1st Round - 24th Round

I just found this blog because of the god damn green hair and pronouns tournament and I've fallen in love with your artstyle IMMEDIATELY saint seiya fans are in the trenches i have been STARVING this is like finding the most beautiful furnished sisyphus and el cid paradise in the middle of a desert

Omg thank you!! This ask is worded incredibly 😭 I know Ive been going ham on those polls 🤡 I want my little goatman to win SisyCid are my favs too 🥺 I always want to draw them and I have a bunch of wips... hopefully Ill get off my ass enough to want to fix them up at some point... In the meanwhile I have these silly tutorials haha

Digifinex Labs: Bitcoin Advocate Nayib Bukele Claims Victory for Second Term as President of El Salvador

Nayib Bukele, the pro-bitcoin president of El Salvador, declared his victory in the 2024 presidential election on Sunday, pre-empting the official announcement by the electoral body. Bukele confidently stated, “According to our numbers, we won the presidential election with more than 85% of the votes and a minimum of 58 out of 60 Assembly deputies.” Exit poll data from X. CID Gallup also indicated strong support, with 87% of voters favoring Bukele.

Bukele played a pivotal role in El Salvador’s decision to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021. The country has since been actively acquiring bitcoin, amassing a portfolio valued at $131 million and generating a profit of $3.6 million as of early December last year, as reported by Bukele.

In December, El Salvador introduced the “Freedom Visa,” offering residency or citizenship to up to 1,000 applicants annually in exchange for a $1 million investment in bitcoin or USDT.

It’s important to note that The Block, the source of this information, operates independently and provides objective reporting on the crypto industry. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block, and The Block maintains its independence to deliver impartial and timely information about the crypto space.

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INTOWN REPORT for 12/5/19 – 12/11/19

THURSDAY, 12/5

5 Star Bar – Telekinetic Yeti, Darvaza, + Hexicon

1720 – Lousi Futon

Alex's – Five Guys...One Cover Band, Glitter Wizard, + Crimewave

The Belasco – Daughters, Protomartyr, + Show Me The Body

Bluespade 75 Studios (E.L.A.) - The Virus, Cinderblock, The Venomous Pinks, + HeadNoise

Bootleg – Lisa Prank, Rose Melberg, + Worriers

Doll Hut – Slaughterhousers, The Pawns, + The Tragic Radicals

Dynasty Typewriter – Michelle Buteau

Echo – Magic Sword, + Go Dark

Echoplex – Saint JHN

Fonda – Sasha Sloan, + Winnetka Bowling League

The Hi Hat – Bonavega, Brasko, + Mood Killer

Harvard & Stone – Baby A, + The Emerald

House of Blues - Gryffin

House of Machines – Love Nothing EP release, Deep Fields, New Balance, + Lindsay B

Largo at the Coronet – Anthony Jeselnik

Little Joy – No Exits, Programmed For Pleasure, + Del Lucrii

Malone's - Big Rig Dollhouse, Ascent, + Tragic Radicals

Maui Sugar Mill – Midnight Cloud, John Thompson, High Grass,+Carry On Band

Moroccan – Moon Hooch, + Coco Columbia

Observatory – The Hu, + Crown Lands; From Indian Lakes, Queen of Jeans, + Yummm (Constellation Room)

The Palace – Vagabon, + Angel Olsen (also Friday)

Petie's Place - The Kitty Litter Disco Show Band, Review Killer Lords (Tribute to The Lords of the New Church) + The Flutterbyes, free entry with a toy donation for Children's Hospital LA

Redwood Bar – The Tearaways (feat.Clem Burke), The Reflectors, + Mogg

Satellite – Salute to Lou Reed with Angie Bowie, LoveyDove, The Dick & Jane Family Orchestra, + Mary Woronov

The Smell – Banny Grove, Pregnant, + Brendan Eder Ensemble Theater at Ace Hotel – The Revolution (Prince's former band) Troubadour – Alex Cameron, + Holiday Sidewinder (also Friday) Wiltern – Snoop Dogg, + more

Zebulon – The Make-Up, + Seth Bogart

FRIDAY, 12/6

5 Star Bar – Endless Struggle, Destruction Made Simple, Dead77, Gob Patrol, + Dcon

1720 - Graves Bootleg Theater – Madison Cunningham, Johanna Samuels, + Pet Dress

Doll Hut – Reagan Youth, Functional Lunatics, The Lewd, Damaged, Justified Anger, Ciphors of Transcendence, Krovak, The Order of Nine Angels, The Outskirts, Pig City, 6pm

El Rey – Dreamers, Arrested Youth, + American Teeth Garden Amp – The Adolescents, The Zeros, The Crowd, + more! Glass House – The Hu, + Crown Lands The Hi Hat – Sonny & the Sunsets, + The Gonks Hollywood Forever Cemetery – Drab Majesty, + Body of Light House of Blues - Thrice House of Machines – The Dickies, Cheap Tissue, + DM Tina & The Bumps The Lash – Body of Light, + DJ Drab Majesty Lodge Room – Surfbot, Dumb F**ks, + Nice Maui Sugar Mill – Dr. Savage &The Shrunken Heads, Super Villian, + Caroshi Moroccan – Kills Birds, Daisy, + The Living Roomers Observatory – The Wrecks Pappy & Harriet's – Ryley Walker, + Black Mountain Petie's Place – Dickwad (also Sat.)

