This book starts with a boy on a field trip with his class where they are outside of some museum. The boy becomes bored and notices shadowy (or black, like formal attire) figures watching from a distance. I recall him somehow interacting with these things by being taken or following them. I also remember an underground subway where the boy gets on a train that takes him to a parallel world. The world is hellish and or post apocalyptic with monsters replacing the humans. In this world he ends up at some house or mansion where he meets a man. I believe this man is of major significance, either he runs this parallel world, is the devil, or is this boys father. Or all three. They talk and the man shows the boy around and I recall a conversation near a greenhouse. The boy does meet other characters in this world but I do not recall any names or details. There is some urgent matter where the man needs the boys help to save both worlds or something like that.
Rapid bullet points:

• Mystery
• paperback
• red city on cover
• read in 2016, didnt look too old of a book so I'd say released after 2000's
• young adult friendly, no bloody imagary and was an easy read
• the book was available in my middle school
• fiction
• set in present time
• not too long of a book
• Not a series I believe

Any help would be much appreciated, its the only book I've ever enjoyed reading and I would love to be able to find it again. Thank you.

Tier List: https://imgur.com/a/SPm0Fjl
This one hits different. Right from the start, with those ominous vocals giving the whole thing a feeling of foreboding and momentousness. Donald Trump lurking around the stage for his titlecard, even staying onscreen as his titlecard goes away is hilarious and a great visual touch. Then we get Hillary sitting in her debate chair; this battle committing so hard to a location both rappers are present in is pretty unique.
"I've been in this game too long; I'm a public servant! Have been since I met MLK in person!" Serviceable opening on paper, but the guest actor, Kimmy Gatewood, makes it stick out with her performance. Love the intensity of her voice and facial expressions. "I'm a woman of the people; that's for certain. You're a man of the people who don't like turbans!" This is a great line, very accurate, and I love the look on Hillary's face. "I was living in the West Wing while you were professional wrestling. Got skin like Russian dressing from too much Russian investing!" Good lines, in particular I really dig the Russian dressing/Russian investing parallel. Also, while I don't think Kimmy bears a super strong resemblance to Hillary Clinton(the guest actress from Clinton v. Henry VIII was much more on-point) she does look a lot like her as she does the Russian dance in the background. Something about her wide-open smile. "You been going bankrupt since the 90s; if I was in Iran you couldn't find me." Very true on both counts, very solid line. I don't know what more there is to say. Is it gonna be controversial to acknowledge the reality that Trump's gone bankrupt lots of times and probably couldn't point to Iran on a map, even now that he's been president? "You don't care about the job, Trump, you just think the desk is shiny." I think it's accurate that Trump really only cares about the prestige, but this still seems like a pretty weak attack. Hell, you could argue the vast majority of presidential candidates care more about the prestige than actually doing anything. "I said that I respect your children but that wasn't quite right, yo! Looking like some extras on American Psycho!" This line is pretty fucking great. I didn't get it when this battle first released, but I've seen American Psycho more recently, and comparing the Trump kids to the useless trust fund posers surrounding Patrick Bateman is hilarious. The hyper-aggressive hip thrusting Hillary's doing is also a great visual. For the most part this portrayal doesn't resemble Hillary much, but I think there's some truth in how she's portrayed as being very try-hard here. "First name is Hillary, middle name Rodham, last name is Clinton, and lyrics I got 'em! You fire celebrities on The Apprentice, motha fucka I fire Bin Laden! (Crack!) cough" Being tryhard again. The lines are pretty good, the flow is pretty good. The reference to her coughing is a fun touch. "How do I say this? You're racist! Ooh, you must get so pissed that your hands are too small to stop and frisk!" The asking/answering of that question at the beginning is really funny, and I like the way they worked Trump's small hands into this attack on him for being racist. "So you use your fingers to touch chicks. (She's only 12 years old.) That's enough, shit! (But she's married, sir.) Just gotta get pushy. (That's your daughter.) Well, grab her by the pussy!" One of the highlights of the battle, love the way they worked in the secret service agent here. Pointing out Trump being a creep at child beauty pageants and towards Ivanka are great lines of attack. "That's assault, brotha! Don't tell me the victim's at fault, sucka! You don't know shit about steaks! Yucka! But the ones on the 8th are great! Motha fucka!" Really fun delivery, good attacks, I like that they threw the Trump Steaks jab in between the more serious sentiments. I don't know what the fuck is going on with the background in this section, though they're really going hard on the tryhardness of Hillary. "Better save the date; I'm gonna rock the vote! Bad bitch on the scene like Murder, She Wrote!" Hillary trying to compare herself to that character is pretty cringe, as is highlighted by her attempting to dab with the biggest "look, aren't I cool, kids?!" look on her face. Real "Pokemon Go to the polls" moment. "So go ahead, Donald, let me see you flow. I brought Michelle's speech; borrow some quotes!" It's a pretty great line, though this line is moreso an attack at Melania than Trump himself; she should have ended with a more Trump-focused attack.
"Let me just say I respect all females. But your rhymes are trash; put 'em next to your emails." The first line is funny in how flagrantly untrue it is, the second line is just plain funny. Good opener. "Our country's in crisis. Who wants to vote for the mother of ISIS? That might not be exactly true, but I don't do politeness." Trump talks out of his ass and lies a lot, yes. "(Believe me!) You wanna talk about misogyny? Your Bill's worse than Cosby! He left a mess on that dress like you left in Benghazi!" The comparison of the rapist Bills is a great line, and I'm not sure whether the whole Benghazi thing was actually something that was Hillary's fault or just a Fox News talking head talking point, but it's a good line regardless. Also by this point it's clear that Lloid's Trump impression is on-point, much better than Peter's. "(Terrible!) You wanna break the glass ceiling, Hillary, I sense it. But the only crack you'll find is my ass pressed against it." The gesturing Lloid is doing during the "I sense it" line is fucking hilarious. The second line is also pretty funny, and did turn out to be true. "The numbers are in and I'm right on your tail. You don't have the stamina, baby, you're frail! This will be just like '08 when you fail! But Trump will appoint you to jail!" Fun parallel to Hillary's "First name is Hillary" segment from before going on here. The lines themselves are fine, nothing amazing. The second-to-last one turned out to be true, the last one did not. "How do I say this? You're a 2. And you almost lost the primary to a socialist Jew!" It's pretty funny how Trump mimics Hillary's "How do I say this?" bit, and "you're a 2" is such a simple but funny jab. He's got a point that Hillary was so weak a candidate that Bernie Sanders came outta nowhere and was able to put up a serious competition in a race that was supposed to have no real competition for her. "What do the American people gotta yankee doodle doo, to get it through your fat face, that they're just not that into you?!" The use of 'yankee doodle doo' is funny and he's got a real point that Hillary needs to accept she's very unpopular, though that 'fat face' line is such a pot calling the kettle black moment. No doubt intended as such. "They want a strong male leader who