Caution: Long Post
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is without doubt and still is to this day one of the most influential, powerful, and iconic figures in American history due to his steadfast and nonviolent commitment in the fight for Civil Rights, Equality, and Justice during Jim Crow Segregation in the United States. The highlight of his career as an activist came in 1963 in which he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in which he envisioned a nation in which his children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to be passed. Even after his assassination in 1968, his legacy inspired many similar Civil Rights Movements around the world.
Today, Martin Luther King, Jr. is hailed by both sides of the American political sphere as a beacon of hope on how to fight for justice and equality for all during turbulent times. But it's the Conservatives who constantly claim that they truly support him and follow his dream, especially in modern times and they've expressed it in a rather whitewashed and partisan fashion. The most obvious being their use of his "I Have a Dream" speech by quoting the one line that has often been cherry-picked and misinterpreted quite a lot in which they judge people not by skin but by their character. The main reason they do this is to give them the appearance that they are colorblind as their way of opposing racism. And in doing so, they consistently criticize Liberals of trying to divide the country into special interest groups and promote favoritism. As a result, they always claim that Dr. King is a Republican, let alone would've been one in this era given his views, along with the fact that he was a Christian. His niece, Alveda King even emphasized it herself.
Some of the ways that Conservatives try to supposedly live up to Dr. King's "colorblind" dream is by opposing supposed "Wokeness", Critical Race Theory, and the practice of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion everywhere. They also express it by opposing Affirmative Action and the use of racial quotas when it comes to applying for schools, universities, and jobs because they believe it causes Reverse Discrimination. In terms of nonviolence, Conservatives express their disapproval of the Black Lives Matter movement. On the basis of Christianity, Conservatives believe that Dr. King supported a fixed moral code as indicated in his Letters from Birmingham Jail since he led with love and not racial hatred by changing the lives of people and not the laws itself, along with the notion of self-sufficiency. Seeing all this, it seems like Conservatives are really desperate to prove how much America has progressed in this post-racial world in order to debunk accusations that it isn't a racist country and that's why they always prop up Dr. King by claiming that they follow his dream and will continue to do so. Well.....up until now.
During this year's Martin Luther King Day, a string of prominent Conservative activists and organizations suddenly turned on him. Starting off with Charlie Kirk of the youth Conservative movement Turning Point USA, who launched a blistering anti-MLK campaign in which he supposedly dispelled the alleged myths surrounding his popularity. He accused Dr. King of being a "bad person" and that his "sainthood will cause Black voters to realize it's being used against them to suppress the individual." He even went further by stating that "we made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s" accusing it as "a way to get rid of the First Amendment". A while ago, the organization marketed the Conservative image of Dr. King when they sold $55 T-Shirts with his name as well as stickers of him with the words "Let Freedom Ring". Kirk was later joined by the Daily Wire's Matt Walsh who accused him of being a "communist". In fact, he railed against Dr. King a few years ago by accusing him of being a Womanizer, Adulterer, Plagiarizer, etc. Coming after Walsh was Human Events editor, conspiracy theorist, and fellow Turning Point USA alumna Jack Posobiec, who labeled Dr. King "a God of the Left" and stating that "the real legacy of the 1960s was enshrining Racial Discrimination and Race Consciousness into the Federal Bureaucracy." And finally, a popular Conservative Twitter account called "EndWokeness" called Dr. King "a Racial Marxist" because he "did not support a Colorblind Meritocracy" after it cited his quote on Wealth Distribution. What's even worse is that even non-White Conservatives hate him. Two examples include a commentator named Vince Everett Ellison and former football player and sports columnist, Jason Whitlock. The latest editions to the lineup of Black Guilt Conservatives, they railed against Dr. King and the passing of the Civil Rights by stating that they worsened the Black community by drifting them away from God into "Democratic Dependency". They even accused him of the same crimes as Walsh did.
With the sudden change in tone and emphasis from the Right against Dr. King, you have to ask yourself why they're doing this and what caused them to believe this way. And this is not an extremist fringe of the Right that some would expect to hear from. All of these are Mainstream Right-Wing Figures who have direct lineage to the GOP, including the current presidential nominee, Donald Trump. That's as Establishment you can get. Their remarks have been criticized by a lot of people from both sides and surprisingly by some Black Conservatives. One of them was Pastor Darrell Scott, a former faith advisor of Trump, who these days, is one of a few Black Conservatives who has been calling out other Black Conservatives for tearing down their own race in order to elevate their status among others, a very notorious habit of them. He criticized Kirk for inspiring a Hitler Youth. Another was Kimberly Klacik, who in 2020, gained viral for her campaign video stating that Black Lives don't matter to Democrats when she was running for Maryland's 7th Congressional District following the death of civil rights leader, Elijah Cummings, who was the incumbent. She criticized Kirk for his remarks stating that his rhetoric will prevent Blacks from voting Republican. Even with that said, there have been instances in which Conservatives themselves have questioned the Civil Rights Act and many of them have been pretty negative. If you check out other Conservative websites and especially here on Reddit, many of their criticisms echo the same sentiments as those Pundits stating that it was unconstitutional and that in infringed on the First Amendment, particularly the Notion of Freedom of Association.
That being said, there is some silver lining to this. Now, that they exposed themselves for what they really of think Dr. King, I think it's time for them to admit that they never really liked him in the first place, let alone understood who he really was and what he really stood for. In fact, they never really liked him at all. All they did was whitewash him and cherry-pick his ideas and speech for own Partisan Agenda. Dr. King constantly talked about the notion of Black Pride and campaigned about the need for Reparations. He also supported Affirmative Action stating in 1965 that "a Society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for the Negro. Dr. King realized that our society was created in a way that managed to disadvantage the many for the benefit the few, and that America's Racial Hierarchy was connected to its Class Hierarchy. He also had political beliefs that manifested through both Racial Reconciliation and Concrete Policy Changes that could help restructure and benefit a divided and unequal nation. This is the reason why he referred to himself as a Democratic Socialist as he wanted a "Radical Redistribution of Economic and Political Power". In fact, he argued that true Equality can only be achieved, not just through legal rights, but through an equal distribution of resources. This is evident when he said “Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God’s children.” This is the exact vision that Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders believed in. After all, he did participate in the March on Washington in 1963. In regards to Police Brutality, while Dr. King opposed violent protest, he did acknowledge that a riot is the language of the Unheard and that it came from a place of Desperation. In fact, in his "I Have a Dream" Speech, he stated that Blacks could "never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the Victim of the Unspeakable Horrors of Police Brutality." After all, he was hounded by the FBI, was called a Communist, broke the law in protest of race-based Segregation and Violence, was thrown in jail, advocated Protests and Sit-Ins, opposed White Rule of Society, and was assassinated for his Race and his views on Race. Regarding the quote about the Content of Character from said speech, Dr. King's daughter, Bernice King stated that using solely that quote diminishes the purpose of the entire speech because her father's dream and work included "eradicating Racism, not ignoring it."
If anything, this goes to show that is Dr. King were around today, he would be heavily criticized for being Woke, politically correct, a Communist, a Race Hustler, and a member of the Radical Left. And we all know that the Right hates those ideologies passionately. But here's the thing, he never considered himself a Democrat, let alone a Republican. He was an Independent as he felt that both parties are the same. And reducing his legacy to a single quote diminishes the gains that he fought for and believed in. This especially goes to a lot of Conservatives out there who claim to follow his lead using that quote because they interpret them in a way that benefits them today than how he meant them back then. For you to claim that he didn't care about Skin Color is like saying Susan B. Anthony didn't care about Gender. And to those Conservatives who now hate him, including Black, I hope you're OK with people getting treated unfairly, including your own. Who knew being seen as an Equal is a Negative in your eyes.

The novel begins September 3, 2006, a Sunday. In "physical time," our reality, Andre Agassi played and lost his final match of his career. Steve Irwin, the croc hunter, would die the following day from a stingray's three barbed venomous spinal blades puncturing his heart. Senator Barak Obama was still denying he was intending to run for President (he would announce in February 2007.) The number 1 song in America and the UK is Sexyback by Justin Timberlake. Egypt warned of Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis vacationing in Sinai. Charlie Sheen turned 41. 200 Taliban are killed in a major battle in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Iraqi leaders announce the capture of the #2 leader of Al Qaeda. Europe's space agency purposely crash-lands a lunar probe into the moon.
In short, nothing, on balance seems to have happened in the world that has any particular world-historical or even US-historical import. Just a day. Even searching back 4 extra days from September 3 - since we are told that the man viewing the art installation is now on his fifth straight day in the museum - nothing all that *important* seems to have happened on any of those dates, the way saying a novel is starting on June 6, 1944, or (obviously) September 10, 2001, or July 16, 1945 or November 22, 1962 would be of course trying to tell us something.
Q: why is Delillo's purpose (is there one?) for telling us this specific date? Why is it important that the man is there on September 3, 2006 watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a31q2ZQcETw over and over.
Q: who is the man? Delillo himself? Just a random unnamed character? Is it definitely Finley and Elster who are the two men who come into the room? The description of the older man "long white hair braided at the nape" [p.7, Scribner] certainly seems to suggest it is Elster, described in Ch. 1 as a man "with silvery hair, as always, was braided down into a short ponytail." If it is definitely them, what does it mean they attended a museum show together? Anything?
This is not the first Delillo novel to open with a scene where a movie, and anonymous characters' responses to watching it, is central to the narrative - Players opens with a movie being shown on a plane that is basically a silent movie of a terrorist machine-gun attack on waspy golfers, only accompanied by a pianist (yes a pianist) in the airplane bar filling in the suspense with improvised show tunes - and it is not the first to open with an examination of an art installation - Underworld, after the fantastic baseball game section - opens at Klara Sax's airplane bomber art installation commune. But this opening seems to introduce two characters obliquely, and of course only if you've paid close attention to the description of Elster's hair could you think back to it being him, perhaps.
"The nature of the film permitted total concentration and also depended on it." "The less there was to see, the harder he looked, the more he saw." [p.5, Scribner]
Q:Who is this person watching and why should we care?
Q: Did the opening sequence provide you any insight other than , perhaps, confusion? Something other than "what the hell did I just read?" What? Does your reaction to the opening sequence change when you know (if you did before this post) that the Psycho installation was and is real?
Moving on to Chapter 1 [p. 17, Scribner], we learn that we are on Day 10 of a 12-day period of time that relates the initial relationship between Elster and Finley. Finley, who is probably in his early to mid-30s and 73-year-old Elster are spending time at Elster's house in the desert to record a one-take movie of Elster's testimony of what it was like to serve in an administration that went to war under less than honest circumstances.
Our narrator is Jim Finley, a documentary filmmaker who has made exactly one film about Jerry Lewis's telethon appearances - Lewis, a "rampaging comic" to whom Elster would merely be a "straight man." [p.27] Elster, who Finley also describes as "not a man who might make space for even the gentlest correction," [p.22] is a non-political theorist being brought in to an administration to provide narrative to their war. I've seen references to him being based on Paul Wolfowitz, the political scientists who became Deputy SecDef in the Bush II Administration who famously nearly swallowed his comb to wet it to comb his hair in an image that likely sealed his fate in D.C. as unserious and ridiculous who was then shuffled off to the World Bank, but would Delillo ape the man AND mention him in the narrative? If so, that seems clumsy.
Q: Do you even take Elster serious as a character or believable as a "brain" behind the narrative of an administration going to war? A man who speaks in bad koans and aphorisms like "Time becomes blind." [p.23] and who reads Louis Zukovsky into the night? (Zukovsky famously worked on an epic poem called "A" for over almost 50 years, finally finishing it a few years before his death in 1978.)
Finley tells us: "To Elster, sunset was human invention, our perceptual arrangement of light and space into elements of wonder." [p.18, Scribner]. Elster has come to the desert to seek - something - we know not what and are not told definitively - but his narrative of what his role was in Washington was to create a interpretation of the "closed world" for the "plotters, the strategists" [p. 28] and ends up delivering to Finley what I think Finley was after - the cynical idea that Elster was giving form and shape to the government's bullshit narrative - "The state has to lie. There is no lie in war or in preparation for war that can't be defended. We went beyond this. We tried to create new realities overnight, careful sets of words that resemble advertising slogans in memorability and repeatability."
Q: Is Elster ultimately right? Did the country have a "shadowy need" [p.34] for such a narrative? See, for instance: "Let's roll." [probably in reality, "Let's roll it" referring to a beverage cart to break into the cockpit.]
"Shock and awe." "Global War on Terror" "Slam dunk" "WMDs" "The Surge" And perhaps most infamously "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques"
At the ends of the chapter, we get what counts as a cliffhanger in this slim novel: Elster's adult daughter would be coming for a visit, Jessie who was "otherworldly" [p. 36].