Redwood Bar – Drug Front, Dante HH, + Graveyard Bandits Regent – The Slackers, Viernes 13, Soul Ska, + Gabriela Penka Teragram – Marco Benevento, + The Mattson 2 Zebulon – Judge, Regional Justice Center, Section HB, + Down to Nothing

SATURDAY, 12/7

5 Star Bar – A Darker Bright

1720 – Minty Boi, Twin Tribes, + She Past Away

Alex's – Boyo, Dustin Lovelis, Nik Freitas, Tino Drima, + Emily Edrosa

Alpine Village - 7th Annual Krampus Ball with Rosemary's Billygoat, Hammerstein Band, Totendanse, + Krammpstein

American Legion Post 206 (Highland Park) – Master Cylander, Sapphic Musk, Somos Mysteriosos, Ley Valentine, + Stars at Night

Bootleg – Mike Krol, Night Shop, + Jess Cornelius

Catch One – Reagan Youth, The Voids, The Skeptix, The Virus, Defiance, Cheap Sex, Thulsa Doom, + more! 2:00pm

Doll Hut – Punxmas Toy Drive with Ravens Moreland, Big Mess, The Whining Pussies, The Pawns, Shubees, SLOKA, Mr. Firley, Dirty Hammer, + Time Kats (entry with 1 unwrapped toy)

EB's at The Farmer's Market – The Stardust Ramblers The Echo - Glades El Cid – Eyedress, + Natia & The Renaissance Family El Rey – Greyson Chance

The Factory- Daisy Chain, Lunch Lady, Silky & the Scopers, + Dummy Glass House – Aly & AJ, + Armors The Hi Hat – Fitness, + Somme Hollywood Forever Cemetery – Mount Eerie, + Julie Doiron

LEM HQ (835 N La Brea Ave.LA) – Crisis Actor, Safeword, Le Face,+DJsTerminal A Lexington – Drop Top Jesus, Wagemaker, Mountains of Delusion,+Living Darkness Lodge Room – Louis Cole Maui Sugar Mill – Punk Rock Karaoke, + Shiner's Club

Meltdown (1644 S La Cienega, Unit 4, LA) – Justus Profitt, Poll Tax Riot,+Noah Salem Moroccan – From Indian Lakes, Queen of Jeans, + Yummm Observatory – Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, Glitter Wizard, + Masked Intruder Pappy & Harriet's – KOLARS, + Soft White Sixties

The Paramount – Very Be Careful

Permenant Records Roadhouse (former location of Cafe Nela) – DJ Frankie & the Witch Fingers

Redwood Bar – Tramp For the Lord, + Jason Heath & The Greedy Souls Regent – High On Fire, Power Trip, Devil Master, + Creeping Death (sold out) Roxy – Black Flag, + The Linecutters Silverlake Lounge – Dangerously Sleazy, Fox Medicine, + Cosmic Kitten Teragram – Defeater, + Modern Life is War Troubadour – Lindsay Eli Wiltern – Snoh Aalegra Zebulon – Frankie & the Witch Fingers, Kevin, + Perfection

SUNDAY, 12/8

Alex's Bar – Headless Palms, The Sleeping Sea Kings, + Boom Years

All Star Lanes – Boy In the Water, Margeaux Sippell, Jack Rabbit,+Arch Stanton

Bootleg Theater – Tow'rs, + B.R. Lively

C.I.A. - Angela Bowie, Cat Museum, + The Chelsea Club

The Echo – Myles Parrish

Echoplex – Nothing, Launder, No Swoon, + Sprain

Fonda - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, Glitter Wizard, + Masked Intruder

The Hi Hat – Tribute to Jim Morrison by The Burning Doors, + John Lennon Memorial Celebration

Lodge Room – Jason Lytle Moroccan – Spindrift, Federale, Roselit Bone, Sir Woman, + Dylan Meek Observatory – High on Fire, Power Trip, Devil Master, + Creeping Death The Pike (L.B.) - Hamapple

Redwood Bar – Blood Wisdom, Beatnik Party, + Calico Sky Roxy – With Confidence, Seaway, Between You & Me, + Doll Skin Teragram – Ours, Chris Shinn, + Black Angel The Wiltern – CHVRCHES, + Dominic Fike

MONDAY, 12/9

4th Street Vine – The Cure & Friends Aratani Theatre at JACCC – An evening with Flea Bootleg – Henry Hall, Polyplastic, + Corvax Echo – Courtship Echoplex – Trap Girl, Agenda, Strangers, La Pregunta, Skirt Cocaine,+DJ Bat Slave The El Rey – The Pineapple Thief Fonda – Fabio Frizzi Moroccan Lounge – Halfnoise, Blackpaw, + And That Zebulon – Shannon Lay, + Earth Girl Helen Brown

TUESDAY, 12/10

5 Star Bar – We Were Giants, + Next Door to Heaven 1720 – Unearth, + Darkest Hour

Bootleg – Erin Anne, Potty Mouth, + Cartalk Echo – Say Sue Me, + The Pantones Echoplex – Madame Gandhi El Rey - Zhavia