can stand up to China! Not a crooked, little, wishy-washy bleeding heart vagina!" These lines, of course, exist purely to point out that Trump is a giant sexist. The "China, China, China... bloody vagina!" in the background is a very funny touch. Little bits like that just add so much to this battle. "I'm gonna run these streets like I run my casinos; more police and less Latinos!" These lines, of course, exist purely to point out that Trump is a giant racist. "While you bury us in debt buying poor people socks, I'll create jobs, tearing down mosques!" Trump is against programs that help the impoverished and hates Muslims. "Then I'll use all the best rocks from the site to build a wall, dip it in gold and make Mexico pay for it all!" The thing Lloid does with his eyes as he smiles when he says "build a wall" is just... SO Trumpian. This really is one of the greatest Trump impressions I've ever seen, Lloid did an amazing job. As for the line... Trump says he's gonna build a wall. He built a partial wall. A partial, really unimpressive wall. "I'll make this country great again! We'll all be living large! And I'll tell Congress you're fired, and put Charles in charge!" Trump's slogan is MAGA and Charles in Charge was a TV show whose main actor is a Trump supporter. Also apparently there was a Supreme Court judge named Charles Trump once wanted nominated. Alright. "'Cause this whole system's rigged! And we all know the riggers! For the last eight years this country's been run by- (CAW!)" The point of this line is that Trump is a giant racist. I like the touch that the crowd is cheering wildly for Trump while Hillary looks disturbed in the background.
Then Lincoln comes soaring in on an eagle, as he did in Obama v. Romney. "Are you fucking kidding me with this blah blah blah? I've half a mind to feed you both to my oversized - (CAW!)" The use of 'CAW!' as a censor is amusing. "I've heard more thoughtful discussion up in TMZ! You two got brother blocking brother on their Facebook feed!" This isn't fun anymore, it's just real. "I'm so sick and tired of this ridiculous shit! If this is the best my party gets, then my party should quit!" The Republican Party is a nightmare and Lincoln would be ashamed of it today, is what is being said. "I'm sorry, did I say something that you found funny? Wipe that creepy-ass smile off your face and beat this dummy!" Clinton is a shitty politician who didn't take Trump seriously enough, and she comes across as cold and inhuman. And in case you somehow failed to pick up on it before, ERB makes clear here their endorsement for which candidate to vote for. "And if she does win the White House, be a man and hold the door. Don't get your fans stirred up in some sorta Twitter civil war!" Too real, especially after January 6th. "Here's an equal opportunity smack down in the sequel! That's of the people, by the people, for the people, eagle!" Some people have debated whether Lincoln slapped Trump twice in place of slapping Clinton at all because he's a gentleman and wouldn't hit a woman, or because ERB favors Clinton over Trump. The latter is definitely true, but the former is also probably true. So... both! Then Lincoln yells "Eagle!" and fucks off.
Let's talk about bias. There's two camps of people I've seen in discussions about certain ERB battles, especially this one, and they both irk me. So let's address both of them.
First off: YES, ERB is biased against Trump. And are biased against Republicans generally, and much more sympathetic to the Democrats. They've made that completely obvious from the beginning. And you know what? That's totally fine! They're right to be biased against them! But for some reason, some people in the fanbase can't just admit that. For some reason, there's a lot of people in the fanbase who will bend over backwards trying to explain how it's actually totally unbiased(false) and they attack both sides equally(false) and people complaining are being salty(true). But if you think ERB is unbiased, then society has failed you, because you are a woeful media illiterate. They're screaming Vote for Hillary, Don't Let Trump Win! at you and somehow you haven't managed to decipher what they're saying. I hope for your sake you're, like, twelve years old if you actually think they're unbiased. Here's an important lesson for you to learn as you grow up: 'biased' does not equate to 'bad'! For example, you SHOULD be 'biased' against Hitler! If you look at someone like Hitler and compare him to someone like MLK and treat them as equally valid figures whose ideas are both worthy of consideration, then you're at best a useful idiot and at worst a Nazi apologist! Stop feeling like you have to defend ERB's honor by feverishly denying any claims of bias!
But even worse than those jokers are the fuckers who love to bitch about how ERB has gotten "too political" or "too woke" nowadays. NEWSFLASH, DUMBASS: the very FIRST battle was John Lennon vs Bill O'Reilly, and Bill O'Reilly literally says "Because I'm evil! Heart blacker than Don Cheadle!" Their very foundation as a series is shitting on Republicans! They didn't suddenly 'go woke' just because they stopped doing gay jokes and shat on Trump even more explicitly than they already did to Romney.
Anyway, I've got mixed feelings about this battle. The 'mixed' part of those feelings come from how heavy it is; I have to be in a certain mood to want to listen to this, and most times I see this pop up in my playlist I just skip on to the next one. It's uncomfortable. It's real. Maybe a little too real. But then again, maybe they were right to take it so seriously. It's still a great battle, even if it can be a little hard to come back to. The only big issue I have with it is that Lincoln coming in at the end is kind of a drag. It was funny the first time; this doesn't recapture the magic. He doesn't really have any great lines either. I tend to stop listening by the time he comes in. But besides that, this battle has an amazing instrumental track, great visuals, peak performances from both Lloid and Kimmy, and good, sometimes great, writing.
I used to think Trump won this battle despite always having been anti-Trump. Revisiting it now, I'm not sure why I thought that. Maybe it was because his part was just so entertaining, even moreso than Hillary's. Maybe it's because I, like many others, harbor a strong resentment and bitterness towards Hillary Clinton(muh Bernie) that would lead me to not be entirely honest about her performance here. Maybe it's just because that hardly anybody said Clinton won back in the day; Trump had either a majority or a clear plural majority of votes in polls, then Lincoln with a fair amount, then Clinton with a small fraction. Now I see that that is utter bullshit. The only reason anybody votes for Lincoln is either because of the Last Word Effect or because they want to be centrists about it and not side with either candidate; even if you could argue he was the best part of Obama v. Romney, here his verse falls well short of both Clinton and Trump's. On the question of Clinton v. Trump... I can kind of see how someone might think Trump won on account of how hilarious he was, but a ton of his stuff just makes himself look bad, and if we're being honest I think Clinton had better burns and more substantive lines of attack. I say Clinton>Trump>Lincoln.
inb4 someone says I got "too political" in my presidential election battle analysis

Hey gang. I'm in the middle of trying to learn hypnosis as both a subject and a hypnotist, and as I've gone through books and articles and such I've been learning more and more about depth - namely stuff like the Eisdale state, the scale of hypnotic depth, etc. It's intrigued me, to say the least, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of any files that specifically aim to drop the listener to a state like that? I know - files are nowhere near as effective as an in-person session. But honestly, I drop pretty easily, and I figure I'll like the experience either way. I've had some decently deep experiences even while doing self-hypnosis sessions, but being your own hypnotist can only really bring you so far.
Anyone have any suggestions? Preferably SFW of course, and free if it exists.