Take this feedback with a grain of salt, I'm in the level 70's and usually play on 5-7 (with occasional forays into 8/9 when the team is willing). I consider 7 to be casual difficult (sometimes things go to hell, but usually have smooth runs, while Impossible/Helldive is usually full chaotic).
The game is amazing and based on past history, I think Pilestedt will keep the ship righted regardless of the doom n gloom on Reddit.
This is focused on a few things for the TLDR'ers:

• Sound Problems
• Use Lore/Storytelling for Weapon Balancing
• Lean into Themes for the Warbonds
• Crew Served Weapons
• Environmental (Firenados)
• Booster Balancing

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I love this game, reddit gives it such a negative light though recently.
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Sound Problems
Please do something about silent bots and bugs that weigh 2 tons sneaking up on you silently. Stalkers and Hunters, I can understand. If you make a cloaking bot, I can understand that too. Hulks and Devastators should not be absolutely silent.
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Weapon Balancing into the Storytelling
Please keep all this in the Story. Doesn't matter whether its Sony, new content or Balancing. Go all in on the storytelling. Eruptor, crossbow,
Example: Purifier isn't great. Create the story:

It was found that the supplier responsible for fabricating the PLAS-101 Purifier Hyperchordium Charging Module was infiltrated by Automaton sympathizers several months ago contaminating the supply line for replacement parts. As the weapon has been in use in larger quantities and questionable replacement parts are now more common, the Purifier is under performing in the eyes of the front line and brass. The only other supplier for these parts is located in the foundries on Menkent, currently occupied by the Automaton menace. Liberate the planet and restore the supply line.

If something is over performing like the Quasar, then integrate it into Lore in the same way.

The Overabundium veins and stockpiles built into the LAS-99 Quasar's crystal focusing matrix have run out. Fortunately, R&D has managed to create an artificial crystal but its ability to focus and disperse heat between shots is greatly degraded.

Then you could have planets where Overabundium deposits are found (Ore Survey missions for example) and any missions on that planet will have faster cooldown times.

An Overabundium vein has been located on Fenrir II. While not enough to replace the current sythetic crystal matrix in the LAS-99 Quasar, it has been decided that Fenrir II will receive priority utilization of this natural resource for its campaign.

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Lean into Themes for the Warbonds
Keep going with the themed warbonds like Cutting Edge. Polar Patriots missed it for a few reasons.

• The incendiary impact grenade could have used the ice floweplant effect to freeze enemies for x time in a narrow sphere making it a viable alternative to the stun grenade.
• Purifier charging could slow enemies down (with longer slowdown on higher charge). Then it wouldn't need all these damage discussion as it would be a support weapon (a more invested version of the Pummeler PDW).
• Tenderizer could have several burst modes 2, 4, 6 rounds with minimal recoil on the burst. (Change magazine size to 36). This would give it a better purpose than standard Liberator for ammo conservation/dps selection. Bugs, I might want the 2 round burst. Bots I might want the 4 or 6 round burst.

The formula is already good for warbonds:

• 3 Armors with new passive
• 3 Cosmetic Helmets
• 3 Super Credits
• 3 Capes
• 3 Banner Cards
• 3 Victory Poses/Emotes
• 3 Primaries
• 1 New Booster
• 1 Secondary
• 1 Grenade

Each year have the October warbond be special for Liberty day (5 pages instead of 3).
Crew Served Weapons
Please allow anyone to service as weapon crew from that weapon person's backpack. (They can pull from their own pack first if they have the same weapon pack.)
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Environmental (Firenados)
Please tweak the frequency of Firenados or lower the duration they swarm on the map. Getting 4-5 storms a mission and it takes 2+ minutes for them (and their lingering flames) to finally dissipate means that a good portion of the mission is spent avoiding these terrors. If they came down, moved around for 30s and went away with the current frequency, it wouldn't be as bad.
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Booster Balancing
Most of the boosters are ok but there's two (good and bad) that could use a little tweaking/reworking.
Hellpod Space Optimization
This has become an essential item that nearly every squad has to take. Change it to a resupply buff that gives an extra 2 resupply (6) from a resupply stratagem instead of 4. (Take out the pedestal and some spaces between the resupply boxes and looks like you could fit an extra 1 on each side.)
Put the original benefit in the armor:

• Med-Kit armor (+2 starting/max stims).
• Engineering armor (+2 starting/max grenades), you start with 4 stims/grenades instead of 2.
• Rifleman (new) armor that gives +2 starting/max primary/secondary magazines (or 20% more ammo for single reload weapons like SenatoPunisher).

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Super Destroyer Bridge Upgrade > Hellpod Supply Optimization
For the original 'max ammo/nades/stims' of the Hellpod Space Optimization, make that the next upgrade in Bridge Super Destroyer show a welding guy soldering a supply box to the hellpod. You can pick up the resupply manually when you land. (aka All your reinforces come with a supply box.)
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Flexible Reinforcement Budget
Allow this to regenerate Reinforcements overtime during the entire mission. 1 reinforcement every 8 minutes (you can regenerate even if you're not at 0 reinforcements) and keep the -10% reinforcement time if you reach 0. This keeps it useful throughout the mission rather than when everything is already almost lost.

New York, NY – May 13, 2024 – Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to Donald Trump, took the stand today in the ongoing hush money trial that has gripped the nation. Cohen's testimony provided a detailed account of his role in the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, allegedly to silence their claims of affairs with Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The Testimony

Cohen, who has already served time in federal prison for campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and lying to Congress, was a central figure in orchestrating the payments. Today, he offered a behind-the-scenes look at the transactions and the directives he claims came from Trump himself.
"In 2016, Mr. Trump directed me to make these payments," Cohen stated under oath. "He was deeply concerned about the impact these stories would have on the election."
Cohen described a frantic atmosphere in the campaign's final weeks, with Trump allegedly fixated on preventing any negative press. He recounted meetings where he, Trump, and other campaign officials discussed how to handle the situation, emphasizing the need to keep the allegations from reaching the public.

Legal Implications

Cohen's testimony is pivotal for the prosecution, which argues that the payments constituted illegal campaign contributions, designed to influence the outcome of the election. If the court accepts this argument, it could have significant ramifications for Trump and his political future.
The defense, however, has painted a different picture. Trump's lawyers argue that the payments were personal expenses, not campaign-related. They have questioned Cohen's credibility, highlighting his previous convictions and accusing him of seeking revenge against Trump.

The Broader Context

This trial is one of several legal battles Trump is currently facing. As the 2024 presidential race heats up, the outcomes of these cases could influence his chances of securing the Republican nomination and, potentially, a return to the White House.
Political analysts suggest that the trial's outcome could have far-reaching effects. "If Trump is found guilty, it could undermine his support base," said Dr. Emily Anderson, a political science professor at Columbia University. "However, his core supporters have remained steadfast through previous controversies, so it's difficult to predict the full impact."

Public Reaction

The trial has captured public attention, with many Americans closely following the proceedings. Outside the courthouse, supporters and detractors of Trump gathered, holding signs and chanting slogans.
"I'm here to support President Trump," said Maria Gonzalez, a longtime Trump supporter. "This trial is just another witch hunt."
Conversely, Jake Thompson, a New York resident, expressed frustration. "It's about time Trump faces consequences for his actions," he said. "No one should be above the law."

What's Next?

