The evolutionary psychologist Mads Larsen writes:

Sex ratio theory suggests why mating practices have become dysfunctional in the West and other regions. [...] Statistics from the Nordic countries—the world’s most gender-equal region—indicate that subjective perceptions of the sex ratio in modern environments drive singledom and low reproduction. Scandinavia has the world’s highest occurrence of one-person households: 43–46%. In the past decade, the Norwegian fertility rate dropped from 2.0 to 1.5. Sex ratio studies suggest that women’s perception of there being few acceptable partners activates a polygynous mindset, which in prosperous, monogamous societies drives promiscuity to the detriment of pair-bonding.
Statistics show that women are increasingly unwilling to copulate or pair-bond with less attractive mates. Although women desire relationships, as they have gained equality, their standards have increased. Today’s rising economic stratification motivates further discrimination of certain men. With improved gender equality, women sorted away the poorest men. Rising economic inequity makes women exclude those men who are just below average (Brooks et al., 2022). Being a high-value man in the modern environment is about more than financial capital. Women generally want men with high education and status, financial success, greater intelligence, a tall stature, independence, and self-confidence (Buss, 2016; DeSantis, 2021). Those unable to attract such a man may forego pair-bonding and reproduction to prioritize other sources of fulfillment, such as a rewarding career or financial independence (Sng and Ackerman, 2020).

The increased social status of women makes them choosier resulting in a growing number of men being excluded from the mating market.
On the flip-side, a growing number of women remains unpartnered because they find themselves unable to find a man who meets their expectations. But this wealth of unpartnered women also affects the cognition of men.

Instead of raising their standards to attract a higher-value partner, men would lower their standards to have more promiscuous sex. Instead of lowering their standards to attract a mate, women would raise their standards to avoid being deceived by men who seek short-term mating (Stone et al., 2007).

The high status men, desired by women, become more promiscuous and less likely to commit to a single partner. Women respond to this by becoming choosier and more promiscuous at the same time.

They compete more fiercely and do so by catering to male mate preferences. Women permit more uncommitted sex (Schmitt, 2005). They signal promiscuity, for instance, by wearing shorter skirts (Barber, 1999). A novel expression of such female–female competition, informed by male preferences, is that when high income inequality reduces the proportion of attractive bachelors, women post more sexualized selfies (Borgerhoff Mulder, 2018). Early pregnancy is another competitive means. In low-ratio contexts, women appear to compete for males through teenage pregnancies and pregnancies outside of marriage (South and Trent, 1988; Barber, 2000, 2001; Chipman and Morrison, 2013).

As a consequence both men and women become frustrated with the opposite sex. Women because they can't get the long-term relationships with the high status men they desire and men because they find themselves confronted with a increasingly competitive dating market from which certain men are excluded in entirety.
In liberal circles people often blame plummeting birthrates on economic hardship but the Nordic countries serve as a counter-example.

In the Nordic countries, generous welfare frees more women to break out of, or avoid, burdensome bonds (Trägårdh 1997). Similar to the way in which early hominin females could make do without paternal care, modern women can raise children on their own. Buss (2016) wrote that with long maternity leave, subsidized daycare, and other forms of support, Nordic “taxpayers effectively provide women with what partners otherwise would.” In Norway, social democratic governance on average transfers $1.2 million more to each woman over a lifetime than she pays in tax. The average man pays more in tax than he receives in benefits (Statistics Norway, 2022d; national oil revenue also counted as tax).

Instead of the birthrates being raised, they dropped even further.

In 1974, the typical Norwegian woman was 23 years old when she married. In 2020, she was 34 (Statistics Norway, 2015, 2022a)—although her first birth was at 30 (Statistics Norway, 2022b). Over this period, her fertility rate fell from 2.13 to 1.48 (Statistics Norway, 2022e).

And the poorest men were sorted out instead of being enabled to have families.

Nordic women being less dependent on male provisioning influences how their mate preferences play out. From 1985 to 2012, the number of Norwegian men who failed to reproduce by age 45 increased from 14% to 23% (Amundsen, 2014). Three times as many men as women suffer involuntary childlessness (Håkonsen and Krekling 2017). Experts attribute this inequality to women’s recycling of high-value mates (Jensen and Østby, 2014)—which can be viewed as a form of temporal polygyny. Norwegian men with high salaries have a 90% chance of being pair-bonded by age 40—those with low salaries, a 40% chance (Almås et al., 2020). Danes experience a similar marginalization: 45% of low-skilled men live alone (Forum for Mænds Sundhed, 2017).

tl;dr - the inability of men and women to pair bond results in demographic collapse. And immigration does not help remedy this problem either but introduces other negative externalities.

Experts give an impression of not knowing why this is occurring or which policies could counter the demographic collapse. Their most common recommendation has been to increase immigration (Grant et al., 2006; Grunfelder et al., 2020; Vollset et al., 2020). Since many developing countries still have high fertility rates, transferring parts of their population to developed nations appeared as a viable solution. From 2000 to 2015, Norway’s immigrant population tripled (Midttun, 2018), yet the fertility rate kept falling. Today, 15% of residents are immigrants (Statistics Norway, 2022c), which increases the population, but without motivating reproduction near replacement levels. A cultural change across Europe after the 2015 migrant crisis has made continued large-scale immigration a less compelling proposition. Recent long-term-cost estimates have shown that instead of improving national finances, many groups of immigrants undermine the future viability of Western welfare states (NOU 2017:2, 2017). Eastern European and Asian cultures have been less willing to open their borders to counter low fertility (Vollset et al., 2020).

Rachel Wilson writes:

To understand the modern-day political movement we call feminism, we must go back to the beginning. Early pagan religious ideas gave birth to feminism, and it is always out of paganism and the occult that feminist ideas and movements emerge. What is “the occult,” anyway? The word “occult” simply means hidden, but when I refer to “the occult” I am speaking of religious beliefs that claim to have hidden knowledge, or which claim to allow the practitioner to gain this knowledge, power, or god-like personal deification from its practice. This is the reason feminism is born of occult belief, because at its core, feminism seeks to make women gods over men, or at the very least to deify women. The very essence of feminist thought is a worldview where women and men struggle for dominance. This is the Hegelian master-slave dialectic, and it defines the feminist struggle no matter how often feminists want to convince us that it’s about “equality.” Feminism, in various forms, has appeared throughout human history. It is only modern technological advancements, however, that have made it possible for feminism to become the dominant, accepted political ideology governing society as it does now. More on this later, but for now let’s explore the origins of feminism found in the world’s oldest religions.
Goddess worship was once part of many of the world’s oldest religions. You can find elements of goddess worship in Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, as well as in Jewish mysticism and paganism, among others. These goddess figures represent everything from love, creation, and motherhood to sensuality, war, and death. Goddess worship is seeing a huge revival in accordance with the rise of modern feminism, which is why it’s important to understand where these myths come from, and why women in the west are reviving them in a modern era which normally thinks of such ancient myths as superstitious. Wicca and other forms of witchcraft are the fastest growing religions in the United States[iii]. This is directly due to many decades of feminist propaganda demonizing traditional religions such as Islam and Christianity as patriarchal and oppressive toward women. Christianity has been the main target of feminists due to its domination in the west. Most women buy into feminism first, having been taught in public school and university as well as through pop culture that the women who came before them fought a brave grassroots war against the patriarchy. They are told that it is only because of these brave women and all that they sacrificed that you even have the right to speak or put words on paper, therefore you have a duty to carry on this fight.
Christianity is a patriarchal religion, with all things being created by God the Father, rather than some earth mother goddess, which would mean that not only is patriarchy the natural and divine order of the created world, but that feminism is a battle that cannot be won against an omnipotent Heavenly Father. So, feminists need to find a new religion that fits their feminist worldview, and Christianity becomes an enemy and a target of destruction for more serious practitioners of witchcraft. Feminist scholars and intellectuals interested in religious systems that can replace patriarchal Christianity adore ancient goddess worship because, as I’m about to demonstrate, it is rife with vengeful female supernatural beings whose main motivation always seems to be domination of men and male gods. It makes perfect sense that the modern feminists would be drawn to tales of such powerful beings who have been fighting the patriarchy since the dawn of time.