I have two friends: Gaby and Shelly. All of us are 23, if that matters. We were roommates in college and stayed in the same city after graduation. While the three of us are close, I’ve always known that Gaby and Shelly are the closest. They have a really sweet friendship.
Shelly is getting married. Gaby is the maid of honor and I’m one of the bridesmaids. Over the weekend, I went with Shelly so she could look at wedding dresses. Gaby was supposed to come with us but got called into work last minute. I helped Shelly pick out some dresses then she went with the consultant to try them on. Shelly asked that I take pictures and videos on her phone to send to her mom and Gaby. I was getting the camera ready when a text from Gaby came through. I didn’t mean to click on it and was instantly going to click back out when I saw one of my Instagram pictures in their private chat from earlier that morning. Both were making fun of me for the face I was making and my outfit choice. It didn’t appear to be very good nature.
I admit, curiosity got the best of me so I searched my name in the chat. I found multiple pictures that I, my boyfriend or my mom have posted of myself, absolutely ripping them to shreds. Ranging from selfies to posed shots to even a few baby pictures. They’d also make fun of me in general in terms of the way I talked, wore my hair and the way I ate. This went back as far as I could tell, at least a year.
My heart broke. It all felt so juvenile and high school. While we all joke around, I would never do this to them nor have they ever even tried to instigate these types of conversations with me about the other one on one. I was in tears. As someone who was bullied all through middle and high school, it just brought me back to a horrible place. I put the phone in Shelly’s purse and brought it to another employee, telling her to tell Shelly that I had to go. I drove home and had a long cry.
Shelly texted me by the time I made it home asking where I went. I said I was going home and we could talk later. When she did call a few hours later, she was understandably confused and hurt that I left. I told her what I found, explaining that I only looked further because of the initial text I accidentally saw. She went off on me for looking through her private texts and said those were none of my business. She also told me I shouldn’t have left the store without saying anything. I said I didn’t want to make a scene but also knew I couldn’t fake being happy for her.
Shelly told me the texts were “all in good fun” and clearly she loves me because I’m going to be her bridesmaid. She added that I’m only hurt because I chose to read all those texts. Later on, Gaby called to tell me that I invaded Shelly’s privacy and hurt her by walking out.
My boyfriend and mom think I did the right thing by walking out. But obviously, they’re a little biased. I just want some unbiased looks: was I an asshole to look through the texts and then leave?

My friend found this anime where the guy can change that shape of his dick and it sounded hilarious, anyone know the name? He can't remember.

I have a first name, a middle and a last name. For the fields marked first name and last name i entered them as required, however i was never asked for my middle name, on the last screen for the bank holder name it has used only my first name and last name while in reality my bank holder name is my full name (inc my middle name), should i then add my middle name along with my first name in the first name field or just try and create my account as if, i want this to be as frictionless as possible as i have read a lot of accounts on this sub talking about payoneer's unreliability and poor customer support.
Appreciate any help. Thanks! :)

i'm 22 ftm and my partner and i live in a blue state, but there was a family event where i had to go texas (where we are now) to stay with my family for a few days. i love my family and i'm always happy to see them, but ever since i came out i fully dread spending time with people who frequently deadname me and misgender me. even my accepting family members do it around other family members if they do it, and every time i get called "she" or hear my deadname it feels like a punch in the gut. i'm here for a couple more days and honestly don't know how to get through it, it's just so fucking weird having a deep voice and a flat chest and being perceived as male by every stranger in the state, yet it feels like my own family doesn't even know who i am. my extended family knows i'm trans and they're trying, but there's still a lot of deadnaming going down as well as "she-he"s. and my own mom just doesn't even refer to me cause i guess she can't stand to use my name. at least she's not just blatantly deadnaming me like my dad lol. to top it all off i'm in a gay relationship and back in middle of nowhere texas where i can't even hold hands with my partner in public. shit sucks.

My wife and I were getting intimate last night after coming home from the bar. In the middle of it she started to say one of my coworkers name but very unsmoothly cut herself. We kept going as if nothing happened and I dont think she noticed that I noticed. What should I do?

A few years ago, I had the chance to learn about Venerable Minh Tue through the YouTube channel Nhan Ga Vlogs. The videos show the monk in a cave at Mount San (Nha Trang), near my home. In these videos, the Venerable does not preach or talk about himself. He only answers questions and shares his journey of practice honestly. What I am most interested in are his insights on practice and discipline. I realized that Venerable Minh Tue has read extensively and understands the Nikaya scriptures deeply, practicing according to the Buddha's teachings. This led me to conclude that he is a true monk.
Today, Venerable Minh Tue is known by many (I prefer not to use the word "famous" for a monastic) and has widespread influence, reaching beyond national borders. The story of Venerable Minh Tue has become hotter than ever, flooding social media with videos and images of him. This has sparked a variety of opinions, ranging from admiration and respect to criticism and contempt. Many paths of human experience!
Fortunately, those who think negatively about him are still a minority.
Venerable Minh Tue practices the ascetic path of Dhutanga. Some people look at his conduct and attire and criticize him as crazy, self-mortifying, lacking wisdom, and not following the Middle Way that the Buddha encouraged. However, these critics do not realize that Venerable Minh Tue is practicing according to the correct Dharma, following the teachings of the original scriptures. He has abandoned family life, living a pure and simple life, renouncing all attachments, and practicing minimalism and contentment. People confuse the ascetic practices of Dhutanga with the severe austerities the Buddha practiced during his six years of seeking enlightenment. Those severe practices involved extreme self-mortification, causing great physical pain (originating from Brahmanism). Thus, Dhutanga in a sense is a precursor to the Middle Way and still closely aligns with it.
Many argue that monastic life should prioritize wisdom over physical asceticism. However, they confuse worldly wisdom with Buddhist wisdom. Worldly wisdom is human cognitive ability, derived from genetics and education, whereas Buddhist wisdom is only revealed when a practitioner strictly adheres to precepts. Observance of precepts leads to concentration, and concentration leads to wisdom. Therefore, the Buddha said, "Where there is virtue, there is wisdom and vice versa."
The core of practicing Dhutanga is to end all defilements and impurities. This practice helps the practitioner guard the senses, not being influenced by circumstances, gradually eliminating greed, hatred, and delusion. That is why monastics eat only one meal a day (reducing greed for food), sleep sitting (reducing the desire for sleep, as lying down can lead to deep, excessive sleep), and wear three robes (actually one set, the minimum requirement, reducing attachment to clothing).
Some criticize why a Dhutanga practitioner does not live alone in the forest but wanders across the country. The answer is that finding forests in Vietnam today like in the Buddha's time is impossible. Venerable Minh Tue has also spent time in seclusion on Mount San. So why does he choose to walk across the country? He answers that it is to "train and maintain health." In a deeper understanding, he is practicing the true Dharma of the Tathagata. Walking helps him to be mindful of body, feelings, mind, and phenomena; living in hardship, experiencing suffering, and understanding the cause of suffering leads to the end of suffering, rather than hoping to escape suffering to find happiness.
On his journey, if he is tempted by material possessions, money, or beauty, it means that desire has arisen; if he feels troubled by the crowd, it means anger has arisen. Therefore, solitary retreat alone may not necessarily help control the mind when faced with worldly temptations.
Many people also question the social utility of his wanderings. If everyone did as he does, who would produce food? These questions are shortsighted and self-serving.
What have we done for society? Everyone contributes to society in varying degrees, and human values are not solely measured by material contributions but also by spiritual ones. Typically, what we do is visible and beneficial to ourselves and our families. In contrast, what Venerable Minh Tue has done for society is far more significant and evident:

