#memo's ted talk

[captn3]

by the way, everyone, you should be thinking about palestine every day. not an april fools. im serious. boops are funny and all but there are people dying violently as we speak. sorry not sorry for bringing the mood down

[the-stove-is-divorced]

i wish apple updates, ANY UPDATES, that change one small thing in the worst way possible while giving you no option to take it back, already having taken my info, my data, my privacy, now demanding what little joy and dignity I have left, a very much i hope you perish with fire on your skin and water in your lungs with the knowledge no one will ever love you and no one has.

[callixton]

fucking around on feeld for the first time an experiencing the conundrum where i’m probably more likely to find what i’m looking here and am also being reminded that 95% of kinksters are blatant nerds and it’s real tough to tell who’s cool vs insufferable about it

[liliansun]

DISCORD now has the VOICE memo,, 🤭

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows exchanged text messages with at least 34 Republican members of Congress as they plotted to overturn President Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.

Those messages are being fully, publicly documented here for the first time.

The texts are part of a trove Meadows turned over to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack that was obtained by TPM. For more information about the story behind the text log and our procedures for publishing the messages, read the introduction to this series. Meadows’ exchanges shed new light on the extent of congressional involvement in Trump’s efforts to spread baseless conspiracy theories about his defeat and his attempts to reverse it. The messages document the role members played in the campaign to subvert the election as it was conceived, built, and reached its violent climax on Jan. 6, 2021. The texts are rife with links to far-right websites, questionable legal theories, violent rhetoric, and advocacy for authoritarian power grabs.

One message identified as coming from Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) to Meadows on January 17, 2021, three days before Joe Biden was set to take office, is a raw distillation of the various themes in the congressional correspondence. In the text, despite a typo, Norman seemed to be proposing a dramatic last ditch plan: having Trump impose martial law during his final hours in office.

"Mark, in seeing what's happening so quickly, and reading about the Dominion law suits attempting to stop any meaningful investigation we are at a point of no return in saving our Republic !! Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall Law! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!!" - Rep. Ralph Norman

The text, which has not previously been reported, is a particularly vivid example of how congressional opposition to Biden’s election was underpinned by paranoid and debunked conspiracy theories like those about Dominion voting machines. Norman’s text also showed the potentially violent lengths to which some congressional Republicans were willing to go in order to keep Trump in power. The log Meadows provided to the Select Committee does not include a response to Norman’s message.

Reached via cell phone on Monday morning, Norman asked TPM for a chance to review his messages before commenting.

“It’s been two years,” Norman said. “Send that text to me and I’ll take a look at it.”

TPM forwarded Norman a copy of the message calling for “Marshall Law!!” We did not receive any further response from the congressman.

Based on TPM’s analysis, Meadows received at least 364 messages from Republican members of Congress who discussed attempts to reverse the election results with him. He sent at least 95 messages of his own. The Committee did not respond to requests for comment. Some of Meadows’ texts — notably with Fox News personalities and a couple members of Congress — have already been made public by the Committee, media outlets, and in the book “The Breach.” However, the full scope of his engagement with congressional Republicans as they worked to overturn the election has not previously been revealed.

Meadows’ text log shows what the scheme to reverse the election results looked like behind the scenes, revealing new details about which members of Congress helped spearhead the efforts and the strategies they deployed. The members who messaged Meadows about challenging the election included some of the highest-profile figures on the right flank in Congress, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), all of whom are identified as playing leading roles in the effort to undo Trump’s defeat.

One message that was dated Dec. 30, 2020 and was identified as coming from Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller described Brooks as a “ringleader” of the effort to block the electoral certification.

Miller declined to comment on this story. Brooks, who spoke with TPM on Monday morning, agreed that he played a leading part in the objection. The congressman, who is set to leave office when the next term begins on Jan. 3, 2023, suggested his case for objecting to the election result was based on a bipartisan 2005 report co-authored by former President Jimmy Carter and James Baker III, who served in multiple Republican administrations.

“There are a number of different people who took leadership roles,” Brooks said of the election challenge, adding, “I was certainly the leader with respect to the arguments that centered on arguments related to the 2005 report and on non-citizen voting.”

While the Carter-Baker report identified risks for “potential fraud” and instances where there was some malfeasance, it also concluded that “there is no evidence of extensive fraud in U.S. election.” Nevertheless, the document has since been exaggerated and mischaracterized by Trump and others to justify election-related conspiracy theories. Nevertheless, Brooks argued the Carter-Baker report and other prior studies showed “massive voter fraud” and suggested anyone who was not familiar with the reasoning behind those conclusions was unqualified to discuss American elections.

“That’s like claiming you’re a Christian but you don’t read the Bible,” Brooks said.

When pressed on conclusions from experts and from Trump-appointed officials that there was no significant fraud in the 2020 election, Brooks hung up the phone.

Based on the log, some of the election objectors saw themselves as participating in an epic battle. Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) sent at least 21 messages to Meadows and received at least four responses. On November 6, he dramatically urged Meadows to refuse to give up.

"Mark, When we lose Trump we lose our Republic. Fight like hell and find a way. We're with you down here in Texas and refuse to live under a corrupt Marxist dictatorship. Liberty! Babin" - Rep. Brian Babin

Babin and his office did not respond to requests for comment.

Meadows’ messages also provide an indication of the support the election objection received from right-wing dark money groups. The text log shows how the Republican efforts to fight the electoral certification at the Capitol became more organized and gained steam in the days after Biden’s victory. On Nov. 9, Edward Corrigan, the president and CEO of the Conservative Partnership Institute, wrote Meadows to say Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) would be holding a meeting about legal strategies with his colleagues at the organization’s Capitol Hill townhouse.

“Mike Lee has about a dozen Senators coming over to CPI tonight and they wanted to hear from a legal expert on what’s going on with the campaign,” Corrigan wrote. “Any suggestions who would be good for that?”

CPI, which would go on to employ Meadows after Trump left office, is a dark money group that has been described by NPR as “among the most powerful messaging forces in the MAGA universe.” It hosted meetings for the far-right House Freedom Caucus and, according to Meadows’ log, served as something of a headquarters for members of Congress working to overturn the election. Corrigan did not respond to a request for comment.

In addition to Lee’s meeting, Babin sent a text to Meadows in late December 2020 describing plans for an “objector meeting” at CPI. Babin was apparently concerned other members of Congress could try to thwart the efforts to object to the electoral certification and seemingly hoped former Vice President Mike Pence — who Trump and many of his allies felt had the power to certify alternate slates of pro-Trump electors — was on their side.

"Mark, Looks like objectors will be meeting this Saturday, 6pm at the CPI facility. We would like to have you there. B PS. Probably need to keep our ears open to any machinations by Senate Dems and Republicans who want to change rules. Would you reach out to the VP and see if he will help prevent that?" - Rep. Brian Babin

Many of the Republican efforts to overturn the election played out in the public eye. During the period between the election and Jan. 6, multiple Republican members of Congress participated in rallies where they amplified violent rhetoric and spread false claims of fraud to question the results. The attack on the Capitol interrupted the electoral certification, but it continued that evening and 147 Republicans still voted to overturn the results as they were surrounded by National Guard troops and broken glass.

