#approaches Supreme court

[technoajay]

"कोई वकील मेरे बेटे का मुकदमा लड़ने को तैयार नहीं," गैंगस्टर लॉरेंस बिश्नोई के पिता का आरोप

“कोई वकील मेरे बेटे का मुकदमा लड़ने को तैयार नहीं,” गैंगस्टर लॉरेंस बिश्नोई के पिता का आरोप

Image Source : FILE PHOTO Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi accepted that he is the mastermind behind the Sidhu Moosewla murder Highlights सिद्धू मूसेवाला हत्याकांड में जेल में बंद लॉरेंस बिश्नोई गैंगस्टर लॉरेंस बिश्नोई के पिता ने बड़ा आरोप लगाया पंजाब में वकील उनके बेटे का बहिष्कार कर रहे Sidhu Moosewala Case: सिद्धू मूसेवाला हत्याकांड में जेल में बंद गैंगस्टर लॉरेंस बिश्नोई के पिता ने बड़ा आरोप…

[dragon-cookies]

I had some Jack/Rosemary fanart in the works featuring them being cute parents, so I feel like now would be a good time for me to mention that I headcanon that all of the Walten kids were wanted and welcomed into the family with unconditional love

Though if for any reason at all Rosemary didn’t want to go through with a pregnancy, Jack would have supported her decision wholeheartedly

[theculturedmarxist]

In 2020, Robert Kuciemba, a woodworker in San Francisco was infected with covid by a co-worker after his Nevada-based Victory Woodworks transferred a number of sick workers to the San Francisco site for a few months. 

Through the proceedings of the case it turns out that the employer knew some employees might be sick but they transferred them anyway and ignored a San Francisco ordinance in place at the time to quarantine suspected covid cases.

Kuciemba was subsequently infected and he then infected his wife, who ended up in ICU on a ventilator.

The California Supreme Court just ruled against Kuciemba on the basis that a victory, while, in the court's words, "morally" the right thing to do, would create "dire financial consequences for employers" and cause a "dramatic expansion of liability" to stop the spread of covid.

There’s a few stunning details to note in this case. First, the court agreed that there is no doubt the company had ignored the San Francisco health ordinance. In other words, they accepted the company had broken the law. And then concluded “yeah, but, capitalism.”

Secondly, the case was so obviously important to the struggle between capitalism and mass infection that the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying organisation got involved and helped the company with its defence. Remember, this is a tiny company in a niche industry. The involvement of the biggest business lobbyists in the country tells us a lot about the importance of the principle they knew was at stake.

Thirdly, the defence of the company is very telling. They said “There is simply no limit to how wide the net will be cast: the wife who claims her husband caught COVID-19 from the supermarket checker, the husband who claims his wife caught it while visiting an elder care home." 

Well, exactly. Capitalism couldn’t survive if employers were liable for covid infections contracted in the workplace, and the ripple effect of those infections. And they know it. 

This case is something of a covid smoking gun, revealing what we always suspected but had never seen confirmed in so many words: the public health imperative of controlling a pandemic virus by making employers liable for some of that control is, and always must be, secondary to capitalist profit. 

This ruling is also saying out loud what has been obvious to anyone paying attention for the last two years: employers don’t have a responsibility to keep your family safe from covid. You have that responsibility. And if you give a family member covid that you caught at work and they get sick or die – even if it was a result of law-breaking by your employer – that’s on you buddy.

It is the same old capitalist story: the shunting of responsibility for ills that should be shared across society, including employers in that society, onto individuals.

This ruling essentially helps codify workplace mass infection and justifies it as necessary for the smooth functioning of capitalism.

This is not new. This is where the ‘just a cold’ and the ‘mild' narrative came from. It came from doctors and healthcare experts whose first loyalty was to capitalism. Not to public health. To money, not to lives. Abetted by media who uncritically platformed them.

While this ruling tells us little that we couldn’t already see from the public policy approach of the last two years, it is revealing (and to some extent validating) to see it confirmed by the highest law of the land in the United States. 

[qqueenofhades]

“U.S. President Joe Biden issued a memorandum on Thursday requiring allies who receive military aid from the U.S. to provide ‘credible and reliable written assurances’ of their adherence to international law including international human rights law,” the Times of Israel reported. Israel will need to supply written assurances within 45 days or risk loss of aid. The report added, “The memo did not mention specific countries who would be held up to the new standard, but came amid increasing calls in the U.S. to condition aid to Israel due to concerns over its military operations in Gaza which were triggered by the Oct. 7 attacks, in which Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253.” No one should underestimate the impact of the decision. The Associated Press explained, “Democratic senators on Friday called Biden’s directive — meant to bring breadth, oversight, deadlines and teeth to efforts to ensure foreign governments don’t use U.S. military aid against civilians — historic.”

[.......]

Biden also pressed on with intense one-on-one diplomacy. After his comment on Thursday evening that Israel had been “over the top” in Gaza, Biden engaged with Netanyahu on Sunday in a 45-minute conversation — unusually long by most diplomatic standards (and even more so given that no time had to be spent on translation with English-fluent Netanyahu). According to the White House readout, Biden insisted Israel make “credible” arrangements to protect civilians before launching a widely criticized military plan for Rafah, where civilian casualties could mount. He also pressed Netanyahu again to increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Biden’s patient approach with Netanyahu over months has gradually transformed into a private and public pressure campaign. A Biden official told The Post that the leaders had “a pretty detailed back and forth on that.”

-- Biden delivers tough love, takes historic step: Conditioning aid to Israel

Meanwhile Trump?

Trump has said he would implement travel bans on people from certain countries or with certain ideologies, expanding on a policy upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. Trump previewed some parts of the world that could be subjected to a renewed travel ban in a mid-October speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and "anywhere else that threatens our security." During the speech, Trump focused on the conflict in Gaza, saying he would bar the entry of immigrants who support the Islamist militant group Hamas and send deportation officers to pro-Hamas protests.

Also: Trump vows to expand Muslim ban and bar Gaza refugees if he wins presidency

Really, really not sure how much clearer I can make it here for y'all, but sure. Something something Trump's actually a better choice on this issue/overall (sarcasm).

[metamatar]

To counter what they view as a rising tide of prejudice, the HAF and other Hindu American groups have turned to American Jewish organizations, which they have long seen as “the gold standard in terms of political activism,” as Maryland State Delegate Kumar Barve said in 2003. Since the early 2000s, Indian Americans have modeled their congressional activism on that of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and AIPAC; Indian lobbyists have partnered with these groups to achieve shared defense goals, including arms deals between India and Israel and a landmark nuclear agreement between India and the US. Along the way, these Jewish groups have trained a generation of Hindu lobbyists and advocates, offering strategies at joint summits and providing a steady stream of informal advice. “We shared with them the Jewish approach to political activism,” Ann Schaffer, an AJC leader, told the Forward in 2002. “We want to give them the tools to further their political agenda.” Shukla told Jewish Currents that the HAF continues to work closely with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the AJC, whether by “being co-amici curiae on briefs to the US Supreme Court,” or by “lending our support to one another’s letters to Congress.”

[...] Faced with rising scrutiny over India’s worsening human rights record, Hindu groups have used “the same playbook and even sometimes the same terms” as Israel-advocacy groups, “copy-pasted from the Zionist context,” said Nikhil Mandalaparthy of the anti-Hindutva group Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR). Hindu groups have especially taken note of their Jewish counterparts’ recent efforts to codify a definition of antisemitism—the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition—that places much criticism of Israel out-of-bounds, asserting that claims like “the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” constitute examples of anti-Jewish bigotry.

[...] In 2003, Gary Ackerman—a Jewish former congressman who was awarded India’s third-highest civilian honor for helping to found the Congressional Caucus on India—told a gathering of AJC and AIPAC representatives and their Indian counterparts that “Israel [is] surrounded by 120 million Muslims,” while “India has 120 million [within].” Tom Lantos, another Jewish member of the caucus, likewise enjoined the two communities to collaborate: “We are drawn together by mindless, vicious, fanatic, Islamic terrorism.”

Driven by that sense of shared purpose, the AJC and AIPAC helped train new Indian American political groups—such as the Indian American Political Action Committee and the United States India Political Action Committee—to achieve their aims in Washington. The AJC hosted seminars on political activism in DC and New York; it also brought several delegations of Indian Americans to Israel to meet with members of the Israeli government and military. “We’re fighting the same extremist enemy,” the AJC’s capital region director Charles Brooks told the Forward in 2002.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Worker misclassification is a competition issue

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/02/upward-redistribution/#bedoya

The brains behind Trump's stolen Supreme Court have detailed plans: they didn't just scheme to pack the court with judges who weren't qualified for – or entitled to – a SCOTUS life-tenure, they also set up a series of cases for that radical court to hear.

Obviously, Dobbs was the big one, but it's only part of a whole procession of trumped-up cases designed to give the court a chance to overturn decades of settled law and create zones of impunity for America's oligarchs and the monopolies that provide them with wealth and power.

One of these cases is Jarkesy, a case designed to allow SCOTUS to euthanize every agency in the US government, stripping them of their powers to fight corporate crime:

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/sec-v-jarkesy-the-threat-to-congressional-and-agency-authority/

The argument goes, "Congress had the power to spell out every possible problem an agency might deal with and to create a list of everything they were allowed to do about these problems. If they didn't, then the agency isn't allowed to act."

