shut up and take a nap

no idea where I’m going I stopped knowing how to be a regular person a long time ago… I don’t want to talk about our days I don’t want to tell you about my vacation and I don’t like to talk while I eat… it’s silly — people are the only animals who want to face one another and make eye contact while they stuff their throats with junk — why? can’t we just nod at each other and keep on moving? like, hm, I see you — I see you’re a person and you got this whole deep internal space-thing going on, (I know that because I have it too — inside life) and I know there’s just so damn much going on in there, so much you, so much thought, so much ache, so much ughhhh… and there’s just no way I’m gonna get at any of it in less than 35 seconds of smile-chatting — am I right? so who are we kidding here? what’s it all for? why all the feigned enthusiasm? let’s just call it what it is… I’m bored, you’re bored we’d both rather be somewhere else — neither of us is sleeping properly — I mean come on, look at those eye-bags, and god, your posture, yeesh… come on, fuck-it… what do you say we all just, like, shut up for a while and go take a nap? Garbage Notes: You guys know me—I get frustrated with small talk and perfunctory social gestures. It’s annoying to have to put on a face for other people. I don’t know, maybe I’m like hypersensitive or something when it comes to all this face-to-face stuff, but I can just see it in people’s eyes sometimes that they’re working so hard to bury all their sincere feelings under miles and miles of feigned enthusiasm. I wish it were easier to express our commonplace agitation. But, you know, people think it’s rude and uncouth. And the ones in charge of most things place such a high premium on politeness and social grace, that you have no choice but to fake your way through everything if you have any intention of getting anywhere in life. I guess most people would prefer we hate each other behind our backs than be honest about not wanting to have earnest conversations. Reading a poem like this, you’d think I actually hated people or something. That I’m some kind of major misanthrope. But the truth is, I’m not. I just get disappointed often by the emptiness of most public interactions. I love my fellow humans. I want to connect through art and come together doing meaningful work, where we respect everyone’s unique individual personalities and talents. But instead what I tend to be confronted with is abject pressure to be like everyone else. This cultural monolith is expressed in so many aspects of behavior, from attitudes about work, to how we feel about being poor, to how we choose to spend our time and money, to what we perceive as entertaining. But what this poem is trying to get at, is there’s so much more to every person, so much more authenticity and individuality than we give anyone credit for. We’re just lazy and afraid to dig deep to the ugly core. We have a fragile constitution when it comes to dealing with the messiness of strangers. And I hope through my poetry and storytelling, I can break through that a little. Franco Amati 2024 If you enjoyed this piece, a paid subscription would be the best way to show your support. But if you aren’t ready for that sort of commitment yet, you can always send me a one-time donation on my Ko-fi page. Garbage Notes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Upgrade to paid You're currently a free subscriber to Garbage Notes. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2024 Franco Amati 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe Get the appStart writing

This Morning, 52 Fever Dream

This was not the intention for the day. The night prior, I had bathed, watched shitty TV, read, and made a healthy dinner. I had tended to myself, is what I’m saying. On this day, I had one need that I was going to get met. We were going to go on a hike, somewhere just outside of the city. I was desperate for nature, almost crazed for it. Or maybe more for silence. But when I woke, my body lurched towards the bathroom, against my will. Out of nowhere, I urgently needed to throw up. By 11am, we (my partner and I) are both sick in all the ways. It’s a stomach bug, and we are laid out flat like a couple of puppies with Parvo. Flopped on top of each other, lethargic, feverish, depressed. We alternate between being the one who briefly gets enough energy to make cups of tea, or the one who hogs the bathroom. We are rolling about, trying to get comfortable but are achy, disgruntled. We cling to each other for body heat as the chills descend. When my temperatures begins to rise, I ask Henry to “please get off of me”, to which he replies, “not possible.” He can’t sacrifice the minor heat I’m providing him with. We are morose but remark to one another that there is nowhere else we would rather be in this moment. Particulary, due to our proximity to the bathroom. And still, we grumble. It's when I’m in this type of vulnerable, depleted state that the contradictions in me rise to the surface. When I have less of a capacity to think in sensible patterns. On this surprise sick day, I am full of yearning. I am suddenly in desperate need to be in remote countryside. Now. And, to live there forever. But I also want immediate access to my family, the city that raised me, museums, restaurants, and constant people watching. But I also want to live in seclusion with Henry and a small flock of pets, and see no one, and I want to let my hair go grey and just read and write and cook and make no real money. But also, I want to get highlights again, and soon. And of course, I want real money. I also want, no need, the burst of East Coast spring as well as the Evergreens of the Pacific Northwest. I want all my friends to live within a 30-mile radius, but I wouldn’t want to see them all the time. I am exhausted by my wants, insatiable and opposing. There are some days, where none of this crosses my mind, but when I am sick, I am permeable. It’s harder for me to stave off my relentless need for something. My incessant seeking. When I doze off to bed for the third time before noon, I see in my mind’s eye a photo that you may have also seen. It’s of two Palestinian boys, huddled together on wet blankets, as though they are descending into the mud beneath them. It’s a scene that no human should ever be in. I am ashamed of my whineing, under our cozy soft sheets. The randomness of this universe never ceases to shock me. How did I end up here and those kids, there? It’s outrageous, disgusting, truly unimaginable that this is possible and continues to go on, in front of us all. It rattles me, as I slink deeper into my bed, buoyed by my partners warm feet on either side of mine, safe underneath our linen fortress. The arbitrariness of where and to whom you are born… I am a human being, replete with needs. A dry place to sleep, shelter, a toilet, clean water, warm beverages, healthy food, community, music, books, time alone, healthcare, art, beautiful fabrics. It’s endless. I am saying this because when I was laying underneath our dry sheets on top of our soft bed and pillows, feeling like a pulsating open wound, the absolute horror of what is happening in Palestine came into stark relief. Of course, we know this, we have known this for too long now. Decades. But it was something about what it would feel like, if I was in this sick state, but wallowing in the mud. Unfathomable. I have no call to action from this. Nothing I’m linking for you to donate to. I am just putting this here, to lay witness. There is nothing that could ever make this type of violence make sense or be worth anything. Something in the back of my mind tells me to look up that picture again, to confirm that I am remembering it correctly. When I do so, another dimension of this fever dream comes into relief. That photo is not real. It was AI generated. It was a week or so ago when I saw it on Instagram. I can’t remember through who. Now I find it, via Deutsche Welle, a German, state-owned broadcaster.¹ They say that photo, the photo that had been taking up so much real estate in my head, is false. Had I not confirmed the source of the photo, it would have just stayed in my mind in perpetuity, lodged there as truth. That’s terrifying to me. The falseness of this photo was so disheartening. So loveless. To think of computers generating even more photos of despair. Aren’t there enough real ones? Knowing that this photo isn’t real doesn’t minimize what I’ve said above about the mutuality of human need, between me and those imaginary children. They are real in all the ways other than literally. On this sick day, as the illness starts to lift, everything begins to feel a bit sparkly and divine. You know when your energy comes back online, your brain begins humming in its usual way, your body returns to its normal temperature. It feels euphoric, so far from average. I am overwhelmed that this is my baseline health. The vitality! Yes, I could explain it with whatever is happening in my body, like that the fever has passed, I’ve had enough electrolytes to drink, and I’ve slept it off. But no, the return of vital energy feels godly to me. I am reminded of how sacred this whole thing is. My body. How it has its own will to live, and how I just need to tend to it diligently and it will carry us forward. I can’t tell you exactly what my relationship to God is, other than that I often feel in communion with something. Most days, it can feel like I’m just with and by myself, but other days I know there is an energy that is receiving and answering me. I’m tempted to critique or forget God, whatever that may mean, at this moment in time because it seems like they are really dropping the ball. In Sheila Heiti’s novel Pure Colour, she refers to this world as God’s first draft of creation: “After God Created the heavens and the earth, he stood back to contemplate creation, like a painter standing back from the canvas. This is the moment we are living in – the moment of God standing back. Who knows how long it has been going on for? Since the beginning of time, no doubt. But how long is that? And for how much longer will it continue? You’d think it would only last a moment, this delay of God standing back, before stepping forward again to finish the canvas, but it appears to be going on forever. But who knows how long or short this world of ours seems from the vanishing point of eternity?”² The draft is looking bleak these days. Like, maybe God could have sat with it a bit longer, called in an editor before they released it. I’m not certain what I believe about God (or universe, or love, or spirit, or creativity) or don’t. I don’t think that certainty is the point. I think clarity might have something to do with it. Like in times of insatiable contradictory needs, or when the noise is too loud inside my head, there is this presence that occasionally cuts through it, and puts it into perspective. Like a whisper that says, “ok love, you can have all those swirly thoughts, or you could just continue on, knowing that the unfolding will continue alongside you.” As the sickness lifts, I pull myself out of the bed, determined to get a bit of sunlight before it dips across the river and behind New Jersey. I walk outside of my apartment and start scouring the neighborhood for any shred of sunlight. I go to higher ground and find the last little sliver of sunshine in Hamilton Heights. Benevolent. The color of Marigolds. The last sliver of sun. This Morning is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. It would mean so much to me! Thank you! <3 Upgrade to paid 1 https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-ai-generated-images-of-children-in-gaza/a-68146699 2 Sheila Heiti, Pure Colour (New York, Picador, 2022), 3. Invite your friends and earn rewards If you enjoy This Morning, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe. © 2024 Gracie Gardner 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104

