#bryan mcpherson

[punkrockmixtapes]

Bryan McPherson - Olympia WA

[carrickbender]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxX-Vkdus7_/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

Watch this, with the SOUND ON, then remember the words of Sinclair Lewis 80+ years ago:

"Why, there’s no country in the world that can get more hysterical—yes, or more obsequious!—than America. Look how Huey Long became absolute monarch over Louisiana, and how the Right Honorable Mr. Senator Berzelius Windrip owns his State. Listen to Bishop Prang and Father Coughlin on the radio—divine oracles, to millions. Remember how casually most Americans have accepted Tammany grafting and Chicago gangs and the crookedness of so many of President Harding’s appointees? Could Hitler’s bunch, or Windrip’s, be worse? Remember the Kuklux Klan? Remember our war hysteria, when we called sauerkraut ‘Liberty cabbage’ and somebody actually proposed calling German measles ‘Liberty measles’? And wartime censorship of honest papers? Bad as Russia! Remember our kissing the—well, the feet of Billy Sunday, the million-dollar evangelist, and of Aimée McPherson, who swam from the Pacific Ocean clear into the Arizona desert and got away with it? Remember Voliva and Mother Eddy?. . .Remember our Red scares and our Catholic scares, when all well-informed people knew that the O.G.P.U. were hiding out in Oskaloosa, and the Republicans campaigning against Al Smith told the Carolina mountaineers that if Al won the Pope would illegitimatize their children? Remember Tom Heflin and Tom Dixon? Remember when the hick legislators in certain states, in obedience to William Jennings Bryan, who learned his biology from his pious old grandma, set up shop as scientific experts and made the whole world laugh itself sick by forbidding the teaching of evolution?. . .Remember the Kentucky night-riders? Remember how trainloads of people have gone to enjoy lynchings? Not happen here? Prohibition—shooting down people just because they might be transporting liquor—no, that couldn’t happen in America! Why, where in all history has there ever been a people so ripe for a dictatorship as ours! We’re ready to start on a Children’s Crusade—only of adults—right now!"

It's here. And if we don't stamp it out now, the future holds much much worse.

[ollieofthebeholder]

Spotify Wrapped Time!

Would you like to share your 1, 6, 25 and 99?

I very much would!

#1: The Barnyards of Delgaty - Noel McLoughlin

Well, I can drink and not be drunk And I can fight and not be slain I can lie wi' another man's wife And aye be welcome to my ain...

It's so goddamn catchy. I think there was a day I literally listened to it on a loop for the entire eight hours I was at work.

My #1 song in 2019 was A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - Rosemary Clooney

My #1 song in 2020 was Rainy Days and Mondays - The Carpenters

My #1 song in 2021 was Someone Else's Star - Bryan White

My #1 song in 2022 was Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - Mel Carter

#6: St. Brendan's Fair Isle - The Irish Rovers

One night while the brethren were lying asleep A great dragon rose up from under the deep He thundered and lightninged and made a great din He awakened St. Brendan and all of his men The dragon came on with his mouth open wide We threw in a cross and the great dragon died We skinned him and cooked him and feasted awhile We sailed for St. Brendan's fair isle, fair isle We sailed for St. Brendan's fair isle...

I don't even know how I found this one, probably it was a recommendation for my Folk Songs playlist, but I love it.

My #6 song in 2019 was We Know the Way - Moana OST

My #6 song in 2020 was The Duck Tales Theme

My #6 song in 2021 was MOLLYMAUK - Kimber's Men

My #6 song in 2022 was The Chemical Worker's Song (Process Man) - Great Big Sea

#25: McPherson's Lament - Noel McLoughlin

Now some have come for to see me hang And some to buy my fiddle But before that I do part with her I'll break it through the middle So he took his fiddle in both his hands And broke it o'er a stone Sayin' there's no other hand shall play a peal When I am dead and gone...

I swear there are songs on this list that aren't Celtic folk songs, you just happen to be hitting a bunch of them. XD

My #25 song in 2019 was I'm On Fire - Bruce Springsteen

My #25 song in 2020 was Mairi's Wedding/The Flowers of Edinborough - Seamus Kennedy

My #25 song in 2021 was This Is Not Over Yet - Parade Original Broadway Cast

My #25 song in 2022 was Belfast Mill - Seamus Kennedy

#99: Chicken On a Raft - Pyrates!

We kissed goodbye on a midnight bus (Aye-o, chicken on a raft) She didn't cry and she didn't fuss (Aye-o, chicken on a raft) Am I the one that she loves best (Aye-o, chicken on a raft) Or just a cuckoo in another man's nest? (Aye-o, chicken on a raft) Hey, chicken on a raft on a Monday morning Oh, what a terrible sight to see Dabtoes forward and the dustman aft Sittin' there pickin' on a chicken on a raft...

This is the world's worst earworm. It is the clingiest of shanty-adjacent songs. It will never get out of your head. (I am shocked it's only 99 on the list.)

My #99 song in 2019 was It Must Be Love - Alan Jackson

My #99 song in 2020 was And Oh I Love You So - Raul Esparza and Madeline Lodge (no longer available on Spotify, sadly, so here's a YouTube link)

My #99 song in 2021 was Greenland Whale Fisheries - Peter, Paul, and Mary

My #99 song in 2022 was Seasons of the Heart - John Denver

Send me a number and I'll tell you what song it is on my Spotify Wrapped!

[goalhofer]

2024 olympics Jamaica roster

Athletics

Ackeem Blake (Kingston)

Oblique Seville (Kingston)

Kishane Thompson (Mitchell Town)

Andrew Hudson; Jr. (Clermont, Florida)

Bryan Levell (Frankfeld)

Sean Bailey (Spanish Town)

Jevaughn Powell (May Pen)

Deandre Watkin (Kingston)

Navasky Anderson (Spanish Town)

Orlando Bennett (Kingston)

Rasheed Broadbell (Kingston)

Hansle Parchment (Morant Bay)

Roshawn Clarke (Kingston)

Jaheel Hyde (Spanish Town)

Malik James-King (Kingston)

Jehlani Gordon (Kingston)

Zandrion Barnes (Port Antonio)

Raheem Hayles (Springfield, New York)

Romaine Beckford (Port Antonio)

Tajay Gayle (Kingston)

Carey McLeod (Kingston)

Wayne Pinnock (Kingston)

Jaydon Hibbert (Kingston)

Jordan Scott (Portmore)

Rajindra Campbell (Ocho Rios)

Ralford Mullings (Kingston)

Traves Smikle (Kingston)

Roje Stona (Lucea)

Tia Clayton (May Pen)

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Kingston)

Shashalee Forbes (Mandeville)

Niesha Burgher (Yallahs)

Shericka Jackson (St. Ann's Bay)

Lanae-Tava Thomas (Kingston)

Junelle Bromfield (Black River)

Nickisha Pryce (Hayes)

Stacey-Ann Williams (Kingston)

Natoya Goule-Toppin (Mandeville)

Adelle Tracey (London, U.K.)

Janeek Brown (Kingston)

Ackera Nugent (Kingston)

Danielle Williams (Golden Spring)

Rushell Clayton (Bath Mountain)

Janieve Russell (Christiana)

Shiann Salmon (Kingston)

Kemba Nelson (Montego Bay)

Alana Reid (Jamaica Ferry)

Stephenie McPherson (Kingston)

Andrenette Knight (Hayes)

Ashley Williams (Christiana)

Lamara Distin (Jamaica Ferry)

Chanice Porter (Mandeville)

Ackelia Smith (James Hill)

Shanieka Thomas-Ricketts (Content Gap)

Kimberley Williams (Morant Bay)

Lloydricia Cameron (Kingston)

Dannielle Thomas-Dodd (Savanna-La-Mar)

Samantha Hall (Spanish Town)

Nayoka Clunis (Excelsior, Minnesota)

Diving

Yona Knight-Wisdom (Leeds, U.K.)

Judo

Ashley McKenzie (London, U.K.)

Swimming

Josh Kirlew (London, U.K.)

Sabrina Lyn (Kingston)

[whyyourteamisgood]

2022 - Week 8

BUF - The Bills are a perfect 7-0 against the Packers in Buffalo all-time

NE - Matt Judon is tied for the league lead with 8.5 sacks

MIA - Thomas Morstead has a 74 yard kickoff, the second longest in the AFC this year

NYJ - Quinnen Williams is second in the AFC with 53.5 sack yards

BAL - Justin Tucker is second in the league with 46 kickoffs

PIT - Alex Highsmith is tied for second in the AFC with two forced fumbles

CLE - Corey Bojorquez has a 76 yard punt, the second longest in the league this year

CIN - Evan McPherson is second in the AFC with 33 kickoffs for touchback

TEN - Ryan Stonehouse is second in the league with a 45.7 yard net punting average

JAX - Josh Allen is tied for second in the AFC with two forced fumbles

IND - Chase McLaughlin leads the AFC with a 64.8 yard average length of kickoff

HOU - Cameron Johnston is second in the AFC with 18 punts inside the 20

KC - Tommy Townsend leads the league with a 49 yard net punting average

LV - Duron Harmon is second in the league with 86 INT return yards

LAC - Justin Herbert leads the league with 44 pass attempts per game

DEN - Corliss Waitman is tied for the league lead with 19 punts inside the 20

DAL - Bryan Anger has an 83 yard punt, the longest in the league this year

WAS - Tress Way leads the NFC with a 44.8 yard net punting average

PHL - Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is tied for the league lead with 4 INTs

NYG - Jamie Gillan leads the NFC with a 50.2 yard gross punting average

GB - De’Vondre Campbell is second in the NFC with 60 INT return yards

CHI - Eddie Jackson is tied for the league lead with 4 INTs

DET - Jack Fox is second in the NFC with a 49.6 yard gross punting average

MIN - Za’Darius Smith is tied for the league lead with 8.5 sacks

NO - Will Lutz is second in the NFC with 43 kickoffs

TB - Tom Brady leads the league with 340 pass attempts

ATL - Bradley Pinion has a 77 yard kickoff, the longest in the league this year

CAR - Johnny Hekker is second in the NFC with a 44.1 yard net punting average

SEA - Jason Myers leads the league with 47 kickoffs

LAR - Matt Gay leads the league with a 65 yard average length of kickoff

ARI - Matt Prater has a 73 yard kickoff, second longest in the NFC this season

SF - Mitch Wishnowsky has a 74 yard punt, the second longest in the NFC this season

[pet-the-bunny]

“top50″ folk punk artists

i found this list compiled by reddit user  IceSea in this post

its based on how successful they are on bandcamp so its not exactly definitive but here ya go if you need some music suggestions

Crywank

Days N' Daze

Pat "the bunny" Schneeweis

The Taxpayers

Ramshackle Glory

Andrew Jackson Jihad

Grace Petrie & The Benefits Culture

Gaz Brookfield

Mischief Brew

Little Brother

Moon Bandits

Sledding With Tigers

Rail Yard Ghosts

Paul Baribeau

David Rovics

Walter Mitty and his Makeshift Orchestra

NIGHT GAUNTS

Wil Wagner

We The Heathens

Spoonboy

Chad Hates George

Stöj Snak

Wingnut Dishwasher's Union

My Pizza My World

The Dreadnoughts

Blackbird Raum

Stick and Poke

Sidney Gish

Eli Whitney & The Sound Machine

Human Kitten

Joe Solo

Saintseneca

The Football Club

Apes of the State

The Young Sinclairs

Spaceshow

Jen Buxton

Jason Webley and Friends

Two Steps on the Water

Shadow Windhawk

pigeon pit

Mikal kHill

Arroyo Deathmatch

mallory

DEFIANCE OHIO

Bryan McPherson

Broken Bow

Harley Poe

Not Half Bad

Graveyard Train

the ones in bold are my personal favorites out of this list

[melvinomusic]

Bryan McPherson

Kings Corner

Number of LPs: 1

Label: O.F.D

Release Year on Jacket: 2019

Songs I Liked:

A2 – Where Is Jane

A6 – Ghosts of My Hometown

B2 – Living In The Red

B4 – See Me Fall

Songs I Didn’t Like:

Overall Rating: B-

Would You Recommend:

This was one of the Get-Punk selections. It is not a punk album, but Bryan was a punk kid from Boston (so he gets a pass I guess). This is a folk album, a very stripped down one at that. The story is kind of cool, Bryan came back to Boston and found an old demo tape. He was inspired to record this album either using the original demos or doing a complete reworking on them. His vocals have a good raspy quality to them. I can picture watching him play in a dirty bar while sipping cheap whiskey. This is a decent listen if you need something to chill out with.