• He has helped many people see the image of original Buddhism and the monastic life of the Buddha.
• He serves as a mirror reflecting the true nature of some "fraudulent monks," "transaction monks," and "advisory monks."
• He has awakened many who were lost in false doctrines, bringing them back to the light of the true Dharma.
• He has maintained faith in Buddhism for many and earned the admiration of followers of other religions.
• He has inspired many to reflect on themselves, reducing greed, hatred, and delusion in their lives. Some have even given up everything to follow his path.
• In a way, he has brought people closer and fostered social harmony.

If society could follow his example, it would be wonderful. Then, I believe, society would not only have food and clothing but also a more peaceful and happy life. However, few people can do what he does!
Some people question why he refers to himself as "con" (child) instead of "thầy" (teacher).
First, he has chosen the path of renunciation, no longer bound by monastic duties at a temple, and does not consider himself anyone's teacher to avoid influencing others and bureaucratic issues.
Second, the self-reference "thầy" among monks and laypeople today is merely a convention in communication. There is no binding requirement. In essence, it is a cultural practice in Vietnamese language, while in English, it is just "I-You," or in Chinese, "Wǒ 我 - Nǐ 你." Some high-ranking monks still refer to themselves as "tôi" (I) or their Dharma names when teaching. Venerable Minh Tue's use of "con" with everyone demonstrates his practice of humility, renouncing the ego, which is the spirit of selflessness.
Currently, wherever he goes, hundreds to thousands of people follow, including many YouTubers, TikTokers, and Facebookers. This has raised concerns about security and disruptions to his practice.
I believe we should not rush to blame or criticize those creating social media content. Let's see the positive side, for without them, how could the beautiful image of a true monk spread? In this era, spreading the Dharma and sharing good things are more effective with the support of media and social networks. How else would Vietnamese Buddhists know about the teachings of monks like Phap Hoa or Tinh Khong and other high-ranking monks?
Moreover, their gathering is also a test for Venerable Minh Tue to practice mind control. If he starts feeling important, central, or like a star due to attention and veneration, he immediately falls into ego clinging and arrogance. If he gets annoyed by the crowd, it means anger has arisen. These situations are ultimate tests on the path of precepts and mindfulness. Observing him, no matter how hard the walk, his face remains serene with a smile. Perhaps he has attained tranquility.
Some people express sympathy for him, tearfully seeing him bareheaded, barefoot, under the sun and rain. This emotional response is understandable but from a worldly perspective. Choosing the path of asceticism makes him feel internal joy, and these hardships help him approach enlightenment.
Some worry about him facing dangers from dark forces. Don't worry; choosing this path requires great courage. Didn't he say, "If I'm allowed to live, I'll continue to practice"? This shows fearlessness as he has thoroughly understood impermanence and selflessness. What we should care about is whether he has truly attained this mindset. If he has, Nirvana is not far away. Therefore, we should rejoice.
I predict that at some stage, after experiencing suffering and training body and mind, Venerable Minh Tue might retreat into seclusion to achieve enlightenment. Once precepts are fully observed, meditation is necessary to attain concentration.
Certainly, his influence has reduced the income of some fraudulent monks, who might even have to sell cars and land. Therefore, it is not surprising that efforts to defame and harm Venerable Minh Tue are intensifying. Initially, they fabricated stories of false monasticism with staged filming. They ridiculed his robe, calling it "plot selling land," or criticized his rice cooker as an unofficial alms bowl. But they fail to understand that he has reached a state of non-attachment, indifferent to shame or ridicule. Having chosen a renunciant life, living without family, sleeping in cemeteries, overcoming family ties is the greatest obstacle.
The meanest tactic they use is labeling him as an agent of foreign anti-government organizations, portraying him as a beggar monk to undermine Vietnamese Buddhism and the nation.
I must say, Vietnamese Buddhism is undermined by fraudulent monks, tolerated and supported. They exploit karma and reincarnation theories, distorting and frightening the ignorant with horrific afterlife scenarios. They continue exploiting donations as a way to resolve karmic debts, seeking blessings, and accumulating merit, the more money, the better, even encouraging devotees to donate entire houses to temples and live simply elsewhere. In short, just donate.
Therefore, the purification of fraudulent monks will be the revival of Vietnamese Buddhism.
Praising Venerable Minh Tue's practice does not mean devaluing other practices of true monks in the country. Each has different capacities and vows, so not everyone can be the same. Every individual is here to fulfill a unique mission.
If the standard of a monk is virtue, clearly, the one who practices surpasses the one who understands. Practicing Dhutanga is a great merit, rarely achieved. Therefore, praising and respecting virtue is right but not deifying or idolizing Venerable Minh Tuệ at this moment, as this would lead to wrong views and contradict the spirit of Buddhism.
To understand the significance of practicing Dhutanga, let me quote the Buddha's praise of Venerable Kasyapa's practice:
“Well done! Well done, Kasyapa! You have brought great benefit and saved innumerable beings, extending this to all the realms of gods and men. Why? Kasyapa, if this ascetic practice remains in the world, then my teachings will also remain long in the world. If my teachings remain in the world, then the path to the heavenly realm will increase, and the three evil paths will diminish. Likewise, the noble paths of Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami, and the Three Vehicles will also remain in the world. Monks, you should practice as Kasyapa does.
Thus, monks, you should learn this.” (4)
Notes: (1) In the Samannaphala Sutta, Kinh Chung Đức (2) Also known as Prajna Wisdom (3) In the Kinh Chung Đức (4) In the Ekottara Agama, Volume I
Nha Trang, May 10, 2024 Nguyen Thanh Huy Email: [thanhhuy1979@gmail.com]()
Editor's Note: (*) Currently a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at the University.

Please Read My Last post before you dive into this one...