...

The impact of Theosophy on feminism cannot be overstated. Even though most regular Americans probably haven’t heard of it, Theosophy was the perfect bridge from the radical reformers who embraced spiritualism in the first half of the 19th century to the New Age religious movements of the 20th century. It brought the world’s oldest religions together, attempting to combine them with newly burgeoning science and anthropology, but also with transcendentalism and mysticism. If you could create a religion specifically for feminists at the turn of the century, Theosophy would be the perfect recipe. Even today, almost 150 years later, women all over the west embrace at least parts of Theosophy, perhaps without even realizing it. Things like tarot cards, astrology, horoscopes, and all sorts of New Age phrases and trends such as yoga, vegetarian and vegan diets, or “sending good vibes” to your friends are concepts that can be attributed to Theosophy bringing those things from places like India and Tibet to the new world. Theosophy was very popular with men as well, but it was particularly alluring to women. It was founded by a woman, and it gave equal standing to both men and women. The Theosophical Society had many prominent female leaders and it claimed to teach its adherents to develop their psychic abilities and innate intuitions- characteristics that were considered naturally stronger in women due to their sensitivity and emotionality. It offered women of the time a sense of personal power and importance that many did not get from the Christianity which dominated the west at the time.

...

The funding of feminist movements has been somewhat hidden for a reason---the feminist agenda, and suffrage in particular, are always spoken of as grassroots movements driven by the collective will of the people, therefore making it sound like a democratic tool of liberation. The opposite is true. People would naturally reject a top-down ideology which pushed such radical changes to the structure of society and the family if it was openly known that it was the trans-national banking elite who were behind it. The next logical question is "why?" What motivated the elites of the Victorian era to create this campaign for women's suffrage and present it as a natural, grassroots movement? I will explore more about the funding of feminism and why the wealthy elite of the world put so much money and effort into propagating it, not only in the west, but around the world as we continue.

....

To definitively examine the effects of the women’s liberation movement in the west would require a whole separate book, but I can give you a snapshot of some of the biggest changes which have happened over the last several decades since feminism really took hold.
According to data from the U.S Census analyzed by Pew Research Center, 72% of all legal adults in the U.S. were married. By 2016, that number had decreased to just 50%. The Centers for Disease Control statistics say that in 1960 only 5% of babies born in the U.S. were born out of wedlock. That number has now increased to 41% in 2010. CDC data also states that in 2012, one third of all children living in the United States live in homes without their biological father present. The risks for children growing up without fathers has been studied extensively, and we have plenty of data showing over and over that the risk of poor outcomes increases dramatically for children raised in fatherless homes. For instance, CDC data say that 90% of children who are homeless come from fatherless households, along with 85% of kids with behavioral disorders, 70% of children in juvenile incarceration facilities, and 71% of children in adolescent substance abuse treatment centers. Another consequence of children growing up without their biological fathers is that they tend to end up in living situations which include the mother’s boyfriend. CDC statistics also show that children left with male caregivers who are not their biological father suffer more frequent and more severe physical abuse than any other care situation. They also show that the living situation with the lowest overall rates of child abuse are for children living with both married parents.
A 2012 study called The Effects of Family Structure on Mental Health of Children: A Preliminary Study by Bahere, Basnet, and Campbell conducted a retrospective chart review of 154 children admitted to the preadolescent unit of Lincoln Prairie Behavioral Health Center over a six-month period. The study found that only 11% of the children came from intact families, with the other 89% having a disruption to the traditional family structure. Two-thirds of the children had been exposed to trauma, with physical abuse seen in 36% of patients. The study highlighted the role of disrupted family structure and its adverse effects on the mental health of children. In addition, children in both the U.S and Europe now overwhelmingly grow up in daycare settings rather than at home with their mothers. In 1940, the number of children under age 6 with mothers working full time outside the home was 6%. In 2103, that number had jumped almost tenfold to 58%. In 2016, a report by Care.com, a daycare service finder, found that 20% of U.S. households spend more than a quarter of their income on childcare. It is also interesting to note that U.S. government welfare spending has increased in lock step with the rise of out of wedlock births, from $50 billion per year in 1950 to a whopping $700 billion in 2010.
But women are happier now than they were before feminism, right? Well not exactly. A 2009 paper called “The Paradox of Female Happiness” by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers caused quite a stir when it was released by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The abstract summary of their findings says that, despite objective measures of well-being in America over the prior 35 years increasing, the subjective overall happiness among women in the study had decreased both absolutely and relative to the happiness of men.

tl;dr —
I don't have time to spoonfeed all of this to you. The point is that feminism started as an attack on the general public back in the 1700s. It was started as a movement by those familiar with the alternatives to Christianity, almost as a spiritual attack against Christianity. The "patriarchy" that they fight is not human man, but godly man.
The ultimate designers of said plans are not, of course, "goddess worshippers". However, they inject that into the culture. Why? Population control. This is a predictable thing. Christianity was the ideology, like it or not, that led to stable two parent households and lifelong marriage. I am not a fan of organized religion, but it is what it is, and this is precisely what Nietzsche ruminated about so much, describing "god" as dead. Feminists killed him, and now we are left with a demographic collapse now that the propagation of the counter culture has reached its final stage.
Going back to Christianity is not an alternative. "Christianity" was never necessary to uphold family tradition. However, faith put in good philosophy usually leads to good outcomes, even if the faith aspect lacks epistemology. We should look at Christianity as philosophy and consider alternative ways of preserving it in our culture.
You could say "But why? Let's just focus on reproduction." Well, because the god of Christianity is positively masculine, and what replaces this when it dies is negative masculinity. "When the cat is away, the mice will play." The cat is positive masculinity, the mice are negative or toxic masculinity. Women cannot complain away toxic masculinity. Only positive masculine men can enforce such an arrangement. Which is to say, only men can police other men. That's why the battle in the Bible as well as any other mythological text is not "divine feminine vs divine man"; it's "divine man type A vs divine man type B". Actually reducing "type A" and "type B" to positive and negative is a bit reductive if you understand mythology (it comes down to psychological archetypes which are not purely good or bad), but it's good enough for our purposes.
And so ultimately, the philosophy of the most important character of the bible is the key to solving feminism, the birth crisis, and really the cultural and political crisis at large.

