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ducavalentinos · 3 years

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Hello, What were the opinions of the people who personally knew Cesare ? Thank you !

Hello ;) So, there were a lot of opinions made about Cesare by his contemporaries, but most of the opinions come from people who met him, not knew him intimately. The unfortunate thing here is that Cesare is mostly seen through the lenses of people outside his inner circle: ambassadors, orators, enemies who wrote daily dispatches, reports, letters to their employers and others. Some of this material has weight and it’s helpful, but still they all contain the unavoidable political element and focus towards Cesare as the political figure, not Cesare as a person. There are interesting glimpses of his personality and intimate life here and there, but never enough to make more than a sketch of it, and often much of it is distorted, with incorrect information and/or evaluations which were believed at the time to have been accurate. Cesare through the lenses of people inside his inner circle: people who knew him intimately, people he trusted and loved and vice-versa, are frustratingly limited, there’s almost nothing, which creates a big unbalance about his figure and his life. I believe the opinions of his beloved tutor Giovanni Vera, his most known secretary and adviser Agapito Geraldini di Amelia, or Miguel da Corella, or of his mother, his sister, his wife, would be incredibly valuable in order to have more precise knowledge, and a more rounded assessment about his person, in all of its facets, since we don’t have that, what fills up this gap are the words of one of his first secretaries, the alleged words of his father, Rodrigo, and the words of intellectuals and poets who interacted with him at his father’s court in Rome, some later following him at his own court in the Romagna, beneath the exaggerated flattery common in these writings, these men make some interesting observations, and express a genuine opinion about Cesare, aside from just the political man, which helps to shed a light into his personality, his qualities, and other aspects of his life. With this in mind, I gathered opinions that can be confirmed by Cesare’s own documented actions, and that I find are generally reliable: not entirely dominated by personal/political bias, and absent of the malice and gossip which became more common the more powerful Cesare and his family became. There are mix between the first group (ambassadors, orators, enemies, etc), the second group (people close to him, intellectuals and poets), and maybe there will be one or two which does not belong to either group, so I’ll leave them for last as a type of miscellaneous third group, in chronological order: 1488:

“What thanks can I give you, Cesare Borgia? May this auspicious day be celebrated as a festive day, in which this work comes to light only out of your love, and if our judgment is worth something, it will be most useful for general prosperity. In this book, we teach how to write a poem, exploring and manifesting all the secrets of metric art. Certainly a work that will please you very much. [...]Add to that your great and truly effective love for beautiful letters.You, Cesare, are truly worthy of much commendation, if at such a young age you act with the wisdom of an old man. Forward, then, O hope and ornament of the Borgia family, and accept with a good heart our Syllables, an offering of your devoted friend. So I believe that my name, joined to your eternal name and that of [your house], will have ornament and life."

- Extracts from a dedication written to Cesare by Paolo Pompilio,h in his Syllabica, a literature text-book of verse composition, published in the same year. 1492:

“Cesare Borgia profited so much that, with ardent ingenuity, he discussed the questions posed to him both in Canon law and in Civil law.”

- Paolo Giovio, concerning the Disputation for the laurea at the University of Pisa, where Cesare studied from 1491 to 1492. 1493:

"On the day before yesterday I found Cesare at home in Trastevere. He was on the point of setting out to go hunting, and entirely in secular habit. that is to say, dressed in silk and armed. Riding together, we talked a while, I am among his most intimate acquaintances. He is a man of great talent and of an excellent nature; his manners are those of the son of a great prince; above everything, he is joyous and light-hearted. He is very modest**, much superior to, and of a much finer appearance than his brother the Duke of Gandia, who also is not short of natural gifts."

- Disp. written by Gianandrea Boccaccio to his employer, the Duke of Ferrara, Ercole d'Este. 1497:

"Nature has engendered in you not the seed of virtù, but virtù itself, and in occupying herself to form you, [she] has adorned your body with an excellent form, dignity, and every beauty, and provided the soul with moderation**, decorum, gravity, benevolence, and above all royal liberality**, which nature seemed to have surpassed herself. And this liberality of yours, is shown with writers and artists."

- Extract from a dedication written by one of Cesare's secretaries, Carlo Valgulio, in the first transl. of Cleomedes: De contemplatione orbium excelsorum. 1499:

“By his modesty, his readiness, his prudence, and his other virtues he has known how to earn the affections of every one.”

- Letter written by Giuliano Della Rovere, to pope Alexander VI, concerning Cesare's arrival in France.**

"The Pope's son was very gallant..."

- Baldassare Castiglione, in a letter after seeing the entrance of Cesare and his suite alongside King Louis XII of France in Milan. 1500:

“To-day, about the twenty-second hour (four in the afternoon), after he had dined, he had signor Ramiro fetch me to him; and with great frankness and amiability his Majesty first made his excuses for not granting me an audience the preceding day, owing to his having so much to do in the castle and also on account of the pain caused by his ulcer. Following this, and after I had stated that the sole object of my misson was to wait upon his Majesty to congratulate and thank thim, and to offer your services, he answered me in carefully chosen words, covering each point and very fluently. The gist of it was, that knowing your Excellency’s ability and goodness, he had always loved you and had hoped to enjoy personal relations with you. He had looked forward to this when you were in Milan, but events and circumstances then prevented it. But now that he had come to this country, he --determined to have his wish-- had written the letter announcing his successes, of his own free will and as proof of his love, and feeling certain that you Majesty would be pleased by it. He says he will continue to keep you informed of his doings**, as he desires to establish a firm friendship with your Majesty, and he proffers everything he owns and in his power should you ever have need.[...]When I take both the actual facts and his words into consideration, I see why he wishes to establish some sort of friendly alliance with your Majesty. I believe in his professions, and I can see nothing but good in them.”

Postscript: “The Duke’s daily life is as follows: he goes to bed at eight, nine, or ten o’clock at night (three to five o’clock in the morning). Consequently, the eighteenth hour is his dawn, the nineteenth his sunrise, and the twentieth his time for rising. Immediately on getting up he sits down to the table, and while there and afterwards he attends to his business affairs. He is considered brave, strong, and generous, and it is said he lays great store by straightforward men.[...]He is great of spirit and he seeks eminence and glory.”

- Extracts from a Disp. of Pandolfo Collenuccio to his employer, the Duke of Ferrara, Ercole d’Este, from Pesaro. 1501:

"This lord is very magnificent and splendid, and so spirited in feats of arms that there is nothing so great but that it must seem small to him. In the pursuit of glory and to acquire a State he never rests, and he knows neither danger nor fatigue. He moves so swiftly that he arrives at a place before it is known that he has set out for it. He knows how to make himself beloved of his soldiers, and he has in his service the best men of Italy. These things render him victorious and formidable, and to these is yet to be added his perpetual good fortune."

- Disp. written by Niccolò Machiavelli to the Signory of Florence. 1502:

"He [Cesare] argues with such sound reason that to dispute with him would be a long affair, for his wit and eloquence never fail him (dello ingegno e della lingua si vale quanto vuole...)

-Disp. written by Francesco Soderini, from Urbino, to the Signory of Florence.

"The duke[Cesare] is good-natured, but he cannot tolerate offenses."

- Rodrigo Borgia, to the Ferrarese ambassador B. Constabili.

Miscellaneous: A certain author named Camillo di Leonardo from Pesaro dedicates to Cesare, in the year of 1502, his famous work Speculum Lapidum, in which he 'commends the duke for his great love of letters, his courteous liberality towards the scholarly, the care he used when collecting the beautiful and numerous [works] of the library of Cesena, and even his sweetness and his gentleness.' Gaspare Torella, one of Cesare's personal physician and advisers also dedicated to him his Dialogus de Dolore, in which he says he is "...pleased that [Cesare's] virtù surpassed those of the great ones of Rome, such as the justice of Brutus, the constancy of Decius, the continence of Scipio, the loyalty of Marco Regolo, and the magnanimity of Paolo Emilio.” The French commanders used to say of Cesare: “At war he was a good companion and a brave man." The Spanish historian Zurita, atypically pays a compliment to Cesare when assessing the situation in Italy and of pope Julius' panic when hearing about Cesare's escape from the Spanish prison in 1506, he writes: "The duke was such that his very presence was enough to set all Italy agog; and he was greatly beloved, not only by men of war, but also by many people of Tuscany and of the States of the Church." Lastly, during the winter of 1500-1501, a scholar and poet named Francesco Uberti, native of Cesena, adressed to Cesare a volume of epigrams, all which show the Romagnese opinion about him. According to Uberti, Cesare's Romagnese subjects learned his temper was 'mitissima' (gentle), 'placidissima' (calm) and his 'crueltà' (cruelty) was the severity necessary to repress political disorders. There is also other epigrams where Tiberti praises Cesare's clemency, "pious and kind Cesare..." ** The terms modesty and moderation, according to Gregorovius, can be also taken to 'understand as part and manifestation of a liberal education,...’ and the term liberality means generous, which Cesare was particularly reputed as being, to such a degree his genorosity was called at the time after his own name as “liberalità cesarea”. ** I decided to add Della Rovere’s words about Cesare, because as writer and historian Anthony Everitt said in one of his books: “Praise from one’s worst enemy is the most annoying, but also the most credible, of compliments.” and because even if Della Rovere’s words are insincere, likely, these words can nevertheless be confirmed by the opinions of others about Cesare, esp. in the historical records about his soujour at France. **Cesare had sent long letters to Ercole d'Este while he was at the conquest of Imola and Forlì, telling him the details of the military campaign.

#ask answered #anon ask #cesare borgia #césar borgia #house borgia #writing this really made me painfully aware again of how much we don't know and will never know about cesare #i'm gonna go cry now excuse me

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lover-of-skellies · 4 years

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Light In The Dark

A suggestion from @yuckysaladd for a nyctophobic!reader x UnderFell Sans

((Quick A/N: Sorry if this seems to kinda skip around or not make much sense ^^" I didn't want it to be ungodly long (since I'm doing this on mobile and can't really add in a "read more" link)))

Edit: I figured out the read more link!

The day had felt rather long, and in your opinion, felt nearly the same as every other day. You had woke up, ate some food and got dressed, and then you proceeded to sprawl out on your bed, enjoying the silence while it lasted. It didn't matter what day it was; it could be a Tuesday, a Thursday, or even a Sunday, but you always seemed to have some sort of uncanny ability to predict when your day was about to become much more hectic.

And at the time, that's exactly the feeling you were beginning to have. Today would be interesting, without a doubt.

When Papyrus invited himself into your home without so much as a warning, you'd let out a deep sigh, and let him spout off whatever nonsense he wanted to in silence. Deciding to simply tune him out, it came as a surprise to you when the spouting came to an abrupt halt and you were scooped up off the ground, whisked away from the humble abode you called your home.

As it turned out, today was recalibration day. Though it pained you to admit, your beloved boyfriend couldn't really... be counted on to recalibrate his. That was where you came in though. While Papyrus busied himself with checking over his own puzzles, you accompanied Sans, hoping to give him some encouragement to work just a tad bit faster.

After what felt like an eternity, all the recalibration was finally finished. Papyrus was satisfied enough with your work, much to your surprise, that you were dismissed. This is what led you to your present situation. You were currently at the skeleton brothers' house, curled up on the old, lumpy sofa in the living room. Sans was beside you, an arm wrapped around you and holding you close to himself while his free hand held the tv remote and he idly flipped through the available channels in search of something to watch. You both knew that wasn't likely, but he didn't put the remote down and you chose not to say anything.

Laying your head on his shoulder, your lips curled into a soft smile as you felt his bony hand leave your side and make its way to your head, where he began to gently run his fingers through your hair. As you let your eyes drift shut, you heard him chuckle softly, his gruff voice holding an all too familiar teasing tone, "Well someone seems to like bein' pet." You hummed, lips still curled into a slight smile as you shrugged, opening your eyes to look up at him, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. That's for me to know and you to find out."

Playfully raising a brow bone, he offered you his signature sharp toothed grin, "And what do I gotta do ta' find out, hot stuff?" You felt heat rush to your cheeks, followed by the sound of Sans laughing again. His laughter only caused your blush to darken further, and you puffed your cheeks out and pouted, "Saaaaans, you ass! You know I get embarrassed when you start in with the pet names." The skeleton tilted his head, his grin turning smug as he lightly pinched your cheek, "Mmn, nope. I have no clue what yer talkin' about, sweetheart."

Your playful dispute lasted about... maybe ten to fifteen minutes, before he sighed, lightly pressing his teeth to your forehead. It was meant to be a kiss, but the way he froze and briefly tensed up had you raising an eyebrow in confusion. You didn't even get the chance to ask what was wrong before he cut in, pulling his face away from yours and replacing his teeth with his hand, "Holy shit... You're burnin' up. Are you feelin' ok, sweetheart?" You nodded softly, an eyebrow still arched, "Uhh.... yeah, I guess so. Why? Something wrong?" He made a soft sound of confirmation, "Yes, there is. You got a fever, Y/N."