While some of the more than 450 texts that Republican members of Congress exchanged with Meadows indicate they were disturbed by the violence of Jan. 6, the messages also show in colorful detail how the same members of Congress played a direct role in ratcheting up opposition to the election result and in stoking Trump’s baseless claims of fraud. (Officials at every level of government including Republicans and members of the Trump administration have confirmed there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election.)

Based on Meadows’ text log, overheated battle cries began streaming into his phone as the votes were still being counted on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020. Texts the Committee identified as coming from members of Congress declared “our Trump team is kicking ass today” and “Fight until hell freezes over than fight them on the ice.”

On Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the election, Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) wrote Meadows claiming he was personally aware of two instances of alleged fraud where people voted twice in Nevada. Based on this claim, he urged Meadows to push for a review of the race in that key state.

“I know of at least 2 people who told me they mailed in their ballots and voted in person so you can tell them they might be interested in going over all votes in Nevada,” Long wrote.

“Ok,” Meadows replied.

Long did not respond to a request for comment.

On the evening of Nov. 4, 2020, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) wrote Meadows to suggest, “John James should lead the challenge in Michigan,” an apparent reference to the 2020 GOP nominee for Senate in that state who would go on to lose his race after disputing the results without providing evidence. Last month, James won election to represent Michigan’s 10th House district. James, who, at the time, was baselessly claiming “there is enough credible evidence to warrant an investigation” into the election in Michigan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Davidson did not respond to a request for comment.

Shortly after the message from Davidson, the log contains one identified as coming from Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), who offered a profane description of his support for the suits against the results in his home state. Meadows responded indicating he appreciated Kelly’s work.

Kelly did not respond to a request for comment.

President Joe Biden wouldn’t ultimately be declared the winner of the election by major media outlets until Nov. 7, 2020. In the four days between the election and the projection of Biden’s win, votes were being counted in key battleground states.

On Nov. 5, as the numbers began to look bleak for Trump, congressional Republicans wrote Meadows with offers to help fight against the results. Among them was Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) who said, “We have no tools / data / information to go out and fight RE: election / fraud. If you need / want it, we all need to know what’s going on.”

“Thanks so much. Working on it for surrogates briefing,” Meadows replied, indicating the Trump team was preparing to help organize congressional opposition to the vote.

Later that same day, Babin also suggested he and his colleagues were eager to prevent Trump’s impending loss. Without evidence, he described it as a “theft” and indicated GOP leadership was trying to focus on their election victories rather than Trump’s defeat.

"Dear Mark, Many of us as Republican House members want to help the President in any way we can to prevent the outright theft of this presidential election. So far I've only heard our leadership talk about us picking up five new diverse members while the Presidency is at stake. We need some guidance as to what we should be saying and doing. Please let some of us know what you would suggest. In earnest prayer for POTUS and our Republic. Brian Babin" - Rep. Brian Babin

The text messages show Republican members of Congress strategizing in real time to reverse the results. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) piped in with an offer to “put some cash together for the defense fund.” In a conversation with TPM on Monday, Cramer confirmed he offered to help with a defense fund, however, he said the conversation did not go anywhere.

“What I recall is I probably did offer to help if they were raising money for a defense fund or something,” Cramer explained. “I never got a response.”

Cramer, who ultimately was not among the 147 Republicans who objected to the electoral certification, also said all of his messages were “proper” and efforts to “be helpful” to “friends” in the White House.

“None of the text messages from me are condemning in any way other than to just try to get all the information again, be as helpful as you can,” Cramer said.

Other members of Congress sent Meadows questionable legal theories and wildly undemocratic plans to have the vote overturned at the state level. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) pointed to a segment on the far-right cable network Newsmax where the political operative Dick Morris argued Republican state legislatures had the power to “declare” Trump the winner based on unproven allegations of fraud.

The text log does not include responses from Meadows to these texts from Babin, Cramer, and Green. Green’s communications director, Rachel del Guidice, provided a statement to TPM that suggested his ideas came from people in his district rather than the congressman himself.

“Congressman Green was passing along what constituents were sending him to keep the White House informed on the sentiments of his constituents,” del Guidice said. “He wasn’t advocating for any specific course of action.”

The next day, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) sent Meadows a couple of texts with another version of the state legislature strategy gleaned from the far-right website Revolver, which is run by Darren Beattie, a former Trump White House speechwriter who was fired from that post in August 2018 after it was revealed he participated in a 2016 conference with a high-profile white nationalist. Murphy’s text was largely copied and pasted from a Revolver article that claimed “The Vote Has Been Hopelessly Contaminated. Republican State Legislatures Must Now Move to Appoint Pro-Trump Electors.”

“Why are we not pursuing this strategy?” Murphy asked before sharing text from the Revolver article, and adding, “Please pay close attention to the very last paragraph.”

The text logs did not include any response from Meadows. Murphy did not respond to a request for comment.

On Nov. 7, shortly after news outlets called the election for Biden, Norman sent a message encouraging Meadows to set up a “game plan” and “FIGHT.”

As Trump’s allies were trying to come up with a plan on Capitol Hill, far-right activists were also gathering to protest the election around the country. The text log shows Meadows was in communication with Amy Kremer, who organized a “March For Trump” bus tour and ultimately helped plan the Jan. 6, 2021, rally on the White House Ellipse where the former president spoke and urged the crowd to “fight like hell” before many of them marched to the Capitol as it was being stormed. Messages in the log also highlight how Republican members of Congress were participating in a series of pre-Jan. 6 election protests around the country. On the afternoon of Nov. 7, Kevin Brady (R-TX) wrote Meadows to let him know that he had spoken at a “Defend the President Rally” in his home state.

“Asked the crowd to cheer for our President. They are still in the fight!” Brady wrote.

“I will pass it to potus. Thank you and thank them,” Meadows replied.

A spokesperson for Brady provided a statement to TPM that suggested he was simply trying to be helpful and encouraging.

“On the fourth day after the election, before all votes had been reported and prior to the later election contest strategy by the Trump campaign, Congressman Brady sent Mr. Meadows a photo of a local rally for the President and a single general inquiry on how he might help. There was no response from Mr. Meadows,” the spokesperson said.

Brady’s spokesperson also emphasized that he was not one of the 147 Republicans who objected to the election results.

Conspiracy theories are a major theme of Meadows’ messages with Republican members of Congress following Trump’s defeat. On the evening of Nov. 7, Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) shared a message claiming there were links between Dominion Voting Systems and billionaire George Soros. Dominion was a focus in many 2020 election conspiracies that were thoroughly debunked. In some messages to associates, Meadows, who expressed openness to other wild theories, indicated that the Dominion theories were too far-fetched even for him. Soros has long been a fixture of far-right conspiracy theories that blend overheated analysis of the financier’s funding of progressive causes with anti-Semitic tropes.

“Praying for your health! FYI Dominion Voting Systems is owned by State Street Capital, which are Carlyle (Rubenstein alums), Rubenstein is a longtime co-investor with Soros Capital,” wrote Budd.

