#diego week 2020

[coochiequeens]

This is why I hate it when MRAs whine about the courts “favoring” the mothers

How the 'junk science' of parental alienation infiltrated American family courts and allowed accused child abusers to win custody of their kids.

This story was reported in partnership with the nonprofit newsroom Type Investigations.

In the summer of 2020, when he was 12, the boy told his therapist something he'd never told anyone else.

For years, Robert claimed, his stepdad had sexually abused him.

The therapist alerted the San Diego County child welfare agency, which launched an investigation. The county sheriff opened an inquiry, too. Thomas Winenger, the only father figure Robert had ever known, began assaulting him when he was only 7, Robert told a forensic social worker in October 2020. Winenger would pin him down, cover his mouth, and force him into acts he found "disgusting," he said. Sometimes, he said, Winenger recited Bible verses during the attacks, claiming the devil was in Robert's heart.

Robert, whom Insider is identifying by only his middle name, said that as he struggled to breathe, he fought back by hitting, punching, and kneeing his stepfather. But he said Winenger overpowered him.

By the time Robert came forward, Winenger had been named his legal father and was divorced from Robert's mother, Jill Montes, with whom he also shared two young daughters. Robert confronted Winenger with the allegations that November, and within weeks Winenger denied the claims in family court. "This NEVER HAPPENED," he asserted in a filing.

He offered an alternative explanation for Robert's disturbing claims, one that shifted the blame to Robert's mother.

Montes, Winenger contended, had engaged in a pattern of manipulation known as "parental alienation." Robert's accusations weren't evidence that he'd abused the boy, Winenger claimed. They were evidence that Montes had poisoned the children against him. The delayed timing of Robert's allegations, Winenger argued, only made them more suspicious. Montes was causing the children such grave psychological harm, he claimed in the filing, that the children should be transferred to his custody right away.

That December, Child Welfare Services substantiated Robert's allegations, calling them "credible, clear, and concise." But the family-court judge, Commissioner Patti Ratekin, withheld judgment until the following October, when the psychologist she'd appointed as a custody evaluator submitted his own report.

That report, which has been sealed by the court, appears to have convinced Ratekin that Winenger was correct.

“Ma'am, you didn't show very well in the report. You are toxic. You're poisonous. You're an alienator," Ratekin told Montes at a hearing on October 28, 2021. "I don't believe for a second" that Robert's father molested him. "Not for a second," she repeated. "I think you've put it in his head."

Ratekin acted swiftly, granting Winenger's bid for custody and ordering him to enroll Robert and his sisters in Family Bridges, a program that claims to help "alienated" children reconnect with a parent they've rejected. She barred Montes, a stay-at-home mom and home schooler, from all contact with her children for at least 90 days, a standard prerequisite for admission to the program.

"I just wanted to crumble," Montes said.

Rejected as a psychiatric disorder

Parental alienation is a fairly recent idea, conceived in the 1980s by a psychiatrist, Dr. Richard Gardner, who argued that divorcing mothers, desperate to win custody suits, were brainwashing children against their fathers. In "severe" cases, Gardner wrote, children with "parental alienation syndrome" must be removed from their mothers, transferred to the care of their fathers, and reeducated through what he called "threat therapy."

Alienation has never been accepted as a psychiatric disorder by the medical establishment. Yet today, mental-health practitioners across the United States assess and treat it, particularly those who specialize in custody cases. Many of them collaborate closely, attending the same conferences, following the same protocols, and citing the same papers. Some run reunification programs like Family Bridges; others offer family therapy or produce custody evaluations for family courts.

Influenced by these experts, many judges have given the unproven concept the force of law.

Though most custody cases settle out of court, in a small fraction parents don't come to terms. In some of these contested cases, one parent accuses the other of alienating the children. The most intense disputes arise in cases where one parent alleges spousal or child abuse and the other responds with a claim of alienation.

But alienation claims are highly gendered. Men level the accusation against women nearly six times as often as women level it against men, one study suggests. That landmark study, published in 2020, found that in cases when mothers alleged abuse and fathers responded by claiming alienation, the mothers stood a startlingly high chance of losing custody.

Occasionally, parents accused of alienation are cut off from their children altogether. Since 2000, judges have sent at least 600 children to reunification programs that recommend the temporary exile of the trusted parent, a collaborative investigation by Insider and Type Investigations revealed. While the programs suggest a "no-contact period" of 90 days, this term is routinely extended and may last years, according to an analysis of tens of thousands of pages of court papers and program records.

The treatment typically starts with a four-day workshop for children and the parent they've rejected; aftercare can add months or years. Children may be seized for the workshop by force, with no opportunity for goodbyes.

Former participants at Family Bridges and a similar program, Turning Points for Families, said they were taught that their memories were unreliable, the parent they preferred was harmful, and the parent they'd rejected was loving and safe. In some cases, participants who resisted these lessons said they were verbally threatened; at Family Bridges, a few were threatened with institutionalization. Some participants said they ended up depressed and suicidal.

Program officials say they are helping children. Lynn Steinberg, a therapist who runs a program called One Family at a Time, said in an interview that virtually all the kids she's enrolled have falsely accused a parent of abuse and that she does not accept children into her program whose abuse claims have been substantiated. Without treatment, she said, alienated children would risk being plagued by guilt, and the relationship they wrongly spurned might never heal.

In Steinberg's view, the only child abusers in the families she sees are the "alienators," who have "annihilated" a devoted parent from their children's lives.

Recently, alienation theory has faced rising criticism. Efforts to legitimize the diagnosis have been rebuffed by the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. And the reunification programs burst into public view last fall, when a video documented two terrified children in Santa Cruz, California, being seized for One Family at a Time. In the clip, which went viral on TikTok, a 15-year-old girl named Maya pleads and shrieks as she's picked up by the arms and legs and forced into a black SUV.

Since then, bills that would restrict reunification programs have been introduced in Sacramento and four other state capitols.

An idea takes off

When a law professor named Joan Meier founded a nonprofit to help victims of domestic violence two decades ago, she didn't expect to focus on custody disputes. But day after day, she heard from mothers with similar, troubling stories. They'd finally escaped their abusive marriages, but their exes had fought them for custody — and won. The mothers had been accused of something Meier knew little about: parental alienation.

Meier, who taught at George Washington University, ordered a stack of books by the child psychiatrist who coined the term.

Richard Gardner began writing about children of divorce in the 1970s, when a dramatic transformation was underway in family court. Under the "tender years presumption," judges had long favored women in divorce cases, typically assigning children to their mother's sole custody. But as more women entered the workforce, more men participated in child-rearing, and more couples divorced, a nascent "fathers' rights" movement emerged, demanding gender neutrality in custody proceedings. The idea appealed to many feminists, too. By the 1980s, most states had recognized joint custody in their statutes.

This left judges in a quandary when couples failed to settle. Now, aside from a vague mandate to advance the "best interest" of children, courts lacked a clear paradigm for resolving disputes. Overwhelmed, judges turned to mental-health professionals, asking them to assess each parent's fitness and recommend an optimal arrangement. Gardner, then an associate clinical professor of child psychiatry at Columbia University, was an early custody evaluator, and in 1982 he published a how-to manual.

By 1985, Gardner was arguing that some mothers, seeking to regain their advantage in court, were inducing a mental illness in their children, a condition he dubbed parental alienation syndrome. Children afflicted with the syndrome, he said, could be identified by the "campaign of denigration" they waged against their fathers, which was accompanied by "weak, frivolous, or absurd" rationalizations and a disquieting "lack of ambivalence."

Some "fanatic" mothers even manipulated children into claiming their fathers had sexually abused them, Gardner contended. When other maneuvers against a father fail, he wrote, "the sex-abuse accusation emerges as a final attempt to remove him entirely from the children's lives." Child sexual-abuse claims made during custody disputes, he claimed, "have a high likelihood of being false." To prove children are suggestible, he often invoked the wave of 1980s cases in which preschool teachers were charged with sexual abuse but later exonerated.

Gardner's theory sidestepped what Joan Meier saw as a glaring truth: Many children accused their fathers of abuse because their fathers were actually abusive. In fact, by the early 2000s a large-scale study had found that contrary to Gardner's writings, neither children nor mothers were likely to fabricate claims during custody disputes.

The remedies Gardner proposed for parental alienation syndrome were harsh. "Insight, tenderness, sympathy, empathy have no place in the treatment of PAS," he said in a 1998 address. "Here you need a therapist who is hard-nosed, who is comfortable with authoritarian, dictatorial procedures."

In a 2001 documentary, Gardner told a journalist how a mother might respond to a child reporting sexual abuse: "I don't believe you. I'm going to beat you for saying it. Don't you ever talk that way again about your father."

Juvenile detention could cure children who refused to visit their fathers, Gardner said. But the main remedy he advanced in severe cases was "the removal of the children from the mother's home and placement in the home of the father, the allegedly-hated parent." This would break what he called a "sick psychological bond."

After introducing his theory, Gardner began using it in expert testimony and promoting it to other evaluators and fathers'-rights activists. By the early 2000s, family-court judges were regularly citing parental alienation.

To address this, Meier said, she undertook a series of academic articles examining the scholarship on parental alienation. She found that the theory was based on circular reasoning and anchored almost entirely in anecdotal data.

"I still believed in that day that if you did careful, thoughtful analytic scholarship, people would read it and be persuaded by it," she said.

The scarlet 'A'

Jill Montes had always wanted a big family. In 2008, she already had a 5-year-old daughter, Paige, with a man she'd divorced, and she was finding regular work as an actor in Los Angeles. She decided to adopt an infant son, Robert.

The next year, she met Thomas Winenger, who had master's degrees in engineering and business, on eHarmony. "He wanted to talk a lot about faith and God, and that wooed me," she said. She also welcomed his interest in Robert, whom she was insecure about raising alone.

In 2011, the couple married and settled near San Diego, and Montes quit acting. Soon, she later said in a court filing, Winenger was shoving, insulting, and threatening her, often in front of the kids. He promised to change, and she hoped he could. In 2012, their first child, Claire, was born, and Eden followed in 2015. Insider is identifying Montes' children by only their middle names.

Later that year, Montes accused Winenger of dragging Paige across a room. Montes sought a restraining order, which was ultimately denied, and kicked him out. He rented a room in a house nearby, where he regularly hosted the three younger kids. Sometimes, Robert went there by himself.

Montes filed for divorce in February 2018. Under an informal agreement, the kids continued spending time at Winenger's place. But at a hearing that fall, a 10-year-old Robert testified that during an argument over his math homework, Winenger had repeatedly grabbed, shoved, and spanked him.

Montes filed a petition for a domestic-violence restraining order, which Winenger fought, saying he hadn't mistreated Robert. In the end, Ratekin, the judge presiding over the divorce, signed a "stay away" order prohibiting Winenger from contact with Robert. But it didn't address the allegation of violence. Weeks later, Winenger asked Ratekin to name him Robert's legal father, arguing that he'd helped raise the boy from toddlerhood. Ratekin ruled in his favor and ordered the custody evaluation.

In court papers he filed on July 19, 2019, the day after the evaluator was appointed, Winenger accused Montes of parental alienation.

Often, according to Meier, the dynamic of a custody case shifts radically once alienation is raised. "It's like the table turns 180 degrees and now the only bad parent in the room is the alleged alienator," she said. An abuse allegation "fades out of view," she said, and any attempts by the mother to limit the father's access are seen as suspicious. It's almost as if, like Hester Prynne in "The Scarlet Letter," she's been branded with a flaming red "A," Meier said.

Indeed, Montes soon lost ground in court.

In January 2020, Ratekin ordered Robert into the care of a therapist, Mitra Sarkhosh, who has since provided aftercare for at least one reunification program. Sarkhosh saw Robert and his father together about 20 times, charging $200 an hour. But by summer, she had halted the sessions, saying Robert's anger was "not improving."

In a report filed in court, Sarkhosh appeared to blame Montes. Living with her, Robert was "saturated with negativity about his father," she wrote. There may be a need for "new interventions." (Citing patient-confidentiality laws, Sarkhosh declined an interview request.)

Robert was relieved to be finished with Sarkhosh, Montes said. He started seeing a new therapist, and, during the first session, he told the therapist he'd been sexually abused.

On November 18, 2020, at the direction of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Robert called Winenger to try to elicit a confession. When that failed, the department paused its investigation, but the child welfare inquiry proceeded. On December 1, the California Health and Welfare Agency issued a report substantiating Robert's claims.

"The Agency is worried that if given the opportunity, Tom Winenger will sexually abuse [Robert] again," the report says.

Neither Winenger nor his divorce attorney, Tamatha Clemens, responded to requests for interviews or to a list of detailed questions. In a motion for custody he filed on December 8, 2020, Winenger argued that Robert's allegations had been "orchestrated" by Montes and that her alienation "will not stop until she is restrained by the court."

The welfare agency sent Ratekin its report on January 4, 2021, according to a cover sheet reviewed by Insider. But Ratekin was still awaiting the custody evaluation, which she'd assigned to a psychologist, Miguel Alvarez. In 2009, Alvarez coauthored a handbook for parents in custody disputes. While the manual spells out in detail how to prove an alienation claim, it offers no specific guidance on how to prove a claim of abuse.