You tried to convince him that you were fine, but the irritated, unimpressed stare you received in response was enough to tell you that he wasn't buying it. Not in the slightest. Much to your chagrin, you were corralled upstairs to his room and lightly pushed back onto the bed. You turned around to argue that you were perfectly fine with returning home to do your recuperating there, but he was gone already. You rolled your eyes and flopped down onto the bed on your back, staring up at the ceiling.

This was Sans. He probably wasn't going to listen to you, no matter what you said or did. You loved him with every fiber of your being, but his unyielding stubbornness had the tendency to become rather aggravating at times.

It wasn't much longer before he returned, a bowl in hand as he sat beside you. Although you'd just managed to get comfortable, you sighed and sat up, quirking an eyebrow at the bowl and it's contents before lifting your gaze to his face, offering him a tiny smile, speaking with a playful tone, "Ok, that's it. Who are you and what have you done with my favorite bonehead?" It was his turn to roll his eyes, grumbling something under his breath.

He nearly shoved the bowl of soup into your hands, falling silent after a moment. It took a little gentle prodding and more puns than you'd ever cranked out in one sitting before, but eventually, he returned to his normal seemingly careless, stubborn, and punny self. You ate as much of the soup as you could before he took the bowl from you and vanished with it, presumably to put it in the fridge. As soon as he returned, you were immediately being told to lay down and go to sleep, and you reached out to snag his sleeve, stopping him before he could make a beeline for the light switch.

Your heart skipped a beat and your pulse seemed to spike as a realization dawned on you: you weren't at home. There'd be no light, only darkness while you slept. Memories and images flickered in your mind and you did your best to force them back, offering Sans a weak smile, "I um... I'm not really tired yet. You wanna play cards or a videogame or something? I'll even let you pick, if you want." The skeleton stared at you for a moment, his expression unreadable, "Listen to me, sweet pea. You have a fever. You're sick, and you should be resting. Even if you're not tired, you need to at least try to get some sleep."

Your weak smile instantly faded and you stared up at him, your gaze almost pleading, "Could we maybe keep the light on or something then, please? I... wouldn't want you to trip or get hurt or anything, if you had to walk through the dark." He watched you for a moment, waving you off dismissively as he gently slipped free from your grasp and headed for the light switch.

Everything had happened so fast; your pulse picked up, your eyes went wide, and your breathing began to quicken. As you reached out and began to blindly search for him with your hands, you called out to him, your voice shaking, "S-Sans?..." You could hear him release a faint sigh, and as a set of two familiar scarlet eye lights focused their attention on you, you continued to reach for him, "Sans please, please stay with me, I don't... I can't-"

The skeleton approached the bedside, sitting beside you and wrapping an arm around your waist, the soft glow from his eye lights just barely bright enough for you to see the concern on his face as spoke, "Hey, hey. Sweetheart, what's wrong?... You're actin' so scared all of a sudden, did I miss somethin'?" Pressing as close to him as you could, you clung to him and slowly shook your head, "I... I just-"

He made a soft sound, almost in consideration, before you were gently lifted into his lap. Hands still balled into fists as you wrapped your arms around him and clung to his shirt again, you fell silent. The skeleton frowned as he watched you, his gruff voice softer than you had been expecting, "If ya don't wanna talk about it, that's ok too. I'd like it if ya would though so I can figure out how to help you." Taking a deep breath, your hesitation lasted no longer than a mere moment before you responded, your voice a soft mumble, "I... have nyctophobia..."

Arching a brow bone, he tilted his head as he continued to watch you, "...Is that like... a fear of the dark or somethin'?" A lump began to form in your throat and you felt your bottom lip tremble as you slowly nodded, not quite sure you were able to force out any words at the moment. You were expecting him to crack a joke or make some sort of belittling comment about your fear of the dark; Sans was a little rough around the edges at times, but he'd always been so sweet to you, despite that. You had no reason to assume that he'd laugh at you, but the fear was there, and it rapidly became too much for you.

As a single tear rolled down your cheek, he gently cupped your face, his thumb brushing away the small bead as he very carefully tipped your head up, prompting you to look at him. When you did, you saw not a single ounce of amusement or entertainment on his face. He was completely serious, his hand still on your face as he murmured, "Hey no, no cryin', sweet pea... please don't cry." Though he meant well, your bottom lip trembled again, and suddenly, more tears were staining your cheeks.

Through your tears, you stayed cuddled up to him, unable to speak louder than a whisper, "I'm sorry... I just thought you were gonna call me a baby because of it, or say I was just being stupid or something." Brow bones knit into a look of confusion, he murmured again, "And why the hell would I do somethin' like that?..." You laid your head on his shoulder and weakly shrugged, gently resting your hand atop his, "I dunno... It's just how everyone else has always reacted to it before..."

Sans scoffed, a single brow bone raising a small bit, "Yeah, about that. Y'wanna know somethin', sweetheart?" You made a sound in the back of your throat, letting him know you were listening before he continued, offering you a slight smile, "I am not 'everyone else', am I?... I'm me, and I care about ya, even if sometimes... I'm not the best at lettin ya know that."

Upon hearing his words, you felt your lips curl into a tiny grin, "I know... You're you, Sans, and even if you're kind of an ass sometimes, I love you." The skeleton's cheekbones dusted a faint shade of red and his smile almost became sheepish. Hoping you wouldn't notice his vague embarrassment, he leaned closer, softly pressing his teeth to your lips and kissing you. It was rather short and sweet compared to the way he normally seemed to like kissing you, but... you liked it anyway.

As he broke away from the kiss, he cradled you close to himself and rested his head atop yours, his voice a whisper, "I love ya too, sweetheart..."

There was a moment of silence before you raised an eyebrow, still smiling to yourself as you played asked, "Does that mean you'll stay here with me then?" Sans chuckled, flopping down onto his back and pulling you down along with him, and you let out a surprised squeak. Moving one hand to your hip, he began to card the other through your hair, releasing a deep sigh, "A' course... do I look like 'm in any position to go anywhere?" Grinning, you leaned into his touch, now feeling much more at ease, "Thanks, Sans... you're the best." The skeleton couldn't help but smile again, his voice a whisper, "I try, sweetheart... 'm happy you think so."

You closed your eyes and it wasn't long before you began to feel yourself on the verge of slipping into a peaceful slumber. As you passed into the realm of the unconscious, Sans silently watched over you, unable to help smiling as he admired the peaceful expression you wore.

Delicately touching your face again, he whispered, "I love you, Y/N... and I'll be your light in the dark."

#underfell #underfell sans #fell sans #red sans #underfell au #undertale #undertale au #underfell sans x reader #x reader #fell sans x reader #uf!sans x reader #writing #bruh #i tried #^^"#i hope it's alright!

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hernandezvedel95-blog · 6 years

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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How Many Republicans Are On The Supreme Court

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-many-republicans-are-on-the-supreme-court/

How Many Republicans Are On The Supreme Court

Dispute Over The Constitution

GOP senators confronted by past comments on Supreme Court nomination

The legal divide over voting and elections begins with a basic dispute over how to read the Constitution and American history.

As written in 1787, it gave voters a very limited role. Members of the House were to be chosen by the people, but state legislatures would choose their U.S. senators, appoint the electors who chose the President and set rules for elections.

But the Constitution has been repeatedly amended to broaden and bolster voting rights, including protections against discrimination based on gender and race.

The Warren court saw this evolution as putting the voters in charge of Americas democracy, but todays conservative justices espouse originalism and focus on the words of the 18th century Constitution.

Its a very different court now, USC law professor Franita Tolson said, much more deferential to the states, but also, she added, they are privileging the status quo of 1787 when the electorate was mostly white men and ignoring the more egalitarian Reconstruction Amendments.

The major ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act highlights the difference. Congress passed that law under the 15th Amendment, enacted after the Civil War to protect Black Americans from having their votes denied or their voting power diluted.

In striking down a key part of the law, Roberts wrote that the framers of the Constitution intended the states to keep for themselves the power to regulate elections.

Bonica And Woodruff Campaign Finance Scores

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, “State Supreme Court Ideology and ‘New Style’ Judicial Campaigns.” A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Pennsylvania was given a campaign finance score , which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Pennsylvania received a score of -0.02. Based on the justices selected, Pennsylvania was the 24th most liberal court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, orin the absence of electionsthe ideology of the appointing body . This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.

Prior Public Service Of Incumbents

Brett Busby and Jane Bland are former Court of Appeals justices from Houston, whose re-election bids failed in November 2018 when Democrats won all of the judicial races in that election. Blacklock previously served Governor Greg Abbott as general counsel. Huddle was a justice on the First Court of Appeals in Houston.

Blacklock replaced Don Willett, who now sits on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appellate court that hears appeals from federal district courts in Texas. Busby succeeds Phil Johnson, who retired in 2018, and was sworn in onÂ March 20, 2019. Jane Bland was appointed in September 2019 to fill the vacancy left by Jeff Brown, who resigned from the SCOTX to accept appointment to a U.S. district court bench. Rebeca Huddle was appointed in October 2020 to replace Paul Green, who retired from the Court on August 31, 2020. Eva Guzman, the second-most senior member of the Court, resigned on June 11, 2021, and is preparing to challenge incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton in the GOP primary for that office.

Go For It Democrats Pack The Court

Youve got a plan to pack the Supreme Court with four new justices. And nothing says unity like Democratic dominance.

Soon you can add the whole of the federal government to your grip on the culture academia, journalism, entertainment, sports, philanthropy and now even corporate America.

As an earlier president once said, Elections have consequences.

With your 50-50-plus-one split in the Senate and your hulking six-person advantage in the 435-member House, you have all the mandate you need to control the court. To control all of us.

Make all of your policy fantasies come true your Green New Deal, defund the police, reparations for slavery, the $15 minimum wage, critical race theory, soaring corporate taxes. They can all be a river to your people.

Please dont read this as sour grapes. This is encouragement. After the Capitol riot, many of us conservatives thought the Republican Party would spend the next decade in the wilderness.

But you wont let that happen. Your hard push to the left is awakening conservatives across the country.

Dissenting Opinion Byron White

Bryon White was born in 1917 in Fort Collins, Colorado, and was educated at Yale Law School and the University of Oxford. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he met the future President John F. Kennedy. He worked as a law clerk and in private practice and later ran campaigns for John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy appointed him Deputy Attorney General and nominated him as Associate Justice to the Supreme Court in 1962. White was a notable conservative, and he dissented in the Roe v. Wade decision on what he viewed as disregard for potential life.

Some Republicans Feel Protected By 6

WASHINGTON Republican voters fearing a potential Joe Biden presidency are taking some solace in the belief that a newly conservative Supreme Court with Justice Amy Coney Barrett will restrain Democratic ambitions.

Some of President Donald Trumps supporters believe the new 6-3 majority of Republican appointees will be a bulwark against a Biden administrations attempts to move the country in a more progressive direction.

We have no fears because theres a conservative Supreme Court now, said Cynthia Manville of Buckeye, Arizona, who attended a Trump rally in Phoenix last Wednesday. We feel if Democrats cast legislation thats radical liberal, it wouldnt stand the test of time.

God has a certain way of watching over this country, said Manville, who attended with her husband, Steve, both of them wearing red Make America Great Again hats.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito

President George W. Bush nominated Samuel Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who had decided to step down from the bench earlier in the year. He was confirmed by a vote of 58-42 in January of 2006. Aliton has proven to be the better of the Justices appointed by President Bush. Chief Justice John Roberts ended up being the deciding vote in favor of keeping Obamacare, to the befuddlement of many conservatives. Alito dissented in major opinions on Obamacare, as well as a ruling in 2015 that effectively legalized gay marriage in all 50 states. Alito was born in 1950 and could serve ont he court for decades to come.Justice Alito was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2006 by Republican President George W. Bush.

Was Roe Vs Wade Decided By A Republican Court

The landmark abortion case of Roe v. Wade was decided by what theoretically should have been a “conservative” Supreme Court. The decision recognized a womans right to make individual medical decisions, including abortion in line with the constitutional right to privacy. The Court ruled that the state had no interests in a womans pregnancy in the first trimester and the woman thus had a right to terminate the pregnancy. The decision remains the most controversial of the Supreme Courts rulings in the US.

Is The Us Supreme Court Republican Or Democrat

Romney Supports Vote On Supreme Court Nominee As Senate Republicans Push Forward | NBC Nightly News

The Supreme Court of the United States is composed of nine justices who have been given lifelong appointments by sitting presidents upon approval of the Senate. As the highest component of the judicial branch of the government of the United States, SCOTUS is responsible for reviewing the constitutionality of all U.S. laws. Sometimes they uphold the laws, sometimes they do not. SCOTUS was established by the U.S. Constitution and is one of the checks and balances to the other two branches of the government legislative and executive .

The justices who sit on the Supreme Court have been nominated by a president and confirmed by the Senate. SCOTUS is particularly important because when one side or another push through legislation or executive order, the courts and the justices evaluate and determine the constitutionality and legitimacy of the said items. They also decide legal disputes among states and discrepancies in lower court rulings. This is why an impartial reviewing of the law would be critical.