This is an Objectively Very Stupid argument, and it takes a heroic act of motivated reasoning to buy it. The whole point of expert agencies is that they're experts and that they might discover new problems in American life, and come up with productive ways of fixing them. If the only way for an agency to address a problem is to wait for Congress to notice it and pass a law about it, then we don't even need agencies – Congress can just be the regulator, as well as the lawmaker.

If there was any doubt that Congress created the agencies as flexible and adaptive hedges against new threats and problems, then the legislative history of the FTC Act should dispel it.

Congress created the FTC through the FTCA because the courts kept misinterpreting its existing antitrust laws, like the Sherman Act. Companies would engage in the most obvious acts of naked, catastrophic fuckery, and judges would say, "Welp, because Congress didn't specifically ban this conduct, I guess it's OK."

So Congress created the FTC with an Act that included a broad authority to investigate and punish "unfair methods of competition." They didn't spell these out – instead, they explicitly said (in Section 5) that it was the FTC's job to determine whether something was unfair, and to act on it:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

The job of the FTC is to investigate unfair conduct before it becomes such a problem that Congress takes action, and to head that conduct off so that it never rises to the level of needing Congressional intervention.

Now, it's true that since the Reagan years, the FTC has grown progressively less interested in using this power, but that's broadly true of all of America's corporate watchdogs. But as the public all over the world has grown ever more furious about corporate abuses and oligarchic wealth, governments everywhere have rediscovered their role as a public protector.

In America, the Biden administration altered the course of history with the appointment of new enforcers in the key anti-monopoly agencies: the FTC and the DOJ's antitrust division. But more importantly, the Biden admin created a detailed, technical plan to use every agency's powers to fight monopoly, in a "whole of government" approach:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/party-its-1979-og-antitrust-back-baby

Now, this can give rise to seeming redundancies. Take labor issues. The NLRB is a (potentially) powerful regulator that had been in a coma for decades, but has awoken and taken up labor rights with a fervor and cunning that is a delight to behold:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks/#if-blood-be-the-price-of-your-cursed-wealth

At the same time, the FTC has also taken up labor rights, using its much broader powers to do things like ban noncompetes nationwide, unshackling workers from bosses who claim the right to veto who else they can work for:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/02/its-the-economy-stupid/#neofeudal

But the NLRB doesn't make the FTC redundant, or vice-versa. The NLRB's role is principally reactive, punishing wrongdoing after it occurs. But the FTC has the power to intervene in incipient harms, labor abuses that have not yet risen to the level of NLRB enforcement or new acts of Congress.

This case is made beautifully in Alvaro Bedoya's speech "'Overawed': Worker Misclassification as a Potential Unfair Method of Competition," delivered to the Law Leaders Global Summit in Miami today:

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Overawed-Speech-02-02-2024.pdf

Bedoya describes why the FTC has turned its attention to the problem of "worker misclassification," in which employees are falsely claimed to be contractors, and thus deprived of the rights that workers are entitled to. Worker misclassification is rampant, and it transfers billions from workers to employers every year. As Bedoya says, 10-30% of employers engage in worker misclassification, allowing them to dodge payment for overtime, Social Security, workers' comp, unemployment insurance, healthcare, retirement and even a minimum wage. Each misclassified worker is between $6k-18k poorer thanks to this scam – a typical misclassified worker sees a one third decline in their earning power. And, of course, each misclassified worker's boss is $6k-$18k richer because of this scam.

It's not just wages, it's workplace safety. One of the most dangerous jobs in the country is construction worker, and worker misclassification is rampant in the sector. That means that construction workers are three times more likely than other workers to lack health insurance.

What's more, misclassified workers can't form unions, because their bosses' fiction treats them as independent contractors, not employees, which means that misclassified construction workers can't join trade unions and demand health-care, or safer workplaces.

Contrast this with, say, cops, who have powerful "unions" that afford them gold-plated health care and lavish compensation, even for imaginary ailments like "contact overdoses" from touching fentanyl – a medical impossibility that still entitles our nation's armed bureaucrats to handsome public compensation:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/27/extraordinary-popular-delusions/#onshore-havana-syndrome

Cops have far safer jobs than construction workers, but cops don't get misclassified, so they are able to collect benefits that no other worker – public or private – can hope for.

Not every employer wants to cheat and maim their employees, of course. In Bedoya's speech, he references Sandie Domando, an executive VP at a construction company in Palm Beach Gardens. Domando's company keeps its employees on its books, giving them health-care and other benefits. But when she started bidding against rival firms for jobs funded by the covid stimulus, she couldn't compete – two thirds of those jobs went to other firms that were able to put in cheaper bids. Those bids were cheaper because they were defrauding their workers by misclassifying them. Thus, publicly funded projects were overwhelmingly handed over to fraudulent companies. Fraud becomes a fitness-factor for winning jobs. It's a market for lemons – among employers.

Employee misclassification is a pure transfer from workers to bosses. Bedoya recounts the story of Samuel Talavera, Jr, a short-haul trucker who worked for decades in the Port of Los Angeles. For decades, his job paid well: enough to support his family and even take his kids to Disneyland now and again.

But in 2010, his employer reclassified him as a contractor. They ordered him to buy a new truck – which they financed on a lease-purchase basis – and put him to work for 16 hours stretches in shifts lasting as much as 20 hours per day. Talavera couldn't pick his own hours or pick his routes, but he was still treated as an independent contractor for payroll and labor protection purposes.

This lead to an terrible decline in Talavera's working conditions. He gave up going home between shifts, sleeping in his cab instead. His pay dropped through the floor, thanks to junk-fees that relied on the fiction that he was a contractor. For example, his boss started to charge him rent on the space his truck took up while he was standing by for a job at the port. Other truckers at the port saw paycheck deductions for the toilet-paper in the bathrooms!

Talavera's take-home pay dropped so low that he was bringing home a weekly wage of $112 or $33 (one week, his pay amounted to $0.67). His wife had to work three jobs, and they still had to declare bankruptcy to avoid losing their home. When Talavera's truck needed repairs he couldn't afford, his boss fired him and took back the truck, and Talavera was out the $78,000 he'd paid into it on the lease-purchase plan.

This story – and the many, many others like it from the Port of LA – paint a clear picture of the transfer of wealth from workers to their bosses that comes with worker misclassification. The work that Talavera did in the Port of LA didn't get less valuable when he was misclassified – but the share of that value that Talavera received dropped to as little as $0.67/week.

Worker misclassification is rampant across many sectors, but its handmaiden is technology. The fiction of independence is much easier to maintain when the fine-grained employer-employee control is mediated by an app (think of Uber):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

That's why those scare-stories that AI trucks were going to make truckers obsolete and create an employment crisis were such toxic nonsense. Not only are we unlikely to see self-driving trucks, but the same investors that back AI technology are making bank on companies that practice worker misclassification through the "it's not a crime if we do it with an app" gambit:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

By focusing our attention on a hypothetical employment crisis that will supposedly be caused by future AI developments, tech investors can distract us from the real employment crisis that's created by app-enabled worker misclassification, which is also the source of much of the capital they're plowing into AI.

That's why the FTC's work on misclassification is so urgent. Misclassification is a scam that hurts workers and creates oligarchic power – and it's also a mass-extinction event for good companies that don't cheat their workers, because those honest companies can't compete.

Worker misclassification is having a long-overdue and much needed moment. The revolutionary overthrow of the rotten old leadership at the Teamsters was caused, in part, by a radical wing that promised to focus the Teamsters' firepower on fighting worker misclassification:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/11/19/hoffa-jr-defeated/#teamsters-for-a-democratic-union

This has become a focus of labor organizers all around the world, as worker misclassification-via-smartphone has infected labor markets everywhere:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/22/kropotkin-graeber/#an-injury-to-one

Bedoya's speech is a banger, and it reminds us that labor rights and anti-monopoly have always been part of the same project: to rein in corporate power and protect workers from the insatiable greed of the capital class:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

[minefield-of-a-ninja]

*original Image from a CW still photo

Summary: Dean shows you what it means to be in a relationship with a self-proclaimed Red-winged Bloodhound, and to be loved.

Characters: Dean Winchester x You

Tags/warnings: 18+ ONLY, period sex, shower sex, brief oral, super horny bc hormones and Dean Winchester, ILY exchange, intimacy

Words: 2K

Author’s notes: Sanctioned will be a series of low-stakes explorations of sexual taboos and boundary nudging with one or both of the Winchester brothers and You. It will all be written in 2nd person, further fostering a sense of closeness and leaning into the level of intimacy achieved with each act. It will not necessarily be considered part of the same universe but can absolutely be read that way.

As always, all my love goes to my long-time beta and friend @brrose-apothecary and many thanks to @bigmouthlass for the read-through and green light.

Sanctioned: The Red-Wing Rodeo

Being on your period sucks.

You radiate heat, but you're freezing. You can’t even think about wearing anything other than sweatpants. Most days, you bleed through an ultra tampon and the thickest pads you can buy in less than an hour, and you’re hungry all the time.

For nasty, greasy junk food and for Dean.