Rajiv Sethi – Self-Censorship on Campus

My guest this week is Rajiv Sethi, professor of economics at Barnard and Columbia. We’ve collaborated on papers and pedagogical projects, we’ve criticized each other’s work, and we’ve remained remained friends for decades now. In this conversation, we run the gamut, from Israel-Palestine to free speech to some fairly technical economics talk to, what else, my memoir, Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative. The Gaza War has brought the issue of campus speech back to the fore. Some students and faculty fear that saying the wrong thing about the conflict will put them on the wrong end of censorious mob, and the public positions taken by many university administrations aren’t helping. But Rajiv goes back to my essay, “Self-Censorship in Public Discourse,” to explain why administrative neutrality is a necessary but insufficient condition to solve the self-censorship problem on campus. Rajiv wrote a very nice blurb for my forthcoming memoir, and we discuss how game theory informs the book’s content and structure. We then delve into Rajiv’s fascinating work on police use-of-force and the predictive value of markets. The pioneering economist Bob Solow recently died. He was my dissertation advisor back in the 1970s at MIT, and he mentored a staggering number of other influential economists. Rajiv spent some time tracing his influence over the profession. And finally, I ask Rajiv whether he takes pride in the accomplishments of his fellow Indian-Americans, and his answer is surprising! It’s always a pleasure to reconnect with Rajiv. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Join Discord Sign Up for City Journal’s Newsletter City Journal provides rigorous analysis that allows you to reach your own conclusions, rather than rehashing ideologically “safe” talking points. Explore it for yourselves and sign up for their free newsletter today. Sign Up Now Order from Amazon Order from Barnes & Noble Order from Bookshop.org 0:00 The conversations that aren’t happening on college campuses 4:16 Staying informed about Israel-Palestine 9:22 Glenn: Don’t subject me to a loyalty test 12:14 Rajiv: High-minded principles alone won’t solve the self-censorship problem 18:11 “The Naked Emperor Equilibrium” 21:52 The game theoretical aspect of Glenn’s memoir 25:35 An homage to Thomas Schelling 27:31 Rajiv’s work on police use-of-force, then and now 30:36 The predictive value of political betting markets 42:44 Robert Solow’s intellectual family tree 46:16 The lopsided distribution of elite economists 49:08 Rajiv: Big econ departments should take more chances on candidates 51:52 The mind-boggling geographical variation in police killings 56:09 Why Rajiv doesn’t take pride in other Indian-Americans’ success Recorded January 26, 2024 Links and Readings Noam Dworman’s TGS appearance Noam Dworman’s podcast, Live from the Table Norman Finkelstein and Eli Lake on Live from the Table Benny Morris’s book, One State, Two States: Resolving the Israel/Palestine Crisis Rashid Khalidi on Live from the Table Benny Morris on Live from the Table Tara Henley’s Lean Out Ilan Pappé’s book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Glenn’s essay, “Self-Censorship in Public Discourse: A Theory of ‘Political Correctness’ and Related Phenomena Glenn’s conversation with Omer Bartov Glenn’s conversation with Norman Finkelstein Norman Finkelstein’s book, I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It!: Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom Glenn’s conversation with John Mearsheimer John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy University of Chicago’s 1967 Kalven Committee Report University of Chicago’s 2014 “Chicago Principles” on freedom of expression Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s book, The Spiral of Silence: Public Opinion—Our Second Skin Timur Kuran’s book, Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification Thomas Schelling’s book, The Strategy of Conflict Rajiv and Brendan O’Flaherty’s book, Shadows of Doubt: Stereotypes, Crime, and Pursuit of Justice Rajiv and Brendan O’Flaherty’s article, “Stereotypes, Crime, and Policing” Gunnar Myrdal’s book, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy Rajiv’s Substack, Imperfect Information Rajiv’s Substack post, “Economic Growth and the Growth of Economics: Reflections on Robert Solow” Ralph Ellison’s essay 1970 essay, “What America Would Be Like without Blacks” Glenn Loury. © 2024 Glenn Loury 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104

BLOODBATH: Justice Gorsuch Smacks Around Colorado Attorney During Oral Arguments on Trump Ballot Eligibility (AUDIO)

BLOODBATH: Justice Gorsuch Smacks Around Colorado Attorney During Oral Arguments on Trump Ballot Eligibility (AUDIO) Posted by Cristina Laila BREAKING: Ukraine’s Zelensky Fires Top General Zaluzhny After Months of Infighting Posted by Paul Serran Putin Tells Tucker He’s Aware of Tucker’s Attempt to Join the CIA, Says “Thank God They Didn’t Let You In” (VIDEO) Posted by Anthony Scott Tucker Carlson Reflects on Historic Interview with Vladimir Putin: “If You Really Think a Condition of Peace is Putin’s Going to Give Up Crimea, Then You’re Like a Lunatic” (VIDEO) Posted by Jim Hoft Joe Biden Read Aloud Classified Passages About Highly Sensitive Meetings in Situation Room to Ghostwriter “Nearly Verbatim on at Least Three Occasions” – Still No Charges! Posted by Cristina Laila WAYNE ROOT: “Will Taylor Swift Be the Next Bud Light?” Posted by Assistant Editor Hawaii Supreme Court Controversially Rejects Second Amendment Right, Rules “In Hawaii, There is No State Constitutional Right to Carry a Firearm in Public” Posted by Jim Hᴏft

When a Prospect says "Tell Me About Your Product".

This Is How To Answer... Simple Script To Close Your Next Sale. Dear Friend, Many times I have found myself in the spotlight, facing the daunting task of explaining a product to a curious prospect? We've all been there. But fear not, because I'm about to let you in on a little secret – the ultimate response that will leave your prospects intrigued and eager to spill the beans about their needs. So, what's the magic formula? It's simple: Instead of launching into a monologue about your product's features and benefits, why not flip the script and turn the spotlight back on your prospect? By asking a question like, "Out of curiosity, would you mind telling me why you're interested in this product now?" you're not only showing genuine interest in their needs but also gathering valuable insights that will guide you towards a successful sale. In psychology of sales, people are majorly motivated by two things. “Fear of Loss and the Desire to Gain” e.g The fear of losing their health, the desire to make money. The fear of loss is stronger than the desire to gain. Many people during covid-19 abide to the safety measures because they don’t want to die not necessarily because they want to live long. Let me share a story, I had a prospect who reached put to me in 2023 to make an inquiry about a property I shared on my status. When he reached me, I resisted the urge to send a flyer or a product paper or brochure on the property and used this script instead. He told me he showed interest because he intends to finally own a property after stalking for about 3 years. He shared his regret about how he could have bought a property at a cheaper price then. from his conversations, I knew I could leverage on his fear of loss and close him effectively. Anytime he raises an objection, I raised his motivation against it with words like ..“You don’t want to let this go too…” “The best time to make this decision is now” and eventually I closed the deal. So, the next time someone asks you to tell them more about your product, remember to take a step back, take a deep breath, and unleash the power of this perfect response. Trust me, your prospects will thank you for it. Stay Fearless! FG. If you liked this post from STEAL MY SENSE, why not share it? Click fabiangeorge.com to visit my website. © 2024 Fabian George 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104

Why is Keir Starmer spreading economic illiteracy?

Keir Starmer is pushing the economically illiterate "maxed out credit card" trope to justify his myopic adherence to the Tory austerity agenda ANOTHER ANGRY VOICE FEB 9 In the summer of 2023 Labour’s environment minister Ed Miliband said that Britain needs to "borrow to invest in the green economy". And that "Keir, Rachel and I … are committed to" delivering Labour’s £28 billion plan. This week Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have made Miliband look an absolute fool by publicly ripping up Labour’s green investment plan within nine months of Ed’s heartfelt climate assurances. Starmer’s excuse for jettisoning what was until fairly recently one of his party’s headline economic policies is absolutely lamentable. Apparently Labour can’t now afford to invest for the future because the Tory government has said it is going to "max out the national credit card". If this sounds wearisomely familiar, it’s because it is. The "maxed out national credit card" trope was one of David Cameron and George Osborne’s favourite propaganda lines when they were trying to convince the country that "let’s cut our way to prosperity" austerity ruination was a wise economic strategy, rather than the macroeconomically illiterate road to ruin it’s proven to be. Anyone with a shred of economic knowledge understands that comparisons between national economies and household family budgets are profoundly misleading, and that they’re especially egregious when public borrowing is portrayed as akin to a reckless credit card splurge. Unless you have a money printing press in your house, your household budget is almost entirely unlike a national economy, and public borrowing (the cheapest possible form of borrowing) is extremely unlike credit card borrowing (the most expensive aside from payday loan exploitation). Thus anyone making such comparisons is either an economic illiterate who doesn’t have the faintest idea how national economies actually work, or they’re wilfully spreading economically illiterate tropes in order dupe people they believe to be gullible. Upgrade to paid If we assume good faith, then Starmer is an economically deluded idiot who represents as much of a danger to the national economy as the austerity-obsessed Tories, and the alternative is that he knows full-well that he’s spreading harmful economic illiteracy, but he’s doing it because he believes there’s some short-term personal economic benefit to deliberately fostering economic stupidity. The most frustrating thing about Starmer’s resurrection of this damaging economically illiterate trope, and the lack of condemnation of his behaviour in the press, is that it proves the Westminster establishment and Britain’s dreadful media class simply haven’t learned anything from the last 14 years of Tory austerity ruination. Yes the Tories have tripled the national debt since 2010, and they absolutely failed to eliminate the budget deficit despite promising that they’d have done it by 2015, but you’d have to be an idiot to believe that this failure means we now need to double-down with even more of the austerity, infrastructure under-investment, wage repression, and public service cutbacks that have failed so spectacularly to achieve the promised prosperity and balanced budgets. After 14 years of failed "let’s cut our way to prosperity" austerity rubbish and economically illiterate tropes about "maxed out credit cards" and "magic money trees" the country is falling apart at the seams and the public debt has literally multiplied. What we need is proper investment in the things that generate future economic prosperity (education, infrastructure, quality public services, energy saving measures, public health, affordable housing, high-tech jobs, green technology …) not just "more of the same" but with a red rosette pinned to it. Investment in a scheme to prevent energy waste by insulating some of Britain’s millions of leaky and inefficient homes is exactly the kind of thing that’s needed. Lower energy waste means Britain’s economy becomes more efficient and less susceptible to external energy shocks, and lower energy bills mean that families would have more money to do economically beneficial stuff like start businesses, save for retirement, or just spending. Increasing energy efficiency wouldn’t just benefit the environment, it would benefit British families and the British economy as a whole, but Starmer’s intent on binning the idea in order to appease Britain’s austerity-obsessed political and media classes, and he’s spreading economically illiterate drivel to justify making such a poor decision. Apparently Starmer and the right-wing ghouls he’s surrounded himself with believe we can solve Britain’s economic malaise with the same ruinous "cut our way to prosperity" policies and by spreading exactly the same asinine economic illiteracy as the people who actually caused it! You’d have to fit Einstein’s definition of insanity to believe that we’ll end up with different results by trying the same thing again, down to the exact same propaganda lines used to justify it. Another Angry Voice is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Another Angry Voice © 2024 Another Angry Voice 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MDA Warns of Elevated Mycotoxin Levels in Missouri

MDA Warns of Elevated Mycotoxin Levels in Missouri Producers and Feed Manufacturers Should Monitor Mycotoxin Levels in 2023 corn. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. –The Missouri Department of Agriculture encourages Missouri feed manufacturers, corn producers and livestock producers to monitor aflatoxin and fumonisin levels in corn harvested in 2023. Mycotoxin levels have increased in Missouri corn due to prolonged drought. Feed contaminated with high aflatoxin and fumonisin levels may impact livestock. MDA monitors mycotoxin levels through the Bureau of Feed & Seed’s Annual Corn Survey. Each fall, MDA feed inspectors conduct the Corn Survey by collecting corn samples from farms throughout the state during harvest. The Feed Regulatory Program collects at least one corn sample from each corn-producing county. Samples combine corn harvested on multiple farms within each county. The samples are then analyzed for crude protein, moisture, aflatoxin, and fumonisin at the MDA Feed Control Laboratory. In 2023, 122 corn samples, from 86 corn-producing counties, were collected for the Corn Survey. Sample collection details are documented in the Corn Survey Report. High fumonisin levels occur when hot, dry weather is followed by periods of high humidity, which many parts of Missouri experienced in 2023. Horses and other equids, as well as rabbits, are most sensitive to fumonisin, though all livestock can experience effects. Animals that consume high levels of fumonisin may demonstrate neurological symptoms such as confusion, circling, incoordination, agitation and facial twitching. Consumption of corn contaminated with fumonisin causes “moldy corn poisoning” or leukoencephalomalacia, which translates to softening of the brain’s white matter. The 2023 Corn Survey can be viewed at agriculture.mo.gov. Additional information concerning aflatoxin and fumonisin can be found on the FDA website. If symptoms occur, contact your veterinarian. To have feed tested, contact the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. To learn more about the MDA Feed & Seed Program, visit agriculture.mo.gov. To learn more about the Department and its programs, visit agriculture.mo.gov.

