#in nj it went up to 15 an hour

[starscreeam]

minimum wage went up ???

[kopilot-pop]

[New Jeans x Oldest Member! Reader] - #1

-imagine.

Summary: You’re the oldest member in NJ. With that title comes alot of responsibilities, from being the support beam for your (not so official) leader to protecting your maknae from rude interviewers. (This is just a bunch of moments of a very protective/warm Y/n.)

Warnings: sickness, fighting(?), protectiveness, cursing, rude people, etc.

A/N: Hey, it’s been a while. So sorry for disappearing for like… 20 days..? I’m back with another NJ fic because alot of people liked the bodyguard one haha. It’s mostly platonic love from Y/n btw. Oh, and lil background info; Y/n's is a 03(a year older than Hanni/Minji) and used to be a dancer before being casted by Hybe.

———————————————————————

#1

“What do you mean she has to come?!”

‘Oh god..’

Minji is furious to say the least.

You’re currently holding a sick Haerin in your arms, rocking her back and forth. The poor girl has been feeling off for a few days at this point and on the day of an important performance, her fever had become unbearable.

Last night, Minji woke up to Haerin crying in pain and woke you up in a panic. Since then, 3 hours has passed and the girl’s fever doesn’t seem to want to go down. Minji quickly went to call the manager to adjust the schedule while you decided to keep watch on Haerin.

“She can’t even stand straight oppa! You seriously can’t expect her to-”

“Listen Minji. This is an important schedule and the producers aren’t gonna be happy if the whole team doesn’t show up. As much as I want to help, it’s just not possible!”

“Ugh!”

Due to all the yelling, the younger girl stirred awake. She stayed quiet, but it was clear to you that she was listening to the conversation.

“Unnie-”

“No. You’re not going to the festival.” You cut her off before she could say anything.

“I.. I can go..! It’s fi-” Haerin fell back into your arms in a coughing fit. After a stern look from you, she finally sighed and snuggled into your chest. Soon after Minji came in - grumbling in frustration.

“I can’t believe him! He-“

“Hey, sweetie, calm down first.” You put Haerin back down on her bed, tucking her in.

“How do you expect me to be calm?! They’re forcing Haerin to perform in this condition! To make things worse, the performance is in the morning, the weather forecast even says it could rain, and, and-” Haerin sat up in the bed, covering herself in the thick blankets. Her wide eyes looked back and forward you and Minji worriedly.

“WOAH, woah, Min, you need to calm down. You’re stressing out Haerin here.”

“Speaking of Haerin- you! Why would you hide the fact that you were sick?! If you told us sooner we could’ve-”

“Kim Minji.”

The moment you saw Haerin’s eyes become watery you decided to shut everything down. Minji, realising her mistake, immediately stopped talking and looked away. You decided to grab her arm and pull her out of the room to talk.

After a few moments of silence, she decided to talk.

“Unnie… I’m sorry…”

“You don’t need to be sorry to me. Minji. I know you’re stressed out from all the schedules and practices, and I understand you’re just worried for Haerin. However, that doesn’t mean you can let your frustrations out onto your members.”

“…”

“I know you’re just trying your best and I really appreciate it, but you need to calm down.”

“I just… I’m just worried….” The shorter girl slowly came up to you. You hold her in a tight hug as she sobs quietly into your shoulder.

“Hey, I know, it’s gonna be okay. I’ll give the producers a call, okay? Go get some sleep with Haerin.”

“Mmph..” You wipe away her tears with your sleeve and give her a smile. Minji decides to give you a final hug and go back to her shared room with Haerin.

———————————————————————

#2

“Nope.”

“Y/N!!”

You’re currently in a tiny meeting with the producer of a well known music show. Since you’ve been in the entertainment business for a while, you recognized alot of their faces - including the fuming man you’ve been arguing with for about 20 minutes now.

“Hyein’s 15. I’m not letting you put her in that and that’s final.”

“It’s just a damn skirt-”

“Nope.”

“The fans would want-”

“Nope.”

“We’ve had other idols-“

“Nope.”

“For gods sake! This isn’t about you! The stylists already prepared everything and we aren’t going to change things just because YOU think ‘the skirt’s too short’.”

This whole debacle started with a slight comment from Hyein. She’s preparing for a solo special stage on Music Bank, and you decided to tag along for support..

(1 Hour Ago)

“Hey! You really came!!”

Hyein - in her tall glory - came running towards you, capturing you in a tight hug.

“Oof- Hey bub, good to see you too.”

You give her a slight pat on her head, holding her tightly to your body.

“Hehe, oh-! Have you seen my makeup for today?! It’s really pretty, with jewels, and…”

You watched as the younger girl went on and on about her excitement. It was her first ever stage alone, and you knew the amount of practice and effort she put on just for this moment.

“- and, and the jacket! It’s pink and so cute! Everything’s amazing - well, there is the skirt - but the dancers are just amazing!!”

“Whoah- what? What about the skirt?”

(1 Hour Later)

So you’re now in the waiting room, arguing, while Hyein is practicing in a different room with dancers.

You are extremely protective over your members, and everybody in the building probably knew that. A video of you almost physically fighting with a rude staff (that decided it was okay to threaten Hanni) went viral in the past, so the staffs were looking between you and the producer nervously.

It didn’t help that your face was gradually becoming more sour as the man went on about ‘pleasing the crowd’.

“What do you mean this isn’t about me? That’s your excuse? Hyein’s my teammate, she’s our maknae, and you’re trying to put her in and outfit she’s clearly uncomfortable in - for what? To appeal to disgusting perverts sitting in the crowd just waiting for a wardrobe malfunction?!”

“Of course n-”

“Listen. I’m not telling you to completely change everything in the crowd, all I’m telling you, is to let our stylist change the skirt to the pants she already prepared just in case. I genuinely don't see a single problem with that."

"I-.."

"Unless you're one of the 'perverts in the crowd'."

"How dare y-!"

"I'll take that as a no."

You quickly pushed past the fumbling man - bowing to the stressed staff members - and let out a deep sigh to calm yourself.

You promised to help Hyein rehearse after all.

———————————————————————

#3

There is no doubt in your mind that Danielle is one of the sweetest human beings in the world - and you hate it.

Not that you hate Danielle, god no, it's just that you absolutely hate the people around her that try to take advantage of her sweet personality.

Thankfully, she has scary dog privileges (you).

"Um...haha.. really...?"

You were getting drinks for the group at the vending machine when you faintly heard the younger girls voice from the hallway. In your mind she was supposed to be with the makeup artist, so why was she here?

"Yes! I really, really like you Danielle!"

You dropped the drinks in your hands and sped to where the conversation was.

Near the bathroom you could see Dani gripping onto your jacket(she was cold), nervously smiling at another idol practically cornering her and... confessing his love..?

"I took a long time trying to build up the courage to ask you.. and I was hoping that maybe we could go on a date some time?"

"I'm really flattered... but.. um.."

You could tell she was uncomfortable. She was stuttering, trying her best to form a refusal, but you knew your Dani hated saying no - especially when she knew the other person would be heartbroken by it.

You hesitated choosing between stepping in and just watching until either Dani says something or the boy leaves, but that was all thrown out the window when he decided to grab her before she could back away.

"Hey."

The young boy visibly froze up at your deep voice.

He was tall for his age, but still alot shorter than you. He nervously turned around and the moment he saw your face he could tell you were not happy.

"Oh! Um hello su-"

"We need to prepare for the stage Dani. Come on."

You lightly slapped his arm way and pulled her into yours, quickly making your way to your group's waiting room.

As soon as the door shut, you were finally able to check on her.

"You okay? He didn't do anything did he?"

"I'm fine unnie! Thank you so much.. I just didn't know how to tell him I wasn't looking to date anyone... He's one of my new friends, and I didn't really want to lose him, and I didn't want him to feel bad - oh no! I just left him there! Oh, maybe I should go back-" The younger girl started to ramble her worries, making you slightly panic.

"Hey! It's okay! He's gonna be fine.. And Dani! You can't always say y-........ nevermind.." You sighed.

You definitely hate how her puppy eyes make you weak, too.

———————————————————————

#4

It's a casual day off at the New Jeans house.

Just like any other break day, you decided to take a long nap on the couch. Quiet, peaceful, and not a single soul wanting to bother y-

"Nevermind..." You sighed.

That thought was shattered into pieces when you woke up on the couch with Hanni on top of you.

You have a warm body in general and all the girls usually used you like a heater whenever they were cold, huddling into you like baby penguins surrounding their mother.

That included cuddling into your arms whenever they caught you taking a nap on the couch.

So when you stirred awake, you weren't surprised to find Hanni (Y/n Heater's #1 fan) lying on top of you, spread like a flying squirrel.

'Ah, who cares.'

You decided to just go back to sleep, right hand holding the younger steady just in case she falls like last time.

-

You woke back up abut 30 minutes later to find that your chest has gotten heavier.

You tiredly opened one eye to see that another body - Hyein - has been added to your napping form. You were honestly used to this by now, and decided go back to sleep - already expecting at least one more addition to the pile when you wake back up.

-

"Unnie..."

'There it is.'

20 minutes later, you woke back up to the sound of a soft voice calling for you.

You lazily opened your eyes to see Danielle standing next to you awkwardly.

"Hmm? Need somethin' sunshine?"

"...Can I join..?"

You stared at her in disbelief before letting out a soft chuckle.

"Yeah sure, might be a tight squeeze though- oof!"

The moment you approved she rammed into your side, squeezing next to Hanni. She was slightly hanging off the edge, so in a second you held on tight to her arms - just in case.

You let out content sigh while falling back asleep.

-

It was 4 hours after you started you nap when you awoke for the 4th time.

