Former Member

I recently read about the Cult that unwaveringly supports the police murdering young men of color. There is an unhealthy lack of skepticism about the motivations of out of control cops. While the vast majority of law enforcement officers are honest and trustworthy, the few bad ones are protected by the rest. And the Cult joins in to pretend that the police are somehow more perfect than anyone else. This effect also negatively affects battered spouses of cops and anyone else abused (physically, verbally, or sexually) by someone wearing a badge. It often starts with the us or them/black or white/good or evil polarized binary mentality of athletics, gets exasperated by military training, and manifests itself as bad cops who plant evidence to trap those they want punished or physically attack and beat unresisting, weaker, more vulnerable ‘enemies.’ The disastrous chain continues unbroken because most come from the same background and none question the efficacy. Very few are trained in psychological techniques to defuse situations, so they use their only tools (weaponry) to resolve conflict, often with fatal conclusions. Richie should be telling all the authority figures outside his family about his situation. Certainly they’ll discount his statements as a child who hates change, but the consistency of his reports along with collaborating evidence will support his claims. Richie needs as many people on his side as possible since he’s up against the blue wall that refuses to admit any guilt.

…And sitting in the Iron Throne, surrounded by a sea of blood, is… Zampa? ;–)

George RR Martin would have killed off at least a dozen major characters by now… ;–)

I’m going to hate you if there’s no defenestration scene! ;–) Maybe it can take place in a US Forestry wildfire lookout tower and Timothy can ‘accidentally’ toss him after Stefano started a fire to cover his tracks… ;–)

I thought that was Jenoah who was watching Corbin & Paul leave before he installed the cameras for his father, Stefano. This looks really bad! Initially, I thought Stefano was working alone, then I thought he just had one or two minor people, but now it turns out that he even has Jenoah. This looks really, really bad! Timothy might want to stay in Hailey after his assignment is over. The FBI should probably have a permanent presence where they’ve located so many witnesses. Karen deserves the bonus of a loving Timothy! ;–) In a perfect world (ie not the one @Wayne Gray is creating), Corbin, Paul, Chad, Mia, the baby, Karen, Bruce, Harris, and Timothy all survive unscathed. In a perfect world, Jenoah is a ‘double agent’ who’s actually working for Luca against Stefano. In a perfect world, Zampa will discover the strange scent in her territory and hunt down the hidden cameras. In a perfect world, Stefano will be the only one injured in all this when he is defenestrated from the lookout tower that Corbin, Paul, and Chad still have to build! ;–)

How did your sister marry a country? ;–)

The Bay Area has green belts surrounding the urbanized areas. Particularly in the East Bay, there are large parks that form contiguous swaths for wildlife to live. The old growth redwoods in Muir Woods National Monument are only 12 miles (19km) north of San Francisco. ;–) The San Francisco Bay Trail allows you to walk, bike, or jog along much of the Bay shore. There are plans to make it possible to walk around the entire Bay at some point. But there are still a few gaps remaining to fill. The somewhat similar Bay Area Ridge Trail allows hikers to travel along the ridges that surround the Bay in all nine Bay Area counties, it also has a few gaps remaining with most of that private property which will require easements or purchases to complete. There are also at least two hiking trails the utilize former railroad rights of way. But there are no parks built over Interstate Freeways like they have in Seattle… ;–)

I live in a small city that’s by definition, a suburb. But it feels much more like an inner city neighborhood than a suburb. It was highly industrialized during WWII and had several major shipyards building Liberty Ships. Of course the need for Victory Ship drops to zero when the fighting ends and the shipyards closed creating massive unemployment. While some other businesses have since located in town, nothing can replace the massive numbers employed by the shipyards. It’s only an accident of geography that my city wasn’t absorbed into a much larger city after the war as happened to many towns and villages in Los Angeles and San José. An unincorporated bubble surrounded by my city on all sides remains separate. It was once the only neighborhood where African-Americans were allowed to live, but my city is looking into taking it over from the county if only to streamline law enforcement efforts. There are many foreclosed homes boarded up and unoccupied as greedy out of town investors dream of the day when gentrification increases the value of their vandalized properties. My city recently passed a Proposition that will start charging a fee for unimproved and unoccupied properties to make it unprofitable to not develop vacant property and not utilize existing buildings. All the boarded up buildings and empty lots encourage vandalism, blight, and squatting.