Cat

Cat . Why do you ask? . Nevermind I am busy getting clean after being too close to a hairless monkey . meow .

Writer Office Hours 📅 The 100th edition

We started Office Hours almost three years ago because there was a gap in the knowledge our company had about how to run a Substack, and the knowledge a typical writer had. We wanted to close that gap, and also, hopefully, help kickstart more connections between writers. This week, we hit the 100th Office Hour milestone! And we believe we’ve achieved those goals together. The expertise level of the Substack writer community is awe-inspiring, with many writers now wielding and sharing advanced knowledge of the product and publishing strategies. A spirit of generosity grew, one that favors collaboration over competition. When we talk to writers and creators making their homes on Substack about what they value most here, many share how much they value their peers. “Generous” has become synonymous with the Substack community. Office Hours was the first consistent place all Substack writers could come together and exchange ideas, but Substack has changed a lot since we started. Today, we have Notes, recommendations, cross-posts, Chat and more to come that will help writers connect directly, without us as a bottleneck. Thus, we sense it’s time we transform Office Hours. In the next month, we’ll begin to wind down Office Hours as we know it. But this isn’t goodbye! You can expect us to direct the energy we put into these weekly threads into other spaces for writers to connect. Today, we want to hear from you. Tell us in today’s thread: What has been a meaningful moment for you at Office Hours? What do you wish was different about Office Hours? How do you imagine the Substack community might best support you in this next chapter? Thank you for showing up and helping us build the Substack community. - Katie @ Substack & Bailey @ Substack Thanks for subscribing to On Substack. This post is public, so feel free to share it. © 2024 Substack 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe

Secure America Digital Rally

I am writing to you all today with a call to action. Many of you have written to me asking what you can personally do to make a difference for Ukraine. This is your chance to do just that. Congress is now considering a separate bill that just provides the critical aid our allies. This vote could happen as soon as today, so the time to act is now. Share My brother Eugene is running for Congress in VA-7 to end this level of dysfunction. Today, however, he is putting aside his campaign work to urge the passage of this essential bill along with the rest of us. His campaign team developed a website that makes it easy to call your Representative and explain why it’s so important that they put aside any partisan interests for the sake of our national security. If you click the link to the website, you will be presented with a screen asking for your name, email, and ZIP code. Once you input this information, the system will automatically present you with the name and phone number of your local Congressperson, as well as a script telling you what to say on the call. If you are not yet convinced, let me take a second to explain why passing this aid package is such a no-brainer. Not only does this funding allow Ukraine to sustain its democracy and fend off an existential threat, it also greatly benefits U.S. national security. The money that Congress is budgeting for Ukraine would go straight back to making our own military stronger. As we provide older systems to the Ukrainians, we are filling our stockpiles with new and improved equipment. Furthermore, for just tiny portion of our defense budget, the Ukrainians are weakening the military of our adversary Russia, which actively seeks to destabilize our allies and our won democracy. Sending aid to Ukraine will also save lives. If we cannot showcase our strength now, what is to stop other authoritarian regimes from starting similar wars? This is why I urge you to take just a few minutes out of your day to call your Congressperson. Thanks. Why It Matters. © 2024 Alexander Vindman 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe

Collaborative Reading: New Moon in Aquarius

A Collaborative Tarot and Astrology Reading From Solarah Speaks and The Starfire Codes Exploring the Energies Present On the New Moon in Aquarius Forwarded this email from Noah? Follow Noah on Substack Collaborative Reading: New Moon in Aquarius A Collaborative Tarot and Astrology Reading From Solarah Speaks and The Starfire Codes Exploring the Energies Present On the New Moon in Aquarius THE STARFIRE CODES AND SOLARAH FEB 8 The Starfire Codes produces an audience-supported publication with a stellar podcast, consciousness-expanding daily spiritual content, and well-researched articles on forbidden but crucial topics. If you love our work, please join our constellation of curious minds and venture into forbidden realms of knowledge. Hit that like button! Share with fellow seekers! If you haven’t yet, please become a Paid Subscriber to support the cosmic quest for truth! This is what we do full time. Thank you for all of the ways you support The Starfire Codes! It means the universe to us. 🌟 Upgrade to paid Share Solarahand I have been doing experiments to see if the energies among our past readings align. We’ve been choosing dates to see if they match up, and with some jitter in the way we each perceive the tone of the way the messages come through, the match up has been just about one to one. We decided to write a collaborative reading, each not privy to what the other was writing. The following is the product of that collaboration, and you’ll be able to see the way these energies dovetail. Every time it happens, we get surprised by the synchronicity all over again. No matter how many times you see this sort of thing in doing what we do, you never get used to it. Every time it happens, it’s this amazing example of how the energies, whether dissonant, complementary, or harmonious, always seem to match up, creating this perfect awe-inspiring symbiosis each time we take a snapshot of its temperature. Here it is. Enjoy…. Solarah’s Message The New Moon in Aquarius is lighting up a path to show us new and healthier ways to forge togetherness as sovereign beings. A lot of the old co-dependent paradigms that held the matrix together are collapsing. As this continues to occur, we are bearing witness to both the beautiful and ugly results of our collective collaborative experiences. As such, there is a lot occurring at both ends of the polarities in our experiences. In the lead up to this moon, life may have felt more rollercoaster-like than usual. You may have experienced beautiful highs, and fear inducing lows. And all this must occur so that we continue purging the stories that had us stuck in matrix trauma loops. This new moon may be bringing in some respite, and recognition for all the hard work we’ve been putting in towards our own personal and collective healing. There is a door opening, that is leading us deeper into this new age, and one theme and word, of importance right now is collaboration. The Age of Aquarius brings so many possibilities for humanity, in the themes its energy supports, and one major focus is that we learn to come back together to support one another in both our individual and collective pursuits of joy. Our reclamation of joy is at the centre of what has been bringing us forward from last month’s Full Moon in Leo. We have been being guided in letting go of what doesn’t support our right to live in joy – including all the ways we’ve been programmed to fight that this is a “privilege,” instead of a natural right. The matrix wanted us living in fear, guilt, shame, and bewilderment. This is because for as long as we were drowning in those energies, we would continue manifesting realities that supported the low frequential bandwidth necessary to sustain the simulation. The key to “peace on Earth” has always been by way of us learning to live joyfully. Joyful people don’t hurt, harm, and abuse self, others, and the beautiful Earth which sustains them. Only broken people, trapped in hopelessness, resort to behaviours that are overly destructive. This is exactly why the matrix needed us all broken and fragmented – to ensure our own self-destruction, on a loop. As we learn how to come back into our wholeness and truth, we begin to remember that joy is not only an emotion, or state of being. Joy is a literal key that opens us up into higher experiences that can only be sustained by vibrations and circumstances that promote more joy. This New Moon in Aquarius wants to give us back these keys. However, to arrive back to this place – which is our birthright – we must continue to collapse the densities that have kept us out. So, this new moon is inviting us to take some serious self-inventory around anywhere we’re still clinging to matrix conditioning and programming that is barring us out of our own right to live joyfully….starting with any objections we have to this being a natural, “God-given” right. The Moon and Sun will be meeting at the 20 degree mark of Aquarius for this lunation. This is an astrological degree of Scorpio, and is connected to the card of Judgment in the tarot. Last month’s new moon had this 20-20 degree alignment, and so does next month’s New Moon in Pisces. It seems that the first three new moons of 2024 are closing out (or repeating) themes and cycles from 2020. It can also be said that this four year cycle has ripped the veil off of our eyes – for as long as we wanted to see. And now, it feels like we are heading to a grand unveiling that these previous four years have been getting us ready for. The Judgment card symbolises the carnage that comes following collapse and revelation, as well as the door to rebirth and ascension that is opened as a result. As the old world continues to fall apart, everything is coming together for a new day. As we experience all this in real time, we don’t always see the progress, However, if we look back to where we were this time in 2020, it becomes glaringly obvious that we have leapt lightyears ahead of what we once thought was possible for our world – both on collective and individual levels. And that was just the beginning. A New Earth is being birthed through the muck and the mire of our pain, and all the trauma we’ve been charged to process in order to get there. This New Moon in Aquarius feels like it wants to remind us how far we’ve come, and encourage us to keep going. We’re on the cusp of something new…do you feel it? Click here to find out more about booking a personal divination reading, having a dream interpreted, purchasing a natal astrology report, and more…. Book a Personal Reading Demi’s Message New options are opening up before you as you cross a threshold and into a gateway. Through this portal, you are discovering your wholeness and becoming at one with your creativity. You are reconnecting with your true nature as a mystic and a healer, opening yourself up to this energy and holding space for it to become a lot more prevalent in your life. Following your joy leads to a sense of fulfillment. As you harmonize the disparate energies in your life, this balance serves as a form of energetic protection, a sort of force field that keeps harmful energies away from you. Your frequency repels negative energies to the degree that you don’t even notice when there are attacks happening because the energy bounces off, repels, does not affect you. You are coming into alignment with this balance, and as you do, new gifts come online that allow you to commune more deeply and effectively with the spirits of loved ones, your guides, and your spirit team, in addition to your higher self and source consciousness. Everything feels amplified. You’re very sensitive right now. You feel like a live wire. You’re processing and accepting that these energies and abilities are either coming into your life now or they are getting stronger. You are learning not only to ground but to fully embrace who you really are. You are not afraid anymore to let people see the real you. The mask drops finally, and you reveal your story for what it is. You nurture yourself and provide yourself with ample space to process your shadow side, your darkness, your desires, and what fulfilling them would mean. You cultivate a deeper relationship with your shadow side through artistic expression - writing, painting, making music, drawing… whatever your form of artistic expression is that most speaks to your soul, you’re using it to catalyze growth and form deep bonds and connections. This open expression of the shadow self impacts your future by altering your trajectory, enabling you to embody your truest form of self. You’re not hiding anymore. You have the freedom to become exalted in your vulnerability. And as this energy accrues, your hackles relax, others feel this energy off of you, and the impact upon them is healing, spreading outward like ripples. Clairaudience (Earworm) Naked Eyes - Always Something There To Remind Me Otis Redding - I’ve Got Dreams To Remember Real Life - Send Me An Angel ‘89 Meditation Healing The Shadow Self Numerology 3314 - Positivity Always Wins 7331 - Right Company Oracle and Tarot Cards Runes Shufflemancy Billie Eilish - OverHeated The Folk Implosion - Natural One Goldfrapp - Strict Machine Greg Laswell - Comes and Goes (In Waves) Nick Drake - Pink Moon Nine Inch Nails - Head Like A Hole (Clay) Pixies - Where Is My Mind? Stereo MC’s - Connected Telepopmusik - Breathe Tricky - Evolution Revolution Love Subscribe now to embark on an enlightening journey through the immersive world of truth and metaphysics with The Starfire Codes! A guest post by Solarah I am a writer, speaker, healer & New Earth BE-ing, here to assist in illuminating humanity’s path back into wholeness, DEvine order and balance. My words are here to elevate and activate you on your destined path. Subscribe to Solarah You’re currently a free subscriber to The Starfire Codes by Demi Pietchell. Thank you for your continued support! It means the universe to us! For the full experience, upgrade your subscription here: Upgrade to paid Refer a friend Donate Subscriptions Give a gift subscription Get 20% off a group subscription Find Starfire Codes on Other Platforms Share The Starfire Codes by Demi Pietchell