Don't take my word for it listen for yourself and tell me what you think.

Spotify Link to Album:

https://open.spotify.com/album/44mOkG9mMalkGhR0hfhD1D?si=1-czeIf2Qkq9OPI5zYChPw

[draculovely]

commission

[niallodonohoe]

C's Recap - Salem-Keizer Win Slugfest Over Canadians In Series Opener

C’s Recap – Salem-Keizer Win Slugfest Over Canadians In Series Opener

McGregory Contreras cracked his eighth home run of the season in Salem-Keizer Thursday. The Vancouver Canadians held a three-run and a two-run lead but lost to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 11-10 at Volcanoes  Stadium Thursday night. The C’s fall to 8-6 in the second half but still maintain their lead atop the North Division as Spokane, Everett and Tri-City also lost Thursday. The C’s jumped out to…

[893thecurrent]

In 1986, when Prince wrote the track "Sign O' the Times," it felt like the world was on fire. The AIDS epidemic was raging, President Ronald Reagan was rattling sabers with the Soviet Union, and in Minneapolis, the murder trial of a teen potentially killed at the hands of a gang known as the Disciples was ongoing. Prince had also just experienced a literal earthquake in California.

The Sign O' The Times remastered Super Deluxe Edition is dropping today. Most of the eight-CD collection was recorded from the end of 1985 to the beginning of 1987, a time for Prince that was incredibly prolific, experimental, and transformative. Over the course of this year and a half, Prince put together and scrapped three albums: Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball. All three of these albums were essential in getting to Sign O' the Times, released on March 30, 1987.

The first album, Dream Factory, was recorded between March and July of 1986. Prince created and recorded the double album with his band the Revolution, working in close collaboration with the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, a.k.a. Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. Due in part to a desire from Prince to go in a different creative direction as well as strained relationships with the band, Prince disbanded the Revolution shortly after the group's European tour in the summer of 1986 and dropped the album as a result. He would take eight songs off of Dream Factory and ultimately put them on Sign O' the Times.

Concurrent with Dream Factory, in mid-1986 Prince was developing his feminine alter ego of Camille and creating a solo album around her, Camille. Prince had played with shifting his own high register even higher electronically, and based Camille around this androgynous, pitch-shifted sound and style. He had intended to release the album without any allusion to his own identity, and it's assumed that Warner Records felt iffy about releasing a record without Prince's name or image attached to it. The project was dropped, with three songs off of it eventually making their way to Sign O' the Times.

Put together in late-1986, Crystal Ball was ambitious. Prince added new material along with eight songs from Dream Factory to craft the three LP album. Warner believed the hefty project wouldn't perform well and requested it be pared down. It's worth distinguishing this unreleased album from Prince's 1998 compilation, also called Crystal Ball, of unreleased songs from his over-flowing vault. 15 of the 1986 Crystal Ball's 22 tracks ended up on the 16-track Sign O' the Times, with "U Got the Look" as a new addition to the final product.

Prince didn't like the word "experiment." To him, it implied creating something left to be unfinished. Though Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball remained unreleased, the work Prince and his collaborators did on them, the months of tinkering and playing with these tracks, culminated in the album that many regard as his greatest artistic achievement. They weren't wasted then and they are certainly not wasted now.

The Super Deluxe Edition is massive. It includes all the audio material that Prince officially released in 1987, 45 previously unissued studio songs recorded during this time, a live audio performance from the Utrecht, Netherlands stop on his Sign O' the Times Tour, a DVD containing a complete, previously unreleased 1987 New Year's Eve benefit concert at Paisley Park, images of archive assets including original analog tape reel and studio track sheets, and a 120-page hardcover book containing Prince's previously unseen handwritten lyrics.

Above, see Kaitlyn Bryan’s infographic charting how the album evolved (click here for high-res); and below, listen to playlists that now — with the release of the new Vault material — for the first time ever give us the opportunity to track Prince's progress through this fertile period. For more on how Sign O' the Times came to be, listen to the audio documentary series Prince: The Story of Sign O' the Times, brought to you by The Current in collaboration with the Prince Estate, Paisley Park, and Warner Records.

Plus, listen to Purple Current starting at 10 a.m. as Sean McPherson highlights each of these unreleased albums and then, ultimately, Sign O' the Times as we know it. (10 a.m.: Dream Factory; 12 p.m.: Camille; 1 p.m.: Crystal Ball; 3 p.m.: Sign O' the Times)

- Iman Jafri

[tpwktaron]

My Quarantine Watchlist

hello! i hope this post finds you in good health. today i decided to go a little out of my category of what i usually post and make a movie watchlist. if you haven’t seen what i usually repost, i’m a huge movie buff, and are always adding new films to my watchlist. (you should add me on letterboxd! same username.) so, i compiled a list of my top 10 movies. some of them aren’t considered to be critically acclaimed, but they are still comforting and happy, especially during this rough time we are having. i hope you give these a try, and let me know what you think! disclaimer: i am not a movie expert! some terminology i use is definitely not correct lol. 

1. rocketman - dir. dexter fletcher, 89%

this movie really means so much to me, it’s definitely one of my absolute favorites. taron egerton does an absolutely amazing job as elton john, not just through his performance but his through his singing. yes, he sings the music as well! the music is also perfectly placed throughout the movie to tell the story of elton john’s life. 

synopsis: pretty self explanatory; a musical fantasy about the life of elton john.

2. onward - dir. dan scanlon - 87%

really awesome pixar movie! definitely a great movie for anyone who is a fan of animation, some of the most beautifully animated scenes i have ever seen! i guess that’s just pixar for you. 

synopsis: a teenage elf ian lightfoot and his brother barley are given a spell to bring their late father back to life, but when they mess up the first time, they have to go on a quest to find a phoenix gem to bring him back.

3. eddie the eagle - dir. dexter fletcher - 82%

another masterpiece by the dexter fletcher and taron egerton! this is my favorite movie of all time. it’s so heartwarming and motivating, it’s a great pick-me-up film for when i’m feeling down. taron egerton is definitely a chameleon actor, and can slip into any role with ease! him and hugh jackman have such great chemistry, and this movie easily displays that.

synopsis: based on a true story, olympics-bound eddie edwards trains for the winter olympics as a ski jumper, one of the most dangerous sports in the world, with help from his drunken “coach,” bronson peary.

4. lady bird - dir. greta gerwig - 99%

ugh. this movie. i can’t! when i first watched it it left me speechless. it’s an outstanding coming-of-age film, and a great mother-daughter film as well. christine and her mom’s relationship is hilariously heartwarming. another touch i love is the grainy filter throughout the movie. it was a great touch to add an early 2000′s feel! saoirse ronan’s performance was extraordinary. everything about this movie is 10/10, and i cannot recommend this movie enough, especially to teenagers heading off the college.

synopsis: marion mcpherson, a nurse, works tirelessly to keep her family afloat after her husband loses his job. she also maintains a turbulent bond with a teenage daughter who is just like her: loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated.

5. love, simon - greg berlanti - 92%

love, simon is a perfectly made film to demonstrate the experience of coming out as a gay teen. it’s funny and witty, with some heart-warming yet heart-wrenching drama. i can’t explain it, but this movie makes me feel things i didn’t think i could feel. nick robinson is a great actor, and this movie got paid dust!! by everyone!!

synopsis: everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old simon spier, it’s a little more complicated. he hasn’t told his family or friends he’s gay, and he doesn’t know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he’s fallen for online. resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying, and life-changing.

6. jojo rabbit - dir. taika watiti - 80%

when i first saw this movie in the theater, i wasn’t sure if i was going to like it. i’m not a fan of war movies and violence, so i was a little uneasy. turns out this could possibly be one of the best movies of 2019! roman griffin davis is the best child actor i’ve ever seen. this movie is a wonderful depiction of anti-hate, and of what life was like for germany during world war II. it shows in a funny way how silly nazi views are. it creates humor over such a sensitive subject, yet you don’t feel bad for laughing!

synopsis: a world war II satire that follows a lonely german boy whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother is hiding a young jewish girl in their attic. aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, adolf hitler, jojo must confront his blind nationalism.

7. little women - dir. greta gerwig - 95%

greta gerwig strikes again! she literally has never made a bad movie. this movie is based off of the famous novel little women. it has a star studded cast of timothee chalament, saoirse ronan, florence pugh, emma watson, and laura dern. the power of women!!

synopsis: in the years after the civil war, jo march lives in new york and makes her living as a writer, while her sister amy studies painting in paris. amy has a chance encounter with theodore, a childhood crush who proposed to jo but was ultimately rejected. their oldest sibling, meg, is married to a schoolteacher, while shy sister beth develops a devastating illness that brings the family back together.

8. the greatest showman - dir. michael gracey - 56%

my favorite original musical movie. hugh jackman is such an amazing singer and actor! this movie was one of the first movies that really turned me into a true film admirer. the music has some of the most beautifully written lyrics i know, and it’s a great family movie! it’s intense, yet happy, yet sad, yet exciting, yet every single emotion one person could feel. 

synopsis: growing up in the early 1800s, p.t. barnum displays a natural talent for publicly and promotion, selling lottery tickets by age 12. after trying his hands at various jobs, p.t. turns to show business to indulge his limitless imagination, rising form nothing to create the barnum & bailey circus. 

9. bohemian rhapsody - dir. bryan singer - 60%

although it may have it’s inaccuracies here and there, this movie is still heartwarming and conveys a heartwarming message and moral. rami malek performs as freddie mercury wonderfully, and the chemistry between the cast is indescribable. and what takes the cake? the live-aid re-enactment at the end of the movie, with the band’s mannerisms and everything recreated to the t. 

synopsis: freddie mercury - lead singer of queen - defies stereotypes and convention to become one of history’s most beloved entertainers. the band’s revolutionary sound and popular songs lead to queen’s meteoric rise in the 1970s. after leaving the group to pursue a solo career, mercury reunites with queen for the benefit concert live aid - resulting in one of the greatest performances in rock ‘n’ roll history.

10. anchorman - dir. adam mckay - 66%

my favorite comedy of all time. will ferrell, steve carrell, and paul rudd are all my favorite comedians, so this movie speaks to me. it’s hilariously stupid, but i still love it and recommend it to everyone i know.

synopsis: hotshot television anchorman ron burgandy welcomes upstart reporter veronica corningstone into the male-dominated world of 1970s broadcast news - that is, until the talented female journalist begins to outshine burgandy on air.

