#for legal purposes it is meant as a joke as in reality we love our german friends very much :)

[theshmeepking]

from the same pair of fucking idiot girlfriends (a.k.a. me and @moi-bento2) who brought you a 100% accurate recreation of Boxman Crashes: a 100% accurate and not at all salty recreation of the Sandwich Incident

[pilmmalawmarketing]

The last few years have been crazy, haven’t they? 

And law firm owners – like business owners all across the globe, have become forcibly versed in the “Pandemic Pivot.” Never before has the sink-or-swim mentality been more relevant or necessary for law firm viability. For almost two years, it has been “Pivot, or Perish,” in steroid mode.

A few weeks ago, I attended the PILMMA Super Summit in Washington DC. The Summit was originally slated for the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New Orleans. But between Pandemic numbers soaring in Louisiana and the convergence of Hurricane Ida’s fury in a head-on trajectory for the Big Easy – PILMMA pivoted to DC for its yearly Legal Marketing and Management Super Summit. 

Thus, I found myself in the nation’s capital (walking the same streets as the angry mob that had stormed the capital earlier this year – but THAT’s a story beyond the scope of this blog, definitely.) 

Back to the story…Whenever I’m attending a Legal Conference – especially PILMMA’s Super Summit, I can’t help but feel the excitement and expectation in the air. It’s almost palpable. I’ll be honest here – At least for me, there is a special magic when one is surrounded with your “tribe”- a host of like-minded lawyers. There’s the inside jokes and jargon and the shared challenges that are universal to business owners everywhere but with unique twists respective to law firm owners. At the Summit, we’re a club of our own, with each attendee there for the same purpose; to gain the cutting-edged secrets that will enable them to reach their ideal clients, stand out from the masses of other law firms in their markets, and sign MORE CASES.

It’s the shared pursuit of the proverbial goose and golden eggs and I love it. No lie. As I sat at a round table in the back of the ballroom on the first day of the Summit (secretly wishing for New Orleans beignets and Drago oysters) I wondered just what this year’s DC conference would bring. I couldn’t help but look around the room; We were a resilient and determined group – masked and hand-sanitized and ready to hear the latest strategies that would catapult our firms to greater success. 

I grabbed my legal pad and repositioned my mask. Again. (Secretly wondering if anyone would notice if I just took the darn thing off since I was fully vaccinated anyway) Herd morality prevailed, and my mask stayed on. Once the speaker began, I realized that I was in the right seat at the right time and hearing the right message – one that richly resonated and gave me tremendous food for thought and opportunity for application to the world of law firm marketing and management: 

Mark Schaefer, author of such bestselling books as Marketing Rebellion and Cumulative Advantage, laid bare the reality of the post-pandemic world we are now operating in; To paraphrase, Mark stated emphatically that – It’s the end of the world as we know it. Or, in other words: the new normal is now the here-to-stay normal. So, we’d better get used to it, embrace it, and leverage it, when it comes to how we manage and market our businesses.

Mark started by sharing a profound observation about life and business. That the breaks in the fault line create opportunities if we have eyes to see them. The pandemic has been the globe’s historical fault line. It wrought horrific damage around the world, costing many lives – over 700K in the United States alone. It also brought dramatic changes to our way of life in innumerable ways. It changed how and where we worked and played, how we shopped, how we interacted with friends, family, peers, staff, and neighbors.

For law firm owners, it meant a frantic move to Remote operations. And even now – many businesses, including law firms, continue to employ staff who are working remotely or in a hybrid remote status. And for most of us, the pandemic “fault line” also meant a tremendous increase in time spent online. I certainly spent more time online. I bet you did, too. And so did your ideal clients….

Statistics show that once the first phase of the Covid 19 pandemic set in, people spent far more time than ever online and on all social media platforms. They also spent far more time and money – as digital consumers evaluating and purchasing goods and services. According to Pew Research, technology became a lifeline for many during the covid outbreak, with:

90% saying the internet became essential or important to them personally, and

40% saying they used digital technology or the internet in new or different ways compared to before the pandemic began.

In a recent survey from global marketing tracking company WARC Data, digital consumer consumption rose by more than 30 % in the last year- and Tik Tok overtook FB in terms of user engagement (with a 38% increase in 2020, according to Statists.)

For Gen Z and, to some extent, Millennials- Mobile Gaming is HUGE. These users spend more time there than on social media platforms like FB. 

Importantly, Deloitte Digital’s data shows that more than 70%of these users are open to advertising to reduce the costs of games…

According to Deloitte Media’s recent research- 55 Percent of Gen Z and 66 % of Millennials now say that ads on social media are influential.

And here’s another interesting trend: According to Google, there has been a “surge” of searches related to “Near me”- with a whopping 20,000% increase in “support local business” searches!

According to Schaefer, things will NOT return to normal. In his assessment, the pre-pandemic “normal” is a thing of the past. In fact, he went so far as to say he will NEVER rely on data compiled prior to the pandemic when it comes to evaluating consumer trends and societal norms. I’m not so sure I’d go that far, but I’m sure that the necessity of a robust online presence is more important than ever. The belief that there has been a societal shift to even more time spent online resonates with my own observations of where we’ve arrived, post-pandemic. 

[hyung-line-wife]

Jungkook Scenario : You Find Him Cheating On You (Part 3)

Part 1, HERE. Part 2, HERE.

You glanced one last time at your image in the mirror before leaving your apartment. You were wearing a tight jean skirt that hugged all your curves in the right places, accompanied by a simple white shirt. Your outfit looked simple, however you felt the simple look highlighted your natural beauty.

Something that your needed for today, to give you extra confidence.

You slipped some black velvet strapped heels, which had a pretty flower embroidery. Now you felt completely ready and confident for today.

Quickly, you exited your apartment, closing the autmatic door behind you with an electronic sound. You started making your way to your taxi cab that was waiting for you in the entrance of your apartment. Indeed you were really nervous, and was neing showed in the way that your palms sweated frantically.

You were meeting JXK’s manager, in their company building, to discuss about their proposition to you, to participate in the program of We Got Married with one of their idols, Dawon. You had thought a lot about the possibility of accepting the offer, it really had more advantages than everything. It would skyrocket your popularity, it wasn’t as if you wanted to be famous, but you did wanted to have an accomodated life, and this deal would promote you different promotions of products.

Nonetheless, you were supossedly in a relationship with Jungkook.. until you found him cheating on you, 4 days ago, now you didn’t knew what were both of you. And if you were dating in real life with Jungkook, it would be sort of uncomfortable to virtually ‘married’ to another man, right?.

You sighted, reaching for the foor of your cab. The status of your relationship with Jungkook was really complicated right now, as you didn’t knew if you were still a couple, or exes. Trully, you had suffered massively after you learned his unfaithfullness, as what you feared the most was the betrayal of someone that you had trusted in. Depression had consumed you for almost two days, until you had snapped out of it, realizing that you should give him another opportunity, due to the fact that he had demonstrated that he was truly sorry.

Now, after talking with the manager, you would meet him at your usual spot in your favourite cafe, at nearly midnight, the only hour he would be available, due to his new song promotions.

You accomodated your purse over your lap, as you stared outside the window of the cab, merging your worries with the urban scenery of the streets of Seoul for what he ride lasted, and you had to return to your present worries

The building in front of your looked really imponent and elegant, making you feel intimidated. You just shrugged this thought away and walked through the immense glass doors.

The lobby of LUUN Entretainment was huge sincerilly, in comparison of the Big Hit building, that was modern, but humble in size.

The walls were covered in a shiny marble, that if the design modern design of the building wasn’t enough to make it fancy, this elevated the level of elegance hugely.

You sighted, walking towards the desk of the receptionist, hearing the sound of your heels into the tile floor.

“Good evening?” You politely asked her, catching her attention from the documents behind the oak desk. She was really attractive, and her eyes looked really sincere and warm. “I am looking for the manager of the group JXK-“

“Miss Y/L/N! Good evening, we have been waiting for your visit.” She gushed with a smile. Did all of the staff of this agency knew about the offer the manager proposed you? “Manager nim told me to call him inmediately if I saw you approach the company, he would be glad to see you. Please take a seat while I call him”

You smiled her. She indeed erradiated elegance, fitting perfectly with the concept of the company. Your thoughts quickly drifted away with anxiety, imagining how would the program would consist in.

Of course you had heard about ‘We Got Married’, it was really a popular program in the Korean Television. Artists got ‘Married’ in some sort of way, and started living as a married couple. Once you had the fantasy that you could be called and told to participate marrying Jungkook.

You had told him this in a joking way while you were playing video games, as then if he realized you indeed desired, he would have teased you till the end of your days. You couldn’t help but smile with this sweet memory. However, this smile faded away and was replaced with a pout, when you remembered his answer.

“Baby, that would be impossible you know” He answered you, laughing, as he paused the game to look at you with an amused smile in his eyes. “My company does not let us participate in ‘We Got Married’”

“Why?” You Gad asked him out of curiosity.

“Ah... I sure that Namjoon-hyuna explained it, but I don’t remember.” He scratcher his head while sighting. “Anyways, why do you ask that?. Are you so impatient to marry me?”