Because boy oh boy have things changed BIG TIME.
In the last almost 2 months since I dropped that post, there's been some new people who were hired, and another round of good old combo clerk training. I like usual was not even asked to be part of it. I would have said "No Thank You That Sounds God Awful", but it was another "candidate" who really got my Blood Absolutely Boiling.
We have this newcomer to the company who I will call Guy 1 from here on out.
Guy 1 could not be lazier. The dude on several occasions, just walked out of the store, out to his car, got in turned on the AC and spent 30ish-40 minutes out there. Which wouldn't be so bad if he didnt do it EVERY SINGLE HOUR HE WAS ON THE CLOCK!!!!! We would call his name on the intercom for almost the entire time with no answer. and his lunch breaks were almost an hour to an hour and a half when the rest of the galaxy only takes a half for lunch and then gets their butts back on the clock.
Long story short he's now a combo clerk... let that sink in really quick.
The other day I was helping get carts with this guy because it was his hour, and he was inside until about 40 minutes past the hour. I had done his sweep, then I saw that both sides were getting low on carts. So I let management know that I would be outside getting more carts because it was his hour, and he was in the check stand covering a lunch or something. I went out there grabbed 2 sets of 7 carts, and pushed them in, then Guy comes out vest on but no Ratchet Strap and then proceeds to grab 20 carts and push them into the stall. I told him that he cannot bring 20 carts in and that he needs to go inside and grab a ratchet strap and pull in 7 max because if someone from union or a VP comes in for a little visit, the store gets dinged and our SM would have both our heads for screwing with her records or whatever.
Guy proceeds to yell at me because its fine and SM has seen me do it before and that I do things my own way and that I cannot yell at him. Guy then does another set of 20 before going off to lunch someplace outside of the store parking lot. Leaving me, with left extreme side of the cart corral done and right extreme side of the cart corral done but no carts in the middle.
Later that day he pulls me aside and apologizes for yelling at me, because "I don't like it when people raise their voices at me" when I only did it to get his attention because he was going from a parking lot that might as well be its own rumble strip while going over a rumble strip with 20 carts. He then claimed that his maximum was 56 carts pushed in in one go.
Even the other cashiers saw that I should have been at least asked and were asking management like "what the hell why not me?" and all they said in return was a shrug followed with, "yeah he was an awful choice wasn't he?"
Anyway to answer questions from the last post... apparently there is no such thing as a "voluntary demotion" I asked SM about that and she herself had no Idea what that was. it's just good old-fashioned favoritism, I guess. I asked my manager why I can't go into being on the pickup team and she said that "I spoke with "manager" over there and they said, "my technical skills were lacking."" which I will admit makes sense when I can count the number of orders I've done on my own in the low single digits and I've never done a single carry out.
More than likely, I will be going to the union this week and I'll be showing them both of these posts.

Usernames. They can tell a lot about a person, or, sometimes, nothing at all. However, in the case of the art community this is taken to a whole new level to the point where I just sat down, head in my hand and wondered "is this a joke?"
So much drama could've just been avoided if people took a step back, went "hmm... You know, maybe the name is kind of a red flag?" and like, this ain't a jab. This is just something that I fr noticed.
Hopelesspeaches? Was hopeless. Horrible person, next. Creepshowart? A creep. That showed art. Prisonmateluke? Actually more tame compared to the others here but his username HAS to be mentioned bc like cmon lol illuminaughtii?? Do I even need to explain this one?? Literally Illuminati AND naughty in the same one??
This isn't to clown on people who cover them or to excuse anything they did, I just genuinely find it hilarious how the names make it so obvious what kinda person it's being dealt with - like a foreshadowing or something. Y'all like what

Weird title, and weird story, but I have to get this off my chest and tell somebody about it because it upset me so so badly.
My grandpa is in the middle stages of dementia, and he likes to watch animals. Birds outside, the neighborhood cats outside of his window, squirrels, live cams of animals on TV, all that kind of stuff keeps his attention and make him less antsy for a long time. So for his birthday in early April, I got him a 20 gallon fish tank to keep on the table next to his recliner. Now, I did some research into fish, and found out it was best to run the tank for a while before putting fish in it. Ok, so I set it all up on his birthday, put some aquatic plants in it, and let it run until I got home from college, about a month later.
The other day I decided it was finally time to get some fish. Although I could have done this without my Papa, I decided it would be good to get him out and about, and get his say on what color of fish we were gonna get. We talked about what fish we wanted before this, and decided that wanted at least 4 Tetras, so we could name them after the Beatles.
We get to the big chain pet store, Papa picks out a little yellow submarine to put in his tank, all is well, until we get to the actually getting of the fish. A worker comes out and asks me what type of fish I want, I point out the exact fish, and ask my Papa what colors he would like. The worker stops me, and asks me who exactly the fish are for, and seeing no reason to lie, I tell the worker that they are for my Papa. Who, at this stage of dementia, it is quite obvious he is not at 100% mental capacity. Suddenly, the worker gets all strange, and begins interrogating me on my tank. What size it is, how long the filter has been running, etc. Again, I see no reason to lie to him, so I tell him everything already covered. The worker says that my tank is way to small, that I need at least 30 gallon tank to hold any fish, and that my filter hasn't been running for long enough, blabbers on for about 30 minutes about how irresponsible it would be for me to have this fish, an insists the only thing that can live in my tank is plants. He says he will not sell us fish, any fish. He then proceeds to practically force us to buy a plant (picked one off the shelf, put it in my hand, and walked us to the register). I buy the plant and my Papa's yellow submarine.
At this point, I am fuming. I kind of caught on to what this worker was about-he assumed my Papa couldn't take care of this fish. But I'm trying to keep my cool, not wanting my Papa to see that I was upset. Papa is of course confused when we get back to the car as to why we have no fish, I tell him that they just didn't have the ones we wanted (now usually I tell the truth but in this situation, I knew he would have stormed back in and demanded the fish if he knew what had happened)
I knew for a fact fish could live in the tank I set up, so I did what I should have done in the first place, go to the local fish store. The reason I didn't do this in the first place is because it is not disability accessible, like so many small business are, unfortunately.
I go to the local fish store, leaving Papa in the car with the Beatles playing (of course), explain to the fish man my situation. Asking him if there are any fish that could live in a 20 gallon tank
"Of course, I've got the perfect fish for you"
You know what they were? Tetras! The only warning the fish man gave me was to keep the food hidden from my Papa as him may over feed them, no problem was gonna do that anyways. Plan was for me to be the fish caretaker in the first place.
So now John, Paul, George, and Ringo are happily living next to my Papas chair with their yellow submarine. My Papa couldn't be happier watching his fish. I'm just so mad we were seemingly discriminated against by the worker at the big chain store, I assume he thought my Papa would be the sole caregiver of the fish, which is an unfair assumption, especially since he didn't ask me who would be caring for the fish-just who the fish were for.
Sorry for the long post, this whole story has had me fuming for days, I though writing it all out for you lovely internet people would help me calm down about it.
TLDR: Big chain store wouldn't sell me and my Papa fish because worker assumed my Papa wasn't capable of taking care of them, local business to the rescue. Paul, John, George and Ringo are now very happy fish.