Moderna the criminal mRNA technology company with Pfizer, BioNTech: did Moderna just tell us that its mRNA technology & vaccine is toxic, deadly?

YES! It just did! “A major challenge now is how to efficiently de-risk potential toxicities associated with mRNA technology,” the scientists wrote." "The toxicity risks include “lipid nanoparticle structural components, production methods, route... Moderna the criminal mRNA technology company with Pfizer, BioNTech: did Moderna just tell us that its mRNA technology & vaccine is toxic, deadly? YES! It just did! “A major challenge now is how to efficiently de-risk potential toxicities associated with mRNA technology,” the scientists wrote." "The toxicity risks include “lipid nanoparticle structural components, production methods, route... DR. PAUL ALEXANDER FEB 8 https://www.ntd.com/moderna-scientists-warn-mrna-vaccines-carry-toxicity-risks_970876.html ‘The technology used in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine carries toxicity risks, scientists with the company said in a new paper. Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Upgrade to paid “A major challenge now is how to efficiently de-risk potential toxicities associated with mRNA technology,” the scientists wrote. The Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 shots use modified messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology. The mRNA is delivered by lipid nanoparticles (LNP). The toxicity risks include “lipid nanoparticle structural components, production methods, route of administration and proteins produced from complexed mRNAs,” the authors of the paper said. Authors of the paper include Eric Jacquinet and Dimitrios Bitounis, Moderna employees, and Maximillian Rogers, who was working at Moderna when the paper was being done.’ The mRNA vaccines have multiple known side effects, including heart inflammation and severe allergic shock. Those may stem from hypersensitivity reactions, which can be elicited by “any LNP-mRNA component” but are most likely triggered by PEGlyated lipid nanoparticles, which is “the most potentially reactogenic component,” the scientists said. Polyethylene glycol, or PEG, an ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, is known to cause allergic reactions. Outside scientists are divided over the mechanism behind the heart inflammation, while Pfizer has posited the LNPs are behind the issue. ‘mRNA formulated with lipid nanoparticles is a transformative technology that has enabled the rapid development and administration of billions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine doses worldwide. However, avoiding unacceptable toxicity with mRNA drugs and vaccines presents challenges. Lipid nanoparticle structural components, production methods, route of administration and proteins produced from complexed mRNAs all present toxicity concerns. Here, we discuss these concerns, specifically how cell tropism and tissue distribution of mRNA and lipid nanoparticles can lead to toxicity, and their possible reactogenicity… focus on adverse events from mRNA applications for protein replacement and gene editing therapies as well as vaccines, tracing common biochemical and cellular pathways. The potential and limitations of existing models and tools used to screen for on-target efficacy and de-risk off-target toxicity, including in vivo and next-generation in vitro models, are also discussed.’ Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. © 2024 Paul 150 South 8th Street, Unit 170, Lewiston, NY 14092

Livestream Tonight, 7:30 ET: Nevada Caucus Watch Party

Walter Kirn and Matt Taibbi watch the results come in, with one host at the Las Vegas watch party of Donald Trump. Touching down in Las Vegas… Taking care of business first, Walter Kirn and I will be appearing on a livestream tonight at 7:30 ET. For Rumble: Click here For YouTube: Click here It wasn’t reported on Racket because your fearless author has been bogged down on a longer story, but this past Tuesday saw one of the most unusual occurrences you’ll see in presidential politics. I recall once witnessing a victory of “None of the above” in a Russian election — it might be a drug flashback, and being on a place it’s not easy to check — but I don’t remember anything like Nikki Haley losing 63-30 to “None of these candidates” in the non-binding, non-delegate-conferring primary Tuesday. I’d bet good money this will turn out to be at worst the 150th-most odd episode of the 2024 presidential season, but for right now, hoo boy. The caucus that counts is tonight and I’ll be at the Trump watch party, which I chose not for any particular reason, but because I’m pretty sure it’s the only electoral game in town tonight. America! Weirder every day… You’re on the free list for Racket News. For the full experience, become a paying subscriber. © 2024 Matt Taibbi 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104

How to Save Journalism Can journalism be saved? Here are some ideas how.

Journalism is in trouble. Mainstream journalism is shrinking, and mass firings are constantly happening. People just don’t trust old journalism anymore, as many of its contributors seem to work directly against normal American values, and thus, people won’t pay for it. It looks like that’s it for the old-school version of reporting, with us all having to get our news now from accounts like ratbarf74832 on Twitter. But maybe there is a way to save journalism and restore the parts of it actually worth saving. Here are my ideas to do just that: Ideas on How to Save Journalism Report on things people actually care about. Journalists are completely disconnected from regular Americans; they’re a bunch of weirdoes trying to force their own agenda on everyone. Instead, journalists should report on things regular people care about, like a recap of last night’s episode of NCIS. Actual funny comics for print papers. For basically forever, the best part of the newspaper has been the comics page. The problem is, almost all those comics now are hollow husks of seventy-year-old concepts that, while often mimicking the structure of jokes, have not legitimately been funny since the Vietnam War. Maybe they could like, you know, get some actual funny comic strips in there. They have to exist somewhere. And just get rid of all those walking dead strips. Sorry, Andy Capp. Add more points of view. Again, journalists tend to be detestable weirdoes with terrible politics. Why not, instead of getting more Taylor Lorenzes, they hire a few people who aren’t terrible mental cases? They don’t even have to be journalists — just regular people who can tell you when your reporting is dumb and evil. Have a special secret conference. Maybe you can learn about other viewpoints by having a conference of all journalists together. You don’t want to be interrupted, though, so we’ll want to keep this conference secret from everyone else. Just follow the instructions on the silver envelope that was mailed to you. It might seem strange the instructions lead you to a large building in the middle of nowhere, but that’s just for extra security. Take the elevator down to it. Yeah, weird you’re going down when you entered on the ground floor, but maybe they got some deal on a basement conference room. And it will certainly keep prying eyes away as there are no windows. And look. Everyone is here. All the prominent journalists in this large basement room. Huh. Did the power just shut down? What was that crash? It’s so dark in here. Use the flashlight on your phone. Oh; that was the crash: The elevator shaft collapsed. Yes! Now you are all trapped underground in the dark! Muhahahaha! You’ve all fallen for my trap! You idiots. You are so easy to manipulate but I already knew that with you guys always trying to force every latest political fad down our throats in your terrible reporting... A subscription gets you: Exclusive humor articles, short stories, and other fun pieces (including everything in the archive) Preview of upcoming novels and access to my novels as soon as they're in beta I’ll be your friend (follow you on social media for direct access to me) © 2024 Frank J. Fleming 1320 Cabelas Dr. PO Box 1684, Buda, TX 78610-9998

Trump's Ballot Access Case On Trial As the Supreme Court reviews Colorado's decision to remove Donald Trump from the ballot, press delusions multiply

Reading news on a flight to Las Vegas for tonight’s caucus… The CNN headline: “Supreme Court faces its greatest test yet from Trump.” Oral arguments are being heard in the high court today in Donald Trump’s ballot access case, about which CNN commentator Stephen Collinson seems to have no opinion, apart from being sure Trump’s response to its adjudication will be sociopathic and end human civilization as we know it:...

There’s too much money in it, too much! So how could they walk away, they got to keep it going! It ain't over until it's over!