This question was accompanied by a tickle attack from him towards your body. Both of you had been having a tickled fight on the floor, while giggling uncontrollably. Finally, when both of you had stopped laughing, him positioned over your body, with both arms on the sides of your head, he had said:

“Don’t worry, in some years.. I think I would love to propose to you.” He looked straight into your eyes, having a look in his eyes that told you he wasn’t joking anymore, and meant every word, making your heart skip a beat.

Who would have thought that it would be the same guy that made your heart almost stop working, be found cheating with a girl he barely knew?-

“..Miss Y/L/N?. Miss?” Your head shooted rapidly to the direction of the receptionist. She had the phone of he company in one hand, while looking at you expectantly. “Manager-nim is waiting for you on the third floor.”

You quickly picked up your things and made your way into the elevator, thanking her. Quickly, you pressed the third floor button when the elevator had arrived to your call.

You still were very anxious. And your face and expressions demonstrated it, as your looked into the mirror. Your right foot kept tapping into the ground rapidly, while your face had some sort of scared look.

Somehow, you were still clueless about the reason of their proposition towards you. You weren’t that famous, or visual like pretty. You were scared that this was a joke, a hidden camera prank of some reality program.

Ding.

The doors of the elevator opened, showing you the smiling face of a man in his mid thirties. He had short black hair, and his square like face was framed with some modern glasses.

“Miss Y/L/N, how are you? It is a pleasure to finally meet you.” He extender his hand towards you. You took it without giving it a second thought. “I am truly pleased for your visit, we have been waiting for your answer. Please accompany me this way to speak more comfortable.”

He leaded through the hallways, taking you into a conference room that was really finely decorated in your opinion. He gestured towards a really comfortable looking conference chair, and you took seat. He positioned in the seat across you, taking some documents from the table.

“I am really glad that you accepted my proposal Miss Y/L/N. The apparition in this new program would really sky rocket our popularity, well I mean, yours and of Dawon.” He mentioned while passing through the papers in the document file.

Dawon.. He was one of the most popular members, if not the most popular member of the enemy band of BTS, JXK. Why had learned a few days ago that you were the ideal type of him, while watching an interview, and right after that, you were called by the grupo manager to participate in the program. You just wondered, did he knew about your participation in the program? Had he requested his company to place you and him on the program on purpose? .

“..Okay.” The manager said, while aligning the documents in a vertical position and giving them a pat into the desk, then, he handed them into your desk area. “These are the documents that the producers of the program have requested for you to sign, and you are not part of a company, they decided that we should be the bridge through, so that LUUN entertainment would hand in the signed documents altogether. “

You noded, while examining the documents, indeed all of the legal process was well explained in here.

“Regarding our Dawon, he doesn’t know about the your participation in the program.” This statement gathered tot attention from the documents. The manager was watching you amused. “U mean, he does know he would be participating in the program, but the person he would be marrying remains unknown.”

Your theories about his obligation to the company for your participation were now destroyed, if he wasn’t the one porting this, then who did it?.

“The idea for you participating in the program came from our team, as we watched how did the nerizens reacted to his mention towards you in the music show the other day, si believe that you are familiar with that interview, right?” Now everything made sense, as he kept explaining. “Did you knew that you became the most searched couple in the search engines of the country that day?.”

Right now, you didn’t knew how to feel about the situation. To feel impressed and unexplainably proud of the attention that you had gathered, even coming to a point that producers wanted you in their reality program, or the fact that the way in which the manager seemed to know everything that you had wondered. Explaining everything as a spider that had an ant on it’s web.

“Going In to the details about the filming dates, unfortunately, the filming would start early in the morning. First in the morning, near five, the crew would start filming the first interviews, talking about your expectations and other themes that they usually talk about in the beginning. Then, the first meeting would take place during the afternoon, as you know, the filming could take hours.” He explained detailedly, looking profoundly at you. “Finally, the ceremony of the ‘Marriage’ would occur the next day, at half day, what occurs next is explained detailledly on the documents I just gave you.”

“And... that means that the production team would pick me up from my apartment tomorrow really early in the morning right?” You asked, cautiously, as you feared that it could possibly affect the meeting that you had arranged after with Jungkook, to speak about all of what had happened, now that both of you had calmed. You had agreed to meet at your favorite spot near midnight, as it was the only time available with his busy schedules.

The filming place couldn’t be that far away right?

“Well, no. I’m afraid that you would be leaving for Busan, as it is the home place of Dawon, so the van would pick you up today, two hours before midnight.” Suddenly, you felt as if your body had freezed entirely, and the anxiety that you had battled, had returned. “Miss Y/L/N, is everything alright..?” He asked leaning to look into your face, procupied.

You had left your mouth hanging open, while staring at him blankly. If you went for the program, you would not be able to meet with Jungkook today! And who knows which would be the next available day that both of you could meet...

“Is there any way that the recording day could be delayed?” You inquired desesperartedly, sitting up straight.

“I’m afraid no. The production team has planed for everything to be on those days, and delaying it could cause thousands of dollars to be lost.” He mentioned slowly. “Everything is well calculated, and even the delay for an hour can cause problems for the contract that the production has made for the program. It really can’t be helped.”

You sighted, slumping into the comfortable chair. If you choose to keep participating on the program, you would solely win things. However, if you chose to cancel your participation, you would only meet Jungkook, your boyfriend who had meet you, but, you would not have any endorsement deals or your own fame. You knew that lost of your followers were Armys, and if they learned that you had broken up with Jungkook, they would unsubscribe, leaving you with few subscribers.

You had to choose this deal. It was really a huge step for your career. Your mom had always told you that your career was far more important than men, and you had promised her that you would keep your word.

You took a deep breath, decidedly. Next, you grabbed a pen, and signed the documents that the Manager had gave you, then you pushed them towards his direction, sitting up.

“Okay, I accept this proposal. Could you please give me a moment to arrange some plans?” You pursed your lips.

“Sure. I would be waiting here, making the final adjustments. You made a good desition Miss.” You heard him say as you exited the room, looking for your phone in your purse.

As you were pressuring your back into one of the walls near the conference from you were just in, you quickly dialed the number of Jungkook, closing your eyes. It would be the first time you talked in the phone since what happened.

“Hello?” A different voice from your boyfriend talked from his phone.

“H-hello.. Who is this?”

“Ah, Y/N-ah! I’m Sejin, BTS Manager!. “ The man on the line answered joyfully, as you now recognized his voice as the kind older brother that BTS had as a manager. “How have you been?”

“Well, well, Sejin-oppa. Is... is Jungkook there?”

“I’m afraid he is busy right now. They are filming an interview.”

“Oh..” You cursed into your thoughts. You were not going to have an opportunity to talk to Jungkook before canceling him.. “Emm.. When is he going to end the interview?”

“I believe in 10 minutes or so.” He answered quickly, as he sensed your distress. “However, he have to head quickly to the next program, that just Jungkook and Suga have been invited, it is going to be filming all through the night, and we have agreed on it for weeks, so we could not move it into another day..”

You felt your body freeze for a second time in this hour. Had he lied to you when he said he would met you? He clearly busy enough during that hour...

Blood rushes to your face, as you felt your stomach churning with anger. You hated being tricked on, even more than being betrayed. It made your feel like a fool, and that people could take an easy advantage over you.

You just hated it.

“Sejin-oppa?” You asked, trying that your voice didn’t sound as if you were mad, but it probably did. He was such a jerk! “Is there any way in which I could talk with Jungkook right now? It is really important.”

“Y/N-ah I already told you it is impossible at the moment...” You letted out a shaky breath.

“Then, I would leave a message.” You decided. You didn’t want to write this trough a text message, as it wouldn’t create the same impact as it would if Sejin told him. “Can you please tell him that you have learned that I would be marrying his best friend?. Thank you Sejin-oppa, take care.”

“..What? Y/N-“ You hanged up.

You blocked your phone, saving it into your purse, as you walked with a new gained courage into the meeting room. You always teased Jungkook that Dawon was his best friend, as the media ussualy compared them, and made them compete against one another. They were each other’s competition, and it that bothered the Bangtan Bunny sometimes.

“Y/L/N are you ready to leave? I have called the producers, and they told me that they can pick you up from this company, unless you would want to bring something from your house?.” The manager asked you politely, already standing up to leave the room. “But I have to mention that, they will provide you anything that you need in there.”

You did had everything you needed, you had a telephone charger, your phone, earbuds, and your vlog camera, which you had grabbed due to an impuse before leaving the house. You were almost ready.

“No, it’s alright. I think that I would prefer that they pick me up from here, Manager-nim. Thank you.”

“Great, okay, so we need you to be kept hidden in one of the silence rooms, as we don’t want you to be discovered by any of the JXF members, they could tell Dawon who his wife is” He told you laughing, as he leaded the way out of the room, and into some corridors.

‘Dawon really had interest on you.’ You guessed.

“Please enter here. I will come to retrieve you when the van arrives.” The Manager told you while closing the door behind you., and left. This room was a lot smaller than the other one, but still took the role for a meeting room, only that for two people. The door that you had just entered in was made out of glass, however it had that plastic over it, that you almost couldn’t see what was behind it, just some shadows.