The trial is expected to continue for several more weeks, with key witnesses yet to testify. Legal experts suggest that Cohen's testimony, combined with financial records and communications, will play a crucial role in the jury's decision.
For now, the nation watches and waits, as the trial unfolds and the potential implications for American politics become clearer.

https://nymag.com/intelligencearticle/jamaal-bowman-george-latimer-primary-israel.html
The Most Endangered Democrat in America Jamaal Bowman might lose his job over Israel.
By Ross Barkan
Jamaal Bowman, the two-term congressman from Westchester County and the would-be future of the progressive left, is tired of the questions about George Latimer. "Yeah, I mean, I think it says something about his character, his integrity, and his actual leadership for the district. But enough of him. When are we going to talk about me?"
We're at Salsa Picante, a Mexican restaurant in Port Chester, the heavily Latino village on the eastern reaches of the 16th congressional district. It's late April, and Bowman, munching on chicken empanadas, is in a cheery mood, despite my prodding on Latimer. The night before, Summer Lee, a fellow progressive in Congress, had survived a furious primary challenge, and Bowman senses a pattern. "Salut!" he calls out. "I'm excited, hopefully, for the whole progressive movement to zero in on NY-16. Let's get to work."
The work is daunting. Bowman, less than two months from the June 25 primary, is one of the most endangered Democratic incumbents in America. This is in spite of — or because of — his charisma and budding celebrity, his ability to slash through the noise of 435 House members and command attention on a scale only one or two levels removed from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. A former public-school principal and self-described hip-hop head, Bowman marries her online savvy with a deft working-class touch. Burly and boisterous, with a knack for whipping up crowds, it is not hard to imagine him as a future presidential candidate, storming through South Carolina with a pack of reporters hanging on his every word.
But first he needs to win. And Latimer, the sitting Westchester County executive, has outraised him in the primary, thanks in part to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) — the conservative, ardently pro-Israel political powerhouse that is seeking to crush the pro-Palestinian movement and the left itself. "They do not want any critique, they do not want any accountability, and so what it looks like to people in my district and around the country is that Israel can do whatever it wants even though, to people on the outside looking in, it looks completely wrong and horrible," Bowman says of AIPAC. "One, it doesn't represent all the Jews. It doesn't represent all the Jews in Israel!"
"If Israel represents all the Jews," Bowman continues, revving up now, "and if Israel is doing bad things without accountability, some idiot in the street just makes the connection that, Oh, Jews must be bad because Israel is bad. That's fucking — excuse my language — that's effing scary, man, and dangerous. And as we fight antisemitism, that has to include accountability for Israel."
There was a time, not very long ago, when no member of Congress would speak this way. The Israeli government's response that has starved out Gaza and killed thousands of civilians has catalyzed a new era though. Mass protests have flooded the streets and rocked college campuses, including two, Columbia and City College, that are only a short drive from Westchester. Bowman has been an AIPAC target for his support of conditioning military aid to Israel and his willingness to label the military campaign in Gaza a "genocide," among other criticism lodged at the Jewish state. "AIPAC is one of the most powerful lobbies in America. Well you know what we have got to say to AIPAC? Bring it on," he said at his campaign kickoff earlier this year. "AIPAC, bring it on. We are not scared of none of that. I'm from the streets of New York."
In this deeply polarized moment, with Israel hawks reasserting themselves and the pro-Palestinian movement booming, few primaries in America offer a starker contrast between two candidates.
In one corner is Bowman, 48, the first Black congressman from Westchester who, just four years ago, unseated one of the staunchest Israel defenders in Congress, Eliot Engel. He immediately joined Ocaso-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib as one of the nation's leading progressives. Latimer, meanwhile, is a 70-year-old county executive, ex-state senator, ex-assemblyman, and ex-Rye councilman. (He also had a career, as he likes to remind voters, in marketing and sales.) After October 7, AIPAC asked Latimer to run against Bowman. "I was a reluctant bride," he told me in May, less than 24 hours after the NYPD had raided Columbia's campus to arrest the protesters who had occupied Hamilton Hall.
I met Latimer at the Mount Vernon Metro North station, where he dutifully passed out palm cards ("Good morning, I'm George Latimer, I'm on the ballot") to the few dreary commuters who ambled through. A couple lit up when they recognized him and one man, who was white, seemed to lament "identity politics" while promising his vote to Latimer. And it's easy to make this race, as much as it's become about Israel, about race: Latimer is the white ethnic, Irish and Italian, trying to depose a congressman who told me racism is the number-one issue facing the district and that he views himself, as the first Black man to hold this congressional seat, as a role model to Black youth throughout the area.
The district, which also ropes in a sliver of the northern Bronx including the sprawling and Bowman-friendly Co-op City, is both diverse and plenty segregated, with towns of immense wealth like Scarsdale lying within half-hour drives from working-class Yonkers. It's about 40 percent white, 29 percent Hispanic, and 21 percent Black. Bowman's trouble is that the white, well-heeled vote has soured on him, and Jews are expected to flock to Latimer. Jerry Skurnik, a Democratic consultant and data analyst, estimates that as much as 15 percent of the Democratic electorate who turn out in the primary might be Jewish. A conservative group, Westchester Unites, undertook an effort to register Jewish Republicans as Democrats to impact the primary, in an implicit effort to boost Latimer and undercut Bowman.
Both campaigns agree that Israel alone is not what motivates voters in Westchester and the Bronx, who are mostly consumed with the cost of living. Bowman, as a national figure, may be vulnerable to the very attacks that he once leveled against Engel: He's too high-flown to care adequately about quotidian Westchester concerns. "He has a different brand of politics which appeals more so to getting clicks and likes and retweets and making headlines versus someone who has delivered," said Tyrae Woodson-Samuels, the majority leader of the Westchester County Board of Legislators and a Latimer supporter.
Latimer is the rare insurgent who also profiles as an incumbent and can theoretically neutralize some of the attacks he's taking from the left. If, on Israel, Latimer has held to the rightward fringe of his own party — he refused, in his conversation with me, to support Chuck Schumer's call for Netanyahu to step aside — he is, on almost every other issue, a conventional, center-left Democrat. Until challenging Bowman, he regularly took the Working Families Party ballot line and earned plaudits from progressives for ousting Rob Astorino, his right-wing Republican predecessor as county executive.
"There are lots of people who really like both candidates," says Evan Roth Smith, a Democratic pollster. "For many voters, the most loyal Democratic voters who do turn out in these kinds of primaries, it's sort of like picking between mom and dad."
Latimer, in that sense, was the dream recruit for AIPAC and Democratic Majority for Israel, another influential PAC that is spending heavily in Democratic primaries to bludgeon progressives. His knowledge of the district is encyclopedic and he shows up at every town board meeting, chicken dinner, and parade imaginable; he tells me he's at train stations five days a week and bagel shops on weekends. He has the ability to cut into Bowman's Black support, with endorsements from the Democratic committees in Yonkers and Mount Vernon. Bowman has won the backing of the influential health-care workers' union 1199 SEIU, but Latimer has racked up his own support from civil-service, transit, and firefighters' unions. In his Facebook musings on classic rock and the Knicks, he comes off as earnest and homespun, a Mr. Fix-It paterfamilias.
The cash, though, is anything but homespun. Latimer, never a prolific fundraiser before, banked $3 million at the end of March, double Bowman's haul, and there are top donors who are either AIPAC-affiliated or cut checks to Donald Trump, including Alex Campos, Alex Dubitsky, and Stephen and Carolyn Lauro, who once hosted a Long Island fundraiser for Trump. Another donor is Daniel Loeb, the hedge-fund billionaire who accused Latimer's old ally, the Black State Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, of doing "more damage to people of color than anyone who has ever donned a hood" because she wasn't a supporter of charter schools, is another donor.
"You're the reason why these guys are donating to me — because of what you said and done," Latimer says of Bowman at the New Rochelle Diner after finishing at the Mount Vernon train stop. "I'm not even soliciting them. I have an event, they send checks. It's not going to change what I do in Congress, Ross, I'm going to be a very progressive congressman on most policy issues."
"It's deeply disturbing that the Latimer campaign is being financed by many of the same people trying to elect Trump," says Jasmine Gripper, the co-director of the Working Families Party's New York chapter. "He's accepting financing from people actively working against the Democratic Party."
The real threat for Bowman is the super-PAC spending. AIPAC and DMFI together can blow past $20 million, if they choose, in attack ads and mail. (AIPAC did not respond to a request for comment.) And he offers them enough fodder, like a House censure for pulling a false fire alarm when Democrats were trying to stall a vote, which Bowman told me was an accident and Latimer believes was intentional. Blog posts Bowman wrote more than a decade ago appeared to give credence to 9/11 conspiracy theories and last week his YouTube page following conspiracy accounts became news. More recently, he was forced to apologize after lavishing praise on Norman Finkelstein, the acerbic anti-Israel scholar, at a panel discussion.
"Bowman has been one of the most anti-Israel members of the entire United States Congress," charges Mark Mellman, the president of DMFI. "If he is defeated, it will send a strong message to the rest of the country." Justice Democrats, the group that helped launch politicians like Bowman into orbit and is fighting desperately now to save him, would not disagree with that last part. "It's absolutely a threat to the progressive movement and I think we have to be clear-eyed about what's at stake here," Usamah Andrabi, the group's communications director, tells me. "The same people spending millions to try to elect Donald Trump and prevent Hakeem Jeffries from being speaker of the House are also spending millions to try to send George Latimer to Congress."
Latimer, who once falsely accused Bowman of taking money "from Hamas," argues the AIPAC cash has only arrived because he was already, long before the primary, genuinely pro-Israel. He also believes Bowman invited their wrath. "If Mike Tyson was in the room and I decided to go over to Mike Tyson and say, 'Hey Mike Tyson, bring it on, yo,' what do I think Mike Tyson might do to me? Whatever I used to be, I wouldn't be the same person after he finished with me."
Latimer has a fondness for analogies. He's sitting with me and his campaign spokeswoman, and there are three paunchy, middle-aged men at a table near us, sipping coffee. "You shouldn't return hostages as part of a negotiation. You should just return them. If someone came into this room, for the sake of argument — terrible analogy, I'm about to make — somebody came into this room and killed those three guys and me, wounded you, and kidnapped her, what right do they have to hold onto her? What right? This is not, 'Let's negotiate now.' Four dead bodies, you're wounded, and she's kidnapped, and God only knows what they did to the people they kidnapped. Now let's ceasefire and have a negotiation? That's ridiculous."
Latimer refuses to critique the Israeli military strategy in Gaza or declare he would, as a congressman, ask the U.S. government to condition military aid to Israel, as Biden has done in opposition to a potential Israel attack on Rafah. Unlike Bowman, he's supportive of the police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian college protests and gladly associates himself with Israel hawks Ritchie Torres, John Fetterman, and Hakeem Jeffries, the AIPAC ally and House Democratic leader who has tempered his own outward pugilism since ascending to the top of his party. Jeffries has endorsed Bowman, a courtesy to an incumbent, but he has not tried to restrain AIPAC.
One irony of the primary is that Bowman, in 2021, broke with the Democratic Socialists of America over his support for funding the Iron Dome, an Israeli missile-defense system, and visiting Israel with J Street, the liberal (and much smaller) counter to AIPAC. J Street, still proudly Zionist, rescinded their endorsement earlier this year after Bowman began, like many activists, to speak of the Gaza death toll in terms of genocide.
Bowman tells me he is for, like almost every American politician, a two-state solution: a nation for the Jews and a nation for the Palestinians. Many of the most prominent activist groups in the nation today, like Within Our Lifetime and Jewish Voice for Peace, call for a single, multinational democratic state that wouldn't necessarily guarantee a Jewish numerical majority — something that even most leftists in elected office shy away from.
I ask Bowman if Israel should always have a Jewish majority. Strikingly, unlike a vast majority of American politicians, he doesn't answer immediately in the affirmative. "It might have been the day after or definitely the weekend after we won against Congressman Engel — who's my guy, Peter Beinart, wrote a one-state piece that I thought was brilliant, I thought it was phenomenal," he says. "Some of this stuff is, like, I'm not Jewish, man, you know? So I don't want to be talking out of turn about Jewish issues. I'm also not Palestinian, right? It's the same kind of deal but because my values are rooted in human rights and I know my district well, I have to comment on these things. And I do."
"I want Palestinians to be free from occupation and apartheid and I want Jews to be safe — and Palestinians to be safe, of course. How do we do that?" he adds. "Jews should have a safe place to exist. What that looks like, the details of that, let's figure that out. That is not Jews are safe, Palestinians are under occupation — those two things can't co-exist anymore."
It would be an exaggeration to say that the future of the progressive movement hinges on the outcome of this one primary. With or without Bowman, the Squad will be larger than it was four years ago, and the activists in the streets won't be deterred if Latimer is sworn into Congress. Unconditional support for Israel is no longer a guarantee within the Democratic Party — look no further than Schumer applying the sort of pressure on the Netanyahu government that AIPAC loathes.
But a Bowman defeat would deprive the left of one of its most prominent voices at a moment when Establishment forces have regrouped from some of their losses over the last decade. The prospect of this not only makes AIPAC giddy but thrills moderate Democrats who are weary of the media attention and influence the Squad perpetually commands. The fear, for progressives, is that this primary could offer an obvious roadmap for the future: hunt out popular — or possibly venal — local politicians who are willing to target leftists and promise them a bounty of campaign cash and super-PAC spending if they take the plunge. Some more just might.

