#but then after a change of heart by his colleague he pursued the justice once again

[vannessa010]

W.I.P. But needed to share bc this wasn't getting out of my brain lol JJK vs Ace Attorney Explanation for the picks on tags

[zarathelonewolf]

Currently writing the first two chapters of my KNY AU... They're about the main OC, Masako, and how she exactly became a Demon Slayer. I'm gonna spoil you something: it wasn't really easy for her, since she was her father's only daughter, and he became more protective of her when he came back from a mission so gravely injured that he had to retire and become a cultivator: she had always trained with him before that moment and listened to his stories, and although he already knew the dangers of the profession his daughter wanted to choose... the dangers of the path he had chosen and that she wanted to follow... he had let her passion for training fester. That was because she was already showing some form of propensione for the Stone Breathing, which her father was expert of.

However, after his injury, even if he did let her train on her own as he occupied himself by training other apprentices as cultivator, he forbid Masako from ever becoming Demon Slayer: she could still train for leasure, or as a hobby, but now that Ryu (her father) had lost both his friends, an arm and a leg in his last mission, he really didn't want her to end up the same way he had.

Just like Hinata, one of Ryu's trainees, had told Masako one night before going to bed, when she asked him why Ryu didn't want to send her to a possible death but was OK doing so for other young promises... Ryu's only crime was loving her too much, and worrying like every parent would have in his shoes.

She rebels, one night, by taking his father's kusarigama while he sleeps and letting her frustrations go in the forest, using the weapon to create a whole opening among the trees. She knew the first forms of Stone Breathing by self-taching and observation of her father, so the devastation was pretty heavy. She was seen by Kaito, the apprentice Ryu was training at the time, and then scolded by her father and never allowed to train anymore... Not even in her free time, or with a staff, like she had done until her rebellion. He did so because he realized that, to keep her truly away from the world of Demon Slayers, he had to use a firmer hand. He ignored her when she started to try and make amends in the days afterwards, and the Masako Ryu had known until then started to fade: she treated him with immense but cold respect, tried busying herself by doing more "feminine" activities and spending more time with her mother instead of her father, didn't ask him for stories or stare at his training with apprentices anymore... she interacted much, much less.

Ryu realized that he had done something wrong: he had lit a fire in his daughter ever since she'd been eight by letting her train with him, and now that he had lost so much and retired and that she had grown up to fourteen years, in his attempts to shield her, he had severed a strong bond and turned her world upside down. He remembers her last words after the forest incident: she had said, utterly devastated, that the embers in her heart would never truly be set ablaze and that they would have never burned anything worthwhile... That all her efforts in the end were for nothing, and that she would have changed nothing through them.

Ryu, at some point, grows tired of the atmosphere and follows Kaito's suggestion: he writes to his old Sensei, his cultivator, Fukunaga. Since Fukunaga's style isn't to text back, he pops out in front of Ryu's house with his eagle to pay him a visit.

Fukunaga listens carefully to his former apprentice, then asks him to see his daughter and allow her to show him what she was truly capable of.

After examining Masako's performance, Fukunaga has a loooong talk with her father. Since he was affectionate towards his students, former and present, but didn't let it cloud his judgment, he concludes that it would be infinitely better for Masako to become a Demon Slayer instead of letting her fade away, and that if Ryu would keep being immovable, Fukunaga would have trained her himself, to ensure the hardships of her life as a Demon Slayer would be lightened by solid experience, training, and validation. He also observed that it would be wiser for him to contact "an old friend of his" to teach her the basics of Wind Breathing: she wasn't totally compatible with Stone Breathing, and the imput of Wind Breathing could allow her to develop a Form that would be perfectly fit for her: it wasn't the first time Fukunaga attempted joint training with another cultivator in tow.

He gives Ryu a week to decide, and then he leaves, after sparing an encouraging look to both father and daughter.

I bet you already know where this is going: Ryu allowed her to follow Fukunaga, and she swore to him that she would have come back after her eventual Selection, and every mission, to reassure him that she was alright.

During her training, which goes on until she's 16, she fuses Stone and Wind Breathing creating Diamond breathing: it uses two swords, one bigger than the other; the bigger one is used to charge the enemy, as shield even, and for the heavier strikes. The lighter one is used for feints, and strikes that require speed and precision. Trust me: it was incredibly wonky when she first developed it, and Fukunaga and Igarashi (her cultivators) had discouraged her idea in the beginning, but as unstable as her first version of the style was, she survived the selection...splendidly,might I add, even getting herself a friend.

She becomes Pillar when she's 18,almost 19,after destroying a draconic demon on her own: a Lower Moon that swam noisily and messily in a river, making it flood often and becoming the doom of the nearby villages. She gained three ugly scars on the left side of her face, maiming her left cheek and her chin,and one on her back, but her smile stayed just as fierce and her eyes never wavered, even if one of them was milky and her smile looked scary as hell because of the wound; she was lucky she didn't loose mobility of that side at all. Her Hashira alias is Diamond Pillar, from her now almost perfected Breathing Style. She makes best friends with the old Stone Hashira and the Shadow Hashira. Shadow Breathing, for those curious, derives from Wind and Water Breathing: his main holder bonds with Masako because their styles both developed by fusing two already known techniques, and the Stone Hashira respects her efforts. Shadow breathing will become lost in the Canon era because of his holder's misterious death; don't worry, he isn't the one that has the demon friend. He dies while on spy duty: he had infiltrated Douma's Cult, and Masako is sent there with his tsuguko as replacement of the Shadow Pillar... The same mission in which her tsuguko will lose his humanity, and immediately rebel Douma's influence out of pure spite and conviction, saving some prisoners and his teacher in the process.

Masako sees the Stone Hashira retire and leave the spot to Gyomei Himejima (19 years old) when she is 23,and gets her own tsuguko when she is 26: her tsuguko, Kai, is extremely bubbly and optimist to a fault, and she has become more serious with age, but they get along nevertheless.

She is 29 and he is 17 when they investigate the Shadow Hashira's disappearance in Douma's cult and Kai becomes a Demon.

When they are far away from Douma's clutches and sure that he isn't interested in the pursue anymore, Masako has to make a tough choice: but even if her tsuguko agrees with her that she has the duty to kill him and offers himself to justice, she chooses to spare him in the end. She tells him to regain his optimism, because his rebellion has shown her that he would be on the Demon Lsayers side no matter what, and he was still fighting his new monstrous instincts as they spoke, so there was still plenty of humanity in his heart.

In her report, she writes that Kai was lost when they evaded Douma's Cult because he covered her escape with the civilians, and that other infiltrations of the Cult were discouraged.

She spends a whole year helping her former tsuguko, hidden in a cave close to her very narrow den, manage his cravings for human flesh with every method immaginable: she fed him wild animals, exercised in meditation, and allowed him to sleep much more once she understood that it would inhibit the stronger fits of hunger. She neglected her duties as a result, worrying her colleagues, especially the very perceptive Gyomei. They were already suspicious because her report had, um, "plot holes" so to speak, but they had dismissed them believing that it was hindered by her recent loss. It was the other reason they gave to her difficulty of going on missions... But they became flabbergasted when, at 30 years old, she disappeared. Like, just, poofed out of existence. She didn't participate to an Hashira meeting, and the now super-worried Himejima charged himself with the duty to check out her den and ensure that she was alright.

When he entered, he immediately felt the stench of human blood, and... and of a Demon. He had touched the walls and the floor, and realized they were caked with blood: there were no plot holes that time, a fight had happened. Her den had been well hidden, but a Demon had clearly managed to get there. He didn't find a corpse anywhere, not even in the area around the narrow house in the mountains, and using his hyper-sensitivity, he had concluded that Masako had likely been killed a week before... and none of them had noticed. Not even finding her crow, he stopped his investigation and called an emergency meeting, explaining his findings.

Little did they know, Masako had realized that she couldn't hide anymore and that they may have found out about Kai's condition, so she had to enact a fake death: she made Kai use some of his Blood Demon Art to give the feel of a demon's attack, and wounded herself on her forearms and her shoulder, not fatally, but she still splashed the blood on the walls, and then ran away with Kai. She also let him destroy some trees and rocks of the place, and part of her house.

Kai would, again, beg her to kill him, because he still somehow saw himself as an hindrance, a burden, that she had to bear and that had led her to abandon her higher responsibilities. It was his fault that they were on the run, and with an unknown future, now.

Masako, though, is adamant: she chose to stay by his side out of her own volition and following the evidence that he was still human deep down and that his demonic instincts wouldn't win anytime soon, so his condition could be managed. She tells him that they can still fight the un repenting demons without necessarily being Slayers, and that they had new options to reconsider: all the while, they would stand by each other.

Kai is finally convinced. He lets out a roar and he finally curses Douma and Muzan by yelling their names, without dying in the process: thus confirming that he has fully severed his connection to the two, and Muzan's Name Curse doesn't bind him anymore. Kai then follows Masako.

So... For those of you that have gotten until this point: congratulations.

This is, at the moment, Masako and Kai's story. Know that they will meet the rebellious demons later during their self exile,and they still slay bad demons on their own as the White Spirits, two vigilantes.

They will meet the Slayers in the Canon age, when Masako is 34 and Kai is... Um... Oh geez.

How old would he be? 25,maybe,but since he is a demon... I dunno, is it really important?

Remember, this is FANON MATERIAL. THE ORIGINAL WORK IS GOTOUGE-SENSEI PROPERTY, KIMETSU NO YAIBA, AND I CLAIM IT IN NO WAY. MY FANFICTION AND FANARTS ARE NON PROFIT, AND I OWE THE INSPIRATION TO THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR.

See ya!

[buckyodinson]

Undisclosed Desires (Javier Peña x fem!Reader)

Request from anon: I loved reading "The First" w/ Jack so much, and I was wondering if you would consider writing something like that but for Javier? Like it's her first time and she's obviously nervous/shy and Javi is (obvs) not and maybe some softness?❤️🥺 Thank you and ily!

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: I wanna pre-empt this by saying I have not watched Narcos, so know next to nothing about Javi other than what I’ve read in other people’s fics, so I hope I did him justice! 🤞🏻 and again, I’m not the best at smut so I hope that’s okay too!

It had been a long day at the embassy. You were pacing around your desk as far as the phone cable would allow, sighing deeply as you spoke with one of your superiors back in the States. Yet another member of the Medellín cartel had escaped today and he was on everybody’s ass about it, as usual. You’d spent the best part of the day out pursuing this cartel member, but at the last minute, he managed to slip away from you and Murphy. After Murphy had his grilling over the phone and was allowed to go home, it was your turn having to explain yourself on the phone to your asshole of a boss.

“Listen, sir, I understand you’re pissed. We all are too, it’s just th-“ you stopped abruptly and threw the handset down, missing the base entirely, sighing as you watched the handset bounce and hang limply off the side of your desk. Javier watched from his desk, raising an eyebrow at the sudden outburst.

You all but melt into your chair, running your hands over your face and groaning into your palms. You take a few deep breaths before moving your hands to your lap and opening your eyes. When you do, you’re met with Javier bending down to pick your phone up and put it in its receiver. He perches on the edge of your desk, giving you an uncharacteristically soft smile, “You need a break.”

“That’s the last thing I need, Peña. Not with Bellamy breathing down my neck.” You sink further into your chair and bring your feet up to rest on your desk.

“All the more reason to take a break.” He tentatively brings a hand to rest on one of your ankles, rubbing a thumb along it gently, “You’ll burn out, and make mistakes, and piss Bellamy off more.” You look down at your feet, and blush when you see the gentle swipe of his thumb over your ankle.

“I don’t know how you do it, Peña. You never let it get to you.” You reluctantly remove your feet from your desk, immediately missing the warmth of his hand, and grab your blazer from the back of your chair. You slowly stand and put it on.

“Trust me, dulzura, it gets to me. I just have my ways of letting the stress out. I’d recommend it.” He gives you a wink and you roll your eyes. He chuckles as he saunters back to his own desk.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be taking your advice there.” You smirked, but your embarrassment was evident with the heat rising in your cheeks.

You’d be lying if you said you had no feelings towards your colleague. The infamous Javier Peña. Known to frequent several brothels across the city - sometimes for information, sometimes just for pleasure. You wished that these tendencies put you off the man, but nothing allowed you to shake those feelings. When you walked past his apartment to reach your own, and you heard the moans from inside, you would feel a pang of jealousy, wishing it were you in there.

You felt like a schoolgirl, and you felt ridiculous for feeling the way you did about him. He clearly didn’t feel the same about you, and even if he did... well, once he found out you were a virgin, you’re sure he’d run back to Freckles, or any of the other girls he visits. Back to someone he knows will give him a good time.

“I’m telling you, there’s no better way to end a stressful day.” He continued as he put on his own blazer, breaking you out of your daze.

“I’m more of an alcohol and wallow-in-self-pity kinda girl myself.”

“No wonder you’re so pent up at work. I’m sure men practically throw themselves at your feet at bars. Take one home and I promise the stress will just drip out of you.” He smirked and you didn’t miss the tone of his voice shift in that last sentence, blushing at the double meaning.

“I’m not that kinda girl, Javi.” You sighed as you rummaged around your desk looking for your car keys.

“Could always use me instead of some random guy from a bar?...” he smirked and looked up at you expecting a witty reply, but saw you rooting through one of your desk drawers. “Havin’ trouble over there?”

“Can’t find my goddamn keys. Jesus, can nothing go right today?!” You groaned and kicked your chair away from your desk.

Immediately Javi was in front of you, hands coming to rest on your forearms, “Just calm down, muñeca. This is what I’m talking about - you’re overworked. I’ll drive you home, it’s not problem.”

“Thank you, Javi.” You gave him a small smile and he led you out of the embassy.

You climbed into his Jeep and on the drive to your apartment complex, you wondered how many other women had sat in this seat before you, being driven to Javi’s place and shown a good time.

“Stop it.” Javi’s voice cut through the silence.

“I wasn’t doing anything?” You bit back.

“You were thinking too hard. Could practically hear the gears grinding. Just forget about today. What’s done is done. You can’t do anything more about it right now, so relax.” He kept his eye on the road as he spoke.

“I’ve already forgotten about that asshole, Javi. That’s not what I’m thinking about.” You stared out the window, blushing profusely.

“Thinking about my offer from earlier?” You can hear the smirk and you turn to face him.

“What offer?”

“Earlier. I said you could take me home instead of some random guy. Then we’re both getting rid of the stress.” He raised his eyebrow as he turned briefly to look at you and wink before looking back at the road ahead.

“Real funny, Peña.” You deadpan and you subtly squeeze your thighs together at the thought. Javier doesn’t miss this action and he smirks, seeing the affect he has on you.

“I’m not joking, princesa.” He says softly as he parks his jeep outside your apartment complex.

You quickly take off your belt and get out of the car, attempting to make a quick getaway, but Javi grabs your arm gently and makes you face him, “Y/N, look at me. Listen, I’m sorry if that was too far, but I genuinely mean it. And not in the way you probably think. This job... seeing you out there kicking ass everyday and almost getting shot or killed... it’s made me realise that I love you.” His chocolate eyes bore into yours and you could tell he was telling the truth, and it made your heart burst.

A smile made its way across your face, “I feel the same, Javi.” His eyes lit up at your admission, and he leaned slowly down to capture your lips. You happily melted into the kiss, moaning as he pressed himself against you. You reached a hand into his hair and he groaned as your nails brushed against his scalp. As you leaned backwards and felt Javi’s Jeep behind you, you were suddenly very aware that you were out in the middle of the street and you pulled away. His lips chased yours for a second before he pulled back to look at you, breathing heavily.

“Let’s go inside.” You spoke quietly and pulled him along with you, smiling at the grin that spread across his face.

You climbed the stairs to your floor of the complex, and took him past his apartment until you reached your own. You fished your keys out of your bag and opened the door, motioning for him to go inside, shutting the door behind the pair of you.

He stood in the small hallway, a little awkwardly and you moved past him towards your kitchen. You grabbed two glasses and poured a glass of whiskey for each of you. Javier graciously accepted and downed his almost immediately, watching you sip at your own. He had a little look around your apartment, admiring the little decorations you had strewn about, before settling down on your sofa and patting the space next to him. You finished your drink and joined him on the sofa, and his lips immediately found yours again. You wrap your arms around his neck, and he pulls you into his lap, gripping your thighs tightly. He moves one hand to your back and pushes you flush against him, deepening the kiss. Your hands find their way into his hair again, and you squeal when suddenly he’s picking you up and carrying you to your bedroom.

He places you down on your bed so softly before lifting his shirt over his head and crawling back over you. Your hands roam the expanse of his back as he litters wet open-mouthed kisses along your jaw and down your neck. He continues lower and lower until his mouth reaches the waistband of your trousers, and he begins to undo the button when you suddenly freeze, “Javi, wait.” You breathe heavily.

“What is it, mi amor?” You look down and see his blown pupils staring back at you, worry painting his features.

“I just...” you take a deep breath and cover your eyes with your hands, embarrassment settling in.

You feel him move back up the bed, and when he speaks, you hear that he’s above you, “Is everything okay?” his soft voice calms you down, and he peels your hands away from your face and smiles down at you.

“I’ve just... I’ve never done... this before. We were moving so fast, and I-uh-I panicked. I’m sorry.” You slowly admitted, worried about his reaction, but the warm smile remained on his face.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’m sorry I rushed into this. You’ve gotta be ready. I can wait for whenever that may be, it’s okay.” He lowered himself to lay beside you, and you rolled on your side to face him properly.