According to the report, part of which Insider reviewed at a San Diego County courthouse, a personality test Alvarez administered suggested that Montes suffered from "extreme hyper-vigilance" and "persecutory fears." People with these traits, Alvarez wrote, "are often quick to anger and overreact to perceived or imagined threats."

Winenger's scores on the same test were "normal," Alvarez wrote, and his performance on psychosexual and polygraph tests was "inconsistent" with Robert's allegations of sexual abuse.

The 136-page evaluation cost Robert's parents more than $90,000, according to bills reviewed by Insider. Alvarez didn't respond to requests for comment.

Ratekin reviewed the evaluation just before the October 28, 2021 hearing. Alvarez's findings were "exactly" what she'd expected, she said. In her view, the situation called for immediate action.

She put Claire, 8, and Eden, 6, in their father's custody that day, and she sent Robert, 13, to stay with his football coach. That was for Winenger's protection, she said. Until Robert was "detoxified," she said, he'd be prone to false claims of abuse.

Ratekin suggested Family Bridges as a solution. She'd had "really good success" with the program in another case, she said, and she thought it would ease Robert's transition. Without it, the boy wouldn't "get better," she said, and his sisters stood to benefit, too.

Winenger agreed. Under an order Ratekin signed on January 3, 2022, the children would attend a Family Bridges workshop with their father from January 11 to 14 and then return to his home. Montes was barred from contact with the children for at least 90 more days. Ratekin also prohibited the children from communicating with their older sister, their maternal grandmother, and anyone else who might "interfere" with their healing.

Contact would resume at Ratekin's discretion, depending upon how well everyone was cooperating.

Insider and Type reviewed 35 cases from the past two decades in which judges removed children from their preferred parent and sent them to a reunification program. In most of these cases, the children had resisted court-ordered visits with their fathers, and judges had held mothers responsible. Many of the judges framed the no-contact period as salutary: Children would be freed from the overbearing influence of their mothers, and their mothers would be motivated to change.

A case from New Castle County, Delaware is typical.

In 2016, Judge Janell Ostroski transferred two brothers to their father's custody and ordered them into treatment at Turning Points for Families, a program in upstate New York run by a social worker, Linda Gottlieb. Both boys had told Ostroski that their father, Michael D., yelled at them frequently, court records show, though neither had alleged physical abuse. The 9-year-old, O., told Ostroski he felt unsafe at his dad's house. Ashton, 14, was refusing to go there. Insider is not using the family's full last name in order to protect O.'s identity.

Michael had pleaded guilty several years earlier to public intoxication and indecent exposure for an incident in a public park with Ashton. A court-ordered psychological evaluation found that he had alcohol dependence and narcissistic personality disorder "with antisocial features." In 2013, the state's child welfare agency found that he'd emotionally abused Ashton, then 10 years old. The report, including any denials Michael presented, is sealed. This history was all cited in court three years later, in a custody dispute between Michael and his ex-wife, Kelly D.

During that dispute, Michael accused Kelly of alienation, and a custody evaluator backed him up. The evaluator, a psychologist, determined that Michael had become "a more positively functional person" and that Kelly, a preschool teacher, was the problematic parent. Kelly "distorts the reality of events" and "conveys to others an inaccurate and menacing perception of Mr. [D.]," the psychologist wrote in a May 2016 report. (Michael did not respond to detailed requests for comment. Neither did the psychologist.)

In written rulings that barred Kelly from contact with both children, Ostroski said the boys were "well cared for" in Kelly's home but blamed her for Ashton's refusal to see Michael. "Mother has done nothing in the past year to promote the Father/son relationship," Ostroski wrote, adding, "the court is hopeful that, with the appropriate interventions, Mother can recognize her role in helping the children have a healthy relationship with their Father."

Insider and Type sent questions about parental alienation and its remedies to Ostroski, Ratekin, and 19 other judges who've ordered the programs. Only Ratekin responded, and she declined to speak about the Winenger case because it is still pending. Nor would she answer general questions. "I am definitely not an expert in this area," she wrote, "nor do I feel qualified to answer questions about the issue or programs." 

'A moratorium on the past'

In her January 2022 ruling, Ratekin authorized Winenger to hire a transport company to drive Robert and his sisters to the Family Bridges workshop, which would take place at a hotel a few hours outside San Diego. There, the children and Winenger met Randy Rand, who founded Family Bridges in the early 2000s, and a woman the children knew only as "Chris."

In 2009, Rand deactivated his psychology license after the California Board of Psychology found he'd committed professional violations including "dishonesty," "repeated negligent acts," and "gross negligence." Since then, he's accompanied at workshops by at least one other clinician. Rand isn't the only alienation expert to face sanctions from a state licensing board. Two other psychologists who've led Family Bridges workshops, Jane Shatz of California and Joann Murphey of Texas, have been sanctioned — Shatz after an allegation of negligence and Murphey after a finding that she failed to respond promptly to a subpoena. Both Alvarez, the custody evaluator in Robert's case, and Steinberg, who runs the program where a judge sent the girl in the viral TikTok, have been cited by California regulators for improper recordkeeping. Steinberg said her citation was the result of a series of meritless complaints by an "alienating parent."

Family Bridges workshops are held at hotels around the country and tend to cost parents more than $25,000, receipts show. In 2016, for example, one family from Seattle paid more than $27,000 to Family Bridges and another $3,500 to spend three nights at a Sheraton in Southern California. Since the children had opposed the intervention, a company was hired to transport them for an additional $8,300.

Once they arrive at Family Bridges, children quickly learn the rules, program documents show, including a policy called "a moratorium on the past." As Murphey, the Texas psychologist, testified in 2018, "There's no talking about 'You did this back when.'" Instead, she explained, "this is a new family, this is a new paradigm, we are starting off in a healthy way."

Ally Toyos was a 16-year-old in Kansas when she was taken from her mother five years ago. In an interview, she said she and her then 14-year-old sister tried defying the Family Bridges moratorium, telling Rand and his colleagues that their dad had abused them. (Toyos' mother said a court order prevented her from speaking with the press; Toyos' father didn't reply to interview requests.) Threats ensued, Toyos said. The girls were told that if they didn't comply, they could be separated, sent to wilderness camps, committed to psychiatric facilities, and cut off from their mom for the rest of their childhoods, according to Toyos.

Much of the Family Bridges workshop involves watching and discussing videos, program documents show. One of them, "Welcome Back, Pluto," tells the fictional story of a petulant teen who scorns her father. "If you're alienated, like Emily, you might get mad when others don't take your complaints seriously," a female narrator says. In time, however, Emily "learned to see things more clearly." She realized her complaints were "exaggerated," the narrator explains, and "sounded just like her mother's."

According to the video, which was scripted by Richard Warshak, a psychologist who helped develop Family Bridges, some children who steadfastly reject a parent "suffer for the rest of their lives."

Other materials warn children against trusting their memories. Toyos, whose workshop took place at the C'mon Inn in Bozeman, Montana, said she was shown a 2013 TED Talk by Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist who developed the idea that memory is malleable and who has served as a defense witness in high-profile trials, including Harvey Weinstein's. Memories are often contaminated by outside influences, Loftus warns in the talk, which leads to false accusations that can ruin lives.

Insider and Type spoke with or reviewed statements by 17 youths ordered into Family Bridges, Turning Points, or other reunification programs. Their accounts of the workshops were broadly similar. Hannah Rodriguez, then a 16-year-old living in Tampa, Florida, said her workshop, in 2016, was held at Linda Gottlieb's home in New York's Hudson Valley. Gottlieb, the author of a book on parental alienation syndrome, had founded Turning Points about two years earlier. Rodriguez said Gottlieb's office was right off the living room, where her husband spent his time in a recliner. Every day, Rodriguez could see him and hear his TV shows, she said.

Rodriguez, Toyos, and several other former participants said the workshops plunged them into depression.

In spring 2022, one 13-year-old girl got so distressed during a session with Gottlieb at a hotel that she banged on a wall and screamed for help, court papers show. Someone called the police, who brought her to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. "I just want my mom," the girl said, according to hospital records, but under the court order she couldn't call her. She was held at the hospital for three days.

In a written statement that Montes said he later dictated to her, Robert said he became suicidal. "The only thing that stopped me from throwing myself off the balcony was the 24/7 surveillance," the statement reads. "I never thought so many people would be that horrible, controlling, and manipulative towards little kids."

At the end of the workshop, Robert went home with Winenger and had "horrible, weird depressive anxiety episodes," according to the statement. In early February, he was admitted to the psychiatric ward of a children's hospital, according to court records.

Repeated emails to Rand were met with an auto-response saying he was "on sabbatical." The psychologist managing Family Bridges in his absence, Yvonne Parnell, declined interview requests, as did Gottlieb. Gottlieb forwarded Insider's queries to a lawyer, Brian Ludmer, but Ludmer said he couldn't speak for her. Neither Parnell nor Gottlieb replied to detailed written questions.

Lynn Steinberg said her program One Family at a Time, based in Los Angeles, has treated some 50 families over the past eight years. A family therapist, she's the author of "You're Not Crazy: Overcoming Parent/Child Alienation." She was the only program director who agreed to talk.

She said she begins each workshop by listening to the children and taking down every accusation they make; she then works to achieve "an agreement between parent and child." After those conversations, she said, the children are dramatically transformed. They apologize and cry, she said; they kiss and embrace the parent they'd rejected, even sitting in the parent's lap. They're eager to make up for lost time, she said, and can't wait to see long-lost kin.

Daniel Barrozo, of Chino, California, said Steinberg's workshop was a "tremendous help" to him and his daughter in 2021. Steinberg successfully challenged his daughter's misperceptions about him, he said. When Steinberg asked her what he'd done wrong and what she hated about him, his daughter simply looked down and cried, he said. "The whole time, she had nothing to say, because Mom was the one speaking for her," he said. Now, he said, his relationship with his daughter is stronger than ever.

Steinberg said her own mother alienated her from her father, a realization she reached only after his death. She called her ex-husband an alienator, too, saying her adult daughters reject her to this day. She regrets that they didn't get help from a program like hers.

Left untreated, alienated children "fail at relationships" and risk developing eating disorders, drug addiction, depression, gender dysphoria, and other ills, Steinberg said, citing her clinical experience.

But an increasing number of scholars are criticizing the programs. Jean Mercer, an emeritus professor of psychology at Stockton University, is the author of recent papers on parental alienation. One examined six reunification programs, including Family Bridges and Turning Points, and found that the research evidence supporting the effectiveness of the programs "has few strengths and many weaknesses." For another paper, Mercer reviewed the scholarship on the programs and statements from five youths who'd attended them. She found that the programs "may contain elements of psychological abuse."

Another study, by Michael Saini of the University of Toronto, examined 58 empirical papers on alienation and its treatments and found the body of research "methodologically weak." While some divorcing parents exhibited "alienating behaviors" and some children rejected a parent, the nexus between those phenomena hadn't been proved, Saini found. Moreover, he found the studies hadn't shown that interventions worked.

Following the workshop, the programs commonly assign children to a specially trained aftercare therapist. Meanwhile, the exiled parent undergoes reeducation.

Insider obtained audio of a call last year between Gottlieb and the mother of a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy in Turning Points. "I think what you did is criminal," says Gottlieb, who, like Steinberg, has publicly stated that her own mother alienated her from her father. There was "no reason" the children shouldn't have a relationship with their father, Gottlieb says in the recording, and "you have failed miserably to require it."

"That's alienation," she says. "That is what you are guilty of, and it's child abuse." For the children's sake, the woman must "make amends," Gottlieb says. Otherwise, "I will recommend extending the no-contact period until they're 18."

Insider and Type interviewed 12 mothers whose children were sent to Turning Points, many of whom said Gottlieb rebuked them over the phone and in emails. Most said they were required to write letters to the kids praising their fathers and submit them to Gottlieb for approval.

In early November 2016, Gottlieb told Kelly D. — Ashton and O.'s mother — that her letters contained superfluous details and secret messages and needed to be redone. In the end, Kelly submitted several drafts for each of her sons, all of which Gottlieb rejected.

"She sets a bar," Kelly said. "You try to reach the bar. She sets the bar higher."

Judge Ostroski had ordered Kelly to find a therapist "acceptable to Ms. Gottlieb" who would help her support Michael's relationship with the children. From a list provided by the Delaware Family Court, Kelly chose a psychologist, William Northey. But Gottlieb warned in an email, "I cannot approve him before I speak with him about his specialized knowledge of alienation."

The conversation went poorly. Gottlieb considered Northey unacceptable, she later testified, and Northey found fault with Gottlieb, too. He sent her a letter, reviewed by Insider, criticizing her for calling Kelly a "sociopath" and for using the phrase "parental alienation syndrome," which, he wrote, "is not a recognized diagnostic term."

Meanwhile, Gottlieb was making demands of Ashton and O. Shortly after they returned from New York, according to an email to both parents obtained by Insider, Gottlieb determined that they needed to transfer schools immediately, as their current schools had "actively undermined" their relationship with their dad.