Fonda – The Hu, + Crown Lands The Hi Hat – Georgi Kay, Esbie Fonte, + Psychic Twin

Lodge Room – Rob Bell

Moroccan – Channel Tres, + The Briggs

Novo – Cindi Lauper, Belinda Carlisle, Bily Porter, Brandi Carlile, Carol Leifer, Charlie Musselwhite, Emily Estefan, Henry Rollins, Perry Farrell, Marilyn Manson Lily Tomlin, Margaret Cho, + more! (Home for the Holidays benefit)

Redwood – Thee Idylls, Dylan Champion, Kid Bandit,+The Path of Most Resistance Resident – Stalley Roxy – Divinio Nino, Bardo Martinez, + DJ Venus

Zebulon – William Tyler, + Xylouris White

WEDNESDAY, 12/11

4th Street Vine – Downtown, Sleeperz, + Calm Kill Alex's – Las Chicas Tristas, White Woods, Slice, Sea Moya,+DJ Caliate Y Escucho Bootleg – The Monolators, Soft Sailors, + Saint Heartbreak The Echo – Khemmis, UN, + Future Usses El Rey – Berhana, + Pomo Fonda – Conan Gray, + Denee Highland Park Bowl – Emmitt James, JeremyJones, + Shaelle The Hi Hat – Mothica, Cannons, HUX, + Velvey Starlings House of Blues – Falling In Reverse Lodge Room – Rob Bell Moroccan – Channel Tres Observatory – Allah-Las, Mapache, + Tim Hill Redwood Bar – Here Lies Man, Sissy Brown, + Mars Rodriguez Roxy – Role Models, + Jackie Hayes Teragram – Fruit Bats, + Kacey Johansing Troubadour – Beouine Zebulon – Xylouris White

LIVE ON LIVATION, WEDNESDAY NIGHTS FROM MIDNIGHT TO 2AM THURSDAY MORNINGS (PST) ON KXLU 88.9FM, LOS ANGELES & KXLU.COM

12/11 – Otniel y Los Condors 

12/18 – Dangerously Sleazy

12/20 – Livation fills in for Demolisten with special guest Bruce Duff, 6-8pm

12/25 – Lucky Otis

12/27 – Livation fills in for Demolisten with Clifton AKA DJ Soft Touch 

1/1/2020 – Buzz Clic Adventure

1/8 – Crisis Actor

1/15 – PR Shake

1/22 - Jason Paul & The Knowitalls

2/12 – Ley Valentine

2/19 - Cheap Tissue

2/26 - JesuCrisis

reverbnation.com/venue/livation 

intownreport.wordpress.com 

livation889fm on Instagram l

theosangelesbeat.com

kxlu.com

The political drama raising fears about El Salvador's democracy Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in the Central American nation, and Washington’s close eye on the situation. Drama unfolded in the halls of power in capital city San Salvador late Saturday, when the country’s Legislative Assembly voted to dismiss the five judges who form the Constitutional Court. The motion had been proposed by the New Ideas party of El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele, which has held a strong majority of 56 out of 84 seats since a landslide victory in legislative elections last March. Lawmakers from New Ideas alleged the constitutional court was impeding the president’s ability to confront the Covid-19 pandemic. Bukele’s critics, however, say he has veered into authoritarian rule. In March last year the Constitutional Court ruled that it was illegal to incarcerate citizens who had defied lockdown orders, a court rule the president publicly rejected. The institutional clash re-emerged this week as the five judges ruled the vote on their firing unconstitutional. Lawmakers responded by ordering the removal of the country’s attorney general Raul Melara. Eventually, the legislative branch prevailed: Melara presented his resignation shortly afterwards, and on Monday, five new judges took office in the Constitutional Court. Questions remain over the legality of the weekend’s events, but the reshuffle has effectively placed put the president firmly in control of all the country’s highest public institutions. Who is Nayib Bukele? Shortly after the congressional vote, the 39-year-old Bukele celebrated by tweeting “FIRED” in all caps, followed by five clapping hands emojis. Across the weekend, the President took to Twitter to defend the congressional decision, urging the international community to stay out of the strife. “We are cleaning house,” he wrote. Bukele, a right-wing populist, rose to power in 2019 on an anti-corruption platform, promising to “drain the swamp” of Salvadorean politics. He is the first president since 1989 not to come from one of the country’s two main political parties, the conservative ARENA party and the leftwing, former guerrilla movement, FMLN. In his presidential campaign and first year of his presidency, Bukele presented himself as an admirer and close ally of former president Donald Trump, who tweeted praises of the young leader for “working well with us on immigration.” US relations with Bukele appear to be cooling under President Joe Biden, but El Salvador remains a strategic partner for the US in central America, particularly around immigration, as Washington attempts to stem migration flows into the US with cooperation of Central American governments. Bukele’s actions have skewed anti-democratic before: In February 2020, he swiftly deployed troops to the then-opposition controlled Legislative Assembly during a clash between the President and congress over an emergency loan. The measure was harshly criticized by the international community, including Trump’s ambassador to El Salvador. How the world reacted Several institutions and civil society groups, including El Salvador’s association of private business owners, harshly criticized the judicial dismissals, calling them a “self-coup” and “an attack on democracy and a threat on the freedom of all Salvadoreans.” Perhaps the highest-profile warnings so far came from Washington. US Vice President Kamala Harris, who has engaged El Salvador as well as the other Northern Triangle countries, Guatemala and Honduras on immigration, tweeted Sunday: “We have deep concerns about El Salvador’s democracy, in light of the National Assembly’s vote to remove constitutional court judges. An independent judiciary is critical to a healthy democracy — and to a strong economy.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also personally called Bukele to emphasize the US commitment to “reinforcing democratic institutions and the separation of powers” in El Salvador. The European Union’s Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, also shared his concern, saying events in El Salvador had “put in doubt the rule of law.” Bukele defended his actions, tweeting that he was not elected “to negotiate” with the state’s apparatus but did not publicly respond to the US officials’ criticisms. While the Salvadorean president is accustomed to opposition from within his government and foreign human rights groups, a strong rebuke from Washington ratchets up the pressure. “Bukele reckons that Washington’s urge to address the migration issue increases his negotiating leverage with the Biden administration, but he may be underestimating El Salvador’s economic dependence on the US,” Tiziano Breda, a Central America analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told CNN. Millions of dollars in US aid bolster El Salvador’s local economy, curtails immigration and helps fight Salvadorean organized crime, which is dominated by transnational maras such as MS-13. Breda also points out that the US is by far El Salvador’s most important trading partner and wields significant global influence. Furthermore, she says, Salvadorans living in the US supply more than 20% of their home country’s GDP in remittances. What comes next? The situation in El Salvador is the first political crisis in the Western Hemisphere confronting the newly installed US administration. Since the election, Biden’s government has signaled an interest in the region’s most difficult problems, such as Venezuela’s political turmoil, immigration and the environment. Given Bukele’s ample margins of popularity — 98% of Salvadoreans supported the president’s handling of the pandemic, according to a CID Gallup poll from March this year — the White House may prefer engaging with the young leader on the current crisis rather than unleashing a war of words. But Washington must also consider the signal it sends to other authoritarian leaders in the region, including Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro. “Getting away with this would set another dangerous precedent in a region, Central America, that is already affected by similar experiences,” said ICG’s Breda. “What Bukele may not be considering is what these precedents imply in the medium/long term: more social turmoil, political instability, and international mistrust, if not isolation. Things El Salvador can hardly endure,” he says. Source link Orbem News #Democracy #drama #Fears #Political #raising #Salvadors

NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) – October 28th, 2020 | NBC Nightly News

Hurricane Zeta makes landfall in Louisiana, El Paso hospitals at breaking point amid rise in coronavirus cases, and how polling this year is different from 2016.

Watch “NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt” at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT (or check your local listings).

00:00 Intro 1:55 Hurricane Zeta Makes Landfall In Louisiana As Category 2 3:18 Category 2 Hurricane Zeta Slams Onshore In Louisiana 4:16 Campaigns Clash In Arizona With 6 Days To Election 4:31 W.H. Credits Trump For ‘Ending The Covid-19 Pandemic’ 5:42 Trump Supporters Stranded In Cold After Nebraska Rally 6:02 ‘Anonymous’ Trump Critic Revealed As Ex-DHS Official 6:34 Hospitals At Breaking Point As Covid Surges In U.S. 7:09 Regeneron Reports Success With Antibody Cocktail 7:19 U.S. Averaging Over 72,000 New Covid Cases Daily 8:28 Philadelphia Imposes Curfew After Violent Protests 10:02 Who Will Obama-Trump Voters Choose In 2020 Race? 13:50 Supreme Court Won’t Fast Track Pennsylvania Mail-In Fight 14:15 Can The Elections Polls Be Trusted? 15:59 Pandemic Forcing Many Working Moms Out Of Jobs

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NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) – October 28th, 2020 | NBC Nightly News

The post NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) – October 28th, 2020 | NBC Nightly News appeared first on News Lookout.

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‘The Young Guns’: Ten Years Later

The country is reeling from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Just years prior the proud citizens of a peerless empire, Americans have become a dispirited lot. The decline of the United States appears more and more like a foregone conclusion. And after patchy Republican rule, the Democratic Party seems invincible — poised to control the presidency for a generation. Within the corridors of power, the country’s fraught race relations dominate the conversation. Debts balloon as John Maynard Keynes is excavated and propped up like El Cid. Conservatism isn’t just uncool— it’s terminal. But this isn’t Trump’s America — it’s Barack Obama’s first term in office.

“History’s hard to know,” as Hunter Thompson once wrote, but the echoes today of ten years ago are unmistakable. 

As the United States potentially ushers in a new left-wing presidency, America’s “Right” — if such a thing can be said to exist — will undergo its latest round of psychoanalysis. And even if Trump holds off the sans culottes outside his gates, he will hold onto power a diminished figure, b-lining for lame duck status. His administration will have appointed scores of conservative judges, only to see little to no enduring judicial victories (“Do you get the impression the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?” Trump asked earlier this month). Put in power on a promise of stabilizing immigration, he will have delivered perhaps a tenth of the border wall. And he will have cut taxes only to preside over the perhaps largest collapse in GDP growth in American history. 

It’s clear, for now, US Republicans stand for one thing: against the Democrats. 