The Supreme Court should be non-partisan: judges who are appointed to it are not supposed to bring their allegiances as Republicans or Democrats to the bench. However, as the appointments are made by presidents, judges are often perceived as having ideological leanings, whether to the Republican side or the Democratic side.

Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist

From his appointment by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 until his death in 2005, Supreme Court Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist served as Chief Justice of the United States and became a conservative icon. Rehnquist’s term on the High Court began in 1972, when he was appointed by Richard M. Nixon. He wasted no time in distinguishing himself as a conservative, offering one of only two dissenting opinions in the controversial 1973 abortion-rights case, Roe v. Wade. Rehnquist was a strong supporter of state’s rights, as outlined in the Constitution, and took the concept of judicial restraint seriously, consistently siding with conservatives on the issues of religious expression, free speech and the expansion of federal powers.

Liberal Push To Expand Supreme Court Is All But Dead Among Hill Dems

Senate Republicans are still seizing on the issue in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms.

04/26/2021 04:30 AM EDT

Link Copied

Supreme Court expansion was one of the lefts most galvanizing ideas during the 2020 Democratic primary. But the idea is going nowhere with sitting Democratic senators.

I dont think the American public is interested in having the Supreme Court expanded, said Sen. Michael Bennet .

Sen. Mark Kelly , who represents a particularly valuable swing state, said the more responsible thing to do is to keep it at nine justices. And Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said she opposes adding seats that politicize the court.

That trio is facing reelection in 2022, making their opinions particularly important to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer . But as Sen. Ed Markey formally pushes for high court expansion, resurfacing the popular progressive cause in response to the GOPs relentless drive to fill court seats during the Trump years, its clear that few of Markeys colleagues agree with him.

While liberal measures on election reform, police bias and congressional ethics remain relatively popular with the 50-member Senate majority, expanding the Supreme Court is close to dead among the chambers Democrats.

This is in the category of things that couldnt muster 50 votes and probably couldnt muster 40 votes, said Sen. Brian Schatz . We have a historic opportunity to make change here and we should focus on those issues where we can get a majority.

How Many Republicans Are In The Supreme Court

Supreme CourtRepublicancourtsRepublicancourtscourts

As of October 6, 2018, of the 9 judges on the Supreme Court, 5 were appointed by a Republican president, and 4 were appointed by a Democratic president. As of February 11, 2020, of the 13 federal appeals courts, Republican appointees have a majority on 7 courts, while Democrat appointees have a majority on 6 courts.

Secondly, how many Supreme Court Justices are conservative? Both graphs indicate that the current Roberts Court remains conservative, with four conservative justices and the median position held by Justice Anthony Kennedy , who has also become more liberal (except Kennedy

who are the 9 Supreme Court Justices and who appointed them?

All justices

Samuel Chase

Who is currently on the Supreme Court?

Current justicesThe Supreme Court consists of a chief justice, currently John Roberts, and eight associate justices.

Nonpartisan Election Of Judges

In a nonpartisan election, some states require candidates to declare their party affiliations, while some states prohibit them from doing so. If primaries are held, they do not narrow the candidates to one per party; instead, they typically narrow the candidates to two for each seat regardless of party.

In 2020, there were 31 nonpartisan state supreme court elections. Of these elections, there were:

31 nonpartisan seats.

Associate Justice Elena Kagan

Justice Elena Kagan joined the Supreme Court in 2010 after being nominated by former President Barack Obama.

Elena Kagan, 58, has served on the Supreme Court since 2010. She was nominated by former President Barack Obama.

Kagan has degrees from Princeton University, Oxford University and Harvard Law School. She previously was a law professor at the University of Chicago Law School and Harvard Law School. A Democrat, she also served in the Clinton administration, clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and served as the Dean of Harvard Law School.

Facts About The Supreme Court

For the second time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin its term on Monday with only eight of nine justices, following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in mid-September. The high court last carried out its duties with eight justices after the death of Antonin Scalia in 2016.

As it did four years ago, the death of a sitting justice has thrust the court into the center of a bruising political campaign for the White House. Republican President Donald Trump has nominated federal appellate judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by Ginsburg, even as Trumps opponent, Democrat Joe Biden, calls for confirmation proceedings to be postponed until after voters have cast their ballots for president. Republicans control the U.S. Senate and have vowed to move forward with Barretts confirmation over the objections of Biden and other Democrats.

As the high court gets back to work and hears arguments in a new set of cases including one that seeks to invalidate the 2010 Affordable Care Act here are five facts about the Supreme Court, based on surveys and other recent analyses by Pew Research Center:

In the summer, before Ginsburgs death, seven-in-ten U.S. adults said they had a favorable view of the Supreme Court. That included three-quarters of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic leaners, according to an online survey using the Centers American Trends Panel.

In 2013 Reid And Democrats Lowered Vote Threshold On Most Nominees But Not For Supreme Court Picks

In 2013, Democrats held a majority in the Senate while President Barack Obama occupied the White House.

For four decades, a 60-vote supermajority had been required to advance all federal judicial nominees and executive-office appointments, per The Washington Post.

Then, Senate Republicans attempted to filibuster multiple Obama nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, his pick for Defense secretary, and his choices to lead the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In response, Reid orchestrated a move to lower the Senate vote threshold to 51 to confirm most presidential appointments but not nominees to the Supreme Court.

Those nominees, and legislation, could still be filibustered.

The Democrat-controlled Senate voted 52-48 in favor of the change, which was dubbed the “nuclear option.”

At the time, McConnell condemned the move.

Its a sad day in the history of the Senate, he told reporters, calling it a power grab” by Democrats.

Agreement Among The Justices

Will Republicans Have The Votes To Fill Ruth Bader Ginsburgs SCOTUS Seat? | Sunday TODAY

While the highest levels of agreement were among justices in the same ideological blocs, some pairs, particularly among the more conservative justices, agreed much less often than they did last term.

91%

Alito-Roberts

On the whole, Justice Breyers voting record in the last term tilted left. He voted with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the courts most liberal member, 91 percent of the time in divided cases in which all of the justices participated, up 18 percentage points from the previous term. Only one other pair of justices agreed that often: Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh, also at 91 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, Justices Alito and Sotomayor agreed just 22 percent of the time. And there were signs of division on the right side of the court. Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, Mr. Trumps first two appointees, agreed 65 percent of the time, down 20 percentage points from the previous term.

The court decided just 54argued cases with signed opinions, the second-smallest number since the 1860s. The smallest was in the last term, at 53.

The Court Is Deciding Fewer Cases

The number of decisions in argued cases has fallen fairly steadily since the 1980s.

150

2010

2020

The courts docket in the term that starts in October may not be larger, but it will contain at least two potentially far-reaching cases: a challenge to the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade and the most important Second Amendment case in more than a decade.

Marin K. Levy, a law professor at Duke, said the decision issued on Thursday upholding voting restrictions in Arizona fundamentally changed how this term will be remembered.

It puts an exclamation point on what had otherwise been a fairly quiet term, she said. It also sets the tone for next year, when the court will hear cases on hot-button topics including gun regulation and abortion.

How Republicans Have Packed The Courts For Years

Jackie CalmesTimesDissent: The Radicalization of the Republican Party and Its Capture of the Court

While Republicans lately have been attacking Democrats for plotting to pack the federal courts with like-minded judges, their party has been doing it for years.

Through bare-knuckle tactics in the Senate, an animated base of voters and an institutionalized and well-funded pipeline for judges, Republicans have stocked the federal bench at all levels with conservatives who share the rights support for whacking at the wall between church and state and at the powers of federal regulatory agencies, banning abortion and expanding gun rights.

Republicans ruthless success in the judicial wars is most evident on the highest court in the land. As the Supreme Court with its new 6-3 conservative majority ends its term this month, the question for court-watchers isnt whether it will rule in a conservative way. Its how far-reaching will those rulings be.

The courts bent was perhaps most evident in its decision last month to review a Mississippi law generally barring abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, after two lower courts ruled the statute plainly violated Supreme Court precedents that the Constitution protects a womans right to have an abortion until a fetus is viable. The case will be decided in the courts next term that starts in October.

List Of Elections In 2020

The map and table below detail which states held elections for supreme court seats in 2020. The darker shade of green a state appears in the map, the more seats were on the ballot. States shown in gray in the map did not hold supreme court elections in 2020.

2020 State Supreme Court Elections State November 3, 2020

Incumbent Win Rates By Year

Incumbents tend to do better in elections for any office than newcomers facing incumbents. This is no less true in state supreme court elections. Across all types of state supreme court elections, incumbent justices running for re-election won 93% of the time from 2008-2020. No more than six incumbent justices have lost in a single year during this time frame. 2008 was the year with the lowest incumbent win rate at 89%.

Incumbent win rates in state supreme court elections Election year

How Conservative Is The New Supreme Court Majority Really

The 360 shows you diverse perspectives on the days top stories and debates.

Whats happening

The Supreme Court began its summer recess last week, bringing an end to a term that served as the first test of its new 6-3 conservative majority, with all three of former President Donald Trump’s appointees on the bench.

During Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the final weeks before the 2020 presidential election, Democrats warned and some Republicans hoped that a court dominated by conservatives would be primed to radically rewrite the nations laws on a host of major issues through a series of partisan decisions. That prediction, for the most part, didnt come to pass.

Over the course of this past term, the court considered a number of controversial cases, but only a few ended in 6-3 rulings along ideological lines. All nine justices sided with a religious foster care agency that had sued the city of Philadelphia after having its contract canceled because it refused to place children with same-sex couples. In a 7-2 vote, the court rebuffed the latest Republican attempt to kill the Affordable Care Act. The justices were also unanimous in knocking down restrictions on education-related spending for college athletes. Trumps efforts to challenge the results of the election were rejected by the court, with the only disagreement being among conservative justices.

Why theres debate

Whats next

List Of Nominations To The Supreme Court Of The United States

This article is part of the series on the

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest ranking judicial body in the United States. Established by Article III of the Constitution, the Court was organized by the 1st United States Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789, which specified its original and appellate jurisdiction, created 13 judicial districts, and fixed the size of the Supreme Court at six, with one chief justice and five associate justices. During the 19th century, Congress changed the size of the Court on seven occasions, concluding with the Judiciary Act of 1869 which stipulates that the Court consists of the chief justice and eight associate justices.

George Washington holds the record for most Supreme Court nominations, with 14 nominations . Making the second-most nominations were Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Tyler, with nine each . Three presidentsâWilliam Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and Jimmy Carterâdid not make any nominations, as there were no vacancies while they were in office, and there have not been any vacancies during the current administration of Joe Biden.

Retention Election Of Judges

In a retention election, an incumbent judge does not face an opponent. A question is placed on the ballot asking whether each judge shall be retained for another term, and voters choose “yes” or “no.” Judges must receive majority “yes” votes in order to remain in their seats.

In 2020, there were 29 retention state supreme court elections. Of these elections, there were:

28 nonpartisan seats

one Democratic-controlled seat

Roe V Wade Was Decided By A Republican

Trump, Republican on rapid pace to fill Supreme Court justice seat | GMA

One of the major issues in this presidential election concerns the nomination and subsequent appointment of at least one Supreme Court justice and possibly two or more justices.

It seems that among evangelical Christians, two issues in particular are driving support for Donald Trump: the nomination/appointment of Supreme Court justices, and the fact that he is Republican.

Moreover, at the center of the Supreme Court discussion is the 1973 Court decision on Roe vs. Wade.

During the final debate between Clinton and Trump, held at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on October 19, 2016, and moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News, Wallace opened the debate with discussion of the Supreme Court. Below are the excerpted responses from Clinton and Trump on the issue of nominating Supreme Court justices, especially as such concerns Roe vs. Wade.

Clinton:But I feel that at this point in our countrys history, it is important that we not reverse Roe v.Wade.

Thats how I see the court, and the kind of people that I would be looking to nominate to the court would be in the great tradition of standing up to the powerful, standing up on behalf of our rights as Americans.

Trump:I feel that the justices that I am going to appoint and Ive named 20 of them the justices that Im going to appoint will be pro-life. They will have a conservative bent.

But let us consider the assumption that justices nominated by Republican presidents will lead to overturning Roe vs. Wade.

0 notes

statetalks · 3 years

Text

How Many Republicans Are On The Supreme Court

Dispute Over The Constitution

GOP senators confronted by past comments on Supreme Court nomination

The legal divide over voting and elections begins with a basic dispute over how to read the Constitution and American history.

But the Constitution has been repeatedly amended to broaden and bolster voting rights, including protections against discrimination based on gender and race.

In striking down a key part of the law, Roberts wrote that the framers of the Constitution intended the states to keep for themselves the power to regulate elections.

Bonica And Woodruff Campaign Finance Scores

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

Prior Public Service Of Incumbents

Go For It Democrats Pack The Court

Youve got a plan to pack the Supreme Court with four new justices. And nothing says unity like Democratic dominance.

