#the regulations and stuff keep getting stricter all the time

[shopwitchvamp]

might as well start warning ya'll now...

[genericpuff]

ok as someone disabled with severe motor skill issues i really hate the argument that "anyone can learn art" and that it's completely accessible to everyone. it's not. there are lots of disabled folks who are getting left out of this discussion with the ableist argument that anyone can do art and if you can't you're just not trying hard enough (which is an argument a lot of abled people tend to use against disabled folks in general). i'm against ai art and will never use it but we have got to stop acting like art is an accessible hobby to everyone because there is unfortunately a lot of people who would love to become artists but will never be able to because of our disabilities.

nah you right! I try to be mindful of that sort of thing but it does admittedly fly under my radar at times because I'm not someone living with a physical disability (and thus it's not as front-of-mind as someone who is) so thanks for catching me on that, many apologies. My argument was regarding the people I've seen who have exclusively used "well I've tried to learn how to draw and it's hard / took too much time / etc." as their driving argument (of which there are just. so many) when like. these are realities for many artists who have been doing this for years, too, including those who are disabled. yeah, making art takes time and practice and a lot of hard work! welcome to the party LOL

but I also understand how keeping that argument so simplified can be exclusionary to those who do genuinely face barriers when pursuing art due to living with disabilities. I've met and observed the work of many disabled artists - webcomic artists, game designers, musicians, etc. - who are out there making their stuff and it comes with all its own unique struggles that shouldn't be forgotten about or overlooked in the discussion regarding AI art, struggles that bar many people from even getting into making art from the starting gun.

I do genuinely believe that art can come from anywhere, that anyone is capable of expressing themselves through whatever medium that compels them... but you're right that many artistic mediums in and of themselves are not wholly accessible to everyone. And I hope to god that more tools are developed to help those who are both working artists as well as aspiring ones.

But AI, in its current state, just isn't one of them. And I'm seeing this sentiment being yelled from the rooftops by many disabled artists who firmly believe that the ends do not justify the means - that they don't want the medium to become more accessible if it comes at the cost of other artists (many who are disabled themselves!) whose work and livelihoods are being replaced with cheap carbon copies. AI art doesn't allow anyone to actually participate in the joy of creating straight from the heart, it just takes from others' joy and spits it back out with an impression of what it thinks the joy of creation is supposed to look like through lifeless pixels. That's not even getting into just how much damage it's already actively causing to our environment, and how quickly AI has started to replace other surrounding industries as well.

Separately from that, you're right, paying for art is a luxury for many, but that's all the more reason why we shouldn't be supporting the current climate surrounding AI IMO which is the crux of what my argument was in that previous Simpsons meme post. Many people do face severe limitations in trying to create their art; the people I'm referring to who are heavily pro-AI are often not those same people and only face the limitations of their own entitlement, which is destroying the livelihoods of many human artists. Is it worth participating in AI art to save money if that same participation perpetuates a growing system that's costing people their livelihoods?

Maybe some day we'll get AI tools that are less predatory and destructive and help those who want to create art do so. Maybe we'll finally get some stricter regulations around what companies are allowed to get away with in their respective industries. I'd like to think also that the rise of AI art will, by extension, make human-made art all the more valuable. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish for tools that made making webcomics just a teeeeny bit more efficient without being completely unethical LOL But until any of those scenarios prove to be true, we're dealing with a monster of our own design that will never stop eating even after we've all been consumed. The toothpaste is out of the tube.

[vendetta-if]

I'm so obsessed with your IF <3 I have a question: Is there any discussion in this universe about how to control individuals who have super powers? I mean, it's normal for people to be afraid of those who are different, especially those with more destructive powers. So... is there any control that the super gifted go through when they discover they have super powers? (and they can be potentially dangerous)

Aww glad to hear that, anon! 🥰 Also, good question. I’m still developing the background of the universe as I go along, of course, but I have some ideas.

For Elysium City, a city who boasts on treating powered people and non-powered ones equally and has a tight regulations on powered people and powers in general. Since powers don’t instantly manifest on birth (although with current technology, you can know whether your child will be powered or non-powered), there’s really no way to register it immediately.

Formally, you should register your children’s powers once they manifest, but some forget, some just don’t bother and Elysium City doesn’t really pursue on those (unlike in other cities with stricter regulations).

The city also doesn’t really have anything that the powered people have to go through as a form of control. Most powered kids manifest their powers little by little overtime instead of them manifesting all at once suddenly one day, so they are already familiar with their powers as they keep developing them over time.

But usually, most of the time, you end up having to register your powers anyway when you get driver’s license/ID card (although, remember that Elysium City is also a corrupt city). And if you wanna register with one of the superheroes agencies, you’ll have to go through series of thorough tests to determine your power and the extend of it, so you can’t really wiggle your way out or lie about it.

Of course, stuff are different in other cities and especially in other countries. Regulations regarding the powered people are usually stricter than the ones in Elysium City, although the degrees differ from one place to another.

For example, Vigilantes have to get registered to the government and submitted through thorough background checks or else you’ll be considered law-breaker. Also, they are also subjected to strict laws too, like no killing criminals. Technically, there’s also law for Vigilantes to not carry out street justice by killing criminals, but most of the time, the authorities there don’t really care since at the end of the day, it kinda helps lessen their job 😂

Some powered people are also not permitted to use their powers willy-nilly, especially if it can accidentally hurt anyone including the users. For example, fliers like Skylar wouldn’t be able to fly anywhere anytime they want. Superheroes and/or the agencies might also be more regulated by the governments instead of being let free like the ones in Elysium City.

[mitchelindustri]

The Future Of Plastic Processing Industry

Imagine a world stripped of plastic, a notion that challenges the very fabric of our existence. The wizards of plastic production conjure the everyday marvels we often take for granted – from your trusty tooth-cleaning tool to the sleek shell of your mobile phone.

But what lies in the future of the ever-evolving realm of plastic processing machinery? We will explore the future of the plastic industry through this comprehensive blog. Join us to unravel all of it.

The Current State of Plastic Processing

In the present moment, we lean on time-tested techniques such as injection moulding and extrusion to shape plastic wonders. Yet, within the folds of this reliability, we encounter hurdles in maintaining precision and efficiency. Imagine, if you will, the finesse of crafting intricate plastic components with pinpoint accuracy.

Emerging Trends in Plastic Processing

Picture a future where your aspirations materialise in three dimensions. The rise of 3D printing and additive manufacturing stands poised to revolutionise plastic processing. Envision constructing complex structures layer by layer or personalising products with a mere touch.

Sustainable materials, too, are stepping into the limelight, promising eco-conscious and ethically sound plastic alternatives. And let’s not forget the recycling machines and the advent of smart manufacturing – envisage machines that communicate, adapt, and optimise production on the fly.

Innovations in Plastic Processing Machinery

First up injection moulding. This process gets a high-tech makeover thanks to super-duper control systems that make sure everything is super precise and always the same.

Extrusion is like creating long, fancy shapes like pipes and tubes. And guess what? It’s getting even better! Cool stuff like die technology and super cool cooling systems are making it fancier.

Now, blow moulding, which is usually all about making bottles and containers, is getting into the digital game.

Materials of the Future

Meet the superheroes of the plastic universe – bioplastics, advanced composites, and recycled plastics. Bioplastics, inspired by nature, arise from renewable sources and gracefully return to the earth.

Advanced composites incorporate high-strength fibres or nanoparticles, rendering plastics lighter and sturdier. Recycling is no longer a mere greenwashing endeavour; it’s a revolution.

The future will witness plastics reborn in ingenious ways, diminishing our dependence on virgin materials.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

The industry pivots towards sustainable practices and energy-efficient processes. There are envision and recycling machines to serve the purpose. Envision machines designed to sip energy and factories generate their renewable power. Closed-loop systems are on the ascent, where every morsel of plastic undergoes meticulous management and repurposing, diminishing waste and minimising environmental impact.

Automation and Robotics

Picture robot arms doing precise jobs perfectly every time. Artificial intelligence boosts quality control to new levels, quickly spotting mistakes or differences. When people and machines work together, humans can concentrate on solving interesting problems while robots handle boring jobs. It makes workplaces work better and less tiring.

Regulation and Compliance

In the world of plastics, rules and laws go beyond just paperwork – they are super important to keep things safe, top-notch, and good for the environment. As worries about the environment get bigger, the rules get stricter. They make sure we recycle properly, keep the air clean, and make safe products. The future of working with plastic is all about sticking to these changing rules and aiming for even better standards.

The Role of Research and Development

In secret science chambers, clever scientists and engineers are brewing up the future of plastics. They’re crafting stuff that’s even better, trying out fancy new ways to make it, and looking for eco-friendly options. Money spent on research in this field is making sure we’ll have cooler plastic things in the future.

Global Market Trends

The plastic processing landscape remains far from static; it thrives in a dynamic global marketplace. Different regions experience shifts in demand and supply. Consumer preferences for eco-friendly products reshape the industry’s trajectory. Import and export dynamics also play a pivotal role in shaping the future of plastic processing machinery.

Challenges to Overcome

Amidst this whirlwind of innovation, challenges loom large. Waste management and pollution control seize the spotlight. Economic fluctuations and geopolitical factors can sway the industry’s stability. Moreover, educating consumers about responsible plastic usage and recycling remains an ongoing challenge that the industry staunchly vows to address.

Collaborative Initiatives

In the grand adventure of progress, folks from various corners of the industry come together, joining hands to nurture both sustainability and innovation. They work as a team, from the very beginning when they gather raw materials, all the way to setting up top-notch recycling schemes and sharing wisdom. By blending their energies and ideas, the industry can make a bigger splash and steer things towards the sunny side of change.

Future Job Prospects

If you think about working in plastic processing machinery, the future looks bright. As technology advances, the skills people need are changing too. Training and learning chances are increasing, and there will be lots of different jobs available, like process engineers and sustainability experts.

The Intersection of Technology and Environment

Balancing innovation with environmental stewardship is a delicate tightrope the industry must master. Technological advancements should never come at the expense of our planet. Discovering that harmonious equilibrium is pivotal for a sustainable future.

Predictions and Speculations

Peer into the crystal ball as we explore the visions of industry experts. Speculations abound regarding the next groundbreaking discovery or unforeseen developments. The future of plastic processing is a blank canvas, awaiting innovation to paint its masterpiece.

Takeaway

As we venture forward, we will sculpt a plastic world that not only serves its purpose but also champions environmental consciousness. Together, we will pioneer sustainable solutions and creative innovations, ensuring a brighter, greener, and more inventive future for plastic processing.

Mitchell Industries aims to offer top-quality plastic processing machinery to the plastic industry. We are continuously evolving and working with the latest technology to achieve our vision and keep succeeding at it. If you have a need that we can suffice, please do not hesitate to contact us.

[meadow-roses]

This is Part 1, ✨History✨.

Okay, so I was working on typing up plot stuff for Joden's story that I'm still thinking of a name for, but it's getting really long so I'll post it in parts. :3

Also since this is really early in the story's creation pretty much everything is subject to change, but you get the idea of the general plot. XD

@ascendant-queen 💖

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask 👀

The story is set in a forested landscape,  tree dotted grasslands eventually giving way to deep forests climbing up the mountain slopes. The different kinds of animals live in self governing groups, with varying levels of interaction between them. 

The smaller critters like mice, rabbits, and squirrels mostly just live in large family groups throughout the entire region south of the Great Pine Woods.  They by far make up the majority of the population, and have no uniting ruler.

The cheetahs live in the southern plains, little baronies scattered all around.  Their diet consists of fish and smaller birds (? Might change that later haven't decided if the birds are sentient) and the cereal crops they grow.  They also trade these grains with the other animals in exchange for goods such as cloth and beads.  They love being fancy. They have this system of electing their rulers, but only members of the "nobility" (land owners) ever get voted in because of money stuffs.

The raccoons also form their own society working off the classic monarchy.  Their kingdom is built in the Eastern woods, with  their homes built up off the ground and literally in the trees.  In the most populated villages, rope and stick bridges connect these homes making swinging pathways in the branches. A lot of the smaller creatures choose to make their homes in the roots of the raccoon trees, as their territorial border patrol keeps out aerial predators and the occasional rogue fox.  Unlike the cheetahs,  the raccoons are small enough they have enemies to worry about, and are known to have an exceptional and disciplined military. 

The bear clans live high up in the craggy woods working their gardens, rather indifferent to what happens below and the rumors that they eat their visitors.

The foxes do not have any form of government or organization. Some live in groups and some alone, some pledge a mammal free diet and some hunt their neighbors.  As such they are not trusted by anyone. :/

Here is a map I drew up:

A few things are unnamed and the scale is a bit off but you get the general idea of layout. 👍

About twenty years before the story begins:

Down from the Northern pine woods a clan of foxes comes.  They are organized, armed, and angry, ready to claim some territory after being chased out of the north by the wolf clans.  Most of the southern foxes come to join their cause, pleased at the idea of them having utter lordship over the woods. Skirting around the great cats, they infiltrate the woods to the west and south after establishing themselves in the North. This was done easily with no opposition due to the small critters having no leader. They just swept in and conquered.

With this done they turn their attentions to the East.  The raccoons have watched this all  happen with great alarm.  King Cynric gathered his men in preparation of the attack, but still wasn't ready for the craftiness of the foxes'.  They came in great numbers from the south, engaging the king's soldiers in the clash of battle, while stealthy individuals crept past the border guards and set fire to the trees.  The wind and dry weather did its work, and the kingdom of raccoons fell to fire and bloodshed.  Most died in the fires that destroyed their homes, the remainder of them fled under the guidance of their prince, only to fall at the mercy of their waiting enemies.  Unprotected sows and their kits were slaughtered by the sword or captured and enslaved in the ruins of their home and all across the newly conquered forest.  

This song really fits the burning of East Wood and Rowan's side of the story.

undefined

Prince Rowan, however, rebelled at the enslavement of his people.  With his father the king now gone, he was left the protector of his people and despite his wife's urging, could not lay down in submission.  He gathered a small team of close friends and willing boars, bid his wife farewell, and left, hoping to gain more information on the foxes' plans and find a way to free his people.   Him and those with him were never heard from again. 

The cheetahs watched all this happen around them, and decided not to interfere, but rather formed an uneasy alliance with the foxes.  They didn't consider themselves in any danger of being conquered, but weren't bothered by their actions and wanted to avoid the bother of war.  The foxes were more than eager to sign peace with the cheetahs, knowing in that their conquest would be secure.  It is unknown whether the bears up in their western mountain range are even aware of the dramatic changes to the lower-lands.

The woods are now in an awkward state of affairs, the foxes holding a tyrannical rule over all their subjects. Soldiers are stationed in every town and village to "keep the peace", the inhabitants going about their lives in the fear they or one of their family members will be chosen as the next meal.  Most of the Southern foxes still prefer a mammal free diet, but one of the Northern invaders' main objectives is to secure easy prey for consumption.  

The "free" creatures are allowed to live their lives "as they would please", but have limited allowance to travel and must give payment at the end of every week to their resident "guardians".  This payment can be anywhere from a basket of wheat berries or a bolt of cloth to an older child.

The raccoons have a far stricter control placed over them, as they are viewed more capable of revolt.  Scattered across the foxes' open woodless territory small slave towns hold the remnants of Cynric's kingdom. They spend their days working for their masters, boar and sow alike, tending fields, cooking and cleaning, mining, etc.  They are kept under strict control with heavy penalties for disobedience. Their meal times are regulated, their sleep times, work times, housing, children, everything. It is in one of these dusty, dead towns Joden grows up in.

His mother is old enough she remembers what life was like in the old kingdom, remembers a life of freedom under the trees.  Joden's father died shortly after the foxes' attack, he is told later he was one of the faithful boars that accompanied Prince Rowan for his last stand.  She raises Joden on these tales, urging him to never give up the hope that they can one day be free.

It is for his mother's sake Joden's intense optimism grows.  Can he truly be considered a slave if he goes about his work with a smile and a song? If he willingly puts on the yoke and carries the load they have required, who is the one truly in control here?  They can enslave his body but they cannot enslave his spirit.  

As he gets older he also grows bolder.  Just being cheerful to lift his mother's spirits is not enough.  He wants the entire slave town to be free in the way he is.  They all go about their days in unnecessary gloom, only because they lack someone to lead them out of it.  By the time he reaches maturity the entire town looks to him as their leader, hoping that someday a hero will come to set them free and lead them home. He stands in for them against the cruelty of their masters, fighting for the justice of his small community of raccoons.  This often gets him into a good bit of trouble, which he somehow always manages to get out of and back home to his worried mother. 

He meets Twylla when she is relocated from another slave town by stepping in when a few of the slave masters decide to teach the new coon a lesson.  The girl had made no grave offense, just a slip in her understanding of the schedule this different camp functioned under.  It was a great surprise to her when a random coon detached himself from the troop marching past, and demanded they punish him in her stead.  He would take responsibility for the sow and her actions throughout her initiation and teach her obedience to their rules, all her mistakes laid to his shoulders instead.  This was agreed to, as they had nothing in particular against the new coon but did enjoy taking out their boredom on Joden who usually escaped from any attempts against him.  Twylla really had no idea what to think of any of this.  She helped him up off the ground with repeated apologies he gently brushed off. She very willingly trotted along after him as he taught her not only how to function in this new town, but also how to hope. Then later they get married. :3

Jaceryn is the son of a Cheetah land baron.  He has been raised in the lap of luxury, his father being the wealthiest of the barons and the cheetah's current elected leader.  He is a rather naive boy who has never left his Father's estate, but naturally has big plans on how he will make the world a better place.  He has grown up in a world where the foxes have dominion of all the forest outside his Father's control, and this is normal, but he doesn't understand what that means until he sees it for himself.  They have little raccoon slaves all over his Father's land that they purchased from the foxes, so the concept of raccoons being a race of slaves is kinda engrained in him.  There's no such thing as a "free raccoon".  