The Democratic Party, on the contrary, in recent months — as Ross Douthat points out in the New York Times — has been reborn. It is now bursting with almost religious fervor, a cult of “public health,” “expertise,” “anti-racism” and armistice with corporate America. The clique — which can plausibly claim to channel a numerical majority — has been infused with a surge of purpose, a revolution more effective than anything dreamed up by Bernie Sanders. Or, as Douthat puts it: “Much of the action around it, the anti-racist reckoning unfolding in colleges, media organizations, corporations and public statuary, may seem more unifying than the Sanders revolution precisely because it isn’t as threatening to power.” 

America’s left wing has seized the commanding heights. It’s been a long time coming. 

As Janan Ganesh points out in the Financial Times: “Doctrinal liberals stormed the three branches of government handily enough, but not Hollywood, the publishing industry, academia and other trades that form our habits of mind without our knowing it.” And in language I can sympathize with, he adds: “Conservatism has bleak truths to impart: about the fragility of order, the perverse consequences of well-meaning change, the loss of the individual in the push for group rights. Zealots for change who give no quarter to conservatism’s insights are prone to over-reach. In fact, it is not obvious on which side a strict liberal, in the old sense, now belongs.”

For an example of a compact that neither changed history nor thwarted, one need look no further than “The Young Guns,” by Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy. 

Originally a 2007 Weekly Standard cover, it’s a trio now as defunct as that magazine, But in 2010, they used this as the title for a brief tract — an encore to Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America” (which too ended up being largely unenforced) — a blueprint of what they would do with real power (they never got it). By self-acclamation, Cantor was “the leader,” Ryan was “the thinker” and McCarthy was “the strategist.” McCarthy was quietly derided as the weak link, but his moniker ended up most apt, as he held formal power the longest (he remains, at time of writing, the House Minority Leader).

But the group did little else but survive (Ryan is now at Fox News, Cantor in investment banking). 

Republicans stormed the House 2010, only to pass tedious Obamacare repeals with no chance of obtaining the President’s signature. In other words, the 190-page treatise explained small government conservatism in large font. When given the opportunity seven years later under President Donald Trump, senior Republicans confessed they hadn’t expected Trump to win and that they didn’t, per se, have an alternative to the Affordable Care Act. 

Earlier, these Congressional Republicans had managed to install one of their own — Paul Ryan — on the 2012 ticket. 

But Ryan helped Romney lose a winnable election, failing even to deliver his home state of Wisconsin (which Trump would carry four years later). When Republicans took the Senate in 2014 — completing their sweep of Congress — their leadership attempted to champion Trade Protection Authority, and favored Jeb Bush (who took the plurality of Republican Congressional endorsements in the early 2016 race) as their standard-bearer. Or. as Rep. Adam Kinzinger said in late summer 2015 after Trump was already dominating the race: “I think Jeb’s the guy.” No, he’s wasn’t 

It’s worth noting that in order to win back power in 2016, the Republican Party needed an ex-Democrat, Mr. Trump. The kinds of voters who went Obama-Biden in 2008 and 2012 — and then flipped to Trump in 2016 — are exactly the demographic that could give a fresh chance to the bottom of that old ticket in 2020. For all the ink that has been spilled on Trump as an avatar of white reaction, he is losing even that contingent — and fast — if polling is to be at all believed. Republicans have also started this year by reviving another mistake of a forgotten era — dismissing the polls, as they did in 2012. 

If Trump is jettisoned from office this autumn, as seems likely, it will be an event rich with irony. As some of his conservative critics point out, he campaigned in 2016 with elements from the old Democratic Party (some might say a “conservatism”), emphasizing the need to curb special interests, military overstretch, and runaway capitalism. Should he lose, the fact that he actually governed like a Republican of old (focusing on tax cuts, deregulation, and the pursuit of a bizarre obsession with Iran, to the neglect of worker protections and immigration) will have played no small part. 

Many will vie for the title. But if they’re actually interested in power, Trump’s attempted successors would do well to consider — and avoid  — the example of the “young guns.” 

The post ‘The Young Guns’: Ten Years Later appeared first on The American Conservative.

Breaking News. Beto O'Rourke ends 2020 presidential campaign

Beto O'Rourke, the former Texas congressman, announced on Twitter that he's dropping out of the 2020 presidential race.

The Democrat announced his candidacy in March, prompting media attention and polling numbers that put him among the then-front-runners and leading to an impressive first-day fundraising haul of $6.1 million.

But O'Rourke's stock steadily declined in the following months, with lackluster debate performances, a steep drop in fundraising and a plunge in the polls -- registering no more than 3% or 4% in some national and state polls. He eventually failed to secure two additional polls to qualify for the November debate, which will be hosted in Georgia by MSNBC and The Washington Post.

O'Rourke announced his White House bid just months after losing a closely watched 2018 midterm race in which he challenged Republican stalwart Sen. Ted Cruz, losing by just 3 percentage points. It was the closest race Texas had seen in recent decades. O'Rourke raised a record $38 million in one quarter of 2018, three times Cruz's totals for the same period and the most raised in a U.S. Senate race in history.

Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images, FILE

Democratic presidential candidate, former Rep. Beto ORourke (D-TX) speaks to media and supporters during a campaign re-launch, Aug. 15, 2019, in El Paso, Texas.more +

Finding viral and documentary fame, O'Rourke traveled to all of Texas' 254 counties, including ones not visited by Democrats in years. It was a strategy he later applied to his presidential bid following a racially motivated mass shooting in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, that claimed the lives of 22 people.

For more info. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/beto-orourke-ending-presidential-campaign-sources/story?id=66698737&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_hero_hed

3rd Round - 6th Match

(I repeat the poll because there's someone left who wanted to vote:@luceirosdegolados )

The Rose of Castile, Part 12 (Cursed)

As summer turned to fall, the inability of the taifa king of Toledo, al-Qadir, to govern his kingdom despite King Alfonso VI’s continuous efforts to prop him up created an air of instability and uncertainty for those who had settled in the trans-Duero region and the lords who had been given the responsibility of overseeing and defending the towns within which they lived and worked. Despite the king’s efforts to strengthen his hand against his Moorish neighbors to the south through diplomacy and targeted military actions, the possibility of being raided or overrun remained an ever-present danger to Christian settlements in the area.

When Raul received word that the Castilian stronghold of San Esteban de Gormaz in the upper reaches of the Duero River had been attacked by Moors in the fall of 1080, he responded by redoubling his efforts to fortify Cuéllar’s defenses and train the militia. In the meantime, he kept abreast of events in the lower meseta through dispatches from Count Pedro as well as livestock herders whose livelihood depended in part upon ranging their animals over the plains of the south.

After a day of filled with meetings and field inspections, Raul looked forward to having a quiet evening alone with Inés. As he rode by the Inn on his way back to the citadel, he spotted the old innkeeper’s sister, Cecilia, sitting as usual in her chair. He motioned for his men to continue on while he rode over to her and said, “Good evening.”

Cecilia smiled. “Same to you, my lord. Have you come to hear your fortune or is there some other type of favor you would like to ask of me?”

Raul shook his head. “You always ask me the same question every time I speak with you. Don’t you ever get tired of being told no?”

“Not at all,” Cecilia replied. “One day soon you will say yes. You will do it for her. I’ve foreseen it.”

Curious, Raul asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“All things will become clear in time,” Cecilia said and looked up at the darkening sky. “A storm is coming. I can feel it in my bones.”

“I suppose you’re right. I’d best be on my way,” Raul replied, following her gaze. Inés is probably wondering where I am.

“Yes, yes,” Cecilia said with a yawn. “Hold her close while you can. Not much time left…” she said as her voice gradually trailed away to nothing.

For a moment, Raul stared at Cecilia in shocked silence as he watched her eyelids close and her head loll to the side. He felt a tightness in his chest as a sense of foreboding seized him. He then turned his horse in the direction of the citadel and set off for home at a brisk pace.

As soon as Raul reached the courtyard, he sensed that something was amiss. He felt a tension in the air that only seemed to intensify the closer he got to the front door. Once he crossed the threshold, he was met by a servant who informed him that his primo, Don Pelayo Muñoz, had arrived and was waiting to see him in the Great Hall with Inés.

Raul rushed past the servant to where Inés and Pelayo were awaiting him. His muscles tensed and his pulsed quickened with each step. Did he come at the king’s behest to warn him of an impending attack? Or was he here to deliver a much more personal message? Although every possible scenario he thought of filled him with dread, he proceeded forward with grim determination. The looks on both Pelayo and Inés’ faces as Raul entered the room did nothing to allay his fears. His mouth felt dry and his palms were sweaty as he crossed the hall and greeted Pelayo.

“Tell me, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?”

For a moment, it looked as though Pelayo was struggling to find the right words to say as he opened his mouth to speak. “Our primo, Count Pedro, bade me come. He thought it best that you hear what I’m about to tell you from one of us rather than through the king’s messenger.” As Pelayo spoke, Inés came to Raul’s side and placed her hand on his shoulder.  

“For the love of God, just say it.”

“You’re hermano is dead. The king had sent him to Toledo with a few knights to deliver a message to al-Qadir and to receive his tribute payment. They were ambushed by forces loyal to al-Mutawakkil of Badajoz. I know that the two of you were very close. I’m sorry.”

Raul nodded and leaned against Inés, who had put her arms around his waist. “Where is his body? Were you able to recover it?”

“Yes,” Pelayo replied. “My hermano, Pedro, volunteered to take his body to Carrión de los Condes. He should be here with Armando’s remains by tomorrow morning.”

“I will have Elena and the other servants prepare our things so that we will be ready to bear Armando’s body to the tomb of his forebears when Pedro arrives,” Inés said. “I’ll also send a message to Gustavo to let him know of this recent turn of events and our imminent departure. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

At that moment, Raul was too overcome with emotion to speak. So instead, he simply placed his hand over Inés’ and gave it a squeeze. She, in turn, looked at him with eyes that glistened with tears. Thank God for you, he thought as he pulled her to him and began to weep.