The chart for my station will be prepared by 12 p m. The train also leaves it's originating station at 12 p.m. I'm on RLWL 6. I don't think it'll confirm. I've booked a tatkal ticket for tomorrow. But on the off chance my ticket does get confirmed(lots of people might get off at bhopal junction), I'll lose my money. I know I should've cancelled the ticket earlier but I wasn't so sure about the confirmation. Will I lose my money (over 1000) rupee if I cancel my waitlisted ticket ( train departs bhopal at 5:30 p.m. and starts it's journey at 12 p.m.).

I have a 16 month old, and I’m wondering what are the signs of a gifted child? Just really curious. I’d love to nurture my daughter without pressure.
• At 10 months she mimics atleast 20 animal sounds • At 12 months she knows her colors and sings nursery rhymes suchs as Old McDonald, Itsy Bitsy, and more. Also loves puzzle, perfectly stack a ring stacker by colors and size.
It just gets crazier everyday.
• Now at 16 months she knows body parts (head to toe), her food/fruits, knows how to count from 1-20, knows the ABC Song and says A for Apple etc., sings dozens of nursery rhymes, builds blocks, identify objects, communicates properly when she need something like the other day we visit her dad and she saw the pizzeria and remember it and I was suprised when she said “I want pizza please”
• We live next to the fire station and everytime the alarm goes on she says “oh no hurry truck”
•Every morning she tells me “Hi baby, where’d you go?”
• Every time she see flower she says “Wow flower, it’s very pretty!”
• Calls our dog by his name and pets him while saying “good boy” “so cute”
• At library when other kid goes to her she pats them in head and say “nice baby”
• Comes to me with a book and says “I want read please”
• And she memorized “The Going to the Bed Book” by Sandra Boynton — once done she says “good night baby”
I’m not being exagerrated because she pronounce words PERFECTLY.
• I also noticed she place her water cup in a certain way, also flips her book nicely, put her toys away etc.,
And so much more.
Was your kid the same at this age? Her doctor said she is extremely smart and someone said she might be gifted. Would love to heard thoughts from parents who have gifted child or suspect they have one.

"Bud Howe: Robot Hunter"
Open world game set on a 1:75 scale map of the Portland Metropolitan Area in Oregon (231 sqkm playable area compared to ~17,300 sqkm in real life).
In an alternate future, the US Federal governmemt has made the ownership and manufacturing of EX-9 robots - deadly killer humanoid robots which sometimes like to disguise themselves in lifelike human skin - illegal.
You play Bud Howe, a "profit-seeking" bounty hunter who seeks to make his fortune by hunting down as many EX-9s as you can.
The cops won't stand in your way as you have your certified Robot Bounty Hunter license issued by the Federal government and you have a range of vehicles, aircraft and teammates at your disposable.
With your earnings, you can buy safe houses, mansions, vehicles, weapons and attachments, aircraft, hangars, clothes and much much more. You can also invest in businesses and enjoy yourself at many entertainment venues (bars, clubs, strip clubs, arcades, theaters, large malls etc). There are 4 airports, 2 jetports and 3 heliports on the map. There is also a rideable metro system and a fictional rideable monoral line (Portland Park Line serving the downtown and surrounding area).
You do get paid for "killing" the robots, but increased payouts and XP is awarded for the capture of the robots intact and with minimal damage. Beware, there are also NPC bounty hunters hunting robots, so competition is fierce.
In the game, there are also three main media outlets: the fictional Channel 10 News Portland, ASC Portland 9 and ONN America (Oregon News Network America). Many of their broadcasts can be seen around the city, on billboards, bus stops, shopfront screens and street screens. Sometimes, when you've either captured or deactivated ("killed") an EX-9 robot, cameramen and reporters from one of the three news station may scramble to the scene to report on the incident and get a few quick words from you. (ONN America is different from ONN International - an affiliate namesake station - another fictional media outlet, which according to ingame lore was shut down a few years ago after going bankrupt.)
The main campaign storyline has you employed by Von Braun Research Labs, a multibillion dollar New York-based corporation, to investigate the illusive "Savior" robot, a fully sentient EX-9 who presents himself as a "messianic figure" to other EX-9 robots and is thought to be the mastermind behind several attacks across the US and Canada as well as the continued production of lifelike human disguises, hellbent on achieving his goal: the robot takeover of America. You are tasked with investigating how he operates, his contacts and whereabouts, destroying his secret production facilities and halting his clandestine self-replication operation. After gaining your Robot Bounty Hunter license, you are then able to embark on the full campaign storyline.

"Bud Howe: Robot Hunter"
Open world game set on a 1:75 scale map of the Portland Metropolitan Area in Oregon (231 sqkm playable area compared to ~17,300 sqkm in real life).
In an alternate future, the US Federal governmemt has made the ownership and manufacturing of EX-9 robots - deadly killer humanoid robots which sometimes like to disguise themselves in lifelike human skin - illegal.
You play Bud Howe, a "profit-seeking" bounty hunter who seeks to make his fortune by hunting down as many EX-9s as you can.
The cops won't stand in your way as you have your certified Robot Bounty Hunter license issued by the Federal government and you have a range of vehicles, aircraft and teammates at your disposable.
With your earnings, you can buy safe houses, mansions, vehicles, weapons and attachments, aircraft, hangars, clothes and much much more. You can also invest in businesses and enjoy yourself at many entertainment venues (bars, clubs, strip clubs, arcades, theaters, large malls etc). There are 4 airports, 2 jetports and 3 heliports on the map. There is also a rideable metro system and a fictional rideable monoral line (Portland Park Line serving the downtown and surrounding area).
You do get paid for "killing" the robots, but increased payouts and XP is awarded for the capture of the robots intact and with minimal damage. Beware, there are also NPC bounty hunters hunting robots, so competition is fierce.
In the game, there are also three main media outlets: the fictional Channel 10 News Portland, ASC Portland 9 and ONN America (Oregon News Network America). Many of their broadcasts can be seen around the city, on billboards, bus stops, shopfront screens and street screens. Sometimes, when you've either captured or deactivated ("killed") an EX-9 robot, cameramen and reporters from one of the three news station may scramble to the scene to report on the incident and get a few quick words from you. (ONN America is different from ONN International - an affiliate namesake station - another fictional media outlet, which according to ingame lore was shut down a few years ago after going bankrupt.)
The main campaign storyline has you employed by Von Braun Research Labs, a multibillion dollar New York-based corporation, to investigate the illusive "Savior" robot, a fully sentient EX-9 who presents himself as a "messianic figure" to other EX-9 robots and is thought to be the mastermind behind several attacks across the US and Canada as well as the continued production of lifelike human disguises, hellbent on achieving his goal: the robot takeover of America. You are tasked with investigating how he operates, his contacts and whereabouts, destroying his secret production facilities and halting his clandestine self-replication operation. After gaining your Robot Bounty Hunter license, you are then able to embark on the full campaign storyline.