She sought custody of O., too. But in September 2020, Ostroski found that Kelly still hadn't been properly treated for her alienating tendencies and denied her petition.

For now, even visits were too risky, Ostroski concluded.

"Ashton's behavior of running away from Father and refusing to now see Father supports Gottlieb's prediction that, if the children are returned to Mother before she addresses her alienating behavior, they will revert to their prior behaviors when they were refusing to see Father and all of the work that has been done over the past 4 years will be wasted," Ostroski wrote in the ruling.

'Junk science'

In June 2010, more than a thousand mental-health practitioners, lawyers, and judges gathered at the Sheraton in downtown Denver for the annual conference of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, which unites players in the child-custody field from around the world. The theme that year was "Traversing the Trail of Alienation," and over four days the condition was discussed in more than 30 sessions. Participants could learn how to spot an alienating parent, when it was best to defy a child's wishes, and what might help an alienated child heal.

The event signified a remarkable embrace of an idea whose author had been consumed by scandal and tragedy just a short time earlier.

In the late 1990s, critics of Gardner's dealt a powerful blow to his credibility by unearthing writings in which he'd defended pedophilia.

"Sexual activities between an adult and a child are an ancient tradition," he wrote in a 1992 book.

As a product of Western culture, he viewed pedophilia as reprehensible, he wrote, but it may not be "psychologically detrimental" in other cultures. The following year, in a journal article, Gardner argued that from an evolutionary standpoint, children benefited from being "drawn into sexual encounters," since these experiences steered them toward early reproduction. "The Draconian punishments meted out to pedophilics go far beyond what I consider to be the gravity of the crime," he wrote in 1991 in "Sex Abuse Hysteria: Salem Witch Trials Revisited."

In May 2003, at age 72, Gardner dosed himself with painkillers and stabbed himself to death. His son told reporters he was driven to suicide by chronic pain that had recently worsened.

In the assessments of his life that followed, Gardner's work was lambasted by prominent psychiatrists, including Dr. Paul Fink, a past president of the American Psychiatric Association. "This is junk science," Fink told Newsday in July 2003. "He invented a concept and talked about it as if it were proven science. It's not."

The theory could have died with Gardner. Instead, it gained ground.

In 2001, Richard Warshak, a clinical professor of psychology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, published "Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent/Child Bond From a Vindictive Ex." The book, released by HarperCollins, brought parental alienation theory to a wider audience — and made it more palatable. Unlike Gardner, Warshak spoke of alienation in gender-neutral terms, saying many fathers were programmers, too, and he likened the no-contact period between children and their preferred parent to study abroad.

Warshak started leading workshops for Family Bridges around 2005 and eventually became its unofficial spokesman, a role in which he excelled. In 2010, he appeared in "Welcome Back, Pluto" and published an influential article about Family Bridges in the AFCC journal.

In that study, Warshak reported on outcomes for the 23 children he'd worked with in the program so far. During the four-day workshop, 22 of them recovered a "positive relationship" with their rejected parent, he observed, including recalcitrant teens.

After the workshop, however, four children regressed, Warshak wrote, following what he called "premature" contact with their preferred parent. The program worked best, he said, when this contact was blocked "for an extended period of time." Warshak didn't respond to interview requests.

Meanwhile, another Gardner successor, Dr. William Bernet, a professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University, was working to push alienation theory forward. He submitted a proposal to the American Psychiatric Association to include "parental alienation disorder" in the next version of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, and authored a scholarly article making the case for inclusion. He submitted a similar application to the World Health Organization, which was revising its International Classification of Diseases.

Bernet declined a request for an interview. But in a 2010 book, he wrote that since alienation scholarship had advanced in the wake of Gardner's death, "there is no need now to dwell on the details of what Richard Gardner did or said or wrote."

At the AFCC's conference in Denver in June 2010, Warshak was given a platform to discuss his Family Bridges paper, as was Bernet, to describe his DSM bid. Other presenters staked out a more moderate stance, arguing that while alienation was a pervasive problem, there was insufficient research to support construing it as a mental illness or ordering extreme interventions.

A few alienation opponents presented, including Joan Meier. But she said she flew home to Washington in tears.

"Everywhere I turned, alienation was the coin of the realm," she said.

She set out to design a study that would document how women who alleged abuse were treated in family courts nationwide — especially when alienation was raised. The Justice Department supported the project with a grant of $500,000.

In 2013, the new edition of the DSM was released with no mention of parental alienation. And in 2020, the World Health Organization ruled that parental alienation was "not a health care term" and lacked "evidence-based" treatments.

Bernet and his colleagues simply regrouped. In court, they started calling alienation a "dynamic" or a "phenomenon" rather than an illness, which appeared to satisfy some judges. And Bernet incorporated the nonprofit Parental Alienation Study Group, a coalition of parents, lawyers, and therapists who collaborated on cases and research. Rand, Gottlieb, and Steinberg joined, along with hundreds of other mental-health practitioners involved in custody work. Many, like Steinberg and Gottlieb, claimed to have experienced alienation themselves.

Meier assembled her own research team, comprising a statistician, three social scientists, and two assistants, to conduct her large-scale study. In January 2020, just weeks before the WHO decision, the results were published in the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law.

The stark findings shocked even her.

Most trial-court rulings in custody cases are unpublished, but Meier's team identified 15,000 rulings involving abuse or alienation that were published electronically from 2005 to 2014. After winnowing that dataset to cases in which the only parties were two warring parents — not, for example, a child welfare agency — the team was left with 4,300 rulings. There were nearly 2,200 cases in which a mother had accused her ex of spousal or child abuse, and in 10% of these, the father had fought back with an alienation claim.

In general, judges were hesitant to credit mothers' abuse claims. When alienation wasn't raised, judges credited these claims 41% of the time, Meier found, and 26% of the time, mothers lost primary custody.

For the 222 mothers whose spouses accused them of alienation, the picture was even grimmer. Women who alleged abuse and whose husbands accused them of alienation lost custody half the time — twice as often as women who weren't accused of alienation.

To Meier, one of the study's most staggering findings was how rarely mothers branded with the scarlet "A" were believed. In cases where mothers alleged child physical abuse and fathers cross-claimed alienation, judges credited mothers a mere 18% of the time, she found. And in the 51 cases where mothers alleged child sexual abuse and fathers claimed alienation, all but one mother was disbelieved.

For a father accused of child molestation, Meier concluded, "alienation is a complete trump card."

'The whole world is watching'

In January 2022, three months after losing her children, Montes chanced upon a sickening discovery.

In a cloud storage account she'd once shared with Winenger, she said, she found thousands of his photos and videos, including explicit images of their three shared children. She loaded them onto a thumb drive for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, whose investigation into Winenger had never closed.

Within days, Winenger was arrested. He was soon charged with 19 felonies, including possession of child pornography and 14 counts of committing forcible lewd acts against a child, Robert.

He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail, his access to the children suspended. Because of the no-contact order he'd previously obtained against Montes, the children landed in a county shelter. Winenger's defense attorney, Patrick Clancy, declined to comment on Winenger's behalf, saying he doesn't try his cases in the press.

Suddenly, the custody dispute was transferred to juvenile dependency court, which meant Ratekin was no longer presiding. The new judge ordered the kids into their mother's care while the case was pending. On February 18, they came home.

At first, Montes said, the two youngest children were so scared of being taken again that they couldn't sleep in their rooms. She set up a big mattress on her bedroom floor.

Meanwhile, Joan Meier was using her research to make inroads with policymakers.

She'd worked with colleagues to draft a federal law that would incentivize states to protect children from abusers during custody disputes. They named the bill Kayden's Law, after a girl in Pennsylvania whose father murdered her during a court-ordered visit. During negotiations over reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, the child's congressional representative, Brian Fitzpatrick, got Kayden's Law in.

The legislation, signed into law on March 15, 2022, sets aside up to $5 million a year for grants to states if, among other measures, they mandate training for custody judges on abuse and trauma and prohibit them from ordering treatments that cut children off from a parent to whom they are attached. If enough states comply, the law could spell the end of the reunification programs.

Last summer, California was the first state to consider such a bill. It was introduced by state Sen. Susan Rubio of Los Angeles County, a survivor of domestic violence herself, after she heard from mothers who'd been accused of alienation and children who'd been sent to reunification programs.

Rubio's bill set off a battle that has since spread to statehouses around the country. Steinberg, the alienation therapist from Los Angeles, was a vocal opponent, arguing that men would be rendered powerless against false accusations. She was joined by fathers' rights groups and by the Parental Alienation Study Group, which was simultaneously pushing hard to discredit Meier's study. (Two prominent members of the group authored a studyconcluding that her findings could not be replicated, which Meier then rebutted.) After Rubio's bill passed the assembly unanimously last August, she was forced to withdraw it in the face of intense opposition from state judges over the training mandate.

Then, last October, the momentum shifted. That's when Maya, the 15-year-old from Santa Cruz, told a custody judge that her mother had abused her and her brother. The judge, Rebecca Connolly, didn't believe her and ordered the children into Steinberg's program, cutting off contact with their father. The graphic video of the children being seized on October 20 was quickly viewed millions of times.

In response to an interview request, an officer of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court said Connolly could not speak about pending cases. Maya's mother has denied the abuse claims in court. Her lawyer, Heidi Simonson, declined an interview, citing court orders pertaining to "privacy and confidentiality."

On the heels of the viral video, a coalition of activists — many of them mothers accused of alienation — organized protests around the country. The first took place October 28 outside the courthouse where Maya had just testified. Standing on concrete risers and facing the building, a pack of Maya's friends demanded her return. "The whole world is watching!" they shouted. Protests also erupted in Michigan, Kansas, and Utah.

Rubio introduced a new bill, with modified judicial training requirements, in February. A similar bill passed both chambers of the Colorado legislature in April. One in Montana died in committee; its sponsor, Sen. Theresa Manzella, said she was up against a "deliberate distribution of misinformation" by opponents, including attorneys who use parental alienation as a legal tactic.

Montes said she's "cautiously optimistic" about Winenger's criminal trial, set to begin in June, and she hopes for an imminent victory in her custody case. Five years of legal bills have left her in debt and on food stamps, she said, but she considers herself lucky all the same. Almost every day, she talks to mothers who remain severed from their children.

Mothers like Kelly D., whose children were sent to Linda Gottlieb's reunification program in New York.

Kelly last saw her younger son, O., early on a Monday morning. It was a warm, sunny day, and she dropped him off at his best friend's house so they could shoot baskets before school. She hugged him, told him she loved him, and said she'd pick him up in the afternoon. Then she drove to court for a hearing.

That was six years, six months, and 24 days ago.

The reporting for this story is part of a forthcoming documentary from Insider, Retro Report, and Type Investigations.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

Read the original article on Insider

[creativeashproductions]

Hung the Galaxy // Jake Seresin

IN WHICH: Your fiancé's betrayal sets on a course to meeting someone new after fleeing your wedding. Years later you return to LA with a new fiance

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x f!reader, ex!Evan Buckley x ex!reader

Warnings: Swearing, cheating/affair (not Jake), reader and Jake have a child but can be read as non-biological child, angst, and fluff

Words: 2.3k

A/N: Hi. I love doing crossovers, so I'll probably do a lot of these.

Masterlist

Los Angeles, California, 2020

The bulky planner that had become a staple on your kitchen island would be retiring to a storage bucket. It had served its purpose and would become a momentum of this big step in your relationship. Wedding planning was stressful when your fiancé was a firefighter.

Your hand glided over the material of your wedding dress. Tailored perfectly to your body and the dream dress when you thought of walking down the aisle. You were incredibly excited to get the dress professionally cleaned and stored away. 

You also were excited for the two-week honeymoon Buck had planned to relax after months of intense planning. Buck had been tight-lipped about the honeymoon itinerary other than letting you know it was in Bali. However, he’d gotten discounts after having lived and worked there shortly.

“You’re gonna be gorgeous.” Your eyes lifted from the dress to Athena standing at the entrance. You knew from the beginning you wanted her to be part of getting ready for the day, partially because of how calm and levelheaded she was.

“I hope so.” You murmured, stepping across the room barefoot to hug her tight, “It took a lot of planning. Buck and I didn’t get to spend much time together with him working and all the appointments for planning.”

“At least Taylor’s photographer friend agreed to a discount.” Athena nodded, “Which reminds me, I need to make sure May’s got the Polaroids ready to go.”

You grinned, “I have to meet Taylor with the photographer, and then it’s officially time to begin the process of that dress.”

Taylor Kelly had been the roommate of a friend from college, and when your friend had to drop out unexpectedly, you’d asked Taylor. She’s been a great help in keeping track of everything, and you considered her a close friend; she’d joined game nights with Buck, Albert and Josh. She was a good friend and support to both Buck and you. Had even been your shoulder to cry on when communication had suffered in your relationship with Buck. Had offered sage advice.

The sound of the wedding march you hummed brought a smirk to your lips on the trip to the meeting room. Finally, you had time before your aunt and uncle arrived from San Diego for the wedding. Beau had juggled work around at the naval base to make it in time to walk you down the aisle. Not that they would miss this for the world with how deeply involved they were in your life.