His mother instructed him to stay on his father's estate when he plays outside, but one day he gets curious like young boys do, and decides to venture into the trees.  He really likes the way the forest feels and goes deeper and deeper, thoroughly enjoying himself when he hears voices and decides to investigate.  He comes across a raid in a woodland village, the fox overlords collecting their taxes.  He sees the children ripped from their mother's arms, the weeping villagers, the carts of goods and the miserable raccoon slaves pulling them, and the jeering,  laughing faces of the fox soldiers and the injustice burns within him.  It is true the foxes defeated them in battle, so the captives are their spoils of war, but this is unnecessarily cruel oppression and he hates it.  He hates that his own people- free people- are doing nothing to change this and he resolves to be the one that frees the slaves.  His parents are told this scheme by their proud little thirteen year old and are very quick to try and dissuade him.  Not only is this a dangerous task for him to undertake, but this also holds the possibility of starting a war that neither of them wish to fight.  Jacer agrees to "abandon" the dream to put his parents fears to rest, but secretly continues plotting and preparing his coup.  It would be risky, and he would need to be sneaky.  Break into a camp and take out the guards, let the little coons run free…

He went on frequent trips out to the forest to swing around in the branches and practice creeping silently through the underbrush.  The other cubs his age wrote him off as a weirdo, so he went alone.  His father eventually began to worry about him on these trips, remembering how impulsive his son can be at times.  It had been years since Jacer had talked about his quest to end slavery and had shown no signs that he still held that belief so his father thought nothing of purchasing Jacer his own personal slave.  This slave's job would be companion and voice of reason and just general personal servant.  

This is probably where the actual story would start lol, so all that is setup. XD

I'll share more as I finish writing it, cause I'm really excited about this story. :3

[lesetoilesfous]

Tales from the Scrap File

I was tagged by @barbex to post something from my scrap file and that’s just, delightful, so thank you

I don’t, exactly, have a scrap file but I do endlessly regale my partner @sewertwink with whatsapp fic outlines, so here’s one of those translated into bullet points. I...got carried away. I won’t be writing this out properly, so figured I could share it as it is. Here we go!

I’m tagging @fairandfatalasfair, @wanderingnork, @midnightprelude, @pinkfadespirit, @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold aaand @hollyand-writes!

Fandom: DA2

Ship: Fenris / Anders

Characters: Fenris, Anders, Marian Hawke, Bethany Hawke, Varric Tethras, Isabela

Tags: Modern AU, still magic mages and elves, Homelessness, reference to prostitution, reference to past abuse, reference to past rape/non-con (not explicit) bigotry, canon-typical violence, unsubtle references to detention centres, shitty governments and shitty police

Rating: M

Anders in a ratty t shirt and old jeans and sneakers with holes on them and a ponytail and earrings (and nipples piercings owo) and tattoos and they meet at a laundromat

Fenris black skinny jeans and band t shirts and won’t talk about Tevinter, was a refugee and got out and now works in a record store and is friends with Hawke and the gang and anyway one day this guy shows up and chats him up, this guy in a thin t shirt with bright clever eyes

Anders is just like hey that wouldn’t be so terrible

Every time Fenris goes to the laundromat this cute guy is there, yawning like a cat and pulling up his t shirt and revealing that little v and a freckles back and a ginger blonde happy trail

And Anders notices him looking and winks and grins and anyway they fuck and Fenris’ bed is tiny but so soft and Anders just wriggles into it and lets himself sleep in because it’s been so long since he slept in an actual bed

Fenris meanwhile, whilst he can have casual sex, is a considerate lover and noticed the way Anders’ ribs were sticking out and cooks him breakfast and Anders wakes up and bats his eyelashes and is like “you know for that I could be convinced to go for round two” and Fenris kinda flushes and is like “some of us have to go to work” and Anders pouts and sighs and leans back and stretches out, arching his back and noticing the way Fenris’ gaze flickers to the piercings on his nipples (rose gold) “fine fine fine”

Because Fenris goes “what do you do, anyway?” And Anders grins and his fingers spark as he drags his hand up his bare chest and he’s like “take a wild guess” but Fenris is staring at him because he suddenly feels sick because that’s a mage, in his bed, who he just - and he gets up and all but snarls “get out!” And for a second Anders flinches and Fenris almost regrets it’s but then Anders is pouting and sighing and pulling his clothes on (it’s not exactly the worst way he’s been kicked out and maybe if he’s quick this one won’t rough him up) and he’s gone

So Anders is back on the street. And at first it’s fine - Fenris doesn’t see him at the laundromat again (which sucks for Anders because that place was bright and warm and mostly safe and smelled nice) - and he just. Moves on with his life. Doesn’t tell anyone he slept with a mage, hopes he can forget it

Meanwhile the police commissioner is calling for more and more severe measures to identify and take in mages - Fenris’ friends hate commissioner Meredith and he’s had enough loud arguments with Hawke about her apostate sister that he knows not to bring it up now

People in the city are getting tense but Fenris mostly just keeps his head down and volunteers at a centre for Tevinter refugees where he helps new refugees acclimatise to Thedas and speaking common

Meanwhile Anders is back on the street and mostly trying to keep his head down. He’s high one night though and making out with some guy in an alley and kinda hoping this one will take him home because it’s been getting cold when he breathes a little magic into the air  and the guy, turns out, not a big fan of mages, and Anders still high on the drugs and dizzy with it and the guys ends up kicking the shit out of him and Anders passes out in a gutter

So Fenris is at work and taking a delivery when he sees a body in the alley and he just kind of drops  what he’s doing, and then he gets closer and realises it’s the blonde from the laundromat. And Fenris just states and he’s kneeling in the trash and this guy’s clothes are torn and his face is a mess and his wrists are bruised and his makeup is smeared  and for half a second Fenris thinks about leaving and just pretending he hasn’t seen this. But he can’t and he wouldn’t be who he is if he did this. And despite everything it’s one thing to think about calling the police and seeing this man taken off to a mage detention centre and another to actually do it to the person who’d been blushing at him in his bed a few weeks ago

So Fenris doesn’t call the cops or an ambulance, he picks up the man and carries him ton the store room and calls Hawke and has a very quiet nervous breakdown

None of this is helped by the punters who keep trying to strike up conversation with him in the shop when they hear his accent “you’re from tevinter right? You of all people must understand why we need stricter regulation on mages” and on the one hand Fenris does and on the other hand he has an illegal mage sleeping on his sofa

Hawke’s sister Bethany knows some first aid and presumably knows Magic Stuff so she brings her round and Bethany confirms that aside from broken ribs, a sprained ankle and some nasty bruising Anders is going to be fine (though she’s hesitant to search for signs of sexual abuse without his consent). She confirms that his magic feels like healing magic though, which is a relief for Fenris because hey hopefully that means he can fix himself and Leave

Anders wakes up on a sofa and is Very Confused and then Fenris comes out and Anders kinda pulls up the blanket, realises he’s wearing different clothes (his old ones had been covered in trash and blood and infections are a problem) and kinda nervously scans Fenris’ face and is like “hey you haven’t decided I’m your one true love have you? Because things didn’t go well with the last guy who did that”

And Fenris is just confused and like “no you were injured I found you can you leave yet” and Anders immediately gets to his feet - everything hurts - and he makes it about halfway across the tiny living room before collapsing and he’s going to catch himself but Fenris is there and Anders gets real tense and is nervously chattering like “hey listen look if you’re the kind of person who’s always dreamt about have your own personal mage I get it, I really do, but we’re so much less fun in reality - we have this nasty habit of exploding into rage monsters if we get too scared and neither of us want that - so how about you just let me go and I’ll go find a different neighbourhood to sleep in and we’ll both forget this ever happened ok?”

And Fenris is just very confused and then horrified and let’s go of him and is like “I’m not planning to - I have no intention of keeping you here against your will.” And Anders’ whole body relaxes but he’s still nervously looking at the door and he’s like “ok great so can I go now?” And then suddenly there are footsteps on the stairs and Anders flinches back and is like “you didn’t - did you call the MDC?” And Fenris scowls at him and is like “should I have?” And Anders shakes his head and the footsteps fade away and Anders is shaking now and is like “did you - have you told anyone?” And Fenris is trying not to be frightened of a clearly very out of control, very frightened mage but he backs up a bit and is reaching for a phone and Anders holds his hands out and there are scars and track marks up and down his arms and he’s like “no don’t! Ok! Ok I’ll do anything you want. Come on. There’s got to be something you want from me. Name it. Want me to do some kind of roleplay? Pretend to be a templar catching the nasty mage? We can do that, you can even rough me up a bit if you want just. Don’t. Call them.”

And Fenris is Overwhelmed but he drops the phone and Anders nearly crumples in relief and he’s like “thank you” and then he kind of takes a deep breath and shakes it off and runs a hand through his hair and is like “ok alright how do you want to do this?” And Fenris is like “I’m not going to abuse you” And Anders looks like he’s about three seconds from falling apart so Fenris clarifies, “I’m not calling the MDC either. Despite my better judgement.” (And also several loud threats from Hawke.) and Anders just stares at him and is like “ok, alright. So what do you want? I don’t do blood magic.” And Fenris nearly punches him but there’s enough space between them and he’s like “I don’t want you to do blood magic” and Anders relaxes a little more and is like “so what is it?” And Fenris is like “nothing. I just. You looked like you needed help.” And Anders scoffs and Fenris is like “what?” And Anders is like “what I’m supposed to believe the man who kicked me out of bed for being a mage three weeks ago suddenly decided to go out of his way to take me in and not report me, with no conditions attached?” And Fenris is so frustrated and so confused and is like “yes?” And Anders just kinda looks at him steadily for a moment and just goes “ok.”

Fenris has to go to work and when he gets back Anders is gone. He made himself a sandwich before he left and leaves a couple dollars on the counter for it with a note that just says “thx :) “

Except now Fenris Knows that there’s an apostate mage on the streets who’s unreported (and homeless) and possibly dangerous because of him personally

So he asks Varric to help him find him and insists that it’s just because he wants to see if the mage is alright (and maybe he is haunted by the mental image of him unconscious in the gutter and the fingerprint bruises on his neck, and maybe he has started to notice how all the people who try to him about mages are born and bred in Thedas and well fed and, well, bullies) - when he gets a lead Hawke insists on coming and Fenris can’t figure out if it’s to protect the mage from him or him from the mage

But turns out the mage runs a back alley clinic - for other mages, for refugees from Tevinter, for anyone who needs it.

It’s not a home exactly - more of a back room in a garage he gets to use but not sleep in, and the clinic has irregular hours, because it’s whenever Anders is able to get there. But whenever he is there the doors are open 24/7

And on the inside are posters, the walls are wallpapered with them, manifestos and protects and graffiti calling for the rights of mages. Behind Anders on a counter two kids are playing with magic. He’s tending to a pregnant woman from tevinter, speaking to her in Tevene. When they come in he looks up and freezes, and calmly asks his patients to leave. More than one volunteers to stay for his protection but Anders convinced them it’s alright and as soon as they’re out looks at Fenris “this is a place of healing. I don’t know how you found me, but whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. Just please leave me alone.” And Fenris frowns and feels Varric and Hawke watching him and is like “I don’t want anything. I just wanted to see whether you were ok.” And Anders spreads his arms wide and is like “ok, I am. Happy?” And Fenris sees the bruises on his wrists and arms in the shape of fingers and he’s speaking before he’s thought it through and he’s like “do you need a place to stay?” And Anders frowns and is like “we’ve been over this I neither need nor want your hospitality held over my head” and Fenris can feel Hawke and Varric watching him still and he doesn’t even know why he’s doing this but he goes “reading lessons. I could. Use some help reading in common. Healing is an academic discipline, right? Help me practice my reading and I’ll consider it your rent.” And Anders frowns and is like “I’ll consider it@ (it’s been so long since he had a hot shower) and Fenris realises he’s seeing whether he’ll take no for an answer and is like “ok. You. Know where to find me.”  And they leave and Varric and Hawke are both staring at him like he’s grown a second head and Varric is like “so uh what’re your gonna do with an apostate fugitive? You’re really going to take him in for. Reading lessons?” And Fenris is like “he won’t accept if I don’t name a price.” And Hawke is like “not the most pressing part of that question” and they walk down the alley and away from the clinic and Fenris is like “I know”

So Anders finds Fenris at his store a few weeks later and is looking kind of nervous and waits till it closes and is fiddling with them hem of his shirt and is like “if we’re going to do this I need ground rules” and Fenris wonders again why he’s doing this and goes “name your terms” and Anders is like “we sleep in separate locations” and Fenris is like “obviously” and Anders just Looks at him, “I have my own keys” and Fenris kinda hesitates and Anders lifts his chin and is like “I need to be able to get in and out on my own” and Fenris figures that’s fair and goes on and then Anders goes, “no matter what, you don’t call the MDC. If you get tired of me, I’ll leave. But you don’t call them and you don’t get to hold it over my head or threaten me with it. Because if you do I’m gone and I will set fire to your underwear when I go.”  And he’s kinda joking but he’s kinda serious and Fenris wonders what’s happened before and wonders what it would have been like if someone had found him fresh out of Tevinter and held it over him

fenris' rule is no magic and anders is like ok no magic In The House and Fenris is like Fine

and at first it works - turns out anders is hella smart and grew up in a detention centre and the fact that made him academic irritates fenris and makes him think anders had a Good Time but he doesn't argue it, just watches. and anders is really helping fenris and then the people at the refugee centre ask if fenris can write a course for them and fenris can't and he hasn't brought anders there because tevinter refugees and mages, and also anders is an unregistered mage, but anders just. agrees to write the course

and they've found an awkward peace and bethany and hawke and the others have been befriending anders. fenris has noticed anders staying up late now he has somewhere to sleep working on his manifesto and decides not to stop him but also doesn't know what to do about it because he Can't publish this they'll both get arrested but anyway right now it's the unaddressed unexploded bomb

anders decides to build the course around traditional tevinter texts to make it easier and does his own translations and fenris comes home one night and sees him happily translating and is real Soft for him but then he realises the book is magically floating

he's furious but then anders gets scared and for a secnd they're just, stalemate and then anders is like "ok fuck this" and he challlenges fenris to boil an egg with one hand behind his back and fenris is like "what" and anders is like "i bet you can't" so fenris does it

and he triumphs and anders just watches him and he's like "what was the point" and anders is like "you asking me not to use magic is like making me not use a limb. all the time. and demanding that i never show any feeling at all. do you have any idea what that feels like?" and fenris glares and is like "i was a slave, anders" and anders kinda gets quiet and goes, "i'm asking you, please, just give me  a chance. i'll make cookies. you watch. if you think my magic is so ugly and demonic and horrifying, we'll go back to the way things were. but just give me a chance." and fenris is like. "...fine" so anders does whilst fenris watches and he realises anders is stirring and is like "wouldnt it be easier to use magic" and anders snorts and is like " i like stirring, besides i dont use magic for everything, that's a bad plan in general

and as he bakes, occasionally using magic to lift thing s or adjust temperatures, fenris sees him relax and relax and relax, until he's humming softly under his breath, and fenris realises how stiff and unhappy and awkward he'd been even when he'd thought he was comfortable, and realises how much he's been demanding of anders - and anders presents him with a plate of fresh cookies and his eyes are bright and he's grinning and flushed as if he's been dancing and is like, "well?" and fenris is like. fine. but only when we don't have visitors. and if you ever, ever use it to harm me or anyone i care about, you're gone

and anders kinda shrugs and is like yeah ok i mean i feel like that would apply whether or not i used magic (sees the look on fenris' face) but yes! i get it

so then anders starts using magic! and he sees the way fenris flinches and is careful and after a couple days fenris starts asking questions and anders answers them, explaining to fenris the different forms of magic and skills and schools and how they work and stuff

and at some point in this time anders tentatively suggests treating fenris' tattoos and to fenris' own amazement, he agrees

so now the assholes in the shop yelling about evil mages are seeming. much more annoying to fenris than they had before, and he's starting to see the holes in their arguments. and anders keeps staying up till 3am writing his manifesto and fenris is a little worried and tries to convince him to sleep more. one night fenris gets back from a gig with isabela and hawke to find anders asleep on the table and he hesitantly carries him to the couch and tucks him in and in the morning he makes him breakfast and is like "we should really get a sofabed"

So things continue, Anders really helps Fenris’ chronic pain and they’re. Getting along. Almost friendly. And then the prime minister is killed by the qunari, Meredith declares a state of emergency and stuff gets real scary real fast

Anders’ clinic is more busy than its ever been and Anders just, basically sleeps there

Most of the gang helps out and Fenris hates, really hates being at his shop and thinking about what the hell could be happening at the clinic

After the first wave of attacks on the city and the people who turn up at the clinic, there’s a steady trickle of folk getting attacked - police brutality and extremists, and Anders just yeah. 24/7 there whilst Fenris eats himself alive trying not to worry about him and what will happen if either these thugs find him or worse the MDC

And then extremists do find Anders clinic, and he gets the crap kicked out of him, and when it’s 3am and he still hasn’t heard from him Fenris goes to the clinic and finds Anders and Anders wakes up and is like “we’ve got to stop meeting like this” and Fenris just sort of laughs and sort of cries and holds him close and Anders gets real quiet and then folds into him and there’s just this deep gentle intimacy for a second

A week later Anders wants to go back to the clinic and Fenris just.  Refuses to let him go alone and takes time off work and goes down to the clinic with him whilst he works and keeps an eye on the door

And a week after that, they get home and before they go to bed Anders is like “I need to talk to you about something” and Fenris is like “can it wait?” And Anders looks at him with this tight, exhausted expression (the people he’d treated today had been kids. They’d nearly been beaten to death) and is like “no” and Fenris stops in the door to his room and Anders gives him the manifesto and is like. “I need you to read this. Please. And if...if it moves you at all. I have something I need to ask.”