[punkrockmixtapes]

Bryan McPherson - Olympia WA(Rancid Cover)

[blackkudos]

Colin Powell

Colin Luther Powell (born April 5, 1937) is an American politician and retired four-star general in the United States Army. During his military career, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987–1989), as Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993), holding the latter position during the Persian Gulf War. Powell was the first, and so far the only, Jamaican American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under U.S. President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, the first black person to serve in that position.

Powell was born in New York City in 1937 and was raised in the South Bronx. His parents, Luther and Maud Powell, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Powell was educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a bachelor's degree in geology. He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. His further academic achievements include a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University.

Powell was a professional soldier for 35 years, during which time he held many command and staff positions and rose to the rank of 4-star general. His last assignment, from October 1, 1989, to September 30, 1993, was as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He also formulated the Powell Doctrine.

Following his military retirement, Powell wrote his best-selling autobiography, My American Journey. In addition, he pursued a career as a public speaker, addressing audiences across the country and abroad. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of State, Powell was the chairman of America's Promise – The Alliance for Youth, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of young people. He was nominated by President Bush on December 16, 2000, as Secretary of State. After being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he was sworn in as the 65th Secretary of State on January 20, 2001.

Powell is the recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign military awards and decorations. Powell's civilian awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom (twice), the President's Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. Several schools and other institutions have been named in his honor and he holds honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country. Powell is married to the former Alma Vivian Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama. The Powell family includes son Michael (ex-chairman of the Federal Communications Commission); daughters Linda and Anne; daughter-in-law Jane; and grandsons Jeffrey and Bryan.

In 2016, while not a candidate for that year's election, Powell received three electoral votes for the office of President of the United States.

Early life and education

Powell was born on April 5, 1937, in Harlem, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, to Jamaican immigrants, Maud Arial (née McKoy) and Luther Theophilus Powell. His parents were both of mixed African and Scottish ancestry. Luther worked as a shipping clerk and Maud as a seamstress. Powell was raised in the South Bronx and attended Morris High School, from which he graduated in 1954. (This school has since closed.)

While at school, Powell worked at a local baby furniture store, where he picked up Yiddish from the eastern European Jewish shopkeepers and some of the customers. He also served as a Shabbos goy, helping Orthodox families with needed tasks on the Sabbath. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the City College of New York in 1958 and has said he was a 'C average' student. He later earned an MBA degree from the George Washington University in 1971, after his second tour in Vietnam.

Despite his parents' pronunciation of his name as , Powell has pronounced his name since childhood, after the World War II flyer Colin P. Kelly Jr. Public officials and radio and television reporters have used Powell's preferred pronunciation.

Military career

Powell was a professional soldier for 35 years, holding a variety of command and staff positions and rising to the rank of general.

Training

Powell described joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) during college as one of the happiest experiences of his life; discovering something he loved and could do well, he felt he had "found himself." According to Powell:

It was only once I was in college, about six months into college when I found something that I liked, and that was ROTC, Reserve Officer Training Corps in the military. And I not only liked it, but I was pretty good at it. That's what you really have to look for in life, something that you like, and something that you think you're pretty good at. And if you can put those two things together, then you're on the right track, and just drive on.

Cadet Powell joined the Pershing Rifles, the ROTC fraternal organization and drill team begun by General John Pershing. Even after he had become a general, Powell kept on his desk a pen set he had won for a drill team competition.

Upon graduation, he received a commission as an Army second lieutenant. After attending basic training at Fort Benning, Powell was assigned to the 48th Infantry, in West Germany, as a platoon leader.

Vietnam War

In his autobiography, Powell said he is haunted by the nightmare of the Vietnam War and felt that the leadership was very ineffective.

Captain Powell served a tour in Vietnam as a South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) advisor from 1962 to 1963. While on patrol in a Viet Cong-held area, he was wounded by stepping on a punji stake. The large infection made it difficult for him to walk, and caused his foot to swell for a short time, shortening his first tour.

Powell returned to Vietnam as a major in 1968, serving as assistant chief of staff of operations for the in the 23rd (Americal) Infantry Division. During the second tour in Vietnam he was decorated with the Soldier's Medal for bravery after he survived a helicopter crash and single-handedly rescued three others, including division commander Major General Charles M. Gettys, from the burning wreckage.

Powell was charged with investigating a detailed letter by 11th Light Infantry Brigade soldier Tom Glen, which backed up rumored allegations of the My Lai Massacre. He wrote: "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Later, Powell's assessment would be described as whitewashing the news of the massacre, and questions would continue to remain undisclosed to the public. In May 2004 Powell said to television and radio host Larry King, "I was in a unit that was responsible for My Lai. I got there after My Lai happened. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored."

After the Vietnam War

Powell served a White House Fellowship under President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1973. During 1975–1976 he attended the National War College, Washington, D.C.

In his autobiography, My American Journey, Powell named several officers he served under who inspired and mentored him. As a lieutenant colonel serving in South Korea, Powell was very close to General Henry "Gunfighter" Emerson. Powell said he regarded Emerson as one of the most caring officers he ever met. Emerson insisted his troops train at night to fight a possible North Korean attack, and made them repeatedly watch the television film Brian's Song to promote racial harmony. Powell always professed that what set Emerson apart was his great love of his soldiers and concern for their welfare. After a race riot occurred, in which African American soldiers almost killed a White officer, Powell was charged by Emerson to crack down on black militants; Powell's efforts led to the discharge of one soldier, and other efforts to reduce racial tensions. During 1976–1977 he commanded the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division.

A "political general"

In the early 1980s, Powell served at Fort Carson, Colorado. After he left Fort Carson, Powell became senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, whom he assisted during the 1983 invasion of Grenada and the 1986 airstrike on Libya.

In 1986, Powell took over the command of V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany, from Robert Lewis "Sam" Wetzel.

Following the Iran–Contra scandal, Powell became, at the age of 49, Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor, serving from 1987 to 1989 while retaining his Army commission as a lieutenant general.

In April 1989, after his tenure with the National Security Council, Powell was promoted to four-star general under President George H. W. Bush and briefly served as the Commander in Chief, Forces Command (FORSCOM), headquartered at Fort McPherson, Georgia, overseeing all Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard units in the Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. He became the third general since World War II to reach four-star rank without ever serving as a division commander, joining Dwight D. Eisenhower and Alexander Haig.

Later that year, President George H. W. Bush selected him as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Powell's last military assignment, from October 1, 1989, to September 30, 1993, was as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. At age 52, he became the youngest officer, and first Afro-Caribbean American, to serve in this position. Powell was also the first JCS Chair who received his commission through ROTC.

During this time, he oversaw responses to 28 crises, including the invasion of Panama in 1989 to remove General Manuel Noriega from power and Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. During these events, Powell earned his nickname, "the reluctant warrior." He rarely advocated military intervention as the first solution to an international crisis, and instead usually prescribed diplomacy and containment.

As a military strategist, Powell advocated an approach to military conflicts that maximizes the potential for success and minimizes casualties. A component of this approach is the use of overwhelming force, which he applied to Operation Desert Storm in 1991. His approach has been dubbed the "Powell Doctrine." Powell continued as chairman of the JCS into the Clinton presidency but as a dedicated "realist" he considered himself a bad fit for an administration largely made up of liberal internationalists. He clashed with then-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright over the Bosnian crisis, as he opposed any military interventions that didn't involve US interests.

During his chairmanship of the JCS, there was discussion of awarding Powell a fifth star, granting him the rank of General of the Army. But even in the wake of public and Congressional pressure to do so, Clinton-Gore presidential transition team staffers decided against it.

Dates of rankAwards and decorationsBadges

Potential presidential candidate

Powell's experience in military matters made him a very popular figure with both American political parties. Many Democrats admired his moderate stance on military matters, while many Republicans saw him as a great asset associated with the successes of past Republican administrations. Put forth as a potential Democratic Vice Presidential nominee in the 1992 U.S. presidential election or even potentially replacing Vice President Dan Quayle as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Powell eventually declared himself a Republican and began to campaign for Republican candidates in 1995. He was touted as a possible opponent of Bill Clinton in the 1996 U.S. presidential election, possibly capitalizing on a split conservative vote in Iowa and even leading New Hampshire polls for the GOP nomination, but Powell declined, citing a lack of passion for politics. Powell defeated Clinton 50–38 in a hypothetical match-up proposed to voters in the exit polls conducted on Election Day. Despite not standing in the race, Powell won the Republican New Hampshire Vice-Presidential primary on write-in votes.

In 1997 Powell founded America's Promise with the objective of helping children from all socioeconomic sectors. That same year saw the establishment of The Colin L. Powell Center for Leadership and Service. The mission of the Center is to "prepare new generations of publicly engaged leaders from populations previously underrepresented in public service and policy circles, to build a strong culture of civic engagement at City College, and to mobilize campus resources to meet pressing community needs and serve the public good."

Powell was mentioned as a potential candidate in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, but again decided against running. Once Texas Governor George W. Bush secured the Republican nomination, Powell endorsed him for president and spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention. Bush won the general election and appointed Powell as Secretary of State.

In the electoral college vote count of 2016, Powell received three votes for President from faithless electors from Washington.

Secretary of State (2001–2005)

As Secretary of State in the Bush administration, Powell was perceived as moderate. Powell was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. Over the course of his tenure he traveled less than any other U.S. Secretary of State in 30 years.

On September 11, 2001, Powell was in Lima, Peru, meeting with President Alejandro Toledo and US Ambassador John Hamilton, and attending the special session of the OAS General Assembly that subsequently adopted the Inter-American Democratic Charter. After the September 11 attacks, Powell's job became of critical importance in managing America's relationships with foreign countries in order to secure a stable coalition in the War on Terrorism.

Powell came under fire for his role in building the case for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. In a press statement on February 24, 2001, he had said that sanctions against Iraq had prevented the development of any weapons of mass destruction by Saddam Hussein. As was the case in the days leading up to the Persian Gulf War, Powell was initially opposed to a forcible overthrow of Saddam, preferring to continue a policy of containment. However, Powell eventually agreed to go along with the Bush administration's determination to remove Saddam. He had often clashed with others in the administration, who were reportedly planning an Iraq invasion even before the September 11 attacks, an insight supported by testimony by former terrorism czar Richard Clarke in front of the 9/11 Commission. The main concession Powell wanted before he would offer his full support for the Iraq War was the involvement of the international community in the invasion, as opposed to a unilateral approach. He was also successful in persuading Bush to take the case of Iraq to the United Nations, and in moderating other initiatives. Powell was placed at the forefront of this diplomatic campaign.

Powell's chief role was to garner international support for a multi-national coalition to mount the invasion. To this end, Powell addressed a plenary session of the United Nations Security Council on February 5, 2003, to argue in favor of military action. Citing numerous anonymous Iraqi defectors, Powell asserted that "there can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more." Powell also stated that there was "no doubt in my mind" that Saddam was working to obtain key components to produce nuclear weapons.

Most observers praised Powell's oratorical skills. However, Britain's Channel 4 News reported soon afterwards that a UK intelligence dossier that Powell had referred to as a "fine paper" during his presentation had been based on old material and plagiarized an essay by American graduate student Ibrahim al-Marashi.A 2004 report by the Iraq Survey Group concluded that the evidence that Powell offered to support the allegation that the Iraqi government possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) was inaccurate.

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Powell contended that prior to his UN presentation, he had merely four days to review the data concerning WMD in Iraq.