You sittes in one of the chairs, facing towards the door, preparing yourself to wait. It haven’t passed long when you heard some footsteps approaching. You quickly took your sight from your cellphone, and examined the glass doors.

“...like her face is really pretty, you know?” You heard a male voice say.

“Man, you are really obsessed.” Another male said, laughing.

“And also her personality..” the first voice kept ramping.

“Could you just shut up? I feel like my ears are bleeding from hearing you.” A new male voice said, with an nonchalantly tone.

“Wah, I wish that my supposed wife resembles her personality... she has the best one I have ever meet, plus she is different from the ones we usually meet.”

“Could you just tell him to stop?” The nonchalantly one told the other voice, you supposed.

“If I meet her someday, I would never let her go. I would never make her cry, like the other time I saw her... she was devastated, it almost broke my heart seeing her like that. She doesn’t deserved what had happened to her..” Was he.. Dawon?.. And he was talking about you? Your eyes popped out with surprise, an ’o’ forming in your mouth.

The steps faded away , as your heart began racing impatiently. He was really talking about you, saying all those sweet, and honey-dripping things. I little but cringe in your opinion, but cute. You patted your cheeks trying to make the heat from the blush fade away, it wasn’t everyday that you received compliments like that, a half smile formed in your face.

This had just begun to get interesting.

[gizmosisbuttons]

Episode 4 was a fandom wide callout post.

all you fools too busy being pissed bc Coran went all show crazy and basically re-characterized the paladins to what the masses found entertaining, to notice that the entire episode was literally a fandom wide call out post. they literally called us out guys. 

lets go over the list of things Coran said/did in ep 4 and compare them shall we?

let me preface this by saying he literally wasn't himself and i still love him just as much as before, my gorgeous man.

”I worked up very specific personas for each of you. This is going to help the audience connect on a much deeper level with each team member.” 

as if they didn't already have defining personalities that make them very likable and awesome? sounds familiar right? its one thing to speculate and theorize based on what we know about a character especially if we don’t know a lot about said character. the writers put a lot of time and effort into developing these characters and even said during an interview once that one of the things that bugged them about og Voltron was that the only properly developed character was Keith. the other guys didn't get a chance to be loved. and that was what they aimed to do, to give every paladin and character the chance to be loved. since the beginning the fandom has been bad at this. taking one teeny trait from each character and twisting them so that the only thing that matters is that trait. 

         “lover-boy lance”

throughout the series lance is known  to flirt with...pretty much every cute alien girl. of course. hes handsome, charming, girls love him. Coran wipes away all of the actually relatable things about his personality in favor of this charming flirt who would win over girls. Lance is insecure, he’s witty, he is the freaking sharpshooter, the teams sniper and their glue. he’s voltrons right hand now for a reason. he got into the garrison which is a military space exploration base, not just anyone gets in. hes incredibly intelligent and a great pilot. amazing really. bc simulations are always absolutely terrible and rarely help. oh yea, and hes charming.but god forbid anyone forget that hes a flirt. who cares about the other stuff that will actually help the audience connect with him. 

        “science wiz pidge” 

its no secret that pidge is incredibly intelligent. she is one of the characters who haven't gotten their developing points until this season. in one of the first flashbacks we learned she nearly gave up studying because some kid decided to be a dick and bully her. Matt pulled her out of it and encouraged her to work hard. later on in ep 4 coran says that her science doesn't need to be factually correct because noone will understand her either way. he undermined her intelligence because . well. noone cares what she says as long as it sounds smart. fanfic writers do this a lot. like. a lot. i understand that you may not have the same knowledge that the girl who hacked herself into a military school base undercover at he age of 14-15 (if the theory that the garrison is a high school program is correct) because she had gotten banned for sneaking in and hacking into the computer system, but if you really do insist on focusing her on her smarts, do some research. no to mention. pidge may be the youngest, but she really is more than science and calculations. shes intelligent yes, but she can hold her own in battle (at the age range of 15-17 with no prior battle training), shes afraid of the possible reality that all her efforts are wasted and Matt and Sam are dead, she is actually pretty social with the paladins (she can even be seen hanging out in the kitchen while hunk makes glass cookies.) and beyond her intelligence, shes wise. shes not just random science facts, she knows how to hold her own in situations outside of battle and books. shes street smart. 

       “lone wolf keith”

now i know this was said to allura, and ill get to that. but if the keith vlog showed us anything, its that  hes not just a moody loner teenager.  i am very guilty of this myself. i portray keith as a human disaster. we don’t know hen he was left alone, we don’t really know much of his story. i head canon that his dad left him to fend for himself but every month woul drop off food or money or something. i head canon hes terrible about taking care of his body. but at least i don’t call him moody and move on.  i give him a background to fill in the blank space, but sometimes i forget and focus too much on his folded arms and  pouty face. he smiles. he laughs. hes an actual precious bean.  but hes also afraid of being pushed away. hes guarded and does his best to be strong. he hides his feelings and protects his heart with everything he has. (geez boi who hurt you). he is not the human embodiment of “teenagers” by mcr. aka he has feelings too. not to mention he also got into the garrison, and was the top pilot regardless of how he got in, if it happened to be by recommendation like most people think. 

      “humourous hunk”

as a hunk stan this one annoys me the most. throughout the episode hunk is consistently embarrassed, and even protests the fart noises, fart jokes, etc. he is purposely tripped for laughs. the fandom forgets that hes not just the fat funny guy, or just the personal chef. hes overcome so much since babies first lion flight, he used to get sick, constantly had to be the voice of reason to keep his teammates out of trouble,  he is just as intelligent as pidge and is actually one of the only people that can keep up with her science stuff. keith and lance even stated that they didnt understand anything they'd said. hes a fantastic engineer even if he had a few tummy mishaps. hes an amazing pilot too, and extremely sassy. he and pidge probably rigged the game console to work in space, And hes pretty friendly and cautious. he is NOT meant to be the comic relief. (say it louder for people in the back)

     “shiro the hero”

a lot of the fandom has taken to calling shiro daddy, sexualizing him (”now put on this tight shirt”) and focusing on shiro and only shiro (shiros the “favorite character” of corans little show). hes great. he really is. and the man needs a break. voltron is a kids show. he isnt meant to  be sexualized, none of them are. hes more than his arms and his leadership abilities. the biggest issue i have with the whole shiro thing. regardless of if hes a clone, when shiro returned he cut his hair differently, and wore short sleeves. everyone i know, including me, said they'd be fine with the clone if he had kept his hair long and “as much as i love the arm view” and didnt change his outfit. its a kid show. his body shouldn't matter.i am also guilty of this, and ep 4 opened my eyes to it. coran lifted shiros arm as if to prove that thats what the audience really wanted. he treats shiro differently bc hes the real star here and everyone should know it. ofc, hes the black paladin. (i wonder where the whole “the black paladin is the only one who really matters here” mindset came from. looking @ u ‘84). shiros may have ptsd, and hes constantly trying to hold himself together for his team, and its obviously not easy. maybe thats why hes got a cute white floof. the stress. 

      alluras erasure  

another point that always bugged me. the fandom either forgets allura exists, or that she is just stealing lances place temporarily. Allura is the blue paladin. while keith is gone, she is not filling in. shes a paladin now too. for coran to call her keith, and constantly call her keith, even though she obviously has a few choice words to say about it, its distrespectful. she says his plan is working and he replies with “why thank you keith...i like to keep you in character” once again, erasing her existence. now im not as well versed in this particular topic, but id like you to keep in mind that he talks to his princess with that mouth, and that she IS the princess and not a fill in while keith leads. feel free to elaborate on this more. 

     coran “fires “ team voltron. 

this. i find extremely entertaining. remember that legal trouble last year bc of the leaks? and right around that time the klance shipper started threatening them if they didn't make it gayer and put keith and lance together? the  fandom, who wanted all of this to happen their way, were threatening to get it cancelled and such just because things didnt go their way. shiro, the leader, disagreed with coran and tries to shut him down. and coran in fit of rage says:

you're a bunch of quitters! quitters! i’m a visionary! i have thoughts, ideas, i dont need you anyway. ill rewrite the show, get rid of the whole lot of you, replace you with new paladins! and the show will be better than ever before!...except for you shiro, ill never get rid of you, you're our most popular character!

this is essentially what the fandom was saying. now, was this definitely their plan, to call us out with this bit, in not sure, but honestly, its almost too coincidental.

the writers have made it clear that they heard us, and have always been listening. and really, thats why i love ep4. you're angry because you know you got called out but haven't admitted it to yourself. the writers do their best to bring us the best show possible, but they cant satisfy everyone. why cant we just be happy about Actual Meme (tm) Matt, and look forward to season five instead of fighting them because we got our shit handed right back to us. weve gotten a  taste of our own medicine, so chill. i enjoy them keeping us on our toes, surprising us with every turn, theyre great writers.who cares if one or two things pissed you off? we both know youre not gonna stop watching.