 When Raul and Inés returned to Cuéllar less than three weeks later, news of El Cid’s unsanctioned retaliatory actions against the Moors who had attacked San Esteban de Gormaz had enflamed the already simmering tensions between the Christian kingdoms in the north and the Moorish taifa states in the south. Even within the town of Cuéllar itself, the mixed population of Christians, Mozarabs (Christians from the taifa states), Jews, and Moors experienced an upsurge of interracial tension. Worse still was the news that Moors loyal to al-Mutawakkil of Badajoz in Toledo were formulating plans to raid other Christian towns in the trans-Duero, including Cuéllar.

“Are you sure?” Raul questioned the sheepherder again. The man nodded. “How many men did you see?”

“One hundred, maybe more,” the sheepherder replied with a shrug. “It was dark, and they were speaking in hushed tones. But I’m sure that I heard at least one of them say that Cuéllar was where they were headed.”

“Thank you,” Raul replied, grim-faced. “That will be all.”

After the man had left, Raul turned to his alférez, Don Alfonso, and the members of the town council and said, “Gentlemen, I’ll be very frank. The situation as I currently see it is quite dire.”

“Is there any way we can call upon the king for aid or obtain reinforcements from one of Count Pedro’s fortresses along the Duero River?” Gustavo asked.

“The king’s army is well west of here and the fortresses have no men to spare,” Raul replied. “At most, the Moorish raiders that the sheepherder spoke of are three days ride away. It may take at least that long for one of our messengers to reach the king. I’m afraid that we are on our own.”

“But, my lord, there are barely a hundred townspeople who live in Cuéllar and the alfoz, and a third of those are women, children and men who are too old or infirm to fight,” said another councilman.

“Less than a quarter of the town’s defensive walls are up,” lamented yet another one. “And the citadel is still under construction. I don’t see how we would be able to simultaneously protect the women and children and take the fight to the Moors.”

“I agree,” Raul replied. “That’s why I propose that all the women and children be evacuated to Peñafiel. It’s the closest fortress to this town and is less than a day’s ride away. We could have less than a dozen members of the militia escort them there if they leave in the next twenty-four hours. If the sheepherder’s estimates are correct, those men would be back in plenty of time to engage the Moors alongside the rest of us.” After a brief pause, he looked around the room and said, “I see no other workable option. Do you?”

With that said, he adjourned the meeting and gave each specific instructions as to who would go where and what they should say to the townspeople about the pending attack. As he watched them leave, his thoughts turned to the thorny issue of how he was going to convince Inés to go with the other women and children to Peñafiel.

 Before joining Inés for dinner, Raul took his horse for a ride to clear his head and to steal himself for what he anticipated was going to be a very difficult and emotionally fraught conversation with her. It wasn’t long before he came upon Cecilia, who was sitting, as usual, by the front doors of the Inn.

Rather than adhere to his usual custom of acknowledging the old woman with a simple greeting as he passed her by, he dismounted and tethered his horse to a poll before approaching her and saying, “Woman, a word if you please.”

Cecilia looked at him with a curious expression as she cocked her head to the side and asked, “So, my lord, have you had a change of heart? How I may be of service to you?”

Raul paused a moment before answering.  “I’m sure you’ve been told by now that all the women, children, the old and infirm are being evacuated to Peñafiel.”

“Yes, my hermano and I were told to be ready to leave by tomorrow morning. The situation must be quite dire indeed. Do you fear death?”

Raul shook his head. “I come on behalf of one I love.”

“This is about your pretty lady then?” Cecilia motioned for Raul to come closer. When he did, she reached out and cupped his face with her hands as she said, “Tell me of your heart’s desire.”

Raul swallowed hard and said, “I want to see her again.”

“And so you shall, my lord,” Cecilia replied and gently patting Raul’s cheek. “All I’ll need from you is a single strand of her hair. Can you get that for me before I depart?” He nodded. She replied, “Good. The sooner I receive it, the better.”

 Raul waited until after dinner to broach the subject of having Inés evacuate with all the other women in town on the morrow. As expected, she at first rejected the idea out of hand.

“My place is with you,” Inés insisted. “Why must I leave if you will not?”

“As lord of the town, I’m duty-bound to stay and fight. What kind of example would I be setting for my men if I ordered them to stand and defend the town and then turned around and fled with you?”

“I would never ask you to do that,” Inés replied. “It’s just that you promised me that we would never be parted again.”

“Inés, I’ve been told that the Moorish force that is heading toward us will likely be almost double the size of the town’s militia.  I will need every single able-bodied man in town to fight off those that would seek to destroy what we’ve built here. By remaining, you would unnecessarily endanger yourself and force me to divert at least one or two of my ablest knights to ensure that no harm would come to you while I’m in battle.”

Iñés hung her head and turned away. Raul came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. He felt her body tremble as she leaned against him and began to cry.

“Promise me that you won’t die. Tell me that I’ll see you again. I’ve already lost all our children. I don’t think that I could bear to lose you too.”

“Nor I, you,” Raul replied as he turned Inés’ face toward his and kissed her. “You’re all I have left in this world. Without you, I’m nothing.”

 Inés waited until the last possible minute to depart. She had slept little and was feeling both anxious and quite nauseous as she stared out of the second story window while her lady’s maid, Elena, finished packing her things. At one point, she spotted Raul, who appeared to be having a conversation with the old innkeeper’ s sister. That’s odd, she thought as she watched him hand over a small pouch to Cecilia. But then, given Raul’s charitable nature, she surmised that he had given her a few coins even though she knew that that woman and her hermano were far from being the neediest members in town and then dismissed the incident from her mind.