For a week Fenris doesn’t read it. But then some tevinter mages turn up at Anders clinic, and he just. Can’t keep running away. So he reads it and he takes it seriously and he makes notes and annotates and at the end he finds Anders a fortnight after that request and he’s like. “What would you ask of me?” And Anders says “I need you to help me publish it.” And Fenris stares at him and tries to figure out how the hell this happened. And then he says yes

[princess-of-france]

I’m interested in your take on Angelo & Isabella w/ personality parallels (also just your opinion on Angelo especially tbh because I feel like I under-analyzed him when I read the play bc I was just. Well, found him scary :P) because obviously w/ your production you’re pretty deep in and I don’t see a lot of MFM content

Oof, this is a loaded question.

I’m happy to answer it, but I think I should make a disclaimer that—as you point out—my opinions of Angelo are skewed by my experiences as an actor inside a specific production. I’m also not an English scholar; I’m a theater artist. My lit crit skills are dodgy at best (as @lizbennett2013 knows all too well), and I don’t believe there is a single way to interpret any character in drama, especially when you’re dealing with heightened text. All I can do is give my honest appraisal of Angelo as I have encountered him dramaturgically through cutting our script, rehearsing Isabella, and seeing his iterations in other productions. 

So! Angelo and Isabella. Two sides of the same coin. I really think they are.

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first: Angelo is scary. He just is. His sexually motivated exploitation of authority continues to be one of the most transcendent aspects of this ever-timely play. However you stage it, however you trim the text, whatever charismatic actor you slot into the role, Angelo is a capital-T-Terror and there’s no getting around it. Coercive, manipulative, hypocritical, ruthless, misogynistic, fraudulent, and cruel, he basically spends the entirety of MEASURE FOR MEASURE committing crimes and then soliloquizing about how painful it all is for his bargain-price conscience. You’ll never hear me say he doesn’t deserve his reputation as one of the most reprehensible tyrants in all of Shakespeare. 

But.

Of the three defining qualities I see in Angelo—ideological dogmatism, rhetorical prowess, and professional pride—there’s not one of them that is not blisteringly prominent in his antagonist, Isabella. Despite the fact that she’s a Catholic republican (“Butt out of people’s lives, Big Government; God will judge us when we die!”) and he’s a Puritan[ical] bureaucrat (“My job is to regulate people’s lives because purgatory is a myth!”), they have far more in common, cognitively, than not. Understand: I’m not saying that Angelo is not a piece of shit for how he behaves throughout course of the play. Nor am I implying that Isabella is somehow culpable for his masturbatory exercise of power over her. My girl has flaws, but she’s unquestionably the hero of M4M. What I’m trying to articulate is that Angelo and Isabella were born with the same psychological toolkit, which they elect to apply towards radically different purposes. (Think Parseltongue and “It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities…”) This shared intellectual arsenal is what makes their pair of scenes in Act Two so iconic. We basically get to watch them play out Newton’s Third Law in real time: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction… As far as rhetoric goes, neither Isabella nor Angelo can overwhelm the other. For every argument she makes in favor of mercy, he punctures it with legalism. For every judicial explication he provides, she dissolves it with morality. One minute, we’re nodding our heads along with Angelo as he explains why Christian values should have no place in a court of law; the next, we’re on our feet cheering for Isabella to convince him to factor human integrity into his role as a public servant. I can’t read 2.2 as anything other than the blueprint for every screenplay Aaron Sorkin ever wrote. It is the ultimate courtroom drama.

Just look at the play’s opening act. Angelo’s hasty promotion aside, both he and Isabella begin the story at the lowest rung of their respective vocational ladders: he’s a would-be Chief Justice, she’s a would-be Prioress. Deputy/nun. Politics/religion. Different spheres/same ambition. And, in like true zealots, both Angelo and Isabella express their commitment to their new duties in terms of self-flagellation:

“You may not so extenuate his offenseFor I have had such faults, but rather tell me,When I that censure him do so offend,Let mine own judgment pattern out my deathAnd nothing come in partial.”        (Angelo, II.i.29-33)

“And have you nuns no farther privileges?[…] I speak not as desiring more,But rather wishing a more strict restraintUpon the sisterhood, the votarists of Saint Clare.”        (Isabella, I.iv.1, 3-5)

It’s also worth mentioning that our first introduction to these characters features them scurrying along in the wake of an authority figure they respect. 

Act 1, Scene 1: Angelo wants to know the extent to which he can wield his law degree at the pleasure of the Duke of Vienna (the Duke himself!). 

Act 1, Scene 4: Isabella wants to know the extent to which she can practice self-denial for the glory of God and the approval of Mother Superior. 

They are both drawn to gravitas, to figures who represent order and authority. They are also drawn to discipline. He’s a non-drinking, non-smoking Precision. She’s a gluttony-abhorring Bride of Christ. Let the rest of the world eat cake. They will be eating their sins and purifying their souls, thank you very much.

At the risk of descending into the flaming pits of cliché, I’ll also touch on those three qualities I mentioned earlier, because who says the TPE (Three Paragraph Essay) is dead? 

First up: ideological dogmatism.

[Side note: I may be a crappy historian, but I do recognize there’s a historical paradigm at play in this text. Vienna needs to be a Catholic city and Angelo’s Protestantism needs to be allusive because Shakespeare presumably valued all his limbs and didn’t relish the idea of rotting in a Cheapside prison. If he’d lived in a “free press” kind of sociocultural context, he might have endowed his religious figures with a bit more Opinion. I digress.]

In the M4M-centered episode of Isaac Butler’s phenomenal podcast, “Lend Me Your Ears,” he interviews JohnPaul Spiro (Assistant Director of the School of Liberal Arts, Villanova University), who does a wonderfully unfussy job of summing up the Angelo/Isabella ideology parallel:

“In much the same way as our era is filled with political zealots—as well as, to a certain degree, religious zealots—what you’ll find when you look closer is there’s a small number of very loud people who are dominating the discourse. And a lot of people are in the middle and would rather not have to take sides. Claudio, he seems to be monogamous, he seems to want to just live a very simple life, he’s not really concerned with theological things. And when pressed on theological things, his point is: ‘I don’t really know. No one really knows what happen when you die, so I’m scared.’”

Because religious extremism lies at the heart of the rhetorical warfare between Angelo and Isabella, I think there’s a misconception that M4M is a Play About Religion. But the ONLY characters who canonically go to the mat about the finer points of theology are…wait for it…Angelo and Isabella. This is an early modern text brimming with religious figures (Sister Francisca, Friar Thomas, Friar Peter, even the phony Friar Lodowick), but not a single one of them gets on the pulpit about ANYTHING in the course of the entire play. Sister Francisca’s role consists of bemusedly listening to her youthful novitiate describe her desire for stricter prohibitions at the cloister. Friar Thomas, a sycophantic priest whose parish coffers are probably lined with Vincentio’s gold, spends his one onstage scene nodding his head sympathetically as the Duke over-explains why he is disguising himself as a monk. Friar Peter, the poor Jesuit roped into delivering the Duke’s messages, forgoes moralizing and instead uses his limited dialogue to try to help two disenfranchised women receive justice for their abuse. And Friar Lodowick, of course, is nothing but an alias for a cowardly sociopath who wants to run the world without being held accountable for his mistakes. Nothing evangelical about any of that.

But Angelo and Isabella? They can’t shut up about religion. 

Isabella wants Angelo to temper his punitive Weltanschauung with morality, ideology, Platonic ideals, metaphysics…in short, all of the intangibles that can’t be used as evidence in a court of law. 

“Why, all the souls that were were forfeit onceAnd He that might the vantage best have tookFound out the remedy. How would you be,If He, which is the top of judgment, shouldBut judge you as you are? O, think on thatAnd mercy then will breathe within your lips,Like man new made.”        (Isabella, II.ii.97-103)

Angelo, in turn, wants Isabella to recognize the futility of Catholicism as a proper tool for creating heaven on earth because Catholicism permits withdrawal from the world and the abdication of earthly responsibility (cf: nunnery). Instead, he argues, what God actually needs is for people to actively toil in their communities to criminalize, punish, and eradicate sin. 

“I show [pity] most of all when I show justice,For then I pity those I do not know,Which a dismissed offense would after gall,And do him right that—answering one foul wrong—Lives not to act another.”        (Angelo, II.ii.128-132)

They take up the two sides of a theological debate that predates Christianity: ethics vs. justice. And that conflict is itself inextricably tied to the timeless political debate of non-intervention vs. regulation. And the thing is: even when Angelo and Isabella realize the irreconcilability of their respective schools of thought, they KEEP ARGUING ABOUT IT because extremism is just that: extreme. Angelo and Isabella may be major players in M4M, but they represent the radical minority of their world. They are the “small group of very loud people” and literally everyone is a moderate next to them. Ideology, not desire, is the bedrock of their personhood. When confronted with a person of an uncompromisingly polar viewpoint, they behave as if it might be possible to change the viewpoint of that person because the alternative is to admit defeat. To tragic effect, they hold their ideals more sacred than human life. For Angelo, that ideal is the law (i.e. integrity of action). For Isabella, it’s chastity (i.e. integrity of the soul). They are dogmatic in their beliefs, inflexible in their opinions, and inalienably convinced of their own “rightness.” They are austere, incisive, independent, articulate, and sharp. They are disgusted by the depravity of the world around them and determined to transcend it. What differentiates them is the content of their convictions, but they rate the value of that conviction equally.

So, yes, M4M is a play acutely interested in how religion shapes the law and human behavior. But I would argue that it is really only about one thing: power.

Which brings me to rhetoric.

Angelo and Isabella are lawyers. Both of them. High-powered, quick-thinking, weakness-sniffing, self-righteous litigators. Sure, Isabella may not have the paperwork to prove it; she was conceived by an Englishman in the early 17th century. But much in the same way that it’s obvious to everyone with eyes that would-be nun Maria [von Trapp] is a born music teacher from the first scene of The Sound of Music, so is it evident from Isabella’s first moments onstage that she is a born lawyer. She was, quite simply, born to argue.

Consider her first scene onstage: in the nunnery, with Lucio and Francisca. Unlike the audience, Isabella doesn’t have empirical evidence of Lucio’s amorality and notorious womanizing. She doesn’t need it. She can smell it on him. And in six short lines, she wipes the mosaic-laced marble floor of the cathedral with his ass:

LUCIOCan you so stead meAs bring me to the sight of Isabella,A novice of this place and the fair sisterTo her unhappy brother, Claudio?

ISABELLAWhy her “unhappy brother”? Let me ask,The rather for I now must make you knowI am that Isabella, and his sister.

LUCIOGentle and fair, your brother kindly greets you.Not to be weary with you, he’s in prison.

ISABELLAWoe me, for what?

LUCIOFor that which, if myself might be his judge,He should receive his punishment in thanks:He hath got his friend with child.

ISABELLASir, make me not your story.

LUCIO‘Tis true.I would not, though ‘tis my familiar sinWith maids to seem the lapwing and to jest,Tongue far from heart, play with all virgins so.I hold you as a thing enskied and sainted,By your renouncement an immortal spiritAnd to be talked with in sincerityAs with a saint.

ISABELLAYou do blaspheme the good in mocking me.

        (I.iv.18-40)

I’m not going to venture down the English professor’s rabbit hole of rhetorical devices and syntactical analysis—partly because there are thousands of scholars who have already done it better than I ever could (check out Claire McEachern and Julie Felise Dubiner!) and partly because I’ve been blathering for too long in general. But sufficed to say that three hallmarks of a good lawyer are as follows: 

The ability to seize and repurpose the language of one’s opponent (“Why her ‘unhappy brother?’”)

The ability to spot and sidestep landmines (“Sir, make me not your story.”)

The ability to redirect conversation (“You do blaspheme.”)

By that metric alone, Isabella’s performance here is worthy of the Harvard Law Review. 

And then, of course, two scenes later, she meets her match. 

A dear friend of mine, who is a first-year at Georgetown Law and basically the smartest person I’ve ever met, once told me: “The best and worst thing that can happen to a good lawyer is to meet another good lawyer with different ideas.” I do apologize for invoking Sorkin twice in one essay, but honestly: “The President likes smart people who disagree with him” (Leo, The West Wing, 2x05). It is a truth universally acknowledged that however infuriating it is for a highly intelligent person to debate with an equally intelligent person who disagrees with everything they stand for, it can also be unbelievably stimulating and monumentally entertaining to watch. (Hello, 50 million seasons of Law & Order.)

I’m now two weeks deep into rehearsals for M4M and I still get gobsmacked, daily, by the sheer majesty of Angelo’s and Isabella’s rhetoric. Theirs goes so far beyond the mental agility of anyone else in this play, or even—dare I say it—in Shakespeare’s canon. They are beyond intelligent. They are freaky genius kids with the kind of sanctimonious stubbornness that would be obnoxious if it weren’t so damn compelling. Between the two of them, between their two infamous scenes, they pull out every rhetorical trick in the book and play approximately seventeen unique rounds of intellectual checkers. (I say checkers because chess is too slow for them. If you want chilly brinksmanship, check out the Roman plays. Angelo and Isabella have agendas and professional pride on the line. Time is of the essence.)

ISABELLAI do think that you might pardon him,And neither heaven nor man grieve at the mercy.

ANGELOI will not do it.

ISABELLABut can you, if you would?

ANGELOLook, what I cannot, that I will not do.

ISABELLABut might you do it, and do the world no wrongIf so your heart were touched with that remorseAs mine is to him?

ANGELOHe’s sentenced. ‘Tis too late.

ISABELLA“Too late”? Why, no. I, that do speak a word,Might call it back again.

        (II.ii.67-78 [italics are mine])

Things get even more complicated when they start moving into those same theoretical marshes I described earlier:

“If he had been as you, and you as he,You would have slipped like him, but he like youWould not have been so stern.”        (Isabella, II.ii.84-86)

“The law hath not been dead, though it hath slept.Those many had not dared to do that evilIf the first that did th’ edict infringeHad answered for his deed. Now ‘tis awake…”        (Angelo, II.ii.117-120)

ENOUGH WITH THE METAPHORS ALREADY. CLAUDIO IS ON DEATH ROW.

And even when they finally, finally get to the point, they remain at an impasse:

ISABELLAYet show some pity.

ANGELOI show it most when I show justice.

        (II.ii.127-128)

Which causes Isabella essentially to lose all sense of self-awareness and control because goddam it, never once in her entire life has she met a person she couldn’t out-argue, who the fuck does this deputy think he is, this was supposed to be a simple mission and she’s been standing in this room for ten minutes and he’s still siTTING THERE SMILING AT HER WHAT THE F—

“So you must be the first that gives this sentence,And he that suffers. O, it is excellentTo have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannousTo use it like a giant[…]Could great men thunderAs Jove himself does, Jove would never be quiet,For every pelting, petty officerWould use his heaven for thunder,Nothing but thunder. Merciful heaven,Thou rather with thy sharp and sulfurous boltSplits the un-wedgeable and gnarlèd oakThan the soft myrtle. But man, proud man,Dressed in a little brief authority,Most ignorant of what he’s most assured,His glassy essence like an angry apePlays such fantastic tricks before high heavenAs makes the angels weep, who with our spleensWould all themselves laugh mortal.”        (Isabella, II.ii.134-152)

Which causes ANGELO to lose all self-awareness and control because goddam it, never once in his entire life has he met a person he couldn’t out-argue, who the fuck does this nun think she is, this was supposed to be a simple smackdown and she’s been standing in this room for ten minutes and he’s still waiting for her to admit defeat and oh God oh no oh no oh no why can���t he look away from her face, what the fuck is happening what the F—

ANGELOWHY DO YOU PUT THESE SAYINGS UPON ME?

ISABELLABecause authority, though it err like others,Hath yet a kind of medicine in itselfThat skins the vice o’ th’ top. Go to your bosom,Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth knowThat’s like my brother’s fault. If it confessA natural guiltiness such as is his,Let it not sound a thought upon your tongueAgainst my brother’s life.

ANGELO, asideShe speaks and ‘tis such senseThat my sense breeds with it.

        (II.ii.163-173)

Finally, Angelo gets her to leave and faces the music. My tremendous co-actor, Jude Van der Voorde, always slays this soliloquy.

“What’s this, what’s this? Is this her fault or mine?The tempter or the tempted, who sins most, ha?Not she; nor doth she tempt, but it is IThat, lying by the violet in the sun,Do as the carrion does, not as the flower,Corrupt with virtuous season.”        (Angelo, II.iv.199-204)

[Non sequitur: Jude is the kind of actor actors dream of acting with. He’s always got at least one trick up his sleeve, so my Isabella is constantly second-guessing herself around him. And he does the “sleazy wunderkind act” with a panache rivaling BJ Novak’s in Season 4 of The Office. He’s also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. Kids, don’t be Method. Make friends with your fellow actors. Leave the emotions onstage and go get a midnight pizza. You will be so much happier.]

With regards to the M4M narrative, we all know what happens next, although it takes an agonizing 175 lines of text in 2.4 before Shakespeare levels off and gives us the canonical threat:

“Redeem thy brotherBy yielding up thy body to my will,Or else he must not only die the death,But thy unkindness shall his death draw outTo lingering sufferance. Answer me tomorrowOr by the affection that now guides me mostI’ll prove a tyrant to him. As for you:Say what you can, my false o’erweighs your true.”        (Angelo, II.iv.177-184)

What precedes this is the kind of tension-groaning, hair-splitting, goosebump-raising rhetorical tarantella that television writers today spend their entire careers trying to emulate. Isabella plays the fool for as long as she possibly can…

ANGELONay, but hear me.Your sense pursues not mine. Either you are ignorantOr seem so, crafty, and that’s not good.