[viciousanime]

The Dark Side of Free Speech: PewDiePie Controversy

I think I should discuss my personal views on PewDiePie first to make everything transparent. I am in general a fan of PewDiepie. I like that he was able to make a career doing what he loves. I respect that and glad he was able to. That said, I do not actually enjoy any of his content. I am a video game nerd, but I never enjoyed watching “lets play” videos. None of it seemed insightful or comedic to me. So his videos never clicked.

So my perspective on this matter is not really coming from an actual fan. I am not subscribed to his channel and I do not think I ever finished a single video. But I am writing to support the deeper political issue here, ultimately his freedom of speech.

I am a avid gamer and familiar with the environments that can manifest in this realm. Explicit language, anger, offensive behavior, and extreme reactions can happen and often do. As to why, is a separate conversation. But as many know and can imagine, gaming interactions can get heated and offensive. So what Pew did is nothing new or rare. I tend to be a bit desensitized, but my opinion on freedom of speech would still stand even if I found it as horrible as others do or took it personally.

Watching the clip, even though it is in context, I do not think he is a “racist”. In the sense he believes black people are lesser or he is better based on race. I am sure we can have a discussion about subconscious “this” or implicit “that”. But let us work with the literal definition that racism means: you believe a race is less than anothers/yours and you therefore treat them as so. The definition includes personal beliefs, but I am more interested in their outward manifestations of racism as that is what we could and would punish. We cannot really punish someone for thinking something. It has to manifest in a action that breaks a law to be punished.

In that clip he uses a derogatory term for black people to describe a negative situation. While past controversies of PewDiePies's were taken completely out of context to get false depictions, this is actually taken in context. A negative term for blacks used in a negative way. Which was confirmed  by him, when he tried to correct himself by using the term asshole instead.

Hearing it the first, second, third, and tenth time it seemed all bad as it was completely in context. But I felt something was missing. Something past context; intent. What was his intentions when he said it. Was he intending to demean that person for being black? Did he intend to say that because that person did something that frustrated him that black people were lesser? From the clip, I do not believe he was speaking to the race of that specific person or targeting the group specifically. I do not believe he knows that person or if he was actually black. And I do not think him saying that word, even in a negative context, intended to say black people are inferior. From that context it seemed he was just frustrated and used it as profanity.

Now we can have a discussion of him using the term in a negative way or at all is perpetuating the idea of racism as you are connecting black people to bad situation. There is discussion there. I tend to think a lot of it is airy bullshit college students get third hand from professors that get it third hand from books. They think they can solve the world with a single paradigm, yet they have not been able to solve or even understand a single issue with that theory. BUT at least there is a discussion there.

But I want to bring everyone a step back and ask what was his intent was as I believe that does matter. Did he intend to hurt a specific person or group by using that word. I did not get that. It seemed like a profane word he used out of frustration, not actually targeted at black people.

That might not matter for some, but lets try to keep some consistency. If you cannot use one word because it hurts a person or group. Then you should not be able use any derogatory words as someone will be effected. Which is ridiculous as that would effect everyone's speech as something can offend anyone, which has become the norm in this social justice society. The outrage and victimhood culture is prevalent and even advocated. But just saying something does not mean you believe it or intent something by it.

There is a difference between being racist, saying something racist, and saying something racial. Being racist means you believe someone is less based on their race. Saying something racist is saying something demeaning based on their race. Saying something racial is talking about the racial aspect of something.

A racist would be someone who thinks blacks are violent just because the violent crime in the black community is high. They do not seek facts of a individual person, just look at their race and come to a conclusion based from that and treats them as such.

Someone that says something racist could be a comedian that forms a joke around the image of blacks and their higher crime rate. They do not have to believe it in general or apply it in their normal life. They are just saying it for comedic effect. Contrary to SJW belief you can say something without personally believing it. You can also believe something without it manifesting in your personal life.

An example of someone saying something racial is if someone simply talks about the black on black crime that is happening. They do not have to mean anything by it, just stating an observation. Whether based in facts and data or just a personal opinion.

I can call someone a cunt or bitch, with out personally hating women. Someone can call me a dick, without having a problem with men. People can refer to lawyers as shysters and not have problems with Jews. These terms have the same inferences that “nigger” has. They are all derogatory terms used as profanity to describe something or someone negatively. Somehow people can pinpoint “nigger” as truly bad and unacceptable, yet the other words are not. They are all profane words.

I would completely agree there are degrees of profanity as calling someone a jerk is less than calling them a fucking asshole. I would agree “nigger” is higher on that list. But how and where would we draw this line of what is okay and what is banned? Different people have different sensitivities. I would much rather lean toward the side of free speech and let people say what ever horrible thing they want than move toward the side of censorship for decency's sake. As people have a right to free expression, but people do not have a right to not be offended. Also you can combat their freedom of speech with your own, but they cannot combat your censorship with theirs.

I think pew's situation would fall around “saying something racist”. The context was negative and racist. But I did not get a sense he has a problem with black people, think anything poorly about them, or intended to hurt and attack black people from that event.

Sadly in our society even the most innocent situations have become horrible and deemed racist. To the point if you say something no matter what the context, nuance, intent, or even terms is racist and you are labeled a horrible person. You do not even have to actually say the words, getting anywhere near racial grounds becomes a problem for most.

This is the start of thought policing and will become a issue for society. If you cannot talk about something then problems will arise. Freedom of speech is not just a right, but a tool on how society finds problems, comes up with solutions, and ultimately will fix them. If we continue down this path where speech is punished no matter the circumstances our society will suffer and collapse.

Back to the example of black on black crime, If we cannot have a candid talk about it, how can it get better? Same goes for everything else. We need to be allowed to speak without the fear of being maligned, attacked, and retaliation. Once that is the accepted process we walk into censorship, thought policing, and facism. Many people do not speak because of the fear of getting destroyed by the SJW machine. The SJWs are loving the power and destruction they cause. The more they silence any diversity of thought the more powerful they get and the more bold their actions. They are already at the point they openly assault people, riot during protests, and ruin people's lives and careers. How much worse can it get? Communism comes to mind and if you look at SJW culture is romanticized as the final destination. Of course leaving out the reality of the loss of rights, death camps, and crippling oppression.

Freedom of speech includes horrible choices of speech, including “hate” speech. You must allow all or none. Who will and can draw the line for billions of people? What offends one might not offend another. If you decide to ban one because it offends a person or group, how can you not ban others? Something can offend anyone, so you will have to ban it all if protecting people is your goal. I believe the current legal standing of free speech is fine. This being the only unprotected speech are imminent threats of violence, which does not have to involve race or any other attribute, or comments meant to incite a riot.

The SJW push to make any opposing speech into offensive speech and then hate speech. This is a dangerous move as mentioned before anything can offend anyone. This is purposely designed as a way to attack anyone who they disagree with. Which is their way to thought police and censor others to the point of removing them.

While you do not have to like what pew said. You have to accept his right to say it. You can dislike it, speak against it, unsubscribe, stop watching. All that is fine. But if you go to the point of actively punishing him for it. It gets dangerously close to thought policing and censorship. Some might think it is okay for that specific case because of how horrible it is, but that is just a resting point. This will continue to the point no one is allowed to say or even think something for fear of retaliation. Have your doubts, but looking at the SJW culture where they tried to ban the term “bossy”, physically assault others, openly slander and malign people, accuse people of being racist just because they are white, which somehow they do not realize is racist itself. I think it is completely plausible. Fascism is their destination and we are steadily working our way there.

A less aggressive, but still poor action they deem a righteous response. Is to actively campaign your displeasure to others and advocate others to follow in boycotting the person or the business connected to the person to force them into punishing that person. These campaigns often exaggerated and skewed to the point of out right lies. Actively protesting your opinion to force a change in the free market of ideas, while not illegal, is still impeding the market's natural adjustment. Which is wrong. You are allowed to have your opinion and voice your opinion, but to go to the point of actively getting someone fired from their job because they say something or think something you dislike, assuming it does not effect how they do their job, is wrong.

This type of protesting, censorship, legal action should be saved for the worse of offenses. If you think someone just saying the word “bossy”, “fag”, or “nigger” are the worse offenses, then I do not think you understand how bad true racism and hatred has been or can get. Which makes sense looking at the activities of the SJW community. These actions should not be abused to push your moral superiority or selfish interests. Which they do casually.

The exchanging of ideas works on a free market. If someone says something wrong, horrible, offensive, or anything else. Each individual can choose to voice their issues with it or disengage. If enough people feel the same and acts accordingly the market will adjust accordingly and they will be naturally be effected. You do not have to actively protest to get them removed from the market. The market will adjust naturally if you and everyone believes they are wrong. Active protests and campaigns should be reserved for important issues. They should almost never be a first resort. But they are in SJW culture.

I disagree with many liberal beliefs, but I would never actively campaign for someone to be fired because I disagree with their personal beliefs or if they say something offensive as long as it did not effect how they did their job. I will disagree with them and maybe even voice it, but I would not shout them down or demand their termination. That is petty and absolutely reprehensible. If those beliefs manifest while they are on duty or effects how they do their job, then we can have the conversation. But many times it is just pure thought policing. The fact SJWs cannot allow someone to have any employment if they deem what they say or believe something they disagree with shows what kind of people they are. What they want has nothing to do with justice or helping victims, it is about stopping any opposition.