Soon you can add the whole of the federal government to your grip on the culture academia, journalism, entertainment, sports, philanthropy and now even corporate America.

As an earlier president once said, Elections have consequences.

With your 50-50-plus-one split in the Senate and your hulking six-person advantage in the 435-member House, you have all the mandate you need to control the court. To control all of us.

Please dont read this as sour grapes. This is encouragement. After the Capitol riot, many of us conservatives thought the Republican Party would spend the next decade in the wilderness.

But you wont let that happen. Your hard push to the left is awakening conservatives across the country.

Dissenting Opinion Byron White

Some Republicans Feel Protected By 6

God has a certain way of watching over this country, said Manville, who attended with her husband, Steve, both of them wearing red Make America Great Again hats.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito

Was Roe Vs Wade Decided By A Republican Court

Is The Us Supreme Court Republican Or Democrat

Romney Supports Vote On Supreme Court Nominee As Senate Republicans Push Forward | NBC Nightly News

Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist

Liberal Push To Expand Supreme Court Is All But Dead Among Hill Dems

Senate Republicans are still seizing on the issue in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms.

04/26/2021 04:30 AM EDT

Link Copied

Supreme Court expansion was one of the lefts most galvanizing ideas during the 2020 Democratic primary. But the idea is going nowhere with sitting Democratic senators.

I dont think the American public is interested in having the Supreme Court expanded, said Sen. Michael Bennet .

How Many Republicans Are In The Supreme Court

Supreme CourtRepublicancourtsRepublicancourtscourts

who are the 9 Supreme Court Justices and who appointed them?

All justices

Samuel Chase

Who is currently on the Supreme Court?

Current justicesThe Supreme Court consists of a chief justice, currently John Roberts, and eight associate justices.

Nonpartisan Election Of Judges

In 2020, there were 31 nonpartisan state supreme court elections. Of these elections, there were:

31 nonpartisan seats.

Associate Justice Elena Kagan

Justice Elena Kagan joined the Supreme Court in 2010 after being nominated by former President Barack Obama.

Elena Kagan, 58, has served on the Supreme Court since 2010. She was nominated by former President Barack Obama.

Facts About The Supreme Court

In 2013 Reid And Democrats Lowered Vote Threshold On Most Nominees But Not For Supreme Court Picks

In 2013, Democrats held a majority in the Senate while President Barack Obama occupied the White House.

For four decades, a 60-vote supermajority had been required to advance all federal judicial nominees and executive-office appointments, per The Washington Post.

In response, Reid orchestrated a move to lower the Senate vote threshold to 51 to confirm most presidential appointments but not nominees to the Supreme Court.

Those nominees, and legislation, could still be filibustered.

The Democrat-controlled Senate voted 52-48 in favor of the change, which was dubbed the “nuclear option.”

At the time, McConnell condemned the move.

Its a sad day in the history of the Senate, he told reporters, calling it a power grab” by Democrats.

Agreement Among The Justices

Will Republicans Have The Votes To Fill Ruth Bader Ginsburgs SCOTUS Seat? | Sunday TODAY

While the highest levels of agreement were among justices in the same ideological blocs, some pairs, particularly among the more conservative justices, agreed much less often than they did last term.

91%

Alito-Roberts

The court decided just 54argued cases with signed opinions, the second-smallest number since the 1860s. The smallest was in the last term, at 53.

The Court Is Deciding Fewer Cases

The number of decisions in argued cases has fallen fairly steadily since the 1980s.

150

2010

2020

Marin K. Levy, a law professor at Duke, said the decision issued on Thursday upholding voting restrictions in Arizona fundamentally changed how this term will be remembered.

How Republicans Have Packed The Courts For Years

Jackie CalmesTimesDissent: The Radicalization of the Republican Party and Its Capture of the Court

While Republicans lately have been attacking Democrats for plotting to pack the federal courts with like-minded judges, their party has been doing it for years.

List Of Elections In 2020

2020 State Supreme Court Elections State November 3, 2020

Incumbent Win Rates By Year

Incumbent win rates in state supreme court elections Election year

How Conservative Is The New Supreme Court Majority Really

The 360 shows you diverse perspectives on the days top stories and debates.

Whats happening

Why theres debate

Whats next

List Of Nominations To The Supreme Court Of The United States

This article is part of the series on the

Retention Election Of Judges

In 2020, there were 29 retention state supreme court elections. Of these elections, there were:

28 nonpartisan seats

one Democratic-controlled seat

Roe V Wade Was Decided By A Republican

Trump, Republican on rapid pace to fill Supreme Court justice seat | GMA

One of the major issues in this presidential election concerns the nomination and subsequent appointment of at least one Supreme Court justice and possibly two or more justices.

It seems that among evangelical Christians, two issues in particular are driving support for Donald Trump: the nomination/appointment of Supreme Court justices, and the fact that he is Republican.

Moreover, at the center of the Supreme Court discussion is the 1973 Court decision on Roe vs. Wade.

Clinton:But I feel that at this point in our countrys history, it is important that we not reverse Roe v.Wade.

Trump:I feel that the justices that I am going to appoint and Ive named 20 of them the justices that Im going to appoint will be pro-life. They will have a conservative bent.

But let us consider the assumption that justices nominated by Republican presidents will lead to overturning Roe vs. Wade.

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-many-republicans-are-on-the-supreme-court/

0 notes

seokjxnnie · 7 years

Text

Promise | Taehyung

genre: angst, badboy!au words: 7.9k summary: Getaway driver Kim Taehyung promised her it was just one more job before he’s off the hook. Only then did they learn the hard way that it was never just ‘one more job’ in this kind of crime life. a/n: so i watched the movie baby driver and ofc i had to write a bad boy au based on it ha ha ha

Stricken with an uneasiness, Taehyung’s limbs were restless as he sat. His leg rapidly bobbed up and down and his fingers silently drummed the table in front of him, the same table that hundreds of thousands of dollars sat upon. His eyes, seemingly impassive yet covertly holding all the discontentment that simmered within his knotted stomach, watched as the three men standing at the desk’s edge across from him divide the large sum of money. Their expressions projected greed and excitement, but Taehyung was too deeply submerged in disgust and guilt to reciprocate. The piercing boom of a gunshot still rung in his ear, accompanied by distant splitting screams of fear and panic, and his nausea heightened. It didn’t matter how many years he’s done this for – every time unfailingly feels just as vile, detestable, and disgraceful as the first.

Each of the opposing men keenly ogled their own mountain of bills, leaving a single thick wad of 100s in the middle. “Good driving today, kid,” Jaebum smirked at the quiet and glaring subordinate. “Don’t look so bummed! One more job and we’re even, remember?”

Taehyung swallowed a boulder at its mentioning. “One more job,” he repeated, nearly a question if it weren’t for his deadpan delivery.

The alpha nodded, grinning lively enough it could’ve been malicious. “One more job and your debt is paid off,” he tossed the remaining small fraction of their earnings towards him, “and you still get your share for today, of course.”

His chair nearly fell back with how quick he was to get up as soon as he received what was his – he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Jackson and Jinyoung snorted at the younger’s impatience as he stormed off. Jaebum laughed, “I’ll call you soon, sweetie,” he teasingly called out before Taehyung slammed the door behind him.

__________

She was still wearing her work apron, standing in front of the TV that she dazedly watched, a mist of grief glazing her orbs. The screen projected a news channel, broadcasting the coverage of a heist that occurred a few hours earlier. The nail of her index finger stayed wedged between her teeth, suggesting that she was nervously chewing on it before she lost herself in a trance of distress. She hadn’t even spared him a glance when he walked through their apartment door.

“The reporters are saying that a woman was shot,” she finally spoke, her inexpressive tone would’ve been impossible to read if he wasn’t already experienced with her emotions and opinions regarding this controversy.

“And survived,” Taehyung finished her sentence, apparently to defend what’s left of his innocence. Her eyes shut and a heavy sigh left her throat, disappointed with how he thought his argument made anything better. He gulped, realizing the irrelevance and unnecessity of his add-on. “You know I had nothing to do with that. I keep my eyes straight and stay in the car,” he assured softly, although he’s been hefty with self-blame since the weapon fired. “This isn’t what I want. I hate all of this, but I don’t have a choice.”

With the remote in her other hand, she turned off the screen to mute the upsetting story she’s nearly memorized by the amount of times she’s been exposed to it in the past few hours. She threw the device onto the couch behind her and burrowed her face into palms. “All the customers at work were watching it happen on the TV like a movie, as if they were enjoying entertainment with their meal. I was the only one who understood just how real everything was,” the indifference in her voice, muffled by her hands, broke to reveal a quaking anxiety, “because my boyfriend’s involved with it all. My boyfriend’s the one who’s behind the wheel of a vehicle that’s ripping through the streets with a swarm of cops on his tail. And I have to keep this to myself, all this fear and all this worry.”

Her sniffles and quivering words suggested a sob, which was confirmed when her hands fell to reveal tear-stained cheeks, and his chest felt like it was mercilessly torn open. He didn’t open his mouth because it didn’t matter how many times he has said and will continue to say sorry – it won’t change anything. He’s burdened her enough and a few useless words wasn’t going to relieve her in any way if he was still situated in this kind of life.

Her tired and wet gaze finally lifted to his remorseful face, only to observe the cuts that extended across his left cheek and the faint stream of dried blood that painted it. Her frown dragged down even further as she took weary strides towards him. Her fingers delicately cupped the left side of his jaw and her thumb gingerly swiped under his lacerations. The gnawing in his stomach intensified when he felt her trembling against his skin. “You’re hurt,” she whimpered.

Taehyung knew better than to fib and say that it was nothing while face-to-face with the anguish that plagued her eyes. “The cops shot at us while we were getting away and shattered my side window,” he confessed, cautious of worsening her apprehension. His hand overlapped hers, “I’m fine, I’m not hurt.”

He could see her shudder at the thought of gunfire. More dews collected in the corners of her eyes. “You make me worry,” she spoke in frail wisps, barely audible to the wind.

She would’ve branched off to retrieve the suture kit that she was more than acquainted with by now if he hadn’t stopped her in her tracks. Both of his wide palms held her face, tightening just enough to physically imitate the promise in his intent gaze. His thumbs swept at the tears that trickled down her flushed cheeks. “I would never let anything happen to you.”

Her shoulders deflated along with the heavy exhale that fell from her lips. “It’s not me I’m worried about, it’s you. How can I know for sure that it’s not just a matter of time until you’re caught, or even worse, killed? What am I supposed to do when you don’t walk through those doors and instead, I see your face on the news above the headlines of ‘infamous heist crew killed in high speed chase’?” her ascending volume threatened of another sob.

His head shook avidly, “That won’t happen because I just need to do one more job and I’m off the hook.”

Trying to keep her grasp on reason and reality, she didn’t allow herself to cave in to the pledge and assurance in his speech that was too good to be true. “It’s never just ‘one more job’ with these kinds of people, Tae.”

“No, Jaebum told me today, one more job and we’re even. I won’t have to work for him anymore,” his tone was adopting a hopeful and eager quality to match the gradual lift in his expressions. He pulled away, drawing a dense wad of crisp bills from his jacket pocket and making his way to the corner of the room. “Just stay patient. A few more weeks and I’m free – we’re free.”

He stopped in front of a hanging framed photo of the two of them sitting atop luscious green grass, a bright and vivid sky casting over their smiling faces that were oblivious to fear and worry. It was captured on an earlier anniversary, before she found out about this secret life of his, before anxiety strangled her every time he went out for a job and took a little longer than anticipated to come home. He lifted the picture, setting it aside for him to face a hole in the wall where a heap of identical cash bundles made a home of, and where the new one in his hand would now reside.

Before she had grown accustomed to his routine, she had to bite her tongue every time to prevent herself from disapproving how he used such a precious memory of hers to cover up something illegal. She must’ve been filled to the brim with these pent-up emotions because one day, she erupted and spilled out all her hurting and anxiety that manifested into anger and frustration. She wrangled with him for bringing home and ultimately relating her to his dirty money, and threatened of a self-deterioration from all the strain his criminal life unloaded onto her. She only realized the magnitude of her selfish dispute – in which she hadn’t empathized with his own hatred for his gang relations and how he might’ve interpreted her argument as someone who felt the utmost concern for her – when he decided to take action and faced its regretful consequences.

Taehyung proved just how much it hurt him to acknowledge the anguish he caused her when he came home bruised, bloodied, and beaten as a result of trying to leave the crew. He had gathered all his shares of money and presented it to his boss with a plead to be relieved from the remainder of his debt. He learned that Jaebum was a formal man when it came to debt and how precisely it is to be paid off. Additionally, he doesn’t like to say ‘no’ more than once, because when Taehyung persisted, he was met with the corresponding punishment.

When he came back barely conscious, he hardly batted an eye towards his own condition because he was too swept up in insisting that she left him so she could live normally and in peace again, since it was demonstrated that he couldn’t offer her that. The fright and dread of that night has made her come to terms with what he does for a living, as well as recognize her value for him and the lengths he’d go for her – she wasn’t going to leave. And so, although it was a gamble, she had to trust that he was going to come home in one piece every night from then on.