Budd’s message seemed to be a misspelling of Staple Street management, a private equity firm that owns Dominion, coupled with a series of claims that there were some kind of ties between various other investors. Budd did not respond to a request for comment. Last month, Budd earned a promotion when he was elected to one of the Senate seats in his home state. He is set to take office next month.

CPI was not the only conservative dark money group that aided the push to overturn the election. On Dec. 2, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) wrote Meadows and indicated he was participating in Georgia rallies organized by Club For Growth. While those events were focused on that state’s Senate runoff race, Gohmert and Greene reportedly brought up the presidential race in their remarks. In his text to Meadows, Gohmert was hoping for a ride on Air Force One or a White House visit.

Gohmert had previously texted Meadows asking to visit the White House and been rebuffed by the Chief of Staff. Based on the log, Meadows did not respond to his message about a ride on the presidential plane. Gohmert did not respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) is another member of Congress who texted Meadows outlandish conspiracy theories about the election. According to the log, shortly after 11 p.m. on Dec. 16, 2020, Gosar wrote in with his own completely inaccurate concerns about Dominion.

The claim made by Gosar reportedly originated with far right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ website, InfoWars. Gosar also included a link to an executive order signed by Trump in 2018 that called for the director of national intelligence to “conduct an assessment of any information indicating that a foreign government” attempted to interfere with the election within 45 days of ballots being cast. Gosar also sent Meadows a link to a fringe blog called “Some Bitch Told Me” and a since-deleted set of files that he said showed “Massive fraud coming out of AZ.” In total, the log shows Gosar sent Meadows 13 messages, nearly half of which came between Dec. 16-17, 2020. Based on the log, Meadows did not respond to any of them.

Despite Gosar seemingly gleaning his assertions from InfoWars and “Some Bitch Told Me,” Anthony Foti, a spokesperson for the congressman insisted, “at no time did he share a conspiracy theory.”

“Congressman Gosar filed objections to certification from Arizona under the Electoral Count Act,” Foti wrote in an email to TPM, adding, “His comments were based on factual occurrences.”

Meadows did entertain some of the conspiracy theories forwarded along by the Republican members of Congress — and in at least one case, he acted on them.

On Dec. 29, 2020, Babin sent Meadows a link to an article describing claims by Republican legislators in Pennsylvania that the state’s election results didn’t “add up.” The article included a statement from Pennsylvania’s Department of State that noted in detail how the lawmakers’ claims were “uninformed” and called them a “so-called analysis [that] was based on incomplete data.” Nevertheless, Meadows seemed to take Babin’s article seriously and indicated he sent it on to the Justice Department.

“Yes. Already forwarded it to DOJ,” Meadows replied to Babin’s message with the link.

On Dec. 30, 2020, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), who had just been elected, wrote Meadows and suggested the debunked Pennsylvania analysis convinced her to object to the electoral certification.

In a text to TPM, Lummis provided an explanation for her message to Meadows.

“I voted against the Pennsylvania electors because Pennsylvania conducted its 2020 election in violation of its own Pennsylvania Constitution. Sen. Hawley had publicly expressed the same concern about Pennsylvania. That explains the text to Mark Meadows,” wrote Lummis. “I did not vote against the Arizona electors. I do not know how Sen Hawley voted re: Arizona’s electors.”

Meadows’ log also shows certain congressional Republicans playing key roles in the effort to overturn the election. In a Dec. 19, 2020, message, Rep. Jody Hice claims to be “leading the GA electoral college objection on Jan 6.” In a phone call with TPM, Sarah Selip, a spokesperson for Hice, noted he was outspoken in his opposition to the election results in his home state.

“Our boss did lead the electoral objection for Georgia. I mean that’s just how it is,” said Selip.

Ted Cruz, meanwhile, seems to have played a major part in heading up objections in the Senate. On Jan. 2, he sent Meadows a link to a statement he released with Lummis and nine other colleagues vowing to “vote on January 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not ‘regularly given’ and ‘lawfully certified’ (the statutory requisite), unless and until that emergency 10-day audit is completed.” Meadows had a one-word response to Cruz.

“Perfect,” said Meadows.

The following day, Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller wrote Meadows that Trump himself was pressing Georgia’s senators to “to get on board with the Cruz effort.” A spokesperson for Cruz declined to comment.

Brooks wrote Meadows on Dec. 21, 2020, about plans to have a “White House meeting regarding formulation of our January 6 strategies.” Later that day, Meadows sent a message to Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade later that day indicating the meeting took place.

“The President and I met with about 15 members of Congress to discuss the evidence of voter fraud in various states as well as discuss the strategy for making the case to the American people,” Meadows wrote to the cable news host. (Eleven of those members — including Babin, Biggs, Gaetz, Gosar, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), Hice, Jordan, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Rep.-elect Marjore Taylor Greene (R-GA) — were later identified by the Jan. 6 Committee, citing White House visitor logs. Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified that Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) also attended the meeting.)

As the electoral certification approached, members of Congress sent Meadows messages expressing concern and anger that some Republicans were not backing their efforts. On the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, Norman wrote Meadows about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

“Mark, I hear McCarthy is giving equal time to let those who are opposed to the challenge of the electoral votes which is LUDICROUS!! Trump needs to call Kevin!!” Norman wrote.

Later that same night, Jordan presented a plan for Pence to throw out the results as he presided over the certification.

Trump would later rage at Pence for not taking this approach. Meadows responded to Jordan on the morning of Jan. 6 indicating the Vice President was not on board.

“I have pushed for this. Not sure it is going to happen,” Meadows said.

Jordan and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

In the wake of the attack on the Capitol, some members wrote to Meadows and offered encouragement for Trump. One of them was Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA). On Jan. 9, he had an idea for Trump to return to social media after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook for his part in fomenting the violence.

As ever, Meadows was on board with the plan.

“I will share it with him,” Meadows said. “Thanks Andrew”

Below is a list of all of the members of Congress identified in Meadows’ text message log. We have also included details about whether we were able to verify the contact information associated with their names and our efforts to include their comments on this story.

1. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) – Biggs’ number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. Biggs did not respond to a request for comment.

2. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) – Kelly’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Kelly did not respond to a request for comment.

3. Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) – Long’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Long did not respond to a request for comment.

4. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) – Davidson’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Davidson did not respond to a request for comment.

5. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) – Roy, who ultimately did not vote to object to the election results, previously confirmed he sent the texts Meadows provided to the Committee when CNN reported on his messages. When asked about this story, a Roy spokesperson directed TPM to an earlier response.

6. Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) – Babin’s number was identified by Committee investigators. TPM was unable to independently verify that the number belongs to him. Babin did not respond to a request for comment.

7. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) – Cramer, who ultimately did not vote to object to the election results, spoke to TPM for this story and his comments are included above.

8. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) – Green’s number was identified by Committee investigators and confirmed by TPM. His office provided a statement which was included in the story above.

9. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) – Gohmert’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Gohmert and his office did not return requests for comment.

10. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) – Murphy’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Murphy and his office did not return requests for comment.

11. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) – Committee investigators identified Gosar as using multiple phone numbers and an email address to text Mark Meadows. TPM has independently verified one of the numbers as well as the email. Gosar’s office provided a statement for this story, part of which is included above.

12. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) – Norman’s number was identified by committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. He spoke to us for this story and his comments are detailed above.

13. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) – Lee, who ultimately did not vote to object to the election results, has confirmed he sent the texts Meadows provided to the Committee that were identified as coming from his phone. Lee and his office did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

14. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) – Brady’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. In a response that is included in this story, a spokesperson for Brady stressed that he did not vote to object to the election results.

15. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) – Perry’s number was identified by Committee investigators. TPM was unable to independently verify that the number belongs to him. Perry and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

16. Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) – Budd’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Budd and his office did not return requests for comment.

17. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) – Emmer’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. He ultimately did not vote to object to the election results. Emmer and his office did not return requests for comment.

18. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) – Jordan’s number was identified by Committee investigators. TPM was unable to independently verify that the number belongs to him. Jordan and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

19. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) – Hudson’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. A spokesperson requested to see the texts identified as coming from Hudson in the Meadows log. They did not respond to subsequent requests for comment.

20. Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) – Hice’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. A spokesperson provided a comment, which is included in the story above.

21. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) – Loudermilk’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. He did not respond to a request for comment.

22. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) – Committee investigators identified Johnson, who ultimately did not vote to object to the election results, using an email address that was confirmed by TPM. A Johnson spokesperson also issued a statement saying, “that he saw no scenario in which any of Biden’s electors would be disallowed. He also believes it is indisputable that there were a number of election irregularities that need to be addressed.”

23. Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) – Perdue’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. Perdue, who left office on January 3, 2021 and was not present for the electoral certification, declined to comment on record.

24. Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA) – Allen’s number was identified by Committee investigators. TPM was unable to independently verify that the number belongs to him. Allen and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

25. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) – Gibbs’ number was identified by committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Gibbs and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

26. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) – Brooks’ number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. He defended his actions in a phone interview that is included in the story above.

27. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) – Johnson’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Johnson and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

28. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) – Cruz’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. A spokesperson for Cruz declined to comment on this story.

29. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) – Lummis’ phone number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. She sent us a text message that is included in the story above.

30. Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) – Greene’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.

31. Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) – Moore’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently verified through public records by TPM. Moore and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

32. Rep. Fred Keller (R-PA) – Keller’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. Keller and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

33. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) – Bishop’s number was identified by Committee investigators and confirmed by TPM. He provided a statement defending his objection to the election results: “My analysis of the tactics, purposes and possible impacts of the Democrats’ national litigation campaign to disrupt 2020 election operations remains 100% factual and accurate. Consequently, I have no regrets about publishing it,” Bishop said.

34. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) – Clyde’s number was identified by Committee investigators and independently confirmed by TPM. His office responded to a request for comment by pointing out some of his messages were reported by CNN. They did not respond to questions about the substance of his remarks.

[lavender---sunshine]

I'm being so brave and not posting about my current hyperfixation but please know that every day for 2 weeks I've had arguments to myself in my shower before work that usually ends in tears

[yandere-daydreams]

Thoughts on wriotheslay being a scummy yandere?

Like does he murder your crush, frame you, and make you his personal prisoner

tw - implied non/con, abuse of power, sexual harassment.

he does definitely do all those things BUT!!! other things as well. thank you for coming to my ted talk etc. etc.

no but,,, i just think there's a certain je ne sais quoi to scummy yandere's in particular,,, wriothesley's usually a pretty stand-up guy, not entirely without fault but far from the most corrupt person currently trying to make headway in Fontaine's political scene, and he tries to be a stand-up guy when it comes to you, the lovely little thing that somehow managed to find your way into Teyvat's worst prison. it's not his fault that you're so wide-eyed and vulnerable, that his self-restraint and better judgement seem die a slow death in tandem every time you bend over to pick something you drop. he'd just be so grimy about it - manufacturing a secretarial job for the fortress' administrator, making sure your custom-uniform is just a little too tight and a little too short, encouraging you to sit in his lap as you read out memos and keep yourself busy so he can fantasize about tucking you underneath his desk and warming his cock in your throat during his next meeting. he's not just awful - he's awful in a way that makes you feel filthy whenever his gaze fixed on your worry-bitten lips and you're forced to imagine what he's imagining, whenever he goes all glassy-eyed and quiet. at least, when he finally breaks and takes what he wants, you won't be surprised. by then, you'll feel just as dirty as he is </3

[beardedmccoy]

Matchmaker (Coach Beard x Reader) NSFW

When there's a lack of Coach Beard fics so you gotta do it yourself <3

Summery: Sam hosts the team for the pre-opening of his restaurant and sets up you and Beard - smut this is my first smut in a while bare with

It was special night for Sam, he was about to open his restaurant and had invited his Richmond family for a taster of it. As the Richmond FC social media manager, you had become pretty close to the team – annoying them for TikToks and Instagram takeovers, they had become your family as well.

“I’m so proud of you Sam, this is fantastic!” You exclaim as you greet him with a hug.

He beams at you as he hugs you back, “thank you Y/N, I appreciate it. I also appreciate your help with the social media side of it, I know it’s a big ask doing two jobs.”

“Don’t be silly, this restaurant’s going to be sick – it sells itself!”

“Well as a thank you, I’ve sat you next to a certain someone.” You look at him puzzled and he nods to a seat in the corner. Beard. He leans in and whispers “you can thank me later,” he winks. Before you can respond he’s gone to talk to Keeley who’s just walked in. That little shit, you think.  

Suddenly feeling a pang in your stomach, you go and sit down next to the two coaches. You thought you had played it cool with your little crush on Beard, did everyone know? “Y/N! A welcome surprise!” Ted greets. “Can I get you a drink?”

You nod at Beard as a hello, he gives a small smile and nods back. “Hey guys, um yes please – three shots of whatever thanks.” The guys give each other a look, but Ted goes and gets the drinks.

The night goes on, drinks flowing and the food amazing. Ted’s wondered off to Sassy and you’re talking to Beard about the off-side rule. As he tries to explain it to you, you notice each other getting closer slowly. He stops talking in the middle of a sentence suddenly, you two are side by side now. “What’s wrong?” You ask.

He brings his thumb up to your mouth and cleans a bit of food off your lip. He pauses a moment – still not removing his thumb. He looks at you for a moment, you know what he’s asking. You nod, but as you go to lean in your interrupted by Ted.

“Howdy, party people, what’s going on here then?” He’s completely oblivious to the moment as he goes to sit down next to you.

Snapping out of what could have been your dream kiss with Beard you try to act normal, “Oh nothing much, Beard is trying and failing to teach me the off-side rule.” You give him a smile as you take a sip of your drink.

Beard still hasn’t taken his eyes off you since Ted joined and stays silent. “Wouldn’t worry too much about that, he’s been trying to teach me since we landed here and I still don’t know it.” He jokes.