“Thank you, Javi. I’m sorry.” You ducked your head down and he leaned forward and kissed your forehead.

“You don’t have to apologise.” He whispered into your hair.

“Will you stay the night?” You asked shyly against his chest.

“Of course.” You looked up and he kissed you softly.

You stood up and went to the bathroom to change, coming back to your bedroom in a t-shirt and sleep shorts, finding Javier smoking a cigarette by the window in just his boxers. You walked behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist and leaning your forehead between his shoulder blades, kissing the skin there. He smiled as he used his free hand to wrap around yours, sighing contentedly.

You gave his skin one last kiss before slowly removing your arms from his waist and walking back to bed. Javi put his cigarette out before following you, climbing in behind you and pulling your back to his chest.

“Thank you for staying, Javi.” You sighed as he kissed your jaw.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” He pulled you even closer and pressed his nose into your hair, tracing small circles into the skin of your stomach under your shirt. The gentle touch lulled you to sleep, and he followed soon after.

With the stress of the job, you rarely ever got a full night’s sleep, but that night, both you and Javi had the best sleep you’d had in months, if not years. When you awoke, Javi was on his back, snoring lightly, and you were tucked into his side. His arm was wrapped securely round your waist, and you relished in the feeling, shuffling even closer to him and resting your head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat. You stayed there for what felt like hours, tracing little shapes into the skin of his hips that were just peeking out of his boxers. After a few minutes of this, his soft snores stopped, and you felt him stir.

He gave your waist a little squeeze and when you looked up at him, you swear you fell in love all over again. His hair was messy, and a few strands were stuck to his forehead, and the lopsided grin he gave you with his little squinted eyes was enough to make your heart stop.

“Morning, dormilón.” You smirked at him, and he chuckled at your Spanish.

“Morning, angel.” He ran his fingers through your hair, and that feeling combined with his rough morning voice pulled a small moan from the back of your throat. You immediately blushed and tried to bury your face in his chest, but he rolled you over and looked down at you, smiling, “Don’t be embarrassed, dulzura. You sound beautiful.”

This Javier was so different to the usual suave, rough man you usually saw at the embassy (not that you didn’t find that version of Javi incredibly attractive). This sweet side to him made your heart flutter in your chest, and made your thighs clench. You reached your hands up to tangle them in his hair and pull his lips down to your own. He happily obliged, and your teeth clashed from the force of the kiss, which made you giggle lightly into the kiss.

You wrapped your legs around his hips, and he pulled back to look down at you, “Are you sure you’re ready, mi amor?” He raised an eyebrow but you saw genuine concern in his eyes.

“Yes, Javi. I want this. Want you.” You panther and he leaned back down to adorn your neck with kisses and little bites. His hands moved softly down your sides before lifting your shirt up slowly, fingertips ghosting your skin. A groan escaped his lips once he lifted the shirt over your head, and he took in the sight of your naked chest. You were a little embarrassed, but seeing the look on his face made you feel like the most beautiful woman alive.

“So beautiful...” you blush even further and he dips down to kiss you again, one hand trailing up your stomach to palm at one of your breasts and rolling your nipple between his fingers, earning a moan from you. He moves onto the other breast while his kisses down your jaw, leaving a bruise on your neck in his journey down to your breasts.

You’re panting by the time he reaches your chest, where he leaves little nips and bites littered across your skin, sighing when he kisses further down your stomach. He reaches your shorts and looks up at you to confirm you’re still okay. You nod quickly, not trusting your voice, and he slowly pulls your shorts and your underwear down your legs, kissing the skin that is revealed.

Once you’re bare before him, he slowly parts your legs and settles in between them, adorning your inner thighs with kisses, getting closer and closer to where you want him most. The slight scratch of his mustache against your thighs sends a shiver up your body, and you feel him smirk against your skin. One of his hands is interlocked with one of your own, while the other is being slowly dragged down your body from your breasts to your core. His hand and mouth both reach your heat at the same time. Javi uses his fingers to spread your folds before licking a stripe through them, and your free hand grips the sheets until your knuckles turn white. He quickly latches into your clit, methodically adding pressure before removing it and just ghosting it with his tongue, moving closer to your entrance before doubling back and repeating, the mustache doing wonders as it brushes against your skin too.

Javi hums his approval deep in his throat, and the vibrations against you only fuel the pleasure further. He moves his fingers and lightly traces your entrance with them, before slowly pushing one in. You moan lewdly and he groans in satisfaction.

“So tight... so perfect for me.” He whispers against your clit as he pumps his finger in you, adding another once your clawing at his hair.

“Please, Javi- oh God!” You sigh when he removes his fingers, watching as he sucks them into his mouth and groans.

“I want you, Javi.” You reach out for him and he crawls until he’s level with you.

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yes, Javi. Please.” You practically beg and he captures your lips once more as he pulls his boxers off. He quickly jumps up and grabs his wallet, where he fishes out a condom and rolls it on before jumping back into bed and kissing you again. He lines himself up and slowly pushes in, going slowly so you can get used to it, or ask him to stop if needs be. It’s painful at first and a few tears do escape your eyes, which are pressed tightly closed. He wipes the tears away and kisses along your cheeks until he bottoms out.

You’re breathing heavily and digging your nails into his back, eyes still screwed shut, and he stills, waiting for you. He pressed chaste kisses along your jawline until he feels you relax under him and he looks up to see your eyes open, “Please move, Javi. I’m okay.”

“Yes ma’am.” He chuckles lowly at the blush that paints your face and chest. The pain was soon overtaken by pleasure as Javi softly rocked into you, only picking up the speed when you wrapped your legs around his waist and pressed him deeper into you.

“Eres mi todo...” he whispers against your neck before sucking a mark into your collarbone.

“God, I love you, Javi.” You’re shocking yourself by saying these things while he’s on top of you like this, but you just can’t help it. The way he’s pushing into you feels good enough, but when he reaches a hand down to rub your clit, it’s all over. Your vision goes black for a split second, your entire body tenses up, and you cling onto Javi like your life depends on it, while he carries on riding you through your high and he soon follows you to complete bliss. As you both come down from your highs, he lazily kisses up your neck until he reaches your lips, and captures them in a passionate kiss.

He pulls out slowly, quickly disposing of the condom in your bathroom and grabbing a wet cloth, coming back to clean you up, stroking your hair as you lay there panting. He puts the cloth back on the bathroom, and when he re-emerges, you’re still lying there, and he stops and just stares at you. He thinks you look ethereal, and he can’t quite believe what just happened.

Since you joined him and Steve at the embassy, he’d fallen for you. It was a very foreign feeling to him, and he tried to fuck his feelings away with his usual girls, but he would always be thinking of you, and would smoke a cigarette and leave immediately afterwards. He lit a cigarette and moved over to your window, thinking about how lucky he was, “You okay over there, sweetheart?” He smirks at you still laying in bed where he left you.

“Yeah, I’m great. I just don’t trust my legs right now.” You giggle, still in a bit of a daze.

Javi sniggers and puts his cigarette out, joining you in bed once more, pulling you flush against him, “So, how was that for a first time?”

“It was perfect, Javi. You were perfect.” You smiled back at him and kissed his chin.

You had a lazy morning since neither of you had to be in the office until midday. You danced around your living room to some old records, and Javi made you breakfast. Javi went back to his apartment to get ready and you did the same, meeting him out by his jeep so he could drive you both to work. He kept a hand on your thigh the entire drive there.

When you arrived at the office, Steve was already at his desk, hunched over some paperwork, phone held between his ear and shoulder. He covered it with his hand while he spoke to you, “Bellamy has called twice this morning already, still wants to chat about yesterday.” Steve waited for the inevitable swearing from you but you simply sighed and sat down at your desk, removing your jacket and getting comfy.

“What’s got you in such a good mood this morning?”

“I bet she finally gave into all the stress and took my advice and picked some guy up at a bar and let him give her a good time.” Javi piped up as he leaned back in his chair.

Murphy raised an eyebrow at you and you rolled your eyes at Peña while smirking, “A lady never tells.”

Murphy chuckles and shakes his head as he turns back to his desk and Javi shoots you a wink, to which you blush profusely.

—————

(These are 100% google translated, so I apologise if anything is wrong!!)

Dulzura - sweetness/sweetheart

muñeca - doll

princesa - princess

mi amor - my love

dormilón - sleepyhead

Eres mi todo - you are my everything

[endless-vall]

Changes - Ethan x MC fanfic

Summary: The ending of Ellie’s first year of internship is just around the corner, and Ethan is lost in his thoughts & feelings for her. Advice comes from an unexpected place, but is it too late?

Author’s note: So I’ve settled on Ethan as a LI for my mc.

I might create a different mc for other LIs in this book, but my main is Ellie Heart and she’s pursuing Ethan 😊

I’m having a time jump in this fic - to the end of the internship year. It’s written from Ethan’s pov. Hope I’ve managed to get inside his head and capture him in-character. Let me know what you think! 😄

Let me know if you wanna be tagged in future works for Ethan x MC/Open Heart!

Ethan was sitting in his office, deep in thought. His chair didn’t feel comfortable anymore, but he knew it had nothing to do with the chair. It was the uneasiness in his chest that affected his daily life.

His thoughts raced, all over, but always came back to the same conclusion. One name... Dr. Ellie Heart.

His heart almost missed a beat, jumping in his place at the mention of her name.

Did she really hold that much power over him, already? Who was he kidding... Of course.

But no matter how he turned it in his head, there was no solution.

There was no way they could be together.

And that was considering if she still wanted it.

She never explicitly said she wanted them to be together. She only asked him to be honest about them. Whatever that meant.

Even if she won the competition, which becomes more and more likely every day - She’d be his underling.

By hospital laws it wasn’t exactly forbidden, but more likely frowned upon - but that wasn’t why Ethan couldn’t be with her.

He knew that if he would - he’d put her career in tremendous risk. Everyone would say she got the job because she was sleeping with him, and not because she was brilliant.

And god... Was Dr. Heart brilliant.

She was one of the best. So much potential, so much passion, so much to offer to the world of medicine.

He’d be the devil to take all of that away for his own selfish motives.

He couldn’t be that man.

But the reality wouldn’t cut it either.

Staring at her from a distance, stealing glances when no one’s looking...

Wondering where she was, with what patient, hoping to run into her around the hospital and looking forward to their meetings with Naveen, since he knew it’ll only be them by then...

It was hurting Ethan from the inside.

If she was in an advanced year of her residency or an attending, things would be different. People would know by then that she’d earned her place by right, by hard work. That things only turn around naturally and if a romance was to blossom between them...

No one would bat a spare eye.

Sure, there could still be talk. But it wouldn’t be as destructive as it is now.

It’ll be some background noise, one that no one will truly listen to. It would jeopardize her career. It wouldn’t ruin her.

But concentrating on the “what if”s and “what could be” has never really been helpful, has it?

Ethan sighed heavily, deciding to call it a day. His shift was over an hour ago, if not longer...

He was set to head home, but decided to grab a drink first at Donahue’s.

He tried to tell himself it wasn’t because he was likely to see her there.

The bell rang and announced his arrival as he stepped into the bar. The music barely muffled the ring of the bell but still a few faces turned to see him walk in.

He nodded politely, knowing which face he was searching for and frowning when he didn’t see her.

Shaking that thought, he walked to his usual spot, and ordered his usual scotch.

Now, sitting on his stool he noticed her sitting in a booth with her fellow interns. Another surgical intern and a paramedic had joined them, both of them sitting from each of her sides and engaging in a friendly war over her attention.

Ethan mouth pressed into a thin line.

It was another thing that was driving him crazy, see how others fawned over her and tried to flirt with her.

And they had every right to do so, and she had every right to say yes... Although it seemed she was declining their advances politely.

They didn’t push, but Ethan couldn’t help but feel jealous. If not anything, at least at the fact that they could openly flirt with her, while he couldn’t.

He turned back to his drink.

Months had passed since Miami.

Since their first and only kiss.

Since she wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned his name into his lips.

He gulped hard. He shouldn’t be thinking of it right now.

Their first year of internship was closer to its end than to its beginning, and the contest for a spot on his team was almost about to be over.

How many things can change in one year, Ethan thought, downing the rest of his drink and signaling the barkeeper to pour him another.

A year ago, Naveen was still his mentor. He wasn’t the patient he couldn’t figure out. They still had time and high hopes. Or maybe only Ethan had.

He also wasn’t hopeless, as he was now, pursuing an intern. He wasn’t in love then, it downed on him.

Him and Harper were a distant memory, one he never let out in the open, and Ethan really wasn’t focused on his love life. 

He found his eyes wondering back to her table.

This time, Ellie looked up, she met his gaze. It was careful at first, calculated... but then she smiled and waved at him, feeling his chest with warmness.

He nodded back and couldn’t help the small hint of a smile that turned into his lips.

A turn of heels and a stool moving beside him has severed his line of thought.

Ethan looked back, watching as Harper took a seat beside him.

“Ethan,” She said, addressing him before ordering herself a drink.

“Harper,” He acknowledged her, not even noticing how cold his tone sounded.

“This seat taken?” She raised an eyebrow, somewhat of a teasing smile spreading over her lips.

“It’s a free country.” He shrugged. He didn’t really like company when he drank.

Although he didn’t mind Ellie’s company, like the night after her first shift... When she bought him that ‘thank you’ drink.

“I don’t know... It seems to me you’re expecting someone else’s company.” Harper noted, throwing a glace behind them to a certain table. It was as if she read Ethan’s mind, but that was ridiculous...

Was he really that obvious?

“I... Don’t know what you’re talking about.” He had to deny it, right?

Harper sighed, closing her eyes for a long moment.

Ethan had almost thought she wasn’t going to speak about it again, but she recomposed herself and at him again. This time, some outer exterior now off.

Her expression was lighter, not as harsh as he’d remembered her.

“If not as your director... Then as your ex.” She started. Ouch.

They never talked about their relationship. He’d never even heard someone calling them exes.

“I know you. I see the way you look at her. You know why we broke up? Because we both stopped looking at each other like that. And somewhere throughout the year... I watched as you...

Well, I’ve waited for you to stop looking at her like that. But that didn’t happen...

So I’m here to tell you... You should go for it.

I know you haven’t acted on it until now, from respect for her career. But you should. It’s time.”

Ethan stared at Harper wide-eyed.

She got almost everything right. He had acted on his feelings. Once, in Miami. And never again.

“I...” He didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll protect her from the outburst, if there’ll be one. As chief of medicine in this hospital, I can do as much. I also know you don’t play favorites. She’d really earned anything she reached this year.

And I know you well enough to know you won’t play favorites in the future, too.

And just in case... I’ll be there to stop you if you do.”

They finished the rest of their drinks in silence. Harper payed for hers and stood up.

She placed a comforting hand over Ethan’s shoulder for a long second, giving him a meaningful smile.

And then she left.

He never thought the answer would come from there.

He never thought to seek out Harper. Hell, even if that thought had crossed his mind he’d throw that away.

How could he go to his ex and ask for something like that?

Yes, he and Harper could still be colleagues, maybe even somewhat... Friends. But he never thought she’d help him with someone he pursued.

He wasn’t sure if somewhere, deep down, he would’ve done the same thing for her.

He knew now he would - but had the tables been turned, would he have done it?

He honestly couldn’t say.

Looking back at Ellie, now deep in conversation with Jackie, he knew he’d have to be worth it. He knew he’d have to be a better man. To be the man she’d believed him to be.

The pain and confusion he caused her this year... Amongst other things.

He knew he couldn’t let her down --

Wait.

She was standing up, paying her goodbyes to her friends.

The only one standing up with her was Jackie.

Were they leaving early?

He needed to talk to her.

Turning his head back, he took out a couple of dollar bills and placed under his glass.

He stood up, throwing his jacket on and headed to the door.

Ellie and Jackie must’ve gotten out by now.

“Rookie!” He saw her down the street, heading for the train station.

They stopped, although it looked like Jackie tried convincing her to keep going.

Ellie turned around, waiting until Ethan caught up.

“What’s up?” She asked, as if things were casual, but her tone conveyed everything but casual.

“I, uh...” He glanced at Jackie, who was standing next to Ellie.

“I hoped we could talk.” He said.

“We can.” She faked a smile. He cursed under his breath. Ellie’s smile was the most radiant thing he’d ever seen. That fake one she was sporting right now did no justice to her real smile.

Why was she giving him a cold shoulder? Was he the reason she left the bar early?

“Privately?” He asked, his voice now softer. His eyebrows arching upwards in almost a plea.

Ellie turned to Jackie, signing her it was okay.

“You sure?” The other intern wasn’t easily convinced.

“Yeah.” Ellie nodded.

“I’ll be at the station, if you need me.” Jackie told her, and left them alone.

She was still in sight, but not in earshot when Ellie looked up to him, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly.

“You wanted to talk to me?”

Ethan gulped silently. It wasn’t exactly how he’d expected it to be.

But that was life. You couldn’t anticipate everything (or anything, really), and sometimes things turned out really different than you’d imagined.

The comforting thing was - Different didn’t mean worse.

It could also be much, much better.

Because yes - a lot can and had changed in a year. But right now - he was way closer to solving the mystery of Naveen’s disease, he wasn’t as afraid to take chances, he was still growing, advancing, even when he thought he’d hit his peak years ago, he had still space to learn, and there was no one else he’d like to walk head first into that new experience than Ellie.

“I want to give us a chance. A real chance. I know I was a real pain in the ass and I understand if you’d reject me... But here I am now... Asking you to have me.”