I can’t remember the name of this book, but I got it from the school library around 2010-2011 in middle school, so intended for a young audience. It was a fantasy/possibly fantasy horror book, had a female protagonist (unknown name), where the protag had to go down a “trail of bones”, which in the book was a trail with a chain link fence, that had either dead people reaching their hands through the fence, or they were just really sickly people sticking their hands through the fence.
The protag might have brought a friend or companion with them.
I believe there might have been a second book.
The book cover was blue with black hands that entangled together to look like some sort of tree.
Any sort of help appreciated !

(Pasting it from the comments as many people seemed to have missed it) Thank you all so much again. It really put things into perspective for me. Because when you are in the middle of things you don’t see the larger picture. Few things that you guys might want to know is - he is junior to me and has no authority at work over me. And dating policy is an unwritten part as I have moved to a conservative and traditional place where even if a man is just walking with a woman in public people will give you eyes and talk shit behind your back. I just had a long conversation with him and he listened to me patiently. He told me how she wrote the names of all the team members on his team, he erased it when he noticed it, but that one particular name in the middle finger didn’t come off. He didn’t see my point at first as we come from a much liberal place (we moved to this place for work) where man and woman can be friends and giving a friendly hug is also ok. But she is from this place and when a guard asked me indirectly about him while I was walking with him he understood about the professional boundaries and how what she did was worth a concern. He was open to having an honest conversation with me and saw my point. He understood if I being his girlfriend cannot hold his hand others have no right. He said he will talk to her, but I have no idea what he can say and I too didn’t have any input in that matter. He wants to draw a line as he saw my point. I guess it’s all good for now. I will wait and watch, if similar thing happens again I will know he isn’t serious about me. I am will not hesitate to break it off.

I don't even know how much of my trauma actually is trauma? If that makes sense? I always feel horrifically invalid from it being so watered down as a child and made to feel normal.
I was bullied to the ends of the earth for the sexual abuse my bio dad put me through because I would talk about it like it was normal at school to my friends, simple things like someone having their own bedroom and not being forced to sleep in their dads bed, or being allowed to open the blinds, not having to deadbolt the front door or not being forced to take temazepam every night. Oh, it's not normal for your dad to force you to drink upward of 3 bottles of wine a weekend? I would be tormented by my friends because they were kids, kids are assholes, common shit like ‘your dads a pedo/he touches you/etc’ and I'd laugh along because I didn't know what it meant. No one ever explained it to me, no other adults stepped in to stop it, not even my sibling spoke up about it even though she witnessed it for majority of my growing up. This all took place from ages 3-12, my memory only starting at about 8 and at 12 i had to remove myself from that situation because my mother didn’t want to ‘be a bitch’. it’s been 6 years since i’ve seen my dad, which i only have myself to thank, my family still jokes about the stuff i went through, which i later learnt they all knew about. He had 4 restraining orders against him from a previous family, because he sexually abused his 3 kids, all under the age of 8, youngest being 2.
i went to the police about everything (my mother did not want to be involved so i had to get my sibling to take me, i was 14 at the time). they told me because i had no evidence and it had been so long, the only thing i could do was get a no contact order, which my mum would have to fill out and it would protect me from him contacting me, meaning if he broke it, it would lead to a restraining order, and then if that was broken he would do time. she told me to my face that it was a waste of time. When i was 13 i opened up to her about shit that had happened, her only response was ‘you can’t blame me for what happened’. Mind you this was not the only person in the family who was doing shit, my dad found CP of me on my cousins laptop when i was 8, he was so angry and after that day i was no longer allowed in my cousins room when we went over there. that’s some of the only ‘trauma’ i have clear memory of was the shit on those recordings.
Around that time i started self harming, i was around 9 years old and as i got older it just got more ‘severe’, stitches, weekly doctors visits, medication, therapy ontop of therapy, my mums only issue with my self harm seemed to be that it made her look like a shit parent, the first time she saw was when i was 13, my sleeve rolled up whilst we were waiting for a court meeting. My dad had tried to take us to court since he believed my mum was ‘keeping’ me from him (we did not end up going to court, he threatened to kill his lawyer and then was given a mental health assessment that did not go in his favour.). She saw my wrist and started screaming at me in the middle of a cafe about how stupid i was for even doing that, mind you i was on my way to have a child psychologist assess me for court. she swore black and blue at me before telling me to ‘keep my sleeves down’ during the assessment.
Second time she found out was when she came into my room whilst i was taking a nap, i was wearing a short sleeved shirt so my at the time scars were quiet visible, she dragged me out of bed whaling about how i was stupid for continuing and i had ruined my body, i was 15 at this time, the year prior i had been diagnosed CPTSD, Emerging BPD, PDD (persistent depressive disorder) and Social Anxiety, as well as panic disorder and some form of major dissociation either from BPD or underlying schizophrenia (there’s a very strong genetic risk for it since both my dad and 3 of my siblings have it.). She didn’t care what diagnosis i had, she still doesn’t to be honest and to her they’re just words on paper saying her kid is ‘weird’. Growing up i was often referred to as ‘it’, ‘the thing’, ‘kid’. i’ve found that after all sexual assault i start to feel immensely uncomfortable in my identity, and i will change my name, i also discovered the queer community around the time of all this too and it gave me something to focus on instead of dwelling about my past. she’s never respected my name, or pronouns, it’s been the same name for 4 years now, same pronouns and either of those have ever been attempted to be used, i gave up so i just let her say what she wants since she’s sick and probably won’t be around for a while longer.
I know if someone else told me this stuff i’d always agree that it’s messed up and they need help etc. but because it’s me i just can’t make that connection? this is my childhood, this was what’s normal, no one ever batted an eye about it or told me it was wrong so i can’t be upset or feel bad about it since what am i going to do? but realistically, i am honestly falling apart day by day, all trust is gone, i don’t know who i am, i constantly put others first, and ontop of mental fuckarounds there’s a bunch of shit wrong with me physically that limits a lot of stuff, i feel like this world isn’t meant for me, my quality of life is nearly 0 and if an animal had gone through shit to the point it can’t function in life properly and will be put down, then why tf am i still here, i have so many questions to ask so many people of just ‘why did you let this happen’ but i know the blame will be pushed back to me.
sorry for rambling, my head is so clouded at the moment and i’ve been having horrible irrational thoughts about all this, I’m 17 now, i’ll be 18 this year. i’ve moved out of my mothers house and see her once a fortnight, shes dying, and it saddens me since i do love her, she’s my mum, a part of me will always love her. My dad is still unfortunately alive, he got me sent into the psychiatric hospital a could months back, he finds whatever house i live in, whatever job my family members (2) have, he will drive by, rock up, break in, do whatever he wants since police won’t help, he’s still tormenting my life every single day and there’s nothing i can do about it, and i’m so, so tired.