“-married Buck. She’s my friend!” Taylor’s voice snapped through the crack of the door. Your hand hesitated in pushing it, “I can’t believe we’ve done this.”

“We’ve been-“

“Having communication problems? I’m aware of that, Buckley. I’m a bridesmaid in your fucking wedding. Sure, we haven’t slept together, but arguably we’ve done worse!”

“It’s not an affair.” Buck was firm in his response, and you could just imagine the crinkle in the skin between his eyebrows as he said that.

 “Look up an emotional affair.”

It was silent for a moment other than the sound of Buck tapping away on his phone, “Okay, well, we’ll just stop or take time away to get over- “

Your heart shattered because even in the face of his wrongdoing Buck still wanted her in his life long-term. Your mind slingshot through the last year with how distant he had gotten and how Taylor behaved when you brought him up. She sidestepped the conversation when it came to her love life.

“That’s the thing, Buck. I don’t want to. I don’t want you waiting at the end of the aisle, and maybe that makes me the biggest bitch.”

You didn’t comprehend shoving the door open to reveal the two of them standing so close together, “Absolutely hilarious. The groom is being seduced by the bridesmaid! Tell her she’s delusional. That you wouldn’t waste thousands of dollars and peoples time for a selfish bitch looking to stomp on anyone for a news story.”

Your eyes focused on your fiancé. His blue eyes struggle to stay on your form.

“I can’t.” Buck quietly responded, shrinking in on himself, “I love her too.”

In the crisp morning air flowing in from the open French doors your heart audibly and cruelly shattered. Your soul shrivelled up, and you stumbled back, unable to look away from the wreckage of your relationship. Sure, Buck had always been immature and cowardly indecisive, but a cheater? You’d never expected that.

It took everything in you to tug the ring from your finger, “Fine. But you can march out to the room full of guests and tell them the wedding is off. That you decided that the redhead skank that took advantage of the 118 for a story is the reason you threw away a life with someone you love.”

You could read devastation in his eyes, but at the core of it, Evan Buckley, staunchly and often at the risk of self-destruction, yearned for respect and acceptance. And who was firmly in the centre of that? Bobby Nash.

“Bobby is going to be disgusted by your actions. And thank god we used your credit card, and everything is non-refundable.” You sweetly told your very much now ex-fiancé and turned to the bitch, “You seemed like such a pretty and smart woman Taylor, but your mind does not seem to work well. Must be lonely being the type of person you are to make games of destroying relationships.”

You had even fully turned on your feel when your eyes caught the group of surprised people just outside the French doors. Your lips quirked, noticing Hen and Karen’s son had been very obviously recording the scene.

“Enjoy the food and the open door on Buck and Taylor! But, unfortunately, I have a wedding dress to burn and an emergency appointment for STD testing.”

You strode through the crowd finding Athena holding up the duffle bag of your things, “I thought it was best I grab this and keep Buckley from attempting to stop you.” 

“Thank you, Athena.” You murmured, squeezing her arm on your way to where your Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Beau were waiting. You heard the whispers of people as Buck attempted to move through the crowd.

The wall of firefighters kept him from making it to the car pulling from the curb. The moment the car turned the corner, the strong front you’d had splintered in the arms of your aunt.

San Diego, California, Present Day

You hadn’t stepped in Los Angeles since the day your life fell apart, all thanks to a two-faced bitch and weak fiancé. You cut off contact with the friends you’d made with Buck and build a new life. You had changed your phone number, blocked Buck on everything and removed a lot of people from your social media.

You knew through the grapevine the short-lived relationship with Taylor had ended. May had mentioned roughly the last time you spoke to her a year ago that Taylor had reported on a story Buck had confided her on.

Your response to her was indifferent to the breakup news, and you only asked if Hen and Chim were okay. You refused to answer any personal questions and hesitantly agreed to consider having May visit during the summer.

You had worked hard with a therapist to navigate grieving for the life you had thought you’d have with Buck. You’d slowly put yourself back with the support of your family. And what you attested to be kismet stumbled into someone a year after settling into Miramar.

You huffed, stumbling into a solid form and scrunched your eyes closed, waiting to hit the deck, but it didn’t come. Cautiously your eyes opened to meet the jade-green ones of a lieutenant aviator going off from the gold wings pinned to his shirt.

“Whoa. Sorry there.” The husky voice caused the breath to catch in the back of your throat. You could hear the subtle but unmistakable drawl of a Southern accent.

“It’s okay.” You softly murmured, releasing your grip on his arms when he levelled you back on your feet, “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Jake.” The stranger offered both his name and hand. His grip was firm but not suffocating as he shook your hand, “Can I help you?”

“My uncle Beau forgot his phone at home. So I was sent with it. I was barely walking the last time I was here.”

It took a while for Jake to wear both you and Beau down to take you out on a date, and the rest is what they call history. He was everything you wanted and weren’t looking for. His emotional maturity was astounding, and his firm expectancy of honesty and talking things through was welcomed.

Honestly, it was the healthiest relationship you’d ever been in. 

So it wasn’t a surprise when a year later, you’d gotten engaged and moved in together. Being with Jake was easy, and it wasn’t just because of how steady and solid he was, like the Allegheny River you visited not that long ago. You adored everything about him. From the old hand-me-down Bible, his grandpa gave him the day he got the Naval Academy acceptance letter to his weekly phone call with his parents.

You were ever grateful for how supportive Jake was when he cleared his schedule to join you in LA when Eddie invited you. Usually, you would have said no to your old friend, but he’d gotten crafty by having Chris ask you.

“You got this,” Jake murmured against your temple. Then, like it was second nature, you guided Jake around the house’s side to the backyard’s open gate.

The entire area was flooded with friends and family of the Diaz duo. You could see every one of the 118 and felt more than saw Chris slam into you.

“You’re here!” Chris beamed as you pushed one of his curls off his forehead, “I didn’t think you’d come!”

 “And miss watching your dad’s existential crisis at you becoming a teenager? Never.” You joked, kissing his head, “Chris, I’d like you to meet Jake and Ellie.”

Chris’s inquisitive eyes moved to the tall stranger standing with one hand on your lower back and the infant cradled on his chest. Chris had a feeling that Buck’s plan would burst into flames with how close you and this Jake guy were standing.

“Oh,” Chris murmured, looking over his shoulder to where Buck was chatting with Maddie and Chim.

Your smile softened at the blue tone, “I know it’s weird that I left LA after being with Buck and came back with someone new. I get that and take all the time you need, but you are still important to me, Christopher.”

Athena quickly snagged you from Jake’s side and dragged you to Hen and Karen beaming at you. Jake had already fallen into a conversation with Eddie about everything to do with Texas. You had a feeling football would be brought up. 

“I’d ask who he is, but I feel he’s not just a friend.” Buck had taken the first opportunity to approach you. You’d volunteered to get more napkins from the kitchen, and Buck had used a flimsy excuse.

“Hello, Evan.” You declared from behind the open cabinet door to the cupboard above the stove. Your eyes caught the blue napkins of Chris’ favourite show at the moment.

“How’re you?” 

You leaned back from the coverage of the cabinet to stare at him, stumped at his sudden question.

“Are you expecting me to burst out in song and dance to confess some sort of undying love for you?” You inquired, looking between his blue irises that made you uncomfortable with their evident love, “Because Buck. I don’t love you. I don’t even hate you, to be honest. I’ve moved past what happened.”

Buck couldn’t help but perk up when you admitted to not hating him like he had anticipated. He glossed over the part of your words, saying you didn’t have feelings for him because that tiny little hope fanned.

“If I had to put a name to what I feel when the odd time you’re brought up, it would be indifference. I have more important things now.” You informed your ex-fiancé with a perfectly timed movement to close the cabinet. It revealed the new ring sitting where the one he gave you used to sit.

Buck’s stomach dropped.

“Sweets?” Jake called as he entered the room. He barely gave Buck a glance because what did it matter? Jake had no reason to feel threatened by him, “Ellie-belly here is down for the count. We should head for the hotel and rest before we fly out.”

“My sweet girl.” You cooed leaning into the baby cradled on Jake’s hip to kiss her chubby cheek, “We’ll say our rounds and give Chris his present.”

You shot Buck a smile on your way back out to Eddie’s backyard to find the birthday boy in the mass. Jake split off back to Eddie while you made the rounds to the people you used to see almost every day. Your eyes fluttered back to him, listening to Eddie and cooing at your daughter.

“You look happy, Kid,” Bobby spoke upon joining Athena. His words brought your attention back to him, “You look at him like he hung the moon. And he looks like you did the same for him.”

Your lips quirked, “You say he hung the moon, but Bobby, I’d say he hung the galaxy.”

“I couldn’t help but notice the bling.” Karen grinned, gesturing to the ring on your finger, “When did that happen?”

 “A little over a year ago. We were in the middle of planning when Ellie came around, so we’re having a small wedding in Jake’s hometown. We fly out from LAX tomorrow. So you should all come down to San Diego for the party our friends are throwing us.”

With a hug from Athena and Bobby and a long one with Chris, you leaned against the car door as Jake carefully juggled your daughter into her car seat. It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was perfect.

Tag List:

@websterss

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kiera Butler at Mother Jones:

Earlier this month, former President Donald Trump held his first campaign rally as a convicted felon at Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, hosted by the arch-conservative student group Turning Point USA. This wasn’t Trump’s first appearance at Dream City Church; he also held a rally there with Turning Point USA in 2020. For events like this, it’s an ideal venue: A weekly attendance of around 21,000 believers makes this one of the largest churches not just in Arizona but in the nation.

Dream City, which didn’t respond to my questions for this story, is a mecca for special guests who blur the line between religion and politics. Its annual conference has featured notables like musician and pastor Sean Feucht, who participated in a White House prayer session for President Trump in 2019 and is currently leading a tour of prayer rallies at state capitol buildings across the country. The lineup for this year’s event also included David Barton, whose organization, WallBuilders, teaches K-12 students about the supposed Christian origins of America; Jürgen Mathesius, a pastor at San Diego’s far-right Awaken Church, which has become a stop on Mike Flynn’s ReAwaken America tour; and Jentezen Franklin, a televangelist who also spoke at the 2022 Pray Vote Stand Summit, which mobilizes conservative Christian voters to engage in political activism.

In addition to its thrumming weekly worship sessions and its blockbuster events, the church has another project: Dream City Christian Academy. The K-12 private school, which serves nearly 800 students, is part of Turning Point USA’s Turning Point Academy program, a network of 41 schools that describes itself as “an educational movement that exists to glorify God and preserve the founding principles of the United States through influencing and inspiring the formation of the next generation.” Dream City Christian Academy promises to “Protect our campus from the infiltration of unethical agendas by rejecting all ‘woke’ and untruthful ideologies being pushed on students.” This politically charged approach to education likely isn’t for everyone—and because it’s a private school, it doesn’t have to be. Except for one thing: Dream City Christian Academy is one of a growing number of religious schools that are supported by public funds.

In 2022, Arizona became the first state in which all students are allowed to use state vouchers to cover a portion of tuition at any private school, secular or religious. Through Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, each participating family receives about 90 percent of the money the state would have spent on the child’s public school education—around $7,000 per student per year—for private school tuition. For the 2024-2025 school year, the Dream City Christian Academy annual tuition ranges from $10,450 in elementary school to $13,999 in high school—so families of the school’s nearly 800 students can use state funds to pay for between half and two-thirds of their tuition bill. Dream City Christian Academy received almost $1 million in tuition voucher money last year, the Arizona Republic recently reported.

Since Arizona passed its universal voucher law, 10 more states have followed suit. According to an analysis by Education Week, 29 states currently have programs that provide such assistance to a variety of different students many of whom attend local public schools that perform poorly. It also targets those with a disability that requires specialized education and those whose families earn significantly less than the federal poverty level. More programs are in the works: Lawmakers in both Louisiana and South Carolina recently advanced bills that would create programs like Arizona’s that are open to all students. When state funds are available for private school choice programs, a recent Washington Post analysis found that religious schools receive upwards of 90 percent of that money.

[...] A prerequisite for students and their families to attend some of the schools that currently receive voucher money is that they accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. In March, the education blog Notes from the Chalkboard highlighted one such school. Students attending North Carolina’s Daniel Christian Academy, are trained to “enter the Seven Mountains of Influence,” a main tenet of a Christian Nationalist movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation. Its adherents believe that the faithful are called to seek Christian control of the “seven mountains” of society: family, education, media, government, business, arts & entertainment, and religion. Many New Apostolic Reformation followers believe that waging “spiritual warfare” is justified in achieving these goals, though Daniel Christian Academy specifies that its endorsement of the Seven Mountains Mandate “in no way includes violence or manipulation at any level.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State’s Laser worries that the proliferation of private school voucher programs will open the door to even more permissive rules around the use of public education dollars to teach religion. She points to a suite of bills that would allow public schools to employ chaplains, and even more remarkably, to an Oklahoma Catholic school called St. Isidore of Seville, which is set to become the nation’s first Christian public charter school this fall. The overarching goal of these initiatives, she says, is to “bestow a power and privilege on Christians in our country, at the expense of all the other religions in America.” Meanwhile, public education is robbed  “of the funding that it’s entitled to.”