You opened your eyes to see two lumps on the floor next to the couch. Minji was awake, watching the TV on a low volume, while Haerin was lying on the floor with her head in Minji's lap - lightly snoring.

"She's practically purring, huh?"

Minji - slightly jumped by your voice - let out a quiet laugh.

"Yeah, she seemed tired."

"Hmm... aren't you?"

"I just enjoy seeing you guys like this."

"This? This is basically going to the gym. Have you ever carried 3 bodies on your chest?"

She let out a giggle.

"No, but what I meant is that I enjoy seeing you guys happy like this."

"Hah."

"Don't laugh! I mean it."

She lightly leaned back for her head to rest on your shoulder.

"It's peaceful. And I love it."

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A/N: Thanks for reading. Love y'all <3

[beardedmrbean]

Hey Grunkle Nunya, I was wondering if you could explain to me how people are seeing Israel as the good guys in the Gaza situation, because I can only ever find Palestinian civilian body counts and blown up hospitals and stuff, and it honestly does look like a genocide from the standpoint of someone who generally doesn't research politics and conflict. I know the way I worded this looks like I'm being inflammatory but I mean it genuinely. What am I missing?

Asking anonymously because currently, asking questions about the Gaza conflict makes me either pro-genocide or anti-jew to the people with no critical thinking skills. I can't physically handle the toll of being accused of supporting genocide (Israeli or Palestinians) because of a mental disability I possess.

I apologize if this still sounds like bait, I am just poor with words and you are rich with knowledge.

It's war so everything gets muddy, especially with the body counts the gaza health ministry puts out.

I do not believe those at all, they put them out faster than should be possible even at the best of times, they also make no distinction between hamass militants and civilians so that's another issue with them.

We're going to make up a scenario here.

If you're looking for why Israel went in, imagine if New Jersey were another country, one that regularly sends people into the surrounding US states in order to kill Americans and generally sow chaos, and they've been doing it for 15-20 years with no sign of stopping at all ever or even dialing it back.

No real rhyme or reason to most of their attacks, occasionally they'll get pissed off about something or other and fire off a few thousand unguided rockets, just point the at the surrounding states light the fuse and hope they land somewhere where they kill people, no specific targets just anything they can hit and cause damage with and blaming the US when their own rockets fall back down on them.

Again doing this continually with no indication that it's ever going to stop or anything will convince them to tone it down.

Instead they do a coordinated invasion and just start killing everyone they see, which they went to Sesame Place right near the border with them and Pennsylvania instead of anywhere with any military value because the plan was to kill the most people they could while encountering the least possible resistance.

The US finally says, ok we're done with you and all of this and the organization behind most of the previous attacks and this current one which happens to also be the elected government of NJ is now in the crosshairs and we're going to keep shooting till they're gone one way or the other.

That would also be where Israel said we're done with you, hamass is going to cease to exist after we're done one way or the other.

So then it's full scale invasion time.

24 hour notice was given, saying this is where we are hitting, get out, 24 hours turned into several days, couple weeks I think, there were some air raids and strategic bombing and what not, a hamass rocket hit a hospital and Israel got blamed, the usual.

Obviously mistakes were made at times on both sides at the start and continue to be made, incredibly fluid thing wars are, things change on a dime.

And then we run into issues with the fact that hamass uses civilian buildings as weapons caches, staging grounds, command centers, pretty much anything you can thing a building would be useful for if you're fighting a war, which is a massive violation of international law as well as a war crime because they're hiding behind civilians.

From 2014

Great line toward the end

There is no indication that Israel deliberately targets civilians, as Hamas does. But

The argument is brought out that this kills civilians too, which yes it does, it shouldn't unless there's a misfire from one of the guided munitions in use by Israel, for one simple reason

Which they don't need to do, not if hamass has made the place into a valid military target by keeping rockets in the school.

They try at least.

In the first couple weeks before the ground invasion started there were reports coming out of gaza where the residents were saying that hamass had either taken the keys to their vehicles or disabled them making civilian evacuation that much more difficult, on foot and such kinda screws things up.

Allegedly threats were made to civilians as well.

As for the numbers, the side that's getting invaded is going to have more of those, as for the accuracy of those numbers, there's a reason why every news agency that cares even slightly about credibility includes 'according to the gaza health ministry' to the number.

As to the genocide question, there is no genocide, mass casualty attacks =/= as genocide and someone saying they'd like to wipe gaza off the map does not indicate a official government stance regardless of if the work for the government or not.

It's a war, innocent people die in war, it's a unfortunate reality of a even more unfortunate situation, especially if your on the side that's on the defensive folks in Israel have less to be worried about it's a lot harder for hamass to get to them, true at the best of times for hamass anyhow since it's not like they have a air force of any sort.

This whole thing did not need to happen, if it weren't for the fact that there's a group that has refused any reasonable offer and some that were incredibly slanted in their direction as well people at a music festival would have gone home when it was over and had great stories to tell.

Neither side is innocent, but at least for the one Israel complete and utter annihilation of everyone in Gaza isn't the goal, they just want hamass gone.

Not to say there aren't shitheads that want everyone in gaza gone in Israel and in the IDF, but that's not the stated goal of their mission.

If it was gaza city would look more like stalingrad after the nazis were done with it.

Choice of location is made purely because 99% of the area was razed, that is all so.

As for all the ceasefire stuff, the one they had going ended because hamass couldn't manage to keep their end of the deal up even though they were given several do overs, they just had to keep launching rockets and shooting civilians at bus stops.

No reason to think they would do anything different if another one were declared, they tend to be the ones that start off the shooting when it happens.

I don't know if I've made anything clearer for you or not, jumble of information and I've tried to leave politics and religion out of the whole thing setting it up as just 2 groups of people, and it's late so my brain is going a bit slow so I likely missed stuff.

When it's all over there's probably going to be enough war crimes to nitpick over on both sides.

I just hope there's also a lasting peace

[jimmyaquino]

Seeing IU at the Prudential Center in Newar, NJ on Monday night was an incredible experience. I started my K-pop journey back in 2019 but quickly discovered her in 2020. I have really been getting into her the last year or 2 and have become a giant fan. She's 31 and has been active in music/acting since she was 15. Amazingly talented w/ a gifted voice. So many hits! 

I was so excited to see her & was hoping to go w/ a friend. But understandably, none wanted to pay what I was willing to so I went solo. It's her 1st North American tour ever. And Newark was the 1st stop so I felt I was part of her history. I justified my ticket price since I cancelled a trip I was going to take in June that would have cost me twice as much. I was very pleased w/ my seat as I was the closest I've ever been to the stage at a big arena like that. Speaking of the crowd, def very diverse in race, gender and age. And also very much populated by Asian Americans (mostly Korean). I'd say maybe half the crowd. I pretty immediately made friends to the people next to me and throughout the show we laughed, screamed, teared up, cheered, etc. Such a shared experience. I know most concerts might be like that but K-pop is such a positive community. When I was waiting in line outside til doors opened, people walked around giving little homemade gifts. So sweet! 

The concert was 3 hours long! She split it up into about 4 or 5 parts w/ each part having a theme like "Energetic" & "Heroic". Between parts (while she was doing a quick change), there would be text both in Korean and English on screen with beautiful messages. Or sometimes videos even of the crowd outside before the concert. One interval was quite theatrical w/ a young girl coming out acting a story to music/lighting until IU appeared. 

She did 2 encores. Both expected as she is known to do long shows. 1st encore was definitely planned songs. The 2nd, she actually asked the audience & thousands of us yelled out. I'm not sure if she pretended to pick ones but it did seem like she genuinely picked random songs that will change every show. Alas, my favorite & one of her biggest hits "Hold My Hand" wasn't done. But, she's had a long career so I understood. 

She spent a lot of time talking to us as well both in English & Korean (w/ help of an off-stage mic'd interpreter). Her English is pretty good but she spoke a lot of Korean if she couldnt remember the phrasing or words. She was so damn cute! She kept saying how she couldn't believe what an energetic audience we were for a Monday. She seem genuinely surprised that the crowd was so into it w/ high energy (she said my section was the loudest!), singing along in Korean (and of course the English bits), dancing along, screaming, etc. She clearly got moved at one point. As did I for a couple of songs. Genuinely thought I was going to burst into tears when she sang "Eight", a song she had collaborated on with BTS's Suga. A fave song, I had seen/read interpretations of it being about 3 of her close friends (also K-pop idols) whom had tragically taken their own lives. Whether that's true or not, it still gets me every time. 

IU isn't known for dance skills but she is pretty good. She always claims she's a bad dancer which isn't true. There isn't a ton of choreography as you'd see w/ K-pop groups. I really liked how casual she was with it. She'd dance the choreography almost marking it but not really. It's def a secondary thing as the showcase is her voice. She has a great belt and her head voice is so controlled and beautiful. She switches from both effortlessly. 

She did a cute thing where she did the normal "take a pic w/ the audience". Where as most people just sit in the middle of the stage w/ back to audience and photographer takes the shot w/ the audience in background...she took 3. One for center, one for left side and one for right side. Not sure if other artists have done this but I thought it was cool. Also I am very much in one of those pics and can see myself! Sure I'm blurry because I'm further away but I'm def in it! So I can say I got a pic w/ IU now and was part of her history making 1st American concert!

I'm still reeling from it and haven't come down. It's the concert of a lifetime and I highly recommend grabbing some resell tickets in any of the other cities she's playing in. I know I would have been happy if I sat further up as she really plays the whole arena. You can thank me after. 

