Belle Terre (Book 2 Of The Star Trek: New Earth Series) 1999-2000 By Greg Bridges

I love you

My parents talked about how Reagan is the source of a lot of the current strife. In comparison, my SO's parents think he was the best president. You can guess how the last few years have been. I don't know how to fix this besides the majority pushing for things to change.

It's overwhelming being a parent now and knowing there are too many battles to fight at the same time.

the funny thing is that i don't think younger people - and i mean those under the age of 40 - really have a grasp on how many of today's issues can be tied back to a disastrous reagan policy:

war on drugs: reagan's aggressive escalation of the war on drugs was a catastrophic policy, primarily targeting minority communities and fueling mass incarceration. the crusade against drugs was more about controlling the Black, Latino and Native communities than addressing the actual problems of drug abuse, leading to a legacy of broken families and systemic racism within the criminal justice system.

deregulation and economic policies: reaganomics was an absolute disaster for the working class. reagan's policies of aggressive tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and slashing social programs were nothing less than class warfare, deepening income inequality and entrenching corporate greed. these types of policies were a clear message that reagan's america was only for the wealthy elite and a loud "fuck you" to working americans.

environmental policies: despite his reputation being whitewashed thanks to the recovery of the ozone layer, reagan's environmental record was an unmitigated disaster. his administration gutted critical environmental protections and institutions like the EPA, turning a blind eye to pollution and corporate exploitation of natural resources. this blatant disregard for the planet was a clear sign of prioritizing short-term corporate profits over the future of the environment.

AIDS crisis: reagan's gross neglect of the aids crisis was nothing short of criminal and this doesn't even begin to touch on his wife's involvement. his administration's indifference to the plight of the lgbtq+ community during this devastating epidemic revealed a deep-seated bigotry and a complete failure of moral leadership.

mental health: reagan's dismantling of mental health institutions under the guise of 'reform' led directly to a surge in homelessness and a lack of support for those with mental health issues. his policies were cruel and inhumane and showed a personality-defining callous disregard for the most vulnerable in society.

labor and unions: reagan's attack on labor unions, exemplified by his handling of the patco strike, was a blatant assault on workers' rights. his actions emboldened corporations to suppress union activities, leading to a significant erosion of workers' power and rights in the workplace. he was colloquially known as "Ronnie the Union Buster Reagan"

foreign policy and military interventions: reagan's foreign policy, particularly in latin america, was imperialist and ruthless. his administration's support for dictatorships and right-wing death squads under the guise of fighting "communism" showed a complete disregard for human rights and self-determination of other nations.

public health: yes, reagan's agricultural policies actually facilitated the rise of high fructose corn syrup, once again prioritizing corporate profits over public health. this shift in the food industry has had lasting negative impacts on health, contributing to the obesity epidemic and other health issues.

privatization: reagan's push for privatization was a systematic dismantling of public services, transferring wealth and power to private corporations and further eroding the public's access to essential services.

education policies: his approach to education was more of an attack on public education than anything else, gutting funding and promoting policies that undermined equal access to quality education. this was, again, part of a broader agenda to maintain a status quo where the privileged remain in power.

this is just what i could come up with in a relatively short time and i did not even live under this man's presidency. the level at which ronald reagan has broken the united states truly can't be overstated.

Kinda cool and a little ridiculous. AI art is controversial but amusing with the creations. Little details seem to propagate in abundance towards the unrealistic. I like it for crazy concepts than actually finalized art.

I watched the Netflix Wednesday show and was a bit disappointed. Spoilers ahead.

The show had potential. Started pretty strong with aesthetic and character variety. By the middle to end, the characters were a bit cheapened. Unfortunately the main character began to suffer the Bella Swan (Twilight) effect. Meaning: Bella could do absolutely whatever and still have friends wanting to still be her friend despite ignoring them completely for her own desires.

Wednesday just kept attracting all these friends that she never seemed to reciprocate. It's not exactly the same because at least a few of her friends actually tell her off for being a dick, but it still falls short. Specifically, for the character that goes to jail wrongfully accused of murder but then completely forgives her and buys her a phone at the end of the series.

If the show runners wanted to depict a flawed Wednesday, then at least follow through on the repercussions of those flaws on the people around her. She never actually apologizes for her actions either and second season or not, they should've backed that up with the secondary characters not always accepting her shit. As an attempt of character growth, it just doesn't happen and she ends up being quite flat.

The more I thought about the actions of the supporting characters in dealing with Wednesday, the more disappointing the story became in retrospective. The problem I see as this show is pretty popular, there are most definitely people out there inspired by this character and tend to mimic traits.

I just want to make sure that being goth does not mean be a dick.

I was skeptical with this series initially. I listened to the first book and I already had some spoilers of who the female leads hook up with. But the way the characters get treated seemed insane that they would hook up with any of the abusing characters.

Still it intrigued me enough that I wanted to know how this was going to happen, so I listened to book two. It was definitely better than the first. The female leads turn around and start fighting back which made the story much more entertaining to follow. I appreciate a little bit of justice. Finished the second book pretty quick and was happy to see book 3 was available.

I'm trying not to speed through these but the Graphic Audio production is great. The actors do a fantastic job. One of the female leads has become one of my favorite voice actresses to follow as I heard her first as Violet Sorrengail in the Fourth Wing production - Khaya Fraites.

However, so far my favorite character is Lance Orion. We'll see how things go :)

Being a parent is the hardest thing in the world.

I'm so tired and I feel like I suck at it everyday. And then I feel like I suck at everything else too.

Watch "Star Trek: The Next Generation by Balenciaga" on YouTube

This is one of my favorite trends right now lol

"Always" - Severus Snape - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 E...

OK Youtube, you are sharing some interesting shorts with me lately. Some of these edits are awesome. Also been listening to synthwave and I think this person did a nice edit here with the music.

When absolutely 0 of Biden’s accomplishments have made any kind of news, and we’ve been fed a steady diet of fear and panic for 3 years, no one gets to be shocked when he loses the next election to Donald 2.0.

Posting anything positive about the president here will get you called a capitalist bootlicker.

What do we expect to happen?

Anger sells better. Anger feels better, it feels righteous.

It’s easier to protest against a president you don’t like then to actually remain in charge and keep pushing ahead, even if small, consistent accomplishments are all you receive.

Waiting on a package for a secondhand Freewrite Traveler. I've spent a good half a year debating to get one.

Considered the Alpha Neo 2, which would be the cheapest option. But I worry with aging tech, how I'd be able to get data off it. Example, USB ports are not the same on modern computers now.

Considered the Japanese product of the Pomera DM250. The price point is still high with some more functionality but also several more steps to pull data from.

So the Freewrite Traveler is definitely a luxury item, even secondhand. I will experiment with it for the next few months as I try to spin up my stories and articles concepts. I really want to self publish, but I need to actually complete something.

I've written several things by hand and I like it, but I wasn't able to keep it going. I think I just prefer writing on a keyboard. I've got part of a story started by hand, counted words by hand, and am not really looking forward to typing it up again lol. I wish I had more time in the day.