ISABELLALet me be ignorant, and in nothing goodBut graciously to know I am no better.

        (II.iv.79-83)

…but eventually Angelo forces her hand and she has to deflect his onslaught with the sleek diplomacy of a kidnapping victim.

ISABELLABetter it were a brother died at onceThan that a sister, by redeeming him,Should die forever.

ANGELOWere not you then as cruel as the sentenceThat you have slandered so?

ISABELLAIgnomy in ransom and free pardonAre of two houses. Lawful mercyIs nothing kin to foul redemption.

ANGELOYou seemed of late to make the law a tyrant,And rather proved the sliding of your brotherA merriment than a vice.

ISABELLAO, pardon me, my lord. It oft falls out,To have what we would have, we speak not what we mean.I something do excuse the thing I hateFor his advantage that I dearly love.

        (II.iv.114-128)

Remember when I said that Angelo and Isabella are alike in that they are inalienably convinced of their own “rightness”? That still holds true. But now Angelo, without warning, has moved beyond the conceits of debate and is taking Isabella’s rhetorical arguments from 2.2 at literal face value in order to trip her up. He’s brought ideology crashing down to earth and introduced their physical relationship into the conversation…again, without warning and very much without her consent. And she has to figure out a way to back-peddle on her words without yielding defeat of the argument. It is nigh impossible. And I bring it up because guess who gets trapped in the exact same situation three short acts later?

LUCIOCome, sir; come, sir; come, sir; foh, sir! Why, you bald-pated, lying rascal, you must be hooded, must you? Show your knave’s visage, with a pox to you! Show your sheep-biting face, and be hanged an hour! Will ‘t not off?

        (LUCIO pulls off the friar’s hood and reveals the DUKE.)

DUKEThou art the first knave that e’er made’st a duke.—First, Provost, let me bail these gentle three.—Sneak not away, sir, for the friar and youMust have a word anon.—Lay hold on him.

LUCIOThis may prove worse than hanging.

DUKEWhat you have spoke I pardon. Sit you down.We’ll borrow place of him.       (to Angelo)Sir, by your leave.Hast thou or word, or wit, or impudenceThat yet can do thee office? If thou hast,Rely upon it till my tale be heardAnd hold no longer out.

ANGELOO my dread lord,I should be guiltier than my guiltinessTo think I can be undiscernible,When I perceive your Grace, like power divine,Hath looked upon my passes.         (V.i.395-421)

Game, set, match.

As for ego… Do I really need to talk about professional pride? I don’t think so. It’s Angelo and Isabella. Pride leaks out of every virtually every line they speak in this play. Pride in their conviction, pride in their moral righteousness, pride in their intellect, pride in their ability to judge the world with clarity (or whatever). Angelo actually admits it out loud to us in perhaps his most famous soliloquy, because the little fucker has a lot more Catholic guilt about lusting after a novitiate nun than his Protestant heart would like to admit:

“The state whereon I studiedIs, like a good thing being often read,Grown sere and tedious. Yea, my gravity,Wherein—let no man hear me—I take pride,Could I with boot change for an idle plumeWhich the air beats for vain.”        (Angelo, II.iv.7-15)

And even though Isabella could easily be the poster child for Christian piety, she’s so damn proud of her own humility that she occasionally threatens to void it altogether. 

ANGELOWhat would you do?

ISABELLAAs much for my poor brother as myself.That is, were I under the terms of death,Th’ impression of keen whips I’d wear as rubiesAnd strip myself to death as to a bedThat longing have been sick for, ere I’d yieldMy body up to shame.

        (II.iv.107-111)

Look at me, Angelo. Look at this body. It’s mine. Mine and God’s. I see what you’re doing, I know where you’re trying to go. And it is never. going. to happen.

Two weeks into rehearsal and I’m still not sure I’m convincing in my delivery of these lines. I’ve watched every filmed production of M4M I can get my hands on, and it’s no help. I just don’t know what to make of this. Scholars disagree virulently about these lines, but also…scholars aren’t actors, you know? I find myself questioning everything every time I get to this passage. Is Isabella actually a virgin? I’m not sure. Chastity and virginity aren’t actually the same thing and Isabella, for all her idealism, is more worldly than many of her ingenue brethren. One thing is for sure: she’s flushed with self-righteousness when she speaks these words. Angelo may be a haughty son of a bitch, but so is she, so is she, so is she.

Ugh, these characters. I love them so much. I hate Angelo, I do. I also love him. And God help me I love Isabella. They’re dumpster fires of human conviction and I’m so grateful to Shakespeare for giving us their story and for understanding four hundred fucking years ago, that this, THIS is the pinnacle of hell in the female experience: “Who would believe thee, Isabel?”

#MeToo

Thank you, Will. Thank you.

I feel like I should apologize for the length of this reply, but I’ve had so much freaking fun that I also don’t feel apologetic. Thank you for this amazing question! Hope you’re doing well! xx Claire

Tagging @malvoliowithin @measureformeasure @harry-leroy @suits-of-woe

[normal-thoughts-official]

Ok uhhh claia, lukemaryse and malec superhero au headcanons

first of all, id just like to say that i love this new trend of u guys sending me really vague prompts and giving me complete creative freedom to do whatever i want with them. i think it really shows that u trust me to create good, interesting content, and that means a lot to me. second of all, that trust is entirely misplaced. why would you ever think that id make something good. have you met me. what im trying to say here is basically: this is your own fault

behold:

In a world where everyone has a superpower, the world is bound to work a little different. No one knows what determines people's superpowers; some are fairly common (like teleportation, which led to a lot of ppl working as cabs, taking ppl to and from wherever they need) and others are unique and particularly powerful (and also dangerous, which is why particularly powerful people are part of an elite squad dedicated to keep the world safe; our very own superheroes)

Alec's superpower is definitely unique: he can sense trash. That's it. Hes just going around, living his life, sensing trash. He knows when people are littering. He can sense it from a pretty far away distance. Everywhere he goes, he knows where all the trash cans are. His life is just. Him and the trash, everywhere, haunting him

No one's ever heard of this before. Alec's mom, maryse, can bend all four elements, and is part of the Elite Squad; so is his father, although he retired from action and works behind a desk now. His sister izzy has superspeed and was trained to perfect combat in the hopes she would follow their footsteps, but ultimately decided to give it up and become a biologist instead. And Alec. Can sense trash

This was the source of a lot of Family Drama, since alec's parents were pretty strict and held their position as elite superheroes with pride, expecting nothing less from their children. But after many years of trying and failing to somehow make up for it, Alec decided to say fuck them and fully embraced who he is, refusing to live in apology. Once he finally left their house to live on his own, maryse realised he meant wanting to cut them off his life for real, and came around. Robert's lack of understanding was one of the factors that led to their divorce

Alec became an architect and works to build better and efficient waste collection systems in the country. Due to his power, he knows which places need the most infrastructure investment, as well as the problems that lead to the littering. He also knows which companies are illegally discarding their waste and how, the exact effects of that on the environment, and a lot of stuff that would otherwise only be possible through extensive research. He is an activist for both a better public, free, universal waste removal system, and stricter regulations on companies that profit from environmental destruction.

And the thing is, he likes this life. He's passionate about it. Everyday at work he gets to do a little something to make the world better and fight against injustice and use his place of privilege that comes from his education and his so-called "useless" superpower for change. He wouldn't trade it for the world and he's really passionate about what he does, even if it does take up most of his time

So when his mom comes in one day saying that a new villain named Trash Man is going around and killing people and they need his help to track him, Alec is not. amused.

First of all: Trash Man? come on

But he kind of has no choice, since this is top priority at the moment and the very ministery of security is calling him or something - every citizen is required to register their powers so they know exactly when they're needed

So he goes, and for the first time, he meets the rest of his mom's Top Secret team; first of all, there's the leader, Luke: his power is persuasion and hes very good at de-escalating events to guarantee minimal damage and better solutions, making him the most valuable asset of the team. Then there's Maryse, and under them, a team of relatively young, but very powerful, heroes: maia, a shapeshifter; clary, who can summon weapons and is very good at Stabbing; and Magnus, who can bend time and space

Magnus is also kind of the Group Genius; his power also got him an special interest in physics and chemistry, meaning that he is not only able to use his power intelligently and creatively, but effectively enhance it; he's also very good with tech and responsible for a lot of their non-power-related assets. Honestly, he likes that part way better than the crime-fighting blah blah blah, but he kind of has no choice over what he does because he's an orphan and extremely powerful, meaning he's viewed as a threat by the government while simultaneously being dependant on them, and would pretty much have nowhere to turn to if he didnt start working for them

But really, he wants to be a scientist. He wants to do good things. He wants to create stuff that will make people's lives, and the world, better. He doesn't even believe in this whole "crime fighting" shit; he believes in a just world crime would be minimal and using their resources to fight bad guys instead of working on crime prevention is an absolute waste. But it's not like anybody asked for his opinion.

Alec and Magnus immediately hit it off; Alec was kind of tense at first because surely these guys would have the world's hugest chip on their shoulder, right? But instead everyone welcomes him, and Magnus kind of jokes that he envies him, which takes him by surprise

Because Maia and Clary are both Magnus' great friends as well, Alec also gets closer to them; Clary can be a little self-centered and annoying, but she's cool and Maia always calls her out on it. Maia is a fierce, amazing, smart girl and Alec can totally see why she and Magnus are so close, with their similar sense of humor, shared experiences (Maia is not an orphan but she ran away from home when she was pretty young), and gleaming, almost mischievous intelligence and talent. Alec can hold a conversation with them alright, since as an architect he needs quite some knowledge of physics and as an activist he can also hold pretty good and deep conversations with them about the system and its flawed, unjust logic; but there are some topics they get into that just kind of escalate and seem to get them in their own little world. Alec finds himself watching from the sidelines sometimes, and while he admires that - and doesnt miss the way clary will sometimes sit beside him and watch them as well, a small smile on her face that tells him everything he needs to know - he finds himself... a little upset by it, too

Not that he has a problem with them, but he finds himself wanting to feel like he belongs, and that's kind of- new. It's not like his life is a sad wet sock of loneliness or anything, he has his sister, he has some friends, but he's a private kind of guy and he finds himself more comfortable at the sidelines than the spotlight, except when it comes to his work, because hes good at that

It's just his luck, then, that Trash Man turns out to be really smart and hard to track due to [vague plot noises], giving him all the time he needs to, well, figure this out

So he spends more time with them, particularly Magnus. The both of them will sometimes sit talking for hours, and soon learn a lot about each other. Magnus listens, enraptured, whenever Alec goes on a passionate Trash Rant™ and Alec is always in awe by Magnus' smart solutions. They begin some sort of camraderie that's also laced with Magnus' oh-so-smooth flirting, which started strong and eventually died out as Magnus began to realize he really liked Alec and his usual confidence and devil-may-care attitude vanished. But Alec mistakes this as Magnus losing interest or him seeing things. Cue lots of mutual pining

At least once Alec gets thrown through a wall by some villain; but, little did he know, it wasnt just a normal wall that he broke; it was the fourth wall. Alec looks straight into the reader's eyes, and goes: "I can sense trash. That's why, in this AU, i was never friends with jace". Then Magnus comes in and takes him back to the other side of the wall, and Alec blinks, confused, not remembering what had just happened. This is never mentioned again

Idk theres some gay shit in here, Alec introduces Magnus to Izzy and Magnus is absolutely in awe with her work. Izzy specializes in pollinators and works trying to restore the bee population and guarantee a more sustainable environment. Her work crosses with Alec's a surprising amount of times, and Magnus, who loves both animals and the incredible amount of knowledge her research requires, and they become super good friends almost immediately, which makes Alec very pleased.

More gay shit, Alec and Magnus decide to team up to try and get Clary and Maia together, only to be knocked sideways when they find out they're already dating. Maryse is like "do the four of you ever work" and Alec is hit with the realisation that his mom, too, kind of lives in the sidelines when it comes to things that arent work; luke seems to be kind of the mediator between her and the rest of the team, which is kind of sad. She does seem to have a good relationship with Luke, tho

Eventually they defeat Trash Man and Alec is no longer required to work for them and can go back to his trash activism; and when he does, so does Magnus, who is invited to work with izzy's team, which he gladly accepts

Somehow Alec confesses? And Magnus is in awe because he of course never expected Alec to like him back but. It turns out Alec is the most confident out of the two of them despite their exterior telling most people otherwise. And Magnus just says that yes he likes him back and will go out with him and they kiss passionately in the middle of the lab surrounded by bees but there are also flowers so theres that. And then they get married. I mean not right after but some years later

Magnus leaving inspires the rest of them, in some ways; Maia, Luke and Maryse start actually fighting to change the crime fighting policies to investment in crime prevention because new supervillains will always keep coming. The romantic tension between them finally snaps and they start going out. Maryse seems like such a different person now, more open and happier. Alec is pleased

They save the bees and the trash and the impending environmental apocalypse that looms over us is avoided idk that's all Ive got

Again this is your fault

The end

[phantoms-lair]

answrs replied to your post: SO every year my FLGS* has an Event called...

as an aside, how’d you manage to get a relationship like that with a game store? sounds super cool :oc

It’s...I don’t know that I can explain it without explaining the history of Battlegrounds.

This started with a licensed Games Workshop Store, and a mall called Stony Point. Technically it’s name was Stony Point Fashion Park, but I called it the snob mall. The place oozed with pretentiousness.  Games Workshop is an outlet for Warhammrr, which is, imho stupidly expensive, but also stupidly popular. The Store did well and ran events, but the people it attracted were nerds and geeks, not the clientele the snob mall wanted. So despite the fact that the store was flourishing, Stony Point canceled their contract, openly stating it was because they weren’t bringing in the right people.

At the time there was no other FLGS in the area that could handle tabletop games. People who wanted to play created their own community, which they called the Stony Point Refuges and arranged to play games in various tables they built themselves in garages. Then one of them decided if there was this much demand, (And the GW store *had* been doing well) there was a market. And thus he opened up his own store called FTW.

FTW started in a small nook in a shopping center. It hadn’t room for more than a few tables and every inch the could get was packed with merchandise for various tabletop, board, and card games.

This is where I came in, and brought Peter with me. Warhammer and Magic, the two biggest titles, never held much appeal for me, but I loved a little indy game called Malifaux and Peter the board games. We bought stuff, played, got to know people, and became part of the SPR community. I ran a few Malifaux Tournaments and Peter introduced the store to organized play for RPGs, first with D&D 4e, then Pathfinder Society, and now both D&D 5e and Society. (like, I helped, but Peter really flew with it.) In those days there was a thin line between being a regular and part of the store.

There was no warning when FTW closed. And by that I mean we were gaming one night and when we came back the next day the doors were locked. What happened, I don’t know, but the store had gone under.

But the community wasn’t willing to let go of our store. Other members bought the store, the stock, and under the new leadership it was renamed Battlegrounds.

And while it was the same community, it wasn’t the same store. The new managers didn’t keep all their eggs in the twin baskets of Warhammer and Magic and actively promoted other games, drawing in a bigger crowd. They ran the ship tighter and a lot of the regulars worked with it because we didn’t want to lose our store again. (Some were mad about stricter regulations like ‘no cursing’ but hey). Peter ran so many event and put so much into the store by the time he was offered a job many were shocked - they’d assumed he’d already worked there for months if not years.

And that leads me to the answer I don’t think would be clear without knowing all that. I’m in a good relationship with the store because I’m part of the community of the store. I don’t do as much as I once did since Mailfaux has fallen out of play and I have other demands on my time, but I still help in little ways, like with Halloween decorations.

I can’t speak for all FLGSs, but if you want to start looking into building a good relationship, see what you can do. Run demo games to recruit new players, organize events or leagues, which bring people in. Get the credentials (if needed) to act as a judge for various game like Magic or X-Wing. More than any other store I’ve been in, Gaming Stores run on Community, so you just need to find your place in yours.

[patriotsnet]

What Do Republicans Believe About Taxes

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-do-republicans-believe-about-taxes/

What Do Republicans Believe About Taxes

What Is A Republican

As you can see, the dictionary definition of a Republican is very brief. And since a Republican is simply defined as a member of the Republican party of the U.S. it is important to understand what the Republican Party stands for. To understand what a Republican is you have to understand the Republican Party. And that is what the rest of this article examines.

Views Of Stricter Environmental Laws Climate Change

On environmental issues, 65% of adults say that stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost, compared with 33% who say they cost too many jobs and hurt the economy.

A large majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners say stricter environmental laws are worth the cost, including 92% of liberal Democrats and 79% of conservative and moderate Democrats.

Republicans and Republican leaners are more likely to say stricter environmental laws cost jobs and hurt the economy than that they are worth the cost . However, there is a wide divide in views among Republicans by ideology. Two-thirds of conservative Republicans say stricter environmental laws hurt the economy. Views among moderate and liberal Republicans are nearly the reverse: 60% say stricter environmental laws are worth the cost.

Majorities across age groups and levels of educational attainment say stricter environmental laws are worth the cost. Adults younger than 30 and those with a postgraduate degree are among the most likely to say this.

As other surveys have found, there also continue to be wide partisan differences in opinions about climate change. Among the public overall, 52% say the Earth is getting warmer mostly because of human activity, while 17% say it is getting warmer mostly due to natural patterns in the environment. About two-in-ten say there is no solid evidence that the Earth is getting warmer, and 9% say they are not sure.

Gop Must Stop Believing In Magic

Im not making a plea for larger government just a plea for economic sanity. If Congress in its all-seeing wisdom wants to spend $700 billion on the military, billions of dollars on farm subsidies and so on, it must either raise enough money in taxes to pay for the programs it authorizes or reduce the size of government. 