Mother Jones reports on the disturbing trend of Christian Nationalists opening taxpayer-funded private schools with the intention to indoctrinate students with right-wing politics and a Christian Nationalist worldview.

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Spring 2020 - JAG Headquarters Naval Base San Diego

Chapter 6 Part 2 of You Are My Soulmate

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x Reader

Description: Being at an inquiry has been incredibly difficult. It always is, from what Bradley's heard. But that the inquiry is for his soulmate and he can't do anything to help makes it worse. When the verdict is awarded, all he can do is hold his soul as she sobs with relief. Maybe this is the chance for him to make things right with her?

Disclaimers: Misogynistic speech. Mentioned Homosexual Relationships. Angst. Flagrant disregard for protocols or Authority. Angst. Anguish. The author has no idea how Navy inquiries go (so take all the legalese with a grain of salt).

This content presented in this story is for audiences age 18 and over only. MINORS DNI. I will not be accepting tag-list requests from Blank or Ageless Blogs for this story.

Warnings: Female!Reader

Word Count: 3792

A/N: Can Rooster fix things with his soulmate? I hope so! We're going to see a lot more of Rooster and Tinkerbell together over the next chapters! I hope you all adore it!

I’m neither a law professional nor in the US Navy. In this more than any chapter for this story I’ve written, I implore you to ignore the pseudo-legalese and my fragrant lack of knowledge regarding military inquiry protocol.

AO3: Cross-posted Here!

Wattpad: Cross-posted Here!

My Masterlist

Previous Part | Series Masterlist | Next Part

Rooster

In the unspeakably tense moments after Commander Marks requests the charges against Tinkerbell dropped, Bradley reels, quietly sitting in his chair. He’d known Hawk was responsible for his accident; he’d been told so weeks ago. But seeing the footage, seeing Hawk affix something to his jet maliciously, deliberately, is something he cannot fathom. He wouldn't be here to testify if he had been just a touch more reckless and rash. And where would his actions leave Tinkerbell? 

It had shocked him, seeing her vivacious eyes and smiling mouth dull and stern. She’d looked entirely unlike the firecracker he’d come to admire. The stress had bowed those strong shoulders, bent her proud neck, and caused an imperceptible shiver in those petite, calloused, usually grease-stained fingers. She had looked like an entirely different person in the courtyard during the recess Pops had so willingly granted. With dark, deep-set bags under her eyes, she’d looked so tired yet so indescribably gorgeous he’d fought his way through the crowd to sit beside her, to provide some of his own strength to his flagging soul. The longer they sat there, the more he’d had to concentrate on hearing her quiet, beaten-down voice, the stronger his resolve had grown, and the more his soul had seemed to sing.

She is yours. Yours. Yours. Yours. MINE

He’s sure more than ever Tinkerbell is his. He just has to redeem himself. After all, Bradshaws don’t have platonic soulmates. Bradley’s more than aware of the rumors floating through the Navy about his dads - both his adoptive duo and his birth. When he was just figuring out the rough landscapes of love, Mav sat him down and explained the different bonds people could have - the different loves they could bear. Goose, Mav had explained, had more bonds than anyone he knew. Goose was a man of love, fiery and bright at times and syrupy slow at others, wrapping people in his heart like they were made to belong there. Goose had been so filled with love for his mother it had been palpable even when he spoke about her. That same love he’d extended to his wingmen, those few colleagues whom he considered friends and brothers.

“Bradshaws are big-hearted, Bradley. Your mom has a big heart, and so did your dad. I know you have a heart bigger than both your parents.”

He hadn’t realized how true Mav’s statement was until he was thousands of miles away from his family, alone and cold, with only a new-found fiery sister of his heart to keep him company. Since those dark, cold early days, he’s shared his love with more friends, reclaimed his family, and built lasting friendships with the other Daggers. Only his friendship, his love, keeps him from lurching to his feet as Hawk spews his poison about women in the service, like the two women he mentioned aren’t worth easily ten times as much to the Navy as he is. Both of those women are more than capable of fighting their own battles.

For Natasha Trace, his robust and fiery protector and best friend and sister, all rolled into one person, Hawk’s words are a cross too heavy to bear. Bradley doesn’t stop her. How could he when he’s aware of how hard she’s had to work to get to where she is? It doesn’t surprise him when the other Daggers stand in solidarity next to him, inadvertently blocking the MPs from disturbing Natasha from her task. It’s Jake and Javy, sharing a look he can’t decipher who collect her, her chest heaving, her eyes wild as she stares at Hawk’s battered face with unadulterated rage. This isn’t calm, cool, collected Natasha Trace. This is Phoenix standing there, flames crackling under her skin with all the forces of a vengeful god as she stares at the downed figure of the man who has hurt friends twice over.

When the MPs haul Hawk upright again, his nose is broken, bright red gushing out of the appendage as lurid bruises bloom to life around his eyes. At that moment, it’s more than apparent who still has strength and poise and is the proper Naval Officer between the pair. Hint: It’s not the man listing on his feet and unable to salute the COMPACFLT of the US Navy or meet his eyes as he stalks out of the room. It’s the slim, dark-haired woman with fire in her eyes and pure steel for a spine with bruised, broken knuckles held unflinchingly in a salute. Now, he sees the warrior she is, the strength in his best friend, as the Daggers move in a coordinated mass of highly awarded personnel, collect Tinkerbell, and walk out of JAG Headquarters.

Neither of the women surrounded by the Daggers breaks until they’re deep in the parking lot. Tinkerbell breaks first, her sobs quiet, barely withheld gasps of pain as her fear drains away. It’s like an earthquake shattering Bradley’s calm. He pushes his crutches into someone’s hands - maybe Payback or Fanboy- and stumbles to her. It’s telling, he thinks suddenly, when neither Jake nor Javy stops him as he limps by. But when Tink’s face tips up, tears making glistening tracks down her cheeks, he can’t resist pulling her close. He can feel the shudder in her frame as she buries her face into his chest and cries like she can’t believe she won, or more likely, like she can’t accept her win in addition to Hawk’s defeat. Bradley hasn’t stood on his feet in so long that the strain is evident as his aching muscles hold her weight in addition to his own. But he will not fold to his body’s whims, not at this moment. He’s surrounded by the citrus scent of her perfume, her hair like silk against his fingers, catching at the rough pads as he holds her close. When her arms wrap around his waist, clutching tight and pulling him in closer, he finally breathes a sigh of relief. This is where he belongs, where she does - wrinkled dress uniforms be damned.

He's not sure if Nat breaks or when she does, not until later when he's been unwillingly parted from his soul and after he's showered and been able to sit with the knowledge he's been granted during the trial.

“You like her, don't you, Rooster?” Bradley shrugs, careful not to jostle her hand in his as he cleans the split, bruised knuckles. “I mean, I wasn’t sure if you did, not for the longest time. But that embrace outside of JAG today? That’s when I knew for sure.”

“It feels inevitable, Nat. Like I was always meant to.” She lets him avoid her gaze, lets him stay rapt in the careful, slow disinfection of her wounds. Nat hasn't flinched once, despite how much the rubbing alcohol must hurt.

“She's your soulmate, isn’t she?” Bradley gasps a little, his words getting trapped as he tapes Nat’s knuckles up and busies himself with putting away the roll of gauze and all the ointments he used in their proper places. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Bradley shrugs. “Would you believe it if I said I didn’t know?”

“How is that possible?” Nat’s pacing circles into the tile of Bradley’s kitchen, her hands restlessly tapping against her thighs as she moves. “Didn’t you have the dreams leading you to her all along?”

“I’ve only had a single soul dream since turning 21, Nat.” Bradley’s gentle as he pushes his best friend onto the soda. 

“It happened in the middle of the night on the first carrier I was posted to after flight school.” Bradley can hear her realization as he dips into his fridge for several beer bottles.

“Wait, did this happen at the same time you crashed?” His smile is rueful as he hands his best friend one of the bottles.

Bradley sips on the cold liquid, suddenly needing something to whet his parched throat. “Yeah, Nat. It was the same day I woke up with the scars on my face. It was also the day I swore not to find my soulmate.”

“Why would you do that, you idiot?” Hearing the anguish in her voice, Bradley jerks his head up. What he sees is something he’s not seen in years. A tear is tracking down Natasha Trace’s cheek, anguish in her eyes. The last time he saw Nat cry was when she’d earned her callsign, her first ejection from a flaming fireball. There was abject terror, fear, and a strong sense of her own mortality in her that day. This time, the pain is for a completely different reason as she rockets to her feet.

“You know!” Her arms curl around her ribcage like she’s trying to give herself a frantic, unwelcoming hug. “You know how much I would give to have my soulmate. I would have given anything to wake up on my twenty-first birthday and have a name on my wrist in bold black. Not one faded to the color of my skin.” When he reaches for her, she slaps his hands away. “I would give anything to have a chance. So, do you want to run this by me again? Why you didn’t want to find yours?”

“I….” Bradley can’t lie, not when his best friend looks so angry and sad. “I didn’t want to risk someone else’s happiness. Not when I know how dangerous it is, doing what we do, Nat.”

“I was two years old when my dad died. We were here on North Island, Mom and I. We’d come down the weekend before to see him. He’d promised to take me to a baseball game after Hop 31 because it was supposed to be a half day. When it happened, it felt like my world stopped, Nat. My mom crashed to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. I’m sure now that she felt the moment he died. She was nearly catatonic, Nat. I had to let the Admirals in when they came to tell us he was gone as she screamed, wailed, and sobbed.”

When Bradley looks up at his best friend, he knows tears are cascading down his face, mirroring hers. “How, Nat? How could I put someone else through the pain I’ve already felt once in my life? I’m sure now that feeling my dad’s death killed my Mom, Nat. She wasn’t the same afterward. I had Mav and his own soulmate, sure. But it wasn’t the same. I should have had my dad.”

“What changed your mind, then?” Bradley knows that Nat’s forgiven him. “It had to have changed sometime between then and now. Because the way you held her after we left headquarters? That embrace wasn’t platonic.”

“I nearly died during the accident, Nat. One month in a coma and all of the rehab after it showed me how fragile my life is. I’m not ready to waste another minute of it. Tinkerbell….” Bradley can’t hide the joy on his face, expressing itself in a soft smile. “She feels so right to be around. I haven’t been happy over the past few months. But talking to her during the recess Admiral Kazansky granted? I felt happy and light. I felt like I found the place where I belonged.”

When Nat collapses onto the sofa beside him, he knows he’s won this disagreement.

“So what are you going to do? How are you going to whoo her?”

It’s a question Bradley doesn’t have the answer to. Everything in him still screams he should attempt to be her friend first. He mulls it over through the night, waking up feeling unrested yet filled with nervous energy. Unsurprisingly, though, his day on base is filled with paperwork. He’s still a month from being cleared to fly, and filing reports for the Admirals is all he’s allowed to do. Maybe Mav will let him help with training one of these days?

It's when he goes in search of his godfather that he meanders past Hangar Two. A Welcome Back banner is spread across the back wall, and a few strands of sparkly tinsel are strewn across the floor. Besides that, it seems to be business as usual for the AMDO team. But Bradley can’t see Tinkerbell. She usually wanders with her tablet in hand, chatting and laughing with her team. He loiters near the open hangar door for a few moments but eventually leaves when he sees maintenance crew members approaching.

Unsurprisingly, when Bradley tracks Mav down, he's ecstatic to have help with the lesson plans. It feels good talking about flying. That one afternoon has him dreaming about flying again. He can’t wait to get back into the cockpit of his jet. He never does find Tinkerbell that day on base. Nor does he find her during the next one or the one after that. It worries him not seeing her around the base. Commander Grayson is still lurking around, his face expressionless as he leads the AMDO team that should rightfully be hers. The case of the missing Tinkerbell concerns him, so much so that he keeps an unconscious eye out for her and her pretty red convertible even when he's out running errands in the Bronco the following weekend.

It's a beautiful spring day. The sun is out, a delicious breeze is blowing in from the ocean, and Bradley feels at peace. Bradley’s out purchasing Goose’s favorite beer and Ice’s favorite vodka for the freezer as a favor to Mav. It’s been a very long time since he’s had the chance to celebrate his dad’s birthday with his dad’s closest friends. Most of his dad’s Top Gun cohort are flying into North Island - Hollywood, Wolfman, Slider, Merlin, Chipper, Sundown - the whole gang will be in the same place again for the first time since ‘86. Bradley hopes they won’t hold a grudge against him for the years of no contact. 

When he pulls his car into the parking lot of The Hard Deck hours before opening, he's surprised to see the cherry red convertible he's been searching for all week right there. When he saunters into the bar, she’s not in there. He’s half aware of what he’s saying as he gives Mav’s colossal drink list to Penny. But really, he’s jumping at every sound in the building, every creak, moan, and groan as the sea-soaked wooden surfaces settle around them. His head is on a swivel, and his eyes are peeled for one person’s sweet smile and melodious voice.

“Bradley?” He yanks his attention back to Penny, who has known him since he was a baby, with a sheepish grin.