Dean’s gorgeous and effortlessly sexy. Even when you aren’t on your period, all he has to do is say your name and you’re putty in his hands. When you are on your period, bloated as a bridge troll and craving melty cheese, the things your brain conjures up for him to do to you threaten to set feminism back faster and farther than an old, white conservative on the Supreme Court.

It’s all you can think about—Dean’s hands on your skin, his lips on your throat, and his cock hammering you senseless.

But you smell bad, right? Your eyes are puffy and your feet look like sausages. No one thinks that’s attractive.

He’s tried to tell you that he likes it. Loves it, is what he’s said. He’s the one who told you there’s a name for guys like him—Bloodhounds. He’s even gone down on women having their period.

You don’t consider yourself a prude, but he can’t be serious, can he?

Right now, you’re in the shower in an attempt to feel less ick and maybe work out some frustration where you can easily clean up afterward. You’ve washed and conditioned your hair, exfoliated, shaved everything, and now you’re standing under just-the-right-temperature water as it blessedly sluices your neck and shoulders to your toes. You’re starting to feel something approaching relaxed when you hear Dean’s voice.

“Care if I join ya?” he asks, peeking around the large shower stall with a grin that no one in their right mind could resist. He’s naked, his hair’s spiking in nine different directions, and his face is smudged with grease from the Impala.

You shake your head and shrug, afraid to firmly commit to any answer since every cell in your body is stretched tight between tenterhooks; you could snap at any second.

“You sure?” He arches a brow and dips his chin to his chest as he eases his way into the shower.

“M’sure,” you mutter, curling in on yourself.

He settles in behind you, tall and strong, skimming his big hands over your hips before gently palming your belly. You rest one hand on his forearm and reach up behind you with the other to slide your fingers through his dampening hair. Dean begins to hum and sway before moving to multitask—dragging one hand up to expertly cup and caress one hot, tender breast, and lazily drawing a random but intricate pattern around your navel and lower.

“I know it’s your time of the month or whatever you call it, and I know it’s gettin’ harder lately,” he murmurs, touching you with reverence and heat, kissing your temple, around the shell of your ear. “I wanna make it better.”

You sigh. “I know… I just-”

When his thumb brushes your nipple, you gasp and bite back a desperate moan.

“Just what, honey? Tell me.”

He shifts behind you and his thick, hard cock grazes the curve of your back. It’s too much. He’s told you so many times how good he could make it for you.

“Please?” He continues to kiss and suck the thin skin of your throat and thumb your nipple.

You bite your lip and twist his hair with your fingers. Maybe you can let go a little. The shower will help with the mess, right?

Dean sucks an earlobe between his lips and brings his other hand up to work your other breast, forcing a pitiful whimper from your chest. You grip his wrists, encouraging his touch and buck back against him.

“Fuck me,” you whisper.

Dean groans and you can practically feel him vibrate with excitement. “I promise I’m gonna make this so good for you,” he whispers back.

You sigh, brace your hands against the tile in front of you, and widen your stance before glancing over your shoulder. His eyes flick to yours as he lathers up his hands. When he takes a step closer to touch you again, you drop your head to hang between your arms and exhale. He works you up, kneading your breasts, pulling and teasing your taut, sensitive nipples.

“You look so beautiful when you trust me like this. I want you to know it and believe it.”

He nuzzles and nips under your jaw as he hooks one hand under your right knee and gathers both your wrists with the other. You gasp when he lifts and shifts you like you weigh nothing, spreading you up and open, pressing you up against the cool tile.

“Makes me crazy knowin’ how bad you want somethin’ but won’t ask for it.”

And then he slowly sinks inside you.

You sob his name and quake between his solid weight and the soothing ceramic. You feel so hot and light, spread wide and fucked tight.

“So good, Dean,” you whimper, and he kisses you everywhere he can, sucking small bruises into your skin.

“You too.” He pushes your knee up higher, opening you wider. “So hot and greedy. Fuck, your pussy’s squeezin’ me so tight.”

“Ung.”

His thrusts are slow, shallow, and precise. Each pass sends ripples of brilliant pleasure from the ends of your hair to the tips of your toes—liquid, rolling, boiling.

“Wanted you like this for so long,” he huffs in your ear. “Give you what you need when you feel so empty.”

He’s repeatedly, steadily driving over your g-spot, slip-sliding along the path he’s traveled time and time again—but this time, every single nerve ending inside you is engorged and hypersensitive. You can feel every ridge of his cock, stroking your insides.

“Yes, Dean. I can- can feel you everywhere. Fuck.” You gasp for air and arch your neck as he plants his forehead against the shower wall.

“C’mon,” he whispers, quickening his grinding pace and eliciting a shout from you.

“Fuck… fuck… fuck…” you’re chanting, your skin is singing, and your vision blurs.

Time warps and whirls, Dean tells you you’re so perfect, so beautiful, and then- your body seizes rigid and shocking before blowing up into the most powerful, white-hot orgasm you’ve ever had.

•

•

•

Dean gently nudges you awake with soft, warm touches and the aroma of chicken soup. Your eyelids flutter open and he’s lying on his side above the covers facing you, lightly brushing the wide tips of his fingers across your forehead.

“How ya feelin’?”

“Mmmph.” You wriggle into him, clutching his soft t-shirt in your fists, and nuzzle his chest.

Dean chuckles. “That good, huh?”

You feel brand new, wrapped in crystal-spun gossamer—delicate and feral. Your consciousness scrambles to catch up to your body’s instinct to climb on top of Dean and never let him out of bed ever again.

He runs a hand down and up your back, soothing and warm, and kisses your temple. “Should eat somethin’, babe. Made ya some chicken soup and those cheese crisps you like so much.”

“You’re so good to me,” you mutter as you roll and squirm toward your nightstand. You push yourself to sit up, holding the sheet to your chest, and reach for the steaming mug.

Dean traces your spine, back and forth, up and down, sending chill bumps all over your body. You are pretty hungry, so you take a few healthy sips from the mug and pop a cheese crisp into your mouth before turning back to face Dean.

“Thank you. I do love those crisps. But I like you even better.” You scoot closer to him and slide your hands up under his t-shirt. “You should get naked and get under the covers with me.”

“I should?” He smirks in that way that makes your heart skip and your guts twirl. “One single period sex shower session and you’re hooked. I like it.”

He helps you get his shirt off before shimmying out of his pajama pants and sliding under the covers with you so you’re skin to skin.

“God, you’re already hard.” You immediately push a hand down and wrap your fingers around his thick length, kissing him hungrily. “So smooth, want you in my mouth.”

“Uh-uh,” Dean stops you from diving down, rolling you to your back and kneeing your legs open to slot his hips and grind his cock right there. “I want you in my mouth, smell so fucking good, so ripe and hot.”

You groan. Two hours ago, you’d have been horrified by the mere suggestion, but now you want, want, want.

“Dean, you can’t-”

He answers your groan, rolling his hips and nestling his face against your neck. “I won’t if you don’t want it, but,” he pauses, pushing up to look you in the eye. “You want it, don’t you?”

His eyes sparkle, and your pussy throbs. He’s right; you’re hooked and there’s no going back. You’re so turned on that he likes the way you smell—that he wants to devour you. Dean’s always eager to eat your pussy, but right now he looks ravenous.

Your heart rate kicks up a notch, and you nod.

Dean swears under his breath before kissing you, hot and firm. He kisses you so well, every day. He’s thorough with his kisses and touches. This is no exception.

When he finally, slowly begins his descent, you’re breathless, writhing in the twisted bedding and fisting your hair. He gives every square inch of your body the same treatment as your mouth, all the way to your ankles and the arches of your feet. Everywhere he touches, licks, and kisses is a hot zone. As he makes his way back upward, you think you might come before he even lays a finger on your clit.

“Dean, I’m-” You break into a sob and squeeze your eyes shut.

“No, no- don’t hold back, honey. Make some noise, make a mess, I gotchu. C’mon.”

You open your eyes and he’s watching you closely as he hunkers back down, nodding. You mirror his nod and take a deep breath, reaching for him to sink your fingers into his hair.

He smiles as he continues kissing his way from your knee up the inside of your thigh, then splays his fingers against the backs of your thighs. You watch him gently part your seam with his thumbs and dip in to press a kiss to your swollen clit.

“Fuck,” you breathe, dropping your head back to the mattress and twisting his hair in your fists.

He huffs a quiet laugh, blowing a stream of cool air over your slick, open pussy, and you lose it.

“Aaahhh!”

You’re higher than you’ve ever been on any substance, raw, and on fire. You feel like you might rocket through the roof of the bunker into the stratosphere; then Dean slides up over you and inside you, filling you up and anchoring you. He braces his forearms on either side of your head and you wrap your arms around his back.

“I love you so much,” you whisper, accepting his kiss and reveling in his long, steady strokes inside you.

He rests his forehead against yours and breathes, dragging out and pushing back in.

“Me too,” he whispers back, brushing noses with you. “So much, honey. Thank you for lettin’ me take care of you.”

You giggle and lift your legs to hug him tight. “Thank you.”

“Next time, I’m goin’ down on you ‘til you forget your own name, but,” he pauses to rotate his hips and kiss you again. “I just had to be inside you.”

“Not complaining.”