Instead, although Republicans controlled the White House, the Senate and the House from 2017 to 2019, they chose not to make any substantial cuts to government programs that would balance the revenue lost by their series of massive unfunded tax cuts.

Unquestioning and unsubstantiated belief in the magical power of tax cuts isnt a viable economic policy. The GOP is putting America on an unsustainable path that is disastrous both for its fiscal future and for the hopes of people trying to get ahead. 

About UsNewsroom StaffEthical PrinciplesPress ReleasesTerms of ServiceYour California Privacy Rights/Privacy PolicyPrivacy Policy

Corporations Will Bring Back Profits Stashed Overseas

Republicans did their best to include as many corporate giveaways as possible in their tax cut, but spun them as a benefit to the greater economy. Take repatriated earnings. American multinational corporations like to keep their overseas profits away from the IRS, and the Republican tax plan aimed to change this by offering companies a temporary tax holiday. Earnings kept overseas would be subject to a one-time tax at a very low rate that could be paid over the course of eight years. President Trump promised that this would produce a flood of repatriated earnings amounting to $4$5 trillionnearly twice the amount that corporations were actually storing overseas.

This was just another lie, one that no serious economist believed for a moment. And indeed, after a brief boom in repatriated earnings after the tax cut passed, there was a bust. Repatriations to date have amounted to only $840 billion above normal, and the total amount of repatriations in the last quarter of 2019 is only $60 billion higher than it was before the tax cut passed. The total will never come anywhere close to $4$5 trillion.

    But maybe foreign investors responded more positively to the tax cut than domestic investors did? Nope. Foreign investment increased briefly but then plunged. Apparently they didnt take Republican promises any more seriously than Americans did.

  What Do Republicans Believe In

Do all Republicans believe the same things? Of course not. Rarely do members of a single political group agree on all issues. Even among Republicans, there are differences of opinion. As a group, they do not agree on every issue.

Some folks vote Republican because of fiscal concerns. Often, that trumps concerns they may have about social issues. Others are less interested in the fiscal position of the party. They vote they way they do because of religion. They believe Republicans are the party of morality. Some simply want less government. They believe only Republicans can solve the problem of big government. Republicans spend less . They lower taxes: some people vote for that alone.

However, the Republican Party does stand for certain things. So I’m answering with regard to the party as a whole. Call it a platform. Call them core beliefs. The vast majority of Republicans adhere to certain ideas.

So what do Republicans believe? Here are their basic tenets:

Republicans Can’t Handle The Truth About Taxes

Congressional Republicans are channeling one of my favorite political hacks, the late Massachusetts Congressman Jimmy Burke, who boasted he voted for spending bills, tax cuts and against any increase in the debt ceiling.

House and Senate Republicans voted against the COVID-stimulus bill and oppose the Biden infrastructure and tax measures. Yet, despite the votes, more than a few cite their support for popular provisions in each spending initiative, rail against deficits, and oppose tax increases.

Republicans complain the $2 trillion Biden initiative is full of stuff that really isn’t infrastructure. Sen. Roy BluntRoy Dean BluntA tale of two chambers: Trump’s power holds in House, wanes in Senate46 GOP senators warn they will not vote to raise debt ceiling says all that should be taken out and reduce the size to $600 billion.

The biggest, $400 billion over eight years, is to provide more personnel and resources for in-home care for the elderly or people with disabilities. We have a son with disabilities, and we can afford expensive good care; we have encountered many families who cannot. If you know anyone with a loved one with Alzheimer’s, you’ll look more kindly on this provision. Does Sen. Blunt believe this isn’t an urgent need?

But what really gets the conservative juices going is opposing the proposed tax increases; since the fall of the Berlin Wall, tax cuts have been the only glue that holds increasingly disparate Republicans together.

Poverty Must Solve Itself

Republicans believe that poor people are usually poor for a reason, be it laziness, choice or whatever. Unless we demand that people pull themselves up by the bootstraps and solve their own problems, people will not be motivated to do things. Therefore, the issue of poverty cannot be solved by the government. Charity should be the choice of individuals.

Gop Real Estate Owners Make Out Big

Besides the laws benefits to real estate pass-throughs, real estate in general was hugely favored by the tax law, allowing property exchanges to avoid taxation, the deduction of new capital expenses in just one year versus longer depreciation schedules, and an exemption from limits on interest deductions. 

If you are a real estate developer, you never pay tax, said Ed Kleinbard, a former head of Congresss Joint Committee on Taxation. 

Members of Congress own a lot of real estate. Public Integritys review of financial disclosures found that 29 of the 47 GOP members of the committees responsible for the tax bill hold interests in real estate, including small rental businesses, LLCs, and massive real estate investment trusts , which pay dividends to investors. The tax bill allows REIT investors to deduct 20 percent from their dividends for tax purposes. 

Who We Are

The Center for Public Integrity is an independent, investigative newsroom that exposes betrayals of the public trust by powerful interests.

Republicans Invented Progressive Income Taxes Will They Turn Left Again

Rendering of a red elephant in a spotlight representing the Republican Political Party in front of … the American Flag.

getty

President Trumps sagging poll numbers have prompted some eager speculation about the future of the Republican Party.

If Trump loses, will the GOP rethink its political strategy? Recast its policy agenda? Or will it double down on both on Trumpism, whatever that might mean?

Whether Trump wins or loses in November wont settle these questions.

The future of the Republican Party belongs to him, Matthew Walther  in a recent analysis for The Week. His legacy arguments about its true value and how it should be understood, its relationship with previous right-wing insurgent movements such as the Tea Party will determine the course of the GOPs fortunes for the next decade.

Indeed, Trumps legacy will almost certainly endure for over a decade because its about more than just him. Trumpism is part of the Republican Partys broader historical evolution. It began to emerge long before Trump took his famous ride down the escalator in Trump Tower to announce his candidacy in 2015; it will persist long after he vacates the Oval Office, whether thats in January 2021 or January 2025.

American presidents even the transformational, disruptive ones exist as part of a process. They dont emerge from nowhere to upend and recast political institutions single-handedly. They channel and give expression to changes already underway in American society.

Inequality Poverty Divide Republicans More Than Democrats

Juliana Menasce Horowitz

In recent weeks, many political observers have described a rift between liberals and centrists in the Democratic Party over how to tackle poverty, income inequality, and broader issues of economic fairness. Some have framed the discussion around Elizabeth Warren vs. Hillary Clinton. Others have focused on between New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has proposed raising taxes on the rich to pay for a citywide prekindergarten program, and Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has vowed to lower taxes.

But a new Pew Research Center/USA TODAY survey suggests that, at least for the moment, the issue of how best to deal with poverty and income inequality and whether the government should address these issues at all divides Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party more than it does Democrats and leaners.

To be sure, majorities of 60% or more among Republicans and Democrats across the ideological spectrum agree that inequality is on the rise, and about 90% of liberal and centrist Democrats say the government should do something about it. But while a 61%-majority of moderate and liberal Republicans say the government should do something to reduce the gap between the rich and everyone else, 55% of conservative Republicans dont want the government to do much or anything at all about inequality.

Most Welfare Recipients Are Makers Not Takers

The first myth, that people who receive public benefits are takers rather than makers, is flatly untrue for the vast majority of working-age recipients.

Consider Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, formerly known as food stamps, which currently serve about 42 million Americans. At least one adult in more than half of SNAP-recipient households are working. And the average SNAP subsidy is $125 per month, or $1.40 per meal hardly enough to justify quitting a job.

As for Medicaid, nearly 80 percent of adults receiving Medicaid live in families where someone works, and more than half are working themselves.

In early December, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, We have a welfare system thats trapping people in poverty and effectively paying people not to work.

Not true. Welfare officially called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families has required work as a condition of eligibility since then-President Bill Clinton signed welfare reform into law in 1996. And the earned income tax credit, a tax credit for low- and moderate-income workers, by definition, supports only people who work.

Workers apply for public benefits because they need assistance to make ends meet. American workers are among the most productive in the world, but over the last 40 years the bottom half of income earners have seen no income growth. As a result, since 1973, worker productivity has grown almost six times faster than wages.

What Is A Republican Republican Definition

April 11, 2014 By

This article fully answers what a Republican is and gives the definition of a Republican in a fair, unbiased, and well-researched way. To start the article we list out the definition of a Republican, then we cover the Republican Partys core beliefs, then we list out the Republican Partys beliefs on all the major issues.

The Definition of a Republican: a member of the Republican party of the U.S.

The Economy Will Be Supercharged

If an investment boom was the big lie that drove everything, the arguments made to the general public in support of the tax cut mostly revolved around a better-known metric: economic growth. The usual way of measuring this is by looking at gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and services produced in the United States. In the decade since the end of the Great Recession, GDP growth has averaged 2.3 percent per year.

Republicans claimed that the investment growth spurred by the tax cut would drive GDP growth higher. predicted growth rates of 3 to 4 percent. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin went with a more modest 2.9 percent. Trump himself told reporters at his Cabinet meeting that he was holding out for 6 percent growth. These projections were mostly just spun out of thin air.

So how did we do? Since the investment boom never materialized, its hardly a shock to learn that GDP growth didnt boom either. The growth rate increased modestly for two quarters and then dropped steadily. In the last quarter unaffected by the coronavirus crisis, it was barely above 2 percent. Not only didnt the tax cut usher in the growth that Republicans predicted, but growth rates started dropping soon after.

  History Of The Republican Party

The Republican Party came into existence just prior to the Civil War due to their long-time stance in favor of abolition of slavery. They were a small third-party who nominated John C. Freemont for President in 1856. In 1860 they became an established political party when their nominee Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States. Lincolns Presidency throughout the war, including his policies to end slavery for good helped solidify the Republican Party as a major force in American politics. The elephant was chosen as their symbol in 1874 based on a cartoon in Harpers Weekly that depicted the new party as an elephant.

Energy Issues And The Environment

There have always been clashes between the parties on the issues of energy and the environment. Democrats believe in restricting drilling for oil or other avenues of fossil fuels to protect the environment while Republicans favor expanded drilling to produce more energy at a lower cost to consumers. Democrats will push and support with tax dollars alternative energy solutions while the Republicans favor allowing the market to decide which forms of energy are practical.

Majority Of Americans Say Government Has Responsibility To Ensure Health Coverage

A majority of the public says that the federal government has a responsibility to make sure that all Americans have health care coverage, while 41% say this is not the governments responsibility.

However, most of those who say the government does not have a responsibility to provide health coverage nonetheless favor continuing programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Roughly a third of the public holds this view. Just 6% say the government should not be involved in providing health insurance at all.

Among those who say it is the governments responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage, there are differences over how to achieve this goal.

Overall, 30% of adults say government is responsible for ensuring that all Americans have health care coverage and that health insurance should be provided through a single national health insurance system run by the government. A similar share of the public thinks health care for all Americans is a government responsibility but supports providing health insurance through a mix of private companies and government programs.

Seven-in-ten Republicans and Republican leaners say it is not the governments responsibility to make sure all Americans have health insurance. Among Republicans, conservatives are much more likely than moderates and liberals to take this view. Still, just 12% of conservative Republicans say the government should not be involved in health care at all.

Crime And Capital Punishment

Republicans generally believe in harsher penalties when someone has committed a crime, including for selling illegal drugs. They also generally favor capital punishment and back a system with many layers to ensure the proper punishment has been meted out. Democrats are more progressive in their views, believing that crimes do not involve violence, such as selling drugs, should have lighter penalties and rehabilitation. They are also against capital punishment in any form.

Trump Keeps Pretending To Want To Tax The Rich

Trump as a candidate promised to raise taxes on the rich, and after taking office he again promised to raise taxes on the rich. Trump said he believed in raising taxes on the wealthy, including myself and later promised that his administrations tax reform would not benefit the wealthy at all.

None of this was true, of course instead he backed a plan from congressional Republicans for a large regressive tax cut. Once that was enacted, House Republicans began to queue up a program they called Tax Reform 2.0 that would be an even larger and only modestly less regressive tax cut. Trump, again aware that this is not popular, tried to make up a fake middle-class tax cut during the waning days of the midterms, but as soon as the election was over .

This is all nonsense, but its telling nonsense.

Even very dishonest politicians dont routinely pretend to hold the opposite of their partys position on key issues. Trump isnt out there pretending to champion abortion rights, clean energy, or humane treatment of refugees. Hes trying to muddy the waters on taxes because he knows the standard Republican position on tax policy is unpopular.

Yet this is rarely covered as a striking, daring, or even noteworthy stance.

Most Americans Favor Expanding Renewable Energy Sources But Divides Remain Over Expanding Offshore Drilling Nuclear Power

Most Americans favor expanding solar power or wind power , including strong majorities of both Republicans and Democrats. The public, however, is evenly divided over whether to expand nuclear power . Fewer than half of Americans support more offshore oil and gas drilling , hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas, known as fracking or coal mining .

These findings are broadly in line with previous Center surveys, which found strong majorities in favor of increasing solar or wind power and more mixed views about expanding other energy sources. Support for more nuclear power plants has inched up 6 percentage points since 2016 . Support for coal mining has declined from 41% to 35% in the same period.

Sizable majorities of both Republicans and Democrats including those who lean to each party favor more solar panel farms or wind turbine farms . More Republicans than Democrats support expanding nuclear power plants; support for nuclear power is stronger among conservative Republicans than among moderate or liberal Republicans .

Conservative Republicans also stand out as more inclined to support expansion of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas as well as coal mining . By comparison, fewer than half of moderate or liberal Republicans favor expanding these energy sources .

Foreign Policy And National Defense

Republicans supported Woodrow Wilson‘s call for American entry into World War I in 1917, complaining only that he was too slow to go to war. Republicans in 1919 opposed his call for entry into the League of Nations. A majority supported the League with reservations; a minority opposed membership on any terms. Republicans sponsored world disarmament in the 1920s, and isolationism in the 1930s. Most Republicans staunchly opposed intervention in World War II until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. By 1945, however, internationalists became dominant in the party which supported the Cold War policies such as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO.

Americans Want To Tax The Rich

Theres no polling on specific brackets or exactly who counts as rich that I can find, but surveys are very consistent that for some definition of rich the voters would like to see higher taxes:

The most recent poll on this I can find is an April 2018 Gallup survey which had 62 percent of respondents saying the wealthy do not pay their fair share in taxes, a number thats been consistently in the high 50s or low 60s in the 21st century.

Pew found in 2017 that said it was bothered a lot by the fact that rich people dont pay their fair share.

A 2017 CBS poll found that 56 percent of voters said wealthy people should pay higher taxes.

One person who gets this, incidentally, is President Donald Trump.

Political Positions Of The Republican Party

Republicanism in the United States

The platform of the Republican Party of the United States is generally based on American conservatism, contrasting with the modern liberalism of the Democratic Party. The positions of the Republican Party have evolved over time. Currently, the party’s fiscal conservatism includes support for lower taxes, free market, of corporations, and restrictions on labor unions. The party’s social conservatism includes support for gun rights and other traditional values, often with a foundation, including restrictions on abortion. In foreign policy, Republicans usually favor increased military spending and action. Other Republican positions include restrictions on immigration, opposition to drug legalization, and support for school choice.

Regulating The Economy Republican Style

The Republican Party is generally considered business-friendly and in favor of limited government regulation of the economy. This means favoring policies that put business interests ahead of environmental concerns, labor union interests, healthcare benefits and retirement benefits. Given this more pro-business bias, Republicans tend to receive support from business owners and capitalists, as opposed to support from labor.

Republicans Economic Views And How They Work In The Real World

Kimberly Amadeo is an expert on U.S. and world economies and investing, with over 20 years of experience in economic analysis and business strategy. She is the President of the economic website World Money Watch. As a writer for The Balance, Kimberly provides insight on the state of the present-day economy, as well as past events that have had a lasting impact.

Robert C. Kelly

Republican economic policies focus on what’s good for businesses and investors. Republicans say that prosperous companies will boost economic growth for everyone. 

Republicans promote supply-side economics. That theory says reducing costs for business, trade, and investment is the best way to increase growth. Investors buy more companies or stocks. Banks increase business lending. Owners invest in their operations and hire workers. These workers spend their wages, driving both demand and economic growth. 

Republicans define the American Dream as the right to pursue prosperity without government interference. That’s achieved by self-discipline, enterprise, saving, and investment by individuals. Warren Harding said, “Less government in business and more business in government.” Calvin Coolidge said, The chief business of the American people is business.

Here is a short list of the pros and cons of some Republican economic policies.

Compare And Contrast: How Do The Republican And Democratic Tax Plans Differ

Brown EdwardsLatest News

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

With the presidential election only weeks away, many people are beginning to pay closer attention to each candidates positions on such issues as the COVID-19 pandemic, health care, the environment and taxes.

Among their many differences, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have widely divergent tax proposals. Their stances could have a major impact on the amount of taxes youll owe in the future. Heres an overview of each candidates tax proposals for both individuals and businesses.

Trumps tax proposals for individuals

The GOP-backed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law in December 2017. It included a number of temporary federal tax cuts and breaks for individuals and families for 2018 through 2025. President Trump has indicated support for preserving tax reforms under the TCJA and possibly providing additional breaks for individuals and families.

The White House budget document for the governments 2021 fiscal year indicates support for extending these TCJA individual tax provisions beyond 2025:

The current federal income tax and estate tax regimes,

The expanded child and dependent tax credits ,

Increased standard deduction amounts ,

More favorable alternative minimum tax rules, and

Continued limitations on itemized deductions for home mortgage interest and state and local taxes .

Bidens tax proposals for individuals

Other elements of Bidens plan that would affect individual taxpayers include:

[thelouisianauproar]

Louisiana Uproar - Chapter 18

Summary: In the Season 3 opener, Dottie is unhappy with the mob’s disrespect of legitimate business; A misstep in a smuggling deal leads to a run in with the law. 