WILDWOOD, N.J. — Donald Trump on Saturday insulted the prosecutor who has charged him in his ongoing New York criminal trial, speaking at a large rally on the Jersey Shore filled with personal attacks, coarse language and vulgar expressions from the former president and his supporters.
The presumptive Republican nominee called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “fat Alvin.” He described New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over his trial, as “highly conflicted.” And he reprised his accusations that both are “doing the bidding” of President Biden, even though there is no evidence they have coordinated with Biden or his administration.
The attacks were the latest show of defiance against judges and prosecutors from a candidate who is facing 88 criminal charges across four indictments. They were part of a flurry of broadsides or baseless claims that Trump and his backers launched during a beachside rally that marked a return to the campaign trail at the end of another week when Trump spent much of his time in a courtroom.
He said he was indicted on “bulls---” prompting some in the crowd to repeat “bulls---” in response. He attacked former New Jersey Republican governor Chris Christie, winking at the audience, “you cannot call him a fat pig.”
As Trump berated the Biden administration, he asked the crowd: “Everything they touch, turns to what?”
“S---!” the crowd responded.
“You can’t use the word s---,” Trump said, to laughs.
At another point, as Trump complained about the news media, one rallygoer turned to the workspace for journalists, yelling: “You guys suck. F--- fake news. Go f--- yourselves.”
Thousands attended the event on a chilly evening, which marked a blue state detour for a candidate who is trying to balance his four-day-a-week trial and running for president with about six months left until the election. The setting was a change of scenery from a typical Trump rally.
But it included many of the same polarizing features of such a gathering that critics have voiced alarm over, including attacks on undocumented immigrants, whom he accused of staging an “invasion” as he vowed to “stop the plunder, rape, slaughter and destruction of the American suburbs, cities and towns.” He sharply derided his domestic critics and opponents, claiming “the enemies from within are more dangerous to me than the enemies on the outside” of the country. He praised the six Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. And he engaged in meandering asides, including about conversations he has had with celebrities or world leaders.
Trump at one point told the crowd: “Let’s talk about hot dogs, I just had one actually,” before he went on to discuss inflation.
While Trump has spent the past week angrily complaining about his trial, he appeared to bask in the attention from his supporters on Saturday. He spoke surrounded by a roller coaster and Ferris wheel, complimenting his own remarks as a “good speech” and telling the crowd: “Do I feel comfortable with you? I love you.”
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), who has been discussed as a potential vice-presidential candidate, spoke at the rally before Trump took the stage.
Supporters lined up early in the day, standing in the sand, some wearing red hats and chanting “Let’s go Brandon,” a term used by some on the right to reference a profane attack on Biden. Many sat in white chairs on the sand, while others farther back brought beach blankets.
The stores along the boardwalk in this predominantly White New Jersey shore town advertised Trump merchandise for those walking toward the rally. One woman working at a store on the boardwalk wore a blue sweatshirt that said “TRUMP STRONG” with red, white and blue rhinestone hoops to match. Another attendee wore a white sweatshirt she bought that said: “This Jersey girl loves Trump, get over it.”
Not since George H.W. Bush in 1988 has a Republican presidential candidate won New Jersey, and nonpartisan analysts regard it as a safe hold for Biden this fall. Yet Cape May County, which includes Wildwood, has voted Republican in every presidential race going back to 2000. Trump performed better in Wildwood in 2016, winning the city by 35 points compared with eight in 2020. He predicted Saturday that he would “win the state of New Jersey.”
Trump last held a rally in Wildwood in January 2020, shortly after Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who represents the area, switched from being a Democrat to a Republican. Trump’s message then was similar to what it was Saturday. At that time, the Senate was holding Trump’s first impeachment trial and he said that “Democrats are obsessed with demented hoaxes, crazy witch hunts.”
Trump advisers said they wanted to hold a rally in Wildwood in part because the South Jersey and Jersey Shore media market overlaps with Philadelphia’s, allowing the campaign to reach voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. One adviser also noted New Jersey’s proximity to New York, where the campaign is also considering holding a rally.
“That part of the state is very similar demographically to what you would see in other battleground states that have shifted,” said Mike DuHaime, a New Jersey native and longtime Republican strategist.
Some Trump supporters attending the rally said they were paying some attention to the New York trial, but not following it closely. They echoed some of Trump’s claims about the case, which centers on allegations of falsifying business records related to his repayment of attorney Michael Cohen for hush money to an adult-film actress.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-insults-prosecutor-at-jersey-shore-rally-filled-with-vulgar-jabs/ar-BB1mewQj#

Our Adopt-A-Candidate campaign for 2024 has launched!
If you’re new to VoteDem, this campaign allows you to chose one - or more - candidates you commit to volunteer for throughout the year.
It’s by no-means exhaustive - we will be continually adding more candidates to this list over the next few months. And if you want to adopt a candidate who isn’t on the list, just let us know.
Want to adopt a candidate? Tell us in this thread or send us a modmail!

Candidate	District/Office	Adopted by
Ruben Gallego	AZ Senate	u/astoryfromlandandsea
California - various	US House	u/sarahrosefetter
Jessica Morse	CA-03	u/CarlaVDV2019, u/Disastrous_Virus2874
Adam Gray	CA-13	u/BastetSekhmetMafdet
Rudy Salas	CA-22
George Whitesides	CA-27	u/Venesss, u/der_physik
Joe Kerr	CA-40	u/lookingforanangryfix
Will Rollins	CA-41	u/BastetSekhmetMafdet
Derek Tran	CA-45
Dave Min	CA-47
John Barrow	GA Supreme Court
Eric Sorensen	IL-17	u/Contren, u/Ok-Adhesiveness-5177
Don Davis	NC-01	u/molybdenum75
Josh Stein	NC Governor	u/rolsen
Rachel Hunt	NC Lt. Governor	u/Lotsagloom
Jeff Jackson	NC Attorney General
Mo Green	NC Superintendent	u/ArcanePudding
Sue Altman	NJ-07	u/screen317
Tony Vargas	NE-02	u/blueinmissouri
Gabe Vasquez	NM-02	u/EllieDai
Jacky Rosen	NV Senate	u/JoanWST
Sherrod Brown	OH Senate	u/astoryoflandandsea
Greg Landsman	OH-01	u/hurrdurrthosechefs
Marcy Kaptur	OH-09
Jerrad Christian	OH-12	u/butter1776
Emilia Sykes	OH-13	u/Lotsagloom
Ashley Ehasz	PA-01
Susan Wild	PA-07
Matt Cartwright	PA-08
Janelle Stelson	PA-10
Nicole Ruscitto	PA SD-37
Mac Deford	SC-01	u/ProudPatriot07, u/Ok-Adhesiveness-5177
Colin Allred	TX Senate	u/fjeheydhsjs
Michelle Vallejo	TX-15
Zach Robinson	Utah Salt Lake City Council Seat 6	u/Pipboy3500
Jeanetta Williams	Utah HD-26	u/Pipboy3500

The past twenty years has seen a rise in anti-homelessness measures across the US and Europe. Infrastructure installed ranges from annoying but seemingly benign seat seperators to the much more sinister anti-sleeping AND sitting spikes, in what is now called Hostile Architecture.
https://preview.redd.it/c7jg54hop20d1.png?width=976&format=png&auto=webp&s=504b56500a8d2d46bb008d6a95e71b12a607a4f9
https://preview.redd.it/qa4tkov1q20d1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e9ae2c4c61f3396709d35f5421e96e3da4978a9
https://preview.redd.it/kwra7f85q20d1.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=96e7b07406756707c46203cee61405c622fcd734
https://preview.redd.it/rn0cpngv230d1.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=896fcc1b8c929679ac8a8a7c8a8be60520a090ed

Though Modern In Design, Hostile Architecture Has A Long and Dark History

Although the term "hostile architecture" is recent, the use of civil engineering to achieve social engineering) is not: antecedents include 19th century urine deflectors and urban planning in the United States designed for segregation. American urban planner Robert Moses designed a stretch of Long Island Southern State Parkway with low stone bridges so that buses could not pass under them. This made it more difficult for people who relied on public transportation, mainly African Americans, to visit the beach that wealthier car-owners could visit. Outside of the United States, public space design change for the purpose of social control also has historic precedent: the narrow streets of 19th century Paris, France were widened to help the military quash protests.
Its modern form is derived from the design philosophy crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), which aims to prevent crime or protect property through three strategies: natural surveillance, natural access control, and territorial enforcement. According to experts, exclusionary design is becoming increasingly common. Nowdays you can also see such ideals incorporated in migrant detention facilities like the Bibby barge.