Dean keeps that connection, pulls the thread, loops it back again, and reminds you why you’re there. He reminds you of why you love him.

[contemplatingoutlander]

Noam Chomsky on "Lesser Evilism"

“There’s another word for lesser evilism. It’s called rationality. Lesser evilism is not an illusion, it’s a rational position. But you don’t stop with lesser evilism. You begin with it, to prevent the worst, and then you go on to deal with the fundamental roots of what’s wrong, even with the lesser evils.” [color emphasis added] —Noam Chomsky | Scheer Intelligence podcast | Jan. 17, 2020

Chomsky further explains why it is a rational decision to vote for the lesser to two evils:

"Even if there’s core, deep problems with the institutions, there still are choices between alternatives, which matter a lot. Small differences in a system with enormous power translate into huge effects. Meanwhile, you don’t stop with a lesser evilism; you continue to try to organize and develop the mass popular movements, which will block the worst and change the institutions. All of these things can go on at once. But the simple question of what button do you push on a particular day? That is a decision, and that matters. It’s not the whole story, by any means. It’s a small part of the story, but it matters.” [color emphasis added] ——Noam Chomsky | Scheer Intelligence podcast | Jan. 17, 2020

We witnessed how "small differences in a system with enormous power translate into huge effects" in the first Trump administration, as evidenced by how Trump's decision to stack the Supreme Court with far-right justices has resulted in Roe v. Wade being overturned, the Voting Rights Act being weakened, and the Bruen decision further weakening the nation's ability to control guns.

And Trump did all that damage just in his first term, when he still had "adults" in his administration willing to rein him in.

Imagine what changes to our nation Trump could make with only sycophants in his administration who want to implement Project 2025, just for starters.

Noam Chomsky's message is important to remember as we approach the 2024 election. If you are on the left and choose to sit out the election or vote for a third party because you view Biden as a "lesser evil," you are wittingly or unwittingly supporting the "greater evil" that is Trump. We learned that the hard way in 2016. Please don't let history repeat itself. Our nation could not survive a Trump dictatorship.

___________ Norm Chomsky image source (before edits/ quote)

[tanadrin]

Imagine that a century or two from now, the eastern half of the United States is conquered by the Canadian Empire, its intelligentsia deported, its land colonized by Canadian immigrants, and its remaining people mostly gradually absorbed into a Neo-Canadian identity. The West reorganizes, developing a new political and cultural center, and comes to regard itself as the "true" United States, with the remnant culture of the East (by now much changed by Canadian rule) as representing an unchanged tradition stretching back to the time of George Washington. The holdout western half is subsequently conquered by the Reformed Mexican Empire, and while most of the population remains in situ, its elite is taken to Mexico City. There, for three or four generations, they do their best to maintain their distinct American identity, focusing on the American "civil religion," the distinctive political ideals and cultural features that mark them out as Americans, and come up with a new way of interpreting their history that allows America to be a perennial idea, something not directly physically tied to the territory of the United States, which no longer exists. They compose a body of historical works based on Washington Irving's rather fabulistic approach to early American history, the half-remembered popular versions of the stories of Columbus and the Pilgrims, the First Thanksgiving, even the Revolutionary War. They don't have access to the original texts anymore--let's say this is all taking place in a post-Collapse North America where long-range travel and communication is difficult and a lot of history has been lost--but they do their best. They append to these books, or include in their text, of history a copy of the Constitution, big chunks of the United States Code, and Robert's Rules of Order.

Subsequently, the Empire of Gran Columbia invades, conquers southern and central Mexico, and its Emperor lets the captive Americans go home. They return north, mostly to California, find that the version of American history and civics that is remembered there isn't the same as the version they have (not that the Californian one is correct--the Mexican Empire has suppressed English-language education and high culture in its Aztlani provinces), and set about reforming and reorganizing the Western States (as they're now called) to be more in line with the forms they brought back from the exile. In the meantime, other bits of important literature start being kept in libraries next to copies of the received histories: some bits of early American literature, like Hawthorne, the Song of Hiawatha, some highly abridged Herman Melville, Thomas Paine--heck, even some John Locke, and quotes or fragments from Shakespeare. Some traditionalists now argue the capital of the United States has always been located in San Francisco, and that Washington, D.C. only because the capital later, under the influence of Eastern heretics.

In the following centuries, the Western States retain their independence for a time, but eventually become a secondary battleground for a lot of other empires--the Mexicans, the Canadians, the Pan-Pacific Federation, and so forth. American culture remains distinctive, insulted in part by its unique traditions, though now everybody speaks Future Spanish, and only learns English to read the old texts. In this period additional material, including later compositions, continues to accrete, forming a distinct body of sacred American scripture, although it does not exist in a single canonical form. Attempts to reconcile distinct sources, like more literal and historically-grounded accounts versus the simplified narratives of figures like Irving, produce hybrid texts that sometimes are full of internal conflicts.

Oh, and through all this, some institutions of American government like the Supreme Court still function, although their rulings only apply to Americans, and there isn't much in the way of a federal bureaucracy.

Finally the Great and Sublime Brazilian Potentate conquers most of the Americas, sets up an American client state that roughly coincides with the heartland of the old Western States (California, Oregon, most of Washington and Nevada), and allows the Americans to elect their own President (subject, of course, to Brazilian approval). During this period, an apocalyptic street preacher from Los Angeles claims to have inherited the authority and power of George Washington, and is executed by the Brazilians; his later followers point to the prophecies of Emperor Norton, and out-of-context bits of a Quebecois translation of Moby-Dick and some Mark Twain stories to say no, really, he was George Washington. Inexplicably, a version of this religion becomes the dominant faith of the Brazilian Empire before it collapses. But long before then the American state in California fails, crushed when it tries to revolt against Brazilian rule; the remnant Easterners likewise dwindle down to only a few hundred souls living in a village in Alexandria, Virginia. Centuries from now, as the descendants of the descendants of the Brazilians colonize Mars, they will point to the sacred Americanist scriptures, the Neo-Americanist narratives of their prophet's life, and the letters written by the early leaders of Neo-Americanism, and say, "all of this was written by the spirit of George Washington, and is free from contradictions." Meanwhile the remnant Americanists, who have been writing about Americanism and how it applies to their everyday lives in the centuries since, and whose commentary has formed around the copies of the last editions of the U.S. Supreme Court Reporter (SCOTUS managed to outlast the final American state by a hundred years or so) plus the thoughts of the remaining Americanist community in Mexico, continue to regard their traditions as the unbroken and unaltered practice of American culture, politics, and ideals as they existed since the Revolutionary War.

This is, as far as I can tell, approximately how the Bible was composed.

[mirai-e-jump]

Animage March 2024 Issue ft. Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger Main Cast Member Interviews (translations below)

Publication: February 8, 2024 (between episodes 47-48)

-Their six hearts are now united as one-

Sakai Taisei: Gira Husty/KuwagataOhger King of Shugoddam. In actuality, he's a being created by Dagded. He vows to his older brother Racules, who had been fighting to save their people, that he'll carry on his will as king.

Watanabe Aoto: Yanma Gast/TomboOhger King of N'kosopa. He was brainwashed by Hilbil, and was about to be consumed by the power that he possessed, but after being punched by Gira, he snaps out of it and they defeat Hilbil.

Murakami Erica: Hymeno Ran/KamakiriOhger Queen of Ishabana. While she was conflicted by the possibility of conquering death through the eternal life that Jeramie possessed, she was determined to use it to defeat Grodie.

Hirakawa Yuzuki: Rita Kaniska/PapillonOhger King of Gokkan and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. They trust Morphonia, their retainer who they've known since law school, and entrusts Gokkan to her as their potential successor.

Kaku So: Kaguragi Dybowski/HachiOhger Lord of Toufu. Wishing for the happiness of his younger sister Suzume, who is in love with Racules, he decides to remove her as a potential successor. Together with Rita, they seal away Minongan.

Ikeda Masashi: Jeramie Brasieri/Spider Kumonos King of the Bugnarak. He was born between a human and a Bugnarak, and wishes for both to coexist. He teaches his people, the Sanagim, how to live hand in hand with others. _

The Six Kingdom Unusual Incident Countermeasure Lifesaving Force, also known as: Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger. Centering around the kings of the six kingdoms of Chikyu - Gira, Yanma, Hymeno, Rita, Kaguragi, and Jeramie, it's an alliance formed so they can fight a common enemy, free of personal interests and across all borders.

The kings, who are the rulers of their counties, often took different actions after the formation of the Royal Sentai due to their pride, responsibility, and the mission and beliefs that they held in their hearts. Still, it's also true that a solid bond was formed through their battles.

The event that symbolized this was the second "Wrath of God" by the awakened Grodie. Making the most of their abilities and the power of their countries, the kings trusted each other, and skillfully worked together to bring the situation under control, achieving a miracle of zero casualties.

Even though they talk about it being for the benefit of their country or their own mission, the concern they have for their citizens is mutual. They may never get used to each other, but they don't hesitate to join forces when there's an emergency. This sense of distance and detachment is perhaps the greatest characteristic of the Royal Sentai.