New Bordeaux, Louisiana  March of 1971.

I wake up in my penthouse in the Downtown District. I’m not alone so I try to sneak out of the bed, to not wake my girlfriend, Nicki Burke.

The penthouse, above the Royal Hotel, belongs to me now. Below my penthouse, is my office.  I have a small team now. A legitimate team reports to me. New Bordeaux is a different city since we came into power.

I can smell the aroma of coffee, when I come out of the shower.

“I was trying to let you sleep in.” I comment, taking a seat at the kitchen.

“I was trying to sleep in.” She comments, taking a seat at the kitchen.

“That’s alright.” Nicki says. “I should see how things went without me, before Mr. Balsamo wants my attention.” We just got back from vacation in Washington D.C. We told my dad and step mother that she is my roommate.

Alma once joked that we are “New Bordeaux’s worst kept secret”. One of the smartest women on the team, and she’s my girlfriend.

“What’s on your agenda for today?” “Just some catch up.” I sign and take a drink.

“I miss D.C.” She admits. I don’t, but she really seems to enjoy being places where nobody knows her. To me, it’s just a new opportunity to have a stranger call me a nigger.

“We’ll go back soon, babe.” I finish my meal and kiss her cheek. “Start thinking about where next.” I feel her arms hug me. She kisses the nape of my neck.

“Can’t you be a little late?”

I really enjoy Nicki Burke. She’s my sense of normalcy, or my crack of sunlight.

“I want to be.” I start, “but, I have some things that need my attention.” I rub her sides.

“I’ll see you tonight.” We share a kiss before she lets me go.

My commute to the office is not long. In fact, it’s right down the hall to my bedroom. It looks like Camille left some documents on my desk. There are several notes for me.

“Camille, I’m here.” I say, after pressing the intercom.

“Welcome back.” After a few moments, Camilly pokes her head in.

“Hey, how’s it going?” She takes a seat at my desk. “Just another Thursday.” “You sound like your father.” “That scares me.” She’s got a notepad in her hand. “You’ve got a call with Ron Gleason to discuss the restaurant at noon. Travis Cole at 1 pm call. Betty, whenever you want her.” “Cole?” “I left the report he sent.” I take a look at the big file. It looks like a few drawn up pictures of a building.

“Mr. Saggio asked me to let him know when you get in, so expect a call from him.” She pauses.

“It sounds like I have a day ahead of me. Thank you.” My phone rings. “Dottie Jetson’s office.” Camille answers. “Mr. Saggio.” She whispers. I gesture for her to give me the phone. “Morning, Ray.” “Welcome back. Did you and Nicki have a good time?” “Yes, yes actually we did. Thank you.” “Great.” I start a cigarette and wait for the rest of it. “Let me tell you. While you were gone, we had a snafu with the Feds---Lieutenant Sterling.”

“What happened?” “Southdowns got caught by an officer who thought he’d made the big leagues.” He says. “They silenced the guy but now he thinks we’re testing him.” “Do you need to tell them how to do their jobs?” “I’ll handle them. You handle the outside world.” He says, “I told him that you’ll have dinner with him tonight, at 7.”

“That’s just great.” I sigh slightly. “Why didn’t you let Camille know that? You spoke with her.”

“And share that?” “Ray, what about you?” “Things are fine over here.” He says, “I’d suggest you get caught up. Faster than you are.” He hangs up.

That’s my job. I handle the outside world for the Don. I’m his gatekeeper, his hired muscle, and his ear---along with Raymond, and Morty. He and Mortimer handle his underground life. I mind his legit business.

While appreciable, Don Danna’s investments never make as much as his underground. It’s not like the politicians, the police chief, the CEO’s care. I just have to keep them comfortable, and launder Danna’s money. I’ve bought and started “The Jetson Organization”. Currently, I have the Scaletta’s Ristorante, in two locations: River Row and the Del ray Hollow. I bought out an independent shop, and funded their renovation.

Between my business with “Cavar Construction” and “Frazier & Associates”, we’re going to make New Bordeaux livable again.

“Camille. If you’ve spoken with Janice on Danna’s schedule. I’d love to hear it.” “I will by the end of your meeting.” “Let’s make that first thing you ladies do, now.”

“Yes.” I move back to looking at the documents that Mortimer sent over.

“Ms. Jetson.” Ron comes through. He nods to me. Mr. Gleason started his previous restaurant with his family. They had great turn out, but when they refuse to kick up to Marcano; he was sure to bully them out of business.

I kept him as director of both restaurants. I had to. He was the only one who could speak to me. Past experiences with Marcano made them fear me.

“Ron.” I stand. “Great to see ya.” “You too. I hear you and your roommate just got back from D.C.”

“We did.” “Nice destination?” “No. I’m from D.C.” I gesture for him to take a seat. “It was nice to visit family. What can I do for you?”

“First, everything besides this is fine. But you and I have had some conversations about how we see the restaurant’s image.” We have.

“I’m having some trouble in River Row.” “What kind of trouble?” “The union members keep starting trouble there.” He starts. I sigh. This keeps happening. They come in for the happy hour deals and get rowdy. I remember them doing it, a few times, when I worked there. It didn’t happen as often, they respected Vito Scaletta.

“Got any names?” “It’s not a particular person. They get drunk, get offensive.” He says, “It’s getting to the point that we only serve Union Members.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” I look out of my window at the view of the street. “I told you, I had security for you, what’s going on there?” “They’re friends.” He forces out. I believe him, but I don’t want to. “Mr. Gleason, you’re telling me that security detail is giving special treatment to the union workers?” “Yes, they tell us that they will handle it, but then we see the same person two or three more times.” There’s no room for that. “Let’s stay in touch on this. Thank you for telling me.” I walk back to the desk. “I’ll get moving on this.”

“Thank you, Ms. Jetson.”

“Hey.” I say at the telephone, outside of the restaurant.

“Hey babe.” Nicki says,

“I don’t have long.” I start, “I’m having dinner with Lieutenant Sterling in a bit. How are you?” I’m trying to skip the subject.

“Again?” She hates that guy.

“Nick. This is only the second time.” I sigh. I don’t want to fight about this. “If other people would do their jobs, he’d have nothing to complain about.” “Who is it? I wanna bitch them out for getting caught.” This makes me laugh. “At least it isn’t your boys.” I’d better take my place. “I’ll see you tonight.” We hang up and I take a seat at our VIP booth. I order my drink and start a cigarette.

“Are you my reward for letting Danna’s boys go?” Sterling starts. “I’m your apology.” I gesture for him to take a seat. “It is my honor to take you out some time.” “You’re too kind to me.” “How are you day?”

For the most part, it feels like my job is to be a therapist, a celebrity interviewer, or a negotiations specialist to our partners. For Sterling, I’m a celebrity interviewer. I ask him about his career and his life, this appeases him. Everyone once in a while, he gives good information pertaining to business.

“I really should apologize to you, Lieutenant.” I say, once he’s had a few drinks in him. “You really have been so kind to us.” “Then why do I feel like Ray is testing me?”

‘He’s not.” I say, “In fact, we’re talking about stricter routines after that.” That’s a lie, but not worth looking into.

“That’s good to hear.” He drinks. “I know Dannas making money over there. We all want that, visitors, businesses-”

“We’re still so new after Marcano.” “Now, HE was covert.” “He was also selling people.” I shrug. There’s a silence between us. Sterling breaks out with an evil laugh. He came up in the Marcano days. He thinks it gives him a leg up with Danna.

“It’s kill or be killed world.” He respects the old ways. “You know that, if you’re people were half as...industrious as you are. We wouldn’t be in this mess.” How does this make any sense? This is the reason Nicki hates him.

“Welcome home.” Nicki greets me. “How was dinner?” “Uneventful.” I start to undo my blouse. Nicki is already in bed and reading the “Jet” magazine “How was the first day back?” I plop on my side of the bed. “It was fine.” She starts. “Everything was right where I left it. Ray is talking about looking at some new territory.” “He loves shiny things.”

“Should he slow down?” “I don’t know.” I look at her. My girlfriend helps me undress. “They love money, but aren’t great with sustaining.”

“Red River is fine. Speaking of, I’m going out there after the meeting.” My shoes drop to the floor.

“I’ll see what Mort thinks about it.”

“Thanks.” She pauses. “Dottie, is it still an idea to license the moonshine?” “It’s an idea. Last time, I got shot down.” She knows that. Mort decided we could make more money running it illegally. If we go legit with it, we have to follow government regulations. “I know your stuff is good. I serve it.” Can we please stop talking about work?”

“Thank you.” She pushes out. “Your stepmother called to make sure we got in okay.” “Did she want us to send more moonshine?” I joke. “Lord knows how much she enjoyed it.” We both chuckle thinking of the image of Martha getting drunk after dinner.

---

The first thing in the morning, I’m off the Frisco to meet with everyone. First, it’s the meeting before the meeting.

“Hey.” I take a seat next to Morty. We are at the Retrousse Yacht club.

“Welcome back.” Morty smiles. “Get those documents I sent ya?” “I did. New district, huh?” “Yeah.” He makes a dance. “Danna’s not gonna be happy until he owns all of Louisiana.” This is biting at me. “Just say it, Dot.”

“Is it just me or is he paying attention to you all?” I start. “When I’m trying to get a signature---he’s nowhere to be found.” “Dot, that’s why you have executive permissions.” He says, “Danna didn’t imagine being Don. Handling politicians, romancing people.” Morty pauses. “You need to recognize that. Fix your face.” “Morty.” We are always honest with each other. He and Ray have both seen my difficulties with getting respect from Danna. A part of my wonders if they care, either, as long as I’m keeping the feds off their business.

“Hey, kids.” Ray greets and takes a seat at our table. “Morning.”

“See any of you political friends in Washington D.C?” “I didn’t want to see anyone.” “Fair enough.” He says, “if you’re ready to begin, so am I.”

The meeting is a basic overview of what was going on for the under bosses. From there Ray, Morty, and I would provide a higher level overview.

“As I mentioned, previously. We have a running account opened at the shooting range in the Bayou.” Morty says, “Up until the end of March. We urge you and your men to take advantage of that.” “It’s very important to me that we are one of the biggest and strongest armies.” The Don speaks. “For those who choose not to take advantage, you have my full support to impose consequences.”

“There you have it.” Ray nods. “With that, I give the floor back to Ray.” Morty gestures to him. “With no further words from the Don.” Ray pauses and Danna says nothing. “Alright. Have a good day, everyone, and let’s go make some fucking money.” His catch phrase. Every one starts to disperse. I make eye contacts with the Don. I watch Alma. I need to talk to her.

“Alma. May I have a word, please?” “Dottie. Long time, no see.” “It’s amazing how time flies” “Yeah.” She offers a cigarette. She’s right. We all see each other at meetings like these. My job is so detached from them. With the exception of Nicki, I don’t speak with them unless we need to.

“I’ll make this quick. I got rather disturbing about the Ristorante.” I say, “In river Row. I’m having issues with union workers getting drunk and causing issues, again.” “Oh, I did not know that was a problem again.” “That’s why I am bringing this to your attention.” “No, I was not aware that it was a problem for them to get drunk at a bar.” “A restaurant, Alma. It is when it scares other working patrons and staff. Yes, it is a problem.”

“It’s River Row, what else is there?” “Alma.” I take a step forward. “I hired your muscle to keep things safe. You don’t want me to pull out my support.” “I will look into it.” She concedes. “Thank you.”

“Look who is home in time for dinner.” Nicki comments. “I thought I was cooking for one.” “Surprise!” I say, sarcastically. “So are you heading to your office or should I set about place at the table?” “Another place, please?” “Great.” She walks up to me and kisses my lips. “How was your day?”

“It was alright. Had no idea the training was a mandate.” She turns back to dinner. “Enzo had me go through the logs.” She pauses. “He really think-” “He wants us to take over Louisiana.” I say, “That means we have to be strong enough to fight for it.” I take a seat at our dinner table.

“I am all for expanding.” She says, “I feel like half of our job is preparing for battle. Preparing for...something.” There is a silence between us as I think of her point. “What about you?”

“Oh you know, I spent the day talking to a brick wall.” “That good?” She chuckles. “I’m sorry, Dot. He doesn’t pay attention to you, he limits you.”

“Nicki. I need a work related favor.” “And what can I do for you?” She brings two places to the table. “I need two of your men to hang outside of the Ristorante in River Row. Tell what they see. With the union members, or Alma’s guys.” “You want us to spy?” “If I choose the haitians, they would know.” She’s silent. “It’s bad for business and I’m really trying to expand, here.”

“What’s going on?” “Union members getting drunk, scaring patrons, and security giving them a pass. I just need to know.”

“Fine.”

“Thank you. My day is already so much better.” “Great. Can we eat now?”

[megmckinney]

63 Ciruela - Our home & a little history + rambling thoughts

Our home is named the house of Sweet Dreams. Every home here has a ceramic plate with a house name on it. When you buy property in Mexico, it basically comes with everything in it already including beds, furniture, silverware, coffee makers, pots & pans, etc.

The owner Maty and her husband live in LA. His parents live on site and manage the space. It’s so nice having Maria & Ramon on site to answer any questions. Maty responds right away via WhatsApp, also,

For our stay, cleaning once a week is included, laundry is free although since being here for just 9 days, the dryer has been broken twice. Maty is looking into getting a new unit asap, though. They bought this place just one month ago so are kinda figuring out what needs to be fixed based on the complaints that come in. Not the best way to figure things out but hopefully people are understanding.

Our stove and oven are pretty old. To turn them on, you have to use a lighter. So you turn the dial, and then take the lighter to add the flame. I don’t mind doing this every morning. It’s really quick & easy. I’ve been enjoying some of these aspects. The stove gets super hot which is awesome and cooks our food perfectly. I don’t cook much but will make us breakfast, coffee, maybe some pasta for lunch.

I really like our place. I can’t quite understand why but I just feel an overwhelming love & peace here. I think I love how tiny it is, there is minimal cleaning. We only have 4 small plates, 4 large plates, 4 bowls, 4 coffee mugs, 4 plastic water cups. It’s so easy to maintain and keep tidy. We don’t have a ton of clothes and since laundry is so scarce I really appreciate when I get the opportunity to do it. Unlike in the states when I hated the loads of laundry we had to do. The cleaning service comes in once a week for the sheets, bathroom, floors. They will also do any dishes in the sink. it’s so nice. I never leave dishes for them, I enjoy doing the dishes in the morning. In our airbnb we did have a dishwasher but I don't feel the need to use it.

There’s a simplicity here that is so calming. No worries in a way. I did request a new coffee maker because this one requires more water than coffee comes out and you have to push a button for the coffee to come out and it is the thinnest slowest drip. I think the unit in general could use a simple and working coffee machine.

The shower head is the only other upgrade needed for this place. It works fine but kinda shoots out in random places and is so high up that the pressure is not as strong. I am short, though. So I mentioned that if she is going to come and do upgrades, that could be a good one.

Overall I feel very safe, I love the roosters that crow all day long. A couple nights there has been a cat meowing in distress that wakes me up. Matt went out to find it and scare it away twice but couldn't find it. That’s hard because the sound feels so close. One night it was screaming in distress. The second time just meowing at 4am. We are hoping no more cats come back.

The main road in our neighborhood is dirt and then getting onto the Main Street that takes you to town is cobblestone. Luckily there are sidewalks because it’s really hard to wheel the stroller or wagon on the cobblestone. Sayulita was declared a Pueblo Magico years ago so the government helps fund the city. With this money they received public benches, trash bins, and paved some of the main roads.

Supposedly 5 years ago it only cost $10,000 to build a house. Now it’s closer to $50,000. The gentrification in this area is different than in the states. In the states people renting get pushed out of their neighborhoods because they can no longer afford the rent. But here, all the Mexicans own their property. So if they sell, they are leaving with a big chunk of change. And, of course, they don’t need to sell. They could always develop it themselves. There has been a lot of change in the past 50 years as tourism began. The older generations said it was great living in Sayulita until the tourists came with their money. The poor people lived on the beach as it was less desirable. You couldn’t farm your land near the beach, the ocean water ruins buildings, etc. So it’s been a huge shift in the city to see the poor become rich through developing their properties.

There isn’t much crime here. The cartel is in charge. People don’t mess with the tourists because they bring in the money. A few years ago, there was some riff raff going on where tourists wallets were getting stolen with their passports, etc. There was a Facebook page with a number you could call to let them know your stuff got stolen. The cartel would get involved and make sure their documents and whatever else was returned. For that reason, there is a sense of safety here. There is legit law & order. You don’t mess with the cartel. A few weeks ago there was a murder in Puerto Vallarta which is really rare but it was a political crime. It was completely planned. That’s the different. In America, you can walk down the street and accidentally get killed because of gang violence. Here it’s different. No one is selling drugs unless they go through the cartel, no one is stealing unless it’s through the cartel. The law & order makes people feel safe. I wish we could enact stricter punishments in America. It’s ridiculous that we are accepting all the riots, looting, crime going on in the name of racial equality or whatever else. It’s bullshit. 

I’ve learned a lot about American culture being here. We are literally so spoiled and entitled that we have no problems, so we create them. Our streets are clean, our appliances work, we have access to anything we could possibly want through amazon, fed ex, etc. Three numbers and we can dial the police for help, we can choose where we want to live, we have paved roads and easy access to get anywhere. We have 100 different park and grocery store options. Everyone has a smart phone and a car.

It’s different in Mexico. The trash system is good but could be improved. Many appliances could be improved. The beaches, streets, park could definitely use a clean up crew. You can't even put toilette paper in the toilette. You eat what you grow, what you caught, or what you have. There are problems to be solved so people aren’t looking towards some idealistic vision of life. They are happy with what they have. I wish Americans could be happy with what they have. I mean, in Mexico, I don’t really even know if there is a democratic system because the cartel is in charge. I’m sure there is a downside to that. They don’t have a bunch of red tape and regulations. People can work. It’s just different. It’s simple. You mind your own business, you don’t judge, you become okay in the dust, the dirt, the garbage, the dog poop on the streets. It’s a different and more accepting type of life.