SJW try to say that even the use of a word can throw a person back into the time of its original use no matter the intent or context. That just calling a person a “nigger” will chain him up and make him your slave. This is ridiculous. If that was true, the biggest slave owners would be black people as they use the term openly and freely. While words do have power it is limited to the power you give it. Someone just calling you something bad can hurt your feelings and is rude, but it cannot own you if you do not allow it. If you were to ban a word, you should have have to ban it for everyone. You cannot give a group a free pass just cause they are apart of it or close to it. Try to be consistent.

This censorship is done in the guise of “rehabilitation”. SJWs believe that if we just remove the words and punish anyone who uses them, we will somehow cure racism, sexism, bigotry, hatred, or what ever they say the problem is. This of course is no where near accurate. If you remove the words and punish anyone who uses them, racism will still exist. It will just be hidden. You cannot solve a problem by pushing it under the rug or just censoring it. If their real goal is to solve racism or help people from being victims of racism, word policing is the most ineffective way to do it. But it is a marketable action and that is what they are interested in. Making noise and being seen is their real goal. They just hide it under the just cause of equality to seem morally superior to gain social currency.

Another reason for this censorship is to punish people they disagree with. If they can twist and skew what ever someone says into racism, bigotry, or offensiveness, then they have a reason to attack and remove that person. It has nothing to do with morality or the just cause of saving people from discrimination. It is completely done for selfish reasons and to eliminate people they perceive as enemies. Which is why you get the most benign comments being considered as racist, sexist, or offensive.  

The term hate speech is misleading. Because liberals self appointed right to grossly redefine what ever they please for their own goals. Hate speech has become anything that they disagree with because it is a easy buzz word that people mentally connect to violence, hate, and racism. They use the term “hate speech” to mislead any bystander to take their side no matter what the situation or circumstances. Even when the speech in question has nothing to do with hate, violence, or bigotry. You can often find people labeling facts or science as “hate speech”.

But whether the speech is based in hate or otherwise, it is in fact protected by the first amendment. The only speech that is not protected by the first amendment is speech that directly calls for violence, threatens, or meant to incite a riot.

This as expanded pass the actual words. We cannot even criticize a person unless society has deemed it acceptable. We cannot criticize Hillary Clinton for all the horrible things she did or we are labeled sexist. People that society has blacklisted are open game. To the point they are openly insulted and even assaulted in public.

I am not saying it is a good thing, a positive thing, or even a useful thing to use bad words. I am not defending the words. I am defending the freedom of expression, as it is connected to our ability to create ideas and resolve issues. If we are not allowed to say or think something, even horrible things. We cannot really figure out the poor mentality behind it. Having society ban the words to attack the ideas will only suppress the ideologies, which will only fester and embolden the thoughts. Censorship and force will not cure these negative ideologies. You can only cure it with discussion and understanding.

It is time we have a honest and candid talk about the SJW culture, their motives, and their actions. They attack freedom of speech so vigorously. They say it is necessary to protect people from bigotry. Clearly it is for their own selfish interests. Turning offensive speech into hate speech into banned speech does not stop bigotry. Their true interests are the moral currency they get from protecting victims they create. They attack the first amendment to stop any dissent. This is social fascism. We must look at everything and think what the goal is and what their intent is. We should use logic and reason to see what their actions will really do for society. Instead of blindly following this flawed morality supported by skewed and false narratives.

Freedom of speech is important, but it does have negatives. No one said freedom is happiness. Freedom is the best method to giving as many people as possible the opportunity of gaining happiness. But it itself is not happiness. Freedom is something we must fight for, something we die for, and something we must protect. Freedom is a responsibility.

[theactualrealatticus]

What Can You Get From A Healthy Online Community?

   Yesterday, I found a local Facebook group for my area called "Anytown Plant Growers and Garden" and decided to join the page. I Posted about the Thai Basil plant I've got that didn't look like the rest of them. Spoiler alert. I think its just a genetic mutation that causes an unequal distribution of a pigment called Anthocyanin. Anyway, a woman commented and asked where I had found the seeds in Anytown. I couldn't remember, so instead of sending this poor woman on a wild goose chase, I just told her to private message me if she'd like to take one. All I asked in return was for any old growing containers, or soil, or even plant cuttings from her garden as a trade. She Agreed and came by with her husband to pick them up. It was pretty cool to go from a stranger on the internet in the comments section to a friendly smile and thanks from both sides. That got me thinking. Had I found a healthy internet community? From a keystroke to handshake. Well... The awkward mention of shaking hands (COVID-19).

   What is a "healthy" online community? It seems like its a dumpster fire even in cat videos comments on Youtube. On Facebook, everyone's wall looks like what a 16 and a half-year-old would get for a tattoo of it tattoos for 16 and a half-year-olds were legal. And HOLY SMOKES, that Twitter comment section will get your ass fired from your REAL job after a good night of drinking alone and a phone battery that just won't quit till you seal the deal with that tweet button. So where the fuck is a guy or gal supposed to go? The answer is simple. Just look for it. It is out there man. I once heard that there is more content uploaded to Youtube in just 3 months than the entire history of American television broadcasting content. That's fucking bananas if true, and I had to have heard that over 8 years ago, so imagine what it is today! Start by searching on whatever social media platform you want. I'm a fan of Facebook groups. They have a Facebook Group to suit almost any kind of niche market. I'm talking "Anytown County Model Railroad Builders and Destress Painters Using Burnt Auburn", to "The United Front of International Horse Cosplayers...Anonymous". Or something like that. If YOU like it, so does some other nerd. Just keep digging. If you're living in rural Anytown, find the nearest population and search there. And if you still can't find shit? Start one dummy! Facebook groups are easy-peasy. Try to set up a meet up with other folks from your area that are into the same podcast. Or rally behind a particular horror movie you love. Or some activity! Yoga, hiking, workouts, cars, skateboards, or even yes! Planting and Gardening. See how we've come full circle here? AS LONG AS YOU DO IT SAFELY.

   Avoid using your phone number and email. Meet in public, and don't go alone. Don't give out your address or ANY other personal information about yourself. Use whatever your preferred social media platform's private communication so there's a record of your communication. And ALWAYS tell someone you know and trust the 5 W's. Who are you going to meet? What will you be doing there? Where are you going to meet? When will you return? And finally, What should they do if they cant get a hold of you or you don't come back? The internet can be a VERY dangerous place for someone not paying attention. There are legitimate preditors out there that want to hurt or scam you. But I tend to believe that if you follow the above instructions to the letter, your odds of becoming a victim are pretty low. At the end of the day, Going from Keystroke to handshake may not be your thing, but I tend to think it's borderline magical.

   Even though I was talking shit about the comment sections before, the people you read in there aren't like most of us. Most of the time it's just the loudest, or dumbest that comment. It's always heartbreaking watching someone try to be a voice of reason only to get shit on by both sides of the commenters. The truth is, if you're looking for healthy wholesomeness on the internet, it's out there. But I have to tell you the truth about it.

   It is always clunky and awkward meeting up at first. I'm sure what I described above with that plant transaction seemed clean. But it wasn't. First off, she didn't message me until about 8:30 PM the night before the meeting. Everything was civil and cool until she asked when would be a good time. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, I'm available pretty much ANYTIME. And that's what I said. Anytime. That's when she mentioned that she "Or more likely my husband will meet you at your convenience. IMMEDIATELY I thought to myself that I should have been more clear about how I had meant "anytime...during the day" and now she probably thinks I'm trying to get her to come here tonight and alone or something! This could be my self-consciousness talking, but the way she said it made me feel kinda icky. I tried to defuse the situation with another half-joke, half overthinking the whole thing by saying "No Problem. I'll send you some detailed pictures so you can tell your husband which ones you want. You know, in case he doesn't have as good of an eye as yourself!" Keep in mind, this lady has a profile picture of a close-up bowl of stir fry. I have no idea wtf this lady looks like, her age, nothing. I just wanted to see if I could get the internet equivalent of "trail magic" going on. Help someone out and get a cool plant out of it. Anyway, Re-reading the message, I realized how flirty it could have come off. I felt like a real jughead. I sent the photo the next day and didn't hear back. Fuck. I blew it being awkward. Then at around dinner time I get a message. We're "5 minutes out". After I had taken them around back to see all the plants, we all started jiving. "Where you from? How long have you been in Anytown? Oh, we just love it there. Your Elephant ear looks great!." It was Awesome. It ended with her inviting me over this weekend to take a look in their garden to take some cuttings from all kinds of cool plants. I was glad she didn't bring something small. I showed her my garden and helped her out, and she wants to do the same now. WOW! But if shes a person with good intentions and I'm a person with good intentions, why is meeting a stranger from the internet such an awkward event?