The only remaining enemies are Kamejim, the last of the Uchu Five Jesters, and the Uchu King Dagded, who is responsible for everything. However, the Royal Sentai still don't have the means to defeat Dagded, who possesses unparalleled power. As the decisive battle between the Royal Sentai and Dagded approaches, let's see how it goes down until the final moment! _

-Gira's best scene!-

Murakami: My favorite scene is when he's eating a daikon radish in episode 4! (laughs).

Kaku: How nostalgic!

Murakami: I really liked it! Also, his "archaic smile" (episode 11).

Sakai: Ah! Towards the beginning!

Murakami: Yeah, the child of god Gira. The part with robo Gira was funny too. It's unforgettable.

Watanabe: I liked when he said "Woyal armz!" (episode 45).

Hirakawa: He said something like that (laughs).

Ikeda: That was cute.

Murakami: I liked that too (laughs).

Ikeda: His pill bug (pill taxi) outfit was also cute.

Sakai: I also liked the pill bug costume. And then, there was the confusing scene with Kaguragi towards the end……(episode 15).

Ikeda: The, "Laugh for me!" part. It's cool that you said it so seriously while looking like that.

Kaku: It was a passionate scene.

Ikeda: Jeramie was also watching that exchange nearby, so I remember that scene well. It was also funny to hear him say things like "Poopsopa" (episode 2).

Sakai: I wish I didn't say that.

Hirakawa: I think for me it's the trial scene in episode 5. Out of all the members, Rita was the only one who strongly judged Gira, and I remember Gira's reaction and the change in his facial expression when they told him the facts one by one during the trial. As the presiding judge, they're the only one looking directly at Gira's expressions.

Kaku: That seems to be the case now that you mention it!

Watanabe: As for cool scenes, I like the part in episode 17 when he dodges Yanma's fist. Taisei and I watched it back together 2 or 3 times and said, "Oh! This is it! This is it!" (laughs).

Sakai: Gira is often by someone's side. If it's a main episode for Yanma, he's by Yanma's side, and it's the same for the other. I think that main episodes with Gira being alone are probably the least common.

Kaku: That's true.

Sakai: Still, that's what I really like about them.

Kaku: I think for me, it's when he angrily armed himself with the royal armor in episode 29. When Jeramie betrayed them along with Gerojim.

All: Oh~!

Hirakawa: The part with Hilbil! He said, "That wasn't for you."

Kaku: Right.

Hirakawa: It was definitely cool when the beam of light shined from his eyes.

Kaku: Also, the scene where Gira's face turns into King-Ohger (episode 40).

Sakai: That might be my favorite.

All: (laughs).

Ikeda: Your facial expressions were good too (laughs).

Watanabe: The day after the broadcast, we called Taisei "King-Ohger" (laughs).

Sakai: I was the only one who truly became King-Ohger, so, it was an honor.

All: (burst out laughing).

Hirakawa: It's definitely special (laughs). Gira also has a good character song. I especially like the beginning.

Sakai: The English part. I think it matches Gira's worldview really well.

Ikeda: It's like a culmination.

Sakai: Right, Gira's a culmination.

Kaku: Eh? Shuu"taisei"? (*shuutaisei = culmination)

Ikeda: Yes, you got it (laughs).

Murakami: You're so quick at making puns like that……(laughs).

-Yanma's best scene!-

Kaku: My favorite was, (waving his hand) "Gi~ra~!"

All: "I've come to help you~!"

Murakami: The one where Gerojim impersonates him (episode 8).

Watanabe: That episode was my first time at Mt. Iwafune (a reoccuring location in the Super Sentai series), so I was really excited (laughs).

Hirakawa: Before filming, he looked at the mountain while brushing his teeth and kept saying things like, "Yikes" and "Amazing."

All: (laughs).

Hirakawa: When the camera was pointing at him, he was all smiley and doing peace signs (laughs). In the Yanma, or rather, Aoto scenes, he seemed to be having alot of fun during the body swap episode (episode 28) (laughs). It was funny.

Watanabe: I'm glad you weren't angry at me.

Hirakawa: I wasn't angry (laughs).

Kaku: You kept rolling your eyes (laughs).

Sakai: Do you feel like your range of acting has expanded because of that?

Hirakawa: Yeah, it's expanded. Yanma played Rita in various ways, so when I returned to being Rita, I think my range of the role expanded abit.

Watanabe: I see.

Hirakawa: I don't think you do (laughs).

Murakami: For me, I think it's the "Guess I've become a privileged person." scene (episode 35). Up until that point, Yanma often stood his ground, so I like how he accepted the situation as he watched N'kosopa burn.

Watanabe: That scene was made to look like it was in the evening, but we filmed it first thing in the morning. Furthermore, it was the first scene to be filmed for that episode (laughs).

Hirakawa: That's rough (laughs).

Murakami: Amazing (laughs). He talked about having privileges before with Hymeno, so I was wondering if he found himself back there by chance.

Watanabe: Yeah, he talked about it in episode 7. For scenes in N'kosopa, the hacking battle was also hard……(episode 2).

Kaku: It was really cold, wasn't it?

Watanabe: I couldn't stop my body from shaking or my teeth from chattering. I'll never forget that. I was only calm during the actual performance.

Ikeda: You were extremely focused.

Kaku: I'd name that one as one of the best scenes.

Hirakawa: I'd agree. You worked hard and it paid off.

Ikeda: There were two scenes that I particularly liked with Yanma. One was the scene where he announced himself to his opponent, Daigorg (episode 17). The way he said it was totally different from how he usually said it, and it was very manly. The other was when he was being manipulated by Jeramie (episode 36).

Murakami: That one was funny (laughs).

Ikeda: The awkward dance performance was so good that I bursted out laughing (laughs).

Watanabe: I learned the choreography from Ikeda Sensei.

All: (laughs).

Watanabe: I was told to improvise that scene, but I have no knowledge when it comes to dancing. I asked Masashi for advice, and he taught me the Awa Odori dance of Tokushima, his hometown (laughs). He really helped me out at that time.

Sakai: For me, it's episode 44. In episode 17, Gira dodges Yanma's punch, but in this episode, it's reversed. As I played the role, I was moved, as I was reminded of those days.

Watanabe: And after that, when we beat Hilbil, it wasn't a parody, but I said the same line as in episode 2, being, "Know your place!"

Sakai: That's right!

Watanabe: That was real hot.

Ikeda: Gira and Yanma have quite a few scenes showing the passionate friendship between them, don't they? Truly, a great duo.

-Hymeno's best scene!-

Watanabe: I think I'd pick the body swap (episode 29).

Hirakawa: The way she said "Royal Arms!" was amazing.

Murakami: I'm sorry for doing something that Kaguragi wouldn't do (laughs).

Kaku: It's mutual (laughs).

Watanabe: Matchless Murakami

Hirakawa & Kaku: Matchless Murakami (laughs).

Kaku: I haven't been able to watch the footage yet (at the time of this interview), but it looks like episode 46 will also produce some great scenes.

Watanabe: Yeah, it's between Jeramie and Hymeno. They said some wise words.

Kaku: The movie was also very good.

Sakai: I also really like, "No one can do it but me," when she saves Racules (episode 42). I feel that she's full of confidence.

Kaku: That was really cool. It had a "Black Jack" feel to it. (*character from manga series of the same name)

Murakami: I feel that most of the memorable scenes for Hymeno are related to her family and life.

Kaku: Also, the rage filled fight against Jeramie (episode 14).

Ikeda: I was scared at that time (laughs).

Murakami: Sorry for being so strong (laughs).

Watanabe: In the episode before that, we were beaten up by Jeramie, but this time Jeramie was instantly defeated by Hymeno.

All: (laughs).

Hirakawa: The power balance turned out to be amazing (laughs).

Sakai: There are quite alot of angry scenes.

Murakami: That's true.

Kaku: Especially when it comes to her family.

Murakami: Yeah, the word "you" comes out. I thought it was out of character for Hymeno, but that's what happens when it comes to family matters. (*informal "you" was used)

Sakai: When she got mad at Jeramie, Gira told her that it makes her face ugly.

Murakami: I remember the Director telling me at the time to "make an ugly face." (laughs).

Sakai: I feel kinda bad (laughs).

Hirakawa: For me, it'd have to be episode 30. It's the scene where she faces Grodie. As Rita, she stopped me when I was trying to use the secret technique, so I feel like there was a strong bond that formed between the two of us. It was filmed during the really hot season.

Murakami: It was really tough! I wasn't used to filming on location because we usually only film in the studio, so I was thinking, "I want to be freed from this heat!" (laughs).

Hirakawa: Well, we overcame the filming process by supporting each other. We gained alot from each other through the performance, and the relationship between Rita and Hymeno was established from episode 30, so it was very memorable. It's always touching no matter how many times I watch it.

Ikeda: The episode where Kamejim disguised himself as Hymeno was also good (episode 36).

All: Ah~!

Ikeda: The disguised Hymeno's performance as a villainess was amazing, and I think it showed the strength and beauty of the real Hymeno. I also loved how she said "Let's dance!" with so much energy (episode 34).

Hirakawa: You say that all the time (laughs).

Murakami: That's what Sakanashi Yume-san (KamakiriOhger's Suit Actor) says, so I get really excited when I say it (laughs).

Ikeda: Your pronunciation was also good.

Watanabe: I sometimes want to try and adlib in some English.

Ikeda: I get the impression that she uses English when she's agitated (laughs).