You are so over it, COVID is done, but they won't let you be & grifters love it! Main point, these people have a live one in you, you the public are so good in the heart, you trust, and some of you still don't see the fleece, the pillage of you. It ain't over, it can't be DR. PAUL ALEXANDER FEB 8 Ha ha ha, some people just have no shame…none… do these people have no shame? This is the ‘Friends of Bob’ conference, notice the many people Malone has sued or threatened to sue or questioned him NOT speaking…this is a grift feast of the highests order and they should be ashamed of themselves, unable to get off the teats. Where is the key speaker McCullough? Or Breggin? Or Couey? Where is Yeadon? Or West? Sasha Latypova? Karen Kingston? Where? Only ass suckers to Bob? Donor money leeches? No doubt, some in that speaker list are good people, I know them personally, just want to be on stage and share and educate, I know their hearts but this is a list of some of the greatest GRIFTERS. Its a joke. Where is Ben Marble? Dr. Judy Mikovitz? Catherine Austin Fitts? Jane Ruby? Berenson etc….so many key people who are and were the Freedom group and started it. What is the value of this now? What have people not heard before? I wish the esteemed Senator Johnson would distance himself from this farce now. He did good, he is a good man. He did lots to help and someone I admire supremely. He is being used now IMO wrongfully. Note this special section in the promotional pamphlet, for it is not complete without the beg…the gimme gimme gimme…not that they will take money from all they made so far in the begging…some in their list made millions off donor money…cough cough….I won;t name you….no, its ‘lets go get us some more from the moron public who are so dumb’… Donate to the ICS 5 ‘We are still seeking donations to defer travel and lodging costs for invited speakers, and the button above or QR code below can be used to access the donations page. If you have already or intend to donate to help, all I can say is “thanks”. The pandemic censorship and professional attacks have made things quite financially challenging for some. Without your help, their voices and contributions may not be able to be heard during this meeting.’ You know there is a saying that there is so many ways to skin a cat, well, my question is, how many other ways do they want to talk about the same thing? how many? Who is Robert Malone International Crisis Summit-5 Agenda As most of you know, I have been co-organizing the ICS 5 as well as helping Senator Ron Johnson get ready, organize and recruit speakers for his separate Senate testimony on the following Monday. I am super excited about both this summit and the Senator’s initiative, and I believe that it is vital to bring the fighters for the freedom and anti-globalism… Read more 17 hours ago · 164 likes · 34 comments · Robert W Malone MD, MS You think it's over? "No, you can't just turn it off!" "It ain't over"! You think Global COVID Summit (Global Crisis Summit) money whores will let it be over? You think the donor money whores, the DR. PAUL ALEXANDER · FEB 7 You think it's over? "No, you can't just turn it off!" "It ain't over"! You think Global COVID Summit (Global Crisis Summit) money whores will let it be over? You think the donor money whores, the It’s over Johnny, it’s over! Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack. © 2024 Paul 150 South 8th Street, Unit 170, Lewiston, NY 14092

These leopards are too fucking incompetent to eat anyone’s face

House Republicans can't get their impeachment shit together. that clownshoes fucktangle of low-wattage underachievers known as the House Republicans had a cunning plan. it went something like this: we’re going to impeach the living shit out of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and then we’re going to coast to reelection because … ok, here I have to confess that the logic of this whole enterprise escapes me. I guess because “we impeached this guy you never heard of” looks good in a campaign ad? Upgrade to paid naturally, the whole dumb-ass plan blew up in their stupid faces — because of course it did. these are House Republicans we’re talking about. what did you expect, competence? here’s how this impeachment was supposed to go down: Holy Mike Johnson knew he didn’t have enough votes, but he also knew that Democratic Rep Al Green was going to be in the hospital for abdominal surgery on Tuesday, so that’s when Holy Mike scheduled the vote to take place. recognizing this for the supreme dick move that it was, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries phoned up Green in the hospital and was all bro get your ass over here for this vote. I’ve called an Uber and Green was all no need, my man, I’m already on my way. I wouldn’t miss this shit for the world. no, seriously. Then, like a scene out of a political thriller, Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, appeared at the last moment to cast a surprise ballot — from a wheelchair, wearing blue hospital clothing and tan socks. He voted no. Mr. Green’s vote was decisive. It tied up the measure, 215 to 215, and handed a stunning defeat to Speaker Mike Johnson. Republicans were fucking pissed off and stamped their feet and said that somehow it wasn’t fair of the Democrats to have more votes. “they hid one of their members, waiting til the last minute, watching to see our votes, trying to throw us off on the numbers that we had.” it’s called politics, Marge, and it’s not the Democrats’ fault that you’re so fucking bad at it. with the failed impeachment out of the way, the House GOP got back to doing what it does best: blaming each other for their own incompetence. Congresswoman Sporkfoot accused the Rs who voted no of taking bribes. You know, I have no proof of that, but again, I can’t understand the vote. So, nothing surprises me in Washington, D.C. anymore, Charlie. Literally, nothing surprises me because—it doesn't make sense to anyone, right? Why would anyone vote no? Why would anyone protect Mayorkas unless they're being bribed, unless there's something going on, unless they're making a deal. geez, Marge, bribes? is that really the best the meth-ravaged hamsters wheeling around in your head could come up with? Florida transphobe Greg Steube pointed his finger at white supremacy’s middle manager, Steve Scalise — also in the hospital, for cancer treatment — for not being man enough to wheelchair his own self to the vote. Rep. Greg Steube went on Newsmax to point at a Republican absence—House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who had the audacity to be out for cancer treatment. “If Scalise would have been here … the bill would have passed,” Steube said. how much of a disaster has Holy Mike Johnson been as Speaker of the House? this much: Republicans are now speaking openly of how much they wish that Kevin McCarthy was still around. “Getting rid of Speaker McCarthy has officially turned into an unmitigated disaster.” that’s right, Feckless Kevin McCarthy, the guy the Freedom Caucus hated so much that they turned him into a living chew toy and then ousted him from the Speakership, is starting to look a whole lot better. even Matt Gaetz, the inexplicably-unindicted sex pest who engineered the shitcanning of McCarthy, is having second thoughts. “I also wonder, wouldn’t it have been nice to still have Kevin McCarthy in the House of Representatives,” Gaetz said on Newsmax. “Never thought you'd hear me say that.” happier times I guess the Freedom Caucus will now be drunk-dialing Kev at two in the morning to whimper “I miss us.” it’s all so stupid. impeaching Mayorkas was supposed to be the Republicans’ consolation prize for being unable to find anything dirty to pin on Joe Biden, and they fucked it all to hell. they can’t impeach anyone, they can’t pass any bills — they can’t even name a fucking post office. someone remind me, what do you get when you elect clowns? oh, right: a circus. everyone is entitled to my own opinion is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. everyone is entitled to my own opinion © 2024 Jeff Tiedrich 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104

Biden Once Again Gets Leaders Mixed Up, Says He Spoke to Leader who Died in 2017

For the second time in a week, President Joe Biden on Wednesday claimed to have spoken to a dead European leader. This time, it was the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017. Biden claimed to have spoken with him four years later, following the Jan. 6, 2021, incursion at the U.S. Capitol, according to Reuters. The gaffe occurred during a fundraising reception in New York, the outlet reported, where he told a story that it called “a staple of his stump speech.” This time, however, instead of accurately describing a conversation between Chancellor Angela Merkel as it occurred at the G7 summit that year, he inserted Kohl’s name instead. Trending: Watch: Toby Keith Ended His Final Concert with an Ode to America and a Warning to 'Never Apologize for Being Patriotic' “When I first got elected president, I went to a G7 meeting with the seven heads of state in Europe and Great Britain. I sat down and I said, ‘Well, America’s back’ and the president of France looked at me and said, ‘for how long?’ I never thought of it this way,” Biden said, according to Reuters. “Then Helmut Kohl of Germany looked at me and said, ‘What would you say Mr. President, if you picked up the London Times tomorrow morning and learned that 1,000 people had broken down the doors, the doors of the British Parliament and killed some [people] on the way in,'” the 81-year-old added. As Politico noted, Kohl was chancellor from 1982 until 1998 — never while Biden was president, or even vice president. Earlier in the week, Biden mentioned a conversation with the late François Mitterrand, who was president of France from 1981 through 1995 — also never while Biden occupied the White House in any capacity. Will Biden lose? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge via email. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. In fact, Biden was apparently telling another story about that same 2021 G7 summit when he mentioned Mitterrand, who died almost 20 years ago in 1996, in place of President Emmanuel Macron. NBC News said that Biden actually made the Kohl error twice, repeating the same story with the same wrong German leader at to separate fundraising events in New York on Wednesday. Even the left-leaning Daily Beast noted, under the headline “Biden Says He Spoke to a SECOND Dead European Statesman” [emphasis original], that the conversation Biden described “could only have happened through a ouija board.” NBC cited a recent poll that showed that 76 percent of voters — including 54 percent of Democrats — said they had either “major concerns” or “moderate concerns” about Biden’s “mental and physical health.” Only 11 percent of those surveyed said they had “no real concern” about Biden’s fitness for the roll. Related: Biden Gets Heckled on Campaign Stop, Then Tells Shop Staff He Works for Governor and Senator The poll showed that fewer than half of the 1,000 registered voters surveyed, 48 percent, shared similar levels of concern about the fitness of former President Donald Trump, 77, to serve as the nation’s chief executive. That was about equal to the 49 percent who had such concerns about Biden’s involvement in the “alleged wrongdoing and corruption” of his son, Hunter Biden. “I think that [Biden’s] health and age kind of get in the way of his ability to be a good president of the United States,” said a female Democratic poll respondent from Wisconsin, who did not share her name but said she voted for Biden in 2020.

Daunting poll numbers to test Haley’s staying power in 2024 race

The day after Nikki Haley finished more than 30 points behind “none of these candidates” in Nevada, her presidential campaign touted a “blowout win” in another battleground state. “In Wisconsin, Haley has blowout win; Trump has blowup,” read the subject line of an email from the former United Nations ambassador’s team. The win in question was yet another poll showing Haley outperforming former President Donald Trump against President Joe Biden in a hypothetical general election matchup. “Democrats couldn’t dream up a weaker general election candidate than Donald Trump if they tried. They know the only way their grumpy old man wins is if he’s running against another grumpy old man,” Haley spokeswoman AnnMarie Graham-Barnes said in the statement. “With Nikki Haley on the ballot, Republicans will not only win the White House, they’ll win the Senate, the House, governors’ races, and statehouses across America. If Republicans are tired of losing, Nikki will end the GOP slump.”