It's time baby. You've been with me 8 years, 6 months, and 13 days since Jared brought you home and you became my cat. My baby. You were only about 2 months old according to the vet so I decided September 1st was your birthday.
Tomorrow we have to part ways. I see that you haven't been feeling well for a little while now. Today really proved that. It was raining, and you didn't even want to go outside. That's not like you Oliver. You love going outside, even in the rain. You're a cat that loves water.
You barely ate today, mostly eating the chicken I brought to you. You spent the day sleeping behind the closet door. I made sure to put your blanket down in there so it was extra soft and comfy.
We spent time together in that cramped little closet today. I've apologized a million times for all the moments I lost my cool with you not because you escaped, yet again, but just because I was frustrated and yelled at you. You didn't deserve that, and I can never take it back. The apologies will never be enough.
We talked about the good times. The time I woke up in the middle of the night sandwiched between you and Bella. My orange boy snuggled up on side, and my pittie, like a block of concrete on the other. Neither one of you budged when I wiggled my way out from under the covers to go pee, or wiggled my way back in. Or the times you climbed the big arborvitae tree in the backyard and made your way onto the garage roof. Or you just climbed up as far as you could go and needed me to come up and get you. You laying on my shoulders when we went to the pet store. The millions of times you came to greet me at the door and launched yourself up into my arms or climbed onto my shoulders from on top of the fridge.
My two favorites being 1) the couple of times you slept under the covers with me. And 2) the time I tried to make you sit with me and watch Oliver and Company. The movie I named you after. You didn't go for it, so I watched it alone.
There's so many more memories that I'll forever cherish. The snuggles, the baths, chasing you around the neighborhood.
Time has flown, and yet it was never enough. You're just snoozing away in the cat climber right now, and tomorrow night when I look up, you won't be there. Not physically anyway. I feel the immense pain of having to lose you. It feels like every fiber of my being is being ripped to shreds. This is worse than childbirth.
It hurts to know Caleb will never really know you. There's a few pictures, and you've let him touch you a couple times. You've even snuggled his head a few times in the nights... after trying to play with and nibble on it. I love him, but I feel horribly guilty that these past 5 months I haven't been able to give you the same amount of love and attention as I used to. Going outside as often as we once did hasn't been easy since moving into the apartment and especially after the baby.
You were never a placeholder. You are now, always have been, and forever will be my first baby Oliver.
Oliver, Ollie, Ol, Pookie, Pooks, Fluffernutter, Fluff, Chonk, Chonker. Fluffernut. Nutter butter. The cat I swear I should have named Dennis the Menace. My orange boy.
I don't want you to go. I don't know how to do this without you. I don't WANT to do it without you. But I promised you I'd always protect you. I'd never let anything happen to you; that Momma's got you. And the truth is, if I let things go the way they've been, I'll have broken that promise. And I'll have been the one who hurt you because I was too selfish to let you go with dignity. I can't do that to you. I won't.
So in the morning, we'll go outside for the sunrise if you're up for it. We'll have some yogurt together. I'll hold you close. And when our time is at the close, I'll be right beside you. In the comfort of our own home. Together, with daddy and Caleb, and Kitty nearby. I'll be with you until the end. Always.
I love you Pooks. More than anything. Thank you for our time together. Come find me again.

Hi everyone I’m a UOB student and I’m making a short film for my final project for my uni year and in need of a cast for it, it’ll be very fun and relaxed nothing too serious and would love to have people who are film enthusiasts with me through this journey! Will be shooting in London somewhere between the middle of June.
Shooting Dates:
June 10-25 (dependent on availability)
Location:
Central London and surrounding areas
Roles:

1. Young Musician: Male, 18-25 years old, passionate about music, introspective.
   
2. Various Characters: Multiple roles available, portraying the vibrant diversity of London's streets. Different ages and ethnicities needed, very open choices.
   

How to get into contact:
for more information and to get into the short film, please email alkawanini27@gmail.com with your name, contact information, and role(s) you're interested in. Or Send a message through Instagram on @Maceproduced.
Important Notes:

• This is a volunteestudent project with no monetary compensation.
• All cast members must be available for shooting dates.
• Transportation around London will be provided but not from Brighton to London.

Join us on this fun expirement through the heart of London!

I am 23 years old I have a 4 year old girl, he's 25, I'm just going to name him jack. Jack still lives with his mother, I been knowing jack since middle school. We been on and off since then, Jack's mother lets just call her Emily, Emily never treated me with respect. So my mom called me telling me I got approved for a house so he was excited and Emily said "you don't want him to go with you do you" I said "I don't know y'all don't treat me right I get in trouble for everything even when I stay in my room with my 4 month old (this happened before she turned 1). He take's all of my paychecks, he always mentally abused me keep me isolated from my family. Never helps me with my daughter, when I do ask for help he always gets mad at me and complain how he don't get help from his mother while I'm at work and says "so why should I help you?" so give me a few days and I will answer that because my daughter is crying. I'm going to feed my daughter". So 1 hour later she came up stairs telling me "pack up your sh!t get the f*k out" so I let my daughter stay because I knew I was going to be homeless after, I didn't want her to be homeless with me. So he thought we was still together, so about this time I was talking to someone else so I told him I didn't want to be with him anymore after what Emily pulled. So I went there every day to see my daughter, so they wanted to see the guy I was talking to because he was trying to have the guy stop talking to me (the guy told me what they talked about that how I know he was trying to get him to leave me alone) my daughter is about 1 years old around this time, she wanted me to spend the night (she cried when I tried leaving and she started to like the dude I was talking to)so they let me spend the night with the guy that I was talking to. So I ended up having s*x with the guy, he gave me h!ckeys and I gave him some also. I never seen someone looked so depressed, while we was doing it jack was trying to make me a song for me to fall back in love with him. That love I had for him went right out the window when Emily kicked me out, until this day jack still trying to come back, he dating a new girl have 2 children with her. I'm engaged to someone else, currently pregnant with my fiancé child. Before y'all ask did he know? yeah he knew about it because of the h!ckeys. They did not know each other or anything first time of them meeting each other.