Ellie’s eyes widened. She didn’t answer.

“I... I know this seems unexpected, but I wouldn’t do it unless I knew your career would be safe. I stand by my decision. Even if it pained both of us...

Ellie, the last thing I wanted was to hurt you. Do you... Do you still want me to be honest about us?” He asked.

He had no idea where this was going. He didn’t know what Ellie’s answer would be.

He thought he knew, before. But now he wasn’t so sure.

But even if her answer will be ‘no’, he needed to tell her.

He had to face his fears, and stop running away from them.

Ellie nodded, silently. The look in her eyes unreadable.

He decided to start from the start.

“When I saw your application, I saw something special. But Ellie, when you came to Edenbrook, and I saw you in person, in action - I saw something even more special. More than I’d ever imagined.

Not... just on the professional level.

And I tried to push it away, to run away from it. But as you’ve proved again and again this year, there was no hiding from you.

You saw me with Naveen. Ellie, if it wasn’t for you - I don’t know if we were so close to cracking this case.

You saw through all my masks. 

And I... god, I fell for you.” He couldn’t help but smile, looking at the hospital, not so distant from where they were standing.

Ethan really loved leaving work at work, but it wasn’t the case this year.

This year, even when he went home - work was still on his mind.

Or... Maybe not exactly ‘work’.

“Fell?” Ellie asked, this time there was a glint in her eyes.

A soft smile.

She wanted him to say it.

Ethan smiled back at her, caressing her cheek in his hand.

“I think I’m in love with you.” 

Those words were never easy for Ethan Ramsey to say.

He had said them a couple of times in his life, to different suitors.

But they were always heavy and terrifying.

What if she didn’t say it back? What if it would change their relationship? What if she’d ask for more and he wouldn’t be able to give it to her?

But those questions didn’t concern him with Ellie.

The words flowed out of his mouth with easiness and completeness he never saw coming.

And before he knew it, Ellie’s lips were on his own.

She threw her hands around his neck and he pulled her closer, wrapping his hands around her waist and holding her against him.

He never wanted to let go.

He could feel electricity in their kiss, everything unsaid in the past year flowing into the surface, passion coursing through them.

She kissed him back with the same eagerness.

When they finally broke apart for some air, her eyes weren’t unreadable or mysterious anymore.

She was looking in his eyes and glowing with emotion and happiness.

He didn’t let her get away too far, still holding her close. Mere inches between their faces.

“I... I love you too.” Ellie’s cheeks darkened just slightly.

Ethan couldn’t resist the smile smearing over his lips.

He leaned over and kissed her once again.

This time softer.

Somewhat out of habit.

They broke apart quicker than last time, both giddy.

Ethan finally let go of her, and Ellie took a step back, balancing herself. He offered her his hand and Ellie gladly took it.

He saw Jackie still waiting for her in the T station, a cautious look on her face but a reassuring smile.

“I think someone’s waiting for you,” He reluctantly said.

Ellie turned around, noticing Jackie as well.

It wasn’t a bad thing. It was around 2 am and they had all the time in the world to talk and figure things out later.

He could kiss her goodnight and leave her in the trustworthy hands of her fellow intern.

“Do you... Ahhh- want to... Dr. Ramsey-- I mean Ethan-” Ellie fumbled over her own words, her cheeks turning red. “We don’t have to---”

She was never the shy one and she’d pulled Ethan into a supply closet more than once, to his memory.

So why was she so flustered right now?

He chuckled, amused, and Ellie noticed that - regaining herself.

“Do you wanna go home with me, Ethan?” The sentence came out complete, and she giggled at her former display of silliness.

Ethan squeezed her hand and started leading them towards the train station.

“I’d love to.”

[caseysbell]

Whodunit

If you’re a reader who finds joy in the “whodunit” books then Daniella Bernett is the author for you. A member of the Mystery Writers of America NY Chapter, Daniella by day is a research manager for an engineering, architectural and construction management firm, and by night is a murder mystery, crime solving writer. If you are a Sherlock Holmes or a Matlock at heart than get your hands on her books. Daniella has a string of mystery series that will attend to your reading addiction. I had the chance to talk with her and ask a few questions about her and her series. 1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was nine years old. The spark that launched me into the writing world was my fourth grade teacher. Once a week, she had Creative Writing hour and gave us different assignments. I absolutely loved it. However, I think it all started with a love of reading and an appreciation of language and the written word. I am, and always have been, a voracious reader. Mysteries, spy thrillers, the classics, history, biographies, anything except science fiction and horror. (I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I read those types of books). 2. What inspires you to write? Inspiration is derived from all sorts of places. It could be a newspaper article; a snippet of overheard conversation; a real-life crime; or a dream. I get a lot of ideas from the sights and sounds of a city or an area that has made a strong impression on me. You’re either going to laugh or you’re going to run very quickly in the opposite direction, but oftentimes I come across a place and think, “Wouldn’t this be the perfect setting to find a dead body?” Location plays an important role in my books. I’ve been an Anglophile since I was a little kid, so naturally, my characters had to be British, and London and the UK had to figure prominently in my books. I also adore Venice. That enchanted city’s history of intrigues was simply begging to be featured in Lead Me Into Danger, Book 1 in Emmeline Kirby-Gregory Longdon mystery series. In terms of Deadly Legacy, Book 2, what set the story in motion in my mind was the 2003 heist at the Antwerp Diamond Centre. A group of Italian thieves stole $100 million in diamonds, gold, and other jewelry. Only one man was caught. The diamonds were never found. This captivated my imagination. From Beyond The Grave, Book 3, focuses on Emmeline and Gregory’s rekindled relationship. His recent resurfacing has thrown her safe world into turmoil. Therefore, I wanted to take them outside of London, where they wouldn’t be distracted by daily routines. I selected Torquay along the English Riviera in Devon because I love the sea. Gently lapping tides, a rugged coastline, romantic sunsets, and murder. 3. What was your first published book? Lead Me Into Danger, Book 1 in my series, which features journalist Emmeline Kirby and jewel thief Gregory Longdon, was my first mystery published. My first book published was Timeless Allure, a poetry collection. 4. What is a brief synopsis of your mystery novel? In Lead Me Into Danger, Emmeline and Gregory haven’t seen each other in two years, but she literally runs into him in Venice after witnessing two men try to murder her colleague. Then, Emmeline and Gregory become ensnared in a hunt for a Russian spy in the British Foreign Office. 5. What was your first response to receiving your book and holding it? My heart stopped for the briefest instant, my breath caught in my throat, and my fingertips tingled. The feeling never changes. 6. What is your latest published book and the synopsis? A Checkered Past, Book 4, is the latest installment in my series. Here’s the back cover copy to whet your appetite: A looted Nazi painting…A former IRA commander…The tie that binds is murder Emmeline Kirby is back in London determined to make a success of her new job as editorial director of investigative features at The Clarion. Three months have passed since her trip to Torquay and the devastating revelations that surfaced about her fiancé Gregory Longdon. The whole interlude has left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she is keeping him at arm’s length. But a suave and dashing jewel thief like Gregory is not easily daunted. After all, faint heart never won fair lady. It doesn’t hurt that Emmeline’s grandmother and her best friend, Maggie, are on his side. Only his shadowy past could ruin his chances. All of these relationships are threatened as Emmeline stubbornly pursues a story about looted Nazi art and an IRA collaborator. When a stolen Constable painting belonging to Maggie’s family turns up in the collection of Max Sanborn, the chairman of the company that owns the Clarion, her personal crusade brings danger close to home. To find the truth, Emmeline and Gregory must untangle a web of deception, betrayal, and dark deeds. But will they learn too late that justice can be cold comfort if you’re dead? 7. What inspired you to write this book? I am passionate about the issue of looted Nazi art, as everyone should be about injustice. Sadly, as 2018 comes to a close and we enter 2019, we routinely read these stories in the papers. Each one another ugly stigma of shame that the Holocaust was allowed to take place. That’s why it infuriates me when people continue to deny that it ever happened and that its victims are “greedy” for attempting to have THEIR property returned. I simply attempted to keep the issue alive and to show how it reverberates today. In addition, the resurgence of such sentiments terrifies me. The war is never over for those who suffered, and continue to suffer, because of the injustices perpetrated against them. If we forget, humanity’s soul will be condemned in perpetuity. 8. What advice would you give people who are thinking about writing a book, but have not taken the steps yet? I believe all writers are readers at heart. Therefore, I would tell an aspiring writer to READ. Read everything you can get your hands on to get a feel for the pacing, moods evoked, subjects written about and the language. Read different authors to see how each handles the narrative and plot twists. In the end though, let these other books merely be your guides. The most important thing is to write the story that you want to write and not what others tell you or what the current market trends are. To write a great story, you have to breathe it, live with it, and nurture it in your dreams and waking hours. 9. Are you working on any new book(s)? Book 5 will be released in September 2019. I just finished Book 6. I usually take a couple of months off in between books to allow the next one to percolate in mind. Then, Emmeline and Gregory drag me off on another adventure. 10. Anything else you would like to say that was not asked? Many people ask me why I chose a journalist and a jewel thief as protagonists. A journalist is inherently curious about many subjects. His or her job is to ask questions to uncover the truth and ensure transparency. Naturally, a journalist would be intrigued by crime, especially murder. The determination to find answers and see that justice is served are all important. Meanwhile, a jewel thief’s modus operandi are lying and evasion of the law. Isn’t this in stark contrast to a journalist’s reverence for the truth and justice? Most definitely. That’s exactly the point. A portrait in contrasts. Who better than someone on the wrong side of the law to discern the twisted workings of a fellow criminal’s mind? A thief immediately recognizes things that the honest person would never even contemplate. In Gregory’s case, he has a certain code of honor. Murder is an offensive transgression. A line that should never be crossed. Thus, I have two diametrically opposed sleuths who are of one mind when it comes to the taking of a human life: the culprit must pay for the crime, otherwise chaos would reign in the world. 11. How can one contact you? Email, website, social media, etc? My website is http://www.daniellabernett.com/ I’d love to hear from readers. If they’d like to drop me a little note, there is an e-mail address on my website. Readers also can follow me on Facebook and Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4450173.Daniella_Bernett https://www.facebook.com/people/Daniella-Bernett/100008802318282

[shinobicyrus]

I wish you would write a fic where... Jane Porter was replaced with Milo James Thatch in the Tarzan plotline or vice versa in the Atlantis: The Lost Empire plotline.

A response to This prompt challenge. Oh Anon, you gave me an in to write more about archaeology nerds and my favorite lost civilization, of course I jumped right on that second option. 

After the third time waking up on the meager bedroll Ms. Sinclair had thrown at her to replace the one lost in the fire, Jane gave up trying to sleep. Days wandering in sunless tunnels miles below the earth had completely bollocksed her internal clock, and the weight of the day’s discoveries refused to settle soundly.

Somehow, the rest of the crew slept as though it all were a mere camping trip. Mister Santorini was content with a bag a volatile explosives as a pillow, Audrey was sleeping beneath a truck halfway through an overhaul, and Mole was…doing whatever Mole did in his holes. 

She walked barefoot around her snoring crew, wearing the same sweaty shirt and begrimed skirt she’d been wearing since the Ulysses had sunk. There’d been so little time to grab what she could- besides the Journal, all Jane had of her luggage and equipment was the leather bag she’d carried around with her since university. Hardly what a sensible and proper adventurer would prioritize in dire circumstances.

What passed for nighttime in an underground cavern bigger than London slowly lightened into blue twilight. Jane’s feet padded across mossy stones that at one time might have been a street full of people busying about their day, thousands of years before the Roman empire had set foot in Britain with fancies of greatness.

Hiking up her skirt, Jane sat down at the water’s edge and dipped her feet to cool. The humidity was a ceaseless pressure since they’d arrived, unaffected by a lack of sun or conventional notions of weather. It took Jane back to her mother’s greenhouse in Kensington. The squish of soil between her fingers, dirt in her nails, quizzes for each plant’s name in Latin. Lonicera periclymenum. Digitalis purpurea. No, Janey dear, it’s pronounced Convallaria muh-jay-liss.

Undoing the snaps of her bag, Jane dug out her few effects that had miraculously survived the shipwreck intact. An engraved fountain pen her father gave her for her birthday, her personal journal, a few pages of scribbled notes about the Atlantean tongue, some pencils and a…

Oh. It was the telegram from the Museum board that her last expedition proposal had been denied. God, had that only been a month ago?

Tucking that carefully back into her bag, Jane tried and failed to catalogue her thoughts of the last few days. After some minutes of fruitless, scratched out attempts and resisting that old childish urge to chew at her pen, Jane looked up from the page and saw exactly what her words would never be able to impart with any due justice.

Pencils were more suitable for this sort of work. Already there were industrious fisherman out on the water in elaborately-carved junks, casting their nets out while distant cooking fires were lit in anticipation. Jane sketched them as quickly as she could, saving the details for the architectural backdrop behind them. A moss weathered dome surrounded by tents and rickety, stilted towers. A toppled pillar next to a half-submerged stone face like the fossilized head of some long dead giant. 

It reminded her of Athens, or the holiday she’d taken with father to Rome. A people living in the literal shadows of their own history, monuments of proud glories turned bittersweet mausoleums to grander times long since past. 

A single drop of water hit the page, smearing the lines of graphite. Jane sniffed and rubbed at her eye.

“Are you…alright?”

Jane squeaked and shot to her feet, nearly tangling in her own skirts and falling over right in front of-

Princess Kidagakash, looking every much like a warrior even absent of her stone spear and bits of armor. Her trim, muscled arms crossed over her chest and her brow furrowed, no doubt trying to figure out what nonsense Jane was embarrassing herself with.

“Princess!”Oh Lord, of all the people to have come along and catch her balling. Wiping her eyes as quickly as possible, Jane squared her shoulders and raised her chin properly. Kidagakash was royalty after all, not Jane’s royalty per se, but Father always stressed during travel it was only proper to respect the local customs. “No, I am not- that is to say, yes, I am quite all right. Very kind of you to ask. Is there something I can-?” Oh bollocks, Atlantean, Jane. Atlantean. “ T…taneb, gesu se kik?”

The Princess’ lips quirked as though Jane had told a joke. “Close. ‘Se kik’ would be you asking if you are helping me at this moment. Gesu go mik is closer to offering future assistance.”

Convallaria muh-jay-liss, Janey dear. 

“Agh, of course.” Jane reprimanded herself and, cursing her lack of bloody pockets, dived down to one of her available papers and scribbled a note about tense suffixes. “I apologize, Princess. Please, how may I be of service?”

She chuckled, a low dignified sound. “You may start by unburdening both of us with the heavy ceremony, Jane Porter. My friends call me Kida.”

“Ah, well if we are to be dropping formality Prin- Kida,” she hastily corrected herself. “My friends call me Jane.”

“As you say.” That smirk was back, teasing Jane in a way that made her feel like she were a small mouse at the mercies of a smug cat. Kida walked to the water’s edge next to Jane, bent down and picked up Jane’s journal with the page open to an unfinished sketch. First name basis or not, Jane wrestled back her urge to rush up and snatch it from Kida’s curious hands. 

She flipped through the pages crammed with Jane’s writing with little patience, pausing at a quick doodle perhaps, before finally ending on the last page. Her finger brushed against the paper, testing something, and abruptly snapped the journal shut. 

“You are very talented,” Kida handed it back to her. Turning towards the city, with its toppled edifices and sleepy junks floating in the water, she said- almost to herself. “You see it too, do you not? How we live surrounded with constant reminders of what we once were, so that we can never escape from just how far we have fallen.”

She looked to Jane, her face grim. “It moved me to tears too, long ago. Now I fear I have little to spare.”

“I don’t think you- it is nothing of the sort.” Jane assured her. “We came down here expecting ruins. Instead we have…what must be the greatest single archaeological discovery in human history: a living, breathing, thriving culture!”

Kida shook her head. “It is true, our people live, but we are not thriving down here. Barely eking enough to last to the next day, while the dream of all that we were slowly wears away like water on a stone.”

Jane worried at her lower lip, hugging her journal to her chest and exhaled- “I- it was. When you came. I was looking at the city- your city- and it struck me at that moment how unbelievable it was that it was real and I was there to see it. And I only thought: if only my father were here to see this, and it got me to blubbering a little.”

She sniffled again, because that was exactly what she needed, losing her composure in front of a stranger, first names or not. 

“I…am sorry,” Kida said. “I should not have-” She frowned, grasping at unfamiliar words. “May I ask why he could not participate in your journey?”

“He died.” Jane said, because it was easier to keep it simple. “Not even a year ago.”

Kida put her hand on her heart, grasping the crystal on her neck, and uttered what must have been a prayer- the words too low for Jane to fully make out. Nish…may his spirit? Embrace the…kerod? Heart? Or the spirits embrace his heart?

It was a lovely sentiment, and as much as Jane was touched it could not dull the bite out of her bitterness. “When he died, it was in disgrace. His colleagues saw to that.”

Kida raised an eyebrow. “Disgrace? What act would disgrace his honor?”

“He believed in you.” At her taken-aback look, Jane quickly corrected herself. “That is- in all of you. In Atlantis.” She gestured up at the world above the unseen ceiling of the cavern. “Back on the surface Atlantis is less than a myth. It’s a fairy tale, mere allegoric…cannon fodder for Plato’s ideal of some male-dominated utopia. Nothing a real scholar would waste a career pursuing.”