“She’s out on the beach.” He starts, looking at her. “Pete told me a little bit of what’s happened. She was meant for you. Go to her. It looks like she needs you. It will take me a while to compile this ridiculous drinks list anyway. Of course, Pete would need upwards of 5 gallons of alcohol!”

Bradley feels like he’s living in an alternate universe as he staggers onto the sand. Everyone in his life seems content to step back and let the Fates drag Tinkerbell and him together. Why doesn’t anyone seem to see how much he’s hurt her? Why doesn’t anyone seem to see how much he has hurt himself? Why is nobody threatening him - ordering him to take care of her? Do they only see what he does in the mirror? The sad, sorry soul covered in scars who only wants to make her smile? The person who never wants to see her cry again? Or do they see the villainous knave who will break her heart? Bradley’s no longer sure what he’ll see in a mirror - the protector or the heartbreaker.

All the questions get washed out with the tide as he finally sees Tinkerbell. She’s in a tie-dye print white sundress, toes stretched out in the sand as the tide wets them. Her hair is loose around her face, whipped around by the wind, and if the sight of her doesn’t take his breath away, her smile at the sight of him does. He can see it now as he staggers unsteadily across the sand on his crutches, the sweet grin, her lips looking plush and glistening in the sunlight.

“Hi, Bradley.” He wobbles a little at the naked affection in her voice, plonking down almost too heavily onto the blanket she’s sitting on. Half his ass is on the blanket, and the other half is definitely in damp sand, but he doesn’t mind. Not when she giggles at him and then grabs his crutches to lay them carefully out on her other side.

“Hi, Tinkerbell.” He lets himself lean just until his arm brushes hers. It’s silent out here, just the air rifling through his hair and clothes, snatching at the full skirt of Tinkerbell’s pretty sundress.

“What’re you doing out here, Bradley?” Bradley can’t believe how good his name sounds falling out of his soulmate’s mouth. 

“I came to buy some drinks from Penny.” Faced with Tink’s big doe eyes and soft smile, Bradley lets the whole story spill, telling Tinkerbell about the annual celebration for Goose Bradshaw that Mav plans.

“It must be nice,” There’s a faraway look in her eyes as she looks out of the blue ocean. “To have so much family coming to see you, to celebrate your father’s life even after so many years.”

“Where are your folks, Tink?” Her head jerks up, mouth parting in shock as her cheeks flush. She wraps her arms around her knees, resting her cheek on her knees, facing him. The new position allows Bradley to see the smooth skin of her back and a glimpse of stark ink curling around her right side. It’s too soon to kiss her soft skin, right?

“My parents are on the East Coast.” There’s something sad in her voice as she clutches her knees to her chest like she’s holding in her emotions. “I haven’t seen them in a few years. Not since before I was on the Nimitz.”

“I’ve been on or deploying out of the West Coast for much of the last decade. I talk to them on the phone whenever I can, but it never feels like it’s enough. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be with my family. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be loved by a family.”

Bradley can sense the despair in her voice as he scoots closer and mirrors her position as much as he can. “Can I tell you a secret?”

At her shy nod, he takes a breath before fishing in the pocket of his jeans for a handkerchief. He hands the folded-up, square of fabric to her.

“You also gave me one of these in the atrium during the inquiry.” Her voice is soft as she traces over the embroidered name and monogram on the fabric.

“Yeah.” Bradley’s voice quiets even further. This close, all he can smell is the salty sea breeze and the citrus of Tinkerbell’s perfume. “Those kerchiefs belonged to my dad, Nicolas Edward Bradshaw. They were an anniversary present from my mom to him for their fourth wedding anniversary. These kerchiefs are one of the few things I remember about my dad, Tink. Every time I cried, my dad used to swoop in with one of these kerchiefs, the ones my mom always ironed and lightly starched for him. It was a labor of love for her. He even had one of these kerchiefs in his flight suit the day he died. I’ve been carrying them around with me ever since my eighteenth birthday because I needed a little bit of Goose Bradshaw’s indomitable spirit when I thought I was alone.”

“I’m sorry, Bradley.” He takes her hand in his at her apology, drawing them up until he can kiss her knuckles. 

“You’ve nothing to be sorry about. What I wanted to say is that I remember these kerchiefs in his hands. I remember the smell of the starch my mom used. I remember how soft the fabric was against my face. But I don’t remember much else of my father. I get snatches of his voice every once in a while or hear his laughter in the wind. Everything else I know of my father comes from the stories I’ve heard my whole life. I can’t tell anyone who knew him this. They all look at me like I’m horrible for forgetting him. But I was so young when he died, so absorbed in growing up, that it feels like I missed out on knowing him, so therefore, I missed out on grieving him entirely.”

“I’m not sure my dad knew how much I loved him when he died. For that matter, when my mom passed away from cancer when I was sixteen, and the dumbest little shit, did she know? Did she know how much I loved her?  Did they know how much I missed them when they were gone?”

The words dry up in his throat then because tears are brimming in Tinkerbell’s eyes. Her voice is soft as she squeezes his hand back like he did hers. 

“They knew, Bradley. They knew you loved them then. I’m sure they know you love them now, as well. I’m so sure that if they had the choice to stay or go, they would have picked to stay here with you for as long as they could.”

“I know, sweetheart.” A small, disbelieving smile curls up the corners of her mouth. “But they left a family behind for me. It took me over a decade after my mom passed away to realize they did, but I’m done taking my family for granted.”

Her small giggle makes him smile, too. He ducks forward and carefully dabs the tears away.

“Basically, sweetheart, I brought that up to ask you a question.” At her nod, Bradley inhales. “Would you want to come with me? To celebrate my dad tonight?”

“His birthday is today?” There’s disbelief on her face, lips parted slightly.

“Yeah. Mav holds a get-together for everyone my parents considered family at his place every year.” Bradley’s got his heart in his throat. Would his soulmate want to meet his family this soon? Please let her say yes. He can’t think of a better way to introduce Tinkerbell to his family.

“I’d be happy to.” Her smile sets his heart alight as she stands up and helps him stand. Before Tinkerbell folds up the blanket, she wraps her arms around his waist, soaking in his warmth. His heart thuds frantically as he walks her up to the Hard Deck because it finally feels like good things are happening.

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE, ON WATTPAD, OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE, ON WATTPAD, OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

Taglist:

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[mitchipedia]

I am in awe of the mental gymnastics required to conclude that there's any solution to homelessness other than finding housing for people. It's like telling a drowning person that their real problem is they eat fatty foods.

“Housing First” policy does what it says—it attempts to address homelessness by finding housing for homeless people before attempting to solve other problems these people might have.

This common-sense solution has come under fire by critics, mostly Republicans, who claim that it fails to address the real causes of homelessness: Mental health and drug abuse. (And then the Republicans don’t want to do anything about mental health or drug abuse either. Well played, Republicans!)

However, numerous studies show Housing First works.

Two examples of Housing First implemented in San Diego “show that formerly homeless people are remaining housed and may be more open to rehab than if they had stayed on the street,” according to a report by Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune. www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/home…

Out of 400+ tenants in two properties purchased for homeless housing in 2020, most original tenants are still there, and of the 15% who have moved away, nearly all are in other permanent housing or temporary housing.

But what about substance abuse? Some 25% of tenants self-identified as having substance abuse disorders. The actual number may well be higher because people are going to lie about that kind of thing.

Of those self-identifying as having substance abuse disorders, few seek treatment: Just 12%. That’s not much, but if you put these people in housing, more of them will live long enough to get into treatment, because the mortality rate of people on the street is four times higher than the general population.

Moreover, treatment is more likely to work if people are housed. Substance abuse treatment is difficult and painful, and even harder to do if you’re also dealing with the daily traumas of homelessness.

Also: the Voice of San Diego’s Will Huntsberry looks at four common beliefs about homelessness. voiceofsandiego.org/2023/07/2…

One myth is that homeless people are coming to California and San Diego to take advantage of the better weather and more generous social programs. But the reality is that most homeless people aren’t coming to San Diego from elsewhere; their last residence was right here, Huntsberry reports.

That makes sense: If you find yourself homeless, that’s a traumatic event, and you’re not likely to leave your support network of friends and family and go somewhere where you don’t know the neighborhoods, you don’t know where it might be safe to sleep, or how to go about finding work or benefits. www.nytimes.com/2023/07/1…

California has a bigger homeless problem than most places. The state is home to 12% of the country’s total population, but 30% of its homeless, Huntsberry reports.

Another belief is that many homeless don’t want to get off the streets. Even San Diego’s Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria supports that idea. But the reality is that shelters in San Diego are functioning at nearly full capacity every day of the week. “Far more people ask for shelter every day than receive it,” Huntsberry says.

The third belief is that mental health problems and substance abuse cause homelessness. It’s true that mental health problems and substance abuse are prevalent among the homeless–but those conditions don’t cause homelessness. We know this because places like West Virginia, which have high rates of drug use and mental illness, have low homeless rates.

Homelessness is caused by housing that is expensive and hard to find, which describes San Diego. timesofsandiego.com/business/…

Huntsberry cites a book, “Homelessness is a Housing Problem,” by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern.

In their book, the researchers compare finding housing to a distorted game of musical chairs. In this game, some people have broken ankles and other ailments. These people are the most likely to be left standing when the music stops. So it is with housing. People with mental illness and substance abuse problems are the most likely to have problems getting housing in a tight housing market.

But in places where housing is affordable and abundant, people with mental illness and substance use disorders can usually maintain housing.

[somber-mangata]

Last week was my 8th trans-iversary and oh boy is it crazy to look back and reflect on these 8 long years of self discovery and growth.

I grew up in a somewhat progressive household, but the family I primarily lived with wasn't educated on LGBT topics whatsoever, so I ended up being pretty transphobic/racist/misogynistic/homophobic by the time I was an adult.

It took me going from living in more rural areas of Washington and Oregon and moving back to San Diego to learn what was actually right and wrong, thanks to who was my partner during that time.

I decided to cosplay as Marceline for Halloween in 2014 and my egg immediately shattered. I saw myself in a way I couldn't comprehend and it just felt so right. Throughout the years I played with the idea of being trans and tried things to see how I'd feel presenting as a woman. Of course that's really difficult to do without a proper support system and a hostile living environment.

By the time I was living in Vegas I finally said fuck it and called everywhere I could to find someone to help me with getting HRT. As time went on I started to feel better and better about myself, and once the changes really started hitting me it changed how I thought and felt about myself dramatically.

I had my glow up in 2020 through COVID, and with the help of my partner, started rebuilding my wardrobe, so I could feel right when I go out in public.

At this point I catch myself in the mirror naked and stop for a minute to appreciate how my body looks now that HRT has done its magic. It's wild to look back on old pictures of me pre-HRT and feel so validated in how much has changed. I feel so comfortable in my body and so confident that I can't even begin to perceive myself as male or "born as a man", or "born in the wrong body". It's like this is what my body wanted to do all along but the Gods said "give her the thiccest girl dick you've ever seen" and I'm honestly grateful for that ngl.

While I still have dysphoria in some areas, and definitely have way more social anxiety than I used to "mostly thanks to being back in bumb fuck nowhere", I'm more at peace with my existence than I've ever been, and I know that it's only going to get better as time goes on.

I hope that other trans mascs and fems are able to find themselves the way I have and are happy with who they are. Always keep growing, and try your best to love yourself even if it's hard.

Thank you for listening to me 💞🖤💞

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Ben Cohen

A member of San Diego’s Human Relations Commission was forced to step down this week following a furious response to antisemitic comments he proffered at a meeting of the body on July 18, in which he claimed that the Torah instructs Jews to murder Palestinians.

The resignation of the commissioner, Khaliq Raufi, was announced on Wednesday by San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson in a scathing statement.

“Commissioner Raufi’s ignorant comments were hurtful and in no way reflect my personal views, but they do highlight the urgent need to focus on education, bridge building, and to advocate for tolerance,” said Anderson, who appointed Raufi to the 31 member commission. “After meeting with Commissioner Raufi, I have received his resignation letter.”

The city’s Human Relations Commission — which answers to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, the county’s legislative branch — was established in May 2020 to “promote positive human relations, respect, and the integrity of every individual regardless of gender, religion, culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or citizenship status.”

At the July 18 meeting, which was recorded, Raufi told those in attendance that he had read a few verses of the Book of Deuteronomy — the fifth and final book of the Torah — calling it the “Book of Jews.”

“It states, ‘go kill Palestinians — wipe them all out,'” Raufi claimed. “It’s a teaching that they, on a daily basis, teach their followers in their synagogues. So how are we gonna resolve that?”

At this juncture, Raufi was interrupted by an observer, Sara Brown, the San Diego regional director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), who pointedly asked him, “are you serious right now?”

Brown later expressed her shock that only one of the assembled commissioners — Kate Clark, who works for Jewish Family Services — took Raufi to task for his remarks. “It was so unbelievably shocking in the moment — and even more shocking was the silence of every single commissioner and county staff,” she told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

An editorial in the same outlet quoted San Diego’s Mayor Todd Gloria’s statement that “hate has no place in San Diego and there will be consequences for those who spread it in our city.” It went on to argue: “The county Human Relations Commission, which needs better vetting and training, must take that to heart. Otherwise, what’s the point of it?”