Thank you, IU for treating us to a fantastic experience. One I'll never forget. Have a great rest of the tour! #IU

[bobbinacrossafricatake2]

Ngorongoro

June 3, 2024

Super early start for a very long day. Complaining? Absolutely not! Today was totally amazeballs (to quote Pluto, the late schnauzer who became famous during Covid, whose other is NJ Wright, wildlife photographer @njwright , https://www.instagram.com/pluto.living?igsh=YWF0dDdtYTB4czZu). We got up at 5:00 AM, coffee delivered to a horizontal dumbwaiter in our room (hole in the wall with a door on the outside and inside, so staff can deliver things without much bother… although Seb did chat with our coffee deliverer) at 5:15 and at 5:45, we drove away, complete with bush babies (hot water bottles in fluffy coats) on our seats. It was super chilly at that hour and still dark. Down the long bumpy road to the bumpy main road to the turn off onto the crater descent road. Anaeli had to stop to register and on we went down a zig-zag road (pavers, thank goodness!) to the floor of the crater. Three million years ago, there was a ginormous volcano that caved in on itself making the caldera - the flat bottom. Also, interestingly, all of the ash spewed onto the surrounding areas made the soil all around very rich, even to this day, due to animals eating produce from the area and “re-depositing” it. Driving down into what looked like a wasteland, we wondered what we would possibly see. First, at the bottom, some Guinea fowl doing their crazy walks along the dirt path in front of us. And then Anaeli said “lions….” Five lionesses and four cubs came slowly into view, followed by a young adult male (who was not welcomed and sent away by one of the females). It was wonderful, watching them approach, rest, the kids - one covered in mud - play and romp, even playing king-of-the-hill on a mound of dirt. Slowly some other cars came up and we were so grateful to have had the pride to ourselves for a while. What a way to start the day! It was almost a relief to have had a fab kitty cat sighting early, as the pressure was off to find one. We did see a few other lions, but no sighting as fun as that one. For the remainder of 11 hours we saw countless amazing animals. Anaeli was great about letting us sit and wait for animals a bit far away to approach us, which gave us good time to observe. We saw loads of creatures together on the plains, some playing, resting, walking, swimming. It’s utterly impossible to capture the variety and amazing interactions. As a flavor: beautiful birds, white and black rhinos, ellies, Thompson and Grant’s gazelles, greater and lesser flamingoes, hippos, elands, warthogs (which Seb thinks are ugly and whose honor Jill defends), ostriches, wildebeasts, zebras (so cute resting their heads on one another), jackels, hyenas…. Holy moly - talk about sensory overload.

We stopped at a surprisingly nice loo just before breakfast at a picnic area. We did not need to go to the food truck (seriously, a food truck!) because Anaeli put out an amazing spread. Some folks were at picnic tables, but Anaeli set out folding chairs and a table in the shadow of the vehicle and we indulged in the contents of two coolers sent by the lodge. Fab! Much later, we admitted that we’d really prefer another loo to “checking the air in the tires.” So we booked it across the crater only to find the bathrooms closed. Behind our Toyota Land Cruiser worked just fine… the ultimate loo with a view. We had lunch - again yummy and enough food for a family of five - in the vehicle. Sarah, still struggling with her cold managed even a few catnaps on long stretches of the drive and despite the bumps and rolls.

We are so thankful to Anaeli for being patient, helping us understand not only animal behavior but also the local culture, and for being an outstanding spotter and guide.

Back at the lodge, we were happy to see that the 11 other guests had arrived in four different groups. (It felt odd being only one of three last night with many many staff on hand!) We chatted with a few while having a glass of wine in the living room/lounge then joined Peter for dinner. So enjoyable to chat with someone who had been to many of the same places we’ve been to and who had highly entertaining travel stories to tell. Fun end of a spectacular day.

[crimzoncrow]

ty for tagging me @mamawasatesttube !! <3

1. are you named after anyone? Not really! My middle name is my mom’s mom’s mom’s name (I think? Might be another generation back), but my first name isn’t for anyone.

2. when was the last time you cried? Almost exactly twenty four hours ago, I was having one of my bimonthly identity crises <3

3. do you have kids? Unless we’re counting friends barely younger than me who’ve declared me their mother, absolutely not lol

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? It depends on who I’m with! I guess not really? I use it a lot more when I’m upset about something or joking about something I don’t like I think, I just realized

5. what sports do you play/have you played? I used to play soccer, when I was little! Like, elementary school. I guess I also did gymnastics when I was even younger but it wasn’t sport-y gymnastics

6. what’s the first thing you notice about other people? Depends on how we first interact! Online it’s typically typing style, formality, and tone. Helps me figure out how I should respond, if I interact with them

7. what’s your eye color? Brown!

8. scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings!!! Scary movies give me really bad paranoia lol. Sometimes I can avoid it by pointing out mistakes or production details I notice, but then I’m not really… watching the scary movie as a scary movie anymore. I’m also just a sucker for a good happy ending!!!

9. any special talents? Hey look at how hard I can hyperfocus *crochets for 17 hours straight no breaks*. More seriously though, none that I really know of? I guess I’m kind of flexible but that’s more of a my joints really suck thing than a talent thing

10. where were you born? New Jersey, gotta keep up my mom’s family’s tradition of having some Jersey in them even if they were raised elsewhere (It’s like… kind of strange LOL. They’re literally all over the place but we’ve all got some tie to nj somehow?? I think I know one single person in the entirety of my moms family who wasn’t born in nj or spent the majority of their life there, and it’s bc their parent moved before they got them).

11. what are your hobbies? Drawing, writing, crochet (apparently?? that ones still kinda new to me even if it’s ,, been a few months lol), reading, uhhhh. I’m sure there’s more they come and go

12. do you have any pets? NO I WISH I DID im screaming and sobbing i cannot at the moment but as soon as i can i WILL

13. how tall are you? 5’ 4” ish? I thought I was just under 5’ 5” the second to last time I checked but last time I went to the doctor they said I was like 5’ 3.75” or something so it’s very confusing to me 😔😔 Most of the people I’ve spoken to think the 5’4” is most accurate tho

14. favorite subject? Uhh art? That feels like a copout lol. Overall, probably english? English, art, sciences in general… I can also like history? I don’t have anything against math either?? Most of the time whether or not I like a subject has more to do w whether I associate them w good or bad teachers I’ve had LOL

15. dream job? MAN i have NO IDEA . Ive been agonizing over this so bad . My current goal for career is just “something where I can do something I love and make things that make people happy”, probably in the arts, but you know that’s . Not really very specific lol. And also I’m just interested in other things too!!! If I were going to a different college there’s a super huge chance I’d be looking at stuff w/ linguistics more. Idk!! A job I like that’s stable and secure and also I can make enough money to do hobbies I like and spend time with friends!!! Whatever that is, if I can ever find it!!!!

i am so very terrible at tagging people so if someone sees this and wants to do it just say i tagged you <33 this was very fun!!

[theboardwalkbody]

My boyfriend and I spent Monday in the city (NYC) and today (Wednesday) in Pennsylvania (specifically went to Shady Maple Smorgasbord and Gift Shop).

NJ transit is free this week so I wanted to take advantage by going to the city again for the first time in years. I was angry and depressed during the city trip and rushed a bit. Got to see a 4.56 billion year old meteorite, though. Checked out the Nintendo Store for him, and then I left picking a place to eat up to him and he picked Bubba Gump because "it's different" (and later on he also told me it was also because he knew I love the movie). I always stop in to the gift shop when I am around but never got to eat there until now. It was good. So I enjoyed that part of the trip.

Today my parents, my sister and her boyfriend and my boyfriend and I all drove out to Shady Maple Smorgasbord. I haven't been there since ~2011 and my boyfriend has never been. We walked the huge gift shop (where I gave in to my inner magpie and played in the pretty rock pile for 15 minutes or more), the Amish quilt shop and goods stores, and then ate dinner. I saw a bunch of cute things at the shop that I wanted and my boyfriend was all "why don't you get yourself something?" but financially I need to be super careful because I'm currently without work (I have my job but no hours ATM). So as we were finishing dessert he disappeared (said he needed the restroom) and then was gone for almost 20 minutes. We met up with him at the exit since we were leaving anyway and turns out he was in the gift shop the whole time because he surprised me with one of the things I pointed out to him earlier (a ceramic inchworm). It was a really good day (that I seriously needed). 2 hour drive home meant we got to nap since we weren't the ones driving.

[whereareroo]

CAMPING AND FISHING

WF UPDATE (8/14/24).

On our final full day at Campground #3 (we leave in the morning), I’m sitting under a shade tree and I’m supervising the nap of GK #3. Per family tradition, she’s asleep in my running stroller. I’m good at supervising naps.

The good news is that I have a bit of time to chat.

As you know, I’ve been sleeping in a tent with GK #1. The girls hog the RV. I have sleeping issues. I’m bothered by the slightest bit of noise. There is an exception to that rule: CRICKETS. I love the sound of crickets, and this campground has a wonderful cricket choir. Every night, I fall asleep during a lovely cricket concert. Life is strange.

I’ve been fishing since childhood. I’m not very good at it, and I don’t really like it. I do it anyway. For some reason, I have this belief that everybody should fish. I don’t understand the origins of this belief. My parents didn’t fish. My grandparents didn’t fish. Does it trace back to my ancient Irish ancestors? Time in the outdoors is always valuable, but fishing introduces a particular set of values. Fishing teaches us patience, and how to deal with boredom. It also teaches how to deal with frustration and persistent failure. Over the course of the past four days at Campground #3, we’ve spent at least 15 hours fishing. I don’t know when, but GK #1 and his sister (GK #2) have decided that fishing is their thing. Their interest was substantially enhanced by the fact that we caught a ton of fish in the pond and in the river. I guess they’re Irish.