All the petty snickers, snide commentary and peer-reviewed floggings of so-called legitimate scholars. She choked on that anger she’d been swallowing down for years- less she wind up crying after all. 

“Being here is your way to honor him,” Kida said.

“Something of that sort, I suppose.”

“And…your mother?”

“With father,” Jane replied with more aplomb. “The pox took her when I was a little girl.”

“I lost my mother as well,” Kida said sympathetically. “In the Mebelmok. I do not remember much of her- it happened when I was small, and it was so long ago. I cannot even recall what her voice sounded like.”  

“If it weren’t for photographs I’m not sure I would remember her face,” Jane said. “Father let me keep some of her perfume- and sometimes when I smell it I remember- wait. Mebelmok. That means…’Great Flood’.”

Kida blinked at the change of topic, but nodded. “Yes, that is correct.”

“But I thought- the original fall of Atlantis-” Jane shuffled through her journal- her theories about the alleged single-night calamity. “Yes, it is also called the Great Flood.”

“There is no ‘also,’” Kida explained. “The Mebelmok brought an end to our empire and cast us below the waves.”

“But the way you spoke of it sounds as if…if you had been there.”

“Of course. I was very young, but I still remember the panic, the people fleeing, my mother-” Kida’s fingers wrapped around her bare wrist. “It is a difficult thing to forget.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insinuate, but if what you’re saying is true, then you must be…” Jane boggled at the math. “Eight and half thousand years old?”

Kida shrugged. “Give or take a century.”

Jane swallowed around the foot in her mouth. White hair notwithstanding, She looked no older than Jane was- albeit far…fitter. “I. Well. You…look. You look lovely.”

“Pag en,” Kida thanked her with a pleased smile.

“But…but…how is this even possible?”

“It is our yoben,” Kida lifted the crystal hanging around her neck, set right near her heart, and cupped it in her hand like one would a butterfly. “Every Atlantean is gifted one on their naming, granting us long life and healing our hurts.”

“Like back at the cavern,” Jane almost felt the twinge in her chest, remembering the strange sensation of Kida’s hand pressed the crystal to the wound. Her reticence forgotten in the purest curiosity, Jane thoughtlessly closed the distance between them and took the crystal from Kida’s hand, examining its shape and facets, mesmerized by its gentle glow. 

“But where do they all come from?” Jane looked up from the crystal to ask her, and realized too late how Kida had stiffened. “Is something wrong?”

Kida moved slowly to reclaim her crystal from Jane’s unresistant fingers, remembering just how easily this hardened woman with a body like a dagger could have done so much more forcefully. 

“Among my people…” Kida explained slowly. “Taking hold of another’s yob is a very…familiar gesture.”

Jane already felt a self-conscious heat flush her cheeks. “Familiar?”

“How do I say…? It is like holding another’s…nish? No, their…karod.”

Karod? Wait which one was that? “Their…heart?”

“Yes! Like holding another persons’ heart in your hand. It is a…powerful gesture of trust.”

Mortified, Jane let the crystal drop and took a step backwards, stammering. “Kida, I am so- I didn’t mean t-”

“You did not know,” Kida shook her head, smile surprisingly gentle for having her person so rudely trespassed. “Ignorance is no grave sin, so long as it is rectified.”

“Thank you.” Jane ducked her head, still completely appalled with herself. “You’ve already been far too generous with the likes of me.” 

“A thousand years ago, I might not have been.” The gentle, patient smile on Kida’s face passed into something grim and unrecognizable; only then did the full weight of Kida’s admission of her age truly settled on Jane. 

“Kida-” Jane opened her mouth and faltered on a question she did not even know.

Like a fresh tide, the distant expression on Kida’s face was gone, and she looked up at Jane to declare: “I find myself hungry. Would you like to break your fast with me?”

“I think the camp can do without me, for a while longer.”

The morning meal was served in a large communal hut on the water, open on all sides to keep the air free of smoke from the central cooking pot. 

Jane was personally not one for seafood, but with eighty or so centuries of practice, Atlanteans had learned how to prepare their constant diet of fish, moss, mushroom, mollusk, and seaweed with enough variety that Jane found a few dishes she enjoyed, though she was still averse to the grotesque giant prawn-like creatures Kida and Cookie had enjoyed eviscerating with gusto.

Many Atlanteans entered and left the hut without even touching any of the dishes. They were certainly obvious about their curiosity of the weydagosen, the outsider, but ultimately they only had eyes for their Princess. 

Kida held a impromptu court of sorts while she sat on the floor cross-legged, ate, and spoke with her people. They brought their complaints of fish shortages in their districts, came to her to arbitrate disputes between neighbors, or ask for her opinion on matters of policy and distribution of scarce resources. 

Her father may still had been considered King, but Jane wondered if Kida were aware of the mantle of queenship about her as she patiently listened to her people’s concerns. Precious wood from a section of the city overgrown with thin, reedy trees were deemed a fair exchange for another’s fresh clay. A pair of squabbling men left mutually dour but respectful of their Princess’ verdict. Frustrated fishermen were sternly reminded that spawning grounds were to be left in peace to maintain their fragile population of food, and that royal guards would not be lenient to those that favored selfishness above the needs of the community.

Jane stayed quiet and jotted down as much as she could in her journal, taking careful note of the words and inflections of the conversations to mortar the gaps of her knowledge of Atlantean. She attempted to draw Kida as well, but her pencils faltered at the curve of her bare shoulder or the details of her muscled middle. Most of Jane’s artistic expertise was calligraphy and blocky ruins, and after several failed attempts to properly depict the inimitable shape of her lips, Jane returned to the much more manageable task of learning a lost language.   

The universal shriek of children at play made her start, and Jane watched a group of them scamper by and jump into the water like otters at play. When they dove below the water, the light of their crystals danced beneath the surface.

If Kida were truly that age or younger during the Great Flood, then those five year-olds could very well be older than Charlemagne. Jane was both in awe and a little envious- but quickly blanched at the thought of having her awkward teen years extended by a few centuries.

Her eyes drew themselves to Kida’s crystal again. It was no more remarkable than any of the others her fellow Atlanteans wore, but like the icy fractals of a snowflake, its cut was unique, and the glow shining through its facets painted interested shadows across Kida’s chest as it swayed on its cord. 

Jane’s hand unconsciously felt the scar on her own chest. The wound had been deep and stinging when Kida had pressed crystal against it, briefly leaving a ghostly hand print at the spot. Now it was nothing more than a numb scar that looked years old. 

“Does that still pain you?” 

Kida’s voice made Jane start. A pair of ageless women across the room whispered something and giggled. 

“No,” Jane forced the hand from the scar to her lap and held it there. “Not at all. I’m quite alright, thank you.”

“Good. I was not sure it was going to work on you, when I had tried it. We rarely have need to heal any wounds but our own, and never an Outsider’s.”

Jane nodded, made wordless by a thought:

What did such a thing signify, to use your heart on another person?

“Are you busy tonight?” Kida asked her. Jane nearly choked on her seaweed dish. 

She swallowed and coughed. “I beg your pardon?”

Kida glanced around the hut at the other Atlanteans busy with food and conversation. “There is something I wish to show you later. Alone. Can you come?”

“Show me what?”

“Something I have managed to keep hidden for a long time.” Considering something, she looked Jane up and down. “Do you swim?”

“Well…yes, but I-” Jane gestured at her stained shirt and long skirt. “I didn’t exactly come prepared to.”

“Oh, that is alright,” Kida said agreeably. “It will only be the two of us, after all.”

For the remainder of the meal, Kida shared her giant prawn with a small girl that had sat down on her lap and chatted with the girls’ parents, all the while Jane felt she was perhaps sitting too close to the the cooking fire, her journal and bag untouched until they finally left.

[xtruss]

THE BLINDING OF ISAAC WOODARD | ARTICLE

Mr. Civil Rights

Before Brown v. Board of Education, there was Briggs v. Elliot—the case that launched Thurgood Marshall’s fight to end segregation in America’s schools.

— March 12, 2021 | Kirstin Butler | American Experience

Art by Mawhyah Milton. Source photo: Library of Congress

In May 1950, lawyer Thurgood Marshall faced a question that confronts so many activists in pursuit of a goal: Should they continue to play the long game, pressing for incremental social change, or has the time come to attempt a big leap forward, despite the risks? For Marshall, the goal was equal opportunity for Black students in America’s schools. How to arrive at that end was the question that, as head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, he needed to answer.

In the 1930s, Marshall’s legal mentor and NAACP colleague Charles Hamilton Houston had warned the association against overreach, saying, “Don’t shout too soon.” Under Houston’s steady leadership, the NAACP enacted a careful case-by-case, year-over-year strategy to undermine the doctrine of separate but equal established by the Supreme Court’s 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Under this gradualist approach, the NAACP pursued litigation that could clearly demonstrate that separate educational resources for Black students were unequal to those of whites. Houston’s blueprint had pushed at Plessy’s edges rather than trying to overturn it, however. Association attorneys argued for equal resources rather than attempt to abolish segregation outright.

Now Houston was gone, felled by a heart attack a month earlier, in April. Other NAACP leaders felt a more aggressive approach was required, and Marshall had to decide how to proceed.

At the height of summer, he convened a meeting at the association’s headquarters in New York City. Fifty-seven members—43 attorneys from the Legal Defense Fund and National Legal Committee and 14 branch and regional leaders—resolved “to end segregation once and for all.” They inaugurated a new era of NAACP litigation. There would be no more nudging against Plessy and other segregationist statutes; the time had come to try to topple them completely. It was an exceedingly ambitious goal given the state of American race relations at the halfway mark of the century. And Marshall still needed a strategy for achieving it.

Thurgood Marshall gives a press conference in his role as chief counsel for the NAACP, 1955. Everett Collection Historical/Alamy Stock Photo

In the country’s history, no one had ever filed a case directly challenging public school segregation. At 42, Marshall was a pragmatist with hard-won knowledge of America’s judicial system. He was on the lookout for a case outside of the deep South, where NAACP lawyers had better chances for success with more open-minded judges and juries. But in the meantime there was Clarendon County, South Carolina.

The disparities between white and Black children’s resources in Clarendon County’s School District Number 22 were indisputable. The district served a rural community that was three-fourths African American. But where the county’s white schools were brick-and-mortar structures with maintained grounds and modern facilities, Black students took classes in dilapidated wooden shacks with no indoor plumbing, forcing them to get water from a community well and use outhouses no matter the elements. Without buses, the Black children walked up to nine miles to get to school.

The one-room Oak Grove schoolhouse in Clarendon County shared its grounds with a church and a graveyard first used as a burial ground for enslaved persons, 1950. South Carolina Department of Archives and History

To Marshall, Clarendon County was a perfect opportunity to litigate for equal facilities, transportation and other resources for the county’s Black children. But it would be foolhardy to push for full desegregation. Marshall knew how slim the odds were of victory in South Carolina. He also understood how dangerous bringing a legal challenge there would be for the case’s plaintiffs, who would bear the full brunt of white supremacist retaliation for even daring to suggest integration.

Marshall’s hand was forced, however, by the presiding judge, J. Waties Waring. Waring, a white Charlestonian, was the rarest of birds: a Southern activist jurist who supported civil rights. The two first met in 1944 when Marshall argued Duvall v. Seignous, a case about disparities in teacher salaries, before the judge’s bench. Waring, past retirement age by 1950 and a pariah to much of white South Carolina for his racial views, was ready to make one last judicial strike against America’s apartheid educational system.

Marshall arrived in Clarendon County to argue Briggs v. Elliott in November 1950. The suit had come to be named after its lead plaintiffs, navy veteran Harry Briggs and his wife, Eliza Briggs, who was a maid at a local motel. But Waring challenged Marshall to refile the case as a direct attack on the constitutionality of segregation. The new suit could claim that separate educational opportunities, even if materially equal, were a denial of the Briggs’ plaintiffs’ 14th Amendment rights. Neither man was under any illusions that the case would succeed; losing seemed inevitable. But, Waring argued, by bringing this challenge in federal court, a loss guaranteed the case would hopscotch over the U.S. Court of Appeals and be placed directly on the Supreme Court’s docket.

The stakes were immense. If the NAACP were to lose this appeal before the highest court in the land, Plessy v. Ferguson would be reaffirmed and decades of dogged, meticulous work would be lost. It might be decades more before there would be another opportunity to challenge segregation head on. Marshall was conflicted, but decided to move forward with Waring’s plan. Briggs v. Elliott would now be heard before a three-judge panel including Waring.

On May 28, 1951, Black South Carolinians rose before dawn to travel to the federal courthouse in Charleston, despite the risk of reprisals that could come from merely having appeared there. Joining the hundreds of journiers were reporters who wanted front-row seats to history. The NAACP’s team was performing for a packed courtroom, but also on a national stage as reporters bore witness for The New York Times, New York Post, the Associated Press and numerous other national and local publications.

At the very outset of the hearing, the school district’s lawyer attempted to upend the trial with a surprise announcement: Clarendon County fully acknowledged that Black and white students’ educational experiences were unequal. To rectify the situation, South Carolina planned to issue $75 million in state bonds to bring Black schools up to par. There was therefore no need, the district’s lawyer reasoned, even to hear the case. Blindsided at first, Marshall recovered, arguing that the County’s “statement just made has no bearing on this litigation,” since the NAACP’s suit maintained “segregation in and of itself is unlawful.” The case proceeded, and Marshall’s team sought to demonstrate the injury inflicted upon Black children by segregated education.

Marshall lost Briggs v. Elliott as expected. Two of the three judges who heard the case agreed that Clarendon County’s Black students received an inferior education and called for the inequities to be corrected. But they held that the decision to segregate schools remained with the state. As Judge Waring had foreseen, however, the loss ensured a Supreme Court appeal. Ultimately, that appeal was consolidated with four other cases that, three years later, led to the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision mandating the desegregation of America’s public schools.

Thurgood Marshall, NAACP Chief Counsel, is shown in front of the Supreme Court, 1958. Everett Collection Historical/Alamy Stock Photo

Back outside the Charleston Federal Courthouse on that late May day in 1951, Marshall marveled at the crowd of African Americans surrounding the building and extending down the block. Many of the attendees had made the trip from hours away to witness the unprecedented case. They had also come simply to see and hear Marshall himself, the man they called Mr. Civil Rights for his seemingly fearless crusade for racial justice.

Entering the courthouse, Marshall remarked to his NAACP deputy Robert Carter, “Bob, it’s all over.” Carter asked Marshall what he meant.

As the man who would become the Supreme Court’s first Black justice looked around, he couldn’t know the role that yet awaited him. Nor could he know that, as late as 2016—62 years after the Brown v. Board decision and 23 years after his death—the United States Justice Department would still be monitoring and enforcing nearly 200 open federal school desegregation court cases.

Turning to his deputy, Marshall said, “They’re not scared anymore.”

[jewishandmore]

Mensch and Mystic

Erev Yom Kippur - Kol Nidrei 5781 Sunday, September 27, 2020 Temple Beth Zion, Buffalo, New York by Rabbi Jonathan Freirich

“Be a mensch.”

Or, as they would say in the Old Country, “Zeyt a mensch.”

Three simple words in English, or Yiddish, and some of the most profound and serious advice my grandfather, Grandpa Iggie, may his memory always be for a blessing, offered me.

And Iggie lived those words as well as anyone.

Grandpa Iggie was a professionally compassionate person. He was trained to be a physical therapist at NYU by some of the people who created the field. He was a pioneer among his medical colleagues in Lynbrook, Long Island, in the realm of treating people, not conditions. He always mentioned that to me, saying that we have to regard the person, not whatever they were suffering from, because the person is the point.

Were it not for the sound business mind of Grandma Ida, who ran Iggie’s office for years, Grandpa Iggie would have spent hours with each patient, never getting through his schedule. I imagine that in his office, as he was with all of us, his five grandchildren, he must have been the consummate listener. Unearthing the person behind the pain, and helping each individual patient overcome their discomfort with massage and movement, advice and exercise, and a caring heart to back it all up.

He spoke in that thick and wonderful Brooklyn Ashkenaz accent, pronouncing the Motzi, “Boruch asaw Adonoy…”, and jovially responding to us saying, “Grandpa, say ‘girl’”, with “Goyl,” and then when we said it back to him he would respond, “What’s a matter with you, can’t you speak English?”

Iggie taught me how to play golf, taking joy in spending time on the golf course with the people he loved, applauding us when we did well, and reminding us, on the last hole if we would hit a good shot, “Now that’s a golf shot. That’s a shot to go home with.”

Iggie became a physical therapist in the 1930’s and worked through the Great Depression in the early days of their marriage. Iggie and Ida were shaped by that time and still never gave into to despair. They were hopeful and optimistic. They were generous and ethical.

Iggie was a constantly joyful and thankful presence. From big occasions, like blessing us at our wedding, to small ones eating with anyone in the family, anywhere, he would praise the simplest meals as if he had just supped like a king. He would push back from the table and give the highest praise to whomever was there, hearkening to back to meals with my grandmother, intoning, “Good supper Mommy,” long after Ida was gone. He always ordered the same cocktail, and upon his first sip would genuinely look at it and praise it like was next, “Now that’s a drink!” His inner integrity was always complemented by a sense of joy in the everyday.

When I think of a mensch, someone gently appreciating friends and family with compliments and smiles, honoring obligations to patients and colleagues, living a quiet life of integrity, Grandpa Iggie and his advice, “Be a mensch” forms a perfect intention, a lesson lived and a life lesson going forward long past his time on this earth. After all, Iggie’s gone now since 2003. And his words live on in the stories we tell about him to our kids who never got to meet him. On his birthday and yahrzeit, and many other days during the year, our extended family will chat about him. And he is with us whenever we are on the golf course together.