Raufi delivered his speech during a debate concerning a controversy at the commission the previous month, in which another commissioner — George Khoury, a supporter of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) — denounced Israel as a “racist, fascist state” as he described how his Palestinian family fled from Jerusalem during the 1948 War of Independence.

In a June 20 letter to the commission following Khoury’s speech, local Jewish leaders noted: “Rather than speak about the importance of Arab American Heritage Month, an opportunity to further celebrate diversity in our San Diego community, Commissioner Khoury’s statement negated Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, diminished the historical Jewish connection to the land, and depicted the creation of Israel as a war crime — language that goes beyond legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies.”

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from the The Desert Sun:

High temperatures continue to scorch Californians across the state Friday.

Dozens of cities in Southern California reached 90 degrees and above just before 6 a.m., the National Weather Service San Diego posted on social media.

It comes amid days of excessive heat warnings plaguing regions throughout the state and at least one city breaking a heat record.

That unfortunate title goes to Indio, which reached 121 degrees on Sept. 5, beating its previous record by one degree set in 2020, according to the NWS San Diego.

The primary reason Californians have been suffering from heat is an upper-level ridge or an upper-level high-pressure system over Southern Nevada and Southern California, said Dave Munyan, a meteorologist with the NWS San Diego.

In simplified terms, these ridges allow air to collect and sink. Munyan explained that there is a relationship between pressure and temperature, and the air heats up as it compresses. Hotter weather is generally seen under these ridges, spanning multiple states.

The ridge started “really strengthening” Thursday and will continue through Friday and linger through the weekend. It has refused to weaken and move from our area, he said. It’s why people checking the weather forecasts for the week may have seen a slight uptick in their Sunday, even Monday, temperatures, Munyan said.

What is the weather right now?

High temperatures continue throughout California on Friday and through the weekend, bringing with it excessive heat warnings and other heat advisories. Here are just some of the triple-digit temperatures forecasted across the state, according to various NWS offices in California:

A portion of southwest California, including Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Burbank, and East Los Angeles, is under an excessive heat warning through Monday evening, facing temperatures up to 115 degrees.

The Western San Fernando Valley remains under an excessive heat warning through Monday evening, with highs up to 118 degrees. The Inland Empire, also under an excessive heat warning through the same period, can see temperatures of 102 degrees or soar up to 114 degrees.

A portion of central California, including Bakersfield, Tulare, Merced, and Fresno, is under a heat advisory through Saturday evening. Temperatures will be between 102 and 107 degrees.

Sacramento, Redding, Stockton and other cities in the Carquinez Strait and Delta, Sacramento Valley, northern San Joaquin Valley and surrounding foothills are under a heat advisory through Friday evening and will see temperatures between 100 and 109 degrees through Friday evening.

The Coachella Valley and San Diego County deserts are also under an excessive heat warning Friday, with highs between 112 degrees and 120 degrees forecasted.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 6.18

Holidays

Academy Day (Scientology)

Autistic Pride Day

Clark Kent Day

Clean Your Aquarium Day

Count Your $$ Day

Drone Safety Day

Festival of Invisible Pornography

Finest Hour Speech Day

Foundation Day (Benguet, Philippines)

Go Fishing Day

Hand Cart Day (French Republic)

Horned Poppy Day

Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan)

International Day for Countering Hate Speech

International Declaration of Human Rights Day

International Panic Day

Jack Herer Day

Justice Institution Employees Day (Turkmenistan)

Mela Khir Bhawani (Kashmir, India)

National Black America’s Day of Repentance

National Internet Cat Day

National Jesse Day

National Relationship Day

National Splurge Day

National Wanna Get Away Day

National Wear Blue Day

Neurodiversity Pride Day (Netherlands)

No Headline Day

Police Inspector’s Day (Ukraine)

Queen Mother’s Day (Cambodia)

618 Day

Sustainable Gastronomy Day

Tabasco Day (Mali)

Trouser Day

Veterinary Appreciation Day (a.k.a. Veterinarian Appreciation Day)

Waterloo Day (UK)

Wild Den Dancing Day

World Day Against Incarceration

World Wide Knit in Public Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Insalata Day (Italy)

International Picnic Day

International Sushi Day

National Cheesemaker’s Day

National Cherry Tart Day

Independence & Related Days

Aldrodnia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Bacolod City Charter Day (Philippines)

Constitution Day (Seychelles)

Egypt (a.k.a. Eid el-Galaa, evacuation of foreign troops, 1954)

Flinders (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Jailavera (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Leprechia (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Naga City Charter Day (Philippines)

Onontakeka (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Snagov (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

3rd Tuesday in June

National Accounts Payable Appreciation Day [3rd Tuesday]

National Cherry Tart Day [3rd Tuesday]

Royal Ascot begins (UK) [3rd Tuesday]

Taco Tuesday [Every Tuesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 18 (3rd Full Week)

National Water Safety Week (Ireland) [thru 6.25]

Royal Ascot (thru 6.22)

Festivals Beginning June 18, 2024

Marysville Strawberry Festival (Marysville, Washington) [thru 6.23]

RMA Convention (Maui, Hawaii) [thru 6.21]

Taste of Little Italy (San Diego, California) [thru 6.19]

Feast Days

Amandus, Bishop of Bordeaux (Christian; Saint)

Andim Day (Pastafarian)

Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church)

Chris Van Allsburg (Artology)

Elisabeth of Schönau (Christian; Saint)

Elvis Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ephraem (Christian; Saint)

Erik Ortvad (Artology)

Festival of Anna (Ancient Rome; Everyday Wicca)

Going Forth of Neith Along the River (Ancient Egypt’ Goddess of War and Hunting)

Gregorio Barbarigo (Christian; Saint)

Gregory of Fragalata (Christian; Saint)

Into Raymi Festival begins (Inca Sun Worship Festival; until 24th)

James Montgomery Flagg (Artology)

John Bellany (Artology)

Joseph-Marie Vien (Artology)

Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus (Christian; Saints)

Leroy (Muppetism)

Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)

Mark and Marcellian (Christian; Martyrs)

Media Ver XI (Pagan)

National Splurge Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Now Panic Day (Pastafarian)

Osanna Andreasi (Christian; Saint)

Theodoric the Great (Positivist; Saint)

Three Lasting Things of Cormac Mac Art: Grass, Copper and Yew (Celtic Book of Days)

Tiger-Get-By’s Birthday (Shamanism)

Islamic Lunar Holidays

Eid al-Adha, Day 3 [Muslim Feast of Sacrifice] (a.k.a. ... 

Al Adha (Bahrain)

Corban Bairam (Sudan)

Eid al Adha (Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen)

Eid e-Ghorban

Eid ul-Ad’haa (Maldives)

Feast of Sacrifice (Uzbekistan)

Gurban Bayram (Azerbaijan)

Hari Arafat (Malaysia)

Hari Raya Qurban (Malaysia)

Id el Kabir (Nigeria)

Kurban Bayram (North Cyprus)

Kurban Bayramy (Turkey)

Qurbon Hayit (Uzbekistan)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [36 of 57]

Premieres

The Adventures of Ellery Queen (Radio Series; 1939)

The Bully (Ub Iwerks Flip the Frog Cartoon; 1932)

Casey Bats Again (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

Dangerous When Wet (Film; 1953)

Dare To Be Stupid, by Weird Al Yankovic (Album; 1985)

Day & Night (Pixar Cartoon; 2010)

Der Freischütz (or The Marksman), by Carl Maria von Weber (Opera; 1821)

DodgeBall (Film: 2004)

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, by Bryan Adams (Song; 1991)

Eyes in Outer Space (Disney Cartoon; 1959)

Goodbye Cruel World, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1984)

The House with a Clock in Its Walls, by John Bellairs (Novel; 1973)

Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (Documentary Film; 2004)

Ice Station Zebra, by Alistair MacLean (Novel; 1963)

An Ideal Husband (Film; 1999)

Inside, Outside, by Herman Wouk (History Book; 1985)

Lady and the Lamp (Disney Cartoon; 1979)

Last Action Hero (Film; 1993)

Le Marteau sans Maître, by Pierre Boulez (Chamber Cantata; 1955)

Luca (Animated Film; 2021)

Morning, Noon and Nightclub (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1937)

My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1952)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman (Novel; 2013)

Odelay, by Beck (Album; 1996)

Once Upon a Forest (Hanna-Barbera Animated Film; 1993)

Origin of Symmetry, by Muse (Album; 2001)

Polar Fright (Chilly Willy Cartoon; 1966)

Popeye Meets Hercules (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1948)

The Sparks Brothers (Documentary Film; 2021)

Suppressed Duck (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

Tarzan (Animated Disney Film; 1999)

Toy Story 3 (Animated Pixar Film; 2010)

The Underground World (Fleischer Cartoon; 1943) [#16]

The Wild Bunch (Film; 1969)

Wouldn’t It Be Nice, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1966)

Today’s Name Days

Elisabeth, Ilsa, Marina (Austria)

Asen, Chavdar (Bulgaria)

Elizabeta, Marcel, Ozana, Paul (Croatia)

Milan (Czech Republic)

Leontius (Denmark)

Auli, Aurelia, Auri, Reeli, Reelika, Reili (Estonia)

Tapio (Finland)

Léonce (France)

Elisabeth, Ilsa, Isabella, Marina (Germany)

Erasmos, Leontios (Greece)

Arnold, Levente (Hungary)

Gregorio, Marina, Marinella, Marinetta (Italy)

Alberts, Madis (Latvia)

Arnulfas, Ginbutas, Marina, Vaiva (Lithuania)

Bjarne, Bjørn (Norway)

Efrem, Elżbieta, Gerwazy, Leonia, Marek, Marina, Paula (Poland)

Ipatie, Leontie, Teodul (România)

Vratislav (Slovakia)

Marcelino, Marcos (Spain)

Bjarne, Björn (Sweden)

Leo, Leon (Ukraine)

Effie, Efrain, Eph, Ephraim, Marina, Marnie, Nevaeh (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 170 of 2024; 196 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 25 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 10 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 13 (Gui-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 12 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 11 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 20 Blue; Sixday [20 of 30]

Julian: 5 June 2024

Moon: 88%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 1 Charlemagne (7th Month) [Theodoric the Great]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 10 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 92 of 92)

Week: 3rd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 29 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Charlemagne (Feudal Civilization) [Month 7 of 13; Positivist]

[xxmarvelouslifexx]

Hello to the handful of you who enjoy reading about my adventures. I need to do something besides work and doomscroll so I am attempting to visit all the museums in Balboa Park and making you all hear about it. Since I am driving into the city more, might as well get some visits in while I'm at it. Long post so I will hide the rest of it down below.

First up, kinda mentioned it before but home to the fun cannibalism exhibit:

Museum of Us (formerly known as the Museum of Man)

Anthropology museum! Had a bunch of fascinating exhibits I didn't even get through half of them. They had some replica mayan stelae, which as it turns out are from the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, which was held in Balboa Park and helped turn it into the jewel of San Diego that it is now. This updated exhibit on Mayan culture I thought was well done. In the intro they explained how they worked with Mayan consultants to ensure the exhibit was respectful and reflective of modern Mayan communities. Throughout there were excerpts of the Popol Wuj, one of the foundational sources of their mythology, which I thought was very cool. They also very much went into the impact of colonization on their communities.

My favorite exhibit of the ones I saw: Hostile Terrain 94. It was heavy, I almost cried to be honest. It explores the very deadly human impact of the 1994 "Prevention through Deterrence" US border policy. Which for my non-american followers was the purposeful choice to make official border ports of entry and their surroundings urban areas more difficult for undocumented migrants to cross, leaving them with limited options, such as crossing the barren Sonoran desert instead. The map you see above is the Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico border. Those tags you see all over the map are identification tags for all the bodies found of migrants attempting to make the journey. 3,205 from the 1990s through 2020 alone. Manila are identified, orange are unidentified remains.

My parents immigrated from Mexico, as did many of my tias and tios. They were all undocumented for a time. Luckily for them, they all crossed pre-1994 with few difficulties. So I couldn't help it think, that could've been them if things turned out differently. Reading through the tags, seeing how young some were, a woman 19 years old, barely even had a chance to live. And the unidentified remains. How many families are out there still searching for answers? The border isn't just a political talking point. Congress' inability to move on immigration reform is a disgrace when there is so much human suffering occurring at the border and the routes to it.

San Diego Natural History Museum

Moving on to lighter subjects. Dinosaurs and fossils! This place is huge, 4 floors of some amazing exhibits. Again did not even fully finish one floor. Really enjoyed the ecosystems corner that explained the very diverse habits that exist around here. Not to brag but beaches, mountains, deserts, chaparral we got it all.

Look at the ankylosaur and mammoth skeleton. Neat! And below the California Grizzly Bear. It's the one our state flag and also the one we very sadly hunted to extinction in 1922.

One last one because this is getting long.

Museum of Photographic Arts (part of the San Diego Museum of Art)

Apparitions, Bill Armstrong, 2005

They had some very interesting photos here! I had to document this one for you all. No, I was not out of focus, that is what the photos look like. And the subjects are described only as "roman sculptures". So are some of our guys hiding up there? One of them is looking awfully caesar-y to me.