   I think it because we are social creatures. We are practically purpose-built to communicate. Read body language. Looking at the other person in the eye to see if they like what you have to say. Body language and facial expressions have been watered down do a few emoji and a hand full of .gifs. The WAY you say things makes a difference. The inflection in your voice places emphasis on where you intend to. All of that is lost in direct written communication. People weren't meant to communicate through 1's and 0's. People are supposed to communicate through nuance, body language, and with eyes and mouths. When that woman, whose name is Diana by the way, left, it felt like the entire situation had gone over so perfectly. I think the genuinely warm smiles at the end took over my entire memory of the event. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is a thriving "Healthy Internet Community" out there for you. But don't mistake that for the real thing. The internet is humanity's greatest accomplishment. Allowing Knowledge to flow into places where it simply could not before. Either through politics or poverty. Allowing the oppressed to be heard. And allowing us to rally and get something done with numbers and in real life. The internet can't change our lives. It's just a tool to we can use to influence action in reality. Or just help out some lady named Diana that hates the taste of previously frozen Thai Basil.

[mikemortgage]

AP FACT CHECK: Trump camp suggests AG found illegal spying

WASHINGTON — With release of the special counsel’s fuller report looming, President Donald Trump and his campaign are twisting the words of his attorney general and the facts of the Russia investigation.

His 2020 campaign is telling supporters in fundraising pitches that Attorney General William Barr had revealed illegal spying against Trump during the 2016 presidential race. But it’s not true. While Barr told lawmakers that he believed spying took place, he never concluded it was illegal and made clear several times he was not suggesting a crime had occurred.

Meanwhile, Trump kept up his refrain that special counsel Robert Mueller had totally exonerated him despite Mueller’s exact quotes in Barr’s summary that he did not. A redacted version of Mueller’s full report is expected in the coming days.

The misstatements were among a number of factual faux pas and flips in rhetoric this past week.

With his government seeking to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Trump seemed to draw a blank on a hacking organization he praised to the rafters during the 2016 campaign because of the discomfort it caused his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

And speaking before Monday’s tax filing deadline, Trump seemed to change the grounds upon which he is refusing to release his taxes: It’s not because he can’t, but because he doesn’t want to.

A look at the claims:

RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

TRUMP CAMPAIGN: “Just this week, Attorney General William Barr said what the President has thought all along, he believes ‘unlawful spying did occur’ against Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign.” — fundraising email sent Saturday to Trump supporters.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN: “AG Barr believes the Obama Admin illegally spied on Pres Trump.” — text sent Friday to Trump supporters.

THE FACTS: The email puts words in Barr’s mouth and seeks to raise money in doing so.

Barr never said there was illegal spying.

During a Senate hearing Wednesday, the attorney general actually made clear he had no specific evidence to cite that any surveillance was illegal or improper.

“I think spying did occur,” Barr told lawmakers. “But the question is whether it was adequately predicated and I’m not suggesting it wasn’t adequately predicated, but I need to explore that.”

He later added: “I am not saying that improper surveillance occurred. I am saying that I am concerned about it and looking into it.”

——

TRUMP: “I’ve been totally exonerated. No collusion. No obstruction.” — remarks Wednesday at the White House.

TRUMP: “I’m not concerned about anything, because frankly there was no collusion and there was no obstruction.” — remarks Thursday with South Korea’s president.

THE FACTS: Barr’s four-page summary of Mueller’s nearly 400-page report did not “totally” exonerate Trump. Mueller specifically states in the report, as quoted by Barr: “While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

The summary of principal conclusions by Barr, released in late March, notes Mueller did not “draw a conclusion — one way or the other — as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction,” but rather set out evidence for both sides, leaving the question unanswered of whether Trump obstructed justice. Barr said ultimately he decided as attorney general that the evidence developed by Mueller was “not sufficient” to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Trump committed obstruction.

In Senate testimony Wednesday, Barr acknowledged that Mueller did not ask him to draw a conclusion on the obstruction question, nor did he know whether Mueller agreed with him. Barr said he would be able to explain more fully after releasing a public version of Mueller’s report.

——

WIKILEAKS

TRUMP, asked if he still “loves” WikiLeaks: “I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It’s not my thing.” — remarks Thursday with South Korea’s president.

THE FACTS: WikiLeaks was very much Trump’s thing in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign, when candidate Trump showered praise on the anti-secrecy organization night after night.

On the same October day that the “Access Hollywood” tape emerged, revealing that Trump had bragged in 2005 about groping women, WikiLeaks began releasing damaging emails from Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta. Trump and his allies seized on the dumps and weaponized them.

“WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks,” Trump said in Pennsylvania.

“This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove,” Trump said in Michigan.

“Boy, I love reading WikiLeaks,” Trump said in Ohio.

All told, Trump extolled WikiLeaks more than 100 times, and a poster of Assange hung backstage at the Republican’s debate war room. At no point from a rally stage did Trump express any misgivings about how WikiLeaks obtained the emails from the Clinton campaign or about the accusations of stealing sensitive U.S. government information, which led to the charges against Assange on Thursday. The U.S. is seeking Assange’s extradition from Britain.

Asked Sunday about Trump’s claim he knew nothing about Wikileaks, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told Fox News the president “was making a joke during the campaign and was talking about the specifics of the case at that moment.”

——

TAX RETURNS

TRUMP: “As you know, I got elected last time with this same issue. … I would love to give them, but I’m not going to do it while I’m under audit.” — remarks Wednesday to reporters at the White House.

THE FACTS: Nothing’s preventing Trump from releasing his tax returns.

Being under audit is no legal bar to anyone releasing his or her returns.

Asked repeatedly at a House hearing Tuesday whether any regulation prohibited a taxpayer from disclosing returns when under audit, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig responded “no.”

Trump declined to provide his tax information as a candidate in 2016 and as president, something party nominees have traditionally done in the name of the transparency. By withholding his tax returns, Trump has not followed the standard followed by presidents since Richard Nixon started the practice in 1969. During the campaign, Trump said he wanted to release his returns but because he was under a routine audit, “I can’t.”

After the November midterm elections, Trump claimed at a news conference that the filings are too complex for people to understand.

——

JOB APPROVAL

TRUMP, tweeting a Fox Business Network graphic showing his “soaring approval” at 55% overall: “Great news! #MAGA” — tweet Thursday.

THE FACTS: The graphic on the Georgetown University poll was incorrect: The poll found 55% had an “unfavourable” rating of Trump, not his job approval, from a different poll question. Fox Business issued an on-air correction but Trump’s tweet remains.

——

CLIMATE CHANGE

TRUMP: “We withdrew the United States from the one-sided Paris climate accord, where you don’t do any more drilling for oil and gas. That was going to cost us a lot of money. No more oil and gas with the Paris accord. That’s good for Paris, but that’s not good for us. Right?” — remarks Wednesday at a ceremony for the signing of executive orders meant to accelerate pipeline construction.

THE FACTS: Wrong. The Paris accord does not ban any form of energy development. It does not impose emission caps on signatory countries. The accord is a set of voluntary targets determined by individual nations.

——

IMMIGRATION

TRUMP: “Mexico must apprehend all illegals and not let them make the long march up to the United States, or we will have no other choice than to Close the Border and/or institute Tariffs. Our Country is FULL!” — tweet April 7.

THE FACTS: Despite the overwhelmed southern border, there’s plenty of room in the United States. Dozens of countries have greater population density. It’s only full in terms of the people Trump doesn’t want.

His claim of a U.S. with no vacancies for more immigrants is at odds with his own statement two months ago that encouraged “the largest” influx of legal immigrants ever. It also belies a U.S. reality of aging baby boomers and falling birth rates, which make immigrants increasingly important to sustain a level of population growth for the U.S. economy to keep expanding.

The nation’s population growth is at its lowest since 1937, with the 18-and-under population declining both nationally and in 29 states, according to William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution. Economists say that restricting immigration would probably weaken economic growth. A shrinking labour force could also harm the health and stability of safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Trump himself seemed to acknowledge the realities during his State of the Union address in February, declaring, “I want people to come into our country, in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally.” He’s now describing a U.S. bursting at the seams, unable to take any immigrants, including those seeking legal asylum.

Immigrants as a whole make up a greater percentage of the total U.S. population than they did back in 1970, having grown from less than 5 per cent of the population to more than 13 per cent now. In 2030, it’s projected that immigrants will become the primary driver for U.S. population growth, overtaking U.S. births.

——

TRUMP on separating migrant children from their parents when caught crossing into the U.S. illegally: “I’m the one that stopped it. President Obama had child separation.” — remarks to reporters Tuesday.

THE FACTS: No, he’s the one who started it on a broad scale. He instituted a “zero tolerance” policy aimed at criminally prosecuting all adults caught crossing into the U.S. illegally. That meant detention for adults and the removal of their children while their parents were in custody. During the Obama administration and the early Trump administration, such family separations were the exception. They became the rule under his policy. He suspended the practice in June because of a public uproar.

——

TRUMP on the family separations: “President Obama had the law. We changed the law, and I think the press should accurately report it but of course they won’t.” — remarks to reporters Tuesday.

THE FACTS: This is false. Trump did not achieve any change in the law.

Trump’s zero-tolerance policy was of his own making. His administration is operating under the same immigration laws as Obama’s.

During the Obama administration and before Trump’s zero-tolerance policy was introduced, migrant families caught illegally entering the U.S. were usually referred for civil deportation proceedings, not requiring separation, unless they were known to have a criminal record. Then and now, immigration officials may take a child from a parent in certain cases, such as serious criminal charges against a parent, concerns over the health and welfare of a child or medical concerns.