A Senate report on intelligence failures would later detail the intense debate that went on behind the scenes on what to include in Powell's speech. State Department analysts had found dozens of factual problems in drafts of the speech. Some of the claims were taken out, but others were left in, such as claims based on the yellowcake forgery. The administration came under fire for having acted on faulty intelligence, particularly what was single-sourced to the informant known as Curveball. Powell later recounted how Vice President Dick Cheney had joked with him before he gave the speech, telling him, "You've got high poll ratings; you can afford to lose a few points." Powell's longtime aide-de-camp and Chief of Staff from 1989–2003, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, later characterized Cheney's view of Powell's mission as to "go up there and sell it, and we'll have moved forward a peg or two. Fall on your damn sword and kill yourself, and I'll be happy, too."

In September 2005, Powell was asked about the speech during an interview with Barbara Walters and responded that it was a "blot" on his record. He went on to say, "It will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now."

Wilkerson said that he inadvertently participated in a hoax on the American people in preparing Powell's erroneous testimony before the United Nations Security Council.

Because Powell was seen as more moderate than most figures in the administration, he was spared many of the attacks that have been leveled at more controversial advocates of the invasion, such as Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. At times, infighting among the Powell-led State Department, the Rumsfeld-led Defense Department, and Cheney's office had the effect of polarizing the administration on crucial issues, such as what actions to take regarding Iran and North Korea.

After Saddam Hussein had been deposed, Powell's new role was to once again establish a working international coalition, this time to assist in the rebuilding of post-war Iraq. On September 13, 2004, Powell testified before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, acknowledging that the sources who provided much of the information in his February 2003 UN presentation were "wrong" and that it was "unlikely" that any stockpiles of WMDs would be found. Claiming that he was unaware that some intelligence officials questioned the information prior to his presentation, Powell pushed for reform in the intelligence community, including the creation of a national intelligence director who would assure that "what one person knew, everyone else knew."

Additionally, Powell has been critical of other aspects of U.S. foreign policy in the past, such as its support for the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. From two separate interviews in 2003, Powell stated in one about the 1973 event "I can't justify or explain the actions and decisions that were made at that time. It was a different time. There was a great deal of concern about communism in this part of the world. Communism was a threat to the democracies in this part of the world. It was a threat to the United States." In another interview, however, he also simply stated "With respect to your earlier comment about Chile in the 1970s and what happened with Mr. Allende, it is not a part of American history that we're proud of."

Powell announced his resignation as Secretary of State on November 15, 2004. According to The Washington Post, he had been asked to resign by the president's chief of staff, Andrew Card. Powell announced that he would stay on until the end of Bush's first term or until his replacement's confirmation by Congress. The following day, Bush nominated National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice as Powell's successor. News of Powell's leaving the Administration spurred mixed reactions from politicians around the world — some upset at the loss of a statesman seen as a moderating factor within the Bush administration, but others hoping for Powell's successor to wield more influence within the cabinet.

In mid-November, Powell stated that he had seen new evidence suggesting that Iran was adapting missiles for a nuclear delivery system. The accusation came at the same time as the settlement of an agreement between Iran, the IAEA, and the European Union.

On December 31, 2004, Powell rang in the New Year by pressing a button in Times Square with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to initiate the ball drop and 60 second countdown, ushering in the year 2005. He appeared on the networks that were broadcasting New Year's Eve specials and talked about this honor, as well as being a native of New York City.

Life after diplomatic service

After retiring from the role of Secretary of State, Powell returned to private life. In April 2005, he was privately telephoned by Republican senators Lincoln Chafee and Chuck Hagel, at which time Powell expressed reservations and mixed reviews about the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, but refrained from advising the senators to oppose Bolton (Powell had clashed with Bolton during Bush's first term). The decision was viewed as potentially dealing significant damage to Bolton's chances of confirmation. Bolton was put into the position via a recess appointment because of the strong opposition in the Senate.

On April 28, 2005, an opinion piece in The Guardian by Sidney Blumenthal (a former top aide to President Bill Clinton) claimed that Powell was in fact "conducting a campaign" against Bolton because of the acrimonious battles they had had while working together, which among other things had resulted in Powell cutting Bolton out of talks with Iran and Libya after complaints about Bolton's involvement from the British. Blumenthal added that "The foreign relations committee has discovered that Bolton made a highly unusual request and gained access to 10 intercepts by the National Security Agency. Staff members on the committee believe that Bolton was probably spying on Powell, his senior advisors and other officials reporting to him on diplomatic initiatives that Bolton opposed."

In July 2005, Powell joined Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, a well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm, with the title of "strategic limited partner."

In September 2005, Powell criticized the response to Hurricane Katrina. Powell said that thousands of people were not properly protected, but because they were poor rather than because they were black.

On January 5, 2006, he participated in a meeting at the White House of former Secretaries of Defense and State to discuss United States foreign policy with Bush administration officials. In September 2006, Powell sided with more moderate Senate Republicans in supporting more rights for detainees and opposing President Bush's terrorism bill. He backed Senators John Warner, John McCain and Lindsey Graham in their statement that U.S. military and intelligence personnel in future wars will suffer for abuses committed in 2006 by the U.S. in the name of fighting terrorism. Powell stated that "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of [America's] fight against terrorism."

Also in 2006, Powell began appearing as a speaker at a series of motivational events called Get Motivated, along with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In his speeches for the tour, he openly criticized the Bush Administration on a number of issues. Powell has been the recipient of mild criticism for his role with Get Motivated which has been called a "get-rich-quick-without-much-effort, feel-good schemology."

In 2007 he joined the board of directors of Steve Case's new company Revolution Health. Powell also serves on the Council on Foreign Relations Board of directors.

Powell, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, dropped the ceremonial first puck at a New York Islanders ice hockey game at Nassau Coliseum on January 21, 2008. On November 11, 2008, Powell again dropped the puck in recognition of Military Appreciation Day and Veterans Day.

Recently, Powell has encouraged young people to continue to use new technologies to their advantage in the future. In a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies to a room of young professionals, he said, "That's your generation...a generation that is hard-wired digital, a generation that understands the power of the information revolution and how it is transforming the world. A generation that you represent, and you're coming together to share; to debate; to decide; to connect with each other." At this event, he encouraged the next generation to involve themselves politically on the upcoming Next America Project, which uses online debate to provide policy recommendations for the upcoming administration.

In 2008, Powell served as a spokesperson for National Mentoring Month, a campaign held each January to recruit volunteer mentors for at-risk youth.

Soon after Barack Obama's 2008 election, Powell began being mentioned as a possible cabinet member. He was not nominated.

In September 2009, Powell advised President Obama against surging US forces in Afghanistan. The president announced the surge the following December.

On March 14, 2014, Salesforce.com announced that Powell had joined its board of directors.

Political views

A liberal Republican, Powell is well known for his willingness to support liberal or centrist causes. He is pro-choice regarding abortion, and in favor of "reasonable" gun control. He stated in his autobiography that he supports affirmative action that levels the playing field, without giving a leg up to undeserving persons because of racial issues. Powell was also instrumental in the 1993 implementation of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy, though he later supported its repeal as proposed by Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen in January 2010, saying "circumstances had changed."

The Vietnam War had a profound effect on Powell's views of the proper use of military force. These views are described in detail in the autobiography My American Journey. The Powell Doctrine, as the views became known, was a central component of U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf War (the first U.S. war in Iraq) and U.S. invasion of Afghanistan (the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks). The hallmark of both operations was strong international cooperation, and the use of overwhelming military force.

Powell was the subject of controversy in 2004 when, in a conversation with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, he reportedly referred to neoconservatives within the Bush administration as "fucking crazies." In addition to being reported in the press (although the expletive was generally censored in the U.S. press), the quotation was used by James Naughtie in his book, The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency, and by Chris Patten in his book, Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain, and Europe in a New Century.

In a September 2006 letter to Sen. John McCain, General Powell expressed opposition to President Bush's push for military tribunals of those formerly and currently classified as enemy combatants. Specifically, he objected to the effort in Congress to "redefine Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention." He also asserted: "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism."

Powell endorsed President Obama in 2008 and again in 2012. When asked why he is still a Republican on Meet the Press he said, "I'm still a Republican. And I think the Republican Party needs me more than the Democratic Party needs me. And you can be a Republican and still feel strongly about issues such as immigration, and improving our education system, and doing something about some of the social problems that exist in our society and our country. I don't think there's anything inconsistent with this."

While Powell was wary of a military solution, he supported the decision to invade Iraq after the Bush administration concluded that diplomatic efforts had failed. After his departure from the State Department, Powell repeatedly emphasized his continued support for American involvement in the Iraq War.

At the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, Powell revealed that he had spent two and a half hours explaining to President Bush "the consequences of going into an Arab country and becoming the occupiers." During this discussion, he insisted that the U.S. appeal to the United Nations first, but if diplomacy failed, he would support the invasion: "I also had to say to him that you are the President, you will have to make the ultimate judgment, and if the judgment is this isn't working and we don't think it is going to solve the problem, then if military action is undertaken I'm with you, I support you."

In a 2008 interview on CNN, Powell reiterated his support for the 2003 decision to invade Iraq in the context of his endorsement of Barack Obama, stating: "My role has been very, very straightforward. I wanted to avoid a war. The president [Bush] agreed with me. We tried to do that. We couldn't get it through the U.N. and when the president made the decision, I supported that decision. And I've never blinked from that. I've never said I didn't support a decision to go to war."

Powell's position on the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 has been less consistent. In December 2006, he expressed skepticism that the strategy would work and whether the U.S. military had enough troops to carry it out successfully. He stated: "I am not persuaded that another surge of troops into Baghdad for the purposes of suppressing this communitarian violence, this civil war, will work." Following his endorsement of Barack Obama in October 2008, however, Powell praised General David Petraeus and U.S. troops, as well as the Iraqi government, concluding that "it's starting to turn around." By mid-2009, he had concluded a surge of U.S. forces in Iraq should have come sooner, perhaps in late 2003. Throughout this period, Powell consistently argued that Iraqi political progress was essential, not just military force.

Powell donated the maximum allowable amount to John McCain's campaign in the summer of 2007 and in early 2008, his name was listed as a possible running mate for Republican nominee McCain's bid during the 2008 U.S. presidential election. However, on October 19, 2008, Powell announced his endorsement of Barack Obama during a Meet the Press interview, citing "his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities", in addition to his "style and substance." He additionally referred to Obama as a "transformational figure." Powell further questioned McCain's judgment in appointing Sarah Palin as the vice presidential candidate, stating that despite the fact that she is admired, "now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president." He said that Obama's choice for vice-president, Joe Biden, was ready to be president. He also added that he was "troubled" by the "false intimations that Obama was Muslim." Powell stated that "[Obama] is a Christian—he's always been a Christian... But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America." Powell then mentioned Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, a Muslim American soldier in the U.S. Army who served and died in the Iraq War. He later stated, "Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party has become narrower and narrower [...] I look at these kind of approaches to the campaign, and they trouble me." Powell concluded his Sunday morning talk show comments, "It isn't easy for me to disappoint Sen. McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that [...] I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change and that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Sen. John McCain." Later in a December 12, 2008, CNN interview with Fareed Zakaria, Powell reiterated his belief that during the last few months of the campaign, Palin pushed the Republican party further to the right and had a polarizing impact on it.

In a July 2009 CNN interview with John King, Powell expressed concern over President Obama growing the size of the federal government and the size of the federal budget deficit. In September 2010, he criticized the Obama administration for not focusing "like a razor blade" on the economy and job creation. Powell reiterated that Obama was a "transformational figure." In a video that aired on CNN.com in November 2011, Colin Powell said in reference to Barack Obama, "many of his decisions have been quite sound. The financial system was put back on a stable basis."