It isn’t easy to be a mensch. To find the right way to be kind, the right way to be fair, the middle ground between them. To get up every morning and treat everyone like the miraculous unique reflection of the divine that they are, to not be irritable or get irritated, to be giving and generous even when the world seems filled with selfishness and difficulty - all of this and so much more is what it means to be a mensch and it isn’t easy. So how did Iggie do it so consistently for so much of his life?

Another thing that Iggie was a pioneer in, only he wouldn’t have called it such, was something of a mindfulness practice. I don’t know how he managed it in his day-to-day life, I don’t know what sort of thought process he used to calm himself between patients so that he was as good a person as he could be for the next person he spoke to, but I do know the things he taught me when he gave me advice and instructed me in golf.

Iggie had a holistic approach to body-work advising us to not exercise while in pain - “no pain, no gain” was a recipe for injuries and difficulties from his perspective. As a former college sprinter I am sure he knew what it took to become a performance athlete and also knew that while I might be enthusiastic, any exercise regimen I pursued was going to be as an amateur at best. So he advised me to listen closely to my body, to take note of aches and pains and to not let them get worse - either by easing off or changing what I was doing in some way.

On the golf course Iggie was a devoted student of classic golf coaches like Harvey Penick, and stuck religiously to the idea that addressing a golf shot was a mental and spiritual practice, “to be at ease” and to find a gentle focus.

In other words, Iggie had a mind-body practice that I imagine helped him sustain himself as a caregiver and a mensch.

In Judaism, we focus a lot on the behaviors and habits that lead us to being a person of integrity, towards developing the aspects of being a mensch, or in Yiddish, menschlichkeit. On this particular day of the year we identify all of the ways in which we have missed the mark, all of the behaviors that we hoped to pursue and didn’t quite achieve. On what someone called to me this morning, “the Super Bowl of the Jewish Year,” through the act of public confessions we reassert together the behaviors that we hold to be most important. It helps us set a good course for the New Year.

In all of this though, we still need a personal practice, something that will help us make progress on these reasonable aims of excellent behavior. Internal methods to overcome our initial reactions, our biases, our anger, and lead with our best selves when we do offer a reaction to what’s going on around us.

Every day of the year we can do better and we can each find our own way there. Remembering to be grateful in the morning, offering blessings, taking five minutes every hour to check in on how we’re feeling and take a deep breath, making sure that we stand up and walk around once in a while, getting out into nature at least once a day to recharge our sense of well-being, remembering to smile at the people in our home when we see them and acknowledging them as sources of joy in our lives. The inner practice that helps us be the outer mensch will be just as individualized as anything else. What helps us today as Jews is seeing that we are all on that journey together. We confess together to move forward together. We establish a norm of being a mensch, follow in our own Grandpa Iggie model - and I know each of us has a mentor, a teacher, a friend, a family-member who can serve as that model - and breathe deeply and dig deep and find whatever it takes to go out and be a better person in that next encounter.

If this mind-body, mindfulness, hearts and minds and bodies connected to our behaviors, works to inform us, we also remember that it works both ways. The Jewish model asks us to be engaged in community. Iggie was a mensch and a mystic because he was constantly aiming higher, working with other people, and that good work fueled his inner self even as his inner work continued to fuel his menschlichkeit. In this way Judaism is both a social and a contemplative path - we are aiming for a profoundly rooted behavior of integrity and seeking justice sustained by a profoundly seeking inner life of balance and continued personal development. In our Jewish traditions we don’t have gurus sitting on mountain tops because the life of seclusion separates us from the life of working to make things better. Our role models are engaged in being friends and family-members as well as having jobs and careers and always aiming for soul-inspired good behavior and righteous actions that raise our spirits.

I still work to live up to Iggie’s model.

As in every year up until now, I am working on finding rhythm in my life so that I can bring the best of me to all that I do. I imagine we are all working to get ourselves up to one or more of our role model’s standards, for themselves and for us.

As we go forward into this New Year, I will try to live some of Iggie’s wise words as a mystic so that I can follow his down-to-earth model as a mensch.

If it hurts, ease off - and that goes for working as well as exercising.

When doing something important, I will try to be at ease and attend to that one thing with all my mind and self.

In all of this, I will try to bring my best self to every encounter and relationship.

May we all find a meaningful path of reflection that leads to better doing in the world in this year to come.

May we be written and sealed for a good year.

[labourpress]

Carwyn Jones speech to Labour Party Conference

Carwyn Jones AM, Leader of Welsh Labour, First Minister of Wales, speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton today, said:

 ***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***

 I want to begin by extending my thanks to Christina Rees, our Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. Sadly she can’t be with us this week as she’s nursing a broken foot.

 I don’t think there’s any truth in the rumour that she broke it kicking Alun Cairns around Parliament in the first week back, but we’ll ask her when we see her.

 We all wish you a speedy recovery, Chris.

 Secondly, let me say thank you to Jeremy for his continuing friendship and leadership.

Thank you, Jeremy for the dignity you showed in a tough general election campaign.

The Tories came after you in a personal and offensive manner, and you stood up to that onslaught and led the party with great determination and defied the odds.

 This time last year, the Tories thought they were marching to a 100-seat majority. Right now, they’re scared of their own shadows, let alone another general election. What a turn around that is.

 Conference, when I heard Theresa May was giving a speech in Florence, I thought how apt. Not so much in relation to the Renaissance, but more with a thought to the works of that great medieval poet, Dante. It has been clear to me for some time that the Department for Exiting the European Union regard the “Divine Comedy” as some sort of instruction manual. That masterpiece imagines in glorious detail the dark and terrifying journey through the nine circles of hell.

 Well, we’ve been going on our own journey for 15 months and still remain in the first circle of hell – limbo – a remarkable achievement. But, then Dante did have Virgil as his spiritual guide.

 David Davis has got Nigel Farage. The book really is worth a read as Brexit re-interpreted.  At one point, at the close of chapter XXI, Dante witnesses a demon mobilising his troops by using “an ass as a trumpet.”  Which goes to show that every century has its own Boris.

 Conference, this week in Wales we marked the 20th anniversary of the vote to establish devolution in our country.  It was a turning point for Wales, and a turning point for our Party. The list of achievements is one of which we can be proud – and it belongs not just to Welsh Labour, but to the whole Party and movement who made devolution possible.

 ·         Unemployment in Wales - routinely lower than the UK average. More jobs, better jobs – Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

·         Wales, the first country to move to a deemed consent model for organ donation in the UK. People owe their lives to that change in the law. Better laws, saving lives, Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

·         Free school breakfasts in primary schools. Giving children the best start to the day, giving parents a helping hand, giving teachers the attention they deserve in the classroom. Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

·         The attainment gap between better off and poorer pupils in England and Scotland continues to grow – in Wales it continues to shrink. A fair start to everyone in Wales, no matter where you’re born – that is Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

·         Our university students in Wales getting the best deal anywhere in the UK.

·         And who gets the best deal of all? Those students who can least afford university – that is Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

 But, it isn’t just about policy. It’s also about having a voice and someone to fight your corner. This week I gave a cautious welcome to the news that Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp entered the first stage of a merger deal.  A deal that should safeguard sites and thousands of jobs in Wales.

 Does anyone honestly think that without devolution, without a Welsh Labour Government determined to take measures to save that industry, putting money on the table when others looked away, that those steel jobs would still be in Wales today?

Would the Tories have knocked down walls for the people of Port Talbot, Shotton, Newport or Llanelli? We all know the answer to that.

 With our colleagues in the trades unions, our MPs, our AMs and local councillors, Welsh Labour stood up for the steel industry – and we did what those banners and badges asked us to do – we saved our steel.

 Conference, we are proud to work with our trades union colleagues in Government.

Together we have built a genuine social partnership and together we are making Wales a Fair Work Nation.

 And Conference, earlier this month our Trades Union Act received Royal Assent.

That means that the pernicious attempts of the Tory Government to attack workers’ rights in Wales have been dis-applied, and, once again, workers in Wales have the protections we fought so hard to achieve. Protections everyone deserves.

That’s Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

 Devolution has given Wales a voice. And with Welsh Labour that voice speaks the language of social justice, fairness, good work, decent pay and thriving communities.

 Devolution has given us something else. A new-found confidence. It is something I see every day in young people in work, and in our schools and colleges. So where has that confidence come from? If you could personalise it, you’d have to give credit to my predecessor, Rhodri Morgan. As you know, Rhodri passed away earlier this year, leaving behind a fantastic roller coaster of a political career, a wonderful family and an ocean of anecdotes.  In May the Welsh Parliament held the closest thing Wales will ever have to a state funeral, and we gave Rhodri the perfect send off.

 It started late. It finished even later. In between there was a fantastic mix of poetry, politics, sport, laughter and tears. And at the end, no-one really thought about Rhodri the politician, but Rhodri as a big-hearted, intelligent and inquisitive man who loved his family above all else. A fine role model, who we all miss.

 Rhodri always said that Labour did best when it managed to mix together the mushy peas of old Labour with the guacamole of New Labour. Now, I’ve been in Rhodri’s kitchen and I can tell you that when it came to culinary combinations, Rhodri was not always the person you would go to – but on the politics, he, as so often, was absolutely right.  He was absolutely right about the need for our Party to reflect all sections of our membership, and all parts of this country.

 That was the key to our success in Wales in the last three elections.

 When the Party at UK level was under serious pressure, our unique and united Welsh Labour identity meant we remained relevant and competitive in the Assembly and local elections, when sadly others struggled. It was the unity that gave us success against the odds. And when in the last days of the general election the whole party surged, it meant we, in Wales, were starting from a higher base-line and, as a result, achieved 50% of the vote for the first time in 16 years.

 Our identity as a Party is robust, authentic and complementary to the UK Party as a whole. And, just as a country we will not countenance a roll-back of our devolution settlement; there can be no question of Welsh Labour’s long fought for, and hard won voice being diluted as we look to the future of our Party. I know that both Jeremy and Tom understand this, and I welcome their unwavering support for Wales. Thank you, both.

 Because Conference, we know Labour works best when we work together. Together, we fought a hugely successful general election campaign – not just holding on to what we had, but winning back seats for Labour.

 Vale of Clwyd – according to the bookmakers, Tories were 1/5 on to win. Result? Labour Gain. Gower – according to the bookies, Tories were 1/9 on to win. Result? Labour Gain. Cardiff North – Tories were 1/9 on. Result? Labour Gain.

 Working together we have exposed the Tories on broken promise after broken promise. On rail electrification in the north and the south – and we know what’s coming next – they’ll axe Swansea’s Tidal Lagoon.

 But, because Welsh Labour is in Government – there are things we can do. We are already delivering on our manifesto promises.

 ·         100,000 new good quality, all-age apprenticeships.

 ·         The most generous childcare offer for working parents anywhere in the UK.

 ·         And 20,000 more affordable homes.

 We can also deliver on priorities for the future of our NHS.

 There is no privatisation of the NHS in Wales – and whilst we have a Welsh Labour Government there will be no privatisation of the NHS in Wales. Only in Wales are ambulance crews hitting their targets – because we’ve worked with the service and designed a better way of working. And next week, the Welsh Government will publish new guidance for our pioneering legislation on safe nurse staffing levels in Wales.  

 Conference, Wales is the first country in Europe to legislate on nurse staffing levels. I am proud that Wales has taken the lead in this area, empowering nurses and ensuring the resources are there to care sensitively for patients. Legislation that the Party promised in the UK manifesto in May, already being delivered by a Labour Government in Wales.

 And working together we are making our communities better, fairer places to live.

When Carolyn Harris MP began her brave and dignified campaign to end child burial charges in the UK, we in Wales did not wait for the Tory Government to act. We said, yes, that is the right thing to do, and, as a result, the Welsh Labour Government has announced the abolition of all child burial charges in our country. That is what we can do when we work together.

 And the country needs us to work together more than ever before, as we fight the fundamentalists pursuing a hard Brexit. We are fighting tooth and nail against the Tory power grab, dressed up as the EU Withdrawal Bill. It shows up their Government as simply incapable of listening to other people’s views, or respecting their legitimate interests – in other words, as lacking the basic skills needed to negotiate successfully.

And looking at the way in which they are failing the country in their negotiations with the EU, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.

 I’m delighted at the support we are receiving from Labour colleagues in Parliament at fighting this real threat to devolution as we have known it for the past 20 years.

I’m also incredibly proud of the work we have done together already – our team in Cardiff Bay has worked hand in glove with Keir Starmer and the front bench in developing our Brexit policies. As a result of that work, in Labour we now have a sensible, evidence-based, economically sound set of principles and ideas that can see this country through Brexit in an orderly manner.  

 Contrast that with the spectacle of the Tory approach. Sorry, correction – the various Tory approaches. Does anyone really know who speaks for them on Brexit anymore?

Where has the Prime Minister of this country gone? If,  before the general election, the country felt as though it had a robot for Prime Minister, we’d now be forgiven for thinking we have a hologram.

 She went to the country and asked for the support of our communities for a hard Brexit, the country said no. The country said no to some other things as well – our older people said no to being taken for granted. Wales said no to being short-changed. Scotland said no to independence. And crucially, our young people said no to being ignored. They said, through their votes, what we all feel - Britain deserves better than this. This country deserves a Labour Government in Westminster.

A Government that actually cares about the future.

 I know that the people of Wales need that more than ever. Under the Tories, we have had to take £1billion out of our public services in Wales. That’s the annual budget of the entire North Wales health board. Our communities are resilient, but they’re being unfairly punished. And with Theresa May and the Tories they will be asked to give yet more. To give up. To give up their livelihoods, their libraries, their leisure centres, and their right to a fair deal. To give up hope. Enough is enough. It is time for hope.  

 It is time for Labour, in Wales and in Westminster.  Standing up for Wales. Working for fairness. Working, together. Winning, together. That’s a future the country hopes for and that’s the country we can deliver. Together for Wales.  Together for Britain.

[2whatcom-blog]