Without hesitation Beard slams his glass down on the table. You and Ted look at him, waiting for him to explain. “Y/N, do you want to come back to mine?” Clearly frustrated that his friend almost cockblocked him, admittedly you were too.

“Say no more,” Ted gets the memo and leaves the table. You nod at Beard and he takes your hand, guiding you to the door. On your way out you glance around the room and meet Sam’s eye – cheeky bastard has the biggest smirk on his face and cheers his glass to you.

Beard’s cooperate apartment is a lot like Ted’s.  Does the job, but there’s a cold feeling too it. The warmth of the alcohol has hit, but you feel yourself sobering up at the thought of what you’re about to be doing. Or who you’re about to be doing.  

“Do you want another drink?” Beard offers.

“No, I’m good thanks.” You realise that this is now the longest you’ve been alone with him.

He senses your awkwardness, “do you still want this?”

“More than anything, do you?”

“More than anything – I may have asked Sam to sit us together.” He confesses, it’s at that moment you go to kiss him. It’s deep and passionate. Then it turns almost animalistic. Clothes being torn off; Beard goes to pick you up and lead you to his bedroom.

He lays you down on the bed, you’re both in your underwear now. He leans across you, not quite resting his bodyweight on you. Always the silent type – he gives you a look as if to say can I? You nod again, and he unhooks your bra and pulls your panties off. He lets out an appreciative noise, you wonder what he’s going to do next but he gives you no time to think. He spreads your legs and licks your pussy. You gasp.

You grip what you can of his hair and he lets out a loud moan. He finds your clit and begins to suck – his eyes never leaving yours. He continues hooking your legs around his neck, one hand playing with your nipple. His tongue finds your entrance and the sounds of your moaning fills the room. Your close you can feel it. The roughness of his beard hitting your folds. This man knows what he’s doing. It doesn’t take him long to find the spot that has you seeing stars. You come with a load moan.

Once you’ve come down from your high, he licks your juices with and growls. He picks you up from the edge of the bed and kisses you with the same passion as earlier – as if he hadn’t given you the best head ever.

Against him you can feel how hard he is. He’s still in his boxers, so you decide that is no good. “Beard,” you wine as you palm him. He growls again as he gets the idea and puts you down while he gets rid of the garment.

You settle in the middle of the bed, how both fully naked. You’ve heard from Sassy how big Ted was, and you couldn’t wait to give her a shock with Beard. He slowly climes on top of you, once he’s face to face it feels like all time has slipped away. You kiss again, this time slower than before. Your legs wrap around his waist, giving him all access. He lines up against your entrance, sliding against your wetness, you both wine at the feeling.

He mewls when he pushes in all the way. It’s slow and passionate at first – both trying to get a rhythm going, but it doesn’t take long. His mouth finds your breasts, giving them attention in-between. Still worked up from earlier it doesn’t take long to reach your peak again. Your almost there as his hand finds your clit and starts to rub.  His pace quickens and you can tell he’s close too.

You kiss as he’s still rubbing your clit - then it happens. You come for a second time. He follows not long after that with a long moan.

You both try and catch your breath and he pulls out after a moment. You make a mental note to thank Sam on Monday.

[theowritesstuff]

Operation: Tartt’s Heart

Jamie Tartt x gn!reader

Summary: Jamie’s too scared to confess his (obvious) feelings for you, so when Richmond gets another clubhouse attendant who starts flirting with you, the team suddenly all become your guard dogs.

A/N: “Wah wah parasocial relationships are unhealthy” I don’t give a para-fuck. *points at a picture of Colin* This is my best friend. This is my best friend.

General Taglist: @nptnewr @violetrainbow412-blog

With Richmond gaining more success after rejoining the Premier League, Rebecca had decided that it was time to hire another clubhouse attendant. It was honestly kind of sad watching poor Will do all the clubhouse chores by himself while also helping with practices.

When Rebecca brought Matt on, Will was relieved, now he didn’t have to take on as much responsibility as before.

Matt got on pretty well with everyone on the team, and all the coaches, he was nice enough, but when Matt had met you for the first time, and had decided that he was going to pursue you, the team was in shock.

Poor Matt had no idea of course, but it was kind of an unspoken thing that you and Jamie were together. Now, you didn’t use any labels, and you hadn’t even kissed each other, but it was clear to everyone that you were his, and he was yours.

You’d been close with Jamie for a while, and Jamie had thrived in your presence. He was more calm, he was less likely to have emotional outbursts. He seemed happier, hell, he even played better.

The team watched in silence as you danced around your feelings for each other. You were afraid you wouldn’t be enough for the star footballer, and he was afraid of loading all his baggage onto you.

They saw all of your longing glances, all of your fleeting touches. They saw Jamie race to clean himself up after practices so that you’d leave the building at the same time and he could offer to drive you home. They noticed that Jamie had started to keep two jackets in his locker, because you had a habit of forgetting yours.

Needless to say they were surprised when it seemed Matt had decided he was going to shoot his shot with you. Apparently he hadn’t gotten the memo.

It had started when Sam saw Matt hanging around you on the pitch. You’d gone down to talk to Ted, and had caught Matt’s attention. The two of you seemed like you were having a friendly conversation, until Matt’s hand brushed against your arm.

Sam waited until the end of practice that day, and pulled aside a few teammates to talk to them about it. He didn’t want it to get out of hand, especially if it was nothing, but he also didn’t want to see you pulled from Jamie so easily.

He told Isaac and Colin about it, and asked them if they’d noticed it. Both had denied seeing the interaction, but had made sure to keep an eye out.

Sure enough, the next day the pair had caught Matt walking with you down the hall, too close for colleagues. Isaac and Colin returned to Sam, and planned to gather some other Richmond crew. This needed to be stopped.

Operation: Tartt’s Heart was a go.

The group consisted of Sam, Isaac, Colin, Dani, and Jan. The mission: show you that you were destined to be with Jamie, not Matt.

It felt a little odd when you came into the Richmond clubhouse that morning, and were immediately greeted by Isaac and Sam. They were both leaning against the wall near the door, as if they had been waiting for you to come in.

“Good morning boys.” You greeted them.

“Good morning Y/n. How are you today?” Sam asked.

“I’m good Sam, thank you. Is there something the two of you needed?” You asked, shuffling on your feet a bit.

“No.” Isaac responded.

You nodded your head. “Okay then, I’ll see you later.”

You made your way down the hall, and had almost made it to the stairs when Colin swooped into your path.

“Hey Y/n, you going upstairs?” He stood blocking the way.

“I’m trying to, yeah.” You laughed.

“Cool, so am I.” He looped his arm through yours, and started up the steps.

Colin glanced behind him and gave a nod to Sam and Isaac, and shot a glare at Matt, who had been peeking out of the locker room door.

The walk upstairs was a little difficult, the stairs were clearly only built to have a flow of traffic going up and a flow of traffic going down, so having Colin on your arm while others were trying to pass by was a little difficult. Nevertheless you were in a fit of hysterics once at the top. Colin had nearly tripped over his own feet twice, and you had almost knocked into several passerbys.