Later that day, Inés stood in the courtyard and watched the last of the female servants in the lord’s household headed out of the citadel. She was waiting for Raul, who had told her that he would escort her to the outskirts of town. She wrapped her arms around her waist and closed her eyes as she thought about all the lonely and worry filled days that lay ahead of her. Aside from Raul’s impassioned plea, there was yet another unspoken reason why she had decided to heed his warnings and depart. She had gone back and forth about telling him of her suspicions regarding her possible pregnancy throughout the night. In the end, she decided to wait so as not to unduly burden his already care-ridden mind with such news.

Inés mounted her horse the moment Raul came into view. Just then, Don Alfonso appeared and came rushing toward him. “My Lord, I have just received reports of scouts in the vicinity. What would you have me do?”  

Raul muttered a few instructions to his alférez before turning his full attention to Inés. “We must leave at once. I will ride with you to the edge of town. Don Alberto will then see to it that you and the other women and children are safely delivered to Peñafiel.”

Inés tried to remain calm as she rode beside him at a rather fast clip through the streets of Cuéllar. She was near the main entrance into town when she heard one of his men call out, “Riders, my lord!”

Within seconds, Inés heard the whooshing sound of an arrow whizzing through the air just moments before it tore through her body. She cried out in shock and slumped over as the pain quickly radiated outward from the point of impact.  

“Hold on, Inés,” she heard Raul say as he grabbed her horse’s reins and brought it to an abrupt stop. Before she knew it, she was in his arms once more.

In the hazy minutes that followed, she glanced down at her blood-drenched tunic and then up at Raul’s agonized and tear-stained face and wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. She tried to speak but all that she could manage to get out was a choked sob. Each breath was becoming more difficult than the last as the blinding pain in her torso continued to intensify. For her, there would be no more birthdays or anniversaries to celebrate. No more children to bear and raise. We’ve run out of time, mi amor.

 Bitter tears flowed down Raul’s face as he watched the light go out of Inés’ eyes. After she had taken her last breath, he buried his face in her chest and let out a heart-rending cry. In the meantime, Don Alfonso took charge and directed the men to engage the riders in battle.

Moments later, Raul looked up and saw Cecilia staring down at him. He immediately reached for the sword in his scabbard and hissed. “You were supposed to keep her safe.”

Cecilia smiled. “But, my lord, that is not what you asked for.” Then she took a step closer, adding, “You said that you wanted to see her again, and you will.”

“What have you done?” Raul croaked as he pressed Inés’ lifeless form to his chest.

“I have avenged my precious Maria,” Cecilia said with a malevolent sneer. “It was you who left those monsters who accused her of being a witch in charge and dragged her off to jail. They allowed her escape and then hunted her down like a dog and hung her from a tree. My hermano saw it all. He said that they laughed as she begged for her life and then let out a cheer while her body dangled and twitched above them.”

“But why punish Inés?” Raul asked, tears stinging his eyes. “She cared for Maria. She tried to help her.”

“I had no choice. She was the one thing that I knew you prized above all else in this world. She had to die.”

“And now you will die with her,” Raul cried as he lunged at Cecilia. But before he could reach her, he lost his footing and fell. And then, when he had regained his footing and looked over to where Cecilia had been standing, she was gone. Filled with rage, he then unleashed his fury on the Moors who had attacked them. He hunted them down, one by one, leaving their bloody and mangled body parts on the ground. He slaughtered them all.

Afterward, Raul and Don Alfonso took Inés’ body into the forest and buried her there. Once they had laid her to rest in a shallow grave with a small wooden cross atop it, he turned to his alférez and handed him a note.  “Take this to Count Pedro. He will see to it that you are given full control of my lands and assets in my absence.”

“But why?” Don Alfonso exclaimed. “Will you not come back with me to town?”

“I’m cursed,” Raul replied bitterly while shaking his head. “My presence would only doom your efforts to defend the town. You’ll be better off without me. She would never let me win…”

“What shall I tell the men or your parientes (relatives) if they ask me where you’ve gone?”

“Tell them whatever you want to. I care not.”

A brief silence ensued as Don Alfonso stood by and watched Raul kneel before Inés’ grave and pray. Before Don Alfonso turned to go, he said, “Rest assured that I’ll be a good and faithful steward of the worldly possessions you have entrusted to my care. And if, sometime in the future, you choose to return, I’ll gladly hand full control of everything that you have left to my safekeeping back to you or whomever you designate without question or challenge.”

Without looking up, Raul replied, “I know you will. Now go.”

As Don Alfonso departed, Raul fixed his eyes upon the makeshift wooden cross before him and prayed for death. But alas, such was not to be his fate. As the decades and centuries subsequently unfolded before him, he came to learn the full extent of the old woman’s treachery. As far as he knew, she had doomed him to an eternity of watching Inés meet a violent end in different times and places at the hand of the same green-eyed man who had taken her life at Cuéllar. Over time, he began to lose hope of ever being freed from the living hell that he had unwittingly bargained for or saving the woman he loved. That is, until he would meet yet another iteration of Inés named Lily a millennium later.

2nd Round - 12th Match