Some of my former fellow homeless people are much more ambitious in their foraging in stores…

And that’s why a large Mexican grocery store near a county homeless shelter I stayed at and a non-profit that used to serve the homeless requires that all backpacks be left at the register area. ;–) That’s something that wouldn’t happen in most suburbs, they’d figure out a different way to cut their losses from shoplifting because their clientele wouldn’t put up with it. In more urban neighborhoods, policies like that are more accepted as the norm. It might not be strictly legal, but their customers will still shop there anyway. (At least in California, Best Buy and Fry’s Electronics are not legally allowed to force you to let them inspect your bags as you exit unless they suspect theft. Costco can do it because it’s part of their membership agreement. At Best Buy and Fry’s, I just hold up my receipt as I walk past their inspectors at the door – anyone who lets them look inside their bags is volunteering to allow it.)

Most teenagers would love having nearly any kind of cake – fruit cake being an exception for many. ;–)

I think it would also depend on what sort of child custody arrangement Richie’s mom and Dick had, if they had any written agreement at all. Dick might have just moved out of the house and in with Mrs Brumbaugh and her kids. Dick's behavior is embarrassing to everyone around him. Dick is egotistical and ill-mannered. Considering the fact that Dick abandoned his family, I’m not certain that his lawyer can guaranty his being awarded custody against his wife’s wishes and the children’s opposition. There are courts which would not automatically give the children to a sperm donor who is judged unfit. And there are plenty of witnesses to his bad behavior. To a certain extent, children are legally considered their parents’ possessions. ;–) But I’m no lawyer and I think individual states would have varying precedence and laws that would affect any decision. We can pretend that they live in a state where Dick is right and the wishes of a deceased parent are ignored. A state where biology is more important than fitness as a parent. :–(

@Parker Owens can get his own Mafia Don? ;–)

Is Nigel too old to be Rob’s date for his Prom? ;–)

Whoever designed the area and either placed the rock there or left it where it was clearly understood that people would need a place to sit to contemplate the changes in their lives or unwind from the stress from those changes. The rock is placed near the river so you can view the water flowing and the waterfowl congregating in the vicinity. A very peaceful and inviting space. Such a clever designer (Timmy)! ;–)

The Tesla Powerwall seems to be such a logical thing to own in a rural area like Hailey. Especially when you are producing your own electricity with sometimes unreliable renewable sources. I wish I could get something between a UPS and a Tesla Powerwall for my apartment for those occasions when the power goes out. I need to get a larger UPS so I can stay online for more than an hour when there’s a power outage. (The DSL modem, the Airport Basestation, and the router are the only things attached to the UPS – the laptop runs on its own battery.) ;–)

If Timothy and I were closer in age, I’d be all over him – except that people who join the FBI tend to be my political opposite! Physically though, he’s pretty much my type. Too bad he’s too young (and fictional). ;–)

Variety can make things much more interesting! ;–)

[The last time I tried to humorously refer to a few of the issues in a Comment on GA, I got scolded in public.] The creepy old men seemed to have socialization problems and used very inappropriate methods to try to catch my attention. I’m certainly not unusually good-looking and not great at approaching people men I’m attracted to myself, but I don’t think I’m quite as awkward as many of the guys who have crudely hit on me in places like Gay bookstores (legitimate, not adult stores). And now I’m probably around the same age as many of the men who offended me. ;–)

I think the hardest part of doing research today compared with the past is filtering out all the fake and otherwise inaccurate information that’s so common on the web. It’s much easier to make up stuff while looking official. It’s good to be skeptical and cynical. ;–)

There are research companies out there that have no idea what they’re missing by not having you working for them!

In my mind, I always said ‘Luz’ or ‘lose.’ ;–)

It wasn’t clear who was seducing whom. Heath thinks he was, but I’m not so sure of it. ;–)

Only one mention of Jazz. :–(

Yes, it's true - the woods out here are creepy in their silence. It seems deserted compared to the symphony of life, as you so eloquently put it, of forests back East. I miss it too