"Bud Howe: Robot Hunter"
Open world game set on a 1:75 scale map of the Portland Metropolitan Area in Oregon (231 sqkm playable area compared to ~17,300 sqkm in real life).
In an alternate future, the US Federal governmemt has made the ownership and manufacturing of EX-9 robots - deadly killer humanoid robots which sometimes like to disguise themselves in lifelike human skin - illegal.
You play Bud Howe, a "profit-seeking" bounty hunter who seeks to make his fortune by hunting down as many EX-9s as you can.
The cops won't stand in your way as you have your certified Robot Bounty Hunter license issued by the Federal government and you have a range of vehicles, aircraft and teammates at your disposable.
With your earnings, you can buy safe houses, mansions, vehicles, weapons and attachments, aircraft, hangars, clothes and much much more. You can also invest in businesses and enjoy yourself at many entertainment venues (bars, clubs, strip clubs, arcades, theaters, large malls etc). There are 4 airports, 2 jetports and 3 heliports on the map. There is also a rideable metro system and a fictional rideable monoral line (Portland Park Line serving the downtown and surrounding area).
You do get paid for "killing" the robots, but increased payouts and XP is awarded for the capture of the robots intact and with minimal damage. Beware, there are also NPC bounty hunters hunting robots, so competition is fierce.
In the game, there are also three main media outlets: the fictional Channel 10 News Portland, ASC Portland 9 and ONN America (Oregon News Network America). Many of their broadcasts can be seen around the city, on billboards, bus stops, shopfront screens and street screens. Sometimes, when you've either captured or deactivated ("killed") an EX-9 robot, cameramen and reporters from one of the three news station may scramble to the scene to report on the incident and get a few quick words from you. (ONN America is different from ONN International - an affiliate namesake station - another fictional media outlet, which according to ingame lore was shut down a few years ago after going bankrupt.)
The main campaign storyline has you employed by Von Braun Research Labs, a multibillion dollar New York-based corporation, to investigate the illusive "Savior" robot, a fully sentient EX-9 who presents himself as a "messianic figure" to other EX-9 robots and is thought to be the mastermind behind several attacks across the US and Canada as well as the continued production of lifelike human disguises, hellbent on achieving his goal: the robot takeover of America. You are tasked with investigating how he operates, his contacts and whereabouts, destroying his secret production facilities and halting his clandestine self-replication operation. After gaining your Robot Bounty Hunter license, you are then able to embark on the full campaign storyline.

I have been a news reporter at a local NPR station for nearly 2 years now out of college, with 2 years of reporting experience during college under my belt as well. I’ve decided I would like to pivot into a PR career. Where do I start? I’m having trouble gaging which job titles I’m qualified for at this point, so any guidance would be super helpful. Thank you!

https://www.wisn.com/article/flaw-in-the-law-wisconsin-drivers-get-tickets-instead-of-charges-for-no-license/60652461
DODGE COUNTY, Wis. —
Unlicensed drivers in Wisconsin are racking up tickets, not charges. Some have been stopped dozens of times without being removed from the roads. Investigative reporter James Stratton first uncovered the legal loophole months ago.
"Morning sir, how are you?" Dodge County Deputy Jaime Buelter asks driver Damien Hose. It's a casual conversation for a casual traffic stop.
"Do you have a valid driver's license," the deputy asked.
"Nope," Hose responded.
Hose has been here before, more than a dozen times, and admitted he's been ticketed for not having a license before.
"It's a civil offense, after that it becomes criminal," Buelter told him.
The first ticket for operating without a license in Wisconsin is a traffic ticket. The second one, in three years, carries a criminal charge.
"I've been pulled over like 15 different times and not once gone to jail," Hose told her.
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said police have ticketed Hose 14 times for operating while suspended, which is a traffic ticket in Wisconsin, no matter the number.
At the end of this traffic stop last June, Buelter wrote Hose another operating while suspended ticket. She explained why he got a break that time.
"You should have been cited for operating without a license," she told him. "Then after that, they're criminal offenses. So, you have a complete break because you've never been cited for it. You've only been suspended. So, I just went in line with the suspension as well."
Hose switched seats with the passenger in the car, who has a valid license, and the pair drove away.
Here's why Hose, and other drivers who never had a license get the suspension tickets, instead of the second operating without a license charge.
In Wisconsin, a driver without a license gets an operating without a license ticket. The first one is simply a traffic ticket. The second offense should be a criminal charge. However, the driver's status gets categorized as suspended if they don't pay that first ticket. So, their license shows up for police as suspended, instead of "no valid license issued" like it should. So, officers see suspended and give a suspension ticket.
Now, Schmidt is changing how his deputies handle repeat offenders. From now on, his deputies will charge drivers with another operating without a license ticket.
"Not only will you be going to court, you'll also be arrested and booked into the jail," Schmidt said. "We'll be taking fingerprints, we'll be taking photographs and then releasing you until your court date."
"What's the thought behind the harsher penalty?" Investigative Reporter James Stratton asked.
"My hope is deterrence," Schmidt said. "I hope that people will learn in Dodge County, we aren't going to tolerate somebody who continues to violate the law over and over again."
Schmidt changed the policy after his deputies noticed the problem. The second operating without a license ticket that a driver receives in three years carries a criminal charge.
Dodge County Interim District Attorney Andrea Will said her office will work with drivers to get a deferred prosecution and help them get their licenses. She recommends jail time for the third offense.
"You're putting people's lives in jeopardy," Will said. "We want people to become safer drivers and follow the law."
In Waukesha County, deputies said Paul Vinson led them on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash. Two of his sons were killed. Vinson had a dozen suspension tickets in six counties before the chase and crash. Records show he never had a valid driver's license.
Vinson's story is what tipped of 12 news about the loophole in the law that allows drivers to get tickets instead of criminal charges for not having a license.
In Dodge County, Hose isn't the only person who's received multiple tickets. Deputies said they've ticketed 20-year-old Trayvin Yarrington 24 times for operating while suspended, including one where he was caught doing wheelies on a moped with no plates.
"You still don't have a license, I'm guessing," a deputy asked.
"Yeah," Yarrington said.
"Jesus Christ, dude," he responded.
WISN 12 News tried to catch up with the drivers. Yarrington was a no show for an optional court appearance. Both responded to our Facebook messages, but didn't comment on the change in policy. The pair did comment on a sheriff's Facebook post about them.
"Just cause somebody doesn't have a license doesn't mean they don't know how to drive," Hose wrote. "A piece of paper doesn't show anything, clearly. I've been driving, never been in an accident or any reckless driving."
"... I'm trying to do the right thing & yet they still come after me," Yarrington wrote, saying he paid off all of his tickets.
State records show neither has a license. From now on, if they get pulled over by a Dodge County deputy, it could lead to a trip to jail instead of a ticket.
The problem isn't just happening in Dodge County. Kenosha, Racine and Waukesha deputies are all seeing drivers getting away with tickets, instead of criminal charges, for never having a license.
Racine County deputies are working with their district attorney to see if they can do the same thing as Dodge County. Kenosha deputies believe they can't issue the second operating without a license ticket, and must continue to issue suspension tickets. A bill strengthening the penalties for the issue didn't make it through the legislature this session.