Murakami: That's what happens when I try to show her innocence (laughs).

-Rita's best scene!-

Kaku: For Rita……I guess we can't leave out the idol episode, huh? (episode 38).

Watanabe: Obviously.

Sakai: I think the idol episode is my favorite too. There's a scene where Gira fights with them over the Moffun picture book.

Hirakawa: That's right, that's right. The part with, "Moffun isn't needed anymore, right?!" We practiced that alot, didn't we? Things like, "I'll go this way."

Kaku: Oh~!

Hirakawa: We ran around alot.

Ikeda: I also liked when they changed into the royal armor with the idol costume. Girls must've loved that.

Sakai: It was like Sailor Moon.

Hirakawa: I spoke in a lower voice than usual. Rita was irritated.

Ikeda: Yeah, they were mad.

Hirakawa: Right, that's why it was very low.

Kaku: For upcoming episodes, there's another cool scene in episode 48.

Hirakawa: They say something to Yanma.

Sakai: It was cool.

Kaku: Also, Rita is silly when they eat something like dangos. They try to eat it from above their high collar (episode 5).

Murakami: Rita and food are a good match, huh?

Hirakawa: Eating scenes are pretty difficult. Ultimately, I couldn't even eat those dangos.

Kaku: Is that so?

Hirakawa: Originally, that scene was alot longer, as I was trying out different ways of eating it.

Ikeda: I also like the scene where they dive to grab Moffun.

Murakami: Ah! When they were tricked by Dagded! (episode 31).

Ikeda: Right, Hymeno was playing the role of the plushie.

Hirakawa: Rita shouts, "Moffun!" and lunges for it. My voice was added later during the dub.

Watanabe: Ah, "that one" is probably my best scene (laughs).

Hirakawa: Which? (laughs).

Murakami: He's laughing so hard (laughs).

Watanabe: The scene in episode 4 where Kaguragi calls Rita. It's the part where they walk very slow. Rita, in the beginning, every time they walked, they went super slow.

All: (laughs).

Murakami: It was the same for episode 5. They were reeeally slow (laughs).

Watanabe: I was like, "Can't you just walk normally?!"

All: (burst out laughing).

Hirakawa: You wouldn't stop complaining (laughs). He was saying things like, "Walk so I can hear you!" (laughs).

Watanabe: I want you all to watch it again (laughs).

Murakami: I think I really like the body swap episode (episode 28). If you look closely, you'll see that they're like a DJ (laughs).

Kaku: Yeah (laughs).

Murakami: Normally, Rita can't really break their character, right? That's why I really liked seeing Hirakawa Yuzuki when her screws were loosened. It was also funny to see them trying to get everyone in prison to go home.

Kaku: The "Yay!" part.

Hirakawa: The "careful on your way back" scene.

Murakami: Dialog like that wasn't written in the script.

Hirakawa: I was told to "Just do what fits" (laughs). I thought alot about what to do.

Watanabe: Also, they had such a happy face when they talked to Gira, who was in Jeramie's body.

Hirakawa: It's the part where they say, "We stomp him out and the problem will be solved." Rita never smiles, so I thought I'd show their teeth!

-Kaguragi's best scene!-

Murakami: I really like your interactions with Suzume. I especially like the scenes when Iroki appears from 17 years ago.

Kaku: Episode 37, right?

Murakami: Right. That episode depicted Kaguragi's determination and resolve, and the way he armed himself with the royal armor through the katana was cool.

Kaku: Well, I thought I had been forgiven for everything.

All: (laughs).

Ikeda: I want you to sell me that katana.

Sakai: I'd pick the scene with Iroki from that episode. The exchange with her while the castle was burning was really amazing.

Ikeda: When Suzume first appeared, his "siscon" behavior was uncanny but cute (episode 15).

Kaku: It's not Suzume (acting that way)? (laughs).

Ikeda: Right, it's Kaguragi (laughs).

Watanabe: For scenes with Suzume, I liked the look on his face during Racules and Suzume's wedding (episode 20).

Kaku: He was abit dazed and confused (laughs).

Watanabe: I really like Kaguragi's facial expressions. At some point, you mentioned that the way you smile is based on Ghibli films.

Kaku: Yeah, I think we talked about that.

Watanabe: I remember thinking, "I didn't know he had such an approach!" The scene in episode 39, where Kaguragi looks up at the night sky after defeating Goma made me think, "Ah, this has a Ghibli feel to it!"

All: Ah~!

Watanabe: The way he grinned was very Ghibli like (laughs). It's hard for me to explain it well though.

Ikeda: Does it feel alittle creepy?

Murakami: The smile didn't match the setting, so it's very memorable.

Watanabe: It comes off as creepy and cute at the same time.

Kaku: Cute? (laughs).

Ikeda: Also, there's that other best scene too. His sleeping face when he swaps bodies with Hymeno (episode 28).

Watanabe: The sleeping face of an angel.

Ikeda: An angel (laughs). The sigh that came from him……what else can I say?

Watanabe: An angel's breath.

All: (laughs).

Kaku: You're teasing me~ (laughs).

Murakami: Can you please stop making yourself cuter than the "real one"? (laughs).

Kaku: No, no, the "real one" is cuter than me, right?

Ikeda: (looking at Murakami) Your face is becoming bright red (laughs).

Murakami: Eh? You're kidding?!

Sakai: It's really red (laughs).

Hirakawa: I think it's episode 45 for me. Kaguragi and Rita didn't have that much of a relationship with each other. They didn't have that many scenes together in that episode either.

Kaku: That's true. It's because they're both together with Morphonia and Suzume.

Hirakawa: Right. I really enjoyed the scene where the two of them used the power of the King's Proof.

Kaku: I also became a red oni.

Murakami: That was amazing (laughs).

Hirakawa: That red oni was wild (laughs).

Ikeda: He was as red as Marie's face just now.

All: (burst out laughing).

Kaku: My bad~ (laughs).

Murakami: I seriously need you to cut it out (laughs).

Watanabe: The person in charge of being cute for King-Ohger is me though~

All: (laughs).

Hirakawa: He went and said it (laughs).

Ikeda: You're putting yourself in a dangerous position right now.

Watanabe: These two guys here (Murakami and Kaku) are tough.

Kaku: Does that include me? (laughs).

-Jeramie's best scene!-

Sakai: There's alot for Jeramie.

Murakami: First, there's the battle with Desnarak (episode 26). I really liked that one.

Kaku: We made fun of it by imitating the "It's bright…" scene.

Hirakawa: It's funny when the person who actually fought says it (laughs).

Kaku: Still, that scene was good. While recording the dub, I actually cried.

Hirakawa: That's true, I could hear you sniffling next to me.

Ikeda: Immediately after the recording he said, "I can use this line when inviting someone out to a drinking party."

All: (laughs).

Watanabe: "You're coming too," right? (laughs).

Hirakawa: That's what he said (laughs).

Kaku: Yeah, that's right (laughs).

Hirakawa: I think for me, it's the scene where he declares the founding of his nation in the live broadcast to the people (episode 26).

Kaku: It was something about humans and Bugnarak joining hands.

Hirakawa: Right, "I want you to pass on the story that we were able to reconcile." That speech was really good.

Murakami: I think Jeramie's slightly mischievous and childlike nature is also a key point. It was the same when he was manipulating Yanma in episode 36, or the episode with Racules and the whoopie cushion (episode 19). I guess I like those mischievously funny scenes. There are alot of cool scenes though.

Kaku: It was really cool when the Spider Mask came off (episode 11).

Hirakawa: He flung off his cloak

Kaku: I used to imitate the line, "I'm just an old fashioned storyteller."

Ikeda: And you were good at it.

Kaku: That's when the Jeramie Brasieri competition started, hosted by me (laughs).

Ikeda: Oh yeah. "Is there anyone better than me?!" Isn't that what you usually said?

All: (laughs)

Kaku: That's right.

Sakai: I wonder what it was like stepping on Jeramie (episode 37).

Watanabe: We were trying to eat Grodie's rice balls in Toufu. Gira, Yanma and Hymeno trampled him.

Sakai: It was surprising to see that Gira would step on Jeramie, and I had to put alittle effort into it during filming (laughs).

Ikeda: Yanma was rubbing my butt (laughs).

Kaku: That was funny (laughs). I don't know why Jeramie was being stepped on, since the episode didn't depict that part.

Sakai: I wonder if Jeramie was desperately trying to stop Gira and the others. He gets pushed too hard, and then that happens.

Hirakawa: He gets crushed by three people.

Murakami: Sorry about that time.

Ikeda: Hymeno was the nicest.

Watanabe: It's episode 29 for me. After Jeramie finishes giving his fake speech, Jeramie's song (The Prophet) plays when the five fight.

Hirakawa: It was good!

Watanabe: Jeramie wasn't there, but it felt like the six of them were fighting.

Ikeda: In that scene, you could see the relationship between the five of them from their expressions.

Murakami: It was also sad and beautiful when he said, "Sweet dreams" and then disappeared.

Sakai: It was great (applauding).

Ikeda: Thank you.