Whose Job Is It to Assist Construct Public Belief in Science

We stay in a second when preventable infectious ailments like measles are spreading as a result of mother and father mistrust vaccines, and scientists at authorities companies are being instructed to not use phrases like "evidence-based." The president dismisses the findings of a Nationwide Local weather Evaluation by greater than 300 scientists and 13 federal companies that warns of large financial and environmental harm totaling tons of of billions of dollars, crop failures, disrupted provide chains and a number of threats to human well being, saying, "I don't believe it." However once I argued in favor of the proposition (Resolved: "Science writers are responsible for building public trust in science") throughout a debate on the Nationwide Affiliation of Science Writers' 2018 annual convention final fall, the vast majority of science writers and science journalists current voted that constructing public belief in science was not the duty of science writers. What is going on on right here? To some extent, the vote displays long-standing fault strains throughout the NASW between its science journalist membership and different members who work as public data officers at scientific establishments or who're scientists who write for the general public. However one thing extra is bothering them. Science is not all the time practiced ethically or with social justice in thoughts. How can they, the journalists particularly, carry out a watchdog position, demand accountability of the scientific group, expose dangerous actors, dangerous science and opposed impacts and construct public belief in science? How do they reconcile these roles within the Trump period, when science about essentially the most pressing questions of our day is introduced to the general public as basically flawed? Many science journalists really feel it isn't their job to champion science. They provide the general public the reality, they are saying, and let folks determine for themselves. One other line of argument is that it is the scientist's duty. In any case, they are saying, the general public trusts scientists greater than journalists. In reality, scientists, journalists, different science writers and analysis establishments every have roles to play constructing public belief in science, however in several spheres. Tackling these points, although, requires a wider focus and acknowledging some onerous truths. Each scientists and science writers have to confront systemic and structural points that threaten public belief within the scientific course of even when science is used to advance the widespread good. A scientist's critique Raj Pandya, an atmospheric scientist and director of the American Geophysical Union's Thriving Earth Change (TEX) has grow to be a number one voice arguing that science must grow to be "more moral." He says that the scientists TEX recruits to work with native communities typically discover that these communities--many of them poor, of shade and coping with air pollution and unsafe waste--"feel like science is being used against them," with firms, builders and native leaders utilizing science as a method to downplay air pollution's opposed impression on neighborhoods, despite the fact that residents "smell the fumes, see the emissions, and watch the floods get worse." He believes science turns into immoral when it focuses myopically on discovery and fails to completely think about real-world impacts. Even science that unintentionally causes hurt, he says, "represents a failure to fully consider and invite broad deliberation about the uses of new discoveries." The scientific establishment's position Kathleen Corridor Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Coverage Heart on the College of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Faculty for Communication additionally tackled the science belief query on the NASW convention, and researchers at Cardiff College have traced credibility and accuracy issues to press releases from scientists' personal educational establishments. If an issue is found or a research is retracted, mentioned Jamieson, the scientist or scientific journal wants to clarify to journalists and the general public how the error was found, what the issue is, and what steps are being taken to make sure it does not occur once more. Scientists typically make it onerous for journalists to cowl these three interrelated points, she says. Scholarly journal publication protocols could trigger scientists to jot down one article on the issue they're investigating, and a second or third article on processes and options, leading to protection that emphasizes issues and shortchanges corrective motion. For his or her half, researchers at Cardiff College discovered that press releases from scientists' personal educational establishments about their work had been a big supply of exaggerated claims and spin, despite the fact that most scientists can approve their wording. Their research of press releases from 20 main British universities on health-related science information discovered that when the press releases exaggerated, it was possible the information tales would too. An evaluation of 41 information articles on randomized managed trials primarily based on 70 press releases confirmed solely 4 articles that contained exaggerated claims not included within the press launch or journal summary. Apparently, additionally they discovered the hype and spin supposed to tempt the media didn't end in extra information protection. Science media narratives After discussing scientists, Jamieson turned to science writers, and notably science journalists. The story strains that form overarching science information narratives can impression how the general public is smart of points starting from local weather change to vaccination, she mentioned, outlining three story strains that are likely to dominate science information protection: The hero's quest. The scientist pursues information, overcomes challenges and obstacles and makes path-breaking discoveries. The dishonorable quest. The dishonest scientist deceives his/her colleagues and hoodwinks reviewers and scientific journals by making claims that can not be verified, selling flawed science or pseudoscience, or concealing hidden monetary pursuits that will affect analysis outcomes. Science is damaged/in disaster. Widespread systemic issues and dysfunction inside science are the supply of those issues and are allowed to persist. The hero story line, as previous as recorded historical past, tends to concentrate on and dramatize particular person, path-breaking achievements. One downside, says Jamieson, is that "most things described as path-breaking didn't break any paths." Scientific discovery is usually a big collaborative effort that experiences false begins, lifeless ends and incremental positive factors. Necessary failures could present key insights that finally result in breakthroughs. In relation to the "dishonorable quest" storyline, Jamieson mentioned journalists tended to underplay self-correcting mechanisms in scientific processes that detect and handle such situations. Retractions she argued, are situations of self-correction. Each scientists and journalists ought to point out what science is doing to forestall a recurrence. The third story line can be essentially the most problematic. The science-is-broken argument has been used broadly by science skeptics and partisan political pursuits to discredit science that challenges political or ideological agendas. It is true that the scientific group has systemic and structural points it wants to handle. However Jamieson says the scientific course of, which she calls "the most reliable form of knowledge generation humans have devised," has "protective mechanisms." If these mechanisms are to work correctly, although, "scientists must uncover problems that threaten integrity, identify and implement remedies, and ensure that remedies accomplish their desired ends." Science journalists and different science writers might help with that. Apparently, Jamieson's critique of science information protection and her proposed treatments are remarkably much like options journalism, which favors systemic responses to issues reasonably than hero tales, places problem-solving on the narrative's middle, and appears for proof of impression. It is possible the brand new Congress will examine scientific integrity points at federal companies, the place mainstream science has been questioned and plenty of scientists have been sidelined, purged or silenced. However for such investigations to be efficient it is going to be important for most people to have a transparent understanding of what scientific integrity means. What's science for, and what does that imply for them? What does science seem like when accomplished proper, and what occurs when it goes awry? These questions have grow to be much more pressing with White Home plans to determine an "adversarial" scientific assessment panel to problem the scientific consensus on local weather change, a transfer that appears more likely to create much more confusion within the public's thoughts about science. Scientists and science writers are each watchdogs of the integrity of the scientific course of. Their considerate work and the criticism that will ensue is, paradoxically, a trust-building train. Scrutiny can lead to corrective motion. A person scientist could violate norms, however reputable processes by which scientific inquiry happens may be strengthened, safeguards added and impacts assessed extra completely. To make this occur, scientists, analysis establishments, science writers and journalists have to extra clearly outline their skilled requirements and civic roles to allow the general public to extra simply establish accountable practitioners and acknowledge worth added. It is an enormous ask to anticipate the general public to determine with out steering what constitutes reliable science. Jamieson says science can solely be characterised as being actually damaged when integrity-threatening issues are ignored. The identical can be mentioned of science writing and science journalism. Read the full article

[sciencespies]

How the space sector is responding to the killing of George Floyd

https://sciencespies.com/space/how-the-space-sector-is-responding-to-the-killing-of-george-floyd/

How the space sector is responding to the killing of George Floyd

For many, the Black Lives Matter protests occurring while NASA celebrated a historic achievement were reminiscent of the Apollo era.

In July 1969, civil rights protesters marched outside the Kennedy Space Center the day before Apollo 11 launched to the moon. NASA’s historic achievement occurred against the backdrop of a nation struggling to address discrimination against Black Americans.

The May 30 launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, the first flight of astronauts from U.S. soil in nine years, also happened amid widespread protests prompted by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in Minneapolis who died with his neck under the knee of a White police officer.

Once again, NASA risks being out of touch with the nation as a whole by failing to be more proactive on matters of equality, said Lori Garver, who pushed NASA to hire more women and people of color as astronauts when she was the deputy administrator from 2009 to 2013.

NASA finally responded to the civil rights and women’s marches of the 1960s by selecting its first female astronaut in 1978 and its first Black astronaut in 1979. But more than 40 years later, the results of that shift remain limited.

“It is still unbelievable to me that we have flown only 11 Black males and three Black females in space out of 350 U.S. astronauts,” Garver said. “It’s shameful.”

Since late May, the space industry, like organizations and individuals around the world, has been responding to the Black Lives Matter movement and calls for racial justice.

Responses range from corporate scholarships and diversity training to new leadership for the Brooke Owens Fellowship and a petition to rename NASA’s Stennis Space Center. Still more action is expected in the weeks ahead as companies respond to this unique moment in American history when millions of people, confined to their homes for months to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, emerge to attend racial justice rallies.

Diversity initiatives

Many recent initiatives focus on increasing the diversity of the space workforce, which is overwhelmingly white compared with the U.S. population, according to Aviation Week’s annual aerospace and defense workforce report.

Small launch vehicle startup Relativity Space announced plans July 1 on Twitter to hire a diversity, equity and inclusion program manager to help “build and drive an inclusive workplace that personifies the values within our organization.”

Satellite fleet operator SES pledged to support underrepresented communities through various actions, including adding Black Lives Matter to charities included in its employee donation-matching program.

Virgin Galactic announced a new scholarship as part of its Galactic Unite outreach initiative. The suborbital spaceflight company pledged $100,000 to a scholarship for Black Americans pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math with a focus on aerospace.

Students selected to participate in the program, also backed by The Spaceship Company, Virgin Orbit and Virgin Hyperloop, “will receive scholarship support, mentoring, summer fellowships and job opportunities upon graduation,” Virgin Galactic announced June 19. “The aspiration is to support Black scholars through the academic pipeline to a successful early career placement opportunity.”

The Brooke Owens Fellowship, a similar initiative to bring women and gender minorities into the aerospace industry, announced a change in leadership. Garver, a Brooke Owens Fellowship founder, announced plans June 19 to step down from the leadership team to make room for women of color.

“I had been going to rallies and doing what I could, but it felt inadequate,” Garver said. “I thought [the Brooke Owens Fellowship] needed a more representative leadership team.”

NASA announced June 24 plans to rename its Washington headquarters after Mary W. Jackson, a mathematician and aerospace engineer whose contributions to the U.S. space program were depicted in the 2016 book “Hidden Figures” and the 2016 movie of the same name. Credit: NASA

Joining Brooke Owens Fellowship co-founders Cassie Lee, aerospace director at Vulcan Inc., and Will Pomerantz, vice president of special projects at Virgin Orbit, on the executive committee are alumnae: Caroline Juang, a PhD student at Columbia University; Kayla Watson, Amazon Prime Air system reliability engineer; and Diana Trujillo, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory aerospace engineer.

Space industry leaders also are publishing letters and statements about racial justice online.

Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith urged employees June 1 to “be thoughtful and compassionate” with colleagues “struggling once again with long-standing racism and are demanding solutions today — not in some vague time in the future.”

In the letter, Smith said, “The institutional and individual racism that has long plagued our country was pulled into plain view by Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting death in Georgia, through the lies of Amy Cooper in Central Park, in Breonna Taylor’s killing inside her Louisville home, and, most recently, the Minneapolis killing of George Floyd.”

SES CEO Steve Collar wrote about the deaths of several unarmed Black Americans.

“The frequency of these kinds of events and the fact that the underlying biases that drive them are endemic makes us question whether there is even a path to change,” Collar said in a June 9 LinkedIn post. “But the strength of the global reaction to Floyd’s killing makes me believe there are reasons to hope for something better.”

NanoRacks CEO Jeffrey Manber, called on the space community “to become part of the solution to the horrific challenges America faces today.” In a statement posted on the NanoRacks website Manber said, “We must assure diversity in the workplace and in our kids’ school system — in such a manner that it is standard, not the exception, that your neighbors, your friends, your leaders, are people of color, women, or someone with a differing sexual orientation.”

An uphill challenge

Much of the space industry’s response has focused on increasing minority participation. A walk through the halls of any major conference — Space Symposium, the International Astronautical Congress or the annual Satellite show — show the industry struggles with diversity.

“It’s well documented that the aerospace community, like many other technical communities, is not diverse, but that’s not my biggest concern,” said Danielle Wood, an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who leads the Space Enabled Research Group within the Media Lab. Lack of diversity is a symptom, she added.

If the space industry wants to become more diverse, it must come to terms with how racially motivated decisions shape the country, Wood said. The industry must acknowledge “that white supremacy is the reason why there is disproportionate violence towards Black people by police, why there are a disproportionate number of people of Black and Hispanic backgrounds in jails, why there are a disproportionate number of people who can’t get loans, and also why there aren’t enough people of color in the aerospace industry,” she said. “Then we can start to make progress.”

NanoRack’s Manber said he hopes the space industry sees today’s movement as a tipping point that leads to a permanent change.

“Part of my fear, in terms of being a business person in space, is that space exploration gets branded as being either behind the times or counter to the reforms taking place,” he said.

The space industry can’t risk, by inaction, being viewed only as a domain for the wealthy and white, he said.

“This is not your grandfather’s space program,” he said.

What’s in a name?

NASA announced plans June 24 to rename its Washington headquarters for Mary W. Jackson, NASA’s first female African-American engineer and someone who “spent her career advancing opportunities for women and minorities in engineering,” NASA spokeswoman Katy Summerlin said by email.

Also on June 24, Pomerantz called on Twitter for the space agency to consider renaming the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

“I think that was largely, but not entirely, a coincidence,” Pomerantz said.

“Space friends: maybe it’s time we had a talk about the fact that one of NASA’s main campuses is named after a person who has been called ‘the heart, soul, and brains of the white supremacist caucus in the 1948 Congress,’” the Twitter thread began.

Former U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis, shown celebrating a space shuttle engine test in 1978 at the NASA field center that bears his name, has been called “the heart, soul, and brains of the white supremacist caucus in the 1948 Congress.” Credit: NASA

The quote by retired U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Reuben Keith Green appeared in his June 2020 U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings commentary calling for renaming the USS John C. Stennis, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Pomerantz began thinking about NASA facility names after watching organizations like university libraries and U.S. Army bases rethink their namesakes in response to national demonstrations for racial justice.

NASA field centers are named for locations, functions and white men, Pomerantz pointed out. They include: Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, Smithsonian Institution Secretary Samuel Langley, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics chairman Joseph Ames, astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, rocketry pioneer Robert Goddard, Army General and Secretary of State George Marshall and John Stennis, a U.S. senator from Mississippi.

Stennis opposed the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and signed the Declaration of Constitutional Principles, also called the Southern Manifesto, a document published in 1956 in response to the Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education that found racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. The Southern Manifesto pledged “all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of force in its implementation.”

NASA’s Stennis website focuses on less controversial details about the former senator. “The courtly senator from Mississippi who was unanimously elected president pro tempore of the Senate for the 100th Congress also served as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, 1969-1980,” the website says. “Senator Stennis stood firm for U.S. military superiority and was a staunch supporter of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.”

NASA leaders are “sensitive to the discussion of racism, discrimination and inequalities going on around the world, including conversations about renaming NASA facilities,” Summerlin said by email. “We are having ongoing discussions with the NASA workforce on all of these topics. NASA is dedicated to advancing diversity, and we will continue to take steps to do so.”

On Twitter, Pomerantz’s idea has received both support and opposition. One person suggested Pomerantz “leave NASA and space alone.”

Others have embraced the idea.

After seeing Pomerantz’ tweet, Andy de Fonseca, Planetary Society outreach coordinator, created a Change.org petition calling for NASA to rename the Stennis Space Center.

Garver also endorses the idea of renaming Stennis, saying she regretted not knowing about Stennis’ namesake when she worked under a Black president and a Black administrator.

NASA renamed the Lewis Research Center after Glenn in 1999 and renamed the Dryden Flight Research Center to honor Armstrong in 2014, meaning names can and do change. “So yes, I would change it,” she said.

Another petition gathering signatures on Change.org calls for renaming the USS John C. Stennis.

This article originally appeared in the July 13, 2020 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

#Space

[thisdaynews]

Pro-impeachment Dems hope looming clashes with Trump will sway Pelosi

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/pro-impeachment-dems-hope-looming-clashes-with-trump-will-sway-pelosi/

Pro-impeachment Dems hope looming clashes with Trump will sway Pelosi

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for deliberative steps to investigate President Donald Trump and urges against rushing into impeachment proceedings. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

congress

Democrats yearning to remove the president from office are also afraid the politics of the 2020 election will kill the drive for impeachment.

For the House’s growing impeachment caucus, June is shaping up to be the most critical month to make their case to a reluctant Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

A month packed with subpoena fights, hearings on obstruction of justice and legal battles over Trump’s financial records is certain to provide fresh ammunition to grow the pro-impeachment ranks.

Story Continued Below

“The temperature’s rising, the plot is thickening. It’s hard for me to imagine Congress certainly leaving for the August recess without some closure on this,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who supports impeachment. “The Hamlet act is, I think, wearing thin, and it’s becoming untenable and intellectually strange.”

But Democrats eager to launch impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump fear they’re running out of time to persuade Pelosi to change course before presidential politics consumes Washington.

The House returns from a weeklong recess on Monday a few days after special counsel Robert Mueller ratcheted up pressure on lawmakers by emphasizing that Congress is the venue for holding a law-breaking president accountable. Mueller’s words — the first he uttered since the start of his two-year investigation into the Trump campaign’s links to Russia and potential presidential obstruction — prompted a wave of House Democrats to endorse an impeachment inquiry.

Mueller underscored that the Justice Department’s guidelines prohibit him from charging a sitting president with a crime — a notion Democrats interpreted as a direct referral to Congress. But Pelosi has remained unmoved, calling for deliberative steps to investigate Trump and urging against rushing into impeachment proceedings.

In one of the clearest indications that the tide may be shifting in favor of impeachment proceedings in the House, Majority Whip James Clyburn said Sunday that he thinks the House will eventually launch an official impeachment inquiry.

“It sounds like you think that the President will be impeached, or at least proceedings will begin in the House at some point, but just not right now?” CNN “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper asked Clyburn.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I feel,” Clyburn replied.

Clyburn’s statement also indicted that the number of Democrats in favor of impeachment proceedings could be well above the approximately 50 members who have stated their view publicly.

Mueller’s comments provide the backdrop for a month filled with moments that are likely to push even more Democrats to call for impeachment proceedings and dial up pressure on Pelosi, whose stance against rushing into an impeachment inquiry could become unsustainable, some Democrats say.

“Obviously, people are very frustrated that we haven’t moved faster. Frankly, I’m frustrated because we have been held up by the unprecedented action by the White House to deny all witnesses,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said during an appearance Friday on WNYC. “We can only go so far until we can win in court. That’s why we have to get the contempt citations on the floor of the House as soon as possible, which I’ve been pushing for.”

Nadler also threw cold water on some Democrats’ urgency to begin impeachment proceedings before the 2020 campaign is in full swing, saying it’s important to send a message to future presidents about their conduct.

“[Trump’s] reelection would be an absolute catastrophe,” Nadler said. “But beyond preventing that catastrophe and getting a decent president into office, we have to vindicate the Constitution. Even in those circumstances, it might be well worth carrying on impeachment.”

In the meantime,Nadler is pushing Pelosi to immediately call a vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt for refusing to provide Congress with Mueller’s underlying evidence. Nadler on Friday vented his frustration that Trump’s White House has so far managed to delay efforts to access that information as well as testimony from Mueller’s most explosive witness, former White House counsel Don McGahn.

On Tuesday, two former Trump aides — longtime confidante Hope Hicks and former White House lawyer Annie Donaldson — are due to turn over documents subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee as part of that panel’s effort to delve into Mueller’s obstruction of justice findings. Both are also due to testify later in June.

But Democrats are anticipating that the White House will intervene to block their cooperation, pointing to the president’s instruction to McGahn last month to defy the committee’s subpoena. Some Democrats see the White House’s inevitable directives to Hicks and Donaldson as another chance to lure more of their colleagues into the pro-impeachment camp.

Blocking testimony from McGahn, Hicks and Donaldson denies Democrats opportunities to put the 448-page Mueller report — which they say Americans haven’t read — on camera in an easy-to-digest format. Holding public hearings is essential for moving public opinion in favor of impeachment, Democrats say.

“Part of the function of Congress, just the same as the Watergate hearings 40 years ago, [is] to have a dialogue with the American people so people can make informed decisions and know what’s going on,” Nadler said.

In all, the ranks of pro-impeachment Democrats swelled to more than 50 through the end of May — but that’s less than a quarter of the more than 230 House Democrats. The number of Democrats who publicly backed impeachment after Mueller’s statement included committee chairs — Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern among them — and another member of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees impeachment matters.