“One more job and we can take all of this and get out of here. Go anywhere you like,” his voice fell to a hush, yet still confident and optimistic, as his gaze browsed over his greatly accumulated earnings. He returned the frame to its original place.

As liberating as that sounded, she couldn’t deny the restlessness and disquiet of waiting even for just one more job. “Why can’t we do that now? We can run away from them now and no longer take the risk of things going wrong. We have enough money to move far away from here and start new lives,” she pleaded, scurrying up to him and taking his hands into hers, squeezing as if it’ll further convince him to agree.

As soon as he sighed, she wilted, understanding that he disagreed with jeopardizing the deal he already had. Taehyung brought her fingers up to his lips where he trailed delicate kisses up and down its lengths. “Because my debt isn’t paid off yet and Jaebum won’t let it go – he hasn’t for the past four years. They’ll find us and they won’t give up until they’re holding our severed heads. We can’t run away our entire lives and I can’t risk getting you hurt like that.” He drew her into his chest, his arms enveloping her in a tight and intimate embrace. “I know this is hard for you, and I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into this mess, but just one more job, I promise,” he whispered, his words interrupted by the light pecks he peppered the top of her head with.

“You promise?” the girl sniffled, burrowing her face into his warmth to remind him that despite her vulnerable tone, she wasn’t going to give up on him.

He nodded, “Then it’s just you and me.”

“And Hawaii?”

A soft laugh. “Anywhere and everywhere you want.”

__________

He had a deadly grip on his wheel, venting his impatience on the steer of the vehicle as he drove with the two celebrating idiots in the back and the cocky bastard in the passenger seat. Jackson and Jinyoung screamed and cackled with elation and victory as their heads were buried in their duffle bags bloated with cash. Jaebum hummed with gratification, entranced by the aroma of fresh crisp bills as he held a fan of it to his face.

They were en route to their hideout that was an abandoned building after a successful heist job – Taehyung’s last heist job. Now, he was just eager to drop them off, pick her up, and never see their despicable faces or this sin-ridden city ever again.

Jaebum tossed the usual bundle of money onto his lap, “That’s it, kid, we’re straight.” The smugness in his voice made the driver grimace. However, he tried to relay the visualization of her relief and bliss that they would soon share to keep himself from yielding to his aggravation.

Taehyung pulled up to the entry of their headquarters, putting the car in park but keeping the engine running. He remained silent, glaring straight ahead as Jackson and Jinyoung stumbled out of the car with their hefty luggage. Jaebum found humour in the younger’s spite and chuckled darkly.

“Yo, you coming?” Jackson knocked on the passenger window as his leader didn’t seem to be as keen on exiting the vehicle.

Jaebum rolled his window down and tossed his money bag to the subordinate. “You guys go up first. I’m gonna take the kid out to celebrate.”

Taehyung’s jaw clenched as he detected something wicked in the alpha’s seemingly harmless suggestion. “It’s getting late and nothing’s gonna be open at this time,” his speech rumbled low in the back of his throat to prevent the outbreak of his frustration.

“And we’ve got another job tomorrow to plan for,” Jinyoung added, crouching down to achieve eye level with the passenger.

“We’ll find something,” Jaebum grinned, roughly patting Taehyung’s shoulders. “We won’t take long,” he assured the other two before rolling up his window.

Taehyung had to bite back a growl prompted from being kept from his freedom, being kept from her. Nonetheless, he still found himself – bitterly – driving down dimly-lit roads with a crime boss next to him. She’s waited years, and he hoped she could wait just a few more hours.

“There,” Jaebum gestured to an establishment up ahead with a neon ‘open late’ sign out front.

The younger had been so deeply dwelling in irritation that he wasn’t fully present and aware as to where he was driving. He immediately felt sick to his stomach when he realized they were approaching the diner that she worked at.

“No,” he spat.

“What?”

“I don’t like it there.”

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion. Pull in.”

“No. We’ll find someplace else.”

Jaebum exhaled with exasperation as the restaurant was beginning to make an appearance in the rear-view mirror. His hand disappeared in his jacket and the next thing Taehyung knew was the muzzle of a gun tapping against his head. “Don’t let such a special night go sour, Tae,” he must’ve been teasing with his sing-song tone that contradicted his venomous intentions.

The latter gritted his teeth before making a sharp U-turn. Plagued by a brew of anger and panic, he crudely pulled into a parking stall. Before he shut off the engine, a glance at the car’s digital clock told him that her shift should’ve ended half an hour ago, and he desperately clung onto the hope that she wasn’t kept back by a busy night. He’s kept as much of this criminal life away from her as he could, and although Jaebum and them aren’t aware of her identity, he didn’t want to risk exposing her to him.

Any shred of optimism he naively allowed himself to have was instantly vaporized when he recognized her laughter through the slightly agape entrance before the two of them had even stepped in. Normally, such sounds would soothe over storms of stress and discontent, but tonight his blood ran cold and a terror seized his lungs.

Her gaze pulled away from a co-worker that she shared a joke with to welcome Jaebum with an oblivious smile. He nodded to return the greeting, holding up two fingers before sliding in a nearby booth of the vacant restaurant. Her face immediately fell when her eyes met with Taehyung who followed closely behind. He could see behind her orbs that she was connecting one and one and submitting to the apprehension that was associated with it. Reading her fright introduced guilt and shame to mix that tangled his stomach. However, he had to suppress said expressions and plaster indifference on his face in order to keep his boss in the dark about their relationship. She interpreted the last direct look he gave her as an apology and an assurance that everything was going to be okay before he sat across from the other.

The strange man mouthed and gestured at her for a pot of coffee, which took her a few moments to register amidst her nervous perplexity. Taehyung gulped, a heaviness rendering him paralyzed as he observed the dismay that dominated her in her flustered and graceless movements.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” A voice brought him back to the company he had in front of him. “To finally finish a debt you’ve been working four years to pay off?” Jaebum’s favourite smirk made the latter suck his teeth. The leader was accustomed to, even constantly anticipating, the inferior’s silence, so he continued without awaiting a response. “Tomorrow’s job is gonna be a big one, so eat well tonight, kid.”

Taehyung’s brows knitted together. “What does tomorrow’s job have to do with me?”

Jaebum blinked at him before snorting, leaning forward to playfully tap his cheek with his palm. “You’re our driver, silly.”

His fingers curled into fists under the table. “What are you talking about? Tonight was my last job.”

“Last job? What made you think that?”

“You said one more job and I’m done,” he tried not to hiss.

The elder laughed at the other’s naivety. “No, I said one more job and we’re even. Your debt is paid off, now it’s time for you to start making big bucks for yourself, Tae. I’d be stupid to let go of the best driver we’ve had, take it as a compliment.”

Taehyung’s lids fell closed while he immersed himself in an extended inhale to tame the fury simmering within him, kindled by the frustration that he had allowed himself to stupidly believe it was that simple to disassociate with this life, with Jaebum and them. He opened his eyes, gritting his teeth against the aggravation triggered by the sadistic smile across from him. “And what if I say no? That I’m done, I’m out?” his tensed words pried out through tight lips.

“Then I’d say it’s cute you think you could back out that easily, especially after what happened two years ago when you first tried. But, if you insist, then it’s obvious you haven’t learned your lesson.” Seeing their waitress approaching, he inched forward on top of propped up elbows, and his voice fell to a hush. “So I guess I’d have to do that typical thing where I threaten to find your loved ones and hurt them, or something along those lines,” he winked.

Taehyung was beginning to see red. He would’ve been completely submerged in rage if he wasn’t already much more occupied with the worry of his boss finding out just who his loved ones were, which would prove to be easier than difficult since she was just a few feet away while he was situated in her workplace. This kingpin had very much demonstrated his abilities in the past, and to doubt that he would follow through would be idiotic. Taehyung was very familiar with this fact, which is why he hid her identity and their residence from the alpha for all this time.

She appeared by their table with a pot of coffee. “How are you tonight?” Jaebum leaned back in his seat and charmingly beamed after she was shown to be ignorant to the intense and criminal conversation they just had.

“Good. Busy,” she struggled to find a volume above a cautious murmur. Reminding herself of the horrid and despicable things that he was capable of, she prohibited herself to sympathize with the friendliness he was projecting.

The leader watched as she poured coffee into his cup with slightly trembling hands. “Tired?”

She cleared her throat, yet the boulder remained. “Yeah, you just missed the rush. You guys are my last customers for the night.” Her co-worker must’ve not caught onto her glances of discomfort that begged not to be left alone out front with a crime boss because she was disappearing into the back kitchen, leaving her to be the only staff on the floor. Her heart hammered so violently, a rapid pulse seemingly surfaced to every inch of her skin. “Coffee?” she reluctantly turned to her boyfriend, holding the pot above his mug.

Taehyung avoided her gaze, staring straight down. He couldn’t look her in the eyes with the blame he carried for dragging her further into his mess and putting her in a dangerous and nerve-wracking position.

“Aren’t you gonna answer the nice lady?” Jaebum’s foot nudged the younger under the table.

Subtly, he pulled air into his lungs, hoping that courage came with it as he picked up his head. He tried to stifle the hurt and distress before it emerged in his appearance upon witnessing her irises that were casted over by fear and her lips that quivered with every attempt to swallow the dryness that took over her mouth. “No thank you,” he kept a low tone in his reply so that his agony remained inaudible.

Jaebum’s eyes narrowed as he picked up something odd in the atmosphere between the two. After years of experience, Taehyung was no longer the naïve little kid and had become increasingly difficult to read. Her on the other hand appeared to lack such skill because he detected uneasy and disorderly characteristics as she stared at the other for too long.

“So, can I take your order—”

“Do you know each other?”

The superior’s blunt interruption caught her off-guard and her façade broke – her eyes broadened with alarm and the pot of coffee slipped from her clammy fingers, rattling as it landed atop the dinner table.

Taehyung knew it was useless to continue playing strangers.

“I come here for food sometimes,” he answered, trying to maintain his collectedness.

“I thought you said you don’t like it here.”

Taehyung should’ve known it was useless to continue lying.

Jaebum sucked his teeth as the amicable front completely disintegrated. “How much does she know?” he growled.

His respirations adopted a shakiness. “Nothing! She knows nothing about you or the others.”

“But she does now, right?” Jaebum snarled. He glanced around the empty diner and at the staff occupied in the kitchen, out of sight, before he drew out a gun and pressed it against her thigh. “Shh, stay quiet,” he cooed with a threat to shoot when she whimpered and Taehyung reacted by readying to leap out of his seat.

Tears prickled her eyes red as she gnawed on her lips to stifle the terrified snivels while feeling the weapon hostilely dig deeper into her skin. Despite her paralysis, a violent quivering claimed her entire body. The anticipation of a possible blaring shot followed by an excruciating wound barraged her with a cold sweat nausea. The faint taste of blood that splayed across her tongue from biting down on herself too hard didn’t help.

With the risk of her getting hurt, Taehyung was forced to settle back in his seat. Although physically restraining himself, it was becoming harder and harder to detain the internalized horror that corresponded with putting her in danger. The disorienting barrage of panicked emotions began to channel into wrath directed at the person who dared to terrorize her. A fire burned in his lungs as he spoke, “She’s not gonna say anything to anybody. She hasn’t opened her mouth for all these years and she won’t start now,” he barked his insistence.

The trio noticed the opening of the kitchen door, followed by the appearance of another waitress. Even if she wasn’t being threatened with a gun, the crippling scare robbed her of a voice to call for help.

Not wanting to make a scene that would lead to the unwanted appearance of cops, Jaebum withdrew his weapon. However, the intimidation in his penetrative glare that victimized her didn’t falter. “Your boyfriend better be right, or you won’t have one anymore,” he hissed, rising from his seat.

Her breath hitched in her throat when he towered over her, his face inches from hers. Her dread begged to be distanced from him, yet at the same time it rendered her immobile. She shuddered from immense discomfort when his finger gently grazed the side of her jaw.

“You know, I was in love once. She died.”

Taehyung was quick to get on his feet and wrench Jaebum’s hand away from her. In return, the superior fisted his collar and threw him back.

“Get in the car, we’ve got a job to plan for,” he growled and turned on his heels.

Without an opportunity for words, Taehyung could only project his emotions through one last look at her. Through misty eyes, she watched how his facials shifted from an erratic fury to an unbearable pain as soon as their stares locked. His irises spoke of more apologies than he could ever verbalize. However, past the thick blanket of regret and shame was the shimmer of a promise that he was going to fix everything, that everything was going to be okay if she could hold on just a bit more. Then, he was shoved out the door.

“You make it way too easy for me, Tae,” Jaebum snickered. “Here I was, thinking that I’d have to get my hands dirty and investigate you to find family and friends that I can threaten. And then you go and hand a girlfriend to me on a silver platter,” he howled and hooted, a hop in his step as he made his way up dusty flights of stairs and swung open rusty, creaky doors.