On October 25, 2012, 12 days before the presidential election, he gave his endorsement to President Obama for re-election during a broadcast of CBS This Morning. He cited success and forward progress in foreign and domestic policy arenas under the Obama Administration, and made the following statement: "I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012 and I'll be voting for he [sic] and for Vice President Joe Biden next month."

As additional reason for his endorsement, Powell cited the changing positions and perceived lack of thoughtfulness of Mitt Romney on foreign affairs, and a concern for the validity of Romney's economic plans.

In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos during ABC's coverage of President Obama's second inauguration, Powell criticized members of the Republican Party who "demonize[d] the president." He called on GOP leaders to publicly denounce such talk.

Powell has been very vocal on the state of the Republican party. Speaking at a Washington Ideas forum in early October 2015, he warned the audience that the Republican party had begun a move to the fringe right, lessening the chances of a Republican White House in the future. He also remarked on Republican presidential contender Donald Trump's statements regarding immigrants, noting that there were many immigrants working in Trump hotels.

In March 2016, Powell denounced the "nastiness" of the 2016 Republican primaries during an interview on CBS This Morning. He compared the race to reality television, and stated that the campaign had gone "into the mud."

In August 2016, Powell accused the Clinton campaign of trying to pin Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's email controversy on him. Speaking to People magazine, Powell said, "The truth is, she was using [the private email server] for a year before I sent her a memo telling her what I did."

On September 13, 2016, emails were obtained that revealed Powell's private communications regarding both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Powell privately reiterated his comments regarding Clinton's email scandal, writing, "I have told Hillary's minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try," and complaining that "Hillary's mafia keeps trying to suck me into it" in another email. In another email discussing Clinton's controversy, Powell noted that she should have told everyone what she did "two years ago", and said that she has not "been covering herself with glory." Writing on the 2012 Benghazi attack controversy surrounding Clinton, Powell said to then U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, "Benghazi is a stupid witch hunt." Commenting on Clinton in a general sense, Powell mused that "Everything [Clinton] touches she kind of screws up with hubris", and in another email stated "I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect."

Powell referred to Donald Trump as a "national disgrace", with "no sense of shame." He wrote of Trump's role in the birther movement, which he referred to as "racist." Powell suggested that the media ignore Trump, saying, "To go on and call him an idiot just emboldens him." The emails were obtained by the media as the result of a hack.

Powell endorsed Clinton on October 25, 2016, stating it was "because I think she's qualified, and the other gentleman is not qualified."

Despite not running in the election, Powell received three electoral votes for president from faithless electors in Washington who had pledged to vote for Clinton, coming in third overall. After Barack Obama, Powell was only the second Black person to receive electoral votes in a presidential election. He was also the first Republican since 1984 to receive electoral votes from Washington in a presidential election, as well as the first Republican Black person to do so.

In an interview in October 2019, Powell warned that the GOP needed to “get a grip" and put the country before their party, standing up to President Trump rather than worrying about political fallout. “When they see things that are not right, they need to say something about it because our foreign policy is in shambles right now, in my humble judgment, and I see things happening that are hard to understand,” Powell said.

Personal life

Powell married Alma Johnson on August 25, 1962. Their son, Michael Powell, was the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2001 to 2005. His daughters are Linda Powell, an actress, and Annemarie Powell. As a hobby, Powell restores old Volvo and Saab cars. In 2013, he faced questions about a relationship with a Romanian diplomat, after a hacked AOL email account had been made public. He acknowledged a "very personal" email relationship but denied further involvement.

Civilian awards and honors

Powell's civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom (the second with distinction), the President's Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal, and the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award. Several schools and other institutions have been named in his honor and he holds honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country.

In 1988, Powell received the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award.

In 1990, Powell received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.

In 1991, Powell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush.

In 1991, Powell was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.

In 1991, Powell was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, which "honors the achievements of outstanding individuals in U.S. society who have succeeded in spite of adversity and of encouraging young people to pursue their dreams through higher education."

On April 23, 1991, Powell was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal "in recognition of his exemplary performance as a military leader and advisor to the President in planning and coordinating the military response of the United States to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the ultimate retreat and defeat of Iraqi forces and Iraqi acceptance of all United Nations Resolutions relating to Kuwait."

On September 30, 1993, Powell was awarded his second Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction by President Bill Clinton.

On November 9, 1993, Powell was awarded the second Ronald Reagan Freedom Award, by President Ronald Reagan. Powell served as Reagan's National Security Advisor from 1987–1989.

On December 15, 1993, Colin Powell was created an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

In 1998, he was awarded the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award by the United States Military Academy for his commitment to the ideals of "Duty, Honor, Country."

The 2002 Liberty Medal was awarded to Colin Powell on July 4 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his acceptance speech, Powell reminded Americans that "It is for America, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, to help freedom ring across the globe, unto all the peoples thereof. That is our solemn obligation, and we will not fail."

The coat of arms of Colin Powell was granted by the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh on February 4, 2004. Technically the grant was to Powell's father (a British subject) to be passed on by descent. Scotland's King of Arms is traditionally responsible for granting arms to Commonwealth citizens of Scottish descent. Blazoned as

Azure, two swords in saltire points downwards between four mullets Argent, on a chief of the Second a lion passant Gules. On a wreath of the Liveries is set for Crest the head of an American bald-headed eagle erased Proper. And in an escrol over the same this motto, "DEVOTED TO PUBLIC SERVICE."

The swords and stars refer to the former general's career, as does the crest, which is the badge of the 101st Airborne (which he served as a brigade commander in the mid-1970s). The lion may be an allusion to Scotland. The shield can be shown surrounded by the insignia of an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath (KCB), an award the General received after the first Gulf War.

In 2005 Powell received the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his contributions to Africa.

AARP honored Powell with the 2006 AARP Andrus Award, the Association's highest honor. This award, named in honor of AARP's founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, is presented biennially to distinguished individuals who have generated positive social change in the world, and whose work and achievements reflect AARP's vision of bringing lifetimes of experience and leadership to serve all generations.

In 2005 Colin and Alma Powell were awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution.

Colin Powell was initiated as an honorary brother in Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Powell is a recipient of the Silver Buffalo Award, the highest adult award given by the Boy Scouts of America.

A street in Gelnhausen, Germany was named after him: "General-Colin-Powell-Straße."

In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Colin Powell on his list of 100 Greatest Blacks in America.

In 2009, an elementary school named for Colin Powell opened in El Paso. It is in the El Paso Independent School District, located on Fort Bliss property, and serves a portion of Fort Bliss. There is also a street in El Paso named for Powell, Colin Powell Drive.

Powell is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian organization Wings of Hope

Since 2006, he is the chairman of the Board of Trustees for Eisenhower Fellowships

In 2006, The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem awarded Colin Powell with the Truman Peace Prize for his efforts to conduct the "war against terrorism", through diplomatic as well as military means, and to avert regional and civil conflicts in many parts of the world.

In September 2012 Union City, New Jersey opened Colin Powell Elementary School, which was named after Powell, and dedicated the school on February 7, 2013, with governor Chris Christie in attendance. Powell himself visited the school on June 4, 2013.

In 2014, Colin Powell was named to the National Board of Advisors for High Point University.

[mikeo56]

Today’s internet is built on, with, and through an unruly sea of lies, deceptions, and distortions, as well as a few certainties, cables, and algorithms.

This week’s viral-wonder—the crisis of “fake news” in the wake of the 2016 presidential election—is a logical and necessary outgrowth of the web’s sordid infrastructure, prurient daily pleasures, and neoliberal political economy.

Today’s saccharine hand-wringing and the too-late fixes erupting from the mouthpieces for the corporate, media, and political interests responsible for this mess are as bogus as Lonelygirl15.

Today’s media consumer cannot trust the internet, its news, or networks—fake or otherwise. Given the wretched state of today’s internet, skeptical, self-aware interaction with digital data is the critical foundation upon which democracy may be maintained.

Fake News: A Media Literacy Reading List

“Triumph of the Will”: Document or Artifice?,     by David B. Hinton     What struck me about the way that Trump supporters view Trump is how similar it is to the ways in which Hitler was also viewed. Leni     Riefenstahl was instrumental in creating the spectacle and artifice around  Hitler and the Nazi party, and the ways that Trump has uses fake news     mirrors some of that (even beyond the similarities of some of his proposed  policies).  Recommended by Jennifer Jee Cho, MA Candidate,  Cinema & Media Studies, USC

The Meme of Memes: Information as Objects,     by Antonio López     This article addresses the ideas of memes. It looks at how we can     classify them, how they function, and why they insidiously find their way     into our collective psyches. It is interesting re: the figure of Pepe, its     dissemination, and what the corporate media then took as its meaning. Recommended by Amalia Charles, M.A. Candidate, Cinema & Media Studies, USC

From Home to Public Forum: Media Events and the Public     Sphere, by Barbie Zelizer     I think that consideration of the media as a whole is important when     considering the rise you are claiming of the fake news. It is important to     consider not just the role of the viewer in relation to spectatorship of the news but also to track the decline of certain types of viewership of the news, and how viewership of “fake news” diverges from an older form of    spectatorship. Recommended by Alia Haddad, PhD student in Cinema     and Media Studies, USC

Talking Race and Cyberspace: An Interview with Lisa     Nakamura, by Lisa Nakamura and Geert Lovink     I think the opening speaks to its utility: “Nakamura’s work shows how the Internet, despite all its claims to the alternative, remains a part of     dominant visual culture.” Recommended by Harry Gilbert, M.A.     Student, Bryan Singer Division of Cinema and Media Studies, USC

Protocol, Control, and Networks, by Alexander Galloway and Eugene Thacker    Via Deleuze, Galloway and Thacker map our meaningful counter-protocols of current networked life. Recommended by Harry Gilbert

On Software, or the Persistence of Visual Knowledge, by Wendy Hui Kyong Chun Recommended by Harry Gilbert

Race Racing: Four Theses on Race and Intensity, by Amit Rai     Amit Rai considers speed, media, and race: “If what I have argued is a   sensible shift in the politics and theorization of race toward the common     notion of race racing as a diagram of speeds and slownesses, intensive     rates and gradients internal to manifold assemblages of technology and     perception, then these theses should perform an experimentation on race  itself. This experimentation would continuously mutate, never resembling  itself, changing the metric of its own measure through a resonance that     moves beyond its term.” Recommended by Harry Gilbert

Framing the Internet in the Arab Revolutions: Myth Meets Modernity, by Miriyam Aouragh     The attached article supports the idea of needing a more critical     citizen engagement with the internet. Something else that this article     does in a very understated way is point out that the relationship between    the internet and produced fakeness/realness changes based on where/when we are in the world. Your op-ed points out that, in a Western/American context, the internet is our source for producing, consuming, and sharing fake content. But it’s just as important to note that the internet can become a place of very real Western (re)configurations of non-Western narratives, cultures, and social and political structures, effectively acting as a tool for the production of neocolonialism and its real effects. Recommended by Mary Michael

After Politics/After Television: Veep, Digimodernism,     and the Running Gag of Government, by Joe Conway     Joe Conway makes reference to Alan Kirby and his dystopian concept of “digimodernism”, where the “apparently real” is the dominant aesthetic,  “one where the knowing pastiches and parodies of postmodernism cease to register because they require a broad foundation of past cultural knowedge that has been leveled into non-meaning”. Some of his     descriptions of digimodernism are helpful to think about fake news and how fake have lost its subversive potential. Recommended by Emilia     Yang, Ph.D. Student in Media Arts and Practice