[merflk]

cause you like me when I’m treating you wrong

for the @slytherdornet and @hprarepairnet holiday challenge

Pairing: percy weasley x pansy parkinson Words: 1770 Link: ao3  Soundtrack: headspace - thomston 

She chuckles when he steps inside and his eyes immediately find her. She’s radiant in the dark room, smoke circling up from a long cigarette between her fingers and her glossy black hair in a loose French twist. A muscle in his jaw twitches, but he refuses to step down.

“Let me guess,” she coos while she smooths towards him. He can’t seem to look away from her eyes – so dark, so full of life.

Everything he’s ever wanted. Everything he shouldn’t want.

She presses her hand against his chest when she reaches him, slowly wrapping her hand around his tie and tugging ever so softly, just enough for him to feel it, but not enough to pull him down. Her nails are perfectly done ��� painted pitch black.

“You came back for seconds.”

She sounds delighted and he’s still trying to remember how to speak. Before he can, she continues.

“I have to say, I’m glad to see you again.” She releases her grip on his tie and smooths it back over his shirt, her hand setting fire to him. He can feel her through his shirt. “It would have been a shame if we couldn’t have continued where we left off last time.”

And she’s mocking him, she’s playing with him and he loves it, it makes him want to do everything to her.

And she knows.

“Miss Parkinson,” he says briskly

She nods, still smiling. “Percival.”

“I told you to stay out of trouble.”

Her eyes widen in mock-innocence. “But Percival! Trouble is my middle name.”

He manages to scoff and takes and then sends her a levelling look. “You live up to it. It’s bothersome.”

She chuckles at that, smacking his chest playfully. “I think you like it.”

“What I’d like,” he manages to wring out of himself, “Is for you to stop sabotaging our investigation.”

She sighed and turned away, sending the other people in the room meaningful looks. “Nonsense,” she says, “I would never obstruct the law.”

The people around her smile, but they keep quiet. However Pansy may act, they are in a precarious position with Auror Percy Weasley here. He would bet that half the stuff they’re having here is illegal.

It’s not Pansy Parkinson’s elite bar for nothing.

“Pansy,” he bites out now, irritation clear in his voice, “The papers we found at miss Davis’ were obviously forged. Your handiwork.”

“If anyone were to forge Tracey Davis’ papers…” She lingers for a moment, looking at him from over her shoulder and sending him a riotous smile. “I’m sure they did so for good reasons.”

“Like money,” he spat out disgustedly.

The fire he loved so much rose in Pansy’s eyes and within seconds she was on him, her hand pulling him down by the knot of his tie now, bringing his face level with hers and mostly very, very, close.

“I know you have had your difficulties with figuring out where your loyalties lie, Mr Weasley. But Tracey is my friend. And, disregarding any of the ridiculous and unsubstantial allegations you’re making, it’s a damn travesty that she needs to cough up all her family heirlooms for the ministry.”

Percy kept his face blank, although he couldn’t control the turmoil in his eyes. He agreed with her, to some extent. The ministry was being extravagantly hard on the purebloods who had sided with Voldemort during the war. But considering the objects that had become Voldemort’s horcruxes, they could not afford to leave a stone unturned at the moment.

Were they being stricter with the Slytherins? Yes. Was it unfair? Yes. But did they have reason to? Yes.

She should know. He knew all about where her loyalties had lain.

“It’s temporary,” he said.

She tsked at him and backed away, removing her hands from him. “It’s bullshit.”

“Is it?” He kept his voice calm, but there was an intensity to it that she couldn’t ignore. “Can you really say it is that illogical? You?”

She lifted her chin and looked him in the eye defiantly. “I have never obscured where my loyalties lie.”

“And that is where, exactly?”

“With my family,” she threw at him haughtily.

“And that is who, exactly?” he hissed out through his teeth, trying to keep up some resemblance of control.

She hesitated at that. It was a difficult question. Her relatives? Her friends? All Slytherins?

She looked at him suspiciously, taking him in. Others too?

In the momentary silence, she suddenly noticed that the tension in the room didn’t just come from them. The others around her were glaring at Percy after his last comment on the validity of the measures that were being taken.

Pansy grabbed Percy’s arm and dragged him to the door. “I need some air,” she said.

Percy was stiff as a board under her touch, but he let her lead him into the evening air. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw the hostility in her companions’ eyes. He had been too focused on her to notice. In surprise, he looked at the woman beside him.

The scene outside was beautiful – snow was piled high in the London alley and the sky was clear. People were already gathering on the main streets and he saw the warm light of sparklers in the hands of children. Normally, New Year’s Eve was one of his favourite holidays of the year: he’d go home, spend the night with his parents, chide his brothers (and Ginny – especially Ginny) for misusing fireworks and get out some of his favourite whiskey for the occasion. Today, however, when he had heard about the recent developments in Tracey Davis’ case, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from running straight over to Pansy’s as soon as he could, regulations and holidays be damned.

Now, Pansy practically threw him against the cold wall, crossing her arms and staring him down defiantly. There was a challenge in her eyes as she waited for him to call her out on what just happened – that she had protected him. He opened his mouth to do it, but then closed it again, a bit shaken. It gave him the time to look her over and he immediately noticed the goose bumps on her bear arms.

Without a word, he took off his coat and stepped towards her, draping it over her shoulder. The action locked her in his arms and now he was the one waiting for her to scorn and mock – but she didn’t. She just looked at him, tight-lipped and frowning, and suddenly he got the feeling that they were on the verge of something.

They had been dancing around each other for months now. Meeting her had been the highlight of his year, even if it initially highlighted a lot of frustration and teeth-grinding. Dealing with Pansy was like dismantling a bomb – only every time he thought he had managed, another thread would turn up and he could start all over again. She was full of surprises, endlessly brave – during the war, she had been unable to master her fear and, as though she was repenting for it, she now put all of her Parkinson fire into protecting her loved ones in the post-war world.

He admired her, he wanted her, she pulled him into a whirlwind of emotions that he didn’t want to get out of, but they had never, never, come this close to honesty.

This. Standing outside of her bar with his coat around her shoulders, quietly protecting each other as they came dangerously close to admitting where their loyalties now lay.

He could have arrested her a dozen times already. He didn’t – this hung in the air between them. She could have avoided seeing him altogether, could have been far more discrete. She hadn’t – this hung in the air between them. In the cold, snowy, December air.

And as a testament to their natural sense for timing, voices rose up all over time to count down the end of the year.

They still didn’t look away from each other. Pansy could hear the voices of her friends and dubious acquaintances coming from inside, and a part of her wanted to join them. But that same part wanted to take Percy’s hand and drag him in with her, ignoring all history and reality, and have him laugh with Adrian and Graham as they had beers and welcomed the New Year. She wondered when she had started wanting that. She wondered if, in another world, she had that tonight.

And a tiny part of her wondered if, maybe, she could have that next year.

“Happy new year!”

The voices came from everywhere, and Percy was still looking at her, that beautiful frown between his eyes.

And, like a wish upon a star, like a wish, period, wishing for change and for realness and anything that would let her keep this moment, she took Percy’s face in her hands and pressed herself up on her toes, catching his lips in a kiss that was far more tender than she had so often imagined their first one to be like.

He kept his hands on the collar of his coat, tightening them, and still saw the rising fireworks as he closed his eyes and leaned into her.

This meant something. It had to mean something.

When she let him go and looked at him, he believed that she felt the same way. But it wasn’t that simple. Not yet.

“I was not giving up my New Year’s kiss just because you decided to be an eloquent jackass,” she told him, her voice soft and just a tad breathless, but with the familiar sarcasm lurking just underneath.

“You’re a menace,” he said, but his voice was soft and breathless too.

She pulled away from him, replacing his hands with her own to hold the coat against herself, and moved back towards the door of her bar. “You’re not getting any intel off of me tonight, Weasley. Go home.”

He nodded towards his coat. “Don’t you think I need that more than you?”

Her eyes glinted in the light of the fireworks as she sent him a mischievous look that had just a hint of sincerity beneath it. “Come back for it tomorrow.”

“I’ll come back for it today.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll probably be hungover.”

“That’ll just give me the edge.”

Pansy smiled. “Who’s the menace now?”

With that, she opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her. Percy was left in the snow with the irrepressible mocking voice of his brother in his head, saying that they deserved each other.

[newstfionline]

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Rent and debt problems (WSJ) A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that outstanding rent debt in the United States will hit $7.2 billion by the end of 2020, and without additional stimulus spending Moody’s estimates that it could hit $70 billion. They estimate that 12.8 million people will owe an average $5,400 from missed payments, which is significantly higher than the 3.8 million homeowners foreclosed on from 2007 to 2010. Across the U.S., 30 million to 40 million people face possible eviction once moratoriums expire.

A Divided Nation Agrees on One Thing: Many People Want a Gun (NYT) In America, spikes in gun purchases are often driven by fear. But in past years that anxiety has centered on concerns that politicians will pass stricter gun controls. Mass shootings often prompt more gun sales for that reason, as do elections of liberal Democrats. Many gun buyers now are saying they are motivated by a new destabilizing sense that is pushing even people who had considered themselves anti-gun to buy weapons for the first time—and people who already have them to buy more. The nation is on track in 2020 to stockpile at record rates, according to groups that track background checks from FBI data. Across the country, Americans bought 15.1 million guns in the seven months this year from March through September, a 91 percent leap from the same period in 2019, according to seasonally adjusted firearms sales estimates from The Trace, a nonprofit news organization that focuses on gun issues. The FBI has also processed more background checks for gun purchases in just the first nine months of 2020 than it has for any previous full year, FBI data show. “The year 2020 has been just one long advertisement for why someone may want to have a firearm to defend themselves,” said Douglas Jefferson, the vice president for the National African American Gun Association, which has seen the biggest increase in membership this year since the group was formed in 2015.

The ‘Right to Repair’ Movement Gains Ground (NYT) If you buy a product—a car, a smartphone, or even a tractor—and it breaks, should it be easier for you to fix it yourself? Manufacturers of a wide range of products have made it increasingly difficult over the years to repair things, for instance by limiting availability of parts or by putting prohibitions on who gets to tinker with them. It affects not only game consoles or farm equipment, but cellphones, military gear, refrigerators, automobiles and even hospital ventilators, the lifesaving devices that have proven crucial this year in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, a movement known as “right to repair” is starting to make progress in pushing for laws that prohibit restrictions like these. The goal of right-to-repair rules, advocates say, is to require companies to make their parts, tools and information available to consumers and repair shops in order to keep devices from ending up in the scrap heap. They argue that the rules restrict people’s use of devices that they own and encourage a throwaway culture by making repairs too difficult. They also argue that it’s part of a culture of planned obsolescence—the idea that products are designed to be short-lived in order to encourage people to buy more stuff. That contributes to wasted natural resources and energy use at a time when climate change requires movement in the opposite direction.

Peru’s Machu Picchu reopening Sunday after pandemic closure (AP) Except workers repairing roads and signs, Peru’s majestic Incan citadel of Machu Picchu is eerily empty ahead of its reopening Sunday after seven months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The long closure of Peru’s No. 1 tourist draw, which has hammered the local economy, marks the second time it has been shut down since it opened its doors to tourism in 1948. The stone complex built in the 15th century will receive 675 visitors a day starting Sunday, the director of Machu Picchu archaeological park, José Bastante, told The Associated Press. The site is accustomed to receiving 3,000 tourists a day, though it recently passed regulations limiting visitors to 2,244 visitors a day to protect the ruins. Still a large number given experts belief that in the 15th century a maximum of 410 people lived in the citadel on the limits of the Andes mountains and the Amazon.

Evo’s return (Foreign Policy) Evo Morales will return to Bolivia on Nov. 9, the day after President-elect Luis Arce is sworn in. Morales’s return will come just over a year after he was forced out of the country. An outstanding arrest warrant for sedition and terrorism issued for Morales was annulled on Tuesday, paving the way for his return. Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters of the right-wing opposition marched on a military barracks on Tuesday asking for “military help” to stop the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party from regaining power.

New protests loom as Europeans tire of virus restrictions (AP) Protesters set trash bins afire and police responded with hydrant sprays in downtown Rome Tuesday night, part of a day of public outpouring of anger against virus-fighting measures like evening shutdowns for restaurants and bars and the closures of gyms and theaters—a sign of growing discontent across Europe with renewed coronavirus restrictions. It was a fifth straight night of violent protest in Italy, following recent local overnight curfews in metropolises including Naples and Rome. All of Europe is grappling with how to halt a fall resurgence of the virus before its hospitals become overwhelmed again. Nightly curfews have been implemented in French cities. Schools must close at 6 p.m. Schools have been closed in Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic. German officials have ordered de-facto lockdowns in some areas near the Austrian border and new mask-wearing requirements are popping up weekly across the continent, including a nationwide requirement in Russia. Yet in this new round of restrictions, governments are finding a less compliant public. Over the weekend, police used pepper spray against protesters angry over new virus restrictions in Poland. Spanish doctors staged their first national walkout in 25 years on Tuesday to protest poor working conditions. In Britain, anger and frustration at the government’s uneven handling of the pandemic has erupted into a political crisis over the issue of hungry children.

Cake Lady helps wounded soldiers heal, one treat at a time LONDON (AP)—David Wiseman heard Kath Ryan before he met her. He was at the far end of Ward S-4 at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham when shouts of “Cake Lady’s here! Cake Lady’s here!” began rolling through the room full of wounded soldiers, bed by bed. Who was this Cake Lady, he wondered, until he saw a middle-aged woman in a “strange dress” pushing a trolley and handing out cake. “When all you’ve seen is doctors and nurses and the odd relative, it was just a bit of an assault on the senses,” Wiseman remembered. “And she was doling out hugs and, you know, cakes. … She just brought joy into that place.” Since 2009, retired nurse Ryan, 59, has made some 1,260 visits to British hospitals, bonding with the patients as she fed them an estimated 1 million slices of cake. But Ryan brought more than treats. She brought herself—bubbly, irreverent, and fearless. As she could see that most of the injured were in a terrible state, she never asked, “How are you?” “I would go in with the trolley and apron and stand at the end of the bed, and say, ‘Can I lead you into temptation this evening?’” Ryan recalled. “Straight away, they would scream laughing.” One soldier got into the spirit and asked, “What’s on offer, love?” “Anything you want,” Ryan replied. “As long as it’s legal, moral, and on the cake trolley.”

With eye on China, India and U.S. sign accord to deepen military ties (NYT) India and the United States signed a pact Tuesday to share geospatial intelligence, paving the way for deeper military cooperation between the two countries as they confront an increasingly assertive China. The agreement will give India’s armed forces access to a wealth of data from U.S. military satellites to aid in targeting and navigation. The two countries signed the accord in New Delhi during a visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper a week before the U.S. presidential election. The agreement is the latest example of how India and the United States—the world’s two largest democracies—are drawing closer together to respond to the challenge of China’s rise. For India, that challenge is no longer theoretical. In June, India and China engaged in their deadliest clash in more than 50 years high in the mountains near the unofficial border between the two countries. Twenty Indian soldiers died, while the number of Chinese casualties remains unknown. India and China are still locked in a dangerous standoff, with tens of thousands of troops preparing to wait out the harsh Himalayan winter.

Typhoon, landslides leave 35 dead, 59 missing in Vietnam (AP) Typhoon Molave set off landslides that killed at least 19 people and left 45 missing in central Vietnam, where ferocious wind and rain blew away roofs and knocked out power in a region of 1.7 million residents, state media said Thursday. The casualties from the landslides bring the over-all death toll from the storm to at least 35, including 12 fishermen whose boats sank Wednesday as the typhoon approached with winds of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour. Vietnamese officials say it’s the worst typhoon to hit the country in 20 years. At least 59 people remain missing in the landslides and at sea. The toll may rise with many regions still unable to report details of the devastation amid the stormy weather.

Scale of Qatar Airways scandal revealed (Foreign Policy) Female passengers on “10 aircraft in total” were forced into invasive physical examinations at Doha airport on Oct. 2, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Wednesday, as the Qatari government apologized publicly and began an investigation into the incident. The women were removed from flights after a newborn baby was found abandoned in one of the airport bathrooms. The Transport Workers’ Union of New South Wales, whose members service Qatar Airways planes in Sydney, condemned “the brutal attack on the human rights of Australian female airline passengers” and is considering industrial action in response. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged a “further response” after reviewing the results of an investigation. He told reporters, “As a father of daughters, I could only shudder at the thought that any woman, Australian or otherwise, would be subjected to that.”

Australia’s second-largest city ends 111-day virus lockdown MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—Coffee business owner Darren Silverman pulled his van over and wept when he heard on the radio that Melbourne’s pandemic lockdown would be largely lifted on Wednesday after 111 days. Silverman was making a home delivery Monday when the announcement was made that restrictions in Australia’s second-largest city would be relaxed. He was overwhelmed with emotions and a sense of relief. According to the Victoria state government the lockdown changes will allow 6,200 retail stores, 5,800 cafés and restaurants, 1,000 beauty salons and 800 pubs to reopen, impacting 180,000 jobs.

