amazing on-screen chemistry? Yes! Does this movie accurately reflect what Spider-Man is all about at its core? One hundred percent!

6. Spider-Man 2

It’s often said that the sequel is always worse that the original - this movie may just be an exception to that rule. It further develops all the characters in a really compelling way, especially in the bubbling conflict between Peter and Harry, but perhaps the most outstanding feature of this one is Alfred Molina’s turn as the villainous Doctor Otto Octavius. The tragic downfall of Dock Ock is one the most compelling parts of this movie, culminating in one of the greatest superhero fight scenes ever put to screen; that being the train scene. I won’t delve too deeply into behind the scenes drama, but it is something of a minor miracle that this movie was even good, let alone great, but here it stands: an iconic piece of superhero cinema.

7. Rat Race

“My grandfather used to say good things take time; great things happen all at once.” A change of pace here, no superhero’s or sci-fi antics, this is a balls-to-the-wall feel good comedy with an absolutely star-studded cast; John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopie Goldberg, to name a few. I’ve never put on this movie and had a bad time, in fact no matter how many times I watch it is always elicits a good few laugh out loud moments that never lose their impact.

8. Kingsman: The Secret Service

This is one of few movies, in fact perhaps the only movie, that I walked out of after seeing the first time and thought, nay, knew ‘this is one of my favourite movies of all time’ and that sentiment has stayed true to this day. The church scene is of course amazing, but the movie is so much more than just that. This movie is a masterclass in keeping tension, a loving homage to the spy movies of old with an infectious new directing style and impeccable choreography, with both a licensed soundtrack and an original soundtrack that elevate the entire experience. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I saw this for the first time, it’s got action, laughs, gadgets, style and substance in spades. It’s just a shame that the sequels did away with the substance part of that equation. I also maintain that this is the best James Bond movie ever made.

9. The Faculty

A more obscure cult movie, though surprisingly star-studded. This is the sci-fi horror counterpart to Scream, kicking off strong as it opens with The Offspring’s ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’ and shortly introducing us to Casey, played by a pre-LOTR Elijah Wood no less! An unlikely group of teens team up to prevent alien parasites taking over their school and it is a gory and glorious rollercoaster ride of insanity. Like with Rat Race, I have never put this movie on and had a bad time.

10. Hot Fuzz

Absolute banger of a film. The jokes, the cast, the directing, this is undoubtedly the pinnacle of the Cornetto Trilogy, as well as being a Hoffman masterclass in foreshadowing. Edgar Wright’s unique directing style combined with the unstoppable chemistry of Pegg and Frost in the lead roles and boom! An iconic piece of British filmmaking.

11. Back To The Future

Speaking of excellent scripts, I think BTTF has one of the most tightly written screenplay’s in Hollywood, which is no mean feat for a time travel movie. Alan Silvestri’s score for the movie is fantastic, it is funny, it is tense, it is original, it’s just good.

12. Die Hard

I had heard much about Die Hard before ever watching it, and I had thought to myself ‘surely it can’t live up to the hype.’ Boy howdy, was I wrong. There is a reason this is remembered as one of the greatest action movies of all time; John McClane is a sympathetic and charismatic protagonist, but Alan Rickman’s performance as the villainous Hans Gruber is what really kicks this movie up a notch. An action movie with tension and real stakes, that doesn’t forget to still have heart and emotional stakes as well as physical ones. Die Hard is great. Also yes it is a Christmas movie.

13. The World’s End

Another one from the Cornetto Trilogy, and certainly the most underrated of the three. To be fair, it had big shoes to fill, but this is the one I find myself coming back to over and over. It is insanely funny, like it’s predecessors, has brilliant foreshadowing, like it’s predecessors, but where this movie truly excels is in the complexity of its characters. Watching this movie not as a comedy but as a character study of Gary King is where you’ll get the most out of it, watching the desperation of a man who is at his world’s end, desperately trying to cling to the past, to the last time he ever felt truly happy. The movie really takes on a whole new level when you realise that even before the alien robots attack, Gary never had any intention of surviving this night. The weaving of comedy and tragedy here is done to perfection.

14. The Truman Show

Speaking of tragedy, here is a movie that has aged like a fine wine, accidentally predicting many of the flaws and insidious aspects of Reality TV, which would rise to prominence in the following years. Your heart breaks for Truman as he comes to realise that his entire world, even down to his own friends and family, is completely fake, a facade constructed by someone else for the voyeuristic entertainment of others. This movie showcases Jim Carrey is so much more than a wacky comedic actor, but has the chops to pull off some incredibly dramatic and serious acting. This movie is excellent, and it inspired the music video for ‘If The World Was To End’ by Lower Than Atlantis, which is a fun bonus.

15. American Pie 2

Perhaps incongruous compared to my other choices on this list, but I’ll always have a nostalgic sweet spot for this movie - watching this series was a right of passage when I was growing up, and of all of them the second one was always the most feel-good, not to mention the banging soundtrack. It’s just a silly, funny movie that really makes you want to hang out in the summer with your friends. Another simple comfort/feel-good movie.

Tagging: @b-listbadboy @tazzypenguin @primatechnosynthpop @ifeelasongcomingon @meowtalhead @binders-and-beanies @blagueofchaos AND anyone else who wants to, go ahead just say i tagged ya

[lamphous]

do you guys remember the silence..... that shit was sooooo scary. doctor who is not a family sci fi romp it is a horror program and that has always been why it fucks.

[smbhax]

First photo of Leon F. Czolgosz after his shooting of US President William McKinley in 1901, photos illustrating the assassination attempt, as McKinley shook hands with the public at the Pan-American Exposition’s Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York, and Czolgosz’s booking photo. [1][2][3] Though not directly fatal, the wound became gangrenous, and McKinley died a week later. The Exposition continued for another two weeks. Czolgosz was executed three weeks after it ended. At the time, US Presidents lacked a regular security detail. “Though it still lacked any legislative mandate, by 1902, the Secret Service (a unit of the Treasury) was protecting President Theodore Roosevelt full-time. [...] In 1906, Congress passed legislation officially designating the Secret Service as the agency in charge of presidential security.” [4]

[simply-ivanka]

[my-midlife-crisis]

[jangillman]

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[gorekiss]

the way a lot of people on this app demonize sex and sexuality is kinda scary honestly