The Quantum Paradox of Truthiness: Satire, Activism,     and the Postmodern Condition, by James E. Caron     Caron cites Geoffrey Baym’s concept of “discursive integration,” a     concept he offers as a way of speaking about, understanding, and     acting within the world defined by the permeability of form and the fluidity   of content. “Discourses of news, politics, entertainment, and marketing have grown deeply inseparable; the languages and practices of each have lost their distinctiveness and are being melded into previously unimagined combinations.”Both of these authors are part of a Special Issue of the Studies in American Humor: American Satire and the     Postmodern Condition. I see the problem of fake news as a historical     trend where on one side news has accommodated to feed what sells and     what people want to read (click bait), and on the other side as Alex     mentions, we are not aware of the complexity of the Internet, its politics     and interests. I also recommend Evgeny Morozov’s critiques like The Internet,” Recommended by EmiliaYang, PhD Student in Media Arts and Practice

In Transit, by Claudia Rankine     While I teach in a cinema school, my doctoral degree is from an English  Department, and poetry wields a particular language that has spoken its own truths to me across the years. This fall, I have found myself turning to poetry again and again, searching for words that might ground meaning beyond the swirls of information that were scrolling across my many screens. Although this piece by Claudia Rankine was published nearly twenty-five years ago, it speaks powerfully to our present. Recommended by Tara McPherson, Professor, Department of Cinema, University of Southern California

[acdhw]

The Lion’s Mane

This is the second story written from Holmes’s POV, but unlike BLAN, it doesn’t feel like Holmes at all. While the narrative in BLAN is always strictly to the point of the case (except those 9 times when Holmes mentions Watson, saying how he misses him), LION features a lot of romantic descriptions of nature, florid similes, admiration of a pretty lady... doesn’t it remind you of someone? The very voice of Holmes is off and there are too many inconsistencies:

Holmes yearned for Nature while living in the gloom of London? Oh please, Holmes didn’t care for it and loved the atmosphere of the metropolis. “...as to my companion, neither the country nor the sea presented the slightest attraction to him. He loved to lie in the very centre of five millions of people, with his filaments stretching out and running through them, responsive to every little rumor or suspicion of unsolved crime. Appreciation of Nature found no place among his many gifts, and his only change was when he turned his mind from the evil-doer of the town to track down his brother of the country.” (RESI)

Holmes waxes poetic about the beauty and merits of a woman and compares her to a flower??

Holmes reads everything indiscriminately and stores “out-of-the-way knowledge without scientific system” in his brain attic??? “A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it.” (STUD) Seriously, it’s Watson who reads anything all the time, from yellow-backed novels to decent fiction to medical literature and etc. 

The relationship between McPherson and Murdoch is a curious parallel between Holmes and Victor Trevor. In both cases two men meet because the dog which belongs to one of them attacks the other. Murdoch resembles Holmes in many ways, being tall, thin, dark, and somewhat detached from reality, living in his own world. 

Murdoch says a rather interesting thing after McPherson’s death: “I have lost to-day the only person who made The Gables habitable.”

Maud Bellamy, when asked whether Murdoch was an admirer of hers, says: “There was a time when I thought he was.” It implies that later she discovered that she was mistaken. 

So there’s a picture which becomes quite clear: “for a year or more Murdoch has been as near to McPherson as he ever could be to anyone”, his feelings for McPherson being most likely unrequited. Then McPherson fell for Maud. And Murdoch, loving him selflessly, agreed to be a messenger between them.

Another interesting detail is that Murdoch is a math teacher and ACD makes him a prime suspect. As we remember, Moriarty was a mathematician too. It must have sprang from ACD’s distaste for math. “It is indeed, as you say, a very great consolation to know that I will never more need mathematics. Classics I like, and I shall always try to keep up my knowledge of them, but mathematics of every sort I detest and abhor.” (ACD in a letter to Dr Bryan Charles Waller, a family friend, September 9, 1876)

Holmes lives with “his old housekeeper” who is rather outgoing and knows every bit of gossip in the village. The very same housekeeper then takes care of an injured Murdoch, being obviously proficient in administering medical aid. And note that when Murdoch pleads for “oil, opium, morphia” to relieve his pain, there’s only oil in Holmes’s house. No opium or morphine, considering his past.

Taking into account all of the above, I’m pretty sure that it was Watson who wrote this story. From Holmes’s POV. But his obvious is showing. In BLAN Holmes tried very zealously to make an impression that Watson and he are estranged. In LION these two cunning gentlemen continue this charade, to protect their privacy, of course, as always. They live quietly together in retirement and have fun by still mystifying their readers.

[nsula]

Spring 2019 Honor List

NATCHITOCHES – One thousand forty-three undergraduates were named to Northwestern State University’s Honor List for the Spring 2019 semester. Students on the Honor List must be enrolled full-time and have a grade point average of between 3.0 and 3.49. Students listed by hometown are as follows.

 Abbeville – Annemarie Broussard, MaKayla Lewis, Zabrinia Spates;

 Aimwell – Jonathan Poole;

 Alexandria – Markeyla Anderson, Gavin Arabie, Sharenthia Chew, Angel Christophe, Josyf Das Neves, Joshua Dorsey, Alexis Flowers, Kelvina Ford, Zuleika Fountain, Vanity Givens, Kyle Guillory, Khloe Jasper, Whitney Joffrion, Gustov Johnson, Martavius King, Ashley Koestler, Kasey Lacombe, Taylar Lee, Kelli Leone, Jimmie Magee, Dean Mayeux, Jason McDaniel, Jalyn Mcneal, Ashley Mitchell, John O’Dell, Madison Ogorek, Tiffany Ore, Sadae Polk, Alyssa Rivers, Mart Sampson, Brandy Sayer, Shakera Shorts, Kizzy Slaughter, Kiaijah Thomas, Hailey Urena, Jenna Wade, Alysha Walker, Aalyiah Williams;

 Amelia – Renwick McPherson;

 Anacoco – Rachel Fournier, Angela Guy, Andrea Halladay, Tristan Harvey, Madeleine Hensley, Aaron Norris, Jason Ortiz, Ireland Slocum, Amanda Sorg, Tyler Stephens, Emily Williams, Rhonda Perry,

 Arlington, Texas -- Mariah Denson, Devin Gipson, O’Shea Jackson;

 Arnaudville – Macey Boyd, Bailey Dautreuil, Maddison Janice;

 Athens – Jacob Ellis;

 Atlanta – Ashley Mitchell, Jackson Teal, Jamie Wagley;

 Aurora, Colorado – William Mccullough;

 Avondale – Mikala Clark;

 Bastrop – Alisha Bolton;

 Baton Rouge – Jordan Hall, Melvin Hudson;

 Belcher – Loriann Long;

 Boyce – Lane Robinson

 Baker – Devante George, Cherish Netter;

 Ball – Angel Chavez, Christopher Constance, Bryan Sayes, Vanessa Toney, Alice Wilson;

 Bastrop – Allenicia Arbet;

 Baton Rouge – Mark Alexander, Chloe Castello, Ricky Chatman, Shelby Christian, Briyonna Collins, Madison Harris, Mckane Kinchen, Griffin Lundin, Cydni Millican, Rachel Monsour, Katie Pham, James Steelman, Jharon Whitfield;

 Beacon Falls, Connecticut – Stacey Brown;

 Bedford, Texas – Katina Booker;

 Belle Chasse – Hayley Barbazon, Denim Reeves;

 Belmont – Kelly Bass, Ashley Hill;

 Bentley – Heather Jones,

 Benton – Bryanna Cooper, Steven Gardner, Milla Gonzales, Grayson Isom, Colby Ponder, Blaine Reeder, Hannah Schott, Jackson Mathews, Megan Russell;

 Bermuda – Michael Vienne;

 Bienville – Sarah Macynski;

 Big Spring, Texas – Kristin Wilson;

 Birmingham, Alabama – Emma Wallace;

 Bogalusa – Amanda Crawford, Taylor Johnson;

 Bossier City – Yetunde Adegbovega, Austin Averitt, Abigail Castillo, Kendall Corkern, Cameron Davis, Daniel Dial, Kimberly Eloby, Ri’Kaela England, Khairig Frost, Hannah Gaspard, Margaret Gates, Jacob Guest, Tangy Heilbling, Ashlynn Henderson, Jordan Hunter, Shane Kaiser, Alyssa Kidd, Seth Lowery, Jordan Markle, Rebecca Markle, Jennifer Martinez, Rance Mason, Coby McGee, Alexa Montgomery, Yuridia Olea, Sabri Parks, Shelby Peebles, Brittani Phillips, Rachael Pierce, Cierra Rachal, Litzy Rivera, Gabriela Rodriguez, Madison Rowland, Rheagan Rowland, Dakota Schudalla, Makayla Strother, Trevor Tackett, Kellie Toms, Bobby Trichel, Madalyn Watson, Pamula Whicker, Elizabeth Zanca, Nour Zeidan;

 Boutte – Jose Del Rio;

 Boyce – Savanna Budnik, Timothy Glass, Kaitlyn Miller, Jessie Turner, Julia Watson;

 Brownsboro, Texas – Brice Borgeson;

 Buffalo, New York – LeTerrance Reed;

 Bunkie – Izola Williams;

 Bush – Serena Bonnette;

 Calhoun – Marissa Barentine;

 Campti – Paige Cason, Damarte Fisher, Kourtney Horton, Malachi Lester, Pepper Lloyd, Madison McLaren;

 Canton, Texas – Tiffany Cayson, Jack Dyre;

 Cape Coral, Florida – Karleigh Acosta;

 Carencro – Malik Babin, Chaney Dodge, Harold Williams;

 Cartagena, Colombia – Samantha Arellano Chavz, Edwin Castro Frias, Jalima Dias, Miledys Jiminez Vasquez, Daniel Racero Rocha, Gabriela Forero Salcedo, Sadoc Silva Calderon;

 Cartagena Bolivar, Colombia – Alejandro Dager Carrasquilla;

 Castor – Loxlie Dodd, Hogan Nealy;

 Center, Texas – John Harrington;

 Chalmette – Isaiah Carpenter, Gabriel Ernest, Sara Mendoza;

 Chatham – Jonathan Gill;

 Cincinnati, Ohio – Terry Brewer;

 Clarence – Quintarous Coleman, Kimberly Reliford;

 Clinton – Arianna Parrish;

 Cloutierville – Alexia Gistarb;

 Colfax – Camren Bell, Kensey Knight, Paidin Luneau, Kaitlyn Slalyter, Ontavius Williams;

 Colorado Springs, Colorado – Sarah Wagner;

 Columbia – Jackson McCann;

 Columbus, Mississippi – William Taylor;  

 Converse – Zachary Faircloth, Nicolas Farmer, Victoria Gasper, Wade Hicks, Jared Jagneaux, Skyler Laroux, Ashley Sims, Delia Smith, Triston Waldon;

 Coppell, Texas – Jada Freeman;

 Cottonport – Jacob Harris, Joneshia Jacobs, Christine Lemoine;  

 Coushatta – Journi Brown, Faith Cason, La’Zaria Clark, Jon Hester, Tawanda Johnson, Amey Sepulvado;

 Covington – Madison Blanks, Sarah Shiflett, Jennifer Vo;

 Coyolilla Veracruz, Mexico – Guadalupe de Jesus Mendez Zaragoza;