I have been having issues with my schizophrenic neighbor whose episodes have been getting more and more out of control. A few weeks ago he gave us a scare at 4am when we were heading to the gym by bursting out his door when we came out.
The next few weeks he go to the other neighbors door and knock to profess his love to her multiple times a day. I tried to tell her but she doesn’t seem bothered by this (to each their own).
After the first scare we got a ring camera to watch out for what this guy has going on. Yesterday he came and stole my Amazon packages which again the building said they can’t do anything about it.
However today he was coming in to the building same time as I was and I started to say, “hey, if you see packages at my door please leave them there”. And before I could even finish saying hey he says “don’t come at me” and reached into his waist for a knife and says don’t come inside this building or I’ll stab you, shuts the door and stabs at the glass with the knife.
I live across the street from a police station so I go over there and get a couple officers and call my building to bring their security over, while this is going on the guy came to my door (ring footage let me see this) and says “don’t ever come back in this building or I will kick this door down kick I kept to myself in jail so I didn’t kill people”.
The police like the building management had already said couldn’t do anything because threatening and stealing packages is only a misdemeanor and not a “custodial” offense. So we get another police report written up and yidda yadda.
I am in San Francisco, Ca and I am wondering if there’s any legal standing. The management can’t evict him fast enough, can’t provide a comparable apartment at a comparable price for me. At least so they say and I’m really not in a position to pay a termination fee and put a new deposit and have my rent raised over this guy threatening my safety. I would hate to get stabbed or worse killed over this situation.

I’ve searched this sub and couldn’t find my answer. Hope some one has experience.
We plan to hike Mt. Fuji this summer. We’re considering booking a hut at the peak, but we don’t speak Japanese. The huts at the peak doesn’t have online reservations, only via phone call. Is there a service that will do this for us?
The alternative is 8th station huts that have English online bookings. There’s also huts on 8th station that is phone call only - this is last resort if there is a service.
If I’m mistaken, please let me know.
Thanks.

I am an apprentice in a union that requires us to take training at the hall before we can receive pay increases when we change terms (2nd year to 3rd year, etc). I have had no issues obtaining a seat to get the previous 3 levels/weekends of training. The course I am required to take has been offered to me three times in the last couple years. A letter is sent out each time to all the apprentices needing the course and we have to call in to book our spot - first come first served. I was unsuccessful in calling in fast enough in order to secure a spot for all 3 offer letters thus far - the 3rd training opportunity scheduled to happen in a week's time. I was also scheduled to switch terms and receive a decent raise around the same time. I am told I can only wait and try to secure a spot in the next class - 6 months away. Several thousands of dollars in wages lost over that time period. I have taken responsibility for not receiving the letters quick enough (IMO should be sent by e-mail or phone - but this will likely never happen).
I had a meeting with the union committee and they did not seem to have much faith in the contractors having any sympathy for my situation - especially considering one of the letters took me 3 weeks to respond to from the mailing date (Partner had placed the mail down in a very hidden spot - she felt bad (I did not get angry with her)). The other two letters took me about a week/week and a half to respond. I wrote a letter to the contractors committee, asking if I could take the course outside of the hall on my own dime, or receive an extension or exception to the rule requiring this training before I could receive my increase. They denied all requests. The training consists of two days - the first day is composed of a course taught by an instructor, which is available to the public (This I could get on my own tomorrow) - but day two is taught by a board member / contractor, which is something he created specially for the apprenticeship (Not something I can get on my own).
The situation has caused a lot of anxiety and stress over the last few weeks. I feel like the situation is unfair in that those who were unable to book a spot fast enough on the first offer should be given priority or at least a heads up for when the next training offer comes around (it's twice a year, no known dates until we get the letter). But I'm told there is no 'hand holding' for apprentices, it's the same shit sandwich for all of us - therefore it's fair. The course used to accept 25% more seats in the recent past. There is also one other apprentice in my exact situation right now. We are told we can show up on the day of the course and if someone no-shows, one of us can take their spot (not me - other guy asked first so I guess he gets dibs). Absolutely no switching allowed, because supposedly every apprentice that successfully booked a spot would be in our shoes missing out on a wage increase if they gave up their seat...
I don't know what to do at this point. I feel I've exhausted all my options. Do I just accept my loss and check my mail daily in hopes that I can get book a seat for the next class 6mo from now?