[wilwheaton]

“We have a very problematic system in which we have a court that can assert these incredible powers that affect all of our lives and they’re not of momentary import, but they can affect generations,” she said. “It’s a very radical approach to governing, to have a court that can act like a monarchy. It does destabilize our democracy quite a bit.” Even before the most controversial decisions, the Supreme Court faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks after revelations by ProPublica that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito had accepted luxury trips from prominent Republican donors over the years. Neither justice disclosed the trips, saying they were advised they did not need to. But Democrats, who have been infuriated by the lax rules for the Supreme Court, have vowed to try to tighten ethics rules for the justices, vowing to push legislation if the justices do not adopt an ethics code on their own. “The highest court in the land should not have the lowest ethical standards. But for too long that has been the case with the United States Supreme Court. That needs to change,” Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a joint statement with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who chairs a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the federal judiciary.

Biden faces renewed pressure to embrace Supreme Court overhaul

Every one of the Trump appointees committed perjury during their confirmation hearings. Every member of the stolen majority is a politician, cosplaying as a Justice, making law outside of Congress.

They must all be removed and replaced.

[circyexistforcontent]

Hi, I saw you were accepting requests, could you do sibling scara in SAGAU with a reader that’s oblivious to courting attempts of her yandere acolytes?

SAGAU CONCEPT: COURTING THE SUPREME GOD

❀ synopsis: how will the acolytes pursue the favor of an oblivious god? this is going to be a various x god! reader

❀ pronouns: They/them

Ok, this solely depends if this is regular sagau or if this is my interpretation of cult au where the reader is a god who has existed since immemorial. If this is regular sagau the acolytes will lean into the idea of being your possible consort since you seem human despite the claims that you are the primordial god who created the universe. Some of the bolder acolytes like Venti, Childe, Kaeya, and Kaveh will be open about their attempts to woo you. While others like Xiao, Diluc, Rosaria, and Raiden Ei will be subtle with their approach.

While the big reason for wanting to be with you is because they (obsess over you) love you, some also like it for political power and the status that comes with being your lover. It would be easier to control and manipulate the people who aren't there for business to stay away from you, making it easier to cut off your personal ties and isolate you from everybody. Some examples of acolytes who would do this are Ayato, Zhongli, and Ningguang.

Poor reader, whatever profession they had in their old life wouldn't compare to their new life being the ruler of all of Teyvat. Your workload would double because of your followers trying to win your hand in marriage (that you never wished for). Some of your acolytes like Aether and Wanderer would try to reach out to you and convince you to take a break with them and steal you away to travel. Meanwhile, the others like Albedo, Ganyu, and Ayaka who promised to help you lessen your work will wonder where you left and notify the others of your disappearance.

Your obliviousness doesn't help in the acolyte's cases, and even some considered just yelling to you that they wanna (fuck you) marry you. But some are patient and will take their time in making you realize that their intentions are far from platonic and that they are more suited to be your partner. Ngl some of your acolytes might die in this situation since some of the characters will play dirty if it means they get to be your partner in the end.

Now, onto (my version of) Cult AU darling...

Cult AU darling has a bigger advantage here since 1. they have powers. and 2. they are one of the gods who existed before time so managing Teyvat is nothing to them. I would like to think in this case most of the acolytes would hesitate on courting you since, well, your YOU. You're the personification of life and death, your knowledge of the world exceeds every one. But there will still be some acolytes who will try to court you despite this fact.

Shenhe would be one of the followers who despite knowing she will never be your partner, will try to win your favor by being as helpful as possible to you. Every time you visit the adepti she would be right beside you waiting for your every order. Noelle is similar to her but she takes it to the next level, every lunch break she brings you a cup of freshly brewed coffee along with some of Monstadt's delicacies.

I feel like you wouldn't be oblivious in this situation since you are literally an omniscient/omnipotent god, but you just decide to ignore their advances. Which doesn't hurt any less for your followers. Some of the followers like Tighnari or Jean will cover up the hurt by working, but it seems almost impossible to not acknowledge the gaping hole in their hearts. But they understand.

Lovers are supposed to be the other's pillar for support, but your responsibilities as the god of Teyvat are too heavy for anyone to bear other than you. Lovers are supposed to have knowledgeable conversations with one another, nobody can match your knowledge of the universe other than yourself. Lovers are supposed to protect one another, you can easily defeat everyone without anyone's help. You can't possibly be anyone's match unless you duplicate yourself then it might be possible.

But you shouldn't underestimate their determination, some will try to look for ways to ascend beyond the heavens so they can be equal to you.

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Over the last couple of days, 3 independent Palestinian terrorist attacks took place. In one of them, Palestinian terrorists killed a Palestinian man that they mistook for a Jew, 33 years old Amar Mansour. A 42 years old Palestinian woman who was in the car with him was wounded. She was evacuated to a hospital in Ramallah, and then later transferred to the Hadassah medical center in Jerusalem, where she works as a pharmacist. Israeli soldiers risk their lives whenever they go after terrorists, and they are doing that for these Palestinians, just as they do for Israeli Jews and for Israeli Arabs murdered by terrorists.

Since Saleh al-Arouri was eliminated in Lebanon, the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated. The terrorist organization, which is destroying civilian communities, has struck an Israel Air Force base, nicknamed "the country's northern eyes," which is dedicated to monitoring aerial threats invading Israel's north, and monitoring aircrafts in Israel's northern sky (so they're kinda like an air force control tower, making sure aircrafts don't crash). Hezbollah released footage showing 2 of the base's 3 domes being hit. Reports say it took two hours to get the fire under control, and the base back online. It's not the only army base hit by Hezbollah (the Northern Command's base was struck today), but probably the most damaging attack so far.

Following that, a Hezbollah senior terrorist was killed yesterday in Lebanon. In the terrorist organization's announcement, he was described as 'The Commander,' a term not used for any of Hezbollah's other killed terrorists, suggesting just how important he was to their terrorist activity. There's a report on Saudi news, that Hezbollah tried to attack an Israeli natural gas rig using drones, but it's too early to know how true this is.

Here's a conversation made by a Gazan to an IDF officer, to ask for aid. The IDF officer tells the man to raise white flags as they approach Israeli soldiers for this purpose, but then the man inquires when the Israeli army will destroy Hamas. He points out that Hamas is killing Gaza's people.

As Israel is being sued by South Africa at the International Court for Justice (here), and as SA chose to appoint a judge to the case (in addition to the 15 permanent judges of the ICJ, a right given to both the suing and sued countries in that court), Israel has appointed Aharon Barak as a judge on its behalf. Barak is an 87 years old Holocaust survivor, globally renowned and respected judge and legal expert, and the former president of Israel's Supreme Court of Justice.

Since the anti-Israel crowd love quotes from Israeli officials (and to take them out of context, in a way that vilifies the Jewish state), here's another one (source in Hebrew): Moshe Arbel, an ultra orthodox member of the Knesset (Israel's parliament), and currently Minister of Interior Affairs, has said today explicitly that the status of the Arabic language in Israel must not be harmed, and that despite some populist utterances, most of the public in Israel is looking for that which unites everyone here, rather than that which divides us.

Among the things you never hear about when looking at anti-Israeli sources, is that when Jews build houses illegally, those are demolished by the state, just like when Palestinians do it. This night, Israel did exactly that in Judea and Samaria.

It's the third time, at the very least, that Israel has done so since the start of the war in Gaza.

The families of the hostages have said that today, they'll had for the border with Gaza, to block the way of aid trucks going in from Israel. They are upset that while their family members have been held hostage for over 90 days (when we know that there has been rape and abuse of the hostages in many different ways, when the mothers have started talking about the fact that their daughters might be forced to carry pregnancies from the Hamas terrorists continuously raping them in captivity, when the hostages are known not to be receiving proper medical care or even enough food and water), the aid going into Gaza is being stolen by Hamas, allowing them to continue to fight, and to refuse the release of the hostages. At the time of compiling this post, IDK yet if the families carried this out.

This is 86 years old Shlomo Mansour.

In one of my past daily update posts, I mentioned him, and that he's the oldest hostage in Gaza. He was 85 years old when he was kidnapped. He's also a Holocaust survivor. I watched a touching piece that was aired in Nov about him, interviewing his wife in light of their upcoming 60th anniversary, during which he was still held captive by terrorists. Now it's been translated into English:

This is 35 years old Idan Amedi.

If you watched Fauda, you may know him from that show as an actor.

If you're Israeli, you probably know him even before that as a singer. I got to watch a vid at a relatively early stage of the fighting in Gaza, where Idan's voice can be heard, dedicating his unit blowing up a terror tunnel, to their friends murdered on Oct 7. I believe many Israelis saw that vid, and knew he was in there, fighting for over 3 months by this point.

Idan was seriously wounded, one of at least 9 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza yesterday, and at least 6 soldiers injured. His cousin asked everyone to pray for him (Idan ben Tova). Israeli-Serbian basketballer Deni Avdija, who plays for the Washington Wizards, took the court today with a dedication to Idan on his basketball shoes. It says, in Hebrew, "For the healing of Idan son of Tova Amedi."

Maybe Idan's biggest, most well known song is Warriors' Pain (which he wrote himself, lyrics and melody). One of its haunting lines is, "You don't understand why, I have long stopped being myself, images running from that night." I am gonna add the official YT vid of this song, and dedicate it to the memory of all of those who were injured or died fighting the terrorists from Gaza, whether on Oct 7 or since.