 Crowley – Mc’Kayleen Milson;

 Cullen – D’Agurelle Epps;

 Cut Off – Zachary Breaux, Kaelyn Musgrave;

 Dallas – Nadia Carney;

 De Berry, Texas – Sarah Britt;

 DeQuincy – Hayden Robertson;

 DeRidder – Carson Brown, Lauren Callis, Maygin Chesson, Sheridan Douglas, Sarah Fulford, Katherine Goodman, Michelle Green, Alexis Holland, Elliott Jones, Ethel Jones, Jordan Mack-McNair, Presley Phelps, Richard-Jayson Puzon, Morgan Smith, Heather Sorton, Madison Tilley, Tyler Wright, Airiuna Satchell;

 Delhi – KeDiejah Cooper;

 Denham Springs – Samantha Burgess, Joni Burlew, Caleb Callender, Zyneshia Jennings;

 Deville – Emily Bonial, Courtney DeVille, Amy Henderson, Ashtyn Knapp, Karlee Littleton, Morgan McCrory, Caleb Rhodes, Marcia Rogers, Garrett Sellers;

 Dodson – Nolan Griffin, Brendan Thomas;

 Donaldsonville – Jermaine Collier, Natalie Landry;

 Doyle – Mackensie Ulrich;

 Doyline – Carmesia Russell;

 Dry Prong – Ethan Lewis, Shian Murrell, Lindsey Weatherford, Ashley Webb;

 Dubach – Oilvia Hancock, Kayla Loyd;

 Dubberly – Audrie Dison;

 Duson – Alexandra Broussard, Desmond Prejean;

 Edmond, Oklahoma – Ravon Nero;

 Elizabeth – Hannah LaCaze;

 Elmer – Victoria Coleman

 Elton – Maia Lacomb;

 Eunice – Tanner Thibodeaux, Emily Deshotel;

 Falfurrias, Texas – Marco Arevalo;

 Farmerville – Adrianna Loyd, Jalissa Loyd;

 Fayetteville, Arkansas – Cody Coleman;

 Ferriday – Dalenesha Wimley;

 Fisher – Hayden Courtney;

 Flatwoods – Lindsey Willis;

 Florien – Katelynn Alford, Danielle Anthony, Gabrielle Bryant, Braelyn Calhoun, Magon Lester, Ashton Remedies, Jordan Weldon;

 Flower Mound, Texas – Randall Ruffner;

 Folsom – Monique Basse, Shaylee Laird;

 Forest Hill – Adrianne Dore;

 Forney, Texas – Kaymi Wheeler;

 Fort Polk – Brittany Chadwick, Mara Eifolla, Jayla Hart, Andrea Marquez, Madison Popp, Amanda. Ridenhour, Shiela May Tabonares, Whitney Tipton, Kiara Turner, TeKweena Wilson, Alexie Sarabia;

 Fort Riley, Kansas – Breanna Bryan;

 Fort Worth, Texas – Charles Gregory Meade;

 Franklin – Zachary McEndree;

 Franklinton – Randy Garza, Brittany Sanders;

 Frierson – Mason Barnes;

 Frisco, Texas – Hallie McCarroll;

 Geisman – Rylee Leglue;

 Guin, Alabama – Taylor Porter;

 Garland, Texas – Joseph Goodson, Kobe Poole, Nia Randall;

 Geismar – Elijah John-Baptiste;

 Georgetown – Kaleb Hudson;

 Glenmora – Reagan Humphries, Abbie Johnson, Kerstyn Johnson;

 Gloster – Caitlyn Burford, Paris Gillum;

 Goldonna – Brianna Calhoun;

 Gonzales – Julie Breaux, Chaquera Caldwell, Ashlyn Chenevert;

 Grand Cane – Sandra Kimble, Ciana Mcintyre, Emily Miller;

 Grand Isle – Abigail Frazier;

 Grand Prairie, Texas – Stephen Garrett;

 Greenwell Springs – Morgan Bellot;

 Greenwood – Leah Evans, Tamera Harris, Trenton Starks;

 Gretna – Braxton Brown, Leroy Holmes, Nadia Johnson, Michael Wilson;

 Gueydan – Hannah Sedatol;

 Hackberry – Lexie Stine;

 Hahnville – Cierra Puryear, Colin Vedros;

 Hammond – Kaylon Wiloughby;

 Harlengen – Frances Knight;

 Harvey – Destiny Johnson;

 Haughton – Deitric Alexander, Shakayla Bell, Katelynn Edwards, Anitra Fayad, Camry Heath, Kylee Jackson, Timothy Newell, Angie Nguyen, Makenezie Rains, Licentra Randolph, Bailee Rattanachai, Kaylee Sanford, Joshua Steele, Megan Tilley, Laura Waldroup, Katherine Weeks, Kacie Wilkinson, Chases Woltz, India Wright;

 Haynesville – Jmarquiez Robinson, Sabrina Sowell, Michael Turner, Allysa Dodds;

 Heflin – Kendall Brunson, Simiuna Cook, Kyle Smith;

 Henderson – Andrew Blackmon;

 Hessmer – Daren Dauzat;

 Hineston – Victoria Carroll;

 Homer – Francene Ferguson, Keyana Mccoy, Mariah West;

 Hornbeck – Lane Alford, Ariel Rodgers;

 Houma -- Courtney Chancellor, Rhiannon Dean, Venessa McKinley;

 Houston – Rafael Bonilla, Jennifer Hitt, Casey Irvin, Natashia Jackson;

 Humble, Texas – Toiquisha Johnson, Furquan Shorts;

 Independence – Maria Thomas-Alfaro, Chloe Whiddon;

 Iowa – Keiona Guy;

 Jasper, Texas – Linsey Guthrie;

 Jeanerette – David Blakesley;  

 Jefferson – Emily Ricalde;

 Jena – Tiara Brown, Braegan Burlew, Candace Decker, Madison Erwin, Jasmine Furlow, Chelsea Redd, Tyler Thomas;  

 Jennings – Destiny Brown, Anayah Joseph;

 Jonesboro – Ashlyn Gaines, JaVonna Lawrence, Alex Toms;

 Kaplan – Chris Hebert;

 Katy, Texas – Brittnay Cecil, Floyd Turner;

 Keatchie – Sarah Plaisance;  

 Keithville – Germany Jones, Shelby Loftin, Cara Lorenen, Maya Porter;  

 Kenner – Emily Bennett, Willie Soniat, Parul Sharma;

 Kentwood – Iris Travis;

 Kernen – Antonia Blattner;

 Kinder – Teralyn Plumber;

 Konarskie, Poland – Elzbieta Iwaniuk;

 Labadieville – Jacellynn LeBlanc, Logan Simoneaux;

 Lacombe – Amy Schneider;

 Lafayette – Taylor Aucoin, Ashanti Alfred, LaToya Bellard, Emma Burlet, Jared Dore, Reagan Guillory, Jacob Hawkins, Qualantre Jackson, Michele Kramer, JaKayle Lee, Paul Martin, Skylar Mccoy, Robert Middleton, Sarah Palmintier, Aishwarya Patel, Tylar Senegal, John Touchet, Ireland Williams, China Young;

 Lafitte – Helen Kassahun;

 Lake Charles – Landon Dore, Camren Green, Joel Moreaux, Jordan Mulsow, Destany Washington;

 LaPlace – Caitlyn Turnbull;

 Las Vegas, Nevada – Caitlin Schweighart;

 Le Mars, Iowa – Shannon Smith;

 League City, Texas – Lacee Savage, Blake Tessitore;

 Leander – Karissa Boswell;

 Lebeau – Sharissa Tanner;

 Lecompte – Logan Cheek;

 Leesville – Dakota Abrams, Cecilia Alfaya, Kimberly Alwell, Jebediah Barrett, Hailey Brantley, Kaylee Buby, Victoria Butler, Anthony Cantrell, Charlotte Cassin, Joseph Cryer, Cameron Davis, Marlee Dowden, Payton Gordy, Caleb Hillman, Hanna Johnson, Zachary Keeton, Lauren Kreyenbuhl, Mahala Lewis, Christina Lluvera, Gerard Lord, Brianna Maricle, Billy McGhee, Amy McKellar, Ashley McKellar, Kaitlyn Pajinag, Chloe Rouleau, Destiny Sanders, Cesar Santos, Dalton Schulte, Erin Schwartz, Megan Trask, Tabitha Vasquez, Marissa Weldon, Lana West, Cheyene Wise, Mikayla Zills;

 Lena – Dillon Guin, Courtnee Hamberlin, Cortland Smith;

 Lettsworth – Landon Benton;

 Little Elm, Texas – Daniel Larin;

 Little Rock, Arkansas – Whitney Jinks;

 Livingston – Jay Gentry-Pace;

 Livonia – Ryann Bizette, Shanyia Haynes;

 Lockport – Malaina Falgout;

 Logansport – Rebecca Tomlin, Shelby Woods, Kendoyle Cox;

 Loranger – Cambree Bailey;

 Lubbock, Texas – Miranda Stroud;

 Mansfield – Tremeon Allen, Latyeauna Goodwin, Nicolette Hogan, Canessia Johnson, Demetric Preston, Madylin Sullivan, Kyah Wilson,

 Madisonville – Zoe Almaraz, Bailey Perrilloux;

 Mandeville -- Mya Holmes, Jalen Willis;

 Many – Jocelyn Cannon, Patrick Colston, Sarah Cross, Timothy Early, Sydni Easley, Kyle Elliott, Tiarra Frazier, Brittney Garcie, Moses Gonzales, Jessie Johnson, Clayton Kelley, Lathan Meyers, Darion Miller, Matthew Peace, Andrew Penfield, Tanner Rains, Madison Rutherford, Aubrey Sepulvado, Mallary Veuleman;

 Maringouin – Laura Scronce;

 Marksville – Regan Balius, Nichole Dauzat, Leah Dupuy, Kayle Gaspard, Olivia Johnson, Victoria Lucas;

 Marrero – Kelsey Brooks, Lius Escobar;

 Marshall, Texas – Alexis Balbuena, Abagale Godrey;

 Marthaville – Dylan Daniels, Veronica James, Thomas Lirette;

 Meraux – Sophie Stechmann;

 Merryville – Kyleah Franks;

 Mesquite, Texas – Eric Renova, Curtis Williams;

 Metairie – Kathryn Bancroft, Madysen Norra;

 Midland, Texas – Channing Burleson;

 Minden – Erin Dotson, Layla Easley, Abby Greene, Karasha Harris, Kiara Jenkins, Donna Law, Asata Sylvas, Jorge Zaldivar;

 Missouri City, Texas – Cayla Jones;

 Monroe – Demonta Brown, Kennedy Butler, Jansen Chisley, Kiara Drumgo, Taylor Edwards, Jaronda Griffin, Prettyunje Hunter, Diamond Knox-Jackson, Ashley Murphy, Keldrick Ward;

 Montegut – Stephanie Cohen;

 Monterey – Rebecca Womack;

 Montgomery – Tabatha Bowlin, Payton Carroll, Gerald Chelette, Hailee Skains, Laryn Graves;

 Monticello, Arkansas – Kamilah Kelley;

 Mora – Gracy Rowell;

 Moreauville – Reginea Alexander, Ashley Dunnam;