They also have a collection of daguerreotype, ambrotype, and tintypes. Which I had no idea were different things. So fascinating to look at. Did these people imagine we'd still be looking at their photos almost 200 years later?

I've knocked two more museums off the list this week, so another post coming soon. Hope you actually enjoyed this very long post :)

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Bob Dylan - The Power & The Glory (A 2022 Touring Year Story)

Bob Dylan kicks off another leg of the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour this week in Osaka, Japan. Will he playing a totally revamped set? I'm guessing no, but who the hell knows? Meanwhile, I'm going to start spreading the rumor that Bob will almost certainly be releasing an album of new material in 2023. I have nothing, absolutely nothing, to back this up, but I'm just going to try to manifest it. Manifest with me, people!

To get psyched for more live Dylan, check out this very very nice compilation of audience recordings from last year's shows, gathering some highlights and rarities — like Bob's Jerry Lee Lewis tribute in Dublin or the very rowdy "Friend of the Devil" in San Francisco. And is that a little Twin Peaks theme I'm hearing inserted into "Key West" from March 6??? Prove me wrong!

Another way to get psyched: check out James Adams' new episode of the Pretty Good Stuff series on Aquarium Drunkard. This latest hour features some of Bob's finest performances in Japan from over the decades. I was particularly blown away by the 1994 rendition of "What Good Am I?" — a truly outrageous and amazing vocal on that one.

One more thing! Last year, I wrote a review of the Dylan show I caught in San Diego, which for one reason or another, was never published. Here it is, plus a recording of the show, as an incredibly special treat for you Doom & Gloomsters.

Bob Dylan - San Diego Civic Theatre, San Diego, California, June 17, 2022

You couldn’t count on much over the past 30+ years, but you could usually assume that Bob Dylan was somewhere out there, still on the road, perpetually headed for another joint. But the bewildering pandemic year of 2020 brought it all to a shuddering halt, causing the longest break in Dylan’s relentless live performance schedule since the mid-1980s. Bobcats across the globe had to ask themselves that tough question: Was the Never Ending Tour finally … ending?

Of course not. Or at least not yet. In late 2021, Dylan kicked off the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour, which promises to stretch into 2024 — an ambitious span of time in an increasingly unpredictable decade. What keeps him going? One can only assume that, at this point, Bob doesn’t need the cash (if he ever really did). In his own eccentric way, he must still be interested in connecting with audiences, sharing his songs, reveling in the power that this music delivers. And maybe, just like the rest of us, the various COVID-19 lockdowns made Dylan a little stir-crazy.

Whatever his reasoning may be, there was a tingling sense of anticipation in the air when the lights went down at the San Diego Civic Theatre this past June. The songwriter’s advanced age (he turned 81 in May) and the still precarious nature of live shows these days makes Dylan’s continuing presence feel all the more precious. And to be sure, when you got your first glimpse of the man — looking a little frail, a tad ghostly — your first thoughts were of his (and perhaps your own) all-too-human mortality. As he sang later: “I’ve already outlived my life by far.” But Dylan refused to let us wallow. Instead, he kicked off the show with a long, occasionally shambolic, guitar solo over a sweet, bluesy shuffle. As it rambled on — and on! — you couldn’t help but grin. Never mind mortality — this Nobel Prize winner still just loves to jam.

“What’s the matter with me? I don’t have much to say,” were the first words Dylan growled this evening — the opening lines of 1971’s “Watching The River Flow.” But they were sung with a wink. As proven by his 2020 masterpiece Rough And Rowdy Ways, Dylan still has plenty to say. The San Diego setlist (which rarely changed from night to night during this spring/summer jaunt) was dominated by numbers from the album — the only tune missing was “Murder Most Foul” (which Dylan likely thinks of as a separate piece altogether). It’s a daring move. Bob has never been of the McCartney school — you’re never guaranteed to hear the hits at a Dylan show. But he hasn’t played shows so heavily tilted towards new material since the “born again” days of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The gambit paid off. The Rough And Rowdy Ways numbers were captivating, from the hushed majesty of “I Contain Multitudes” to the deep blues crawl of “Crossing The Rubicon,” each moment filled with drama and gravitas. Dylan’s vocals sounded magnificent and clear; those Sinatra records from the last decade seem to have made him rethink his approach, with fantastic results. The sweet croon he slipped into on a ravishing “I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You” was positively breathtaking, as he held dangerously long notes, the music breaking down beautifully behind him. On the other end of the spectrum, “My Own Version Of You” was a harrowing ride, Dylan relishing the song’s increasingly grotesque imagery. And even though the new stuff is relatively fresh from his pen, Dylan typically couldn’t help toying with an arrangement or two: “Key West (Philosopher Pirate)” was reinvented entirely with a curious chord structure and bewitching vocal that traded the studio version’s apocalyptic dread for a more open-ended playfulness.

The band here (stalwart bassist Tony Garnier, guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio, multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron and drummer Charley Drayton) deserves special credit. There was rarely a lead voice breaking out in the mix — save for Dylan’s nervous, Monk-ish piano solos. Instead, there was a cohesive collective synergy, instruments interlocking, rising and falling in unison. The result was a kind of richly textured minimalist blues rock, free of cliché, zero fat on the bone. Occasionally, Dylan would pick out a hypnotic riff and his musicians would circle it patiently, adding subtle colorings around the edges. Occasionally, they’d drop out entirely, as with the almost a capella intro to “Gotta Serve Somebody,” which gave Dylan plenty of space to play around in before the song kicked into a full-tilt boogie.

Bob’s chatter was limited to a brief but hearty band introduction towards the end, but he wasn’t entirely uncommunicative. Several times in-between songs, he’d step out from behind his upright piano, put a hand on his hip, cock his head and fix the crowd with a quizzical stare. Was he soaking in the applause? Trying to get a sense of who his audience is in 2022? Just letting us all get a good look at him? Maybe all of the above — but most of all, it seemed as though Dylan was silently asking, once again, after all these years: “How does it feel?”

[cocoanmelaninsims]

Aurora Falls S1E4

Felicity: We were married in 2020 in a gorgeous ceremony. He went all out and no expense was spared. I truly loved him then. But as you know people change and he wasted no time.

"After the wedding, his demeanor changed. I went from being a research scientist to being a housewife. He didn’t want me to work."

Diego: Looks good. You’re getting better. We’ll be getting a new addition to the family soon. I figured you should hear it from me.

Diego: I plan to arrange a meeting soon. She’s requested adoption but I can’t have my illegitimate child just floating around out there. You’ll have to make due.

Felicity: Diego we havent even been married a month and you’re telling me you’ve had an affair!? And the child from your affair is going to live here! WHAT?

Eliza: That’s certainly a way to start a marriage. I’d love to examine the prenuptial agreement you signed. Does it have an infidelity clause?

“I remember he matter of factly smoked a cigarette and told me she was a libra like me. I was furious. Told him to go to hell.”

Felicity: It does. But as I’ve said the money isn’t what I’m after. A week later I met the most beautiful little girl I’d ever seen and because I was bewitched by her, I stayed.

“In the meantime I cared for my husband and my new stepdaughter. While he managed his whores. Any confrontation of this fact to him and he’d hit me and threaten to kick me out, never to see Malina again. You can see how good of an incentive there was to endure quietly.”

“ I remember a time I was putting Malina to bed and he was downstairs with Dina Caliente. Needless to say I made a fucking scene.”

“This bitch was having wine out of my wine glasses. with my husband. By our pool.”

“I didn’t handle it well. We were both yelling at each other.”

“The most annoying part was Dina and Diego acting like they hadn’t done anything wrong. And he just stood there while fought.”

“In any event this situation was the one that taught me to keep my mouth shut and endure. Dina left soon after that.”

“He was clear when he grabbed me by the hair that he would have no more of my outbursts."

“Out of fear I apologized. Even still it wouldnt be the last time he got violent with me.”

Felicity: And before you ask, I have filed reports. He has friends in the Willow Creek Police Department. Nothing ever really came of them. He talked himself out of getting arrested the one time there was physical evidence.

Nancy: Domestic Violence drastically increases our chances of winning here. That’s a clear reason for danger.

Felicity: I appreciate your valiant efforts. As long as the main focus is on getting me custody of my daughter Malina.

[jarrydwillis]

Dear #Classof2023,

If you were a college freshman/rookie in 2019, you didn't complete your first year in-person as the world & life as we knew it changed on March 11th 2020 due to #COVID19.  You spent all of the 2020-2021 school year online & portions of 2021-2022 (and likely some of 2022-2023).  

Your first semester (Freshmen in Fall 2019) may have been your only 100% in-person Fall & your last semester (Seniors in Spring 2023) may have been your only 100% in-person Spring.

You overcame a once-in-a-century calamity to cross the stage as a college graduate - congrats on this accomplishment as a truly historic graduating class 👩🏻‍🎓🧑🏻‍🎓👨🏻‍🎓

P.S. I gave my first #Zoom lecture on March 11 2020 for my Statistics/SPSS students at California State University San Marcos

#CSUSM #Cougars #Graduation #TeacherLife

(and in a few weeks: #UCSD #Tritons UC San Diego)

[dhaaruni]

Going to San Diego today to visit my boyfriend's family for the first time. The last time I was in that city, it was Election Week 2020 aka one of the worst weeks of my life so hopefully this trip heals that experience.

[beardedmrbean]

Over 9 tons of cocaine from six separate drug smuggling events were offloaded in San Diego on Wednesday, authorities said.

The cocaine has an estimated street value of more than $239 million. It was recovered off the coasts of Mexico, Central America, and South America by two U.S. Coast Guard ships in November, the USCG said in a press release .

The largest offload, weighing more than 5,500 lbs., was recovered by Coast Guard Cutter Waesche on Nov. 20. It was found on a narco-submarine.

"Our last interdiction of a semi-submersible vessel was noteworthy since it was the first semi-submersible interdicted in the Eastern Pacific in over three years," said Captain Robert Mohr, the commanding officer of the Waesche.

Coast Guard Cutter Waesche is a 418 foot long National Security Cutter, a type of ship used to support maritime homeland security and defense missions. The ship is one of eight of its class operated by the Coast Guard, and has a home port in Alameda, California.

Coast Guard Active, a smaller ship assigned primarily to law enforcement and search and rescue missions, recovered nearly 4,000 lbs. of cocaine from two of the six operations.

More than 40 tons of cocaine were seized in 2023 according to statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, making it the third most seized drug behind Marijuana and Methamphetamines.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Tara McGrath thanked the Coast Guard for its assistance in the fight against drug cartels in the state.

"The significance of keeping this much cocaine from reaching our shores and streets is, no doubt, life-changing," said McGrath. "Without these 9 tons of cocaine on American streets, fewer people will have access to this toxic poison, and hundreds of millions of dollars will not make it into cartel coffers."

According to statistics from the U.S. Sentencing Commission from 2020, the average sentence for powder cocaine trafficking was five and a half years.

15,000 kilos of cocaine, worth $1 billion, were recovered at a Philadelphia shipping port in 2019, one of the biggest drug seizures in U.S. history.

[heaven-s-black-box]

Never Sent- Miego

Return to File

Recovery date: unknown, 2020

Description: A letter Mia Fey wrote to Diego Armando during his coma.

Notes: This letter, was technically never sent or seen by Diego Armando, however it was read to him as one of Mia's final letters to him. After referencing it against the black box, it was determined Ms. Fey removed some of her thoughts, this was the original letter, anything struck was removed from the final copy.

Word count: 386

Back to directory

Dear Diego,

So, it’s been awhile since I last wrote. I’ve been pretty busy with a case and life in general, I finally took one again. A case I mean, god I’m all over the place. It’s been a year so I figured I should get back up soon. And this case… She was involved. I had to take it, I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn’t. It may have been a bit biased, but I knew she had to be connected in some way. And I’m glad I trusted my gut, otherwise a perfectly innocent and completely naive boy would have gone to jail. 

It’s a long story and for legal purposes I can’t disclose details of the case in my letter. But I’m happy to inform you that the bitch got what she deserved. She’s been arrested and her trial is scheduled for next week. Not only is she being tried for this murder, but for your attempted murder what happened to you. Anyway about the kid I was defending, well he’s not really a kid. A few years younger than me, his name is Phoenix Wright. He’s currently finishing up an art degree at Ivy university. You’re probably wondering why I’m mentioning this? Well, he's studying to become a defense attorney. I figure if WHEN you wake up, you might end up working with him. I’m thinking I might offer him a place at my office. That is if he passes the bar.

Right! I forgot to tell you last time that I’m starting my own law firm. Fey & Co. law firm, I figured you could help me run it when you get back? I’m still a little too green to be working on my own. But Grossberg said if he gets too many cases to handle, which lets face it happens every so often, he’d send them my way. So… ya. That’s how I’ve been. I still visit you in the hospital when I get the chance. I wonder… can you smell the flowers I bring in? Or even hear my footsteps or voice?

With love,

Mia Fey

P.S. If you’re wondering why these aren’t handwritten anymore, it’s because this way I can’t stain the page while I write. Also, you can’t tell how bad my hands are shaking.