You know what was absolutely abhorrent? I pretty much stopped going on Twitter, because the antisemitism is beyond disgusting. But I had a moment of weakness, went there, and saw a tweet from a British journalist, who couldn't say anything yet, but implied that many Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday, and the amount of commenters basically celebrating it was despicable, but also a reminder... people who care about human rights don't celebrate the death of so many human beings. Every single one of those soldiers is fighting in a war that Israel didn't choose to start, and that Hamas could have ended a long time ago. Not a single one of them would have chosen to be in Gaza and die, if Israelis had a choice. Each one is an entire family destroyed. I was listening to an interview with the best friend of one killed soldier, and she was so clearly devastated, fighting to speak through tears, it was hard to bear so much pain, and she wasn't even a relative or spouse. Those disgusting people who celebrate the death of Israeli soldiers prove that they don't care about human rights, they just rejoice over the death of Jews.

Oh, and a part of why they do that, is because they don't want us talking about our pain. Who would talk about their pain, when it just because a weapon for haters to inflict even more emotional pain? But that's the thing. We're human beings. The antisemitic anti-Israel crowd seeks to de-humanize us in the same way the Nazis did. If we speak about our pain, if people hear us, that is way more threatening to them than any of their distorted facts being called out. So I'm not going to stop talking about our pain, we deserve to share it when we're hurting, we deserve to be seen as the human beings that we are. And people who are so morally lost, that they can try to use it, to inflict more pain? They don't deserve for their words to count.

This is 32 years old Dvir David Pima.

He was a deputy battalion commander, who identified a terror tunnel shaft as booby trapped, but without enough time to stop it from blowing up. He threw himself at it. His body took the blast, and by doing so, he saved the lives of the 3 other soldiers who were there.

May his memory be a blessing.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[metamatar]

October 10, 2022

Amit Kumar had everything going for him. After graduating in engineering and landing a decent job, Amit wanted to settle down with his childhood sweetheart Renu. The couple had known each other since Class IX and dreamt of a life together. The only difficulty was that Renu belonged to a Brahmin family and Amit was a Dalit.

With their homes barely a kilometre apart in Garhwa district of Jharkhand, Renu knew her family would never approve of the match. The couple decided to run away and tie the knot in another State. And thus began their tale of unending harassment and tragedy.

The couple married at a temple in Dehradun and got their marriage registered there. They had just about settled down at Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh when, in a midnight raid, the Uttar Pradesh police took away Renu, claiming that she had been abducted. Amit and Renu have not seen or spoken to each other since that fateful night of August 13, 2021.

Amit’s life has been a quagmire of legal battles and dismissed habeas corpus petitions since then. “I fear my wife is no more,” he told The Hindu.

Activists say such tragic situations can be avoided if couples like Amit and Renu are provided safe houses and special protection by the State governments as mandated by the Supreme Court.

According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the number of “honour killings” in the country was 24, 25 and 33 in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand topped the list in 2021 and 2020, while Manipur was on top in 2019.

The government in 2021 informed Parliament that there were 145 “honour killing” incidents in the country between 2017 and 2019.

Interestingly, though the NCRB report attributed only 25 deaths to “honour killings” in 2020, it said there were 27 deaths due to casteism and 1,558 due to “illicit relationship”. Similarly, in 2021, 33 deaths were listed under “honour killings”, but 1,544 and 1,532 under “illicit relationship” and “love affairs”, respectively.

So far, only Delhi, Haryana and Punjab have safe houses for inter-faith and inter-religious couples. Kerala has only announced the setting up of a safe house.

In fact, only 21 States have said that they have complied with the Supreme Court directives, which means that they have asked the police officers concerned of a State for strict compliance, according to Dhanak for Humanity, a non-governmental organisation which works with such couples, helping them solemnise their marriages and providing legal support.

The Supreme Court had in 2018 directed that safe houses be set up in every district as well as a special cell in States for couples facing opposition from families and community.

Gaurav Yadav, an engineer from IIT Chennai, said he was working with survivors of “honour crimes” and couples who are in hiding to petition the government for more safe houses across the country.

“Soon we will form an official grouping and petition the government to follow the Supreme Court directives on safe houses and special cells,” Mr. Yadav said, adding that he had organised a convention regarding the same in Delhi recently.

He said though couples had been demanding that safe houses be set up, the State administrations had looked the other way.

An example is of Ravikant Chandrawanshi and Alisha, who had a harrowing time getting married under the Special Marriage Act in Chhattisgarh.

The inter-faith couple at first decided to elope and marry in Bilaspur. However, a lack of support system and security, including finances, saw them return home in Kawardha within four days.

“As my wife’s family were well to do and politically connected, they kept up the pressure on us. Finally, we had to take legal recourse and approached the High Court asking them to direct the State administration to provide the mandated safe house and police protection.

“However, we were informed that there was no safe house and Alisha had to go to a sakhi centre or a women’s safe house,” Mr. Chandravanshi said.

Though the couple approached the highest of authorities, they were not given any police protection either and had to go into hiding for around six months after their marriage.

According to Asif Iqbal of Dhanak for Humanity, most States send the girl to a Nari Niketan after couples approach them. “It is here that the girl is the most insecure as her family mostly approaches her and puts pressure to go back. Many a time, this also leads to what is known as honour killing of the girl”.

Sanjay Sachadev of Love Commandoes, an organisation which rescues and shelters such couples, said, “The need of the hour is safe houses across the country. In almost every case, the police try and send the girl to a women’s shelter and the boy is left to fend for himself.”

A couple who are staying in a Delhi safe house and did not wish to be identified said that they could not have thought of living together had it not been for the security of the safe house.

Mr. Iqbal, whose organisation has helped many couples seek legal recourse to stay together and get married, said that of the distress calls he receives, the most were from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

[qqueenofhades]

Do you think part of what makes people feel like voting isn’t worth it because things don’t get better under democrats is because we can’t see what would have happened? Like I see a lot of people saying “well biden hasn’t made america much better so there’s no point” but it’s like they don’t understand that under a republican they would actively do everything they could to cause more harm. It’s like they don’t understand that 1. The president can’t do much, and 2. IT WOULD BE WORSE. like they don’t understand the possibilities. Idk people just frustrate me

I'm sorry, as I know you're just relaying what these people think and not claiming so yourself, but the whole "things don't get better under Biden/Democrats" line to which we are subjected so very, miserably often is a lie!!! It is demonstrably a lie! It is peddled by people who deliberately live in their echo-chamber leftist misinformation bubbles and either don't read the news, don't accept anything less than the Magical Socialist Revolution Now, and don't think partial or incremental progress (aka the only kind of progress that exists) is valid. "Biden hasn't single-handedly fixed everything wrong with America and the world after the most damaging presidency ever to exist and 250+ years of flaws, while other countries actually are their own actors with agency making complex choices, so we shouldn't vote for him" is a bullshit lie and I'm tired of it!!!

(Again. Sorry. This is not directed at you. This is just my frustration with this entire ridiculous situation speaking.)

We have had multiple elections now where people voted for Democrats, which resulted in abortion protections, protections for LGBTQ people, the biggest climate legislation ever to pass Congress/be signed into law (the Inflation Reduction Act), vast improvements in the job market, executive actions both large and small, improvements in labor and the economy, a general democratic system, a defense of the rule of law, a warning against fascism, and everything else that Trump trampled on in 4 years and will finish the job of doing if this godforsaken country is either right-wing-zealot or left-wing-zealot enough to put him back into office. (Like, people. Google is free. You're welcome to look up the improvements Biden has actually made, but that would harm your Narrative.) So much of this misinformation is also peddled by people who are proud that they don't have a clue how the American government works and/or deliberately lie about it: see all the claims that it was Biden's fault for not magically stopping a Trump-stacked SCOTUS, selected for the express purpose of overturning Roe, from overturning Roe. Because the president could just unilaterally overturn the Supreme Court with no problems at all if He Really Wanted To, I guess. Even if that is literally not the way it has ever functioned in history.

All the noxious Republicans in state legislatures passing anti-trans/anti-abortion/anti-voting laws ARE NOT SOMETHING BIDEN CAN STOP. If you're going to criticize him for not doing something, for God's sake at least make it for something he can do (like not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, though I would argue he's already taking a more nuanced approach than the entirety of the American establishment during the War on Terror). And then vote for him when/if he follows it up, not just throw your hands in the air and scream about how you Can't Possibly Sully Yourself (especially when there is some very selective support going on here and a deliberate white-washing of how many orders of magnitude worse absolutely everything else in America and the world would be under Trump. So.)

I'm tired of it. I'm really, really tired of it. I've been trying to cut back on my politics posting because my mental health is bad right now and I often feel like a broken record screaming into the void. But. Yeah. Anyway. Whoof.

[politicalprof]

Having faced serious criticism for his ethics, actual US Supreme Court member Samuel Alito has recently insisted that Congress has "no authority" to impose ethics or other regulations on the Supreme Court.

To which I retort, Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constituton: "the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make."

Samuel Alito is an actual sitting Justice on the US Supreme Court, a position he has held for almost 18 years. He is termed a "pragmatic textualist originalist" in his approach. Apparently he cannot read. Which explains a lot about his rulings.