——

ENERGY and ENVIRONMENT

TRUMP: “We have the cleanest air and water, they say, in the world. We are the best.”– remarks Wednesday at the signing of orders on pipelines.

THE FACTS: Not true about air.

U.S. drinking water is among the best by one leading measure.

Trump’s own Environmental Protection Agency data show that in 2017, among 35 major U.S. cities, there were 729 cases of “unhealthy days for ozone and fine particle pollution.” That’s up 22 per cent from 2014 and the worst year since 2012. Findings for 2018 are incomplete.

The State of Global Air 2019 report by the Health Effects Institute rated the U.S. as having the eighth cleanest air for particle pollution — which kills 85,000 Americans each year — behind Canada, Scandinavian countries and others.

The U.S. ranks poorly on smog pollution, which kills 24,000 Americans per year. On a scale from the cleanest to the dirtiest, the U.S. is at 123 out of 195 countries measured.

On water, Yale University’s global Environmental Performance Index finds 10 countries tied for the cleanest drinking water, the U.S. among them. On environmental quality overall, the U.S. was 27th, behind a variety of European countries, Canada, Japan, Australia and more. Switzerland was No. 1.

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TRUMP: “With the help of the incredible workers in this room, the United States is now the No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world, anywhere on the planet. Not even close. Made a lot of progress in the last two and a half years, haven’t we? Huh? Took down a lot of barriers.” — signing ceremony.

THE FACTS: As he’s done many times before, Trump is crediting himself with things that happened under Obama.

Here’s what the government’s U.S. Energy Information Administration says: “The United States has been the world’s top producer of natural gas since 2009, when U.S. natural gas production surpassed that of Russia, and the world’s top producer of petroleum hydrocarbons since 2013, when U.S. production exceeded Saudi Arabia’s.”

As for crude oil specifically, the information agency says the U.S. became the world’s top crude oil producer last year. That is largely attributed to the shale oil boom that began during the Obama administration, which has sent production from the Permian Basin in the southwest surging.

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TRUMP: “Under this administration, we have ended the war on American energy like never before.” — signing ceremony.

THE FACTS: It wasn’t much of a war. U.S. petroleum and natural gas production has increased by nearly 60% since 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration, achieving pre-eminence during the Obama administration. That said, the Trump administration is more closely aligned with fossil fuel interests as it works to restrain environmental obstacles and the power of states to stand in the way of pipelines and other energy development.

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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Jonathan Lemire, Mary Clare Jalonick, Ellen Knickmeyer and Seth Borenstein in Washington and Nomaan Merchant in Houston contributed to this report.

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Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd

Follow https://twitter.com/APFactCheck

EDITOR’S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2DbIV0E via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[celebrityresearch-blog]

Stephen Colbert - November 6, 2017

I’d like to preface this entry by explaining the obvious; considering the great wealth of online clips of Stephen Colbert due to his position as host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and considering my lack of knowledge about the protocol for Conan interviewing other late-night hosts, what I have compiled is an abridged collection of Colbert’s recent interviews and performances as well as any upcoming events I believed may be significant for his appearance on Conan. 

Stephen and Conan in NYC

Conan: November 4, 2011 (link) (During Conan’s week at the Beacon Theater)

In the middle of his monologue, Conan spots Jon Stewart in the audience. After Conan reminds Stewart he is missing the taping of The Daily Show, Stewart sprints out, Conan requests another ticket-holder is brought in from the lobby, and Colbert enters as the replacement for Stewart’s seat.

Colbert quips he found the ticket for the show on the ground outside.

After Conan reminds Colbert he has a show airing in 18 minutes, Colbert assures Conan that is plenty of time to write a show. When Conan updates the countdown to 17 minutes, Colbert frantically evacuates the theater.

The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour: June 2, 2010 (link)

During a performance in New York City, Colbert appears on stage, mentions Conan’s recent facial plastic surgery, and jokingly insults Conan for leaving NYC (following the ending of his Tonight Show stint). 

Conan criticizes Colbert for claiming to be a true New Yorker, when in reality, he’s from New Jersey.

Colbert suggests a physical altercation with Conan, which turns into a dance-off.

After Colbert falls and injures himself while dancing, Jon Stewart storms the stage to prevent Colbert from surrendering to Conan. Stewart then starts an aggressive dance-off to the song Sandstorm by Darude, during which he too falls.

As Stewart lays injured and dying on the ground, Colbert hovers over him and requests that Stewart, as his dying offering, give Colbert the 11:00 pm slot. 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: October 14, 2017 (Conan as guest)

David Letterman’s Horse (link)

(The last time Conan appeared on The Late Show, it was being hosted by David Letterman.)

Conan congratulates Colbert on his Late Show success.

After discussing their mutual respect for Letterman, Colbert mentions Conan’s piece written in honor of Letterman’s retirement, which was published in Entertainment Weekly.

Conan recounts a long tale, in which, because Letterman appreciated the EW piece, he sent Conan a horse, delivered by two cowboys, an hour before a taping of Conan. 

The horse, named Dave, requires an immense amount of upkeep including room and board at an expensive facility.

Conan cannot ride the horse because it has bucked off the last two people who attempted to get on it, so in order to clear it for riding purposes, Conan would have had to hire an “expensive horse lawyer.” 

After two years of rooming the horse, Conan’s wife sends the horse, named Dave, to an equine massage center, where students learning how to massage horses may practice massaging techniques on Dave all day.

Colbert is overwhelmed by the length of Conan’s story. (As was I.)

#PuberMe and Harvard (link)

Colbert mentions Conan’s submission for the #PuberMe challenge — a viral hashtag that prompted celebrities to Tweet pictures of themselves during puberty in efforts to aid relief for Puerto Rico.

Colbert mentions Conan’s Ivy League past at Harvard and inquires about his desires to become a serious writer.

They discuss their mutual love of Flannery O’Connor. Conan’s favorite of O’Connor’s work is A Good Man is Hard to Find, while Colbert’s is The Enduring Chill.

Conan was ashamed of his Harvard identity when he first took over for David Letterman. 

Conan tells another (great, but equally long-winded) story about how his finger was jammed into his ring while playing basketball, and he had to visit a particularly rough hospital in East Los Angeles, where his ring dilemma was met by patients who had been shot in the face, attacked by pitbulls, and burned with acid. 

Traveling for Conan (link)

Colbert praises Conan’s travels to seven countries in the past two years.

Cobert asks what Conan loved most about Israel, and praised Conan for nobly acting as a “common fool.”

Conan stressed the importance of demonstrating to other nations that Americans can laugh at themselves and can stand to be laughed at. 

Conan explains how his travels have made him feel re-energized about his work at Conan, and he recounts his recent trip to the Holy Land, where his sound guy caused a scene by hitting an 800 year old lamp in the Church of Nativity, which caused hot oil to spew everywhere. 

Other appearances:

Face the Nation: December 25, 2016 (link)

(This interview with John Dickerson came a year after Colbert’s popular Face the Nation interview at the end of 2015.)

Following the election, Colbert says the good news of 2016 lies in individual relationships, and not in the nation’s politics. 

Makes a lengthy comment on political divisiveness, and explains that dividing into teams is only worthwhile if your team wins.

In preparation for his live coverage of the 2016 election, Colbert and his team prepared material for three out of four possible election outcomes, the fourth of which occurred: Trump was predicted to win with little uncertainty. He chose not to prepare material in event of this outcome because he knew if this occurred he would be performing for an audience of very depressed individuals.

Despite his own rant against political divisiveness, he admits it’s hard not to be divisive in his line of work because he tells jokes and every joke has a little knife in it. 

Years ago, he coined the term “truthiness” to describe the tendency to believe what feels true rather than what is verified by facts. In light of Oxford Dictionary’s selection of “post-truth” (absence of facts) as word of the year, Colbert expresses his fear that if there are no facts, there is nothing to agree on.

Colbert urges his viewers to seek out other news sources besides him.

He highlights the benefits of humorously covering an election cycle; it’s one story and no one dies.

Colbert explains that writing jokes about trump isn’t as much about swinging at a ball as it is picking which ball to swing at.

The biggest lesson he learned about interviewing was not to hold a pen. During his time at The Colbert Report, he played a character that battled his guests in a debate style, but as a late-night host, putting down the pen allowed him to drop the caricature act and truly listen.

After all of his 2016 live specials, Colbert was reminded the beauty of writing material under pressure because some of his best shows that year were written in a matter of hours or even thirty minutes.

His happiest moments of 2016: Stevie Wonder singing him “Happy Birthday” on their mutual birthday, taking his son to college, his friend diagnosed with cancer learned her disease would be treatable.

Colbert recommends Trump should read The Constitution, Art of the Deal, and the phrase “The buck stops here” because a president must not blame others for his own actions. 

After reading The Art of the Deal, Colbert learned that Trump will be friends with anyone.

Colbert would not turn down the chance to have any sitting president on his show (similar to Conan’s opinion) but he would like to find a way to respectfully challenge the POTUS.