Every campground is different. This one is very working class. We’re near New Paltz, New York. It’s about 100 miles from New York City. The place is filled with suburban families who own relatively inexpensive camping rigs. They’re all from NY, NJ, or CT. Approximately 9O% of the campsites are occupied by a working Mom, a working Dad, and a few youngish kids. These folks probably get 3 weeks of vacation a year. They save one for Christmas and they take another in single days during the year. This is their big summer vacation. They exploit every minute. They’re up early, and they’re still running around at 10 p.m. Normal bedtimes don’t exist at a place like this. They’ll all go home tired and happy. On the drive home, they’ll talk about camping again next summer. It’s a slice of America.

When I was a kid, we had “cap guns.” Do you remember them? They were fake western pistols that make a bang. The bangs were created by a “cap,” which is a very small dot of gunpowder. In my case, the caps were embedded in a small roll of red paper that was inserted into the gun. In later versions, the caps were arranged in a circular disk that went into the guns. The bang occurs when the hammer on the gun hits the cap. I thought that cap guns were outlawed years ago. I haven’t seen one in years. Well, they’ve obviously made a comeback. This place is flooded with them. Dozens and dozens of kids are running around with cap guns!

Why am I talking about cap guns? I’ll tell you.

This post was interrupted by the sudden awakening of GK #3. We were about 10 minutes away from our campsite. On the way back, we chatted. When we got back, the 4 year old angel told me that she needed more sleep in her camping bed. We went into the RV. (Everyone else was swimming.) Every time she was almost asleep, the little jerk from the next campsite would shoot his cap gun. GK #3 would hear the noise and complain. What is a good grandfather supposed to do in such a situation? Well, the little jerk next door now has a broken trigger finger. Accidents happen at campgrounds. Oops!

While it’s quiet here, I need to do some camp chores. Stay tuned.

[asprinterandamarathon]

BOTR - Day 16 - June 30, 2014

Marathon Day!

My alarm went off at 3:30am. I got out of bed a few minutes later and went downstairs to start the ritual of force feeding myself so that I’d have the calories necessary to run for 4+ hours. Jane appeared a few minutes after. We both did our food prep and started eating to the extent we could considering our lack of appetites at that hour.

Around 4:00am, Sally came downstairs ready to drive us to the shuttle bus pickup point. We had to drive about a mile. As we got closer to the pickup more and more runners appeared. We walked with them across a bridge towards the University of Montana campus and the buses.

It’s amazing how wide awake people can be on a bus at 4:30am headed to the start of a race. All we heard was chatter all around us. People were introducing themselves to their seat mates, talking about this race and others they had done, lamenting injuries, bragging about personal bests, and more. Energy buzzed throughout the bus.

Pic before the start!

It took almost 30 minutes to get to the start. When we arrived at just before 5:00am there were fewer than 100 people milling around. If needed, we had our pick of the port-o-johns. At 5:00 on the nose, fireworks lit up the sky to indicate that we had one hour to go. This happened every 15 minutes until the start. By 5:15 there were hundreds more runners in the staging area.

While we waited we talked to a few people. We met one retired gentleman from Freehold, NJ who hadn’t run a marathon in over a decade. Another gent was wearing a Boston Marathon cap so I asked him when he ran it. 2004 was his answer.

Shortly after the 15 minute warning, Jane and I lined up at the start. It was hard to see the pacers line up ahead of us. I had been working towards a specific goal time but I knew it wasn’t possible with the pain I was suffering.

At 6:00am a larger barrage of fireworks filled the sky to signal the start of the race. I kissed Jane and wished her a good race! I needed to move away quickly as I choked up over the thought of her doing her first marathon and knowing she was going to do well and enjoy it. I looked forward to seeing her at the finish.

Diane, Sally, Adriene, Jeanne, and Galen all cheered us on at various places along the course. It was great to see them and it certainly energized us when we needed it most. We really appreciated them hoping from place to place and waiting for us over the hours that we were running.

Pure joy!

Grrrr.

Still lovin’ it!

Sprint to the finish!

Later I was thrilled to see her cross the finish with great form and a huge smile on her face! We celebrated with the family all afternoon and wrapped up the evening with a kick ass game of Phase 10.

Done!

Family cheering section!

Onesie for baby Thoma! Matches Jane’s race sweatshirt.

Every race needs a lap chicken and a sheep on a leash!

I’d like to say I slept well after but my running aches and pains amplified as the night went on. Regardless, it was a great day.

[keefwho]

May 15 - 2024 Wednesday

10:26pm

4/10

This morning I woke up and used the bathroom. I was messaging TK about her new job and told her about some stuff I've been going through. She offered to call and talk about it which we did and it was a big help. All I really needed was to talk. During that I fixed the wifi connection on my sister's laptop, I don't know what was wrong but I got it. TK and I talked for over an hour which left me late to shower and breakfast. I took a quick one and threw a can of spaghettios in the microwave for a quick meal. I decided not to stream today and spent time with BR and JG while they were available instead. BR was gone for most of it so JG and I had a nice chat together. I didn't expect that, he's nice. I skipped my warmups today and worked on GZ's comic commission for only 90 minutes on and off. As usual, not streaming took a toll on my focus. I regret it, I feel like I didn't try hard enough. I tuned into Henry's stream to relax and then I wrote about my abandonment fears. I finished that in time for lunch but instead of cooking, I chopped the peppers and sausage I had in the fridge so I could freeze it all. I wasn't hungry and didn't have much time left for lunch so I made a pack of soup, a different brand than usual. It was 2 months past it's sell by date but that was okay, I made it and it was good.

Running off the regret of earlier, I buckled down to get today's request done and worked on an AI redraw of princess celestia. I was pretty rough at drawing today so I didn't make much progress but I did put in the time at least. Then I worked on my pony avatar and added visemes and experimented with how I'll make the eyes. I had joined TK, NJ, and MK in called for work and for awhile afterwards when it was chill time. I vacantly played KSP while they talked and at some point NJ started looking at the just chatting section on Twitch, largely looking to judge female streamers. It was a sort of joke at first but he made me legitimately uncomfortable with what he was doing. Basically calling every single girl either dumb or a whore based on their appearance/voice. And of course the classic ranking of their bodies. I admit I don't like their content in general either but I wouldn't shit on them for it. I got the impression this guy REALLY hates women and I started to call him out for it. So was TK, in a joking sort of way but I think she was serious too. I was legitimately disgusted this evening and if this kind of behavior keeps up (and if they keep saying the N word on occasion) then I'm not going to be attending that VC anymore. I'll just have to hit up TK one on one. After that fiasco, they started watching an anime about monsters and hunters and the lamest hunter ever or something. It was kind of interesting but VERY generic to me. It also made me uneasy with how much horrible death there was in the second episode and how pitiful the main character is. It definitely appeals to people who think that are actually the lamest people on earth, hoping they will experience a miracle that makes THEM special like they always wanted to be. I left when DS was in bed but they were all about to disband anyways. DS brought up how her weekend sleep schedule has to change which I was aware of, it was perfectly reasonable. I feel embarrassed that I was so worried before about things, it highlighted just how bad my trust and security issues can be. I had a lot to think about today. We did our puzzles and caught up on yesterdays. She also told me all about this furry character in charge of some events abusing his power and doing some shady shit. Then it was sleepy time. While she slept I played KSP and made a moon lander for Iota. It went great. Then I did my dishes, brushed my teeth, and I plan to watch Burke play this new WWII game while I'm in bed.

Things were really hard today in general. I've been doing a lot of beating myself up. I've been feeling sort of hopeless and lack motivation in general. Such a big part of me SCREAMS that things are falling apart and that I can't count on anyone in my life to stick around for any length of time. They are illogical feelings but feelings usually are. I just don't have the mental energy to do what I think I need to do. I'm exhausted.

I had a lofty idea though. Im thinking about reserving maybe 4 days where I'll get into VRchat nonstop aside from showering, cooking, and sleep. But I'll be completely alone the whole time. I'd turn off discord and only go to invite only worlds. The point would be to do something sort of like when people go into the desert to find themselves. But I'd be in a virtual world. I don't know if this would defeat the purpose but I could stream it on Twitch too, just with no chat and with my mic off. This is something I think I want to do when I get the spare days. I think if I can commit to that much alone time, I should realize some important things and hopefully come out much better because of it.

[greydiminishing]

2/3/24

yesterday was my birthday. I had a good day.

My first class yesterday was fun, we came up with project ideas as a class, then someone would pick one of the ideas, and those who liked it could come together and form a group. I'm excited about my project topic (developing a daily outfit picker), AND everybody I secretly hoped to be in a group with JOINED MY GROUP!! I'm so lucky!

Between this and my next class, I ate a granola bar. I got these Sunbelt banana granola bars and they're probably the best granola bars I've ever had. They taste like dessert, it made me happy lol. Now I have to try all the flavors.

I worked a bit on the project for my next class, its writing python methods and unit tests for a postgres database. I found that it seemed to be pretty straightforward and kinda fun. As long as I don't leave it to the last minute like last time :p. This next class was just lecture, so not too bad, but then we ended class 20 minutes early?? lucky again!!

After this I have 4 hours till my next class. I got a bagel and a brownie from a cafe on campus. I asked for a plain bagel with cream cheese. I kinda expected to get it how you get bagels in NJ, loaded with cream cheese, sandwiched together and wrapped in foil. They handed me a parchment bag with a bagel and 2 of those mini Philadelphia cream cheese cups. Honestly I was a little disappointed, I mean, as disappointed as you can be over just a bagel lmao. But you mean I gotta make it myself?!? I took it home and toasted it, and had half with cream cheese and half with butter. Tell me why this was one of the best bagels I've ever had?? The outside was crispy and shattering, the inside was still soft and chewy, it was so good omg.