Nigeria considers social media regulation in wake of deadly shooting (Reuters) Nigeria’s information minister said “some form of regulation” could be imposed on social media just a week after protesters spread images and videos of a deadly shooting using Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Images, video and an Instagram live feed from a popular DJ spread news of shootings in Lagos on Oct. 20, when witnesses and rights groups said the military fired on peaceful protesters. The protesters had been demonstrating for nearly two weeks to demand an end to police brutality. The army denied its soldiers were there. Social media helped spread word of the shootings worldwide, and international celebrities from Beyonce and Lewis Hamilton to Pope Francis since called on the country to resolve the conflict peacefully. Information Minister Lai Mohammed told a panel at the National Assembly on Tuesday that “fake news” is one of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria. A spokesman for the minister confirmed the comments, and said “the use of the social media to spread fake news and disinformation means there is the need to do something about it.”

[ellymackay]

5 Things to Know About Sleep and Psychological Health in the Coronavirus Pandemic

5 Things to Know About Sleep and Psychological Health in the Coronavirus Pandemic Find more on: Elly Mackay's Sleep Blog

More than half a year into the coronavirus pandemic, how are you sleeping? Are you up at night worrying about work, finances, family schedules, all of the above? Are you staying up late to take care of all the stuff you can’t get done during the day because of changes to your kids’ school schedules? Are you feeling isolated from friends, colleagues, extended family?

These are unprecedented times, with unprecedented challenges that are creating unprecedented stress and widespread problems for sleep. We’re learning more all the time about the impact of the pandemic on sleep and emotional health. It feels like the right time to check in about the latest science on how sleep is being affected, and what you can do to get your best rest during these stressful days and nights.

Short-term insomnia rates soared at the start of the outbreak. Now chronic insomnia is likely soaring, too

Acute insomnia is a sudden onset of insomnia symptoms, usually in response to a disruptive, stressful life event. Short-term insomnia happens throughout our individual lives. A job loss, a relationship strain, an illness in the family—something unexpected happens and suddenly you can’t sleep. There’s scientific evidence that large-scale events—things like earthquakes and wildfires–create spikes in acute, or short-term, insomnia in affected populations. For the first time in our lifetimes, the large-scale crisis that’s unfolding is happening to everyone around the world.

A number of studies found high rates of insomnia in response to the early days and weeks of the pandemic, including this large-scale study in China, which found that at least 20% of participants met a clinical diagnosis of insomnia. When scientists compared pandemic insomnia rates to pre-pandemic rates, they found the prevalence of clinical insomnia had increased by 37%.

Under any circumstances, acute insomnia often evolves into chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia typically resolves over a period of days or weeks. Chronic insomnia lasts for 3 months or more, with insomnia symptoms appearing several nights a week, week after week. Estimates suggest that roughly 50% of people with insomnia experience symptoms for a year or more.

Chronic insomnia raises risks for long-term health and functioning, including heart disease, metabolic disorders including diabetes, as well as depression and cognitive decline. I wrote recently about the links between disrupted sleep and Alzheimer’s disease.

Given the ongoing stress and upheaval that most people are facing several months into the pandemic, I expect that many cases of acute insomnia are now chronic.

WHAT TO DO: It’s time to take a careful, honest look at your sleep. Most of us experienced a series of sleep-deprived nights in the early days of the pandemic. If your sleep is still disrupted, if you’re routinely having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, if you’re waking early and feeling unrefreshed by your sleep, you’re experiencing the symptoms of chronic insomnia.

Acknowledging your sleep issues is the first critical step to improving your long-term health. There are a range of treatments for chronic insomnia, including cognitive-behavioral therapy that’s specifically designed for insomnia, as well as natural supplements, mind-body awareness practices, and modifications to sleep routines and sleep hygiene habits. Identifying any underlying medical conditions that may be affecting your sleep—and any potentially sleep-disrupting side effects of medications you’re taking—is also an important step.

These are  5 of the most common contributors to insomnia.

Discuss your symptoms with your doctor to determine the right course of therapy for your individual sleep issues. I always encourage people to seek the expertise of sleep specialists—here’s an American Academy of Sleep Medicine directory where you can find one.

Clinicians, educators, community leaders: we need more public health work that specifically addresses the sleep disruptions occurring in the pandemic. Don’t wait for someone else to do it—get organized to educate and support your community about the importance of tending to sleep.

Proximity to ‘hot spots’ affects the severity of sleep problems and psychological stress

Research has found that the severity of both insomnia and psychological distress during the pandemic are closely tied to individuals’ proximity to coronavirus outbreaks. Proximity here means a few different things:

Location. Being closer to the geographical site of a severe outbreak can heighten both sleep issues and trigger more anxiety, stress and depression.

Degree of exposure and threat. Essential workers and people working in place where outbreaks are more likely to occur are also at greater risk for sleep disruption and psychological distress. That’s everyone from health care workers, to people working in places such as nursing homes, manufacturing sites, even schools and universities. And the perception of threat is likely just as significant to sleep and stress as the actual, statistical measurement of risk for people who are working in places where groups congregate.

With pandemic hot spots shifting around the US and the world, different regional populations with experience different levels of exposure at different times, with shifting risks for sleep problems.

WHAT TO DO: Be prepared to respond to changing circumstances. We talk about emergency preparedness in terms of evacuation plans, go-bags, stores of supplies, plans to meet family in a designated space, plans to care for and transport pets in an emergency. These days, we all need an emergency preparedness plan for sleep. That includes:

Supplies of any supplements or medications you’re using for sleep and psychological health. I’ve written extensively on supplements and natural remedies for sleep, from melatonin to magnesium to cannabis. Here’s also a rundown of some of the most effective natural supplements for sleep, including melatonin, magnesium, and CBD. Important: Always consult your doctor before beginning a new supplement routine.

A sleep-focused game plan for when life gets turned upside down. Many readers have already lived through severe coronavirus outbreaks in their local regions, while others are living through it now. Still others may have a relatively low presence of coronavirus in their local area, but that may change in the coming months. We all need to develop plans for how we’ll protect our sleep if and when daily routines change again suddenly. We can’t predict exactly what that will look like, but we have a pretty good idea: schools shift to remote or reduce in-person hours, exposure to someone who’s sick means your family has to quarantine, stricter physical distancing measures means you can’t engage in your normal exercise regimen.

Take time NOW to plan for an altered routine that includes sufficient time for sleep. Set aside time for work, schooling, and household stuff around sleep—not when you would otherwise be sleeping. It’s a tall order, but your rest is fuel for your health, ability to function and maintain psychological health through this ongoing challenge.

I wrote in the spring about how each chronotype can use their individual preferences to create routines that support sleep, productivity, and emotional balance during these challenging times. This advice is just as relevant now as it was back then!

Social isolation is a BIG challenge for sleep and mental health

We don’t talk enough about the impact of social isolation—and the loneliness it can create—on sleep. Right now, so many of us are living at a distance from the in-person social networks that provide us with support, comfort, fun, and a sense of connection that’s both enlivening and calming.

I’ve written before about the impact of social isolation and loneliness on sleep. Even before the pandemic, levels of loneliness in the general population were alarmingly high and growing, with nearly one-half of US adults regularly feeling isolated and alone.

Scientific research shows that loneliness hurts sleep quality and sleep quantity. Research also shows that the quality (not the quantity) of our friendships predict how well we sleep. And recent research from the University of California, Berkeley shows that in turn, lack of sleep heightens feelings of loneliness and isolation.

WHAT TO DO: Use this 2-way street between sleep and social isolation to your advantage. Prioritizing sleep will help ease the psychological burden of the social distancing and isolation you’re living with. And finding ways to engage with people who provide you with a sense of connection will help you sleep better.

That can mean all sorts of things—having a quiet dinner with your partner, taking a long walk with a friend, reaching out virtually to people who “get you,” who make you feel good and make you laugh. Join a support group—virtual support groups are everywhere these days, for parents, seniors, health care workers, for people feeling the emotional strain of this prolonged period of social distancing. Get involved with helping others. Remote and safe in-person volunteer work can provide you with a powerful sense of connection.

Your sleep WILL improve when you strengthen your social ties.

Our Chronotypes may be chronically out of sync

Circadian rhythms regulate sleep-wake cycles, as well as most of the body’s important processes, including hormone production, immune system activity, appetite and metabolism, cognitive functioning. Our internal clocks serve as very precise timekeepers of all this biological activity, to keep us functioning normally. Even small disruptions to the timing of circadian rhythms can create significant problems for sleep, mood, health and productivity. And biological clocks are affected by the same processes they regulate, including sleeping and eating.

The pandemic has thrown daily schedules out of whack and introduced a number of new challenges for circadian clocks. We’re still spending way more time at home than is normal for most of us, and work and school schedules are less fixed and predictable. For many of us, sleep and wake times have changed, and are less consistent. Plenty of us are getting less sunlight, and more exposure to artificial light at night. Eating routines may have changed, with a tendency to eat later in the day that many people may be experiencing. We may be getting less exercise.

Ideally, our daily routines align with and reinforce our chronotype—when we work, when we rest, when we eat and exercise, when we play and have fun. (I wrote a whole book about this, The Power of When.) Disruptions to our daily routines have been both significant and prolonged, and disruptions to circadian clocks—commonplace before the pandemic—are now likely even more widespread and severe.

Research coming in has shown that during the pandemic, bedtimes and waketimes have shifted to later hours, and that people are using more digital media at night before bed, increasing sleep-disruptive nighttime light exposure, which will further shift the timing of our biological clocks.

Chronotypes that are out of sync negatively affect sleep routines, mood, energy levels, our ability to be productive. And there are long-term risks to health, including elevated risks for  cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, cancer, obesity, and neurodegenerative disease.

WHAT TO DO: Reclaim a schedule that aligns with your chronotype. It may not look like the one you had before the pandemic. But if you’re working in alignment with your individual chronotype and being consistent about sticking to routines for sleep and activity, you are doing great, important work on behalf of your mental health, your sleep, and your overall health.

If you haven’t already, start by determining your chronotype, by taking this short quiz: www.chronoquiz.com. And here’s a primer I wrote earlier this year on how to use your chronotype to set up healthy routines during the pandemic. Most of us have fewer external guideposts providing structure to our daily lives. To improve sleep and protect mood and physical health, it’s essential we take the initiative to create routines we can stick with.

Psychological distress has soared during the pandemic—and it’s hurting sleep

A number of studies conducted during the pandemic have delivered similar, unsurprising news: stress, anxiety, depression and other forms of psychological distress have spiked. Research from the earliest days of the pandemic in China showed that more than 18% of the population was experiencing clinical levels of anxiety, and nearly 25% had depression. Other research from China and elsewhere around the world has returned similar results, in some cases showing significantly higher levels of generalized anxiety—and a strong connection between anxiety levels and time spent focusing on the coronavirus outbreak.

An analysis of research that’s investigated depression, anxiety, and stress in the pandemic found that each may be present in about a third of the general population. Among health-care workers, rates of anxiety, stress and depression are even higher, with about 45% experiencing anxiety and about 50% experiencing depression symptoms.

The implications here for sleep and health are profound. There is a close, bi-directional relationship between stress and mood disorders and sleep problems. Psychological distress also weakens the immune system, disrupts circadian rhythms, and raises risks for other psychological conditions including PTSD, ADHD, panic attacks and suicide.

WHAT TO DO: Don’t suffer silently. And don’t try to tough it out through chronic stress, anxiety, or feelings of depression, overwhelm, or hopelessness. Recognize that your sleep and your psychological health are connected, and that addressing any sleep issues you’re having is one way to improve and protect your mental health, in the short and long term.

Recognize also that improving sleep on its own may not be enough to restore emotional and psychological balance and well being. And the presence of anxiety, depression, and/or chronic stress may make it difficult to achieve significant improvements to your sleep. Cognitive behavioral therapy and other forms of psychotherapy—all available through telehealth and other virtual platforms—are a wise and important step to take. Waiting to seek out therapeutic help will only make sleep and psychological problems worse.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, know that you are not alone. If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line. If you are in danger of acting on suicidal thoughts, call 911.

We’re in a long-haul journey through this pandemic, learning together, in real time, its effects on sleep and psychological health. We’ll get through by supporting each other, by learning all we can about the challenges we’re facing to sleep and mental health, and by putting that research-based knowledge into constructive action to improve our daily routines and seek out the medical and therapeutic support we need to stay rested and well, physically and emotionally.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, DABSM

The Sleep Doctor

www.thesleepdoctor.com

  The post 5 Things to Know About Sleep and Psychological Health in the Coronavirus Pandemic appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

from Your Guide to Better Sleep https://thesleepdoctor.com/2020/10/22/psychological-health-and-coronavirus/

from Elly Mackay - Feed https://www.ellymackay.com/2020/10/23/5-things-to-know-about-sleep-and-psychological-health-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic/

[insulation4less]

Sheep Wool Insulation: the carbon smart solution

Sheep wool insulation is no longer overlooked as an eccentric solution in the building industry. Its popularity follows an increased awareness in the public and in the construction industry on the health benefits and performances of natural fiber insulation.     

The main focus regarding insulation was primarily on thermal, acoustic or fire resistance without much consideration given to the material being used outside that frame. 

Nowadays, new buildings have to follow stricter regulations than ever before, resulting in more efficiently insulated buildings. The focus on creating intelligent buildings and airtight structure brings new challenges and means the industry had to find new solutions to tackle water vapour control (AKA moisture management).

Given so much time spent indoors, indoor air quality has become an important factor in today’s design. Especially when studies from the scientific community are suggesting a link between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and its negative impact on cognitive abilities. 

That’s where nature comes in with a solution of its own. And one of the unique features of sheep wool is its unmatched breathability.

Indoor Air Quality: a cleaner air

Whether it’s in paint or wood, many common household furniture, items and finishes release potentially dangerous levels of chemicals commonly known as VOCs. 

Sheep wool effectively cleans the air by sucking those VOCs out of the air.

The natural protein Wool is made up of various amino acid chains, of which 60% have a reactive side chain. It is those reactive chains that allow the wool to absorb bad smells and harmful chemicals such as Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide and Formaldehydes

In neutralising those, it effectively purifies the air and delivers obvious health benefits. And not only does it achieve that, but it does it in a short amount of time as well. Experiments by German academics in 1999 have shown that wool removed between 80% and 87% of concentration of formaldehyde in a test chamber. 

Thermal resistance:

From a thermal conductivity angle, wool punch above all the other types of insulation, with only Sprayfoam performing better.

Thermal conductivity measures the transfer of heat from one material to the other. It is measured in W/mK. The lower the value achieved, the better the insulator is.

Sheep wool insulation’s thermal conductivity is between 0.035 – 0.04 W/mk, compare to 0.044 W/mk for typical mineral wool. 

While 200mm of sheep wool will achieve a U-Value of 0.2, it often performs better than that, thanks to its low thermal conductivity coupled with its high moisture management properties.  

Those results are due to the particular crimped nature of wool fibers. Wool fibers are naturally undulated and trap the air in millions of tiny air pockets, which in turn, form a natural thermal barrier. It is so effective that tribes in the west of Africa have been using wool for insulation since the dawn of sheep.

Fire Resistance: Sheep wool does not burn, period!

Due to the high level of moisture (nitrogen), wool simply doesn’t burn. It is naturally flame resistant and self extinguishing. It is basically one of the only fibres that resist fire and will self extinguish once the source of flame is removed. 

Instead of bursting into flame it will smoulder and singe away. You would need to bring the temperature above 560°C to burn it and at the same time, increase the level of oxygen in the air above 25%, since the air contains 21% of oxygen that makes it quite difficult. 

Moisture management : it regulates humidity

What really sets sheep wool apart from the rest of the pack is its breathability. It does a fantastic job in eliminating condensation and moisture from the air without compromising its thermal performance unlike products that use fibreglass.   

It can absorb up to 35% of its weight in moisture without feeling damp. In doing so, wool fibers generate tiny amounts of heat which prevents condensation by keeping the temperature above the dew point.   

This ability to produce heat, act as a buffer against heat change that usually occurs in humid conditions. In practical terms, this means that there is less need to constantly adjust heating and cooling levels. Sheep wool will keep a building cool during the day and warmer during night time. 

Moisture management is achieved thanks again due to the nature of the sheep wool fiber. The core of the fiber is hygroscopic and able to absorb and then expel water vapour. For that reason, it is often used in applications where condensation tends to be higher such a loft space.

Sound Insulation: it reduces airborne sound transfer

If all the above reasons were not enough, then let’s move on to the acoustic insulation.   Again when it comes to sound insulation, sheep wool fares way better than all other types of wool materials. This alone explains why schools and offices are turning more and more to sheep wool insulation to keep the peace between their walls.   

The airborne sound transfer is considerably reduced by the multitude of layered wool fibers.

Easy to work with: Sheep Wool doesn’t itch

It is the safest type of insulation to work with, imagine working in a whoolly jumper warehouse and you’ll get the idea. The stuff is harmless. No need to wear protective gear, mask and goggles to install sheep wool unlike when working with mineral wool. 

Which makes it an ideal choice as part of a typical DIY project like insulating a loft.  You can do away with protective clothing as it is chemical free, safe to handle and completely dust-free.

Sustainability

Wool is a resource that has been naturally engineered to save energy. If you are looking at sustainability, all other insulation products pales in comparison. It is sustainable, renewable and recyclable (it can easily be remanufactured or biodegraded). 

As a finished product that consumes less than 15% of the energy involved in producing glass fiber, it will pay back its energy costs more than 5 times sooner versus any man made insulation products (15kW of energy used to produce 1m³).

Not only is it energy efficient, but wool fibers are elastics and do not settle over time, which means it will keep naturally “expanding” and will retain its thickness all the way through the lifespan of the building, thus increasing the insulation efficiency.

 Conclusion

Builders are creatures of habit and are understandably hesitant to specify sheep wool insulation in an already competitive industry. But saving on insulation is a false economy given the health benefits, lifespan and reduction in energy costs that comes with Sheep Wool. It actually pays for itself quicker than any man made alternative. 

Technological innovation and intelligent design have always looked at nature for inspiration, and sheep are currently at the forefront of those innovations.

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