Several days ago I left the Washington peninsula for the Cascades and planned on hiking part of the Pacific Crest Trail over spring break. I had loaded up my car with my backpack, a little more than enough food, hiking poles, a first aid kit, and my grandfather’s old revolver. The pistol was an eight-shot .22LR, which isn’t much, but it made me feel safe. Most people fear meeting wild animals on the trail and I don’t blame them. I’ve had my fair share of encounters with bears, and I know if I never run into a bear again it would be too soon, but every time that bear would look at me like I wasn’t even there. My revolver wouldn’t do anything against a bear or cougar, except make them mad, but that’s because it’s not for them. The wildlife isn’t what worries me. I can count on one hand how many people in my state have been attacked by bears and cougars in the last ten years. It’s the others that scare me. Most animals don’t kill for fun.
This was also the first time I would be hiking for this long all alone. Between the weather, the remoteness, and the terrain anything can happen and nobody will be around to hear me scream. If I got stuck, the best chance I would have at rescue would be to shoot my gun and hope someone hears it. Though, I’ve never heard a gunshot and thought I should try to find the shooter.
I had left my home late and headed east. The drive from the coast to the trailhead was about five hours. The plan was to drive most of the way, stay overnight in an inn, and drive another twenty minutes to the trailhead in the morning. Throughout the drive, I had an uneasy feeling that wouldn’t go away. It was like I had forgotten something. I went through the mental checklist of everything in my pack and tried to recall every campsite I booked. At stoplights, I would rummage through my bag blindly to see if everything felt like it was there. It wasn’t until I needed to try my GPS on that I realized I didn’t know where I was staying that night. In the confusion of making sure I had everything for the hike, I forgot to book reservations.
I thought about parking at the trailhead, sleeping in my car, and starting in the morning, but I was already married to the idea of the inn. The plan to sleep in a decent bed and then eat my last real breakfast at a dinner just before I started my adventure sounded so nice that I couldn’t pass it up. The mountain town I planned to stay at was small enough that I knew it did not see enough outsiders to fill all its vacancies. How I wish I were wrong.
The rain had begun to pick up as I entered town. The water slushed under my tires and my wipers squeaked. I tried to see through the windshield, but my stigmatism was making it a blurry mess. I squinted my eyes and looked around trying to find any vacancy signs. Just as this town’s one road exited and the mountains began again I saw it. A motel sign that read “vacancy” in red glowing neon through the falling rain. I hung a quick left and parked up front. I turned off my headlights, grabbed my pack, and headed to the office.
I tried dodging raindrops as I ran toward the building and quickly knocked on the door. The light from the office could be seen through the small curtained window. I cupped my hands against the window and tried to see inside. A wooden chair squeaked across the floor and heavy footsteps started after it. The thumping and dragging of wet rain boots grew closer and closer to the door. I heard the sound of a turning lock and backed away from the door trying not to break my nose. The door creaked open and a nervousness began to form in my stomach. I looked back to my car and wondered if I could run to it in time.
“HELLLOooo…”, a voice began.
I shot back around to see an old lady standing in the doorway. She had on an old flowery dress, the kind with ruffles around the shoulders and long sleeves. Underneath, she wore one-size-too-large rubber rain boots with fresh mud. A beaded chain hung from her glasses and seemed healthy for her age. She looked at me and smiled.
“Well you’re a pretty young thing, are you looking for a room?”, she continued.
She smiled and waited for my response. Despite the age of her dress, it was well kept, same with her overall appearance. Even what I could see of the office looked antiquated, with its wooden panel walls and glass hurricane lamps, but still clean and dusted. This woman’s smile was different. The smell of her breath hit me when she first spoke. It looked like her teeth were rotting out of her mouth. Her gums had turned black in some areas and several teeth looked loose.
I held it in and swallowed, not wanting to be rude. “Yes”, I said, “just the night”.
“That’s wonderful sweetie…”, she said.
I looked around at the empty road and trees surrounding the inn. The lack of light allowed me to see stars through the gaps in the clouds.
“We don’t get many visitors around here”.
I stepped inside and the old lady snuck behind the desk. I waited for a moment as she got everything ready. My eyes began to wander and examine the office. Across from the front desk were two large leather chairs. A small table stood between them with a doily and stained glass lamp atop it. On the walls, were wooden planks straight out of the 70s and decorative hurricane lamps. What most caught my attention were all the stuffed animals. A deer head above the chairs, stuffed ducks, elk antlers, and all other manner of wild game even a stuffed salmon about the front desk. I’m not unfamiliar with taxidermy, but this seemed excessive, it wasn’t a hunting cabin.
The rain was still falling hard and I saw the black of the moonless night through the window. A loud thump came from behind me. I turned to see the old lady had pulled out a massive and even older-looking logbook. She cracked open the book about halfway and the dust it kicked up made me cough. The old lady licked her fingers and started tumbling through the pages. The book was spun towards me and she pointed to the next blank space.
“Write your name and the date here, sweetie”, she instructed.
She waved a pen attached to a chain in front of me. I took it and looked at the page. The last person to stay here was Evelyn Black and the sign-in date read October 30th, 2008, and the sign-out read October 31st, 2008. I hesitated, trying to figure out how many years that was when I heard the old lady cough. I took that as a queue and wrote my name and sign-in date into the book. The old lady closed the book and I told me it was $45 for the night. I thought it was strange to charge me on check-in, but I obliged and handed her the cash. Behind her was a wall of hanging keys and she grabbed the one marked Room A1. The old lady moved from behind the counter and showed me to my room.
The old lady led me outside and to the first room after the front office. The key slid into the lock and she opened the door. The smell of mildew and musk hit me instantly. It didn’t surprise me though, with our wet weather and a vacant motel. I walked inside and put my pack down on the bed. I walked back to thank the old lady at the door when I noticed no way to lock it from the inside.
“Oh you must be from the city sweetie”, the old lady responded.
“Out here we don’t use locks because I know everybody and everybody knows me”, she continued.
I was taken aback, unsure of how to answer. I had never come across a place with no locks. Even if that’s how they do it in town, not having them at a motel was very strange. I thought about the gun in my bag and how it was only for the night.
“Well thank you for the room”, I said biting my tongue and forcing a smile. The old lady gave me a rotten smile back.
“Sweet dreams…”, she replied and walked away.
I shut the door behind her and took in a deep breath. The musk made me cough again and I took inventory of the room. There was a bed with a stand on either side and two lamps. Across from it was a small writing desk and the door to the bathroom. There were two windows by the front door. First I shut the blinds and drew the curtains, if the door didn’t lock then it was best that nobody knew I was there. Then I took the chair from the desk and wedged it under the door handle until it was stuck in place Then I finally felt a bit more comfortable.
It was about 11 pm and I snacked on a granola bar I had packed for the trail. I slowly opened the packaging and cringed at how loud the wrapper was. I watched the dark bathroom like I was trying not to wake something sleeping in the blackness. I finished the bar and tried to sleep.
I laid down in the old bed, the sheets made me feel gross so I laid on top of the bed. The popcorn ceiling spiraled above me. I reached into my bag to look for my mylar blanket. My hand rummaged around my clothes and dehydrated food. The bite of cold steel graced my hand. My eyes widened and I retrieved the piece from my bag. I held the gun out in front of me and stared at it. My gaze narrowed. This was the first time that using it became a real possibility. I gripped it and aimed it at the door handle. The site posts wobbled back and forth as my hand shook. I took a deep breath and stashed the gun under the pillow.
As I settled into the bed I tried to focus on the hike tomorrow and how I would drive straight through on the way back. The rain was still pouring hard outside my window. I could even hear a distant rumble every once in a while. The sound of a motor broke the monotony of the rain and headlights shown through the cracks in the drapes. I opened my eyes and began to listen closer. The door of a car closed and office one opened. The old lady was still in her office and began speaking to whoever had entered. Their voice was deep but what they were saying was unintelligible. I focused back on the window and the car’s headlights and engine were still on.
I pressed my ear to the wall to hear what was said but they stopped before I could get anything. The office door opened with a chime and two sets of footsteps followed. The splashing of their boots was caught within the thumping of the rain. Their silhouettes passed in front of the car’s headlights casting long shadows into my room. I felt sweat pool on my underlip and quietly removed my covers. I slowly lowered myself to the floor and hid beside the bed.
“Please, please…”, I prayed.
“Don’t stop walking”.
The figures passed the window and stopped. I reached over the bed and felt for the pillow. The doorknob turned. The chair stopped them for now. I gripped the gun handle.
“Open the door you little bitch!”, the old lady shouted.
The man shoved the door and the old chair started to crack. I pulled my revolver in front of me. My hands shook as I checked the safety. A loud crack came from the door. The old chair’s back snapped and the door was open. I looked over the bed and he was tall, about 6’2” wearing an old hunting jacket and a large bag clamped tightly in his fist. Behind him stood the old lady. He rushed through the doorway and I raised my revolver. The room lit for a moment then silence. I looked and the man was on the ground and the old lady stood in shock. The old lady started to reach down to her boot. I shot again. I don’t know if she was reaching for a weapon, but I didn’t know what to do. She was a witness. I doubt the police would believe me over her. I grabbed my bag and stepped quickly over the corpses, gun still in hand. I entered the office and took that logbook with me. There’s no way I could report this so I’m just hoping I got away clean.
I was pushing 70 mph through back roads the whole way home, gun in my lap. That night, my Jeep stopped for nobody. My engine was about to overheat as I rolled into my driveway at 3 a.m. I collapsed onto the driveway and threw up on my lawn. Everything I had held in began to come out. Thank God it was as late as it was so nobody saw their neighbor crying in their yard clutching a pistol. I sniffled and started to regain a bit of composure. The cold of the night was getting to me and I didn’t want to get caught on the lawn. I got my stuff from the Jeep and entered the house. I called some friends and told them I needed them to come over. While I waited I looked over at the log book. I wanted to look up that other girl’s name to see if anything happened to her. I opened to the last used page and nearly threw up again. Next to where I signed in, with different handwriting, it said I had signed out tomorrow morning.