A few days ago my mom sent me a package with my meds, and some "other stuff" that she wanted me to call before I opened. The "other stuff" was birthday presents!! In the box was a lovely card, a pack of mini red velvet muffins, some of my favorite cashews and macadamia nuts, a bag of these lattice cut chips I really like, a packet of fajita seasoning I really like lol, a cute purple pepper spray that goes on your keychain, and a really nice mug. So much stuff, I really wasn't expecting it haha! I had a quick call with my mom before I had to get to my next class.

Physics can be pretty boring and annoying sometimes. Idk if it was just because it was my birthday so everything was great, but class wasn't that bad. Pretty average. It is a two hour class though :/

After class I went to check out a "no-sew blankets and hot chocolate" campus event thing. When I went in they said they were out of blanket materials, and the line for the hot chocolate was crazy long (especially when I have hot chocolate at home lol), but then they gave me a $5 dunkin gift card?? huh?? That's pretty cool lol.

Then I stopped by Salsaritas for dinner, I got a burrito and chips and queso. This was a birthday treat for myself cause one small burrito and a bag of chips with queso was $15. That's crazy to me. I guess that's probably normal, but idk I can't justify that cost, so its a once in a while thing. It was good tho.

I stayed in for the night, watched Bocchi the rock, ate my burrito, had a red velvet cupcake. It was a good time.

I told my roommates it was my birthday and they asked if I had any plans. It's always so embarrassing to be like "ahh no, no plans I'm too tired and too busy with homework and stuff haha". But screw that! I DID have plans, and those plans were to enjoy my peaceful solitude in my cozy dark room (I didn't say that though lol).

It's very easy to be sad and sorry for myself because I didn't have any "plans" or do anything special. But I stayed in and watched anime, which is exactly what my INTP self likes to do on a friday night after a socially exhausting week of classes.

I had a good day and a good birthday :)

[forintiam]

An Absurd Lawsuit

A true story:

Amy, a humble, kind, hard-working small business owner in NJ, who is also actively involved in organizing and participating in various pandemic-related donation activities for hospitals, patients, and medical institutes.

One day, she receives a thick stack of court files, notifying her of a lawsuit filed by Mr. Wright, a 69-year-old Spanish-speaking individual. He claims that nine months ago, he saw a job advertisement at Amy's store, approached a supposed supervisor (in reality, her store never had a Spanish-speaking supervisor), and was told, in Spanish, that he was too old for the job. Feeling discriminated against, Mr. Wright demands a big chunk of money in his lawsuit.

Amy, was shocked and upset; and she's even more surprised, when she found out that the lawyer who backs up Mr. Wright is a big powerful lawyer Mr. King Who is an American top attorney, former President of Country’ Jurisdiction association; who holds 15 years consecutive Super Lawyer title. Despite constant pressure to settle and receive discounts on penalties money, Amy feels unjustly coerced and decides to bravely face the challenge.

She hires Lawyer A, who, intimidated by the opposing side's power, proves ineffective and costly at $500 per hour. Lawyer B follows a similar pattern. Amy's turning point comes when she finds the compassionate, honest, and experienced Lawyer Mr. Fleming. Together, they went through a difficult, painful and tedious four-year legal battle; they dealt with various challenges and traps from the other party, responded to the attacks and threats manipulated and exploited by the other party using trick and complicated law skills. At the same time, they had to cope with various harm and hardships on her and her witnesses' family caused by the pandemic. Amy and Mr. Fleming successfully endure the arduous journey, ultimately winning the lawsuit. (Pseudonym used in article)

Let's help on the project to transfer above real life story to a movie at:

#movie project #help #support #justice

[professional-cinephile]

Zach Lenardo’s strong run gave him a rousing win in 602 Crate Modifieds at Mahoning Valley Speedway

Two months ago when Edison NJ’s Zach Lenardo won his career first 602 Crate Modified feature at Mahoning Valley Speedway he was the benefactor of then leader Nick Baer misfortune of being bumped out of the front spot with six laps to go and inheriting the lead. He went on to claim the victory from there.

Fast forward 90 days and Lenardo was again behind Bear only this time he proved himself not by luck but talent. Lenardo started third and was quickly tucked in behind Bear at the outset while never letting the leader get any type of distance on him.

Matter of fact Lenardo was able to pull even with Baer by the seventh tour and two laps later take over the lead but the next time by it went right back to the No. 41. Not about to give in Lenardo returned the favor on Baer on the ensuing circuit and was then able to pull away after solidifying the lead. He was on cruise control the rest of the way, going unchallenged on his way to a solid second win.

“It was fantastic to get this win and I was just so focused. We worked on the car all week to get ready for tonight. We knew it would be tough with the competition we have in this class but all the hard work and hours paid off,” said the 16-year old Lenardo.

Although this is only his second time in Victory Lane with a stock car, winning is nothing new for Lenardo who comes out of Quarter Midgets with a boatload of victories. The close action between him and Baer carried him back to those days.

“That really brought me back to how we raced in Quarter Midgets battling like that back and forth almost every lap. You have to have respect and we do but there’s a limit too,” he noted.

“In the heat race we put an older tire (left rear) on and it really didn’t work out and then for the feature we changed it and it really settled down for us and it stuck great to the track,” he continued.

“This 602 class is so tough and there’s a lot of good drivers and when you have that you need to keep on your game. This was great too to win again here at Mahoning Valley, it’s where I started my stock car career and this is my home track.”

Baer was able to hold on for second tough in the closing laps a trio of cars came upon him with Bobby Jones racing side-by-side with Brody George and tucked in closely with them was Greyson Ahner.

Mark Hudson swept the night with the Late Models from his heat and onto the feature, leading every lap of the night in the process.

It was the second time winning this year for Hudson who bested Brian Romig Jr. Both drivers are now tied for the lead in the point standings.

Austin Santee picked his first Street Stock win in 12 years in the make-up July 15 feature. Santee was able to lead up until one lap to go when Cody Geist made a bold move for the top spot inside of Turn 3 and took the checkers first.

However, his pass was made to far inside the designated race area parameters and he was relegated back to second spot, giving Santee the victory, his first since September 17, 2011.

            In the regular feature Randy Ahner Jr., was just way too good over the rest of the pack en route to his first win of the season. Ahner Jr., unseated Todd Ahner for the lead after 10 laps complete and then dusted the field with no one in his sight by the time he reached the checkers over Eric Kocher.

            There has now been 11 different winners in 12 races thus far with the Street Stocks.

            Race #3 of the Evergreen Raceway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Dual Track Series for the 4 Cylinder Stocks/Hobby Stocks took place and in a performance that proves why he is a title contender, Mahoning point leader Cody Boehm won the 40-lap affair over Corey Edelman.

            Boehm snagged the lead from early pace setter Scott Adams and then pulled way out ahead to a four-plus second lead before seeing that wiped away due to a caution. On the restart Edelman was alongside and try as me may on that and two more re-go’s, Boehm would not relinquish his spot. Edelman settled for second with Jake Kibler third.

            What a birthday present Joe Steigerwalt got from his two kids as Gabrielle Steigerwalt led every lap of the Futures main and won for the third time. Meanwhile her younger brother and point leader Adam passed Caz Takacs at the line making it a one-two finish for the siblings.

            Josh Patterson passed Tyler Wagner midway through the ECTQM main and won for the first time with the TQ Midget club at Mahoning. Likewise with Jay Smith who also won for the first time with Modified Micro Stocks.

602 Crate Modified feature finish (25 laps): 1. Zach Lenardo, 2. Nick Baer, 3. Bobby Jones, 4. Brody George, 5. Greyson Ahner, 6. Avery Arthofer, 7. Branden Sullivan, 8. Nick Schaeffer, 9. Deegen Underwood, 10. Makayla Kohler, 11. Paul French Jr.

Late Model feature finish (25 laps): 1. Mark Hudson, 2. Brian Romig Jr., 3. Seth VanFossen, 4. Brooks Smith

Make-up Street Stock feature finish from 7/15 (30 laps): 1. Austin Santee, 2. Cody Geist, 3. TJ Gursky, 4. Randy Ahner Jr., 5. Eric Kocher, 6. Jillian Snyder, 7. Mark Deysher, 8. Jacob Boehm, 9. Jamie Smith, 10. Todd Ahner, 11. Randy Green, 12. Geary Rinehimer Jr., 13. Josh Kuronya, 14. Denis Buss

Regular Street Stock feature finish (30 laps): 1. R. Ahner Jr., 2. Kocher, 3. T. Ahner. 4. Deysher, 5. Geist, 6. Bennett, 7. Gursky, 8. Snyder, 9. Boehm, 10. Santee, 11. Green, 12. Smith, 13. Rinehimer Jr., 14. Kuronya

DTS Hobby Stock feature finish (40 laps): 1. Cody Boehm, 2. Corey Edelman, 3. Jake Kibler, 4. Parker Ahner, 5. Michael Wambold, 6. Travis Solomon, 7. Scott Adams, 8. Micah Adams, 9. Maggie Yeakel, 10. BJ Wambold, 11. Jared Frye, 12. Lyndsay Buss, 13. Don Bauder, 14. James Tout, 15. Jacob Boehm, 16. Nick Schaffer, 17. Mallory Kutz, 18. Shayne Geist, 19. Dave Imler Jr.

Futures feature finish (15 laps): 1. Gabrielle Steigerwalt, 2. Adam Steigerwalt, 3. Chaz Takacs, 4. Sarabeth Mesko, 5. Michael Klotz, 6. Adam Heckman, 7. Al Gildner, 8. Rodney Breiner, 9. Zoe Kuchera

ECTQM feature finish (20 laps): 1. Josh Paterson, 2. Tyler Wagner, 3. Don Zirinski, 4. Jeff Kot, 5. Lexi Przplynski, 6. Richie Coy, 7. Ozzy Carlino, 8. Dave Williams, 9. Graham Hughes, 10. Mark Czervinski, 11. Ken Hirt

Modified Micro Stock feature finish (12 laps): 1. Jay Smith, 2. Tom Ervin, 3. Tyler Wagner, 4. Richie Przybylinski, 5. Mike Haskins, 6. Jim Van Dine

MVS PR

Source

https://sportsworldinfo.com/zach-lenardos-strong-run-gave-him-a-rousing-win-in-602-crate-modifieds-at-mahoning-valley-speedway/">

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[blue-eyed-bloodstains]

What color are your eyes? blue

Is anyone you work with currently on maternity leave or vacation? I haven’t worked in over 5 years

Favorite boy’s name? Riley

Baked macaroni and cheese or regular? regular, not a big fan of baked.

What’s the first thing you learned how to draw? probably whatever any kid does?

Name one of your friends’ children: Trinity

What was the name of your 5th grade teacher? honestly I can’t remember and I wish I could cause she couldn’t stand me for god knows what and I couldn’t stand her because of it lol

Sterling silver or titanium? my skin is iffy with silver and gold, the whole turns green thing but I love silver anyway!

How many hours do you work in a day? I haven’t in over 5 years

Have you ever been to a casino? several times just walking through or at the bar in Atlantic City plus seeing Evanescence live, but I’ve never gambled

Who wrote the last book you read? I honestly can’t remember...it’s been a long time, trying to push myself to pick up again 

What’s the middle name of your bestfriend? girl - Spencer, guy - doesn’t have one

What’s your favorite food? sushi always, any seafood really!

How far away do you live from the closest aquarium? oh god I don’t even know lol I just had to look it up and closest to me is Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. so from where I live in PA, that’s an hour and a half drive so not too bad, pretty much the same drive I make to visit my dad and stepmom in NJ

Favorite girl’s name? a few...Vada, Kairi, Riley, Neveah, Shay

Name one of your candle scents: I need to get more candles but there’s lots in Yankee Candle I would load up on! vanilla, lavender, ocean/beach are a few

What’s the name of your favorite restaurant? there’s some good local ones around here for different foods

Are you in a relationship? If so, how long? yeah, Feb 13-14 marked 7 years together, we’ve been engaged for 2 years as of Christmas last year

Who in your family has a birthday in January? sigh this had to be a question....my cousin Tony, Jan 16 who this year just three days later went missing and on Jan 21 was found dead in a park sooo...as of now? none that I can think of... :(

When was the last time you lost power? How long was it out and the cause? umm few months ago maybe, we do on rare occasions when weather is real bad here which happens often given the area. it’s usually a few hours, worst case near half a day/overnight depending on when they can get it back

Do you know any twins? I used to in school

What’s your favorite flower? white rose

Pick 3 random colors: navy, olive, beige

Would you ever dye your hair that color? well beige is basically light brown, close to blonde soo done that...olive, no and navy...maybe especially with my blue eyes and pale skin 

Do you own any underwear that color? beige yeah

Can this be used as a last name? the colors? I hope not that’d be weird lol I know Olive can be a first name but not last

What’s your favorite country song? oh lord where to start? so many

Do you drink alcohol? heh...let’s not go here right now...

Do you use any food delivery services such as UberEats, DoorDash, etc? we live on DoorDash literally every single night, neither one of us cook

What color is your mailbox? your typical generic black one

What age did you lose your virginity? 19, three months shy of 20

Dogs or cats? both

Do you know anyone who’s been to prison? ohhh yeah, try most of the family...granted mostly jail but some were prison stints too

What’s one thing on your shopping list? CLOTHES. neeeeeeed clothes.

Freeze tag or musical chairs? freeze tag, I love tag and miss it

Where did you go on your last vacation? LA with my fiance

Have you ever been stuck in the mud? no thankfully

What was the last thing you took a picture of? screenshotted something important on my phone

Name someone you work with: I don’t

How far away is the closest Walmart? about a 10, 15 minute drive it’s close

Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell or McDonald’s? Taco and McD’s, never liked Chic-Fil-A much

Did you ever get an allowance as a child? once for all of a few weeks lol mostly we’d just go to the mall and get a video game or something for a good report card or honor roll

What food do you see the most of at baby showers? I’ve never been to one so not sure

Do you know the capital of your state? Harrisburg

Have you ever rode on a motorcycle? yeah more than once, loved it

When’s the last time you ate any type of sweet? last week, finished off a tin of Lindt chocolates I’d forgotten about and found while looking for something 

Pizza rolls or bagel bites? oooo both and now I want some!

What kind of flooring is in the room you’re in? carpet 

Is the internet connection good where you live at? yeah 

Do you need to do laundry? no just recently did it

What’s your favorite scent? coffee, vanilla, lavender, ocean breeze, Old Spice, sizzling steak or barbecue

Have you ever lived in a hotel before? no

What kind of pets does your grandmother have? none

Do you follow any type of trials? no

What’s the last show you really got into that you have to wait for the next season of? The Umbrella Academy Season 4, and the last part of The Final Season of Attack On Titan grrrrr both of which are this fall sometime 

SpongeBob or Patrick? Sponge, though Patrick has his moments

When’s the last time you saw fireworks? sometime last year. we can see em outside our front door over the skyline of Reading, our house is way up in the hills overlooking it 

Have you ever witnessed a car accident? several

Do you own a pair of fuzzy socks? no

What kind of ice cream is your favorite? oh god you’re killing me! Rocky Road, Banana Split, Coffee, Cotton Candy, Pina Colada...(yes obviously some of these are italian ices but still count lol)

Have you ever been skinny dipping? no

Sprinkles or frosting? frosting, I don’t mind sprinkles but meh I loooooove me some frosting though

Do you like mushrooms? I looooove mushrooms oh my goddddd

How many tattoos do you have? one on the inside of my right wrist

Do you own any type of hand sanitizers? just a mini travel size one from when COVID first hit

Have you ever worked in a grocery store? no

What’s your Subway order? it varies, I usually go for a BLT footlong, tuna footlong or Italian footlong

When was the last time you used the bathroom? why the fuck would you wanna know that...? O_O

Do you know how to roller skate? uhhh not really. actually I kinda skipped skates and went to blades, which I can just barely do only on a rink but I haven’t since I was like preteen

Can you read sheet music? no I wish

How old is your youngest sibling? I’m an only child

Do you have an Amazon account? no

What day is payday? I don’t work

What’s one food your family has at Thanksgiving? stuffing

Do you like painting? if I had any clue how to, I’d love it

Have you ever been swimming with dolphins? no I would love to though that looks like so much fun

What’s your favorite snack food? ANYTHINGGG. I’m a snack food junkie! I swear I could live on the shit if I could, especially popcorn

You’re watching Law & Order, is it the regular or SVU? SVU and wowwww timing cause there’s actually a marathon right now playing XD

What were you doing last time it snowed? not sure, we didn’t really get snow except a dusting all last winter

Do you have to sleep with a fan on? yes

Chapstick or lip gloss? both but it’s been a minute since I wore lip gloss

When was the last time you took a shower? seriously getting personal here man, get out of the bathroom! :P

Do you know how to play basketball? for fun yeah, was on an all girls team once in 5th grade but hated the competitiveness and the glory hounds

Name one thing you put on a salad: on, not in so I’m assuming dressing? balsamic vinaigrette

Do you own anything that’s your favorite color? oh yeah lol

What’s the last thing you ordered from a Mexican restaurant? quesadilla

Do you carry a purse or a backpack? purse

What kind of soda is your favorite? any kind really, love soda

Have you ever cut yourself shaving? a few nicks every now and then....

Penguins or pandas? they’re both cute Do you like your in-laws? not quite in laws yet...but yeah I love his parents to death, they’re amazing and we mesh so well

What do you usually do for Christmas? usually visit family, his one day and mine the other

Have you ever used any type of Aromatherapy? no

Toe socks or ankle socks? ankle Who’s your favorite Pokémon character? just Pokemon or the characters too? wayyyy too hard no way that’s asking me what’s your favorite song? 

What’s the temperature range in your area? not sure what you mean by range but..currently it’s 81 degrees F at 6:03pm, it’s gorgeous out

Does your trash need to be taken out? no already did it

Nachos or chips and salsa? chips and salsa baby!

What’s the name of your pets? Danyell, female tabby cat

Have you been around anyone that creeped you out? several times

What’s your Chick-fil-A order? I never eat there

Regular or pink lemonade? either one, just pray I avoid heartburn

Do you know anyone who’s lost their house in a natural disaster? no

What’s your favorite candy? pretty much anything! I’m a sucker for raisinets and sour gummy worms though Chinese or Japanese cuisine? Chinese

Colored pencils or sharpies? colored pencils

Do you own a pair of Crocs? hell no never

Have you ever been to DisneyWorld? sadly no

Does anyone in your family have a birthday in February? not that I can remember right now

How long does it take for your phone to fully charge? I always have it on the charging cord when I’m home, which is always..but if it needs a quick charge, doesn’t take too long. maybe 45 mins and it’s good to go

What color is your hairbrush? black

Is there any movies out that you want to see? yeah several and a few coming soon too

Do you know how to run a cash register? I did while I was working...but it’s been 5 years since I last worked, so I’d definitely need a full refresher

Chicken or beef noodles? both

What year did you get your drivers license? 2010

Do you have any piercings? yeah, the usual one in each ear and a belly button ring

What kind of makeup do you wear? eyeshadow, mascara, lipstick/gloss..sometimes eyeliner

What’s your Taco Bell order? party pack (12) of soft taco supremes, add/extra tomato with a large Baja Blast

Do you wear any type of shimmer spray or glitter? no

Have you ever lived in a trailer/doublewide? no surprisingly..though some places I’ve lived we used to call vertical trailers cause they may as well have been 

What’s your boyfriends/girlfriends middle name? fiance, and his middle name is Robert

Are you into anime? hell yeah I love anime!

Pizza or nacho lunchables? pssh are you kidding? there’s never been any contest, PIZZA!

Have you ever been to a strip club? no

Do you know how to play any instruments? I used to play clarinet and bells in school, 1 year for each...other than that no

Have you ever been inside of a courtroom? yep several times especially this past year with my DUI, and even been through a TRO trial I had against mom...

What kind of restaurants do you eat at while you’re on vacation? I never get to go on vacation, but I’d usually try out local spots especially ones they’re well known for

Did you ever participate in any pageants when you were younger? hell no thank god, I can’t stand seeing what the parents put those poor girls through it’s sick

What kind of cheese is your favorite? I’m Italian/Irish mostly..cheese is life lol I love all of it

Does your phone have any cracks or scuffs? only a slight one on the screen protector of it, the phone itself is fine from that and the case 

Have you ever had a professional massage? no

Which would you rather have, twins or triplets? less would be easier so twins but whatever I’m meant to have, are my kids 

Do you drink energy drinks? Monster and Starbucks Doubleshots

Can you swim? the basics yeah, for some unknown reason my body refuses to learn how to just lay back and float though lol

Make the perfect taco salad: never had one but basically a taco supreme without the tortilla lol

Have you ever lived with friends or a roommate? friends yeah once or twice

Who in your family has a birthday in March? my dad, March 8 and my stepsis March 10

What kind of pasta do you like? GIMME ALLLLLLLLL THE PASTA

Do you know how to play volleyball? for the most part yeah...I’ve taken a straight within inches, full strength spiked ball to the face like a pro too :| 

How much decorating do you do around the holidays? none, we barely even do a tree anymore really..well at our house anyway, family always does

Have you ever been on a cruise? no and I want to soooo bad...straight to open bar for a mai tai and lounge by the pool on the top deck in the sun 

At what age did you learn how to tie your shoes? uhhh it was kindergarten so hell...I was maybe 4? 

Oreos or chocolate chip cookies? both

What did you dress up for Halloween as a child? lots...pumpkin, chicken, Jasmine from Aladdin, Marill from Pokemon..that’s all I can remember out of em all 

Can you count to ten in Spanish? yeah

Name a character from your favorite TV show: Jude Harrison

Do you like going to arcades? yeah I’m a gamer always have been

What was the last personal care item you bought from the store? pads

Airplanes or helicopters? planes

Have you ever been camping for more than a week? never more than a few days

What kind of meat do you like the most? most of it

Do you actually stop and pet dogs you actually see? I say hi and call to em, smile and compliment them to the owner if there is one but no, I don’t pet without permission just in case

Have you ever been in an ambulance? yep several times

What’s the craziest thing you’ve found at a hotel before? when we got to the room on vacation in VA a few months into dating and he was showing me his “stomping grounds” from when he was stationed in Newport News for the Navy, I happened to look in the drawer of the nightstand and there was the bible (usual) but next to it was this coin purse which looked full. curious, we opened it and it was full of like, four different brands of condoms lol the irony of the bible being next to it was amazing

How far is the closest Target? about 15 min drive, not too far

Snakes or spiders? oh dear god snakes, get the fuck away from me with the latter! I’m severely arachnophobic!

What’s your Panera Bread order? depends..usually a flatbread pizza and I always get their chicken noodle soup, best damn chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had! whatever they do to it is amazing

Do you have any cool keychains? my fiance brings home a few from the jobs he’s sent to sometimes, they’re all on my carabiner that holds my keys 

How old is your oldest living grandparent? none biologically, I forget how old my dad’s mom is

Do you watch movies? doesn’t everyone?

Who in your family has a birthday in April? my fiance’s mom April 12, my grandfather (RIP) April 13, my fiance April 23, my cousin Jakey April 30

Have you ever had your nails done professionally? a few times

What color Christmas tree do you use? green, we always get natural

What’s your go to dipping sauces? ranch or ketchup

Do you know how to properly pack a U-Haul truck? no

What was your least favorite math? honors level Algebra 2...furthest I got before graduation, moved around so much and repeated Algebra so much I never got to take most of the others everyone else did like calc or trig

Have you ever been published in a magazine? no

What color is your snow gloves? don’t have any

How old were you when you last went to the dentist? 17...yeah I know it’s disgusting, overdue is not even the word 

Do you own a printer? yeah never really use it

What’s your Applebees order? depends on what I’m feeling...but one thing’s for sure going on that damn table and that’s my spinach and artichoke dip!! 

Do you bring home seashells from the beach? yeah always

What kind of video games do you play? pretty much anything, more adventure/rpg..think Zelda, Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, etc. but I love all games

Is anyone in your family in law enforcement? not anymore, some have history though.

How long ago was the last funeral you attended? January 29, 2023 so this year...my cousin only a year older than me, murdered days after his birthday the week before it...

What color is the blanket on your bed? my weighted blanket is like a burnt orange color

Where did you get your name from? mom loved my first name from the get go and at the time it wasn’t as popular like it was as I got older through school. my two middle names, one is hers and one is my great grandmother’s first name. last name is sperm donor’s last name unfortunately...can’t wait for our wedding so I can finally rid myself of it once and for all

Do you wear lipstick? when I put on make up yeah, which I rarely do anymore except going to see family for holidays or date night which rarely ever happens too...

What’s a fruit you dislike? can’t think of one, I love fruit

What kind of donuts do you like? not a big fan but when I do eat em on occasion, boston creme filled for sure and of course I’m east coast so I gotta reference Dunkin Donuts here! :D

Do you know how to braid hair? no

What’s one accessory you wear? occasional earrings or necklace..other than that it’s just my engagement ring which I always wear it’s not an accessory

How many hoodies/jackets do you own? many, I love hoodies (and yes most are his that I wear more)

What was the last name of the road you lived on? not putting that out there

What brand of chocolate do you prefer? Reese’s

Nike or Adidas? either one

What will your future wedding colors be? not sure yet...can’t even plan cause he’s barely ever home and we’re struggling to try and even save up..

Do you have a phone mount in your car? need a car after what happened last year but yeah, once I finally get a new one (hopefully soon), I’ll definitely have one. otherwise I just prop it in the cupholders lol

Make the perfect omelet: eggs, bacon, sausage, bell peppers, diced onions, ketchup, salt, pepper

[everythingloureed]

Humphreys was raised in Bridgeton, NJ, and San Antonio, TX. It was said that the family were of part Mexican Native descent. An apparent trans child who played with dolls, and wore girls’ clothes, Humphreys wanted to do people’s hair. As Rachel she graduated in hair-dressing at a cosmetology school in Bayonne, NJ, (north of Staten Island, across the river from Manhattan).

She was a regular at Max's Kansas City, the hip and glam rock nightclub on Park Avenue South. She also frequented the 82 Club on E 4th St which was in transition from a transvestite performance club to a glam rock and then punk club.  The New York Dolls did their first show there on April 17, 1974, when they performed in drag, except for Johnny Thunders who refused. They were followed by Wayne County (not yet using the name Jayne) and short-lived glitter bands like Teenage Lust and Harlots of 42nd Street.

It was there at this time that Rachel met Lou Reed, the musician. Lou described Rachel in an interview with Bambi magazine:

"It was in a late night club in Greenwich Village. I’d been up for days as usual and everything was at that super-real, glowing stage. I walked in there and there was this amazing person, this incredible head, kind of vibrating out of it all. Rachel was wearing this amazing make-up and dress and was obviously in a different world to anyone else in the place. Eventually I spoke and she came home with me. I rapped for hours and hours, while Rachel just sat there looking at me saying nothing. At the time I was living with a girl, a crazy blonde lady and I kind of wanted us all three to live together but somehow it was too heavy for her. Rachel just stayed on and the girl moved out. Rachel was completely disinterested in who I was and what I did. Nothing could impress her. He’d hardly heard my music and didn’t like it all that much when he did. Rachel knows how to do it for me. No one else ever did before. Rachel’s something else.”

She moved in with him right away. He was then living in a modest one-bedroom apartment at 405 East 63rd Street. Lou had already written a few songs about trans women, and with the single, “Walk on the Wild Side” (which referred to the Andy Warhol-sponsored trans stars, Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis) had his biggest hit. Rachel was at this time oscillating. Some days she was Ricky, and others he was Rachel. People who knew Lou and Rachel used either pronoun. One journalist referred to Lou’s ‘boyfriend named Rachel’. Both Lou and Rachel enjoyed the confusion and further muddied the water by wearing each other’s clothes. She was street-wise and spunky in a way that Lou only pretended to be. She was said to always carry a knife, and was good in a fight – which proved useful when a concert at the Pallazzo dello Sport in Rome turned into a riot 15 February 1975.

Lou had been working on his fourth solo album, Sally Can’t Dance – the title track and spin-off single assumed to refer to trans woman, Sally Maggio, who was manager at the 220 Club, another trans bar where Lou went drinking. Sally would in the 1980s open Sally’s Hideaway, and then Sally’s II, again a bar for trans persons and with trans performers. However it was Rachel whose image was on the obverse of the Sally Can’t Dance LP sleeve, drawn as if reflected in Lou’s shades.

She supported him on some of his tours. In New York, they lived for a while in the Gramercy Park Hotel, and then an upscale apartment on East 52nd St at FDR Drive where Henry Kissinger, Greta Garbo and John Lennon had lived. In 1975 they began to frequent the rather grimey but seminal punk club, CBGBs. Lou was recording Coney Island Baby, released January 1976 and several tracks refer to Rachel. At the end of the follow-up tour, Rachel was mugged and assaulted. A doctor was called, who inevitably referred to Rachel as ‘she’, even though Lou was saying ‘he’. As Aidan Levy says:

“Rachel had been contemplating gender reassignment surgery, but the transgender rights movement had not yet solidified, and not fully understanding the nature of the decision, Lou was adamantly opposed to any operations, a growing source of conflict in their relationship”.

Despite this, a friend commented: ““I think that Rachel was the glue holding Lou together, or at least keeping him in the public view in many respects … I know that he doted on her. If there was a light shining, it was the two of them together. It doesn’t mean it was the healthiest relationship in the world.” The cover of Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed, 1977 is of photographs of the two of them.

Rachel acted as road-manager on the next tour, managed the money, and watched over the road-crew. They were in London for their third anniversary and ordered a three-tier cake to celebrate, and Lou gave her two diamond rings. He said:

"Rachel knows how to do it for me, no one else before ever did”.

However by the end of 1977, Lou and Rachel were fighting more and more, and frequently it was about the issue of transgender surgery. She had a date for surgery but backed off as Lou said:

“Well why are you doing that? I love you because of the way you are”.

The title track of Street Hassle, 1978, is about her, and an article in Rolling Stone referred to Rachel as the raison d’etre of the album, although in fact it marked the end of their relationship. Lou moved on, having met Sylvia Morales, who became his third wife in 1980.

Reed completely refused to talk about Rachel after 1978. He desisted and decided to go straight. Both his later marriages were with cis women.

Rachel died in 1990 age 37 at St Clare’s Hospital, which specialized in treating AIDS patients, and she was interred in the gigantic pauper burial site on Hart Island off the Bronx coast (which contains over a million corpses).

Lou died in 2013, aged 71, from liver failure.

LegsMcNeil & Gillian McCain. Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. Penguin books, 1997: 154-5, 206.

Marc Campbell.  "Rachel: Lou Reed’s transsexual muse".  Dangerous Minds, 02.06.2013.  Online.

Howard Sounes. Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed. Doubleday, 2015: 182-4, 187, 189, 191, 192, 194, 195, 202, 203, 205, 208, 212, 213, 214, 215-6, 221-2, 226, 229, 235, 248, 269.

Simon Reynolds. Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century. William Morrow Publishers, 2016: 271-2.

Aidan Levy. Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed. Chicago Review Press, 2016: 221-2, 227, 233, 244, 251-3, 264, 285.

Corey Kilgannon.  "Dead of AIDS and Forgotten in Potter's Field:  In an untold chapter of the AIDS epidemic, scores of unclaimed bodies were buried in a remote spot on Hart Island.  How many exactly remains unclear".  New York Times, July 3, 2018.  Online.  

[yourreddancer]

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

June 15, 2022 (Wednesday)In a letter to Georgia Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) this morning, the chair of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, Bennie Thompson (D-MS), dropped information, images, and video showing that Loudermilk had led individuals through the U.S. Capitol complex on January 5, 2021, in what sure looks like a reconnaissance tour. 

Thompson wrote that the committee had reviewed surveillance video, social media activity, and witness accounts and understood that Loudermilk led approximately 10 people “to areas in the Rayburn, Longworth, and Cannon House Office Buildings, as well as the entrances to tunnels leading to the U.S. Capitol,” on January 5, “despite the complex being closed to the public on that day.” The group “stayed for several hours.” “Individuals on the tour photographed and recorded areas of the complex not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways, staircases, and security checkpoints…. Their behavior…raises concerns about their activity and intent while inside the Capitol complex.” 

The letter went on to note that some of the people Loudermilk showed around the complex attended the January 6 rally at the Ellipse and that some of them joined the unpermitted march from the Ellipse to the Capitol. It quotes a video one of them made of the march, saying: “There’s no escape, Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler. We’re coming for you…. They got it surrounded. It’s all the way up there on the hill, and it’s all the way around, and they’re coming in, coming in like white on rice for Pelosi, Nadler, even you, AOC. We’re coming to take you out and pull you out….”

The letter noted—somewhat dryly, I have to say—that the information it has “raises questions the Select Committee must answer.” There have been accounts of surveillance tours since immediately after January 6, when Democratic members of Congress claimed to have seen them, and 34 Democrats led by Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) wrote to Capitol Police asking them to investigate. Republicans, though, insisted that was inaccurate, saying that “There were no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on. There’s nothing in there remotely fitting the depiction in Mikie Sherrill’s letter.”

  Now there is video and photographic evidence of just such a tour—even including someone in a MAGA hat—as well as a report that the committee has talked to the man to whom Thompson referred in his letter. This opens up a whole new can of congressional worms.

On May 19 the committee had asked Loudermilk to come in and review the evidence it had. He refused. On Monday, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger wrote a letter to Representative Rodney Davis, the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, a committee on which Loudermilk sits. Manger wrote that surveillance video showed Loudermilk with a group of approximately 12 people that later grew to 15, but that “[t]here is no evidence that Representative Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group on January 5, 2021,” nor did the group with Loudermilk "appear in any tunnels that would lead them to the US Capitol." “We train our officers on being alert for people conducting surveillance or reconnaissance,” Manger wrote, “and we do not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious."

Yesterday, Loudermilk chimed in: “The truth will always prevail. As I’ve said since the Jan. 6 Committee made their baseless accusation about me to the media, I never gave a tour of the Capitol on Jan 5, 2021… and a small group visiting their congressman is in no way a suspicious activity. Now the Capitol Police have confirmed this fact.”Now that we have the video evidence, the statements by Manger and Loudermilk illustrate exactly how someone can misdirect an observer without directly lying.

In fact, Thompson’s letter supports Manger’s claim that neither the group nor Loudermilk were in the tunnels themselves. They were photographing the entrances, checkpoints, and staircases used by members of Congress. But the misdirection worked: The AP News headline covering Manger’s letter read: “Police: Republican’s tour of Capitol complex not suspicious.” And Loudermilk has parsed the term “U.S. Capitol” to mean just that one building, not the entire complex, although we know that there was a plan afoot to take over many of the buildings in the complex, not just the one where Congress meets in session.

Ironically, the conspirators appeared to see their plan to overturn the election and install Republican Donald Trump in the presidency as some sort of a replay of the events of 1776. In a court filing today by a Proud Boy, Zachary Rehl, an exhibit included the “1776 Returns” document that showed up in a conversation between Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and an unknown person. After sending Tarrio the document, the individual apparently said “The revolution is more important than anything,” and Tarrio responded: “That’s what every waking moment consists of…. I’m not playing games.”

Now public, the document lays out a plan “[t]o maintain control over a select few, but crucial buildings in the DC area for a set period of time, presenting our demands in unity…. We must show our politicians We the People are in charge.” Those buildings included the Russell Senate Office Building, the Dirksen Senate Office Building, the Supreme Court, the Hart Senate Office Building, the Cannon House Office Building, the Longworth House Office Building, the Rayburn House Office Building, and “CNN—at least egg doorway.”

Their demands were stated as “a free and fair election” to be held on January 20, 2021, Inauguration Day, with paper ballots, no electronic voting, no mail-in ballots, no absentee ballots, IDs required for all, and monitored by the National Guard. “You are the revolution,” the document said. “Be a part of history & fight for this country so our children don’t have to. It’s all or nothing Patriots, boldness and bravery is necessary.” “Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pence & Bill Gates, We the people are watching you,” it said. “Rand Paul & Ron DeSantis, We the people love you.”

  Although we have now heard evidence from Trump’s attorney general William Barr, campaign manager Bill Stepien, White House lawyers, and even his own daughter, testifying under oath, that the 2020 election wasn’t stolen—and that such claims were at least in part a way to cheat small donors out of $250 million—insisting on the Big Lie has become a requirement for Republican candidates. Yesterday, Amy Gardner and Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post laid out how more than 100 of the Republicans who have won primaries have signed on to the Big Lie, including eight candidates for the U.S. Senate, eighty-six House candidates, five candidates for governor, four for state attorney general, and one for secretary of state.

When the forcible attempt to overthrow our government failed, the Republicans turned instead to taking over the machinery of elections, arranging election boards and reporting in such a way that Republicans could simply refuse to recognize that Democrats had been elected.

This scenario played out last night in New Mexico, when the three-person Otero County commission refused to certify the results of the June 7 primary because they claimed not to trust the voting machines, which are made by the same company Trump and his cronies falsely accused of switching votes, an accusation thoroughly debunked now, under oath, by Trump’s own inner circle. 

One of the commissioners, Couy Griffin, is a co-founder of Cowboys for Trump, said in 2020 that “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat,” and continues to believe that Trump won in 2020. He was at the Capitol on January 6 and will be sentenced this Friday for trespassing there. Another blamed the machines for her unwillingness to sign off on the results of the election: “[I]n my heart I don’t know if it is right,” she said. New Mexico’s secretary of state Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, asked the court to order the board to certify the election results, and today, New Mexico’s supreme court did so.For all that the insurrectionists fancy themselves acting like American Revolutionaries, they have the meaning of our nation’s founding exactly backwards. 

They tried to overturn the will of the American people to put Democrat Joe Biden in the office of the presidency, a will demonstrated by giving Biden a majority of more than 7 million votes and a majority of 306 to 232 in the Electoral College. In 1776, the Founders of what would later become the United States of America issued a declaration explicitly rejecting the idea that a government could be imposed on a majority by a minority and still be legitimate. 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the Declaration said. And it went on with another self-evident truth: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”