 Natchitoches – Jeremy Aaron, Cass Arnold, Aaron Averett, Thomas Balthazar, Adam Barnes, Blake Bechtel, Terrius Bell, Kacy Bonds, Matthew Brown, Charles Bouchie, Santaurus Burr,Ladiamond Burrell,  Dominitra Charles, Kaleb Chesser, Lane Clevenger, Jessica Coleman, Kaia Collins, Christian Cunningham, Sean Day, Moises Florez-Perez, Hannah Forsythe, Eric Fredieu, Abbie Garner, Peyton Graham, Denetria Green, Pamela Gross, Thomas Hadzeriga, Jalen Hall, Jasmine Hall, Samantha Hall, Deshon Hayes, Jett Hayes, Saul Hernandez, David Holmes, Jasmine Howard, Kanika Irchirl, Rachel Jeane, Emily Johnson, Karlee Laurence, Robert Lee, Emily Leone, Christopher Lewis, Helen-Lois Mancil, Wesley Manuel, Savannah Maricle, Brooklyn Martin, Tyler McCain, Lamarr McGaskey, Kristin McQuillin, Joshua Minor, Jair Morelos Castilla, Jakori Morris, Katelyn Murphy, Tori Neitte, Matthew Nelson, Donovan Ohnoutka, Christian Owens, Leilani Padilla, Kenneth Penrod, Eryn Percle, Veronica Pikes, Kenneth Poleman, Katherine Rachal, Michael Raymond, Jeffrey Remo, Devin Reyes, Kayla Rokett, Taylor Rutledge, Shelbi Ryan, Jalon Sangster, Chandler Sarpy, Gabrielle Scarborough, Natalie Sers, Anna Sibley, Athena Smith, Blake Teekell, Joseph Thibodaux, Margaret Thompson, Lantz Vercher, Elizabeth Vienne, Garrett Vienne, Huey Virece, Laurin Waldrip, Jacob Ware, Brianna Watermolen, Anna Waxley, Emma-Leigh Webster, Ellen Wells, Deondra White, Nicholas Wiggins, Leah Wilkins, Shavon Williams,

 Natchez – Victoria Bradford, James Rougeou, Lauren Seawood;  

 Navasota, Texas – Shelton Eppler;

 New Iberia – Mia Bashay, Dainell Ledet, Alex Romero;

 New Llano – Deja Castille, Laura Cowell, Kendra Jones, Earnesta Riggins, Gabriel Vargas, Caden Wheeler;

 New Milford, Connecticut – Lisa Rosenberg;

 New Orleans – Demetrius Boulieu, Nyasha Brown, Damon Carter, Jeron Duplantier, Darlene Fairley, Matthew Gonzales, Omar Hall, RyShaneka Kirsh, Maxwell Martello, Phallon Robinson, Jonae Skinner, Rishard Winford;  

 Newellton – Chasity Glasspoole;

 Noble – Shelby Etheridge, Tiffany McMillion, Krista Rivers, Thomas Rivers;

 North Richland Hills, Texas – Cody Germany;

 North York, Ontario – Alexander Comanita;

 Oak Ridge – Kelly Futch;

 Oakdale – Clayton Ashworth, JaQuanda Evins, Dylan Hamblin, Destani Johnson;

 Olla – Morgan Barbo, Amanda Fenoli, Savannah Kirl;

 Omro, Wisconsin – Jason Kralovetz;

 Opelousas – Keylee Boone, Jordan Brisco, Kenya Gradnigo, Kayla Pitre, Lashante Richard, Kallie Zeringue;

 Paris, Texas – Cody Vorwerk;

 Pelican – Tyler Howard;

 Pensacola, Florida – Mallory McClain;

 Pierre Part – Blaise Crochet;

 Pineville – Savannah Hope Andries, Melissa Barnhill, April Cain, Erika Carter, Korey Cleveland, Luke Conway, Sydney Duhon, Selena Ferguson, Ameera Ghannam, Ollie Gossett, Leia Graham, Megan Jacks, Trey Joseph, Ethan Lachney, Brooke Leger, Rodney Lonix, Sierra Matney, Sonya McClellan, Autumn McSwain, Abby Nichols, James Perry, Hannah Pusateri, Christina Rachal, Amaria Sapp, Elizabeth Shuler, Laikyn Slusher, Robert Tabor, Emily Wiley, Sarah-Elizabeth Wilkes;

 Pitkin – Braydon Doyle, Jayce Doyle, Jessica Jones;

 Plain Dealing – Nicholas Cason;

 Plano, Texas – Asher Van Meter;

 Plaucheville – Alexis Casarez;

 Pleasant Hill – Makenzi Patrik;  

 Pollock – Krystal Bennett, Sarah Hunt, Dalton Kopp, Allyssa Zemp;

 Ponchatoula – Keyadda Brim, Kaitlyn Hawkins;

 Pontotoc, Mississippi – Elizabeth Murrah;

 Port Allen – Evan Daigle, Kaleb Gauthier;

 Port Barre – Danielle Schexnayder, Kristen Sonnier;

 Prairieville – Hannah Beason, Donesha Blount, Lauren Breaux, Claire Credeur, Kristen Prettelt, Lysia Varisco, Elllise Vice, Brady Wilson, Faith Wilson;

 Pride – Ashlyn Johnson;

 Princeton – Katelyn Nattin, Ariell Shield;

 Provencal – Taylor Craft;

 Puyallup, Washington – Aine Oh;

 Quitman – Cindy Crawford;

 Raceland – Emily Adams;

 Ragley – Katherine Greenmun;

 Rayne – Bishop Breaux;

 Reno, Nevada – Sydney Oren;

 Richardson, Texas – Riley Cantrell;

 Richfield, Minnesota – Leah Barnes;

 Richmond, Texas – Ebonie Francis;

 Ridgecrest – Melissa Kelly;

 Ringgold – McKenzie Davidson, Autumn McCoy, Olivia Prado;

 River Ridge – Rachel Chimeno;

 Robeline – Chad Berly, Patricia Goodwin, Hannah Hennigan, Kristal Lachney, Kacy Morae, Ember O’Bannon, Laura Olguin, Morgan Rachal, Hannah Schoth;

 Rosepine -- Emilee Johnson;

 Ruston – Paul Bryant, Tekiren Evans, Jalen Garrison, Seth Hartsfield, Christopher Letendre, Aujani Richburg;

 St. Amant – Larson Fontenot;  

 St. Bernard – Ashlie Kieff, Emily Snyder;

 St. Francisville – Emeria Jones;

 St. Martinville – Belinda Alexander, Jacoby Fontenette, Destiny Simon, Maleik White, Cassandra Zenon;

 St. Rose – Crystal Jones;

 Saline – Makayla Jackson, Isabella Jones, Malayna Poche, Aaron Savell;

 San Antonio, Texas – Matthew Aguilera, Anthony Renteria;

 Sarepta – Katie Ingle;

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Scott – Hannah Durgin, Tayla Soileau;

 Shreveport – Aubrey Allen, Katelynn Benge, Frances Boggs, Leta Broome, Makayla Bryant, Shatericka Christor, Kesherion Collins, Naterria Davis, Reonia Davis, Hailey Deaton, Miya Douglas, Daja Easter, Deadrian Egans, Meghan Fry, Cassidy Giddens, Savon Gipson, Ellen Grappe, MIzzani Grigsby, Lindsey Hagan, Adrianne Hampton, Katelyn Householder, Shelby Hunter, Jazzmine Jackson, John Jefferson, Drake Johnson, Korynthia Johnson, Zachary Johnson, Nathan Jones, Summer Jones, Alicia King, Lauren Lee, Samantha Lyons, Tiffany Mack, Caitlyn Malloy, Christopher Markham, Andria Mason, Ashley Mason, Tifphany McClinton, Rici McDonald, Claire McMillan, Samantha Metoyer, Najah Mitchell, Brittney Nicleso-Rayfus, Megan Osborn, Tara Pair, Tierry Perry, Christina Peterson, Kalyn Phillips, Hayden Pilcher, Sierra Prelow, Shelby Reddy, Grayson Roberts, Jalisa Roberts, Savonya Robinson, Madelyn Ruiz, Amanda Rushing, Breanna Samuel, Angelica Satcher, Shermaine Shorter, Jackiesha Simmons, Ciara Sipes, Richard Sloan, Kendria Smith, Jessica Sowers, Jamie Stewart, Somer Stratton, Lindsey Stroud, Khalil Sumlin, Destini Sweet, Hailey Thomas, Anne Tibbit, Katerina Vargas, Khamaria Vaughn, De’Andra Washington, Lakayla Whitaker, Gaylin White, Jamisa Williams, Lajayda Williams, Tre’Darius Williams, Kristy Wilson, India Wright;  

 Sibley – Madison Mouser;

 Sieper – Emily George;

 Simmesport – Lexi Gremillion, Elise Normand;

 Simpson – Katelynn Martin;

 Slidell – Terran Cole, Noah Glass, Tristan Johnson, Rachel Reed, Maci Walgamotte, Thomas Garner;

 Sondheimer – Anna Marsh;

 Springfield – Tyler Pigott;

 Sterlington – Catherine Trichell;

 Stonewall – Bessie Cable, Dawson Cranford, Emma Delafield, Emmy Hinds, Robert McAllen, Mackenzie Panther, Maguire Parker, Heather Schiller, Tehya McDonald, Chassidy Sutton;

 Sugar Land, Texas – Jake Gore;

 Sulphur – Andrew Stephens;

 Sunset – Zachary Linville, Lauren Pope;

 Tallahassee, Florida – Edward Clarke;

 Tallulah – Anna Boney;

 Taylor, Texas – Jake English;  

 Texarkana, Texas – Daphne Hammett, Kristin McDuffie, Jasmine Neal;

 Thibodaux – Beth Olin, Cierra Winch

 Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania – Brianna Morosco;

 Tomball, Texas – Natalee Henry;

 Toms River, New Jersey – Jacqueline Manza;

 Toronto, Ontario – Rhea Verma;

 Trout – Makayla King, Haley Lisenby, Kalee Mcguffee, Andrea Walters;

 Troy, New York – Kasey Whitmore;

 Tupelo, Mississippi – Bailey Griffin;

 Ville Platte – Gabrielle Chapman, Nicholas Blood, Andrea Bradley;

 Vinton – Shae Cramer, Toby Stanley, Alayna Zaunbrecher;

 Violet – Callie Maschmeyer;

 Vivian – Kaylee Scott, Chase Lewis;

 Vossburg, Mississippi – Chequira Bonner;

 Walker – Madison Arnold;

 Walworth, New York – Devonne Seelig;

 Washington – Kyeishia Evans, Catherine Stevens;

 Waskom, Texas – Blakely Canfield, Zink Kiper, Laken Thompson;

 Welsh – Autumn Hanks;

 West Helena, Arkansas – Brittani Arana;

 West Monroe – Abigail Beck, Austin Dodson, Brianna Fife, Kennedy Ford, Allison Freeman, Aubrey Gamble, Jasmyn Johnson, Eva Sanford, Madison Shidiskis, Melissa Taylor, Christopher Wynn;  

 Westwego – Tja’h Edwards;

 Wilmington, Delaware – Amy Bourett;

 Winnfield – Annalise Austin, Harli Austin, Rhonda Duff, Kara Grantadams, Rakeen Williams, Caroline Womack;

 Winnsboro – A’Lexus Johnson;

 Woodworth – Lexus Weston;

 Youngsville – Devin Forestier, Devyn Shores, Sophia Toranto;

 Zachary – Laney Davis;

 Zwolle – Kierstyn Cartinez, Dayton Craig, Trenton Malmay, Ariana Martinez, Treveon Perry, Autumn Wyatt.