Until now, Democrats’ strategy to investigate Trump has been scattershot. Six committees have been investigating aspects of Trump’s personal conduct and financial dealings, but Trump’s all-out resistance has mired their efforts in a battle over process-related minutiae rather than the details of Mueller’s findings.

Democrats intend to change that focus in June, promising a torrent of hearings on the dozen instances of possible obstruction of justice that Mueller examined, as well as testimony from former federal prosecutors — including Republicans — who say Trump would have been indicted were he not the president.

A senior House Democratic aide said June will be a particularly important test for the Judiciary Committee — the forum for these hearings, as well as any potential impeachment battle — to make the most of Mueller’s words and the substance of his report, which paints a damning picture of a chaotic White House and president seeking to thwart Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“It’s a crucial month for that particular committee because Mueller did give us a gift and an opportunity to refocus the narrative back to the substance of the report,” the aide said.

“It’s about whether Democrats — the Judiciary Committee, specifically — can exploit this moment and Mueller’s statements to ignite a national conversation about the extent of President Trump’s abuse of power and ways to hold him accountable,” the aide continued. “The true test of that is going to be in June. If you can’t do that with what he gave us, there’s no way you’re ready for impeachment.”

June also features the next wave of court filings in Democrats’ efforts to compel banks and an accounting firm to turn over Trump’s financial information as part of their probes of potential conflicts of interest and money laundering. Key victories in the early rounds of those court battles — and the expedited consideration of Trump’s appeals to those rulings — have emboldened Pelosi and her allies to pursue a more deliberative course.

“To the extent that we’re able to conduct these inquiries and get information and documents and testimony without resorting to some kind of impeachment inquiry, I think that that will probably stave off taking that next step,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), a member of the Oversight and Intelligence committees and a Pelosi ally, said in an interview.

“If there are folks who believe in their hearts that impeachment is necessary, then obviously a case has to be made that is sustainable in the Senate as well,” Krishnamoorthi added. “And in order to do that, you have to do something that moves the American people at the same time. And that’s why the investigations are so important.”

But Democrats who favor impeachment proceedings see the court rulings as proof that the Trump administration is trying to run out the clock on their probes. They say the window for impeachment will soon close as the 2020 presidential campaign ramps up.

“Once you’re into the campaign, everything is inherently partisan, and I think it really does make this moot,” said Tom Steyer, the billionaire liberal activist who has been targeting House Democrats for more than a year to urge them to back impeachment.

“Most of us believe that there will come a point where if you get too close to the election, all the politics are going to lean toward just taking it to the voters,” added Huffman.

Read More

[go-saeng]

[00:00] Photography for you has always been about finding beauty in every fleeting moment of the universe. You’ve always been passionate about the art because it always taught you a little bit about life.

Ever since you were young, you were the outsider. You never belonged to any cliques in high school, roamed the hallways of your college with only a few acquaintances and always witnessed life behind the scenes. You were the person who saw everything from the outside; like a kid watching the snow fall inside a Christmas snow globe.

Maybe that’s why you were always fascinated by the art of photography. Hiding behind the lens and capturing something that could be gone in an instant was your true calling. Whether it was clicking a picture of your kitten yawning or taking a photo of your brother drooling, photography has always been fun for you.

But when you got a job offer in one of the top magazine companies in the country, you weren’t expecting it to dampen your love for the art you once swore you adored.

Clicking photos of stuck up actors and haughty super models was not what you pictured doing in your life. Sure sometimes it was fun when you got to meet child actors who would always pull funny faces just to spite their managers. However, you were bored with your job. Well honestly, bored was an understatement.

“Y/N!! Guess who’s your model today?” your colleague squeals at you.

“Hwang Hyunjin?” you dreamily sigh. The youngest CEO in the country was definitely your type.

“Tch No. But the cutie who’s going to be here in 5 minutes is the famous, most handsome and of course very talented“

“BANG CHAN?!!!”

“YANG JEONGIN!!”

You and your colleague just stare at each other. While she looks at you with distaste, you look at her with utter disappointment.

Yang Jeongin. His looks had girls wishing they were dating him and had guys wishing they were him. His charms had the public head over heels for him. And his music, had people captivated by his voice and beautiful lyrics.

But then, why were you disappointed?

Well, he was your crush in high school but you never did anything to pursue it. That was the price you had to pay when you were always hiding behind the lens.

You were nervous for today’s photo shoot. Will he remember you? You doubt it . He was pretty popular during those days too so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he acted like a stranger. You sigh and get ready for the shoot.

We’ll keep this professional like always.

Adjust, focus and capture.

Just hide behind the lens like you always do.

-----------

You were so busy setting up your equipment that you didn’t even notice how the loud atmosphere changed into hushed murmurs. You breathe out and prepare yourself to be as professional as you could be. You also made a mental note not to embarrass yourself. 

You turn around and lock your eyes with the model of the day. You couldn’t believe how fate loved playing with your heart. He looked even more handsome and mature. The cameras that shot his music videos did not do enough justice to his perfect features. You felt like you were in high school all over again, with a silly crush on the most popular boy of your grade and once again; you were hiding behind the comfort of your camera.

You smile and bow while he did the same thing.

“Good afternoon sir. I’m Y/N and I’ll be taking your photos today. Let’s get along well and work hard. “you deliver your usual monologue flawlessly.

“Good afternoon y/n. Please, call me Jeongin. I hope we can do our shoot well!” he smiles and you notice his cute dimpled smile minus the braces.

You were always a sucker for people with dimples.

Today’s theme was a royalty concept. Which is why Jeongin was wearing a Victorian ruffle collar shirt with a blue velvet marching band blazer. He looked like a prince who had only committed one crime in his life and that was stealing all the hearts of the girls in his kingdom.

He was seated in a throne that were decorated by beautiful white Delphiniums. They symbolized big heartedness, youth and fun; all of which coincidentally captured Jeongin’s vibes.

You check the lights and point your camera at Jeongin while making sure to get the right frame. You angle your camera, make adjustments and shout out,”Ready,1..2..3”

Click.

Click.

Click.

---------

After an hour, you bowed and thanked all the staff for helping you out like always. You give a small smile to Jeongin and proceed to go to your office to check out the photographs.

It must be cool to be a celebrity. You get what you want whenever you need it, but it’s not like you get it for free though. Life is a game of ‘give & take’ and so it had to be hard regardless of what your status in life was. Guess behind all the fame and fortune,there were bound to be demons that the celebs secretly fought on their own. 

You were scrolling through the photographs when you hear a knock on your door.

“Come in!.”

“Hey..”

To see Jeongin in your office in casuals was not good for your heart. He was wearing a soft pink hoodie with ripped jeans and his tousled hair made him look even more younger than he already was.

“Si- I mean Mr.Jeongin,how can I help you?” you stand up and look at him confused.

He chuckles and comes closer to your desk. You were thinking of all the complains he could have with photo shoot. Did he not like the concept? Were the flowers too strong in scent? Were the lights too bri-

“Y/n. This may sound weird, but did you go to Busan High School of Art?” he asks.

Does he..remember you?

“Y-Yes I did.”

You were sure he was going to mistake you for someone else. Who would notice a wallflower like you?

“Y/N Y/L/N right?”

You try recalling if you had done something embarrassing in your high school days, for resident popular boy to remember you. Did you slip on a banana peel in the hallways?

“I-It’s so good to see you again.” he smiles at you.

Is that a blush on his cheeks? 

Pfft…You must be daydreaming. Again.

“I-I didn’t think you would actually remember me?”

“The only girl..actually the only student who was never fazed by my popularity? It was frustrating but also admirable because you were always focused on being yourself.” he chuckles.

You stood there shocked. You couldn’t believe that Jeongin noticed you in high school when you tried so hard to not be noticed.

“Well, I guess my priority wasn’t obsessing over cute boys?” you shrug.

“You thought I was cute?” he gives you a smug grin which you wanted to desperately smack away.

“I-I..it’s whatever okay? You aren’t cute anymore.”

“Still playing hard to get I see.” he smiles.

You roll your eyes and take a seat. You couldn’t help but feel giddy over the thought of your high school crush actually noticing you. But that was years ago and so you try not to think too much about it.

“I don’t have any schedule to go to today. So I was wondering if we could hang out? Maybe get some fried chicken and catch up?”

“Are you sure we can do that? Wouldn’t you have to wear a mask and cover yourself? Are you even allowed to hang out with all the pap-“

“Aww worried about not seeing my face on our date?“ he grins and wiggles his eyebrows at you.

“Didn’t realize we were going on a date.” you give him a smug grin.

Jeongin’s cheeks were adorned with a shade of pink and you couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“Let’s go fox boy~”

“HEY!” the cutie pouts at you and follows you out of your office.

Maybe for once in your life, you would be the one enjoying the snow that fell inside the Christmas globe.

Happy Birthday to our maknae,our cutie patootie I.N💞 He’s worked so hard at a very young age to get where he is now and I am so proud of him🙆His voice never fails to make my day and I’m just so grateful for the baby boy🙇‍♀️💕Thank you for always smiling and giving us strength🌻I hope you’re always blessed with love and happiness,and with your hyungs and us stays;I promise we’ll make sure to give you all the love the world has to offer💌 Here’s to our maknae🦊❤️️

[theconservativebrief]

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has reportedly resigned, throwing the future of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation into question.

The news comes three days after the New York Times reported the deputy attorney general said he wanted to record conversations with President Donald Trump last year, and also discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Rosenstein denied the report, and one source told the Times that the deputy attorney general had merely been joking.

But it looks like Rosenstein decided to leave his post anyway, and the White House accepted his resignation — although some report he was fired.

The news is significant, since Rosenstein was the man responsible for overseeing Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 US presidential election. That’s because Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Rosenstein’s boss, recused himself from the probe after it became clear he’d provided false and misleading testimony to Congress about his own contacts with Russia.

Rosenstein has therefore spent more than a year walking a delicate tightrope.

On one hand, he was committed to protecting the investigation from conservatives inside and outside Congress who believed it was biased against the president and had urged Trump to fire the special counsel. But Rosenstein couldn’t champion the investigation too much, or he’d draw Trump’s ire.

Rosenstein’s departure strikes at the heart of the Trump-Russia investigation because Mueller had to run major investigative decisions past the deputy attorney general. Rosenstein’s temporary replacement, Solicitor General Noel Francisco, could simply refuse to approve Mueller’s requests, effectively slowing the whole investigation to a crawl — or even fire Mueller outright if he felt there was a reason to do so.

Rosenstein had refused to do that. He instead allowed Mueller’s probe to proceed unimpeded, while Mueller indicted top members of Trump’s campaign, including former campaign chair Paul Manafort on tax, financial, and bank fraud charges. Manafort later pleaded guilty to to one count of conspiracy against the US and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and is now cooperating with the Mueller investigation.

The future of the Mueller probe — and possibly even Trump’s presidency — once depended on how well Rosenstein performed his delicate balancing act. Now, Mueller’s future rests in Francisco’s hands.

Rosenstein’s performance during a congressional hearing last December showed how he was trying to navigate the difficult situation he was in.

Here’s what happened: On the night of December 12, mere hours before Rosenstein would testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, the Justice Department showed reporters some anti-Trump texts. The messages were from two FBI officials, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who had corresponded throughout the 2016 presidential election.

Strzok, a former top FBI counterintelligence official who was on Mueller’s investigative team, texted Page that Trump was an “idiot.” He also wanted Clinton to defeat Trump in the election — in another message, he wrote: “God Hillary should win 100,000,000 — 0.”

There was also a text that seemingly implied Strzok and Page were working on an “insurance policy” in case Trump won the election. But the Wall Street Journal reported on December 18 that Strzok’s text was really about the need to investigate possible Trump-Russia ties. Mueller removed Strzok from his staff last July, and the Strzok-Page exchanges remain subject to an internal investigation by the Justice Department. Still, some conservatives in and out of government think these texts show that the Mueller probe was working against the president.

It’s unclear if Rosenstein authorized the release of the texts, but some legal analysts thought the DOJ made the messages public the night before Rosenstein’s big hearing to curry favor with the anti-Mueller crowd on the House Judiciary Committee.

“It’s appalling behavior by the department,” Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the Justice Department in the Obama administration, told Business Insider about the release of the texts at the time. “This is an ongoing investigation in which these employees have due-process rights, and the political leadership at DOJ has thrown them to the wolves so Rosenstein can get credit from House Republicans at his hearing.”

Rosenstein defended the release of the texts during the hearing, saying, “We consulted with the inspector general to determine that he had no objection to releasing the material,” in response to a question about the texts by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). “If he had, we would not have released it,” Rosenstein said.

But he also defended Mueller in that same session. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the committee’s ranking member, asked Rosenstein the most highly anticipated question of the session: “If you were ordered today to fire Mr. Mueller, what would you do?”

“If there were good cause, I would act. If there were no good cause, I would not,” Rosenstein replied. He then went on to defend Mueller personally, saying, “It would’ve been difficult to find anyone more qualified for this job.”

These exchanges show that Rosenstein was trying to stand up for the probe while still appeasing Trump and his allies. Benjamin Wittes, an expert on national security law at the Brookings Institution, wrote on the Lawfare blog that Rosenstein may pay a price for doing both.

“Rosenstein here has, at a minimum, contributed to [the political] circus — at the expense of his own employees,” he wrote after the hearing. “The DOJ and FBI workforces will not forget that. Nor should they.”

Those 24 hours encapsulated Rosenstein’s political two-step. One minute he defended the release of texts that served as ammunition for Mueller critics and Trump allies to lambast the investigation; the next, he shielded Mueller from criticism by those same anti-Mueller conservatives and Trump allies — and put his own job at risk.

Keeping both sides happy allowed Rosenstein to say he supported his staff while also backing Trump. The deputy attorney general played a deft game, and those who had previously worked with him felt he could pull it off.

“What you have in Rod is somebody that is battle-tested,” Julie Myers Wood, a prosecutor and former colleague of Rosenstein’s, told me in an interview lasty December, months before Rosenstein’s ouster. “I can’t think of anyone that is more prepared to handle this situation than him.”

On May 1, Rosenstein told a crowd that “the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted. He continued: “We’re going to do what’s required by the rule of law, and any kind of threats that anybody makes are not going to affect the way we do our job.”

Rosenstein was long considered an apolitical straight shooter by those who worked with him. “He has a directness about him — there’s no bullshit,” Philip Heymann, Rosenstein’s former professor at Harvard Law School and later his colleague, told me before Trump let Rosenstein go. “He says what he thinks, but he’s always fair.”

President George W. Bush appointed Rosenstein as the US attorney for Maryland in 2005. President Barack Obama kept him on, making Rosenstein only one of three US attorneys — out of a total of 93 — retained by the new administration. Rosenstein officially joined the Trump administration last April as deputy attorney general after receiving broad bipartisan support in his confirmation vote.

But Rosenstein found himself in the middle of a major political controversy just two weeks into his new job. On May 9, 2017, he co-authored a letter with Sessions making the case that Trump should fire then-FBI Director James Comey because of how Comey had handled the results of the agency’s Clinton investigation.

“Over the past year,” Rosenstein wrote, “the FBI’s reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage, and it has affected the entire Department of Justice.”

He added: “I cannot defend the director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.”

Trump fired Comey later that day, citing the Sessions-Rosenstein letter as his reason. Pro-Trump Republicans and conservative media applauded the decision to remove Comey, but Democrats were furious. And some of that fury extended to Rosenstein.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) told NPR shortly after the Comey firing that he had “lost any confidence I might have had” in Rosenstein, whose “first official action was putting his name on that letter, basically making what appeared to be bogus reasons [for] firing the FBI director.”

Those who know Rosenstein say he recommended firing Comey not because he wanted to please Trump, but rather because he believed Comey hurt the FBI’s reputation. “He’s guided by justice, not by politics,” Steve Levin, a former colleague of Rosenstein’s in Maryland, told me in an interview before the firing.

A week later, Rosenstein named Mueller as the special counsel, authorizing him to look into possible Trump-Russia ties as well as “any matters that arose or may arise from the investigation.”

In retrospect, it seems quite clear that Rosenstein wasn’t in Trump’s pocket. But Trump himself wondered aloud where Rosenstein’s true loyalties lay, tweeting on June 16, “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.”

Rosenstein didn’t stop Mueller from pursuing the investigation the way he saw fit, and he made every indication that he intended to continue letting Mueller proceed with his investigation.

But Francisco could change all that, especially if Trump applies significant pressure. That said, if Francisco did fire Mueller, the investigation might not be completely undermined, as five Trump associates have pleaded guilty and prosecutors are likely to continue to follow leads from the beginning of the investigation in June 2016.

And the future is still very unclear. If Francisco doesn’t do Trump’s bidding, the president could simply fire him. That’s possibly more detrimental to the Mueller probe.

Asha Rangappa, a legal expert at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, wrote in a post for the Just Security blog last December that a new deputy attorney general could effectively cripple the Mueller investigation by rejecting Mueller’s requests to investigate more people, obtain new evidence, or pursue charges against additional people, for instance.

In effect, Rosenstein’s ouster now has put the Mueller probe in its most precarious position to date — possibly allowing Trump to escape further investigation into him, his associates, and his family.

Original Source -> Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is reportedly out

via The Conservative Brief

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup, 21 July 2018: Science Fiction

A latent psychic swears a vendetta against the aliens who invaded his home, a team of lawyers must prevent the ruin of two galaxies, and mecha mercenaries The Four Horsemen and Wardogs, Inc. both return to action in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in science fiction.