“Thanks for the help up the stairs Colin.” You managed to get out in between laughs.

“Yeah, of course, always happy to help a friend.” He said.

You watched as he made his way into Doctor Sharon’s office for his weekly session. You walked into yours, then sat down, and got to work.

Not too long after you’d started working there was a soft knock on your door.

“Come in!” You called out.

The door opened to reveal Jamie, still in his street clothes. The black sweater and fanny pack across his chest was a sharp contrast to the light grey walls of your office.

“Hi Jamie, what’s up?” You ask.

Jamie fiddles with his hands a bit, the sleeves of his sweater creating paws over the bottom half of his hands.

“I was just thinking about getting some lunch soon, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come along?” He asks you. His eyes wander over your desk, but come back to you.

“Sure Jamie, I’d love to.” You tell him. You’d been slowly becoming closer with the footballer as of late, and you’d decided it was time to figure out if there was something more between you two or not.

“Great, I’ll see you later.” He says, walking back over to the door.

“Hey, wait, Jamie?” You call him back in. “Are the guys doing okay today? A few of them seemed kind of off earlier?”

“I’m not sure.” He shrugs.

You left your office around the time the team should be taking their consecutive lunch break, and waited in the hall for Jamie.

“Hello Y/n!” Dani greets you, a wide grin on his face.

“Hey Dani!” You wave. “How’s it going?”

“Are you waiting for Jamie? I’ll wait with you.” Dani leans against the wall next to you.

“Dani, you really don’t have to, please, go enjoy your lunch break.” You tried to persuade him.

“Oh, hello Y/n.” Matt greets you, exiting the locker room.

“Hi Matt.” You say.

You could see Dani straighten up out of the corner of your eye. He seemed to be standing taller, and now had his arms crossed over his chest.

“How are you?” Matt asks.

Dani beat you to a response. “They’re waiting for Jamie so they can have lunch together.” He says. Dani’s words were almost cold, like he was angry at Matt about something.

“Uh, yeah.” You furrow your eyebrows, trying to think of something someone could possibly do to upset the always-sunny Dani Rojas.

Jamie comes out of the locker room next, and looks between the three of you, a confused expression on his face.

“Uh, am I interrupting something?” He asks.

“Not at all mi amigo!” Dani replies. He pushed you towards Jamie, who catches you in his arms.

“Thanks.” You breath out, your heart beating rapidly due to the close proximity of the man you have a crush on.

You clear your throat, and pull away from him. You could feel your face heating up a bit.

“Um, is it cold out? I should’ve brought my jacket.” Your eyes are glued to Jamie’s until another person comes stumbling out of the locker room.

Jan Maas now stands in the hallway with the four of you, a Greyhound jacket in his hand.

“Here! Take this!” He thrusts the jacket into your arms.

“Thank you Jan, but I don’t want to take your jacket from you…”

“It’s not mine, it’s Jamie’s.” He gestures to Jamie.

“Did you go through my locker?” Jamie asks eyes wide, a shocked expression on his face.

Jan nods in response, his smile never leaving his face as he does. You can hear Jamie mumbling to himself over and over “don’t be a prick, don’t be a prick”

You turn to face him, and hold up his jacket. “Would it be okay if I borrowed this? If not, that’s okay, I’m sure I can borrow a coat from Keeley.”

“I’ve got an extra coat if you need one.” Matt speaks up, his voice only barely audible above the chaos in the hall.

“No, it’s alright, wear my jacket.” Jamie says, although his eyes are now locked on Matt. Who was this guy to think he could steal you away from him?

“That was a bit weird, right?” You ask Jamie once you’ve made it outside.

The two of you walk down the sidewalk, in search of somewhere to eat.

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on with them. All of a sudden it’s like they’ve all lost their fucking minds.” Jamie comments.

You laugh and lean into him a bit, causing Jamie to smile. It takes a lot of willpower to not wrap an arm around you to hold you to him, so he shoves his hands in his pockets.

You find a cute little sandwich shop, and pull Jamie inside. You get in line and order your food, reaching into your pocket for money, when Jamie presses behind you, orders for himself as well, and hands the cashier his card.

“You didn’t have to pay for me.” You tell him. You want to turn around to face him, but he has you trapped between him and the counter.

“That’s alright love, you can get the next one.” He says in your ear. You can practically hear his smirk in his voice.

The two of you sit down at a table and eat your lunch, chatting about everything and nothing. Near the end of your meal you notice a few tables down, a group of five men, all in Richmond jackets.

You lean over the table, and whisper to Jamie. “I think we have a shadow. Well, five shadows.” You nod in the direction of the table.

Jamie turns around, sees his teammates, then turns back to you, rolling his eyes. “Fucking hell.” He sighs. He puts his face in his hands, and you can hear him quietly chanting his mantra again. “Don’t be a prick. Don’t be a prick. Don’t be a prick.”

“Jamie?” He lifts his head to look at you. “Be a prick. For just two seconds.” You tell him.

Jamie stands up, and turns to his teammates, who all try to hide behind their own sandwiches.

“Oi! Would you kindly fuck off?” He points to the door, and suddenly all five of them scurry outside, each one giving you a brief goodbye on their way out.

He sits back down once they’ve all gone, and sighs. You can’t help but laugh and the tired, and slightly annoyed, expression on Jamie’s face.

“They’re twats.” He says, picking at his food.

“They’re sweet.” You retort, still smiling.

“It felt like I was sharing you with half my team.” He grumbles.

“Sharing me?” You ask. Now it’s your turn to smirk.

“Well, I mean,” Jamie stumbles for words. “It just feels like we kinda have this thing going on, if we don’t that’s cool, I just thought that maybe we did and-”

“A thing?” You ask, a teasing lilt to your voice.

“Never mind. It’s nothing.” He shrugs, and continues eating his sandwich. He’s building up a wall around his heart now, to try to keep you out.

You finish your lunch in near silence, making Jamie unsure of himself. Did he screw up? Did he ruin whatever was going on between you? Did you feel weird about him? Questions flew through his head, a mile a minute.

On the walk back to the club, you find yourself pulling Jamie’s jacket tighter around yourself. You can tell he’s tense, keeping his hands in his pockets, walking on the edge of the sidewalk.

Maybe you shouldn’t have teased him. What if he doesn’t like you anymore? Have you just ruined this?

“Jamie?”

He glances at you out of the corner of his eye. You take a deep breath before you continue.

“I like you. As in, I do feel like there’s a thing between us.” You tell him.

Your walk slows down, as if Jamie needs a second to process what you’ve said.

You’re just about ready to melt into the ground from embarrassment, when you feel Jamie’s hand slip into yours. His fingers interlace with yours, and he moves closer to you.

When you walk into the building, hand in hand, the team practically cheers. Well, that is until Jamie shoots them a look, to which they quiet themselves and let him walk you back to your office.

You stop at your door, not wanting to pull yourself away from Jamie just yet.

“You know, if looks could kill you’d be dead.” You tell him.

“What?” He asks.