The entire car ride to the abandoned building, the entire trip to make it up to the fifth floor due to the distrust of a rickety 50-year-old elevator, Taehyung was lost in thought. In his mind ran several trains atop numerous winding tracks that overlapped, each one trying to assess how he was going to handle the situation, some ultimately resulting in a collision and explosion. He wasn’t reeled back to reality until the mentioning of hurting her, since his thoughts have been at war with each other regarding how he could keep her safe.

“Don’t you fucking dare hurt her,” he spat. With all the repressed anger that swelled over the course of the night coupling with the opportunity of privacy, passion conquered reason. As soon as the pair arrived in their usual meeting room on the fifth floor, Taehyung lunged forward and seized fistfuls of Jaebum’s shirt. “I’ll keep working for you, I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t fucking touch her.”

The head howled with laughter, amused, and maybe even impressed that the younger could finally demonstrate violence. “I wanna take your word for it, Tae, but you’ve given me reason to doubt. Besides, you know me, I like to have a little fun.”

Taehyung eyes heatedly and frantically darted across the other’s face, searching for explanations behind his vague yet unsettling statement. It wasn’t until he acknowledged the stillness of the rest of the room that a disturbing thought occurred to him. “Where are the others?” his voice nearly reached a yell if he wasn’t hindered by his trembling and panting. His gape scurried around the deserted room that lacked two chortling idiots, although the three duffle bags of money remained on the middle table. He then gathered a recollection of the leader thumbing his phone amidst his trance in the car ride.

Jaebum smirked and pushed away the hands that began to lack before straightening his collar. “They’re just making sure she gets home safe is all.”

An anguishing shock coursed his veins and a relentless pounding made his head throb.

“Don’t worry, they’re not gonna hurt her. Just gonna scare her a little, make sure she keeps her mouth shut. Maybe scare you a little too, give you a glimpse of what it’ll be like if you cross me again.”

His last tuneful words of ‘see you later’ only managed to echo in his Taehyung’s ear as he was already racing out of the room at a dizzying speed. His mind suddenly couldn’t spare a thought to the he nausea that weighed him down as he propelled down the flights of stairs. Instead, he made the terrible mistake of going through all the worse case scenarios that involved any pain or distress inflicted upon her, amplifying the blistering in the back of his throat.

The late hour of the night offered empty streets and his years of experience as a getaway driver offered skills and ease even when surpassing three-fold the legal speed limit. However, the overwhelming concoction of fear, alarm, and guilt he’s been infused in joint with the time pressure made him reckless. While ripping through the vacant roads, he encountered several near collisions with light posts and the occasional drunken pedestrian out for late-night drinks. He couldn’t bear with the thought of her victimized to the consequences of his actions and decisions, and the longer he took to get to her, the more time she may be subjected to this suffering.

Taehyung found himself in the hallway of their apartment hardly with any memory of even getting up to his floor. His uncontrollable anxiety, his wild pace, and his preoccupation with jumping to spine-chilling conclusions made the last few moments a complete blur. He felt a blow to his stomach when he saw that his door was agape and the wooden frame where the lock is was split – his door was kicked open.

The boy threw himself into his apartment, screaming her name, only to be greeted by soundlessness. The lights were on, which meant that she was here. His gape hysterically darted around the room searching for her presence. For the most part, his home was still intact, and he desperately clung onto the hope that the lack of signs of struggle meant that they couldn’t get to her. He called her name again, taking haste strides forward until he felt his feet drag against what felt like cloth. A glance down and he found that their sweaters pooled around his ankles. Following the trail of clothing, he discovered the door of their coat closet thrown open to reveal jackets ripped from their hangers and splayed across the ground. Another glimpse around the apartment and he observed curtains that hardly hung onto their rods anymore and the kitchen pantry sharing a similar situation with the coat closet – agape with shelves emptying their contents onto the floor. They were hunting for her and targeted all the potential hiding spots.

As his heart hammered its way up his throat and inspired sheets of perspirations throughout his skin, he pled to find her somewhere in the remainder of their apartment, despite the silence and apparent vacancy of the home. He frantically stumbled into the washroom, where he failed to meet anything other than the same experience for his shower curtains. Fleeing into their bedroom, he ran his wide eyes over an open and disassembled wardrobe, the belongings that were dragged out from under the bed where they were being stored, and the door to the balcony ajar. He gulped, making towards the cool outside breeze of the night, this time with hesitance. As it was the only place he has yet to check, he was apprehensive and queasy evaluating the slim chances that he’ll find her there. Stepping out, he figured they must’ve easily given up after a brisk glance around the limited space of the platform since everything was still in place – the two chairs accompanying the small table and the broken washing machine left in the corner as a temporary settlement before they bring it to the dump, which still hasn’t been attended to.

The terror and guilt of the situation would’ve completely consumed him if he hadn’t noticed how the door of the washer was slightly ajar. The faint shimmer of hope that hadn’t been depleted by defeat brought him to lunge over and throw the door open, revealing a quaking girl curled up into a vulnerable ball. She flinched and unraveled due to the startle. The girl stared up in horror, expecting a pair of abductors, only for the expression to fall and a powerful wave of relief to emerge.

“Tae!” she cried, her tone still shuddering from the trauma before she leapt out of the opening of the machine and into his chest. Another strong sob crashed down on her and she wept into his shoulder, this time out of gratitude and solace. Her arms desperately latched on to ensure that what she felt was real and he wasn’t going to leave.

He fell back from her thrust. It took no time for the alleviating respite to catch up to him and a shuddering exhale fled from his throat. “Oh, thank god you’re okay,” he panted, embracing her tight and kissing her forehead like she was the first slip of water in a drought.

“I was so scared,” she whined, muffled by the way she burrowed her face into him.

His hands cupped her face and brought their eyes together. “Did they hurt you?”

Her head feebly shook, “They followed me from work when I left a little after you. I thought it was just a coincidence until I went up and saw their car parked outside the building from our window, and then I heard them from down the hall so I hid. They couldn’t find me so they left not too long ago.”

A thousand phrases of appreciation relayed through his mind, addressed to whichever higher power allowed her to be spared tonight. He would’ve been unsalvageable with how far lost in disappointment and anguish he’d be if something had happened to her. And then, his self-blame reminded him of who’s fault this all happened in the first place.

I would never let anything happen to you.

Taehyung winced, disgraced with how he was so quick to break a promise he wanted to live his entire life by. Closing his eyes, he drew her in so that their foreheads touched. He sighed against her lips that faintly grazed his, even though he felt selfish for allowing himself the gratification of her caresses after the tribulation he put her through. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I let all this happen to you,” he pleaded, regret and apologies playing in his voice. His quivering words suggested the oncoming of tears.

Her heart ached with how claimed he was by his own shame. Her fingers overlapped his before she inched forward and captured his lips. Indulging in the relief and bliss of their reunion, the couple allowed themselves a few more passionate moments to wholly appreciate each other’s comforting presence amidst a frightening night.

Their noses nuzzled against one another as their breaths painted the other’s skin. “You didn’t. This isn’t anyone’s fault other than those bastards that you work for.” She blinked, peering up at him and momentarily taking away his breath when he was once again reminded how thankful he was to be able to still drown in her mesmerizing irises. “What happened, Tae?” she was referring to the earlier upsetting and perplexing encounter they had at the diner.

He swallowed, unsure if he was prepared to sadden her all over again. “He’s not letting me go. My debt’s paid off, but he threatened to hurt you if I don’t keep working for him.”

His limbs felt heavy and his stomach tangled while watching the distress and dread cast over her eyes. She’s worn this look for the most of their relationship, and though it isn’t her intention, it was unfailingly agonizing to him every time. He was unworthy to her unconditional acceptance, and he didn’t deserve to have her in his life, yet she refused to leave. All he wanted to do was keep her safe, and he thought that if he stayed with Jaebum then he would keep her out of his harmful threats. But, that just meant a whole lifetime of strain and worry for her, just like it has been for the past four years. After the ordeal that took place tonight, he couldn’t keep subjecting her to the trauma.

“I’m not gonna let it happen anymore,” he abuptly interrupted the sorrowful atmosphere with a flame of determination in his aura. Before she could give him a look of confusion to read, he pulled her to her feet by his entwined fingers and lead her inside. “Come with me.”

“Tae, what are you doing?” she questioned, after watching him retrieve a suitcase thrown out from under the bed and taking her to their hanging photo frame in the living room. He began unloading his stash of cash in the hole behind it into the luggage.

“I have a plan. We’re gonna run away.”

“Now? But Jaebum’s just gonna follow and try to find us. You said so yourself.”

He shook his head, “No, I’m going to deal with them during tomorrow’s job.”

She paused, waiting for him to continue supplying an explanation, but he instead was nonverbal while zipping close the bag full of money. Her eyes scrunched closed and her hands gripped her hair. “What are you talking about?” she sighed.

Her lids opened when she felt a clasp around her wrists. Suddenly, Taehyung was standing in front of her, capturing her hands in his. His face softened, projecting the same optimism as when they last talked about running away together. “I just need you to trust me, okay? I know I haven’t proved that I’ve earned another it, but I just need you to trust me and wait a little longer. This time, everything’s going to work out, I promise.”

Staring a little longer into his irises, she had hoped to find more details. Instead, she found the sincerity that reminded her of why she stayed for all these years. She nodded before melting into the kiss he responded with. Despite the all misfortune that occurred tonight, she felt so safe and at peace in his hold.

“I’m going to meet with Jaebum and them to do one last job tomorrow. In the meantime, I need you to stay here and pack, but only the important stuff,” Taehyung pulled away to hand her the photo frame of them. His toes tapped the side of the suitcase bloated with cash. “Everything else we can buy anew when we start new lives.” He looked at her, anticipating her to reciprocate the same excitement that brightened his face. However, she still stared back with uneasiness. “I’ll make sure they won’t come and try to find you. I won’t let anything happen to you anymore, I promise.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about, it’s you,” a frail whimper escaped her throat.

This scene felt all too familiar. However, this time he was filled to the brim with the determination that he wasn’t going to repeat his mistakes, that he was going to follow through with his promises this time. The spirit of his resolve sprung him at her and once again, he encased her in his embrace. “I’m not going to let anything between us anymore. I’m not going to let you live this criminal life with me a moment longer. We’re running away, we’re getting out of here together when I come back tomorrow, I swear,” he spoke in gentle wisps that contrastingly didn’t lack in perseverance and commitment. “Trust me, wait for me, okay?”

She nodded silently since the tears prickling her eyes might’ve hindered her voice. She saw him off without objection, occupied by her faith in him instead. She allowed him to leave without a big goodbye seeing it unnecessary since she believed that he was going to come back and take her away the next day just like he assured.

The girl laid on the couch with the bag of money at her feet, accompanied by a smaller bag holding irreplaceable things she didn’t want to leave behind. And then she waited. Time passes slower when a person is plagued with concern. Although she trusted him, it was harder to trust the crew he worked with and whether they would let him walk scot-free, injury-free. Thus, her nervousness didn’t allow her any blink of sleep either. For hours, she wrestled with disturbing assumptions of him getting hurt, as well as the soothing visualizing of them starting new lives together. She watched as the sun peeked from the horizon, coast to the peak of the sky, and fall to the other side outside the frame of vision of her window.

When silence began to scream, she turned on the TV to distract herself and interrupt the piercing stillness. It happened to be flipped to the news channel, and her attention anchored to it when the reporter uttered the familiar words for ‘heist’ and ‘car chase’. With broadened eyes and a racing heart, she listened intently to the coverage.

Pictures of two young males who she recognized as the ones who broke into her home appeared on the screen, followed by a story of the infamous heist crew that they were a part of involved with a job that took place a few hours ago. The crew must’ve encountered a mishap in their plans as the two males were not able to make the getaway car and were left behind. Forced to defend themselves with rapid gunfire, they met their ultimate death when the hoard of cops fired back. The vehicle was thought to be holding the leader of the crew in the passenger seat, the report informed along with the display photo of Jaebum. After an unsuccessful car chase by the police force, both the vehicle and Jaebum were later found in a nearby river. The screen turned to a police chief giving a statement to the public press. He explained how the investigating team believed the driver jumped out of the car before driving it into the body of water. The passenger survived the crash but suffered from head injuries and was immediately transported to the hospital. The doctor overseeing his care stated that he did not walk away with anything life-threatening, however he is suffering from amnesia and has no recollection of his identity or life events prior to his awakening. Thus, he is not able to supply information regarding the driver who managed to get away. Besides believed to also be a young male, police currently have no other leads or suspects.

She was watching in horror before her attention was ripped away from the TV when the front door slammed open and Taehyung stumbled in. As the frame was still partially broke, even applying just a little weight to the entrance would’ve pushed it back, and it seemed like he slumped his entire body on it for it to fling open.

As soon as she saw a glimpse of blood, her veins ran cold. She gasped, scrambling to his side and calling his name, only for him to wilt against her and respond with groggy grumbles. Not wanting attention or suspicion, she hauled his body onto the couch and closed the door. She was hardly able to assess the situation when the trickles of red that painted the side of his face made her shake. It sourced from a laceration at the top corner of his face. She would’ve scrambled to retrieve the suture kit if he hadn’t grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back to his side.

He weakly grinned with hooded eyes, “I did it, we’re free!” his hoarse voice didn’t stop him from a quiet celebration.

“Taehyung, what happened?” she panted in a panic, applying pressure to his wound.

A vague dishonour played on his face as he muttered, “I did what I had to.” His eyes lifted and his hand traveled to her cheek where he laid soft grazes, “I did it for us.”

Her bottom lip trembled as her other palm clutched onto him. “You’re hurt,” she whimpered.

“What? This?” he snorted, “This is nothing. I’m just a little tired. And dizzy.” She sighed at the scare that he gave her, but found relief in the weary yet elated grin he offered. He grabbed both of her hands. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We can go anywhere now! We can go to Hawaii!”

It was becoming more difficult to suppress the desire to imitate his bliss. Although the entire situation was scary, she couldn’t help but find excitement in the fact that they really were free to finally leave the city like they’ve always talked about. Additionally, they no longer had to worry about ties to his crimes or the worry of perpetually running away because he had taken desperate measures to cut them.

“I have to clean and stitch up your wound first!” she cried.

He hauled himself up off the couch and picked up the suitcase, which was suddenly much heavier than he remembered and he was forced to fall back onto the couch. His world spun and he wasn’t sure how she left and came back with the first aid kit so fast. Nonetheless, the moment the saline solution used to clean his wound hit his skin, he recalled a punch of pain before he succumbed to his fatigue and everything went black.

__________

He never noticed let alone appreciated how soothing the sound of a car cruising on the road was, mainly because most of the time he was in a car, it involved swerving and tearing through the streets instead. A low hum of the engine and the swoosh of passing cars gently roused him to a wake. His head ached a little, yet there was a sense of peace in the atmosphere that relieved majority of the pain. His eyes attempted to flutter open against the brightness in front of him that reflected on his face.

“Hey,” she greeted softly and sweetly, like a song. He could hear the grin on her face in just that one word, and his own lips were immediately stretched into a smile.

Taehyung found himself in the passenger seat of their car as she drove down an unfamiliar road, seemingly isolated from the city he was accustomed to. Feeling something weighing on his head, he reached up and felt the bandage wrapping his wound. It finally clicked that they were carrying out what they’ve always wanted to do, what he’s pledged to her.

“Where are we going?”

Her hand pulled away from the wheel and glided on top of his. Her fingers tangled with him before bringing his digits to her beaming lips for her to pepper pecks along its lengths. “Anywhere and everywhere, just like you promised.”

#bts #bts scenarios #bts scenario #kim taehyung #bts angst #bts v #taehyung scenarios #bangtan scenarios #taehyung angst

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sushivoo · 8 years

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It's the Takeshima Day! Douglas McArthur's Telegram 3470, The Rust Documents on Takeshima/Dokdo islands

It's the Takeshima Day! Douglas McArthur's Telegram 3470, The Rust Documents on Takeshima/Dokdo islands Hi! As today is what Japan calls the "Takeshima Day" to celebrate Takeshima (竹島, Korean name: Dokdo)'s official recognition as a Japanese territory, I thought it would be interesting to review some famous old records regarding these islands, some of which being 1) Douglas McArthur's teleglam and 2) the Rusk Documents. I'm going to post this on r/Korea as well, but I fear I may just get called a liar, banned from the sub, or at best downvoted into invisibility, haha. I do hope these matters be resolved at the International Court of Justice sometime soon.1) Douglas McArthur's teleglam (on Wikisource)Date: April 27, 1960Rptd Info: Amembassy SEOUL351For Ass't Sec'y Parsons from MacArthur.Seoul for Ambassador McConaughy. from MacArthur.CHRON350 - ROK/Japan Now that we have the prospect of a new and democratic regime in Korea I strongly recommend that as soon as possible we seize opportunity to try to bring about durable solution to ROK-Japan dispute. As long as Rhee held power there seemed little chance of any solution but now we have entirely new situation which could lead to liquidation of ROK-Japan controversy. Issues in dispute Implications of ROK-Japan dispute are not just bilateral between GOJ and ROK but deeply and directly involve US and our inescapable responsibilities in Northeast Asia. As practical matter if reasonable solution is to be found it will be produced only by our good offices and working closely with both ROK and GOJ. It is of utmost importance that we identify and be prepared to move swiftly for solution those specific ROK-GOJ problems which prevent progress toward basic settlement this festering dispute. We do not know what response Communists may make to new ROK regime and it is vital we try to put ROK-GOJ house in order as soon as possible.While Rhee regime violated most basic tenets of democracy in authoritarian police rule imposed on Korean people, it has also in past done violence to most fundamental principles of international conduct and morality by committing acts of piracy on high seas around Rhee Line and then imprisioning and holding as political hostages Japanese fishermen and by seizing and holding non-Korean territory by force. The uncivilized practice of hostage diplomacy is one of our serious charges against Communist China and if continued by ROK it will be a great liability to a new democratic ROK regime I therefore recommend strongly that as soon as new regime is in control in Korea (whether or not it be of interim character) we use all our influence to persuade it to release and return to Japan all repeat all Japanese fishermen hostages (including those who have not completed their sentences) who have suffered so cruelly from Rhee's uncivilized and oppressive acts and (2) to cease practice of seizing Japanese fishing vessels on high seas. This would not only rid new ROK regime of liability of practicing hostage diplomacy but also more than anything else would lay foundation in Japan for really fruitful negotiations. At same time I would be prepared to press Kishi and GOJ most strongly that in return for repatriation of all fishermen, Japanese would exercise self-restraint in their fishing operations in Korean Straits until reasonable opportunity had been given for negotiation of mutually agreed ROK-Japan fishing conservation agreement.In addition to seizing Japanese boats on high seas and practicing hostage diplomacy, Rhee regime also seized by force and is holding illegally Takeshima Island which has always been considered as Japanese territory. This is very serious and permanent irritant in Japan-ROK relations and there can be no over-all ROK-Japan settlement until this Japanese island is returned to Japan. Therefore we should also press new ROK regime to return Takeshima to Japan. If it is unwilling to do so pending satisfactory conclusion of over-all ROK-Japan negotiations, new regime should at least signify a willingness to withdraw from Takeshima as part of mutually satisfactory settlement of all other outstanding issues between two countries. While we should press strongly for return of Takeshima to Japan, if by any chance new regime were unwilling to do so we should, as very minimum, insist that they agree to submit matter to International Court of Justice for arbitration.Finally, we should inform new regime very clearly that it must be prepared to adjust its relations with Japan on terms of reciprocity, in such matters as diplomatic missions, visits by businessmen and journalists, commercial trade. Japanese have suffered Rhee's occupation-minded approach for eight years and will be unwilling to accept such indefensible treatment from his successor. In its own interests, new regime should start with conformity with normal international standards of conduct, and could most usefully begin (in terms of Japanese and other free world opinion) by permitting Japanese diplomatic mission to enter and function in ROK on same terms ROK Embassy operates here.If we now move swiftly with new ROK regime which should generally be receptive to our views because of our helpfulness, we may have initial opportunity, which may never reoccur, to influence its position on Japan-ROK relations problem. Japanese would certainly welcome warmly and reciprocate fully, measures indicating new ROK regime willing take "new look" at Japan. MACARTHUR2) The Rusk Documents of 1951Excellency:I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your notes of July 19 and August 2, 1951 presenting certain requests for the consideration of the Government of the United States with regard to the draft treaty of peace with Japan.With respect to request of the Korean Government that Article 2(a) of the draft be revised to provide that Japan "confirms that it renounced on August 9, 1945, all right, title and claim to Korea and the islands which were part of Korea prior to its annexation by Japan, including the islands Quelpart, Port Hamilton, Dagelet, Dokdo and Parangdo," the United States Government regrets that it is unable to concur in this proposed amendment. The United States Government does not feel that the Treaty should adopt the theory that Japan's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration on August 9, 1945 constituted a formal or final renunciation of sovereignty by Japan over the areas dealt with in the Declaration. As regards the island of Dokdo, otherwise known as Takeshima or Liancourt Rocks, this normally uninhabited rock formation was according to our information never treated as part of Korea and, since about 1905, has been under the jurisdiction of the Oki Islands Branch Office of Shimane Prefecture of Japan. The island does not appear ever before to have been claimed by Korea. It is understood that the Korean Government's request that "Parangdo" be included among the islands named in the treaty as having been renounced by Japan has been withdrawn.The United States Government agrees that the terms of paragraph (a) of Article 4 of the draft treaty are subject to misunderstanding and accordingly proposes, in order to meet the view of the Korean Government, to insert at the beginning of paragraph (a) the phrase, "Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this Article", and then to add a new paragraph (b) reading as follows: (b) "Japan recognizes the validity of dispositions of property of Japan and Japanese nationals made by or pursuant to directives of United States Military Government in any ofthe areas referred to in Articles 2 and 3". The present paragraph (b) of Article 4 becomes paragraph(c). The Government of the United States regrets that it is unable to accept the Korean Government's amendment to Article 9 of the draft treaty. In view of the many national interests involved, any attempt to include in the treaty provisions governing fishing in high seas areas would indefinitely delay the treaty's conclusion. It is desired to point out, however, that the so-called MacArthur line will stand until the treaty comes into force, and that Korea, which obtains the benefits of Article 9, will have the opportunity of negotiating a fishing agreement with Japan prior to that date. With respect to the Korean Government's desire to obtain the benefits of Article 15(a) of the treaty, there would seem to be no necessity to oblige Japan to return the property of persons in Japan of Korean origin since such property was not sequestered or otherwise interfered with by the Japanese Government during the war. In view of the fact that such persons had the status of Japanese nationals it would not seem appropriate that they obtain compensation for damage to their property as a result of the war.Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.For the Secretary of State:Dean Rusk

#Sushi #Food #Japanese #Japan #Pics #Japanlife #Japantravel #Travel #Sushiart #Art #Foodporn #Music

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cassh24sg · 3 years

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Why Do Underwriters Deny Mortgage Loans? – Forbes Advisor

Editor’s Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made through affiliate links on this page, but this does not affect the opinions or ratings of our editors.

Submitting your first mortgage application or applying for pre-approval for a home loan is just the first step on a sometimes long, winding road to home ownership.

After completing and submitting the application, you are now at the mercy of the credit insurers, who are responsible for investigating all the details of your financial life and home. These underwriters will usually never know you or see you in person, but will base their judgment primarily on the documents you have submitted.

If red flags are revealed when you take out the mortgage, your application could be denied. So learn what underwriters look for and how to avoid rejection.

What does an underwriter do?

A mortgage loan insurer is the person in charge of the final request for approval of your mortgage. They will evaluate all of the documents related to your application and help the lender determine if you are qualified for a loan. This includes getting your credit reports, applying a home appraisal, checking your income, employment and assets, and double checking the source of your down payment.

If any questions or additional information is required, the underwriter will work with you and your lender to do everything possible to make a final decision.

How long does the underwriting take?

Lending is usually the longest part of the mortgage process. Generally, it takes around 30-45 days from the start of underwriting to the completion of the loan. However, a number of factors can affect this schedule, including the complexity of your financial situation, whether additional documentation is required, and how many loan applications are currently on the lender’s plate.

Other key factors associated with selling a home, such as whether the appraisal is too low, repairs are needed before closing the sale, or the seller needs more time before moving to a new home, can also delay mortgage processing.

How often does an underwriter turn down a loan?

If you’ve been denied a mortgage in the past, don’t feel too bad. It happens quite often. In 2019, around 8% of applications for single-family homes built on land were rejected. Keep in mind that this number may be even higher after the pandemic as many lenders have tightened their qualification standards.

Whether you have been turned down in the past or are hoping to avoid this situation when you finally apply, the key is to understand why an underwriter might reject a mortgage loan application and to avoid these issues when you apply.

Reasons for being rejected by an underwriter

Here’s a closer look at the most common reasons a credit insurer will turn down a mortgage application.

Credit problems

One of the most important factors a mortgage insurer evaluates is your credit history and score. Your credit rating determines how high the risk is for potential lenders. Good credit means you’re likely to repay your loan on time, while a few dips mean you end up missing out on payments or even defaulting on payments.

That means your creditworthiness will play a huge role in whether or not you will be approved for a mortgage. While it is possible to qualify for some government-backed mortgage loans with creditworthiness as low as 500, most traditional lenders require a score of at least 620. However, a score of 740 or higher is preferred and will help you get the lowest score possible Interest rate available.

Even if your credit rating is good, certain negative events in your credit history can cause the insurer to pause. For example, if you had a debt collection account or have filed for bankruptcy in the past, the underwriter may not approve the loan.

Also, keep in mind that even if your creditworthiness was good when you applied for your mortgage, any hits to your score that occur during underwriting could result in a rejection. So be sure to keep up with all of your payments and not take sudden steps such as paying. B. Apply for a car loan, a new credit card, or close a credit card until the mortgage is approved.

High debt-to-income ratio

Another important factor that mortgage lenders consider is your debt to income ratio (DTI). This is a measure of how much of your gross monthly income is used to pay off debt, expressed as a percentage.

For example, let’s say you make $ 5,000 a month before taxes are deducted. You have a credit card payment of $ 150, a car loan payment of $ 300, and a student loan payment of $ 550 due each month. That would give you a DTI of 20% (total monthly debt of $ 1,000 divided by gross monthly income of $ 5,000).

Most lenders require your DTI to be below 43% when they include all of your debt plus the mortgage amount with your gross monthly income. If your debts go beyond that, they likely won’t approve you for a mortgage.

Shaky job history

Lenders want to know that you have stable income to cover your mortgage payments. employed.

Some situations that could result in your mortgage application being denied include layoffs or recent job changes, especially if you move to another field. If you have recently changed jobs, it may be helpful to include a letter from your employer confirming your position and salary.

Your sources of income also play a role. If a good chunk of your income comes from commissions, bonuses, or other sources outside of a regular salary, this could signal to the insurer that your income is unstable and they may need a longer proof of income. This can also result in your mortgage application being rejected.

No paper trace

When it comes to your income, assets, and down payments, underwriters expect detailed records of where the money came from. For example, you must have W-2 for the past two to three years and pay slips for at least the past 30 days that demonstrate your employment and confirm your details on your application.

You will also need bank statements showing your bank account and your investment balance. If you have been given some or all of the money for your down payment, you will need a gift letter explaining where the money came from and confirming that it is indeed a gift and not a loan (which is not allowed) .

Low rating

In addition to your personal financial situation, the underwriters will also review the condition and value of the property you are buying. An important number is the home’s estimated market value. Lenders don’t want you to borrow more than a home is worth; If at any point you need to sell the property, it is important to have enough money to pay off the mortgage.

It may be okay if the rating is a little lower than expected. However, if the appraisal is well below what you want to pay for the property, there is a good chance your mortgage application will be denied or you will have to pay the difference out of pocket.

Problems with the property

If you’re looking to buy a fixer-upper, keep in mind that some lenders must meet certain real estate requirements in order to secure funding. Some loans, such as B. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, include a number of specific real estate standards for security and solidity that must be met to qualify. So if the inspection report shows up for the home you are eyeing for, for example with roofing or electrical problems, you could be denied a mortgage.

Next steps after a rejection

If you recently went through the mortgage application and were denied a loan, it is important to find out why. Your lender is required by law to explain the reason for the rejection of your loan application, which is detailed in a disclosure letter. If you don’t understand the rationale in the letter, contact your lender for a more thorough explanation.

Once you understand the reasons for your application being rejected, you can resolve the issue. Some steps you can take to resolve common problems include:

Improve Your Credit Score. If you have been denied a mortgage due to a low credit score or negative scores on your credit report, it is important to clean your credit before applying again. Start by checking your credit history and getting a free copy of every credit report on AnnualCreditReport.com. Check them out for bugs that could affect your score and dispute any bugs you find.

Pay off some debts. Spend the next few months paying all your bills on time (payment history is 35% of your score) and paying off any revolving debts. Once your credit is back in “good”, it should be easier for you to get approved.

Lower your DTI. Reducing your outstanding debt will not only improve your credit score, but also lower your DTI. Ideally, your monthly DTI should be less than 36% and no more than 43% when considering the mortgage balance. So if you have credit cards or loans that are devouring too much of your income, work on getting rid of that debt before you take out a mortgage.

Increase the savings. If you have been denied a mortgage because your down payment was insufficient or you did not have enough assets to secure the loan, it is important to add to your savings. When you have more cash in the bank, you become a less risky borrower in the eyes of the underwriter. You can also qualify for a higher loan and / or a lower interest rate.

Choose another property. If there are problems with the home you’re trying to buy, such as an inflated price tag or costly damage to repair, it may be time to consider moving to another home. It can be hard to let go once you’ve found a property that you really liked, but you will likely be better off financially if you opt for a home that is easier to finance.

source https://www.cassh24sg.com/2021/06/10/why-do-underwriters-deny-mortgage-loans-forbes-advisor/

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spomenkobabic · 6 years

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Canadian Dollar Climbs Higher As Investors Focus on Data

The Canadian dollar posted mild gains against its American counterpart on Monday as the loonie climbed above 76 cents for the first time in a week. While the loonie will try to find direction from the US dollar, investors will also concentrate on several key economic events this week.

The CAD/USD currency pair rose 0.16% from an opening of 0.7599 to 0.7611 at 20:30 GMT. The USD/CAD currency pair tumbled 0.11% from an opening of 1.3158 to 1.3143.

On Friday, the Canadian consumer price index (CPI) and retail sales data reports will be released. Early forecasts suggest that retail sales will be flat in June and the CPI will jump 2.5%. Both policymakers and traders are expected to comb through the figures as the Bank of Canada (BOC) confirmed last week that future increases to interest rates are data-dependent.

Should these reports beat market anticipations, then it could lift the Canadian dollar and increase the chances of the central bank pulling the trigger on a September rate hike.

Analysts are not expecting to find currency support from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In addition to the recent Mexican election results, US trade negotiators do not appear to be in any hurry to agree to a new deal, especially as administration officials engage in trade spats with China. The level of uncertainty surrounding NAFTA talks has BOC Governor Stephen Poloz sounding the alarm, warning that the loonie was “a little bit soft” last month based on “investment sentiment and sentiment around trade.”

Meanwhile, Ottawa and Washington are engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war. Earlier this month, the Canadian government imposed its retaliatory tariffs on $16.6 billion worth of US goods, leaving the White House threatening to retaliate to the retaliation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Cabinet have confirmed that they will respond to any import levy with their own series of taxes.

Since the Canadian dollar has not made gains from higher oil prices, the loonie will attempt to establish a short-term trading pattern based on the greenback.

President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The leaders vowed to improve US-Russia relations and try to find middle ground in a wide array of disputes, from Ukraine to NATO. To celebrate the three-nation 2026 FIFA World Cup, President Putin gave Trump a World Cup soccer ball, telling him that “now the ball is in your court.”

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will deliver his semi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill this week. Observers will wait to see if Powell offers any hints as to how serious the central bank is about raising rates two more times in 2018. So far, Powell and other members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have expressed optimism about the national economy and its outlook, leading many to believe more rate hikes are coming.

Also, the US government published positive economic data on Monday. US business inventories advanced 0.4% in May, while retail sales surged 1.4%, finding the biggest gains in the auto sector (0.8%), service stations (1%), and ecommerce (1.3%).

The US dollar still slipped to kick off the trading week, sliding 0.26% to 94.49.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

© AndrewMoran for Forex News, 2018. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Bank of Canada, CAD/USD, canadian dollar, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, north american free trade agreement (nafta), us dollar, US Retail Sales, USD/CAD, Vladimir Putin

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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How Many Republicans Are On The Supreme Court

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-many-republicans-are-on-the-supreme-court/

How Many Republicans Are On The Supreme Court

Dispute Over The Constitution

GOP senators confronted by past comments on Supreme Court nomination

The legal divide over voting and elections begins with a basic dispute over how to read the Constitution and American history.

But the Constitution has been repeatedly amended to broaden and bolster voting rights, including protections against discrimination based on gender and race.

In striking down a key part of the law, Roberts wrote that the framers of the Constitution intended the states to keep for themselves the power to regulate elections.

Bonica And Woodruff Campaign Finance Scores

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

Prior Public Service Of Incumbents

Go For It Democrats Pack The Court

Youve got a plan to pack the Supreme Court with four new justices. And nothing says unity like Democratic dominance.

Soon you can add the whole of the federal government to your grip on the culture academia, journalism, entertainment, sports, philanthropy and now even corporate America.

As an earlier president once said, Elections have consequences.

With your 50-50-plus-one split in the Senate and your hulking six-person advantage in the 435-member House, you have all the mandate you need to control the court. To control all of us.

Please dont read this as sour grapes. This is encouragement. After the Capitol riot, many of us conservatives thought the Republican Party would spend the next decade in the wilderness.

But you wont let that happen. Your hard push to the left is awakening conservatives across the country.

Dissenting Opinion Byron White

Some Republicans Feel Protected By 6

God has a certain way of watching over this country, said Manville, who attended with her husband, Steve, both of them wearing red Make America Great Again hats.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito

Was Roe Vs Wade Decided By A Republican Court

Is The Us Supreme Court Republican Or Democrat

Romney Supports Vote On Supreme Court Nominee As Senate Republicans Push Forward | NBC Nightly News

Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist

Liberal Push To Expand Supreme Court Is All But Dead Among Hill Dems

Senate Republicans are still seizing on the issue in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms.

04/26/2021 04:30 AM EDT

Link Copied

Supreme Court expansion was one of the lefts most galvanizing ideas during the 2020 Democratic primary. But the idea is going nowhere with sitting Democratic senators.

I dont think the American public is interested in having the Supreme Court expanded, said Sen. Michael Bennet .

How Many Republicans Are In The Supreme Court

Supreme CourtRepublicancourtsRepublicancourtscourts

who are the 9 Supreme Court Justices and who appointed them?

All justices

Samuel Chase

Who is currently on the Supreme Court?

Current justicesThe Supreme Court consists of a chief justice, currently John Roberts, and eight associate justices.

Nonpartisan Election Of Judges

In 2020, there were 31 nonpartisan state supreme court elections. Of these elections, there were:

31 nonpartisan seats.

Associate Justice Elena Kagan

Justice Elena Kagan joined the Supreme Court in 2010 after being nominated by former President Barack Obama.

Elena Kagan, 58, has served on the Supreme Court since 2010. She was nominated by former President Barack Obama.

Facts About The Supreme Court

In 2013 Reid And Democrats Lowered Vote Threshold On Most Nominees But Not For Supreme Court Picks

In 2013, Democrats held a majority in the Senate while President Barack Obama occupied the White House.

For four decades, a 60-vote supermajority had been required to advance all federal judicial nominees and executive-office appointments, per The Washington Post.

In response, Reid orchestrated a move to lower the Senate vote threshold to 51 to confirm most presidential appointments but not nominees to the Supreme Court.

Those nominees, and legislation, could still be filibustered.

The Democrat-controlled Senate voted 52-48 in favor of the change, which was dubbed the “nuclear option.”

At the time, McConnell condemned the move.

Its a sad day in the history of the Senate, he told reporters, calling it a power grab” by Democrats.

Agreement Among The Justices

Will Republicans Have The Votes To Fill Ruth Bader Ginsburgs SCOTUS Seat? | Sunday TODAY

While the highest levels of agreement were among justices in the same ideological blocs, some pairs, particularly among the more conservative justices, agreed much less often than they did last term.

91%

Alito-Roberts

The court decided just 54argued cases with signed opinions, the second-smallest number since the 1860s. The smallest was in the last term, at 53.

The Court Is Deciding Fewer Cases

The number of decisions in argued cases has fallen fairly steadily since the 1980s.

150

2010

2020

Marin K. Levy, a law professor at Duke, said the decision issued on Thursday upholding voting restrictions in Arizona fundamentally changed how this term will be remembered.

How Republicans Have Packed The Courts For Years

Jackie CalmesTimesDissent: The Radicalization of the Republican Party and Its Capture of the Court

While Republicans lately have been attacking Democrats for plotting to pack the federal courts with like-minded judges, their party has been doing it for years.

List Of Elections In 2020

2020 State Supreme Court Elections State November 3, 2020

Incumbent Win Rates By Year

Incumbent win rates in state supreme court elections Election year

How Conservative Is The New Supreme Court Majority Really

The 360 shows you diverse perspectives on the days top stories and debates.

Whats happening

Why theres debate

Whats next

List Of Nominations To The Supreme Court Of The United States

This article is part of the series on the

Retention Election Of Judges

In 2020, there were 29 retention state supreme court elections. Of these elections, there were:

28 nonpartisan seats

one Democratic-controlled seat

Roe V Wade Was Decided By A Republican

Trump, Republican on rapid pace to fill Supreme Court justice seat | GMA

One of the major issues in this presidential election concerns the nomination and subsequent appointment of at least one Supreme Court justice and possibly two or more justices.

It seems that among evangelical Christians, two issues in particular are driving support for Donald Trump: the nomination/appointment of Supreme Court justices, and the fact that he is Republican.

Moreover, at the center of the Supreme Court discussion is the 1973 Court decision on Roe vs. Wade.

Clinton:But I feel that at this point in our countrys history, it is important that we not reverse Roe v.Wade.

Trump:I feel that the justices that I am going to appoint and Ive named 20 of them the justices that Im going to appoint will be pro-life. They will have a conservative bent.

But let us consider the assumption that justices nominated by Republican presidents will lead to overturning Roe vs. Wade.

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