The US Legal Push

Numerous anti-homeless laws are being passed across the US as funding for social services is widely reduced, raising welfare concerns among advocates for the unhoused. In Missouri, a new state law that took effect on 1 January makes it a crime for any person to sleep on state property.For unhoused people, sleeping in public parks or under city highways could mean up to $750 in fines or 15 days in prison for multiple offenses. As the law goes into effect, state funding for homeless services in Missouri have decreased, as well as changes to other possible funding streams.
Cities across the country have seen a backlash to attempts by officials to remove homeless encampments or limit where unhoused people can camp. In August, the Los Angeles city council voted to ban homeless encampments within 500ft of schools and daycares, an extension of the city’s anti-camping law that has enabled police to sweep encampments, reported Spectrum News 1. The ordinance passed as a federal program that moved homeless people into hotels during the Covid-19 pandemic ended.
Protesters marched through the downtown Chicago area in November to protest against the city’s announcement that donated winterized tents for homeless people had to be removed for street cleaning, reported the Chicago Tribune. The city later confirmed that the tents did not have to be taken down, but could be moved.
Under the New York mayor, Eric Adams, who is entering the second year of his four-year tenure, city officials outlawed houseless people from sleeping on the city’s subway system or riding the trains all night. New York City police also increased arrests within the transit system, with over 400 people arrested for “being outstretched” last year, according to New York police department statistics, reported Gothamist. But the city’s budget passed in June cuts spending on homelessness services from $2.8bn to $2.4bn, with the drop in funding coming from a decrease in federal Covid-19 aid, reported City Limits.
Adams has also ordered police and first responders to hospitalize more unhoused people that appear to be in a “psychiatric crisis”, even if the hospitalization is involuntary and a person does not pose a danger to themselves.
Last September, California’s Governor Gavin Newson signed a law that would force people with certain mental health conditions to comply with treatment if first responders, family members, or others ask a judge, reported the Associated Press.
Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, announced during a business forum last December that he supports lowering the threshold to involuntarily hospitalize unhoused people, reported Oregon Public Broadcasting.
On March 14, the Kentucky Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve HB 5, the “Safer Kentucky Act.” The legislation will now head to the Senate floor for a vote, and it will almost certainly pass. The 78-page bill criminalizes homelessness—and decriminalizes the use of deadly force against individuals engaging in “unlawful camping.”

But Fascism???

You decide.
From 1920 to the early forties in Germany, people experiencing homelessness and other economic hardships were the unfortunate subjects of an evolving strain of thought. An economic downturn resulted in increasing unemployment and a surge in the number of people subjected to chronic homelessness. Further downturn at the end of that decade and the later wartime boom—with another surge in unemployment followed by near full employment—created the conditions for heightened hostility towards an identifiable group. Those who suffered homelessness were classified as vagrants, tramps, and beggars. Legislators placed these classifications in laws and civil ordinances, along with scientific bigotry that characterized societal failures as the consequence of inferior genetics. Those who were sufficiently unable to find work in a post-war recession found themselves classified as "work-shy." Any resistance to the social and political goals of the Nazi party were demonized as harmful to the nation through genetic and cultural or spiritual degradation. When the production efforts of World War II were in full swing, the Nazis characterized unemployed and the homeless as enemies of the party's efforts—and thus enemies of the nation.
Through these economic downturns and wartime production boom, society clamored for greater regulation of the homeless population. The population was sporadically defined as the unsheltered, at times "disruptive" beggars, and at times all itinerant people. Society here means the layperson, local and national government officials, and academic figures in many fields—primarily the medical profession. What began as a stated desire to track the services and lodging accessed by the homeless population devolved into calls for lifetime imprisonment and sterilization. That first impulse was not benevolent in any sense, and it grew out of an attempt to blame the most vulnerable in society for problems at a societal scale.
By 1933, urban and communal authorities were unable to pay benefits to their residents, and so sought to exclude people from collecting payments. The unhoused were forced to stay mobile, moving from town to town in search of work and accommodations. Insufficient aid allowed political factions to jockey for the support of this population. Nazis courted the homeless population with propaganda only to abandon them upon the acquisition of power. By august of that year, the Nazis issued propaganda guidelines to the press regarding the homeless population and the Reich Ministry of Propaganda's desire for a nationwide swoop. Where Nazis had released the novel The Road to Hitler in the beginning of the year to gain the support of the unhoused, by august the Nazis were instructing the press on the "psychological importance of a planned campaign against the nuisance of begging . . . Beggars often force their poverty upon people in the most repulsive way for their own selfish purposes. If this sight disappears from the view of foreigners as well, the result will be a definite feeling of relief and liberation." The contempt in this statement is obvious, and the culture that fostered it is exemplified by the case of Hamburg.
In 1933, as the depression worsened, some 1,400 unhoused were arrested in the aforementioned national sweep. Of those, 108 were placed into a home for the destitute in Farmsen. The rest were freed or placed into recently-closed penal institutions. In 1934, a measure was added to the criminal code that allowed for indefinite internment for those sentenced to workhouses for a second time. The unhoused of Hamburg were required to collect their benefits at a centralized office, rather than at local welfare offices. In a culture of scant and worsening benefits, the homeless population was subjected to further deprivation.
In numerous places, officials evinced a desire to make life difficult for the unhoused--and any who would claim benefits--to save money and cull the population of undesirables. In 1935, the Homelessness and Vagrancy Department was given purview over the Romani and Sinti people, and in 1937 it was given control over 'anti-social' elements. Both categories contained many unhoused people who faced inordinate bigotry. Other departments were set up to reduce the number of single males claiming support and to deal with Jewish recipients of welfare in a move that presaged later genocidal efforts.
In 1936 and 1937, unmarried male claimants were ordered to appear at the Central Railway Station, at which point they were delivered to a labor camp. Any who did not volunteer for this were ineligible for benefits. On the question of excluding people from benefits, Nazis adopted the Vagrants' Registration Book in 1933 to track the movements and benefits claims of the unhoused. The aim of removing the "work-shy, chronically ill, and infirm" was served by the maintenance of local registries and the threat of arrest for who those who did not opt to carry the registration book. In 1937, Registration Books were confiscated from those deemed "unfit for the nomadic life", and such persons were confined to an institution. Further restrictions on the issuance of the book were implemented in 1938, and by the outbreak of war in 1939 vagrancy had been outlawed wholesale.
It must be stated that Georg Steigertahl and the Social Welfare Authority had created the mechanism for mass internment before the Nazis seized power, motivated by a eugenicist desire to remove 'anti-social elements' from the population. By 1936, 922 people were incarcerated throughout Hamburg—mostly in Farmsen—commensurate with paragraph 13 of the Reich Code of Practice for the Reich Decree on Welfare Obligations: "the work-shy and those who behave in a non-economic way could be denied all forms of benefit except indoor relief." Indoor relief here refers to compulsory internment. It suffices to say that a confluence of eugenicist efforts and anti-homeless sentiment made convenient by economic struggle lead to the imprisonment and death of many. "Vagrancy" and "work-shy" were taken to be the consequences of genetics, after all.

Just an fyi, there's a 50-50 chance you are talking to a bot right now - I've noticed a lot of this activity recently, and especially on this sub.
How do I know?
Look at what gets upvoted and downvoted - these have changed drastically recently (like on Israel related ones - on this sub - anything for the protests gets massively downvoted, this - on reddit? no way)
-Why do your comments stay at -2 or -4? because they're hidden by the default view. they do this to create an environment that most normies won't question and/or look further into.
-Do they not actually respond to your points / miss nuance / context? they're probably in a different country using auto translation software. people abroad can't tell the difference between an ICE car and a car ice sculpture, for example.
Also look at the commenters, what they say and their profiles. a lot don't look real.
And these are just the accounts that they don't do a good job at making their profiles look legit, because there's no point. (since they are throwaways)
My point being don't waste your life replying to many of these people, they probably are just interns / bots anyways.
edit: Here's a great example on this vary thread.
God with a soft g has the top rates comment, and is lying about the prior convo -
I was replying to a question of why xudoxis was spam posting at all on a different thread - they were posting multiple stories on the exact same topic in this thread - another commenter was calling them out on it - upon which I replied, given their spam posting of the same story on this subreddit multiple times - that they were a bot.
see the bot-ness? of course you do.
then God with a soft g replies with only my response on this thread, not to the comment I was replying to in the prior one -
my guess: both xudoxis and god with a soft g aren't legitimate. one was spamming stories, the other defending that spammer (and also young acct) by lying about the convo.
this is pr plain and simple - they lie all the time.
https://www.reddit.com/centrist/comments/1cqnn7u/comment/l3sng85/
Here's a link from a supposed testament of how this works:
https://www.reddit.com/seculartalk/comments/1ab9cn2/are_there_really_paid_shills_doing_online/
"My niece was a political science major at a reputable university in California. Part of her program is a coop portion where they join a campaign for a semester. This happens twice during the four year undergrad program. If you’re not familiar with how co-op works the school places you. You don’t have a choice. If all goes well you get some good experience, something to put on your resume, you make connections that can help you after you graduate and if you’re lucky you get hired on as a paid staffer.
In 2016 she was on the Kamala Harris senate campaign for Barbara Boxer’s seat. Then she was on David Baladao’s congressional campaign in 2018.
After graduating she was hired on to the Kamala Harris presidential campaign in January of 2019. This is where she went from student/volunteer to a paid position and the job changed a lot. So instead of door knocking, putting up posters, applauding during campaign speeches and running errands she was helping organize the field team and the cyber team. The field team is pretty straight forward so let’s focus on the cyber team.
Their job was to see what was hot and how can the campaign get in front of whatever issue or whatever was happening at the time. Did a candidate in another campaign put his foot in his mouth? Is there a controversy that is early in the news cycle? Is something being talked about online that makes our candidate look bad? Kamala getting political favors from people she dated and keeping an innocent man in prison were the ones I remember off hand. This is all normal stuff. Other than planting staffers at rallies to ask questions because the rubes never seemed to ask the right questions for Kamala’s already prepared answers there isn’t a lot of juicy gossip on these campaigns. But the cyber team had another role which is why I’m making this post now.
The cyber team and most of the staffers were expected to participate in forums, bulletin boards, social media chat spaces, all platforms including reddit. They were expected to have multiple accounts and maintain characters while engaging with other users. She used pre-maid accounts that were at least three years old. They would push-pull ideas to see what worked and what fell flat. The same person would have nice, mean, old, young, female, male, gay etc personas. Each with a bio. If one of them left the campaign someone else would take it over. This is all over and above the bot accounts. The cyber team were real people with multiple fake accounts testing talking points and seeing what the push back would be so the candidate would be prepared when the campaign couldn’t protect her from real people. The main work was done in a cubicle farm by a dedicated team but regular staffers were required to do it as well. The K-hive cyber team and the BootieJudge cyber teams hated each other and took pleasure in exposing their rival’s accounts.
That person you are having an argument with online may just be a shill from someone’s campaign. It may also be Russian, Israeli, Chinese and surprisingly Turkish agents. Election interference is real but it isn’t hacking voting machines but instead two idiots arguing online with one of those idiots being paid to do it. So the next time you encounter someone in sub, any sub just understand when they start spouting talking points they may not be a real person.
Age of the account won’t help you. Banning normally doesn’t help much because the can just hop-on with another account. It’s only going to get worse as the election heats up. God help us all."
Ever notice how blocking only gets a response from another different account? believe it or not most real people dont' do this - you just argued with a bot / pr shill / campaign.
https://np.reddit.com/shills/comments/4kdq7n/astroturfing_information_megathread_revision_8/