I think I posted this in the wrong section previously. Hopefully this time it is correctly posted under trueoffmychest section.
For context, the characters in the story is as follow. Cannot go into too much details that may giveaway identity as this is an ongoing issue.

• Father, John Doe, is a serial cheater, manipulator, and a turd in general. Its either his way or the highway. When he needs you, you can count on him to be present and responsive, otherwise pretty much AWOL and absent. Bad tempered and a bit of a snowflake.
• Mother, Jane Doe. Used to work but stopped as John does not like her working which eventually made her reliant and dependent on John. She is kind and sometime cheeky person.
• Mike, family friend. Used to be John's best friend and would take us to places whenever we visited him. Very generous, kind, and caring person, but can be quite spontaneous.

Based on what I heard when stories are told, Jane is the prettiest girl in their high school year and John got her pregnant during one of their dates. Not sure if he intended it to be a one night stand or if he is really into Jane. Jane's family is quite conservative and wanted to keep the child. Not sure what John's family's opinion at the time but it doesn't matter. John and Jane eventually got married and then continued with their tertiary education. John went overseas while Jane stayed back in their hometown to attend local university.
Fast forward to when I was in year 1. John and Jane both have finished their tertiary studies. John came home and, together with Jane, whom I shall refer to as mum from this point onwards, went to another town to start their careers leaving me with my grandparents. My grandparents are very strict and instilled a lot of traditional values in me (i.e., must be someone that has good conscience, etc.). It was not until year 4 that John and mum has sufficiently established themselves to have me stay with them.
At first, everything is great. I am very happy that I can finally be like the other kids and living with my parents. Understandably, mum is a bit overwhelmed as parenting is a whole new world for her. Although she stayed with my grandparents and I for the first few years of my life, a lot of her time went towards her university studies, so there are a lot of trial and error with her parenting style. This is also around the time when John got her to quit her job.
In the last 6 months of that year, John increasingly spent more time on business trip overseas. Then one day I woke up to a screaming match at around 05:00 AM in the morning. Mum has been suspicious for awhile about why John insists on keep going to his "business trips". She begged him to stop but he won't listen, and this is when I first learnt about John's infidelity. I was quite shocked as I always pictured my parents as those picture perfect happy family, and maybe that's why I don't remember much beyond that night.
We went to live overseas at the start of my year 5 to the country John always went to on his "business trips". I am sure at first it is all strictly actual business reason, so who knows when he picked up his side-chick. We were happy for awhile. During that time I am not sure if he has totally stopped seeing the side-chick or not, but arguments become increasingly frequent till the day we learnt that the side-chick is actually another employee in the company and has recently been terminated for sneaking another man to the company-provided female dormitory.
Things went on normally after that, but John has never stopped being stingy with us. He would get the taxi driver that we used frequently to give him extra receipts and stuff for him to file as travel expense to the company. We were given a certain budget for rental accommodation and I know for a fact that we were always way under the budget, but John would falsify invoices to make it look like we used up most (if not all) of the allowance. His reasoning is that we should save up so that we can buy our own place or whatever. Whenever we go out, he will pick the cheapest place to eat, stay, etc., and we hardly spend money on anything outside of the necessity (i.e., groceries).
Because of our lifestyle, my school life has been a nightmare. If you do not live in a certain part of the town, not caucasian, not wearing the "cool kids" brand, not having things like walkman/MP3 player, not wearing deodorant, or look anything out of the ordinary, you get ostracized. You get made fun of, get excluded, being the butt of jokes, etc. This went on for 3 years until we moved to another city. Am I frustrated? Very, but I figured at the time that if I can survive this, I will be fine regardless of where I go.
Same thing happened, as expected, in my new school, but this time I had practice, so I didn't care. The bullying isn't as prevalent in this new school and I started having a small group of friends, which then gradually included most of the Asian kids in the year. Arguably, being part of a group makes the less cool kid somewhat cool to some extent as we are generally smarter and perform better with our grades. At this point, I suppose I can say that I am happy. I have friends, and my parents seems to be getting along just fine.
Fast forward to high school graduation. I have applied to and was accepted by a university that is as far from my parent's place as possible. Mostly because I want to get away from John. He is the type of father that would sigh and look at you disapprovingly when he sees you on your computer playing a bit of games. As if he is so disappointed to have a kid that played computer games.
While I was away, John and his best friend Mike started a joint venture in our home country. They bought a plot of land in a rapidly developing place to build residential building to rent out. Outside of this, John has also climbed the corporate ladder to become one of the region's big honcho and by now, he owned about 3 properties that he is renting out so we were never affected much financially as he has his secret squirrel cash that we built up from living underbudget for the last 8 years.
Since I was away all those time, I only get scraps of information about the last 12 years of my family. Apparently at some point John sends my mum and sibling to live elsewhere to get a foreign citizenship so that we have a better future, better job opportunity, etc. He stayed alone back in the country where we previously were living in. Around the same time, the joint venture has accumulated enough money in the last few years for Mike, John, mum, and a few other friends to go travelling. Of course, John did not have to pay for a penny on the travel and accommodation cost because it is all the profit from the joint venture.
Things beyond this point are all allegedly what happened. On the way back from this trip, John went to get secretly married to his current mistress. Then he continued on as if nothing has happened. Mum once noticed that his wedding ring looks different and joked that he may have gotten secretly remarried but I don't recall seeing his response, which is odd. He bought a new luxury villa for the mistress along with a brand new BMW. He also bought each of her son a Mercedes and I can't remember if it is another BMW or what. He will take them all out for meals and holiday to places and shower them with luxury gifts. He even bought luxury bags for the mistress' sons' partners. Meanwhile, our house in the new country is falling into disrepair and he always say that he has no money to fix anything. I guess mum does not want to stress me out so she kept this a secret (about the fact that something is wrong with John).
After some digging around, I come across a few names of people to look into. There was this one particular lady that stood out from the rest, so I decided to add her on social media to see if there's anything off. A day later John called me asking me what I was doing. I was surprised as I hardly talked to John in the past 10 years unless during family visit. I told him the truth and that I was curious about this person, lets call her Karen. This was when he confessed to me that he has an affair outside and confessed that he bought her a luxury villa, etc.. Not going to lie, but I am shocked. How can he do this and then claim that he will still be responsible and take care of my mum and siblings when he has been very stingy with everything that involves money. He promised me that he will tell me more about Karen and will find a good time to talk to mum about this, so I promised him that till the day he confessed to mum, I won't meddle in his business. Maybe I am being selfish or stupid, but I know mum would know about Karen to certain degree due to John's history of infidelity. Who knows.