My husband and I adopted our great-niece (from his side). I’ll call her Addy. I can’t overstate how much we love and adore her. She makes our life complete in a way I never could have imagined. We tried to have children, but couldn’t. God dropped her in our laps and we do our best to give her the home she deserves. She was taken from her parents and placed in a relatives care basically from birth. We started getting her for weekends around 4 months old, and she officially came into our care at 9 months old. The adoption process took awhile but she was finally “ours” when she was 2y5m. She had a birth name that I could not bear to keep. Her first name was quite unusual…it included an apostrophe and was a bastardized spelling of a man’s name from the Bible. However, most everyone called her by a nickname (Addy for this story). She had two middle names that I felt a child might have picked for their princess doll. But, one of those middle names happened to be the name of her dead sister. I struggled with the decision to change her name and we ultimately did change it. It’s been a little over a year and I still wonder if we made the right call. I’d like some opinions and feedback, please.
Here are the biggest reasons we changed it: 1) I was told by DCS that the bio-mom tried to abort the sister with a coat hanger, and when that was unsuccessful, she drank and used drugs to excess. The sister was born and in NICU for one month before passing. She had a miserable, terrible, short life. I feel the bio-mom murdered that little girl. It seemed sick to me that she would saddle her next child, Addy, with the name of a child she did all of that to, even if just as a middle name to Addy. 2) Regarding changing the first name, I felt Addy would be judged forever for her unusual name. I work in a professional environment and know that while it’s not fair, it’s true that if there are multiple applicants for a position, the unusual names get put at the bottom of the pile. Racism, and plain old xenophobia, still exist. 3) My husband has a brain injury and has a very difficult time remembering how to spell things. I didn’t want him to be unable to spell her name (the first and middle names were all names he couldn’t spell).
We changed her legal name to just be her nickname. We gave her 2 different middle names, each honoring one of her relatives on my husband’s side. All names are short and easy to spell (for my husband’s sake). I feel like the reasons for changing her name are strong, but I feel guilty anyways. I’m putting myself at your mercy to either confirm that I’m beating myself up justifiably, or put me out of my misery.

Today I sat down and sent out letters to the media about how the independent monitor who is overseeing the APD's consent decree has announced that they have met all the requirements, and he is recommending that Albuquerque police be released from further review. A judge will decide if that is the case in early June.
The issue that I have with that??? The Albuquerque Police Department TOPS the nationwide list per capita for officer involved shootings. Population wise they killed more people last year than any other US law enforcement agency, and their rate of shootings has gone UP rather than down over the past decade.
APD is also currently being investigated by the FBI for the DWI scandal, which involves numerous corrupt officers not showing up to court (assumingly in exchange for bribes) over many years... offenses which were not uncovered by the committee put in charge of policing the police, nor the department supervisors.
These things do not suggest that APD is now REFORMED and can be trusted with handling investigations of their own department internally. If anything, it makes it clear that whatever oversight they have been receiving isn't working. Not only do they need the federal oversight to continue, they need someone else put in charge of monitoring their department... obviously anybody who thinks that the APD is currently 'all good' doesn't have very good judgement.
So here is the letter that I have been sending out to local news agencies and government officials. I encourage everyone to research this situation themselves and write their own letters or make phone calls voicing their concerns about the APD being released from federal oversight even though they are literally the countries #1 killer cops and their department is steeped in misconduct.
"I'm writing you today because I simply can not believe that the independent monitor that is overseeing the DOJ order for Federal oversight over APD has recommended that it come to an end because they have supposedly met their goals... The statistics say otherwise.
Albuquerque police top the nationwide list of officer involved shootings per capita - looking solely at population, they killed more people in 2023 than any other US city! Their rate of shootings has gone up over time rather than down, and the increase isn't comparable to a growth in population.
They also have an unreasonably high death rate of incarcerated people, an enormous number of unconvicted people being held for low level offenses while violent repeat offenders are left roaming the streets, and a disproportionate number of arrests of POC that reveal a department wide racial bias.
Albuquerque has an atrocious level of crime for a city this size, and APD has a horrible response time with many people across the city complaining that they NEVER SHOW UP AT ALL to 911 calls for assistance. When they do show up they are incredibly likely to murder people who are unarmed, experiencing a mental health crisis, acting out due to being under the influence of substances, or just because they are Black/Hispanic/Native.
The department has a high number of complaints against officers where nearly none are found in favor of the civilian victims upon internal review - it's an unusually low number in comparison to other places. There are numerous instances over the past decade when they have lacked transparency regarding misconduct, refusing to release the names of officers involved or hold them accountable for their actions. These things alone should be reason enough for them to continue being monitored... proof that they haven't improved enough to be released from review.
But the Albuquerque police are also literally in the middle of a FBI investigation due to the DWI scandal. That's a great big red flag! Why wasn't this independent oversight committee able to spot that multiple officers weren't showing up to court hundreds of times over many years, with all the cases connected to the same attorney? Instead it took a citizen doing their own investigation to break open the corruption, and it required the media covering the story to make sure that this controversy wasn't buried. If the monitors couldn't catch this misconduct and abuse of power, what else is going on in the department that has either not yet been revealed or is being purposely hidden?
None of this sounds like "REFORMED" to me - if this is how the APD behaves while under the microscope, what will they do when they have independent power over their own misconduct again? How can this monitor group see all of this happening yet still recommend that the consent decree end? They are responsible for overseeing a police department that is currently at the TOP of the list for police killings and one that is engulfed in a conspiracy involving many officers, yet they are giving the APD 'the all clear'? Make it make sense!
I'd like to see more news stories pointing out all the reasons why the consent decree shouldn't stop and how they need a new monitor instead - the current one didn't fulfill his promises and hasn't been able to bring the APD into REAL compliance. We citizens obviously cannot bring our complaints directly to the APD or the oversight committee and expect transparency or action, so the burden falls on to the local news agencies to investigate this topic and release their findings to the community.
I've recently seen some news articles that were critical of the head monitor Mr. James Ginger, saying that his office isn't accessible to the public, he's usually out of state, he's been paid many millions of dollars and wasn't able to get the job done in the amount of time that he originally stated.
So it seems suspicious that almost immediately after news agencies investigated his role and uncovered some pretty disparaging stuff about his job performance he suddenly declares the department to be in compliance of the consent decree and announces that his oversight role will end.
Is there a connection? Is he giving them a passing grade after years of putting in the minimum amount of work just so he can write down a win on his resume? Is James Ginger attempting to back out of his responsibility over this police department by painting them as "cured" when they obviously aren't?
Please talk about this issue more, the public really needs to see the facts about APD that suggest that they shouldn't be released from DOJ oversight. It's especially important that some articles about this get published before a judge reviews this claim of the department being in compliance and possibly signs off on it at the beginning of June. We cannot allow the nation's top killer cops, a department chock full of misconduct, to be responsible for policing themselves!
I would love to see the mayor, city council, or some concerned citizens petition the court for a continuation of the consent decree with a new independent monitor in charge, as well as an investigation into the current monitors' performance and reason for declaring the APD in compliance when it's obvious that they have not improved enough to be released from oversight.
But that isn't likely to happen without the media pointing out the facts about APD's performance and reiterating the failures of Mr. Ginger over the past decade. We've got to put some pressure on city officials to do the right thing and stop the APD from being given free reign over their own affairs again... literal lives are at stake."
Thanks for taking the time to read all of that! I really hope that we as a community can prevent this from happening and finally bring some meaningful and much needed change to our police department.