When Trump came on his show during the 2016 election cycle, his liberal fans skewered him for being too lenient, but he greatly respects the presidency, so he finds it morally unsound to be disrespectful.

Looking ahead, he hoped to get more sleep in 2017.

Colbert’s talk show advice: listen, be up to date on the news, be able to read, know how to improvise, learn to be happy with failing, don’t blame anyone but yourself for the outcome of the joke. 

SHOWTIME’s special Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night - November 8, 2016 (Signing off) (link)

Shaken and awe-struck, Colbert says he cannot bear to sit down, and he somberly comments on the “exhausting” and “bruising” nature of the election.

Remarks that both parties believe the other political party is a threat to the nation and a cause for fear, and he compares bipartisan hate to ingesting poison.

Richard Nixon was his first president as a child, and he grew up during Watergate. He blames Watergate as the moment in American political history where we all stopped trusting each other, but he insists that even then young people did not discuss politics to this extent; dinner table conversations were geared towards religion and guessing which family members were gay, rather than political affiliations.

Comes from big Catholic family, including siblings James, Edward, Mary, William, Margo, Thomas, Jay, Elizabeth, Paul, and Peter. His mother was born two days before women could vote for the first time in a presidential election.

Before his mother died at the age of 92, she told Colbert she was finally ready to vote for Hillary. The only Democratic she ever voted for was Kennedy. 

Colbert insists we are not meant to absorb this much election coverage, which is why so much exposure to/information surrounding it is so boring (i.e. electoral college, C-SPAN).

To end his live coverage, he rattles off national American truths such as the proper way to eat Kit Kats, the designated fate of YouTube pranksters, and a perpetual unknowing of the purpose behind the War of 1812.

Upcoming events

Homes for Our Troops (November 4-14, 2017)

Event hosted by Cher, George Clooney, Jake Tapper, and Ben Stiller, which aims to give mortgage-free, specially-designed homes to wounded veterans. 

In order to raise money, items will be put up for auction on eBay, and all proceeds will go directly to the charity.

Both Conan and Colbert (as well as other late-night hosts) have offered up tickets for their shows and photo opportunities as an item for bid.

Night of Too Many Stars (November 18, 2017)

Hosted by Jon Stewart 

Fundraises for Robert Smigel’s NEXT for autism charity, which supports autism schools, programs, and services

Celebrities listed to star alongside Stephen Colbert include Louis C.K., Olivia Munn, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and John Oliver.

[mindmmxvii]

Day two: Tofu

Actually, I lied. I didn’t have tofu today. I would like some now though so I thought it was an appropriate title. Let’s start off with a quick recap of my day...

Awaken to my laptop sitting next to me, after falling asleep attempting to write poetry, a single beam of light entering from the curtain slit landing directly on my face. I quickly retreat under the sheets and try to sleep off a little more of the day, funny as only a couple short weeks ago I actively sought to avoid sleep.

I meet Mike and her husband Bri on the 1st floor of their apartment and find we had to evacuate as their unscrupulous landlord scheduled a home visit an hour earlier than expected. We arrive at an awesome brunch spot with amazing Bloody Mary’s, after creating a new bff handshake in the car. We slug down our meal and rush back as to not miss my train.

Seeing as the train ride to Bloomington was so uneventful, I wasn’t expecting much on the way back. To my surprise I found a seat next to a graphic artists who works for Marvel! We spoke almost the entire train ride down about the work she did restoring old comics, our childhoods, and our thoughts on living in different cities.

We parted ways at the station where I met my loving mother who is currently dealing with a bout of strep throat. I was able to secure some drugs from Bri/Mike before I left as my Mother was currently taking 5 year old antiviral pills meant for a 4.3 Lbs. Chihuahua. Yeah. Anyway... She brought me back to my house and after some shop talk, I checked in on my Sister.

Now my sister Bek, has some developmental issues brought on by a lack of practical education after and during high school. Her issues are included in the list of many things I wish to improve or fix this year. I guess when you really get down to it, this is a self help blog more than anything. Me trying to reconstruct my past and see a better way to move forward. I’ll attack it like anything else that needs doing, with a good long list.

Address my surroundings/appearance

Clean my house and get inspections for sale

Sell house

Workout regimen

Whiten Teeth

Make cars legal

Redo budget

Assist struggling Family Members

Rehabilitate and find employment for Sister

Help Mum with her burdensome house

Fix health issues

Get PCP (primary care physician)

Find out what's wrong with me? (I’ll explain later)

Track calories/ Healthier diet

Better myself through outreach, understanding, and reflection

Daily Blog (this thing!)

Volunteering in community

Write a song or two

Write a short story

Write a poem

Write a haiku or two

Better myself through more practical means

Walk away from addictive Video Games

Reduced waste

Prep meals for week/reduce eating out

Answer some hard questions

When does babies/marriage make sense for me?

Do I want to move cities/countries?

Am I ready to embrace my future failures before it’s too late again?

learn to juggle (cuz fuck it... why not)

Wow. Yeah ok. You’re right, that’s a pretty long list and well buddy... There’s quite a bit I need to work out. I’ve made some pretty awful decisions last year and while I’d love to blame it all on the malevolent entity that is 2016, the truth is I need to work my shit out. We'll have plenty of time to elaborate on those inadequacies later. Perhaps it will be helpful to revisit those, cathartic at least I’m sure.

So let’s go through a handful really quick and talk about what we are tackling first...

Address my surroundings and appearance

This one is the easiest to describe and understand as it’s how we perceive almost everyone we meet. Basically I’m following the age of wisdom of “if you look good you feel good”. It’s a great start for me as I do feel better about “me” when I have a clean living space and or have some of the basics under control. Right now, I’m behind on quite a few things that I’ve basically let sit. Need to clean house, literally and figuratively.

Assist struggling Family Members

Again, another fairly straightforward concept. Family comes first right? Well, I could have been doing more to help and now I will. My mother feels trapped by her house and my sister needs help getting into the real world. So far, I’ve basically adopted my sister. She lives with me and I’ve got to find a way to connect her fantasies in her head with the realities around her. For now I have her focusing on some basic’s, a lot like the list of items from my surroundings and appearance category. More to come later.

Fix health issues

Hate to keep playing coy with you all but this is another topic I’m really not ready to discuss. My health has been neglected, but not necessarily in the typical manner. First step, find a doctor. I used NextDoor to find some reliable physicians. The community is so helpful so I have several options to go over tomorrow.

Better myself through outreach, understanding, and reflection

It’s easy to say that you can plop on someone's shoes and understand how they are feeling. For a long time I thought the same thing. I’m taking on some challenges that I hope will broaden my scope of understanding, giving me greater perspective when dealing with the people I love. Selfish decisions were made, though with what at the time seemed like justification, that hurt. It’s not the first time my decisions led me here, so I need to make sure I empathize and think while making major decisions.

I want figure myself out and express myself in ways I was unwilling to before. I want to take more pictures, where I shied away from them before... I want to reminisce on my past and embrace it even. I want to write down everything I am doing and thinking so I can look back over it and understand my evolution. I want to be just slightly more accepting person everyday so that when this is all over, I can safely look back and decide what balance of dark and light is appropriate. Perhaps even becoming a social sextant for life.

Better myself through more practical means

Phew ok. Putting the brakes back on for a bit here, basically there are things I could be doing that would mark me as a “better person”. I could prance around the streets singing about the extra little work I put in the try and lower my impact on my environment/others around me. Sounds delightful.

Starting this one by taking a break from all video games, save for the rare times I play Artemis with friends online. That’s mostly a social thing anyway. I have an addictive personality with hobbies, I’ll pick one up and devour all I can on it, only to leave it once I find something else. Jack of all, master of none. It’s manageable in most cases, yet with some games I can’t really ever consume it all, there will always be someone better or something new to learn. Many things were suffering from my addiction and I wasn’t real enough with myself to admit it was a problem. Going to stay away from all of them till I can figure out what’s best.

Reducing waste is a concept someone very close to me latched onto and it’s a very noble goal indeed. Something that you always joke about but never really embrace. Well, I’m going to try it on for size and see how it fits. I did the same thing with Vegetarianism several years ago and it stuck, so who knows. Some people go all the way with what’s called a “Zero Waste Challenge” but I’m going to take it a little more low key.  I’m not sure exactly what this means yet but I’ll keep you in the know. Building on that concept, I am also going to make more of my meals and plan them out, instead of Qdoba every day. Hummm now I want Qdoba...

Answer some hard questions

Yeash. Back to the big stuff. Ok folks, as I have said before, I currently do not have my shit together. I want to explore some major concepts to try and find out when I want to move on to the next big steps in my life. Again, we’ll find some of these later on after I’ve had time to research and talk with people.

Juggling is the last one. No practical purpose to this one, though has there ever been a practical purpose to juggling?

Ok. That’s it for me today. May not seem like it but this was about two hours of thoughts going to paper. Time to lie down hoping my sleepy self won’t decide to cause trouble. It’s an interesting ritual i’ve developed, prepping for sleep. Having all the pillows in just the right place and elevating my body in just the right manner so sleep me won’t feel the need to rock the boat. Anyway, going to cut this off here!

Cheers -Mind