For context as to how badly he hamstrung mum financially, he will only give her a bit of cash to pay for my sister's extracurricular activities where the instructor wants to be paid in cash. Then he gave her a credit card for groceries, etc., but he will also lump all the utility bills, school tuition, etc., to that card, so it will frequently max out. Imagine how mum must feel when she goes to the doctor or get groceries only to find that her card has been declined. When she call him to try get him to help, he either won't answer or take a long time to answer, which brought mum to tears numerous time. Imagine the embarrassment that she has to endure in public places. Then he would constantly question the transactions on the credit card and constantly complained to outsiders and my grandparents that mum is spending too much and he cannot keep up. He won't even attend my sibilings' graduation. When my sister asked if she can go travelling with her high school friend before university starts, he said that he doesn't have the spare cash, but I found out that he has just been travelling with his mistress and I have the photo to prove it.

Mike knew what John did and chastised him for it, so they are no longer on speaking terms, which means the joint venture is kinda sitting in limbo. The agreement that they originally signed is quite loosely worded, which John used as an excuse to say that Mike has been plotting to devour his share of the business even before they embarked on this journey. Because of John's infidelity, Mike has been withholding the earnings from the joint venture because he knows that Karen is a golddigger. For context, allegedly Karen is one of those girls that sleeps around with rich people. They would even fly her out to see them. I spoke to John to ask him why don't he let me manage Mike because clearly they are no longer on talking terms and he has no leg to stand on to recoup his investment. Mike and I are on good terms, so if I can takeover, we can preserve our stake in the business. At the back of my mind I was preparing for the day when Karen drained every penny out of John. This way we have a leg to fallback on.
My lawyer friend suggested that I get John to agree to this in writing, which I would have done if I could, but looking back I feel that it may be going a bit too far and John might find this offensive, so I did not. 1 year later, Mike got me into the business and as soon as John found out, he came to see me and we have a screaming match in front of the grandparents. In his words "if you don't back out, it will get dirty" and "don't call me dad if you refuse to back out". My position is and always has been "help me to help you", we should be on the same side, so help me understand what is your plan because as soon as I burn this bridge with Mike, there is no going back. If the original signed agreement is too loosely worded that John has little ground to stand on, we will lose everything. When I say everything, it is not that much when converted to USD (probably around $220k).
John has been very well paid in his job and I have his bank statement to see that he gets annual bonus which is close to $100k USD on top of his salary, so he really has no need to go this far just for $200k when we will still be paid dividend if I manage it. Especially when this dividend money is to be set aside when the worst eventually happened. My only explanation is that John is being his usual self, a control freak that wants to control everything in our family life. Well, that's fine. Since the screaming match, I have gone no contact with him and has put the dividend payment aside in a savings account.

I know for certain that John is the one lying to me because he accused Mike of stealing people's money when he go into business with friends, which is why only John is willing to do business with him in this joint venture. Afterall they are best friends before John betrayed mum. I asked him to give me names of people Mike has swindled but he is unable to. He gave me the name of a person, so I reached out to that guy who strongly denied that Mike has stolen his money.
Recently, I have been advised that John has taken Mike to court. I am not sure on what grounds, but he got the police to call him in for an interview. He even dragged Mike's wife and family to the station by getting the police to summon them. Then after about 10 months of no contact, he called me through my grandfather's phone to try get me to go back home to testify against Mike. He said that if I trust him, he will even guide me on what to say. This does not sit well with me, not only that this is wrong to lie to the police, I will also be getting Mike in trouble for doing what he can to protect John's family and John's future. He even persuaded my grandfather, who is more of a father to me than John ever has been, to pressure me to do this. Grandpa's view is that we must side with our family no matter what. Family? Which side of the family are you referring to? Do I side with John and get Mike in trouble and forgo any hope of savings and retirement fund for my mum and potentially him? Or do I side with Mike who has gone through a lot of trouble for doing John's job of protecting John's family?
My mind is a mess and I am at loss. There are nuclear options that I can consider, i.e., report to the police that John is living with a woman that is not his wife, I can leak the story to the rest of the family and extended family, I can ruin John's reputation if I have to. I will go nuclear and report his behaviour to his company, which could mean that he would lose his job.
Things are a lot worst and there are a lot more things that I could have said, but I am trying to focus on the most important bits while giving some context instead of writing a novel on reddit. Anyone has a family as messed up as this? What should I do?

First off. I can read very well. Was always advanced at it in school etc etc.
However, actually reading is the worst. An hour on one page sometimes because I'll be reading it then I will see a word and my brain decides to play iAssociate 2. Get to a word like Cake. "Cake. Cake is a lie. Portal. Dr Strange uses portals. Dr Strange was played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Broccoli Cumbubble also played Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes is a detective. A Touch of Frost was a great detective show. Frost always ate bacon sandwiches. Bacon."
Then I'll refocus and another word happens. You get the idea.
Considering I see so many people in here recommend people give Insert book title here a read. I often wonder how good it must be to take that advice.
(Also the feel of paper isn't nice)

The dude my DSP sent to train me seemed fine for the first few hours. Then he got to talking about his recent divorce and how he “had the chance to bang an 18 year old”. Keep in mind he’s 43 so it was quite disgusting. After that it was whatever but on the way back to the station he whips out his phone and shows me some random girls Onlyfans. Nude pictures and videos. On my first day. AND he still works there and I have to see him everyday. I reported him but nothing really came of it. I would’ve quit but I didn’t really have any other options than to stay. So yeah that’s how my first day went