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) Lock on to him, R2. Master, General Grievous's ship is directly ahead- Master, General Grievous's ship is directly ahead- the one crawling with vulture droids. I see it. Oh, this is going to be easy. - Oddball, do you copy? - Copy, Red Leader. Mark my position. Form your squad up behind me. We're on your tail, General Kenobi. Set S-foils in attack position. This is where the fun begins. Let them pass between us. They're all over me. - Get them off my- - I'm gonna go help them out. No. They are doing theirjob so we can do ours. Missiles. Pull up. - They overshot us. - They're coming around. All right, R4. No, no. Nothing too fancy. Surge all power units, R2. Stand by reverse thrusters. We got 'em, R2. Flying is for droids. - I'm hit. Anakin? - I see them. Buzz droids. R4, be careful. You have a- Oh, dear. They're shutting down all the controls. Move to the right so I can get a clear shot at them. The mission. Get to the command ship. Get the chancellor. I'm running out of tricks here. In the name of- - Hold your fre! You're not helping. - I agree. Bad idea. I can't see a thing. My cockpit's fogging. They're all over me. Anakin! - Move to the right. - Hold on. You'll get us both killed. Get out of here. There's nothing more you can do. I'm not leaving without you, Master. Get him, R2. Watch out. R2, hit the buzz droid's centre eye. - Yeah, you got him! - Great, R2. The general's command ship is dead ahead. Have you noticed the shields are still up? Sorry, Master. I have a bad feeling about this. There they are. Get them. R2, locate the chancellor. The chancellor's signal is coming from right there- the observation platform at the top of that spire. I sense Count Dooku. - I sense a trap. - Next move? Spring the trap. R2, go back. I need you to stay with the ship. Here. Take this and wait for orders. What's the situation, Captain? Two Jedi have landed in the main hangar bay. We're tracking them. Just as Count Dooku predicted. Destroyers. Drop your weapons. I said drop 'em. - Roger. - Roger, roger. Those are Jedi fghters all right. - Did you press the stop button? - No. Did you? There's more than one way out of here. We don't want to get out. We want to get moving. R2, activate elevator 31174. - Come in, R2. - What that? R2, do you copy? R2, activate the elevator number 31174. Get back to work. That nothin'. Activate the elevator 31174. R2- Always on the move. R2, switch on the comlink. R2, can you hear me? R2? R2! R2! Stop. Stop. R2, we need to be going up. Hands up, Jedi. R2, do you copy? R2, do you hear me? R2, we need to be going up, not down. Hey, you! That's better. You stupid little astro droid. Oh, it's you. My eyes! My eyes! - What was that all about? - R2 has been- - No loose wire jokes. - Did I say anything? - He's trying. - I didn't say anything. - Chancellor. - Are you all right? Count Dooku. - This time we will do it together. - I was about to say that. Get help. You're no match for him. He's a Sith lord. Chancellor Palpatine, Sith lords are our speciality. Your swords, please. We don't want to make a mess of things in front of the chancellor. You won't get away this time, Dooku. I've been looking forward to this. My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count. Good. Twice the pride, double the fall. Get- I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate. You have anger. But you don't use them. Good, Anakin. Good. Kill him. Kill him now. I shouldn't. Do it. You did well, Anakin. He was too dangerous to be kept alive. Yes, but he was an unarmed prisoner. I shouldn't have done that. It's not the Jedi way. It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the frst time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People? Now we must leave before more security droids arrive. Anakin, there's no time. We must get off this ship before it's too late. - He seems to be all right. - Leave him, or we'll never make it. His fate will be the same as ours. Prepare for attack! All batteries, fre! Fire! Elevator's not working. R2, activate elevator 3224. - Reverse stabilizers. - Reversing stabilizers. Magnetize! Magnetize! Fire the emergency booster engines. We're levelling out, sir. Easy. We're in a bit of a situation here. - Did I miss something? - Hold on. - What is that? - Oops. R2. R2, shut down the elevator. Too late. Jump! Let's see if we can fnd something in the hangar bay that's still flyable. R2, get down here. R2, do you copy? General, we found the Jedi. They're in hallway 328. Activate ray shields. Ray shields. Wait a minute. How did this happen? We're smarter than this. Apparently not. - I say patience. - Patience? Yes. R2 will be along in a few moments... and then he'll release the ray shields. See? No problem. Don't move. Do you have a plan B? Ah, yes. The negotiator. General Kenobi. We've been waiting for you. Excuse me. - That wasn't much of a rescue. - You're welcome. And- Anakin Skywalker. I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little... older. General Grievous. You're shorter than I expected. Jedi scum. We have a job to do, Anakin. Try not to upset him. Your lightsabres will make a fne addition to my collection. Not this time. And this time, you won't escape. R2. Crush them! Make them suffer! Come. Now! Stay at your stations! Get him! Get him! Run! Don't bother with them. - Keep the ship in orbit. - Yes, sir. You lose, General Kenobi. Get out of here! Run! Time to abandon ship. All the escape pods have been launched. Grievous. Can you fly a cruiser like this? - You mean, can I land what's left of it? - Well? Under the circumstances, I'd say the ability to pilot this thing is irrelevant. Strap yourselves in. Open all hatches. Extend all flaps and drag fns. We lost something. Not to worry. We are still flying half a ship. Now we're really picking up speed. Eight plus 60. - We're in the atmosphere. - Grab that. Keep us level. Steady. Easy, R2. Fire ships on the left and the right. - We'll take you in. - Copy that. - Landing strip, straight ahead. - We're coming in too hot. Another happy landing. Coming, Master? No. I'm not brave enough for politics. I have to report to the council. Besides, someone needs to be the poster boy. Hold on. This whole operation was your idea. Let us not forget, Anakin, that you rescued me from the buzz droids. And you killed Count Dooku, and you rescued the chancellor... carrying me unconscious on your back. All because of your training. Anakin, let's be fair. Today you were the hero... and you deserve your glorious day with the politicians. All right. But you owe me one, and not for saving your skin for the 10th time. Ninth time. That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn't count. I'll see you at the briefng. Chancellor Palpatine, are you all right? Yes. Thanks to your two Jedi knights. They killed Count Dooku, but General Grievous has escaped once again. General Grievous will run and hide, as he always does. He's a coward. But with Count Dooku dead, he is the leader of the droid army. And I assure you... the senate will vote to continue the war as long as Grievous is alive. Then the Jedi Council will make fnding Grievous our highest priority. - Watch it. - Excuse me. - Come along, R2. - The Republic cannot praise you enough. Thank you, Senator Organa. It couldn't possibly be as bad as all that. Now there I agree with you. In fact, I could do with a tune-up myself. But the fghting will continue until General Grievous is spare parts. I will do everything I can in the senate. - Excuse me. - Certainly. I've missed you, Padm. There were whispers that you'd been killed. I'm all right. It feels like we've been apart for a lifetime. And it might have been, if the chancellor hadn't been kidnapped. I don't think they would have ever brought us back from the outer rim sieges. - Wait. Not here. - Yes, here. I'm tired of all this deception. I don't care if they know we're married. Anakin, don't say things like that. Are you all right? You're trembling. What's going on? Something wonderful has happened. Ani, I'm pregnant. That's wonderful. What are we gonna do? We're not gonna worry about anything right now. All right? This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life. Yes, Lord Sidious? General Grievous... I suggest you move the separatist leaders to Mustafar. It will be done, my lord. The end of the war is near, General. But the loss of Count Dooku- His death was a necessary loss. Soon I will have a new apprentice- one far younger and more powerful. Ani, I want to have our baby back home on Naboo. We can go to the lake country where no one will know... where we can be safe. I can go early and fx up the baby's room. I know the perfect spot. Right by the gardens. You are so... beautiful. It's only because I'm so in love. No, it's because I'm so in love with you. So love has blinded you? That's not exactly what I meant. But it's probably true. Anakin, help me! What's bothering you? Nothing. I remember when I gave this to you. How long is it gonna take for us to be honest with each other? - It was a dream. - Bad? Like the ones I used to have about my mother, just before she died. And? And it was about you. Tell me. It was only a dream. You die in childbirth. And the baby? I don't know. - It was only a dream. - I won't let this one become real. This baby will change our lives. I doubt the queen will continue to allow me to serve in the senate. If the council discovers you're the father, you'll be expelled- I know. I know. Do you think Obi-Wan might be able to help us? We don't need his help. Our baby is a blessing. Premonitions? Premonitions. These visions you have- They're of pain, suffering. Death. Yourself you speak of, or someone you know? Someone. Close to you? Yes. Careful you must be when sensing the future, Anakin. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side. I won't let these visions come true, Master Yoda. Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is. What must I do, Master Yoda? Train yourself to let go... of everything you fear to lose. You've missed the report on the outer rim sieges. I'm sorry. I was held up. - I have no excuse. - In short, they are going very well. Saleucami has fallen, and Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity. What's wrong, then? The senate is expected to vote more executive powers to the chancellor today. That can only mean less deliberating and more action. Is that bad? It'll make it easier for us to end this war. Be careful of your friend Palpatine. Be careful of what? - He has requested your presence. - What for? He would not say. He didn't inform the council? That's unusual, isn't it? All of this is unusual. And it's making me feel uneasy. I hope you trust me, Anakin. Of course. I need your help, son. What do you mean? I'm depending on you. For what? I don't understand. To be the eyes, ears and voice of the Republic. I'm appointing you to be my personal representative on the Jedi Council. Me? A master? I'm overwhelmed, sir. But the council elects its own members. They'll never accept this. I think they will. They need you. More than you know. Allow this appointment lightly the council does not. Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine. I understand. You are on this council... but we do not grant you the rank of master. What? How can you do this? This is outrageous. It's unfair. How can you be on the council and not be a master? Take a seat, young Skywalker. Forgive me, Master. We have surveyed all systems in the Republic... but have found no sign of General Grievous. Hiding in the outer rim Grievous is. The outlying systems you must sweep. We do not have many ships to spare. What about the droid attack on the Wookiees? It is critical we send an attack group there immediately. He's right. It's a system we cannot afford to lose. Go I will. Good relations with the Wookiees I have. It's settled then. Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. May the Force be with us all. What kind of nonsense is this? Put me on the council and not make me a master? It's never been done in the history of the Jedi. It's insulting. Calm down, Anakin. You have been given a great honour. To be on the council at your age- it's never happened before. The fact of the matter is you are too close to the chancellor. The council doesn't like it when he interferes in Jedi affairs. I swear to you, I didn't ask to be put on the council. But it's what you wanted. Your friendship with Chancellor Palpatine seems to have paid off. That has nothing to do with this. The only reason the council has approved your appointment... is because the chancellor trusts you. And? Anakin, I am on your side. I didn't want to put you in this situation. What situation? The council wants you to report on all the chancellor's dealings. They want to know what he's up to. They want me to spy on the chancellor? - But that's treason. - We are at war, Anakin. Why didn't the council give me this assignment when we were in session? This assignment is not to be on record. The chancellor is not a bad man, Obi-Wan. He befriended me. He's watched out for me ever since I arrived here. That is why you must help us. Anakin, our allegiance is to the senate, not to its leader... who has managed to stay in offce long after his term has expired. The senate demanded that he stay longer. Yes, but use your feelings, Anakin. Something is out of place. You're asking me to do something against the Jedi code. Against the Republic. Against a mentor and a friend. That's what's out of place here. Why are you asking this of me? The council is asking you. Anakin did not take to his new assignment with much enthusiasm. It's very dangerous, putting them together. I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him. With all due respect, Master, is he not the chosen one? Is he not to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force? So the prophecy says. A prophecy that misread could have been. He will not let me down. He never has. I hope right you are. Sometimes I wonder what's happening to the Jedi order. I think this war is destroying the principles of the Republic. Have you ever considered that we may be on the wrong side? What do you mean? What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists... and the Republic has become the very evil we've been fghting to destroy? I don't believe that. And you're sounding like a separatist. This war represents a failure to listen. Now you're closer to the chancellor than anyone. Please, ask him to stop the fghting and let diplomacy resume. Don't ask me to do that. Make a motion in the senate, where that kind of a request belongs. - What is it? - Nothing. Don't do this. Don't shut me out. Let me help you. Hold me. Like you did by the lake on Naboo. So long ago, when there was nothing but our love. No politics, no plotting, no war. - You wanted to see me, Chancellor. - Yes, Anakin. Come closer. I have good news. Our clone intelligence units... have discovered the location of General Grievous. He's hiding in the Utapau system. At last. We'll be able to capture that monster and end this war. I would worry about the collective wisdom of the council... if it didn't select you for this assignment. You're the best choice, by far. Sit down. Leave us. You know I'm not able to rely on the Jedi Council. If they haven't included you in their plot, they soon will. I'm not sure I understand. You must sense what I have come to suspect. The Jedi Council want control of the Republic. They're planning to betray me. - I don't think that- - Anakin. Search your feelings. You know, don't you? I know they don't trust you. Or the senate. Or the Republic. Or democracy, for that matter. I have to admit, my trust in them has been shaken. Why? They asked you to do something that made you feel dishonest, didn't they? They asked you to spy on me, didn't they? I don't know what to say. Remember back to your early teachings. All who gain power are afraid to lose it. - Even the Jedi. - The Jedi use their power for good. Good is a point of view, Anakin. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way... including their quest for greater power. The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inwards- only about themselves. And the Jedi don't? The Jedi are selfless. They only care about others. Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a dark lord of the Sith... Darth Plagueis was a dark lord of the Sith... so powerful and so wise... he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians... to create... life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side... he could even keep the ones he cared about... from dying. He could actually... save people from death? The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities... some consider to be unnatural. What happened to him? He became so powerful... the only thing he was afraid of was... Iosing his power. Which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. Then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic. He could save others from death... but not himself. Is it possible to learn this power? Not from a Jedi. All Red units, over here! Palpatine thinks General Grievous is on Utapau? A partial message was intercepted... in a diplomatic packet from the chairman of Utapau. Act on this we must. The capture of General Grievous will end this war. Quickly and decisively we should proceed. The chancellor has requested... that I lead the campaign. The council will make up its own mind who is to go... not the chancellor. A master is needed, with more experience. I concur. Master Kenobi should go. I agree. Aye. Aye. Very well. Council adjourned. The droids have started up their main power generators. - Then now the time is, Commander. - Yes, sir. Charge! Head for cover! - You're gonna need me on this one. - I agree. However, it may turn out Just to be a wild bantha chase. Master. I've disappointed you. I haven't been very appreciative of your training. I've been arrogant, and I apologize. I've just been so frustrated with the council. You are strong and wise, Anakin, and I am very proud of you. I have trained you since you were a small boy. I have taught you everything I know. And you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be. But be patient, Anakin. It will not be long before the council makes you a Jedi master. Obi-Wan. May the Force be with you. Goodbye, old friend. May the Force be with you. Fortunately, most of the cities are concentrated on this small continent here. On the far side. I'll keep them distracted until you get there. - Just don't take too long. - Come on. When have I ever let you down? Very well. The burden is on me not to destroy all the droids until you arrive. Save your energy. I can't. Don't give up, Padm. Obi-Wan's been here, hasn't he? He came by this morning. What did he want? He's worried about you. He says you've been under a lot of stress. I feel lost. Lost? What do you mean? Obi-Wan and the council don't trust me. They trust you with their lives. Something's happening. I'm not the Jedi I should be. I want more. And I know I shouldn't. You expect too much of yourself. - I found a way to save you. - Save me? From my nightmares. Is that what's bothering you? I won't lose you, Padm. I'm not gonna die in childbirth, Ani. - I promise you. - No, I promise you. Greetings, young Jedi. What brings you to our remote sanctuary? Unfortunately, the war. There's no war here- unless you brought it with you. With your kind permission, I should like some fuel... and to use your city as a base as I search nearby systems for General Grievous. He is here. We are being held hostage. - They are watching us. - I understand. Tenth level, thousands of battle droids. Tell your people to take shelter. If you have warriors, now is the time. Take the fghter back to the ship. Tell Cody I've made contact. - Is he bringing additional warriors? - He didn't say. It won't be long before the armies of the Republic track us here. I am sending you to the Mustafar system in the outer rim. It is a volcanic planet. - You will be safe there. - Safe? Chancellor Palpatine managed to escape your grip, General. Without Count Dooku, I have doubts about your ability to keep us safe. Be thankful, Viceroy, you have not found yourself in my grip. Your ship is waiting. Hello there. General Kenobi. You are a bold one. Kill him. Back away. I will deal with this Jedi slime myself. Your move. You fool. I've been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku. Attack, Kenobi. Army or not... you must realize you are doomed. I don't think so. Cover that corner. Master Windu, may I interrupt? General Kenobi has made contact with General Grievous... and we have begun our attack. Thank you, Commander. Anakin, deliver this report to the chancellor. His reaction will give us a clue to his intentions. Yes, Master. I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The dark side of the Force surrounds the chancellor. If he does not give up his emergency powers... after the destruction of Grievous... then he should be removed from office. The Jedi Council would have to take control of the senate... in order to secure a peaceful transition. To a dark place this line of thought will carry us. Great care we must take. Chancellor. We've just received a report from Master Kenobi. He has engaged General Grievous. We can only hope that Master Kenobi is up to the challenge. I should be there with him. It's upsetting to me to see that the council... doesn't seem to fully appreciate your talents. Don't you wonder why they won't make you a Jedi master? I wish I knew. More and more I get the feeling that... I'm being excluded from the council. I know there are things about the Force that they're not telling me. They don't trust you, Anakin. They see your future. They know your power will be too strong to control. You must break through the fog of lies the Jedi have created around you. Let me help you to know the subtleties of the Force. How do you know the ways of the Force? My mentor taught me everything about the Force. Even the nature of the dark side. You know the dark side? If one is to understand the great mystery... one must study all its aspects... not just the dogmatic narrow view of the Jedi. If you wish to become a complete and wise leader... you must embrace a larger view of the Force. Be careful of the Jedi, Anakin. Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to know the dark side of the Force... and you will be able to save your wife... from certain death. What did you say? Use my knowledge. I beg you. You're the Sith lord. I know what's been troubling you. Listen to me. Don't continue to be a pawn of the Jedi Council. Ever since I've known you, you've been searching for a life... greater than that of an ordinary Jedi. A life of signifcance... of conscience. - Are you going to kill me? - I would certainly like to. I know you would. I can feel your anger. It gives you focus... makes you stronger. I'm going to turn you over to the Jedi Council. Of course. You should. But you're not sure of their intentions, are you? I will quickly discover the truth of all this. You have great wisdom, Anakin. Know the power of the dark side. Power to save Padm. So uncivilized. Master Windu, I must talk to you. Skywalker, we just received word that Obi-Wan has destroyed General Grievous. We're on our way to make sure... the chancellor returns emergency power back to the senate. He won't give up his power. I've just learned a terrible truth. I think Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith lord. A Sith lord? Yes. The one we've been looking for. - How do you know this? - He knows the ways of the Force. He's been trained to use the dark side. - Are you sure? - Absolutely. Then our worst fears have been realized. We must move quickly if the Jedi order is to survive. Master, the chancellor is very powerful. You'll need my help if you're going to arrest him. For you own good, stay out of this affair. I sense a great deal of confusion in you, young Skywalker. There is much fear that clouds your judgement. - I must go, Master. - No. If what you've told me is true, you will have gained my trust. But for now, remain here. Wait in the council chambers until we return. Yes, Master. You do know, don't you... if theJedi destroy me... any chance of saving her will be lost. Master Windu. I take it General Grievous has been destroyed then. I must say you're here sooner than expected. In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic... you're under arrest, Chancellor. Are you threatening me, Master Jedi? The senate will decide your fate. - I am the senate. - Not yet. It's treason then. You are under arrest, my lord. Anakin, I told you it would come to this. I was right. The Jedi are taking over. The oppression of the Sith will never return. You have lost. You will die! He's a traitor! He is the traitor! I have the power to save the one you love. You must choose. Don't listen to him, Anakin! Don't let him kill me. I can't hold it any longer. I can't. I'm weak. I'm too weak. Help me. Help me! I can't hold on any longer. I am going to end this once and for all. You can't. He must stand trial. He has control of the senate and the courts. He's too dangerous to be left alive. I'm too weak. - Don't kill me. Please. - It's not the Jedi way. He must live. - Please don't. - I need him. Please don't! Power! Unlimited power! What have I done? You're fulflling your destiny, Anakin. Become my apprentice. Learn to use the dark side of the Force. I will do whatever you ask. Good. Just help me save Padm's life. I can't live without her. To cheat death is a power only one has achieved... but if we work together... I know we can discover the secret. I pledge myself... to your teachings. Good. Good. The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth you shall be known as... Darth... Vader. Thank you, my master. Rise. Because the council did not trust you, my young apprentice... I believe you are the only Jedi with no knowledge of this plot. When the Jedi learn what has transpired here... they will kill us, along with all the senators. I agree. The council's next move will be against the senate. Every single Jedi... including your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi... is now an enemy of the Republic. I understand, Master. We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless. If they are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end. First I want you to go to the Jedi temple. We will catch them off-balance. Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough with the dark side... to save Padm. What about the other Jedi spread across the galaxy? Their betrayal will be dealt with. After you have killed all the Jedi in the temple... go to the Mustafar system. Wipe out Viceroy Gunray... and the other separatist leaders. Once more the Sith will rule the galaxy! And... we shall have... peace. Sergeant, over here! Hurry! All of them! All Red units, let's move it! Come on. Let's go! Commander, contact your troops. Tell them to move to the higher levels. Very good, sir. By the way, I think you'll be needing this. Thank you, Cody. Let's get a move on. We've got a battle to win. Yes, sir. Commander Cody... the time has come. Execute order 66. Yes, my lord. Blast him! Come on! Execute order 66. It will be done, my lord. It will be done, my lord. Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do? The chancellor's offce indicated Master Anakin returned to the Jedi temple. Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be all right. - What's going on here? - There's been a rebellion, sir. Don't worry. The situation is under control. I'm sorry, sir. It's time for you to leave. And so it is. Get him! Don't worry about him. Let him go. All these Wookiees are dead. Move to the east. Yes, sir. Goodbye, Tarfful. Goodbye, Chewbacca. Miss you I will. Hopefully we'll be able to intercept a few Jedi... before they walk into this catastrophe. Did you fnd Kenobi? Sir, no one could have survived that fall. Start loading your men on the ships. Move it. Emergency code 913. I have no contact on any frequency. Master Kenobi. - Repeat. - Master Kenobi. Senator Organa. My clone troops turned on me. I need help. We havejust rescued Master Yoda. It appears this ambush has happened everywhere. We're sending you our coordinates. Hush! Not so loud. Are you all right? I heard there was an attack on the Jedi temple. - You could see the smoke from here. - I'm fne. I came to see if you and the baby are safe. What's happening? The Jedi have tried to overthrow the Republic. I can't believe that. I saw Master Windu attempt to assassinate the chancellor myself. What are you gonna do? I will not betray the Republic. My loyalties lie with the chancellor... and with the senate and with you. - What about Obi-Wan? - I don't know. Many Jedi have been killed. We can only hope that he's remained loyal to the chancellor. Anakin, I'm afraid. Have faith, my love. Everything will soon be set right. The chancellor has given me a very important mission. The separatists have gathered on the Mustafar system. I'm going there to end this war. Wait for me until I return. Things will be different. I promise. Please, wait for me. Well, he is under a lot of stress, R2. Take care, my little friend. Oh, my lady, is there anything I might do? No, thank you, 3PO. I feel so helpless. How many other Jedi have managed to survive? Heard from no one have we. I saw thousands of troops attack the Jedi temple. That's why I went looking for Yoda. Have we had any contact from the temple? Received a coded retreat message we have. It requests all Jedi to return to the temple. - It says the war is over. - Then we must go back. If there are any stragglers, they will fall into the trap and be killed. Suggest dismantling the coded signal, do you? Yes, Master. There is too much at stake. I agree. And a little more knowledge might light our way. The plan has gone as you had promised, my lord. You have done well, Viceroy. When my new apprentice Darth Vader arrives... he will take care of you. We're receiving a message from the chancellor's offce, sir. - Send it through. - Yes, sir. Senator Organa, the supreme chancellor requests your presence... at a special session of Congress. - I will be there. - He'll be expecting you. - Could be a trap. - I don't think so. The chancellor will not be able to control the thousands of star systems... without keeping the senate intact. If a special session of Congress there is... easier for us to enter the Jedi temple it will be. R2, stay with the ship. Welcome, Lord Vader. We've been expecting you. And the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. What's happened? The chancellor's been elaborating on a plot by the Jedi to overthrow the senate. The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated. Not even the younglings survived. Killed not by clones this Padawan. By a lightsabre he was. Who? Who could have done this? The attempt on my life... has left me scarred and deformed. But I assure you. My resolve has never been stronger! Stop! In order to ensure the security and continuing stability... the Republic will be reorganized... into the frst Galactic Empire! For a safe and secure society. So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause. The war is over. Lord Sidious promised us peace. We only want- I have recalibrated the code, warning all surviving Jedi to stay away. For the clones... to discover the recalibration a long time it will take. Wait. Master. There is something I must know. If into the security recordings you go, only pain will you fnd. I must know the truth, Master. It can't be. It can't be. You have done well, my new apprentice. Now, Lord Vader... go and bring peace to the Empire. I can't watch any more. Destroy the Sith we must. Send me to kill the emperor. I will not kill Anakin. To fght this Lord Sidious, strong enough you are not. He is like my brother. I cannot do it. Twisted by the dark side young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader. I do not know where the emperor has sent him. I don't know where to look. Use your feelings, Obi-Wan, and fnd him you will. When was the last time you saw him? - Yesterday. - And do you know where he is now? Padm, I need your help. - He is in grave danger. - From the Sith? From himself. Anakin has turned to the dark side. You're wrong. How could you even say that? I have seen a security hologram... of him... killing younglings. Not Anakin. He couldn't. He was deceived by a lie. We all were. It appears that the chancellor is behind everything, including the war. Palpatine is the Sith lord we've been looking for. After the death of Count Dooku, Anakin became his new apprentice. I don't believe you. I can't. I must fnd him. You're going to kill him, aren't you? He has become a very great threat. I can't. Anakin is the father, isn't he? I'm so sorry. - Milady, let me come with you. - There's no danger. The fghting's over. And this is personal. As you wish, milady, but I strongly disagree. I'll be all right, Captain. This is something I must do myself. Besides, 3PO will look after me. Oh, dear. Do you know? I think I'm beginning to get the hang of this flying business. The separatists have been taken care of, my master. It is fnished then. You have restored peace and justice to the galaxy. Send a message to the ships of the Trade Federation. All droid units must shut down immediately. Very good, my lord. I saw your ship. - What are you doing out here? - I was so worried about you. Obi-Wan told me terrible things. What things? He said you've turned to the dark side. That you... killed younglings. Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me. He cares about us. Us? He knows. He wants to help you. Anakin, all I want is your love. Love won't save you, Padm. - Only my new powers can do that. - At what cost? You're a good person. Don't do this. I won't lose you the way I lost my mother. I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of. And I'm doing it for you. To protect you. Come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can. Don't you see? We don't have to run away any more. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the chancellor. I can overthrow him. And together, you and I can rule the galaxy... make things the way we want them to be. I don't believe what I'm hearing. Obi-Wan was right. You've changed. I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me. I don't know you any more. You're breaking my heart. You're going down a path I can't follow. Because of Obi-Wan? Because of what you've done. What you plan to do. Stop. Stop now. Come back. - I love you. - Liar! You're with him! You brought him here to kill me. Let her go, Anakin. Let her go. You turned her against me! You have done that yourself. You will not take her from me! Your anger and your lust for power have already done that. You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind... until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy. Don't lecture me, Obi-Wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side as you do. I have brought peace... freedom, justice and security to my new empire. Your new empire? Don't make me kill you. Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy! If you're not with me... then you're my enemy. Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must. You will try. I hear a new apprentice you have, Emperor. Or should I call you Darth Sidious? Master Yoda. You survived. Surprised? Your arrogance blinds you, Master Yoda. Now you will experience... the full power of the dark side. I have waited a long time for this moment... my little green friend. At last the Jedi are no more. Not if anything to say about it I have. At an end your rule is. And not short enough it was. If so powerful you are... why leave? You will not stop me. Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us. Faith in your new apprentice misplaced may be. As is your faith in the dark side of the Force. Hurry. Careful timing we will need. Activate your homing beacon when you're ready. There's no sign of his body, sir. - Then he is not dead. - Double your search. Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Tell Captain Kagi to prepare my shuttle for immediate take-off. - Yes, Master. - I sense Lord Vader is in danger. Into exile I must go. Failed I have. I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you. I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over. Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil! From my point of view, the Jedi are evil. Then you are lost! This is the end for you, my master. It's over, Anakin. I have the high ground. You underestimate my power. Don't try it. You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness! I hate you! You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you. Master Kenobi. We have Miss Padm on board. Yes. Please, please hurry. We should leave this dreadful place. Is Anakin all right? Your Majesty, this way. There he is. He's still alive. Get a medical capsule immediately. Yes, sir. Right away. Excuse me, Master Yoda. Obi-Wan Kenobi has made contact. We'll take her to the medical centre. Quickly. Medically, she's completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we are losing her. - She's dying? - We don't know why. She has lost the will to live. We need to operate quickly if we are to save the babies. Babies? She's carrying twins. Luke. Oh, Luke. - It's a girl. - Leia. There's good in him. I know. I know there's... still- Lord Vader. Can you hear me? Yes, Master. Where is Padm? Is she safe? Is she all right? It seems, in your anger, you killed her. I? I couldn't have. She was alive. I felt it! Hidden, safe the children must be kept. We must take them somewhere where the Sith will not sense their presence. Split up they should be. My wife and I will take the girl. We've always talked of adopting a baby girl. She will be loved with us. And what of the boy? To Tatooine. To his family send him. I will take the child and watch over him. Until the time is right, disappear we will. Master Kenobi, wait a moment. In your solitude on Tatooine, training I have for you. Training? An old friend has learned the path to immortality. One who has returned from the netherworld of the Force. Your old master. Qui-Gon? How to commune with him I will teach you. - Captain Antilles. - Yes, Your Highness? I'm placing these droids in your care. Treat them well. Clean them up. Have the protocol droid's mind wiped. What? 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In an election that has already seen historic levels of campaign spending, Maryland voters will decide a slate of congressional races that include a closely watched U.S. Senate contest with national implications. The primary results will set the field for one of a handful of elections expected to determine which party will control the chamber.
Maryland’s primary election takes place on Tuesday, May 14. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or before election day and received by 10 a.m. on May 24 to be counted.
You can look up your assigned polling place here and find a list of ballot drop boxes here.
Registered Democrats and Republicans will get to choose their nominees for president, an open senate seat and three open house seats in the 2nd, 3rd and 6th congressional districts. Maryland’s five other congressional seats are also on primary ballots, with incumbents running for reelection. In Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, voters will also get to vote in a primary for several nonpartisan school board seats. The top two candidates for each school board seat will advance to the general election in the fall.
Here are some of The Post's latest stories on the Maryland primaries:

• Maryland’s 2024 primary elections: A guide on voting and key races to watch
• A Q&A with candidates in Maryland’s high-stakes Democratic Senate primary
• Smashing records, Trone sees no limit to his spending on Md. Senate bid
• Hogan and GOP cast his Senate candidacy as ‘a voice of common sense’
• Attacks fly ahead of Democratic primary in Md.’s divided 6th District

Proof photo: https://imgur.com/a/jgpUpVn

Thank you all for your thoughtful questions. That’s all the time I have for today, but you can continue to follow our election coverage at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland/. — Katie