What is the 25th Amendment? GOP’s call to boot Biden has Kamala Harris as the key piece

Republican lawmakers have called for Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and rule Biden unable to serve as president in the aftermath of the special counsel report noting his “poor memory.” With calls of Biden being unfit for office growing, it is worth visiting how the 25th Amendment allows for a president to be removed and what part each affiliated party has to play. How does the 25th Amendment work? The 25th Amendment has four sections, each one detailing presidential succession and incapacity procedures. Section 1 confirms that the vice president is elevated to president if the presidency is vacant, while Section 2 explains how a vacancy in the vice presidency is filled, via appointment and confirmation by a majority of both chambers of Congress. Section 3 outlines when the president can temporarily give their power to the vice president, in the role of acting president, when the president is unable to perform their duties. The president must notify the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House when he is doing so and when he is again able to perform his duties. The category getting the most attention in the aftermath of the special counsel report is Section 4, which allows the vice president, with a majority of the Cabinet, to send a letter to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House declaring the president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” at which point the vice president assumes the position of acting president. If the president contests the assessment from their vice president and Cabinet, they can resume their duties unless that same group reaffirms their stance to the Senate’s president pro tempore and the speaker of the House within four days. If the vice president and the majority of the Cabinet still declare the president unable to perform their duties, Congress would then have 48 hours, if not in session, to return to take up the matter. Congress then has 21 days after assembly to vote on whether the president is able to perform their duties. If two-thirds of both the Senate and the House of Representatives vote that the president is incapable, the vice president remains in place as acting president. If the vote falls short in either chamber, the president remains in place. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Has the amendment ever been used? Since the amendment was ratified in 1967, the first three sections have been used at least once. Section 1 was used in 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency, and Section 2 was used once in 1973 and then again in 1974 to appoint and confirm Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller, respectively, as vice president. Section 3 has been used four times, giving the vice president the power of acting president for a temporary time. Each of the four times was done while the president was undergoing a medical procedure. Section 4 has never been used, but there was pressure for then-President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and then-Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the section after the aftermath of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. President Joe Biden holds hands with Vice President Kamala Harris as he speaks at a reception in recognition of Black History Month in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER What would invoking the 25th Amendment mean for Kamala Harris? Such a move appears extremely unlikely and would need to be with the support of most Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate to avoid embarrassment. If Harris and a majority of Biden’s Cabinet were to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, it would be a historic move and a massive risk to declare her current running mate for the 2024 election unable to perform his duties as president. If Section 4 were invoked and Biden was successfully ruled unable to perform his duties as president, Harris would not assume the presidency itself but would take on the duties of the presidency as acting president. TAGS25th AmendmentCabinetJoe BidenKamala HarrisNewsWashington D.C. Related Content Will Trump secure a 9-0 victory at the Supreme Court? February 9, 2024 6:30 am A container ship is unloaded at the Virginia International Gateway terminal in Norfolk, Va., Friday, May 10, 2019. President Donald Trump's latest tariff hike on Chinese goods took effect Friday and Beijing said it would retaliate, escalating a battle over China's technology ambitions and other trade tensions. We’re all going to lose in the global trade war February 9, 2024 6:00 am Voodoo economics and made-up property rights are the next frontier of... February 9, 2024 6:00 am The Supreme Court on Monday said it won't rule on a case seeking limits on the abortion-inducing drug RU-486, leaving in place an Oklahoma court ruling that rejected a state law curbing the use of the so-called "abortion pill." (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) California wants to deter women from seeking to save the lives... February 9, 2024 6:00 am Paid Content FBI agents who searched Mar-a-Lago may have made a big mistake: Report SF News Thomas blasts Jackson's dissent in affirmative action decision: 'Cancerous to young minds' SF News Hiding Biden: Joe's Super Bowl snub the latest example of White House's reelection strategy SF News Venezuela's 'largest' criminal gang operating inside US, linked to retired police officer's murder SF News King Charles III has cancer, Buckingham Palace announces SF News FBI charged with Jan. 6 ‘cover-up’ in Ashli Babbitt shooting case SF News Family of defamed Kansas City Chiefs fan file lawsuit against sports outlet SF News Biden runs through red light in latest part of $25 billion electric vehicle push SF News Ohio church sues city after pastor charged for using sanctuary as a 24/7 homeless shelter SF News Related Content Will Trump secure a 9-0 victory at the Supreme Court? February 9, 2024 6:30 am A container ship is unloaded at the Virginia International Gateway terminal in Norfolk, Va., Friday, May 10, 2019. President Donald Trump's latest tariff hike on Chinese goods took effect Friday and Beijing said it would retaliate, escalating a battle over China's technology ambitions and other trade tensions. We’re all going to lose in the global trade war February 9, 2024 6:00 am Voodoo economics and made-up property rights are the next frontier of... February 9, 2024 6:00 am The Supreme Court on Monday said it won't rule on a case seeking limits on the abortion-inducing drug RU-486, leaving in place an Oklahoma court ruling that rejected a state law curbing the use of the so-called "abortion pill." (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) California wants to deter women from seeking to save the lives... February 9, 2024 6:00 am

Trump commands Nevada caucuses in fourth victory over Nikki Haley

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton joins Benny Johnson on "The Benny Show" to discuss the Fulton County Case against Donald Trump, Colorado's decision to remove him from the ballot, and whether Trump will be convicted before Election Day, PLUS so much more! Farrell on Victory News re: Biden’s Failed Foreign Policy, Border Disaster + AZ Vote Rigging. LAS VEGAS — Former President Donald Trump handily won the Nevada Republican Party’s presidential caucuses Thursday, marking his fourth win of the GOP primary cycle over former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. With about a third of the results tallied, Trump had 99% of the vote to virtually unknown candidate Ryan Binkley’s 1% in a landslide victory. The Associated Press called the race for Trump at 11:05 p.m. EST, shortly after the first results came in from the Silver State, which has 26 delegates at stake. Trump and Binkley were the only candidates voters could choose from during the caucuses, as Haley declined to participate in the party-run contest, complaining it was “rigged” for Trump. Instead, her name was on the state-run primary ballot on Tuesday when she suffered a historic loss to “none of these candidates.” It was the first time a protest option won a presidential primary since state law required it on primary ballots in 1975. Trump’s Nevada win comes as continues his steady march toward the GOP nomination, previously winning in Iowa, New Hampshire, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which also held caucuses on Thursday. Despite the former president’s landslide victory, the caucuses were marred with difficulties. At one Las Vegas caucus site at James Cashman Middle School, Republican voters faced trouble getting to the correct entrance and parking. One man remarked outside the site, “Democrats are doing everything they can to screw this thing up.” People wait in line to enter a caucus site at Katherine Dunn Elementary School in Sparks, Nev., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner) But once those caucusgoers found the location successfully and parked their vehicles, they all signaled their intent to support Trump. Joe McMahon said he’s caucusing for the former president. “I was for somebody else [in 2016], but he’s done a spectacular job while he was four years in office,” he said of Trump. McMahon was so satisfied with Trump that he didn’t even consider other Republicans during the primary season. “We have been supporting him since 2016,” John Goetz said of himself and his wife Carol. John donned a “Trump” hat for the event. “I think we were all thinking about other people along the way,” Carol said of the other Republican candidates. “They wanted to consider other ones and then Trump came out on top.” “We like Ron DeSantis as a governor, but we like Trump as the president,” John said of the Florida Republican’s unsuccessful presidential bid. However, Cathy and Roland Peck said “not at all” when asked if they had considered other Republican contenders. The two have also supported Trump since 2016. FILE – Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign event Jan. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. Trump is expected to sweep Nevada’s Republican caucuses on Thursday, which would give him a third straight win in the presidential primary and deliver more delegates he needs to clinch the nomination. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) “I think he did a great job the last time he was president. So you know, I want more of that for our country. We want the country back,” Roland said. Former 2024 hopefuls who had filed for the caucuses, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and former biotech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy have since suspended their 2024 campaigns. The Nevada caucuses faced scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans for being “rigged” in Trump’s favor and confusing voters. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Nevada Republican Chairman Michael McDonald explained the state party opted for a GOP-run caucus because the state primary cannot be trusted with voter ID requirements. “If we had voter ID, there wouldn’t be a need for a caucus,” he said. Many voters this week expressed confusion when speaking to the Washington Examiner about their voting plans. However, nearly all Republicans interviewed planned to participate in both the primary on Tuesday and the caucuses on Thursday. People wait for the caucus to begin at Spanish Springs Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabe Stern) Haley, who is the only other Republican candidate polling in double digits nationally, was not on the caucus ballot. She chose to file for the primary, which did not award delegates. However, she ended up losing to “none of these candidates” as Trump-supporting Republicans sought to block her from a symbolic primary win. Before both nominating contests in Nevada, Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney said, “We have not spent a dime nor an ounce of energy on Nevada.” She further slammed the state’s Republican Party as “a Trump entity” and accused the caucuses of being “rigged for Trump.” “We aren’t going to pay $55,000” for such a contest, Ankney explained. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER “Nevada is not and has never been our focus. I’m truly not sure what the Trump team is up to out there, but they seem pretty spun up about it,” she added. After four wins in a row for Trump, the GOP contest next heads to South Carolina, where Haley wants to stage a comeback in her home state on Feb. 24. TAGS2024 ElectionsDonald TrumpNevadaNewsNikki HaleyWashington D.C. Related Content Will Trump secure a 9-0 victory at the Supreme Court? February 9, 2024 6:30 am A container ship is unloaded at the Virginia International Gateway terminal in Norfolk, Va., Friday, May 10, 2019. President Donald Trump's latest tariff hike on Chinese goods took effect Friday and Beijing said it would retaliate, escalating a battle over China's technology ambitions and other trade tensions. We’re all going to lose in the global trade war February 9, 2024 6:00 am Voodoo economics and made-up property rights are the next frontier of... February 9, 2024 6:00 am The Supreme Court on Monday said it won't rule on a case seeking limits on the abortion-inducing drug RU-486, leaving in place an Oklahoma court ruling that rejected a state law curbing the use of the so-called "abortion pill." (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) California wants to deter women from seeking to save the lives... February 9, 2024 6:00 am Paid Content Five takeaways from the Biden classified document report Five takeaways from the Biden classified document report SF News Thomas blasts Jackson's dissent in affirmative action decision: 'Cancerous to young minds' Thomas blasts Jackson's dissent in affirmative action decision: 'Cancerous to young minds' SF News Geraldo Rivera announces he quit Fox News after being kicked off show Geraldo Rivera announces he quit Fox News after being kicked off show SF News Related Content Will Trump secure a 9-0 victory at the Supreme Court? February 9, 2024 6:30 am A container ship is unloaded at the Virginia International Gateway terminal in Norfolk, Va., Friday, May 10, 2019. President Donald Trump's latest tariff hike on Chinese goods took effect Friday and Beijing said it would retaliate, escalating a battle over China's technology ambitions and other trade tensions. We’re all going to lose in the global trade war February 9, 2024 6:00 am Voodoo economics and made-up property rights are the next frontier of... February 9, 2024 6:00 am The Supreme Court on Monday said it won't rule on a case seeking limits on the abortion-inducing drug RU-486, leaving in place an Oklahoma court ruling that rejected a state law curbing the use of the so-called "abortion pill." (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) California wants to deter women from seeking to save the lives... February 9, 2024 6:00 am

Transcript: Katherine Brodsky My interview with the Canadian author and commentator

What does it take to speak out against orthodoxies in an age of outrage? That is something that my guest on this week’s program has spent years contemplating, interviewing people from all walks of life who have managed to stick to their principles in the face of an online mobbing, and not back down. Katherine Brodsky is a Canadian writer and commentator, and the author of No Apologies: How to Find and Free Your Voice in the Age of Outrage — Lessons for the Silenced Majority. This is an edited transcipt for paid subscribers. You can listen to the interview for free here. Share TH: Your book is written for the silent majority — those who are concerned with the direction that our culture is headed, but have not yet had the courage to speak out about it. You look at case studies of individuals who have been the target of outrage mobs, and ask what lessons can be learned from their stories. I want to start today with your own story. You yourself have been the target of one of these mobs. Tell us about that experience, and how it shaped your thinking for this book. KB: I've had a little bit of distance now, and I've had some time to reflect on this particular story that happened to me. But at the time it was just so incredibly intense. And for me, it was a process of realizing that there was something a little bit off about the culture — where people were not free to speak as they wish, and we had the stifling of conversations. In my own case, I was gradually trying to find my voice. I describe it as a whimper at the time. I ran a group for women writers. It was a job board, and it was an offshoot of another bigger group on Facebook that was dedicated for women writers and providing resources, providing advice. My group was essentially just a job board. We provided some mentorship, some guidance, some resources for women, and it ran pretty smoothly. I think people benefited a lot. The mentorship program that I launched was featured in The New York Times, so everything was going pretty well. Until … “dun, dun, dun,” as they say. There was a woman who posted a job opportunity at Fox News, and apparently that was sacrilegious to the group. They started to really attack her — very harsh personal attacks — just for posting a job opportunity. As somebody who ran the group at the time, I felt like I had a duty to step in and stop the harassment. I posted a very, in my view, neutral post. I said, “Listen, let's refrain from personal attacks. Let's refrain from politics in the group. There's been a lot of coming apart lately. Let's come together.” I thought that that was a fairly neutral post — as I describe it, a little bit kumbaya. But it seems like a lot of people disagreed with that. So they turned their attention to me. They started calling me a white supremacist, and said that I'd “just as soon let the KKK recruit.” I had a different mind state at the time. I really believed in engaging with all people, and any kind of criticism. So, I did for a while. One of the things that they said to me is, “We can't take politics out of the group, because inherently a group for women is political.” I said, “Okay, well, I don't want politics in the group, because this is what happens. So, why don't I open it up for everybody? Basically, you can have a month to leave. If you're not interested in staying in the group, you could start your own group.” I tried to be accommodating. But at the same time, I did know that I was taking a certain kind of stand. The mob really escalated. They started trying to reach out to editors to make sure that I would never work with them again. They tried to dox me. I was getting many, many harassing emails and messages. One of the most memorable was a photo of a mob with tiki torches saying, “We have very long memories.” So, it really escalated. People were down-voting my content. It was a madhouse. Something I'd never expected. I should say that I'm kind of a people pleaser, in many ways. So to me, it felt particularly intense to have so many people think I'm on the wrong side of things. But also, in that time, I was getting messages from people saying, “I see what's happening to you and it's not right. I feel so ashamed that I cannot speak. I feel too scared to speak up.” People were also sharing their own stories of harassment, cancellation. People who never recovered, people who lost their jobs, people who lost their careers, their tribes — which is very important to individuals. I started looking at things a little bit differently. Before, like I said, I was very keen to engage with everyone and I was very keen to consider everyone's position. But I turned it around and I thought, “What if I disagreed with myself intensely? How would I behave? What would I do?” I came to the conclusion that I would never behave in those ways. Those are bullying tactics. That's a mob. It's one thing when somebody sent me criticism, and they phrased it politely and thoughtfully — I would absolutely always consider that. But those people who would come at me wanting to destroy me because they disagreed with something, those are not the voices that I was keen to listen to. But also, because I was getting all these messages, I realized that people are so scared, and there's so many of them. I think there's a lot more people with common sense and common decency out there, but their voice is missing from the conversation. What's happening is these bullies … and that's what they are. I've been bullied in high school, so I have some familiarity with bullies. They are really not very different from that. It's just that they think that they have some righteous cause … Those bullies are the ones dictating our daily lives. That's why I felt the need to start speaking, and using my voice even on behalf of people who might be too afraid right now. Somehow, I found it within myself to do that. I thought my life might be over. I wrote a piece for Newsweek, which was calling out these particular bullies. I thought, “If I publish that, that's it. I will never work as a writer again.” But it also very much opened up my voice. I felt that I needed to not be one of the silenced voices, and take a stand — even if it did cost me something. I think I got some things in return. Like more authentic relationships, for example. Share TH: You bring a unique perspective to this. We're both Canadian citizens, but you were born in the Soviet Union. Tell us about how those early years living under communism shaped your perspective on all of this. KB: I was born in the Soviet Union, the part that's now Ukraine. I was fairly young when I left, but I grew up in my parents' household. And they, throughout the years, would tell me about their lives under communism — the self-silencing that ran very deep. There was a lot of subversive writing that was going on, because you could tell things were boiling up to the surface. But you couldn't say things openly, or it would cost you. It could even cost you your life, at certain points. But it certainly cost people opportunities. Violence was not unheard of. My family is also Jewish, so that was uniquely not a great experience, being in a country like that at the time. My parents were starting to warn me about some of the things they were seeing in the culture. For example, the propaganda aspect of certain cultural themes. Collectivism. And the fact that certain speech was starting to get stifled. People could lose their jobs for saying certain things, or get ousted from their tribes. As much as there is censorship, in terms of people potentially losing their jobs from institutions and things like that, I would say the self-silencing is a bigger problem in our society. But at the time, I think I dismissed it. I thought, “We are in this Western, very liberal country and there's no way such a thing could happen here.” Unfortunately, as we've been going forward, I've noticed that, in fact, some of the things that were happening in the Soviet Union are indeed happening here. You can look at history — a lot of the revolutions happened because of a small radical group of people who pushed terrible ideas upon society. And people, for the most part, remained silent. I don't think it's because they agreed with these ideas. They might have even disagreed. But they didn't voice anything. Even something like the Holocaust, I would say. I think most people were not necessarily keen to genocide people. But they didn't say anything when rights were gradually being taken away from members of their population. They were maybe even seeing some benefits for themselves. That silence — it's really a matter of life and death. The fact that we think we're safe in this country that's much more liberal and westernized — that can all change in a short span of time. Because, again, if we learn from history, that has been the case throughout history. TH: You dive into some of the psychological aspects of piles-ons in this book, from many different people's perspectives. I found that really interesting, as someone who has also interviewed people that have gone through this experience. You write, “There's a freedom to be cancelled. You can say or do anything you want.” There is this freedom that people talk about eventually settling over them. But there is also this period of intense fear, crippling depression. And, for many, a lasting feeling of paranoia and an inability to trust other people. I've heard all of this a lot. You said at the beginning of the conversation that you're something of a people pleaser. And you've said on the Triggernometry podcast that you're not a particularly disagreeable person. Neither am I. I do think there's some effects to having gone through a pile-on. What would you say are some of those lasting effects of having gone through that?... Keep reading with a 7-day free trial Subscribe to Lean Out with Tara Henley to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. Start trial A subscription gets you: Subscriber-only posts and full archive Post comments and join the community LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2024 Tara Henley 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104

This is your chance to Ask a WGU Grad!

You’re invited, Charles! Join us as we interview Eduardo Oliveira, a WGU Graduate who earned his Bachelor’s AND Master’s degrees in Cybersecurity! This is your chance to hear directly from our student what it’s like to attend WGU, how our degrees have helped him in the workforce and much more. We will ask Eduardo: Why did you enroll? What was your objective in earning a degree? How has the degree helped you personally and professionally? What was your student experience was like? How important was having a dedicated program mentor to support through your degree program? What do you wish you would have known when you started your program? What advice would you give to those considering enrolling at WGU? But we would LOVE to ask YOUR questions for Eduardo too! CLICK HERE to Register for the Webinar AND submit YOUR questions for Eduardo and WGU. Ask a Grad - Cybersecurity Tuesday, February 13th, 2024 6-6:30pm Pacific 7-7:30pm Mountain 8-8:30pm Central 9-9:30pm Eastern Register Now & Submit Your Questions! Image of Eduardo Oliveira, click to register now Meet Eduardo Oliveira B.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance Austin, Texas Senior Cloud Technical Account Manager at Amazon Web Services LinkedIn Eduardo Oliveira has worked in information technology for more than 25 years with his career beginning in his home country of Brazil. Oliveira serves as a Senior Cloud Technical Account Manager at Amazon Web Services, focused on cloud operations and security. He earned his bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity and information assurance from WGU in 2020, before returning to WGU to earn his master’s in the same discipline in 2022. Plus, sign up for Owl’s Nest and get points for attending this webinar! Information Degrees & Programs Admissions Tuition & Financial Aid About Us Quicklinks Owl's Nest Referrals Student Success Newsroom WGU Store Student Support MyWGU Student Portal Scholarships Student Support Center Financial Aid Alumni Support Alumni Preference Center Commencement Update your profile Alumni Email update Facebook Twitter Linkedin Youtube Pinterest Instagram Tiktok Blog 4001 S 700 E #700, Salt Lake City, UT 84107 You are receiving this message because you inquired about Western Governors University. © 2024 Western Governors University - WGU. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe

How To Appoint a Commissar (Part 5) - Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall (she/her)

How many times has Dallas Mavericks owner and DIE advocate Mark Cuban violated civil rights law by hiring based on race and gender? Comrades: In honor of DIE enthusiast Mark Cuban, I have created The Cuban Rule. “The harder someone virtue signals, the more skeletons they have in their closet. Behind every DIE commissar is a woke white man shielding himself from criticism.” Never ask a woman her age, A mMan, his salary Mark Cuban abour his companies' DEI policies For the past few weeks, Cuban has been simping for DIE on Twitter.The Rabbit Hole has schooled him like varsity against JV, but he is so masochistic he keeps crawling back for more. Another epic anon named Wei Wu has repeatedly dunked on him, asking him to live up to his DIE ideals by making her starting point guard of the Dallas Mavericks. If Cuban keeps digging himself deeper into his cringe hole, he’ll reach his Emperor Xi in China. Even the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner replied to remind him that he would be committing civil rights violations by discriminating based on race and gender. EGM wrote a brilliant summary of Cuban’s slow motion train wreck - here are the highlights: Today, let’s take a closer look to see if Cuban has already engaged in illegal discriminatory hiring practices. Following a scandal that broke in 2018 (more on that later), he hired Cynt Marshall (she/her) as CEO of the Dallas Mavericks. She was heralded as the first black female in history to serve as CEO of an NBA team. Did Cuban violate civil rights law by hiring her? What are her qualifications to be CEO of an NBA team? Who else was interviewed for the position and how was the hiring decision made? How much did he know about the scandals that led to her appointment? Real journalists should be investigating all of these questions, but they’re too busy getting fired because no one wants to read their woke garbage. Cynt Marshall and Mark Cuban at a Dallas Mavericks press conference Let me start by being charitable. Unlike the previous commissars I have investigated (NPR Katherine Maher, Harvard’s Claudine Gay, RISDIE’s Crystal Williams), Cynt does not come from a privileged background and has an inspiring rags to riches story. Her childhood was marred by poverty and domestic violence. Cynt’s father broke her nose and shot a man in front of her. Thankfully, her mother put a Bible and math book in her hands. She earned a full scholarship to UC Berkeley and rose through the ranks at AT&T for 35 years. After marrying her high school sweetheart, she suffered four miscarriages and adopted four foster children. She is also a cancer survivor. Cynt’s accomplishments in the face of adversity are almost as admirable as Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, and Dr. Ben Carson. However, she gave in to the siren song of DIE in 2015 when she accepted the post of Chief Diversity Officer at AT&T. Many elites like her transition from a business value-producing role to an administrative value-destructive role. I have no doubt Cynt overcame many obstacles rising through the ranks in corporate America during the period that she did. Unfortunately, DIE tarnishes meritocracy in all forms. A sparkling career must now called into question. Not only are high performing candidates rejected and employees passed over for promotions, but those who do make it up the corporate ladder lose credibility. This is why DIE is so pernicious and must DIE. Cynt has leaned into DIE identarianism and has set to work purging non-diverse executives. Where all the lawsuits? Is she just another intersectionality shield DIE commissar like the Democrat KKK (Kamala/Karine/Katanji)? Community Notes also dunked on Cuban: Spicy commentary on the North Korea style propaganda of the Dallas Mavericks press release and CNBC article celebrating Cynt’s appointment: The Dallas Mavericks recorded a slam dunk today when they hired Cynthia “Cynt” Marshall to become the franchise’s new interim chief executive officer. Marshall is the founder of Marshalling Resources, a consulting firm that specializes in leadership, diversity and inclusion, culture transformation and overall optimization of people resources. Before that, she retired from AT&T last May where she served as, among other jobs, the senior vice president-human resources and chief diversity officer. Opening with the cringiest pun of all time. Cynt had no previous experience in sports. She cashed out of AT&T HR to run a DIE grift consulting firm. No one with this resume has ever run an NBA team before, while there were hundreds of more qualified executives who Cuban did not tap for the role. At AT&T, Marshall was responsible for identifying and developing leaders, aligning employees with the company’s vision and priorities, overseeing major business unit human resource support, performance development, employee engagement, skills transformation, EEP and affirmative action. Affirmative action is illegal and immoral. Marshall joins the Mavs at a time when this job wasn’t even on her radar. “In my wildest dreams – and I have had some pretty big dreams and some wild dreams in my life — I never saw this coming,” Marshall said at a press conference today at American Airlines Center. “While I grew up playing sports supporting my three children in their sports endeavors and can often be down cheering for my favorite sports teams, all of that is very different from receiving a call from the proprietor of an NBA team with a passionate – and I can’t express that enough – with a passionate and heartfelt invitation to contribute to sports and the community in a very unique way.” Never saw this coming? Methinks the lady doth protest too much. Why has she locked her Tweets? Why do commissars always wear bright color-coordinated outfits like The Hunger Games? “I honestly didn’t know who Mark Cuban was,” Marshall told the Dallas Observer in 2018. “But my husband and kids were like, ‘Ma, you have to call him back now!’” By 2018, Cuban, who purchased a majority stake in the Mavericks in 2000, was in crisis mode after an investigation revealed 20 years of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct issues within the Mavericks organization. He was on the hunt for a “strong leader,” according to Marshall, to help him turnaround the company and was given her name by an associate. According to Marshall, Cuban wasn’t necessarily looking for a woman or a person of color. “He didn’t care. I often say, ‘Mark was not trying to make history. He was trying to make a difference for his employees,’” Marshall says. Cuban tells Make It he hired Marshall “because she is amazing, forceful, dynamic, nurturing.” A black businesswoman whose kids played sports honestly didn’t know who Mark Cuban was in 2018? He didn’t care about her gender or race? Shameless mutual bootlicking, playing dumb, and most likely lying. Anchorman | Ron burgundy, Anchorman, Will ferrell Marshall drove to meet Cuban at the Mavericks’ Dallas headquarters and says that as she was leaving, two female employees approached her and told her they needed her help. “For me, that was it. I was going home to pray about it, but that was my sign right there,” Marshall told the Observer. Marshall started as the first African-American female to ever lead an NBA basketball team in February of 2018. She says she wanted to take the job “for the sisterhood.” Since taking the helm, Marshall has been focused on hiring a diverse executive team. There were no women or people of color on the Mavericks’ leadership team when Marshall started. Today, 50% are women and 47% are people of color, according to a Mavericks spokesperson. A fake weepy parking lot story turned into a hostile longhouse takeover. The old boys’ club has become the woke sisterhood club, but with the same exclusionary rules under the Orwellian doublespeak of inclusivity. Instead of aggressive misbehavior, we now have passive-aggressive struggle sessions. What does Chief DIE Officer Gail O’Bannon do that Cynt does not already cover? She also brought her authentic leadership style to the Mavericks. When she started there, the first thing she did was hold one-on-ones with employees. She wanted to learn about their lives, from childhood to adulthood, not just about their career aspirations. “I [just] had a one-on-one with one of the vice presidents last night for two hours and probably an hour and a half of that was just personal talk,” Marshall tells Make It on Jan. 30. These days, Marshall says she tries to think of “the person first and the employee second” when making important decisions at the company. As for the naysayers, who still exist, “I usually take the haters head-on. Sometimes, I ignore them,” Marshall says. In particular, there was one high-level executive who Marshall says predicted that she wouldn’t last 90 days as CEO. In that case, Marshall called the executive into her office and confronted him. “If something is directly impacting my workplace and others then I have to nip it,” she says. I pity the fool who tries to take on the DIE longhouse. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. If Cynt didn’t take the job, thousands of others would have. DIE jobs are similar to mascots. It doesn’t matter who is inside the costume, all they have to do is hand wave and chant the same woke copypasta. "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." My goal is to continue to promote teamwork, Diversity and Inclusion, employee engagement, GPTW nine high trust behaviors, workforce transformation and the value of effective public private partnerships and good public policy. Leadership matters! Character matters! Every voice matters! People matter! Word salad matters! The two executives whose scandalous behavior instigated the need to hire Cynt were both black men, so Cuban had to boost the intersectionality score and hire a black woman. Back when it still conducted real journalism, Sports Illustrated conducted an investigation that found former Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery and Chief Beat Writer Earl Sneed were responsible for a toxic locker room culture. Cuban claims he didn’t know about any of it until SI broke the story, after which he was forced to fire them. In lieu of a formal punishment, he donated $10 million to organizations that promote women in leadership roles and that develop policies to combat domestic violence. SI is now bankrupt, but a full accounting of crimes committed by NBA/NFL players and executives would fill an encyclopedia. 13 accusers documented repeated sexual harassment claims by Ussery over the 15 he worked for Cuban. None were officially filed with HR out of fear. One recalled: Ussery claimed that he knew what she was going to do over the coming weekend. When the woman asked, confusedly, what Ussery meant, he smiled. “You’re going to get gang-banged,” he asserted, “aren’t you?” “No,” the woman responded, caught off-guard. “Actually, I’m going to the movies with friends.” “No,” Ussery insisted. “You’re definitely getting gang-banged.” Another wrote: “Terdema sits next to me in the two chairs in front of his desk and as he is talking to me, he puts his hand on my left thigh, about halfway up the thigh.” Who Is Terdema Ussery?: The Man At The Center Of The Mavericks Scandal ... Sneed was charged with domestic violence assault, but kept his job for years after. The police report of the charge: Sneed “sat on top of her and slapped her on the face and chest.” At one point he told the woman, “I’m going to f------ kick your ass. Today is gonna be the worst day of your life.” Sneed fled before the reporting officer arrived. The woman suffered a fractured right wrist and bruises on her arms and chest in the altercation. Dallas Mavericks | Houston Rockets | Earl K. Sneed | Valencia King (Re ... Current Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was hired in 2021 during Cynt’s stunning and brave reign. Like Sneed, he was also once arrested for domestic abuse. In a counterclaim for divorce, his ex-wife Joumana claimed “countless instances of abuse that broke her rib and damaged her hearing by smashing her head into the console of a car.” Kidd is a company man who won a ring with the Mavericks in 2011 and also counts as diverse. No “journalist” has dared to ask Cuban and Marshall about this flagrant contradiction to the Mavericks’ DIE values. The most ironic part is that the two top Mavericks players under Cuban’s ownership are white: Luka Doncic and Dirk Nowitzki. They are two of the best players in Mavericks history and two of the best white players in NBA history. A portion of the all tickets and jerseys they sell goes toward Cuban and Marshall’s virtue signaling. Mavericks' Jason Kidd said Luka Doncic is 'better' than Dirk Nowitzki ... Mark Cuban is the world’s dumbest billionaire. He made $1 billion selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999 at the peak of a bubble. Yahoo shut down the service 3 years later and it is regarded as one of the worst acquisitions in history. Using that windfall, he bought the Mavericks in 2000 as the ultimate vanity toy and won the NBA Championship in 2011. He joined the cast of Shark Tank that same year, which made him a household name and insufferable. He flirted with running for president in 2016 due to his TDS, though everyone knows he’s a douche and a court eunuch for Emperor Xi like the rest of the NBA. The only way to end this farce is to stop giving money to sportsball, but Americans remain loyal to one of their modern religions. Cuban did not defend Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey and Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter Freedom when the league pushed them out for criticizing China. The NBA BENDS THE KNEE to China again to please the CCP while putting ... The NBA told Enes Freedom to REMOVE shoes CRITICIZING China and he was ... Daryl Morey OUT as Houston Rockets GM | Did China get Daryl Morey FIRED ... It always takes two to tango. Cynt could have stayed retired, but she cynically signed up as his DIE virtue signaling intersectionality shield. Despite the fame and money, Cuban is jealous of Elon. Why? Because Elon not only has even more fame and money, but also has the balls to use is f*** you money to say f*** you. That is priceless. Cuban was the cool billionaire 20 years ago before Elon stole his thunder. Now Cubes is trying to flex his clout on X, but failing in the most entertaining way possible. He only has sycophants surrounding him - no friends to check him before he wrecks himself as a clown for the world to see. Take the L, Mark. Image Image PS: Member when Apple’s DIE Chief was fired for saying that a dozen white men could be considered diverse because they have different life experiences and perspectives? I member! PPS: While I have your attention Mark, will you invest in The Current Thing Company? It’s fully DIE/ESG compliant and right up your alley. Here’s my stunning and brave Shark Tank pitch: How To Launch The Current Thing Company on Shark Tank OCTOBER 10, 2023 How To Launch The Current Thing Company on Shark Tank Comrades: I have launched a new startup - The Current Thing Company! My pitch to Shark Tank is below. All new paid subscriptions will go towards building this company and put you at the front of the waitlist. ...