Battle Harem #1 – Isaac Hooke

Jason was a little short on creds so he decided to get his mind scanned. It seemed like a good idea at the time: get paid to license a copy of your mind for use in one of the numerous machines that run society. What could go wrong?

Turns out, a lot.

Jason wakes up in the middle of the radioactive wasteland that was created fifty years ago when aliens destroyed half the Earth. He has no idea why he’s here, or what the hell he’s supposed to do. Worst of all, he’s no longer human: his consciousness has been installed into the AI core of a state-of-the-art war machine, a mech with enough firepower to raze a small city.

Hunted by mutated alien bioweapons, Jason travels the wasteland in an attempt to piece together what happened. Along the way he encounters a few abandoned war machines that also have no memory of their mission, machines that can’t decide whether they want to join him or kill him. It doesn’t help that in VR they all look like super hot women.

Sometimes it’s tough being a machine.

When Jason and his new companions discover what they’re truly capable of, however, everything changes. And not necessarily for the better.

Dark Moon Arisen (The Four Horsemen Cycle: The Omega War #3) – Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey

The Omega War is in full swing. Earth has fallen to General Peepo’s army, and the surviving Human mercenaries have taken refuge at the hidden Winged Hussars’ base in New Warsaw.

On Earth, the defensive forces fight to keep the hearts and minds of their fellow Humans, but Peepo’s plans are slowly converting the people to her way of thinking, and the Mercenary Guild troops continue to root out the forces arrayed against them.

Outnumbered and on the run, the situation is bleak, but none of the Horsemen like being on the defensive. When they get intelligence that Peepo is massing resources at a secret base, they decide to launch a decisive counterattack that may open Earth up to recapture.

Meanwhile, Dr. Sato, the Hussar’s brilliant but unpredictable scientist, unwittingly reactivates a 20,000-year-old doomsday weapon with a mind of its own. If it can’t be stopped, all the Four Horsemen’s plans might become meaningless.

Forces are moving both in the shadows and in the light, but who will rise victorious? One thing is for sure…a Dark Moon has Arisen.

The Fall of Heaven – David S. Grunwell

In the wondrous megacity of Heavensport, robots do all the work allowing its three-quarters of a billion inhabitants free to pursue their passions.

Unfortunately for Rolland Newcastle, someone’s passion is to kill him. Stripped of his wealth, technology, and connections, is this the start of a worldwide purge?

Rolland inherited his troubles from his ancestors, the legal owners of the beautiful planet of New Jerusalem. After cryrosleeping for 223 years, they found that technological advances had allowed squatters’ ships to make the journey in just 3.5 years.

Arriving 200 years later, they found an established world that didn’t want them. The Fall of Heaven was just the start.

Forbidden Sanctuary (Star Lawyers #2) – Tom Shepherd

What terrible secrets will Tyler Matthews and his Star Lawyers discover within the Forbidden Sanctuary on the mysterious, sacred planet Adao-2?

Can the legal team from Matthews Interstellar Industries learn the truth in time to save M-double-I’s century-long quest to open Jump Gate Omega, bridge the 2.5 million light years to the Andromeda galaxy, and prevent economic ruin and war in the Milky Way?

While Tyler, J.B., Rosalie and Lucy (her shapeshifter cat) battle pirates and religious fanatics, Suzie and her holographic A.I. colleagues—former ladies of the night, re-purposed as legal assistants and starship crew– face an even deadlier foe. This unknown enemy threatens to delete all the starship Patrick Henry’s programs and terminate their existence forever.

To make matters worse, Cousin Esteban languishes in prison on Suryadivan Prime, where the former Catholic monk faces a death sentence for crimes he did not commit.

Galactic War (The Pike Chronicles #9) – G. P. Hudson

A crumbling empire. A galactic crusade. Humanity rising to power. Hidden enemies waiting to strike.

Eight years have passed since the Builders and the Dark Ones left the galaxy. In that time, Jon Pike has scored successive victories against the Juttari. Once he drives them out of Diakan space, his forces will be poised to finally strike at the heart of the ruthless Juttari Empire.

But, an unseen power is emerging from the shadows, threatening to destroy all of Jon Pike’s progress and plunge humanity into a new galactic war. Old enemies also continue to pose a deadly threat to the Admiral. Can Jon Pike avoid disaster for himself, humanity and the galaxy?

I Am Justice (The Frontiers Saga: Rogue Castes #9) – Ryk Brown

A chance to gain resources…

A need to prepare a defense…

A trap about to be sprung…

An opportunity for justice…

As his sister faces a critical moment, Captain Scott must chase his friends to regions he has yet to travel.

Sometimes, you just have to take risks for those you care about. Sometimes, quite often.

Incoming – Kevin Orr

The year is 2029, and World War III, which lasted all of 61 minutes, is history.

Nuclear combat destroyed all life on the surface of Earth, relegating mankind to a life underground.

Farrow Lind is tired of living like an insect.

He longs to join the select surface forces, the only group which ever sees daylight.

But when his squad veers off course, he finds himself entangled in the biggest conspiracy in the history of the human race.

“Don’t wanna give the story away but it doesn’t just have plots twists, the whole story is one huge plot twist.” – Amazon Reader Review

The Long-Range War (A Learning Experience #5) – Christopher G. Nuttall 

The gloves have finally come off…

The Tokomak, the unquestioned masters of the galaxy, have dispatched a massive fleet to crush the Solar Union – and the fledgling Galactic Alliance – before the human race and its alien allies can tear the galactic order asunder. Hundreds of thousands of starships under the command of an alien tactical genius, bent on exterminating the entire human race…the darkest hour is truly at hand.

Admiral Hoshiko Stuart has a plan. The Solar Union will dispatch a fleet of its own, with the objective of smashing the alien fleet before it reaches Sol. But, as human technology clashes with alien treachery, experience and sheer numbers, it becomes clear that there can be only one victor…

…And whoever loses will lose everything.

Metal Monsters (Quantum Mortis: Wardogs, Inc. #3) – G. D. Stark

All war is murder for profit.

Some people are just more open about it.

WARDOGS INCORPORATED is one of the largest and most professional mercenary corporations operating in the Kantillon subsector. If you need a bodyguard, an assassination team, or an armored cavalry regiment complete with air support, Wardogs Inc. can provide it for you… for a very steep price.

The Stratocracy of Sfodria has ruled over its people with a very large steel fist for centuries. The giant mechs piloted by their nobles are all but invulnerable and have long served as the aristocratic shield against Sfodria’s enemies. But recently, their indestructible knights have been falling in battle at an unprecedented rate, and no one knows why. Desperate to reverse the fortunes of war before their nation falls to their hereditary enemy, the Stratocracy turns to Wardogs Inc. to train their ineffective and long-ignored militia.

Tommy Falkland and his fellow Wardogs aren’t on the job long before they begin to realize that they may be in well over their pay grade, as they are not dealing with a conventional human threat.

The Pride of the Damned (Cochrane’s Company #3) – Peter Grant

The shadow war started as a simple contract to defend a system against asteroid thieves. The harder Andrew Cochrane and Hawkwood Security fought, the worse things became. Now they find themselves embroiled in an interstellar war with an entire mafia!

Worse yet, the proceedings are so profitable – not to mention bloody – that they’ve attracted the attention of some of the worst criminal organizations in the galaxy. If Hawkwood is to survive, it’ll need all the wits, cunning and ingenuity it can muster – and the unwavering courage and dedication of its people.

The galaxy’s not big enough for both sides. One or the other will go to the wall.

Rogue Pilot (Space Scout #3) – Will Macmillian Jones

Frank Eric Russell was a Captain in The Free Union’s Space Corps, until a series of unfortunate events left him disgraced, dismissed and disgruntled. Now a renegade in an outdated scoutship, he makes a living on the margins of the galaxy in any way he can.

But Frank’s past is catching up with him. The Chief Enforcer of the decaying Galactic Empire, the fearsome Colonel Starker, wants to make Frank a horrible example to the rest of the galaxy of the penalties of crossing his path. The Followers of The Mad God Zog are not pleased by the damage to their holy space station that Frank caused when he escaped from their indoctrination program in a previous novel and want their revenge; and worst of all his old boss wants him back – to carry out some more life-threatening missions for him.

As he flies his elderly Speedbird across the less reputable parts of the galaxy, Frank finds himself living in interesting times…

Shadows of Divinity (The Enochian War #1) – Luke R. Mitchell

Enochia is compromised. The Sanctum. The Legion. The whole damn planet.

Carlisle calls them the raknoth. Red-eyed demons from Alpha knows where. He says they’re aliens. But then again, he also moves things with his freaking mind—a gift he swears lies dormant in me as well—so I’m starting to get a little unclear on what I can and can’t believe anymore. And I know what you’re thinking. A few days ago, I wouldn’t have believed me either.

Then I watched the High General of the Alpha-damned Legion sprout red eyes and tear my parents to bloody pieces.

I don’t know what the raknoth want. I don’t know how they’ve taken control of Enochia without anyone noticing. All I know is that they picked the wrong planet to screw with. Now, I have some questions. And a High General to kill.

My name is Haldin Rais, and I’m going to make them pay…

Target: Earth (Extinction Wars #5) – Vaughn Heppner

What if you could right your greatest regret?

Creed wishes he’d never left Jennifer behind in a dark and alien dimension where Abaddon transformed her into a superhuman killer. Creed helped kill Abaddon and put Jennifer in the Curator’s care—the only one with the hope of healing her—but guilt still gnaws at Creed.

Then one day Jennifer escapes from the Curator, with the pain of her lover’s abandonment driving her. She plans to hurt Creed like he hurt her, by destroying what he has worked so hard to save—the Earth.

When Creed learns this, he breaks his oath as the Galactic Effectuator, steals an advanced stealth ship, phase suit and weapons from the Curator and races home.

Time and incredibly deadly aliens under Jennifer’s control fight Creed. He desperately needs the help of Rollo, Ella and N7 if he hopes to protect humanity and right the greatest wrong of his life by saving Jennifer from the evil Abaddon has done to her.

  New Release Roundup, 21 July 2018: Science Fiction published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[democratsunited-blog]

The Abolish ICE Debate Is a Test for Powerful Democrats – Rolling Stone

https://uniteddemocrats.net/?p=5198

The Abolish ICE Debate Is a Test for Powerful Democrats – Rolling Stone

Donald Trump acts as though “persecution” and “prosecution” are the same word. This is why he has been exploiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE. Under his influence, ICE has embraced its capacity for jackboot thuggery, enforcing white supremacy as much if not more than any immigration law. Trump has taken an agency that ostensibly was meant to keep Americans safe and used it to act out his personal cruel desires. Facing increasingly loud calls for ICE’s abolition, Trump’s empty bravado and capacity for lying have been on display these past few weeks.

The president has falsely claimed to have witnessed ICE agents “liberate towns from the grasp of MS-13,” the violent gang he wants us to believe is lurking on every street corner and in the soul of every toddler he incarcerates. The latest of many tweets on this topic arrived Tuesday morning.

How can the Democrats, who are weak on the Border and weak on Crime, do well in November. The people of our Country want and demand Safety and Security, while the Democrats are more interested in ripping apart and demeaning (and not properly funding) our great Law Enforcement!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2018

Trump has good reason to be flustered about this. There were more than 700 demonstrations last Saturday protesting ICE and the administration’s family separation policyl the one in L.A. was the largest. Some 70,000 people flooded the city’s streets with an anger and determination to match their numbers, demanding the reunification of immigrant children and their parents – and quite a bit more. “This is a city that stands up for immigrants, a place where 63 percent of us are either immigrants or the children of immigrants,” Mayor Eric Garcetti told me as the rally began in Grand Park, about two blocks from City Hall. “But when the federal government fails, we pick up the pieces. This policy has taken a hammer to a broken system.”

Garcetti has admitted to considering a presidential run in 2020, and, during the course of our conversation, I realized that he never once mentioned Trump’s name. Celebrities, politicians and regular citizens alike at the march grasped that we have bigger things to worry about than one man. “We have lost our humanity on a cultural level,” actress Laura Dern told me as thousands began to abandon the staging area to march several blocks to a federal detention center where immigrant children were being held. “This is not a political issue.”

Constance Wu, star of the immigrant-focused sitcom Fresh Off the Boat and the forthcoming film Crazy Rich Asians, visited the tent camp for children in Tornillo, Texas, last month to help lead protests there. Still, she felt encouraged. “From the top down, it seems like it’s getting worse, but bottom up, it’s getting better. We’re getting more people activated, more people aware,” Wu told me, holding a sign that read “CRUELTY IS NOT STRENGTH.”

Yes, there were some mentions of the president and his sadism – on signs, on clothing and in rhetoric from the stage. A good number of those had the word “fuck” preceding his name. However, the chants of “abolish ICE” outnumbered any denunciations of Trump himself.

A policy that was a hashtag a little more than a year ago had a prominent place on the platform of newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28, the Democratic Socialist from New York’s 14th District who defeated incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the state’s primary last week. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand are seconding her calls, along with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. California’s Kamala Harris, who spoke at Saturday’s L.A. rally, said she wants to see the agency “re-examined.”

There is a vocal contingent of establishment Democrats and pundits, however, who behave as though they agree with Trump’s claim that a progressive stance on ICE means that “they’ll never win another election.” On Sunday morning, Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois managed to toss water on that fervor and on the energy behind Ocasio-Cortez. “If you abolish ICE now, you still have the same president with the same failed policies,” she told CNN. “Whatever you replace it with is going to still reflect what this president wants to do.” Duckworth – who made history recently by bringing her newborn to the Senate floor – is also worried that going “too far to the left” would ostracize Midwestern voters. She shrugged off Ocasio-Cortez’s stances as “the future of the party in the Bronx, where she is.” (Never mind the fact that the Bronx-born Ocasio-Cortez is running to serve the people of Queens.)

Protesters carry signs during a rally in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown Los Angeles.

Naysayers like Duckworth – including her colleagues in the senate Amy Klobuchar, Richard Blumenthal and Bernie Sanders – are failing to see the forest for the trees here. Neither Duckworth nor her fellow critics can possibly know how the call to end ICE will play out with Democratic voters in November – let alone in 2020. The movement has just begun inching toward the mainstream, and yet there seems to be a particular urgency to nip it in the bud. I don’t know if abolishing ICE is the answer. I do know that it is strange to see Democrats telling us not to even bother considering the question.

By echoing House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s haughty take on the Bronx native, Duckworth used conventional assumptions about Midwestern voters even as more than 50,000 people were on the streets of Chicago this past weekend to protest ICE. As an Ohio native myself, it is sad to see a politician of color, in particular, be this short sighted. Too many at the heart of the Democratic base, particularly African American and Hispanic voters, have seen the system fail them, long before Trump was president. Those Democrats who urge a singular focus on the bogeyman in the Oval Office ignore their base’s demands for systemic change. If the DNC truly wants investment from the voters it needs the most later this year, it needs to stop being so cautious.

The Democratic establishment could learn a lot from coastal communities like Los Angeles, which has the highest population of Central American migrants per capita in the nation. Here is where a person like Jose Luis Garcia, a lawful Mexican immigrant, is scooped up by ICE and detained for weeks or even years at a time. Angelenos are precisely the people Democrats should be listening to on this issue. “We’re the heart of the values, but we’re also practical,” Garcetti said, citing a lengthy list of community benefits to embracing immigrants. The coasts are not the redheaded stepchildren of the DNC apparatus, valued when it is convenient and dismissed when there are moderates to pursue.

Here’s the thing: Abolishing ICE might not even be that revolutionary. While Duckworth is right to note that ICE is being used differently under Trump, that doesn’t mean Americans need it. ICE is an outgrowth of the expansion of the national security industrial complex that sprouted up after 9/11, replacing the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It should take more than 15 years for something like ICE to become an irreplaceable institution of American jurisprudence. I have yet to see any of these Democratic defenders make a convincing argument for why we must have ICE.

Nineteen ICE agents wrote a letter last week to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen suggesting that the agency be dissolved and reorganized into two separate entities so that they may resume paying attention to the many law enforcement priorities unrelated to Trump’s crusade against undocumented migrants. That alone should bolster calls to rethink ICE, and not to – as Duckworth suggests – maintain it and wait for a new president who we trust not to exploit its obvious weaknesses.

The greatest trick that Trump pulls on the American public daily is to be so extreme that we can’t imagine someone else like him. He has made a joke of our politics, but he has only done so more colorfully than a Mitch McConnell or a Jeff Sessions. There will be others in Trump’s wake who are even more competent at exploiting the weaknesses of this nation’s government and its various agencies. Other than trying to win in November, the DNC needs to start thinking less like politicians and more like repairmen.

That’s why these attempts to silence the “abolish ICE” conversation are flawed. November may be the most significant midterm election in years, given that it is possible that the Democrats could win the 24 seats they need to regain House control and the 28 they need for the Senate. The latter may prove essential should the current Senate minority manage to slow or block Trump’s choice to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court if a replacement is not yet confirmed by then. Voters surveyed strongly prefer a Congress that can hold Trump in check, to the degree that is possible. But as we all saw this past weekend, shackling the president isn’t all Americans want or need.

There will be plenty who show up to cast a ballot this fall for governor, state rep or Congress based purely on the fact that it will be a middle finger to the president. But Ocasio-Cortez and the Democrats who have joined her call to abolish ICE are not acting as mere reactionaries in a political moment that grows more partisan by the day. If they truly want to win in November and not just signify how civil they are, Democrats should adopt or at least be willing to discuss positions that already have their voters marching in the streets.

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