“Matt. He was practically staring daggers at you.”

“Well he’s just going to have to get used to this.” He lifts your interlocked hands up.

He uses his other hand to cup your face, and slowly brings his lips to meet yours. The kiss is soft, but you can tell Jamie wants more. He moves so that you’re pressed between his body and your door.

You only push him away when you feel his tongue prod at your lips. He whines, his lips still chasing yours.

“You need to get to training.” You say, smirking to yourself.

Jamie’s cheeks are flushed, and his lips are a bright pink color, and a bit swollen.

“Babe, I’m already the star player, I think I can skip a practice.” He tries to kiss you again, but you hold a finger up in front of his lips.

“We can continue this tonight, after our date.” You wink, and push him back toward the stairs.

“We’re dating now?” Jamie asks sarcastically.

“We are if you ever wanna get any further than you just did.” You tell him.

“Yeah, we’re definitely dating.” He nods.

“Go! Get to training!” You laugh, pointing him away.

Jamie rushes back up the few steps you’d managed to get him down, and pecks your lips again.

“I’ll see you after love.” He tells you before he rushes down the stairs, trying to formulate an excuse for his showing up late.

———

When the team see Jamie rush onto the pitch with a new spring in his step, they know.

Operation: Tartt’s Heart was a success.

[ludarklina-fan-spot]

"Ah! Nope!|"

"You didn't get the memo?"

"Let me remind you!!"

"This is my Ted Talk!"

Gifs by @ladylrbloom

[captn3]

LOUD WARNING highlight reel of my reactions to the direct <3 know my autism. ft. @agentdate

[darilaros-v]

Alex: Hey! Who took the February Flu section out of my Texas Strategy Memo?

Nora: I did. It wasn't connecting with voters.

Alex: Wasn't connecting?? What are you talking about, that was a huge deal and could have been really bad!

Nora: Yeah and guess what! When an issue isn't really bad, it doesn't connect with voters! That's literally how it works. Plus the flu didn't even spread to Texas--

Alex: (quick breath)

Nora: --and no, I'm not counting those five tourists at the Houston airport.

Alex: (pouts)

Nora: AND the only reason that YOU think it was a big deal is because you had to stay in your room for two whole weeks and wear an itchy mask with nothing else to do but think about getting kissed on New Years.

Alex: WHOAAA geez Nora, fine, I'll stop talking to voters about the February Flu GOSH.

------

Yes hi thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. "Red White and Royal Blue" is an alternate history masterpiece featuring the GOOD timeline in which Ellen Claremont won the 2016 Democratic Presidential Primary, in this essay I will

[vintagepresley]

Ahhh, okay, I’m just gonna rant for a moment because people annoy me. I just wish some people weren’t so narrow minded. First.. I’m black so sometimes I feel like other black people who.. How do I say this basically are conditioned to liking only a certain kinda genre of music or artists, etc. They assume well because you’re black you’ve gotta listen to only certain kind of music. (Which for me I have always been different I’m basically the alternative black girl) I listen to everything bc that’s boring to only listen to one genre of music. I’m weird. I like weird shit. 😂

But that brings me to my point…. I love when people find out I love Elvis and they immediately judge me and of course love to bring up that “Elvis was racist” and how can you like him and blah blah. (Literally would argue with my mom about this bc she’s one of the people who no matter what evidence I have believes he’s racist, lol) Or even on tik tok when I would livestream Elvis movies I’d have haters come and be like “she must be white bc she likes Elvis. Like BRUHHH.. What?? I didn’t know you had to be a certain racist to listen to a certain artist?? Guess I didn’t get the memo. Revoke my black card, I guess.

But what really annoys me is when I was at the store and I’m buying Elvis stuff and the judgmental look I got from the other black person who happened to ring me out. Like what?? What’s the problem?? Yes, I love Elvis and I don’t give a fuck. Do research before you come for my man, his music is amazing, his voice is amazing. He’s amazing. Period. Anyway, I wish people would expand their minds and just experience other genres of music bc you may be surprised at what you may discover and end up liking, instead of judging and making fun of others for their taste.

Okay thank you for coming to my Ted talk. 🙃🙃

[thehotelpod]

DOUBLE STUFF OCTOBER IS ALMOST OVER LETS TALK HOTEL EN ESPAÑOL

All the way back way back when we were just doing Theatre of Tomorrow I had a dream of doing our show in Spanish. Our resources, skill level, experience, and the complexity of ToT made that dream so out of reach it was just something fun to talk about.

"What if!"

Well when I decided to join Bloody Disgusting, I knew with the resources, experience, and the simplicity of the Hotel's production that maybe, just maybe, we could pull it off. And I was sure this show would sound fucking incredible in Spanish. It's a perfect fit.

I'll spare you the boring and gory corporate details (it's mostly me in emails, phone calls, and video meetings explaining, arguing, fussing, and doing my best not to swear for months and months) but when the dust settled and the clouds parted out stepped-

Guillermo Ruiz de Santiago. A hero.

Memo is the Veronica in Mexico. He produces, runs the socials, figures out translation, and does all the casting. (I was involved, I heard the auditions and stuff but the buck stops with Memo.) None of this happens without him, and he understood the project and was very excited to bring it to the Spanish speaking audiences everywhere.

I am blown away that this show exists. I can hardly believe my luck. It's everything I hoped it would be and more. It sounds incredible. Ginette Zavala, Alex Villalobos, and Edgar Cañas are wonderful as the Staff (and Alex and Memo recently got married!) and I am doing everything I can to get season 2 and 3 and on and on produced as well. We're almost at 10,000 downloads and listened to on three continents across 6 countries! Holy cow! is that right? yeah, okay wow.

If you haven't yet, listen to the first episode here (then listen to all the rest then tell a bunch of other people to do that too)

How bout that artwork? I knew for MMMMMMMMMMONTHS that I was going to reach out to @parasitic-saint to do the art for this. It did an incredible job with The Ranch postcard and of course I had commissioned some guest art based on some OTHER guest art it had already posted--look, the art speaks for itself:

I stared at this on my phone for the rest of the afternoon when I first got it. What can I say about it that your already faster beating heart can't tell you better? (but look at the line work on his tie!!!!)

Let's take a look at the rest!

(this one might be my favorite)

Now i reaaaaaalllly probably shouldn't post these high rez images here bc techincally they are Patron perks for our Hotel en español tier, but we only have one patron at that tier and she already has her stuff sooooo please...please look at these. Look how stunning these pieces are. I can't...I can't even do a commentary post like I did for Izzy's, my brain short circuits looking at these. The detail, the color, the angles. Oh my god. The folds?? In the poster??? immaculate. You can see we didn't have the official logo when it made the first few. They also all have title and episode number included because we had worked out a lot of the bugs already.

The dimension's it put in the pieces are incredible. You can almost reach your hand in and grab Botones.

Getting to hire Parasitic Saint as the official Hotel en español artist (and yes you will see more of Rat's art as we produce future seasons!!) is as exciting as getting to have the show at all.

It's a labor of love and I hope you all love it as much as I do.

[calzone-d]

Mild Misunderstandings (part one)

pairing: Ted Lasso x Reader

warnings: arguing

word count: 683

summary: a stressful week begins to take it’s toll on you and Ted.

a/n: Hi guys! I got a request for some Ted angst and here’s what I whipped up. Let me know if you’d like to see part two! My inbox is open!

It had been a long week, to say the least. The team hit a sort of brick wall in terms of wins. It was taking its toll on Ted. You could tell by his short responses, lack of jokes, and the crease that had made a home between his brows. Deep down, you knew this would pass, but right now it just sucked.

To add to it, people at your job were getting laid off left and right with no warning. You were on edge for the past week, worrying about losing your job, and wondering if there was anything you could do to avoid it.

Add those two situations together and you get a lot of hours worked, excessive stressing, and some of the household chores being neglected.

This morning, you had woken up hoping to get some extra love from Ted before work. As you kissed down his neck, he brushed you off with a “I need to get to work early”, leaving you feeling embarrassed and rejected. That already gave you a bad foot to start your day off on.

You didn’t hear much from Ted other than his “Get to work safe, I love you” and his “Just made it home” texts. So, when you came in the door to find the sink full of dirty dishes and laundry hampers filled to the brim, you reached your breaking point.

At first, you tried to not say anything, to let Ted bring it up first. Not getting that memo, he had his head buried in a notebook of plays he and Beard had been scribbling in.

“Ted, do you have any plans on doing this laundry that’s been sitting here? I need to wash my clothes for next week”, admittedly you probably could have asked nicer, but you were mentally and physically exhausted the same as he was.

Not looking up from his book he replied, “Can you not just do it? I’m in the middle of something right now.” with the remnants of an attitude usually unheard of from the man.

You tried your best to be calm. “No, Ted. I’ve done basically everything this week and there’s still shit to do. I’m only one person, you could at least wash your clothes.”

Finally, he turned to face you. “Y/N I’ve had a shit week with the way the team is playing right now, and trying to get us back to where we were, so I’m sorry if I can’t be the perfect boyfriend for you right now.”

“I’m not asking you to be perfect, Ted. I’m asking you to help” you huffed.

“Well you’re bein’ pretty damn inconsiderate at the moment Y/N. I know you’ve seen how stressed I’ve been.”

“Yeah, Ted, and have you taken a second to notice the stress I’m under, too? You’ve never acted like this towards me before and this is just uncalled for. We’re supposed to help each other out and it feels like I haven’t gotten a bit of help this week.”

“I’ve been busy, Y/N!”

“So have I! I’ve had my own struggles this week and you’ve barely looked a second in my direction. It feels like all you’ve done is brush me off and it’s really starting to hurt my feelings.”

“Am I just ‘too much’ for you, then? May as well go ahead and leave. Seems to be what’s easiest.” The mention of Michelle’s doing didn’t go unnoticed by you.

“Did I ever say that Ted? I’m not Michelle, and this isn’t your past relationship.”

It was now that you noticed the whiskey bottle he had drunk a hefty amount from.

“Maybe I’m just trying to make it easier for you.”

Tears began to prick at your eyes, and you didn’t have the energy to argue with him any more. You put the dish rag you were holding on the counter and ran a hand through your hair.

“We can talk about this tomorrow, Ted. I’m sleeping in the guest room tonight.”

You walked towards the guest room hoping he didn’t hear your light sniffles.

Thanks for reading!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

August 10, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

“Good Lord, Who Among Us Hasn’t Paid For A Clarence Thomas Vacation?” David Kurtz of Talking Points Memo asked this morning. Kurtz was reacting to a new piece by Brett Murphy and Alex Mierjeski in ProPublica detailing Justice Thomas’s leisure activities and the benefactors who underwrote them. 

Those activities include “[a]t least 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.” The authors add that this “is almost certainly an undercount.”

Thomas did not disclose these gifts, as ethics specialists say he should have done. House Democrats Ted Lieu (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), and Hank Johnson (D-GA) have said Thomas must resign. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who has led the effort to extricate the Supreme Court from very wealthy interests for years, commented: “I said it would get worse; it will keep getting worse.”

Thomas’s benefactors, Murphy and Mierjeski noted, “share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence.” That ideology made Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who has been in the news for the release of his December 6, 2020, memo outlining how to steal the 2020 presidential election, speculate that Thomas was the Supreme Court justice the plotters could count on to back their coup. “Realistically,” Chesebro wrote to lawyer John Eastman, “our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6, which might hold up the Georgia count in Congress, is from Thomas—do you agree, Prof. Eastman?” 

Last Saturday, Republican leaders in Alabama illustrated that their ideology means they reject democracy. After the Supreme Court agreed that the congressional districting map lawmakers put in place after the 2020 census probably violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a lower court ruling that required a new map went into effect. But Alabama Republican lawmakers simply refused. 

Alexander Willis of the Alabama Daily News reported that at a meeting of the Alabama state Republican Party on Saturday, the party’s legal counsel David Bowsher applauded the lawmakers, saying, “House Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy doesn’t have that big a margin, that costs him one seat right there. I can’t tell you we’re going to win in this fight; we’ve got a Supreme Court that surprised the living daylights out of me when they handed down this decision, but I can guarantee you, if the Legislature hadn’t done that, we lose.”

Paul Reynolds, the national committeeman of the party, went on: “Let me scare you a little bit more; Texas has between five and ten congressmen that are Republicans that could shift the other way,” he continued. “How could we win the House back ever again if we’re talking about losing two in Louisiana, and losing five to ten in Texas? The answer’s simple: It’s never.”

Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall added: “Let’s make it clear, we elect a Legislature to reflect the values of the people that they represent, and I don’t think anybody in this room wanted this Legislature to adopt two districts that were going to guarantee that two Democrats would be elected…. What we believe fully is that we just live in a red state with conservative people, and that’s who the candidates of Alabama want to be able to elect going forward.”

The determination of Republican officials to hold onto power even though they appear to know they are in a minority is part of what drove even Republican voters in Ohio to reject their proposal to require 60% of voters, rather than a simple majority, to approve changes in the state constitution. 

Meanwhile, today’s July consumer price index report showed that annual inflation has fallen by about two thirds since last summer, a better-than-expected number suggesting that measures to cool the economy are working without hurting the economy. Real wages have outpaced inflation for the last five months, and unemployment is at a low the U.S. hasn’t seen since 1969. 

At the same time, the country is ending one of the last pieces of the social safety net put in place during Covid: the rule that people on Medicaid could remain covered without renewing their coverage each year. That rule ended in April, and states are purging their Medicaid rolls of those who they say no longer qualify. In the last three months, 4 million people have lost their Medicaid coverage, mostly because of paperwork problems. (Texas dropped an eye-popping 52% of beneficiaries due for renewal in May.) 

Biden officials have tried to pressure states quietly to fix the errors—including long waits to get phone calls answered and slow processing of applications, as well as paperwork errors—but yesterday released letters it had sent to individual states to warn them they might be violating federal law. Thirty-six states did not meet federal requirements.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON