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General Relationship / Don't think these women would risk this much for nice guys because nice guys

« on: Today at 12:05:30 AM »

..finish last according to some  :

Two women arrested for helping fugitives as manhunt in New Orleans escape reaches 6th day
The massive manhunt for five of the 10 inmates who fled a New Orleans jail stretched into a sixth day on May 21, and the escape's investigation has now yielded three alleged accomplices.

Louisiana State Police said Wednesday they have arrested two women, Cortnie Harris and Corvanntay Baptiste, for their roles in helping the inmates who broke free in the early morning of May 16. Harris and Baptiste join jail maintenance worker Sterling Williams, who was arrested Monday, as accused co-conspirators.

Harris and Baptiste are charged with felony offenses for helping the men after the escape. Williams faces charges for aiding the escapees prior to the jailbreak.

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Police said in a statement that Harris, 32, was in phone contact with one of the inmates before the escape and provided transportation to New Orleans locations to two fugitives afterward. They remain at large.

Baptiste, 38, was in phone and social media contact with escapee Corey Boyd, who was captured May 20, and helped get him food as he hid, police said.

Harris and Baptiste have been charged with one count each of accessories after the fact, according to the statement, which was posted on social media and contained this admonition:

"Those who choose to assist or conceal these individuals are violating the law and will be held accountable. Harboring fugitives threatens the safety of our communities and will not be tolerated.''

Fear amid return to normal life in New Orleans
Some of the people in New Orleans closest to the alleged crimes committed by the escapees acknowledge being on edge, while other residents say they're going about business as usual.

Tess Gonzales, manager of Daisy Mae’s Southern Fried Chicken & Breakfast, said there's been some worry inside the bustling diner about the five escaped inmates still out in the streets, but there's also relief now that five have been captured in five days.

“It’s both yes and no. There’s some concern for our safety because they are dangerous criminals,” Gonzales, 53, told USA TODAY. “But it’s not like we’re going to stop living our lives.”

Meanwhile, the prosecutors who put at least one of the inmates behind bars are worried. Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams told reporters two of the lawyers who tried a case with him against escaped convict Derrick Groves have left town with their families "out of fear of retribution and retaliation."

Groves was convicted last year on two counts of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder.

"I am personally afraid," Williams admitted. "We were asking for a life sentence of this man, and he is now at large.''

5 New Orleans jailbreak escapees are back in custody
There has been some progress in the hunt. Corey Boyd, 19, was taken into custody in New Orleans on May 20, according to Louisiana State Police. Boyd was being held on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, aggravated battery and threatening a public official. Boyd now faces an additional charge of simple escape.Four other escapees from the Orleans Justice Center have also been captured within New Orleans city limits and are now being held at the maximum security Louisiana State Penitentiary, according to the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

Fifth inmate recaptured after New Orleans jail break; maintenance worker arrested

The five who remain at large "are considered to be armed and dangerous,'' Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said. She lauded efforts to recapture the escapees.

"Great work by @LAStatePolice and all our law enforcement partners on the ground," she said in a social media post after Boyd was in custody. "5 more to go."

The hunt continued for Groves, Leo Tate, Jermaine Donald, Lenton Vanburen and Antoine Massey. Vanburen, Donald and Groves have been charged with second-degree murder, officials said.

How did the inmates escape from the New Orleans jail?
The sheriff's office has said the inmates appeared to have used a tool to cut through steel bars behind a toilet and sink fixture in a cell. They crawled through the hole, slipped onto a loading dock, shed their uniforms, scaled a wall and sprinted to freedom across Interstate 10, leaving behind a mocking message on the wall that read: “To Easy LoL.”

Jail employee Sterling Williams, 33, has been charged with multiple counts of being a principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office. Williams told investigators he complied with a demand from one of the inmates to shut off the water to a cell, allowing the escapees to rip out the toilet and sink unit and climb through the hole in the wall that was created, Murrill said in a statement.

In the arrest affidavit, Williams said one of the inmates threatened to stab him with a "shank" − a homemade knife − if he didn't follow instructions.

Who are the New Orleans inmates still on the run?
Jermaine Donald, 42, was charged with second-degree murder, according to parish records. The governor's office said he also faced charges of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm, according to the governor's office. He pleaded not guilty in April 2024, the Times-Picayune/NOLA.com reported.
Derrick Groves, 27, was convicted of two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder in October in connection with a shooting during Mardi Gras in 2018, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office. Groves has been awaiting sentencing on a manslaughter charge since October, according to a news release from the governor’s office. He also faces a charge of battery against a correctional facility employee, the Associated Press reported, citing court records.
Antoine T. Massey, 32, is charged with domestic abuse involving strangulation and theft of a motor vehicle, according to Orleans Parish records. There also is a warrant for his arrest in St. Tammany Parish for second-degree rape, second-degree kidnapping, domestic abuse involving strangulation and violation of a protective order involving battery stemming from an incident in November, a spokesperson for the parish's sheriff's office told USA TODAY.
Leo Tate, 31, was charged with burglary and drug possession, parish records show. The governor's office said Tate also was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and was sentenced in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm. NOLA.com reported Tate has also been sentenced to 10 years in prison for obstruction of justice, citing jail records.
Lenton Vanburen, 26, was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and armed robbery, New Orleans police said. Vanburen also faced charges of possession of suboxone, an opioid often used to treat addiction, and battery of a correctional officer, according to parish records.

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The Single & Dating Scenes / Elderly men with money and resources

« on: May 22, 2025, 11:54:57 PM »

...can still attract a lot of women young and old because money is top attraction for many women:

Bill Belichick’s ex-girlfriend Linda Holliday got into heated confrontation with Jordon Hudson at Nantucket holiday party
The holiday spirit did not apparently stop a tense scene between Bill Belichick’s current beau and his ex last December at a Nantucket, Massachusetts party.

Linda Holliday confronted Jordon Hudson on the dance floor after asking the organizers of the shindig to remove her from the gathering, TMZ reported on Tuesday night.

According to a Dec. 6, 2024, incident report obtained by the outlet, Nantucket Dreamland — a non-profit “dedicated to enriching the cultural and intellectual life” of the area — said Holliday was irked by Hudson’s presence at the event and asked for her removal from the premises.

Holliday’s daughters, Ashley and Kat Hess, were DJing the “Stroll Party.”

“Ms. Hudson was a paying guest. No concerns had been raised regarding her behavior nor had any issues been reported up until that point in the evening (the event began at 7pm),” a staffer wrote in the incident report, which also said Hudson was there with Miss Massachusetts USA 2024 Melissa Sapini. “Ms. Holliday felt her presence was inappropriate, since the event was widely advertised as a party headlined by her daughters. She asked that I remove Ms. Hudson from the premises, to which I responded that I would speak with Ms. Hudson after contacting Dreamland executive director Alicia Carney to discuss the matter.”

After making the request to have Hudson removed, Holliday and two other women confronted Belichick’s girlfriend on the dance floor, where she was among 200 other guests of the event, according to security footage.

Carney said she observed “threatening body language and escalating aggression” from Holliday and one of the other women with her toward Hudson.

The staffer who wrote the report then said Hudson was asked if it was a good idea to be there in the face of the clear “animosity” toward her, with Hudson responding that she hadn’t done anything wrong and was just hoping to be at the “big party.”

After some back and forth, Hudson agreed to let the staffer walk her and Sapini from the party minutes before the lights were set to come on.

Nevertheless, Hudson said Holliday told Sapini that if she “valued her current title, she should think twice about who her friends are,” the incident report said before adding that she “had many powerful friends in the pageant organization.”

This left Sapini in tears.

As Hudson and Sapini exited, Holliday thanked the party staffer, saying the “momma bear” in her came out because of her daughters’ involvement in the festivities.

After the event, Holliday shared a series of pictures to Instagram with the caption: “Another Nantucket Stroll in the books!”

The TMZ report comes one day after Page Six reported that Hudson was being “iced out” while trying to make inroads in the Nantucket social and charity scenes.

“His ex, Linda, is working the philanthropic and social circles and she [Hudson] wants to get more involved,” a Nantucket society source told Page Six.

“She’s trying to claim her stake in the social circle. That is Linda’s thing.” 

Another source told Page Six that “No one is going to be welcoming [Hudson] with open arms.”

It’s been weeks of headline-making news for Hudson and her boyfriend, the new coach of the University of North Carolina football.

At the end of April, the two caused a stir during Belichick’s awkward “CBS Sunday Morning” interview in which Hudson stopped a question where the coach was asked how he and his girlfriend met.

Then came a podcast from ex-ESPNer Pablo Torre, which, among the many claims, said Hudson was no longer welcome in UNC’s football facilities.

The school later denied that claim.

Former NFL head coach Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson, pose on the red carpet at the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Eagles’ win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 6, 2025. AP
Former NFL head coach Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson, pose on the red carpet at the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Eagles’ win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 6, 2025. AP
Belichick, while speaking on “Good Morning America” last week, tried to clarify Hudson’s role.

“She’s been terrific through the whole process, and she’s been really helpful to me,” Belichick said. “She does the business things that don’t relate to North Carolina that come up in my life, so I can concentrate football and that’s really what I want to do.”

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Hudson told at least one person that she and Belichick got engaged.

Belichick and Holiday ended things in September 2023 after 16 years together.

Bill 73 and Linda 62:




VERSUS..


Bill 73 and Jordan 24:

3

General Discussion / Would be mad if you died but your love ones pulled you back to the living side?

« on: May 22, 2025, 11:39:45 PM »

Jeremy Renner was 'pissed off' after being revived following snowplow accident: 'I didn't want to come back' "It's a wonderful, wonderful relief to be removed from your body."

Jeremy Renner wasn’t exactly happy to return to land of the living after getting a taste of the afterlife.

The 54-year-old Avengers actor revealed on a recent episode of Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk podcast that his initial reaction to learning that he’d been revived after his devastating 2023 snowplow accident was that he wished he could return to the proverbial place beyond the veil.

“It's a great relief is all I can say,” Renner said of the feeling that came with his near-death experience. “It's a wonderful, wonderful relief to be removed from your body. It is the most exhilarating peace you could ever feel. You don't see anything but what's in your mind's eye. Like, you're the atoms of who you are, the DNA, your spirit. It's the highest adrenaline rush, but the peace that comes with it, it's magnificent. It's so magical.”

It was so all-encompassing that it was hard to part ways with it when he was resuscitated. “And I didn't want to come back,” Renner said. “I remember, and I was brought back and I was so pissed off. I came back, I'm like, ‘Aww!’”

The Hawkeye star acknowledged that he was only in the afterlife for a few minutes, but that the feeling stuck with him. “I saw the eyeball again, I’m like, ‘Oh, s---, I’m back,’” he recalled. “Saw my legs. I'm like, ‘Yeah, that's gonna hurt later.’ I'm like, ‘All right, let me continue to breathe.'"

Renner was run over by a snowplow at his Reno, Nevada vacation home while trying to prevent the vehicle from hitting his nephew on New Year’s Day 2023. He was airlifted to the hospital and suffered severe injuries as a result of the accident, which included over “30-plus broken bones,” a lacerated liver, and a collapsed lung.

He detailed his healing journey — which included countless physical therapy sessions and having to learn how to walk again — in his new memoir, My Next Breath.

When asked by Ripa if he got the chance to speak to anyone while he was gone, Renner replied, “You don't need to. That's a human experience. Time is a human construct. It's useless. It's not linear. It's not how it exists. It's just like the most remedial version of your spirit's existence is being on Earth. This is so remedial, language, all these things and blah, blah, blah… It's all knowing, all experiencing, all at the same time, all at once.”

These days, Renner said he views his accident as a “great confirmation” about what’s really important in life.

“It makes me — a man that didn't want to come back — really be able to be back here and live it on my terms as the captain of my own ship,” he said. “And get on it or off it, I don't give a f---. I'm going to live life on my own terms and for nobody else. [It’s] very clear. The white noise is ripped away.”

It’s also taught him to “repel the things I gave credence to” before the incident.

“I gave so much value to things that have zero value,” he said. “So I invest into no stocks or bonds. I invest under crypto or Bitcoin. I invest into love and my shared relationships that I experience love with. 'cause that is the only thing that you take with you.”

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General Discussion / And the FRAUD on here said it's no big deal

« on: May 22, 2025, 11:32:15 PM »

Police officer partied at music festival and ran 5K races while she collected $600,000 for fake injury, California DA says
A Southern California police officer was caught partying at the Stagecoach Music Festival while collecting more than $600,000 in workers' compensation for a head injury that prosecutors allege was faked.

Westminster officer Nicole Brown, 39, was charged Monday with 15 felonies of workers' compensation and insurance fraud, the Orange County District Attorney's office said in a news release. She faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted.

Brown was on the job March 21, 2022, when she received a "minor abrasion" to her forehead while trying to arrest an uncooperative suspect, according to prosecutors. She told her watch commander that she had a headache and was feeling dizzy.

Though an emergency room doctor who examined her that day released her back to work without restrictions, she called out sick for several days and was diagnosed with a severe concussion about a week after the initial injury. She was placed on Total Temporary Disability, which made her eligible to receive her full salary for up to a year and two-thirds of her salary after that.

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Marriage & Family Life / Hmmm...What would PH women make of this if it was you?

« on: May 22, 2025, 11:29:36 PM »

My husband had an affair with my sister — now she’s back in town

My late husband and I were married 38 years when we finally went to marriage counseling. I found out then that he had slept with my sister early in our marriage. I had suspected he’d also had an affair with his uncle’s wife. (They were very close in age.) This, too, was confirmed in counseling.

My sister was recently home because of our mom’s health, and it was a struggle to be in the same hospital room with her. As far as the other gal, there are a few occasional family get-togethers, which I avoid because of her.

I need help. How do I deal with this after all these years?

6

General Discussion / Yep, Lao Times is correct, immigrant parents don't mess around

« on: May 22, 2025, 11:12:33 PM »

Hmong Child Endures Extreme Corporal Punishment for Minor Theft

A widely criticized video on social media portrayed the distressing punishment of a young Hmong girl by her parents, who accuse her of stealing money to purchase snacks.

The three-minute video capturing the harrowing ordeal has rapidly gone viral on Facebook, prompting concerns over the boundaries of discipline and accusations of extreme child abuse.

The video, recorded by a resident in close proximity to the incident, portrays the young girl hanging from a bamboo stick, her hands and feet bound. The distressing footage captures her cries for help as her grandmother, present at the scene, attempts to untie her. However, the grandmother hesitates, citing fear of the girl’s mother.

“Your mother will beat me up if I help you,” said the grandmother.

According to the video, the child’s parents resorted to this severe punishment after discovering she had allegedly stolen LAK 2000 (approximately USD 0.096) from them to purchase snacks. Adding to the gravity of the situation, the parents opted to leave their daughter tied up as they departed for work downtown. While the precise location is unknown, it is evident from the video’s audio that it lies within the rural areas of Xayaboury Province.

Many commenters decried the parents’ actions as a form of violence and abuse. One Facebook user exclaimed, “Her mother is definitely not human. If I were there, I would immediately help the poor girl!”

As of now, the exact date of the incident remains unclear, but the video continues to circulate, intensifying the public outcry and demand for accountability .

As the social media backlash persists, questions about the incident’s location and the involvement of law enforcement remain unanswered, adding to the urgency for a thorough investigation into what many are denouncing as a case of severe child abuse.

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General Discussion / Talked to White dude and he loves his peace van, also repeated what my wife said

« on: May 21, 2025, 11:24:57 PM »

..about her Leaf.

He said, the van gets 250 mile per charge and he doesn't need to stop by the gas stations anymore so very convenient. Also very low maintenance so ownership cost is low in that sense. Not popular to own an EV in a RED state but he doesn't care  :

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General Discussion / Thanks to "they can just write it off" FRAUDs, businesses have to rely on boots

« on: May 21, 2025, 11:20:14 PM »

Took these photos recently:

9

General Discussion / Well, May 15th has passed and nothing happened to me despite their threat

« on: May 21, 2025, 11:10:10 PM »

.. :

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General Discussion / These guys are late as our daughter's school already sent us the info on May 6

« on: May 21, 2025, 11:03:21 PM »

What is the Chromebook Challenge? The trend that has students destroying school laptops
The "Chromebook Challenge," which began on TikTok in early May, encourages students to stick small items like paperclips or pencils inside of their school-assigned Google Chromebooks' USB ports, all in hope for a small cloud of smoke or better yet, a spark, to ignite.

Here's the email we received:

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General Discussion / Has the Conservative Supreme Court had enough of Trump's "bullshit"??

« on: May 21, 2025, 02:35:00 PM »

The Supreme Court Has Officially Had Enough Of Donald Trump’s Excuses

Early Friday evening, the Supreme Court issued a pointed decision in the case of a group of Venezuelan detainees who previously faced the imminent risk of being sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador by the Trump administration . In addition to rejecting the administration’s choice to give these detainees only 24 hours notice of their removal, the decision answered a question indirectly posed in the case. Is the highest court in the nation sick of the Trump administration’s bullshit?

The answer, the decision states rather definitively, is yes — at least in immigration cases involving removals under the Alien Enemies Act.

In an eight-page unsigned decision, with only Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting, the court firmly rejected how the administration has been using the Alien Enemies Act to quickly remove Venezuelan and Salvadoran immigrants with little to no due process while also effectively calling the administration liars, in so many words.

The decision comes in the case of A.A.R.P. v. Trump (the plaintiff is a Venezuelan man, not the senior citizen interest group) where a group of Venezuelan immigrants detained at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, filed an emergency application to the Supreme Court to block their imminent removal after lower courts refused them April 18. The court responded with an extraordinaril y rare late-night decision halting their removal at 12:52 a.m. April 19 and took up the case for further review.

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General Discussion / I saw the Lee sex video years ago but my perspective was different than Lorde's

« on: May 20, 2025, 11:26:46 PM »

Lorde Recalls Watching the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee Sex Tape After Psychedelic Therapy: 'I Found It to Be So Beautiful'
In a 'Rolling Stone' cover story, the pop star also opened up about how MDMA therapy helped her with her stage fright

Lorde is opening up about watching a certain sex tape after going through psychedelic therapy.

In a cover story with Rolling Stone published on Thursday, May 15, the pop star (whose real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor) opened up about how, after her second psychedelic therapy session, she looked for Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's sex tape and watched the entire thing.

"I found it to be so beautiful," Lorde, 28, told the publication. "And maybe it’s f---ed up that I watched it, but I saw two people that were so in love with each other."

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General Discussion / Like the PH member that voted for Obama "TWICE", this guy voted for Trump twice

« on: May 20, 2025, 11:22:30 PM »

..too:

He voted for Trump, twice. Now he wants to take down MAGA and the “pathetic” Tommy Tuberville

Last fall, Kyle Sweetser was a Republican, but an unhappy one. For the third time in a row, Donald Trump had secured his party’s nomination for president — this time without anyone being able to credibly deny what MAGA actually meant for America. The GOP candidate had already been president once, during which time he floated bleach as an antiviral and rejected the outcome of a free and fair election, urging a mob of his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol and demand that he remain in power despite a majority of Americans asking him to leave.

As a small businessman in Mobile, Alabama, Sweetser, who voted for Trump the first time around, had been hurt by the president’s rejection of a traditional conservative value: free trade. Tariffs on steel imports had raised costs for his construction firm, but the president, from his perspective, seemed unperturbed by the impacts of his erratic approach to trade policy. Still, what was a Republican to do in 2020: Vote Democrat?

By 2024, Sweetser was indeed ready to betray his longtime Republican partisanship. The Jan. 6 insurrection made it impossible to deny that Trump poses a threat to American democracy; his refusal to condemn Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine showed that he was unwilling to defend it abroad, either. Standing in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia last October, Sweetser — by then an active participant in “Republican Voters Against Trump,” the brainchild of former GOP strategist Sarah Longwell — spoke to Salon about why he was ditching “tribalism” and backing the Democratic nominee: then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

The turning point wasn’t any one thing, Sweetser told Salon at the time, but simply opening his eyes and ears. “I started to pay attention to things that he said,” he explained. And those things, as longtime listeners can attest, are often at odds with reality, any notion of personal responsibility and arguably even conservatism itself — at least the variety that values free markets and constitutional governance over devotion to one man who cares little about either.

The November election was the final straw in terms of party registration. Today, though, Sweetser is not just a registered Democrat but is hoping to be the Democratic candidate next year who takes on U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. As with convincing Republicans to turn on Trump, he has chosen an uphill battle in what is practically a one-party state: the last time Alabama sent a Democrat to the Senate it was because the Republican nominee was accused of soliciting sex from minors.

Speaking this month with Salon, Sweetser, a married father of two, explained why he ditched the GOP and why he thinks many in Alabama may be willing to do the same by the 2026 elections.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Salon: We spoke briefly right in front of Independence Hall, something like six months ago, and back then you were still a Republican against Trump. How did you end up becoming a Democrat against Trump? What happened to make you switch?

Sweetser: So basically, you know, to put things bluntly, that was like a last-ditch effort, really, to try to stop the direction the GOP was going. After 2020, specifically after January 6, I decided to do everything in my power to kind of fight against — speak out against — the direction the GOP was going in. Aside from economic issues, I noticed, you know, societal issues, especially down here in the South. My wife is half Thai and going in and out of houses and working in construction, people are a lot more comfortable having people tell you that, basically, they hate immigrants. That is essentially what it boils down to. It just got to a point where, to me, it's about not only helping our state, because this is taught behavior. They're teaching people to be xenophobic, they're teaching people now to be racist, and they're teaching people to be sexist, and that was going away. So like I said, I decided I had to do everything for power to fight back against it.

When Nikki Haley hopped in, that was an opportunity for the Republican Party to kind of right the ship. I do feel, going back and looking and talking to people, you did have a lot of Republicans there, but there were a lot of Democrat crossovers as well that crossed over to try to help stop Trump through that means. [But] I mean, this was a long time coming. Like I said, I decided I really wasn't a part of it. After 2021, feeling a bit politically homeless, I decided that, if we couldn't stop them in the primaries, then there was really no place for socially liberal Republicans, if that makes sense; Republicans that are maybe fiscally conservative, or a moderate version of that with strong foreign policy. There's really no place. … Some of the policies that Trump shifted to would be considered far left. And honestly, the truth behind it is, Kamala Harris, the way that she ran her campaign, hopping in there late was, I thought was excellent. She was more conservative than Trump on — as far as the principled conservative goes — on pretty much everything from her economic policy to her foreign policy, to her law-and-order stance and the Constitution.

If you look at Trump, and you look at his stance in those ways, he's not a conservative — he's a right-wing populist, which, unfortunately, these days, they've taken these terms and they kind of turn them on their head for political reasons. And so it really confuses people when you throw these terms out there, [but] a social conservative with no principles or values is not a conservative at all. But long story short, that was it. I mean, there was really no going back from that point. And I've been asked so many times, over and over and over again, to run as a Democrat in the state of Alabama. Alabama has huge issues. And yet, you look at our past couple races here, and the people at the top of the ticket lose by what, 20, 30 points.

To that point, do you feel like you're going on a noble suicide mission?

Well, no, I mean, this is something that has to be done. There is a grand opportunity. It’s sad how the state of Alabama has been left by the Republican Party, and it's a tragedy. But there is an opportunity here to install a two-party system again in our state. We've had one-party Republican rule for 15 years; 40% of our population lives in poverty, okay? Fifteen years of Republican rule: that's a supermajority Republican state House, Republican state senate, office of the governor. Not only do they have that — and they have most of the judges in the Supreme Court — now you have a Republican U.S. Senate, Republican U.S. House, Republican president. So they are literally the establishment. They've been the establishment here.

And you look at a lot of these guys, the chair of the Alabama Republican Party — he's registered to vote in Tennessee. … Then you have Tommy Tuberville, who lives in a $6 million mansion in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, spends most of his time there. … I mean, we are in bad shape down here. I'll be honest with you: We're in bad shape. I'm so proud of Alabama. I'm proud of the people that live here. But the bottom line is that 40% of our population lives in poverty, and we die quicker than everybody else in the United States, almost; we're 49th in life expectancy, and a lot of that is related to poverty. People don't have the access or the ability to get the health care that they need. We've got sky-high infant mortality rates here, likely due to poverty.

You've got sewage infrastructure that is falling apart and overflowing into our waterways and the Republican Party can't get it together. They can't use their political capital to rebuild this infrastructure . Just a few weeks ago, we had 4 million gallons of sewage during a storm, 4 million gallons, come out it and much of it ends up in our waterways, that then goes down to Mobile Bay; that affects our seafood industry; that affects Baldwin County; Alabama's multi-billion dollar tourism industry — we've got nice beaches down here; that affects recreational fishermen; that affects people swimming in the water. … And this stuff doesn't get reported on the way that it needs to. We just get left behind.

And a lot of that is what really spoke to people in the state of Alabama: just feeling left behind always. But they [the local GOP] were able to use this where it really should have been kind of focused in on the Republican Party here, and the failings of the Republican Party, and turn it onto the federal government. And it was effective. It worked for someone like me. And as I got into this stuff, I started understanding, I started learning a lot more, I started to change my mind about things.

Right now, our state is not being served by somebody like Tommy Tuberville, and you can replace them with any other kind of guy, and they're just going to do the same thing. You look at his record, and specifically, I think, two years in, [Sen.] Katie Britt, [she] was at $200 million, bringing in $200 million to the state of Alabama, when Tommy Tuberville was at like $67 million — absolutely pathetic.

That's what you get when you got a guy that lives in a multi-million-dollar beach house in Florida. The state party fails to hold this guy accountable. And you know, you show up to vote and you've got an all Republican and all Democrat bubble on your ticket, and so people don't pay attention, but you look down that ticket and you see 50-60% or more are unopposed Republicans that win by default. So there is zero accountability . I would say they wouldn't have any kind of principles, because they don't have to.

So really, this is about rebuilding the Democratic Party and state of Alabama, bringing in the working class in the state of Alabama. I have a construction background. I have a small business background. I work in and out of people's houses. I talk to people where they're comfortable. I work in and out of chemical plants, manufacturing facilities, you name it. I've been in those places. I worked on an oil spill, the Deepwater Horizon, when it blew in the Gulf of Mexico. I worked on a boat as a small boat captain. I eventually was put on, as a civilian, a special task force with the Coast Guard. And I was the youngest captain on that task force by about 20 years. I put myself in danger to protect the environment, protect our beaches here, because it means a lot to me.

The Republicans, they failed here on the environment. … People love the outdoors, but Republicans have been failing us all the way across the board. But it has a lot to do with accountability . When you have zero accountability, then you end up with this.

As you well know, Alabama has had a long history of being a one-party state. Like 50 years ago, that one party was the Democrats. And you can get into the historical reasons there was the switch — you know, the Civil Rights Act and attempts by Republicans to explicitly appeal to white racial resentment, etc. — but my question is: How do you then break that one-party mentality? Because the only time it's been broken in my memory is when the Republican candidate was accused of being a literal pedophile. Then a Democrat got elected.

You're well aware of partisanship. I’ve had the same conversations with my family: that today's Republican Party is not really conservative, but it falls back to, “Well, we don't like liberals, and the liberals want to abort babies and make kids trans” and all this stuff. It's about what they're against, not what they're for. How do you counter that mentality where it's, like, you don't have to love every Republican, but you know the Democrats, your whole life, you've been told that they are the enemy.

We pick a new fight. We pick new fights and new battles. We don't fall into the same battles where Democrats lose over and over again. And we can fight on these same issues, especially in the state of Alabama. For instance, the supposed pro-life stance of the Republican Party, which is bogus, by the way, in our state — what direction do they go from this point? … Because they have to keep going somewhere, it has to keep rolling or it shuts down. So the direction, as far as I can tell, that they're going is: they want to track women across state lines, like cattle. … I mean, it would be an egregious step…. They especially talked about this a lot last year, going after people, legally, for going to clinics out of the state or whatever. Well, how do you do that? Now you have to track people. That's how you do it. My point is that this is the battle that we need to fight, because you will find probably a good majority of Republicans here will not agree with that. The government does not need to be tracking law-abiding citizens based on pregnancy. I mean, that's just the bottom line.

Sure, so maybe you don't refight the whole abortion battle, but you can point out that the government tracking women's periods and movements around the state, that's just — from a constitutional conservative perspective, that's a little bit much.

Yeah, it's too much. And to other Democrats, look: If you don't draw a line and choose the fight that you can win, then you will continue to lose, and you will continue to lose your rights. So right now, that is the line. And another thing: We got to play like Republicans here, or the MAGA Republicans here, but we can use the truth instead of lies. Look at [Tennessee]. A state elected official in [Tennessee], a year or two ago, was trying to put a bill up for banning interracial marriages. I mean, could you imagine if a Democrat did something like that? It would be blown up all over the news, nonstop. It doesn't matter what state it’s in: they would make the Democratic Party own that.

We need to make the Republican Party own that stuff. Because, to be completely honest, from talking to people in their houses, people believe that stuff [about Democrats]. We do not need to let that catch fire; we need to put that fire out. And the way to put that fire out is to put it out there and make them own. And guess what? We will all be better for if we make the Republican Party own policies like that, because then they'll have to come out as a whole, and they will have to say they don't agree with that, and then the people in their base that think that they are being served by this rhetoric, or whatever it is, will have to come to terms with that.

A lot of that is why we're here today. There hasn't been the pushback that we need, really, in our state. Like I was pointing to Tommy Tuberville living in Florida, and the vice chair of the RNC living in or having a driver's license and registered to vote in Tennessee. I mean, come on, we have to start swinging. We have to start swinging hard against them — metaphorically, of course — and taking the fight to these people. And look, I get it: Doing all the activism that I've done over the past two years in trying to break through to people, I get it — when you get on their radar, you get hundreds, maybe thousands of threats. They threaten to destroy your business, they threaten to kill your family, they threaten to kill you. They threaten to end you forever, basically. And I get that people are scared, but I'm not scared, and I'm gonna take it to them.

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Is there anyone in the Democratic Party who you see as a model for the kind of campaign you would like to run or politician you would like to be? I'm thinking maybe even outside the Democratic Party, like Dan Osborn in the last cycle.

I look at everybody, and I try to take the best of what I can take, and that's what we're going with right now. … I'll be honest though: Kamala Harris' platform in 2024 was a surprise, and it was excellent. Obviously, you're not going to agree with everything, but I think that was a definite movement in the right direction. And I just think that that's something good to look at. And really how she spoke and did things and carried herself. She did excellent. I really appreciate what she did. And so hopefully we can stay in that direction, and we can focus on winning some of these voters over that have been kind of turned off by the whole system.

The state of Alabama, for instance, 2024: as big a motivated Trump country as we are, you look at the voter turnout. Out of all the people that registered, only 57% turned out for that. So we got 43% that were completely turned off. Then on top of that, you've got Trump isn't going to be on the ballot in ‘26, so that's going to chop into some of his people. So the goal is: One, to, like I said, target some of these socially liberal Republicans and win them over and move them over to the Democratic Party, because honestly, they're better represented. And there's going to be a lot of people there, they’re in a rock and a hard place, even if it's 51% to 49%, what represents their interests, or what represents what they believe, a lot of these people, I don't think they understand that the Democratic Party represents them better than the Republican Party. Looking at the economy, looking at the failures of the GOP in our state and how it's led to these issues where we've got rural hospitals that are being closed, over 80% operate in the red. That's rural Alabama — it’s going to get shut down by the new GOP policies trying to cut Medicaid.

You’ve mentioned a couple times now how Kamala Harris' 2024 campaign, you thought her platform was pretty solid and in some ways even conservative in the traditional sense. But at the end of the day, she lost. And some people take the lesson from that, especially for someone like you running in a state like Alabama, that the lesson is “we just gotta lean into being kind of Trump-lite; we gotta be a little harsher to immigrants; we gotta be a little bit harsher to trans people; we gotta be a little bit harsher to X, Y and Z; maybe give the police a lot more money." Kind of be Trump, but competent.

What do you think of that whole debate, like the idea that the way to win in a state like yours is to be a more professional, intelligent MAGA Republican?

That ship has sailed. That's something that I don't think we're going to see come back. And those guys are better off making a few concessions and coming over to the Democratic Party. Look at the economy: I'm running to represent the state, and the state's interests, as a U.S. senator, and so I'm going to run based on, one, I lived in Alabama pretty much my whole life and I know people here. I know how our economy works. I've bled and sweat and helped build Alabama — personally, with my hands. Look, some of these other guys — all pretty much suits — they've taken that approach. This is a different approach that I'm taking and that we're taking, and it's going to be effective at winning people over. I don't hope, I know it's going to be effective at winning people over.

The Trump-lite thing to me is still disgusting. Because, as I said before, I've watched what his rhetoric is doing to people here. It's teaching people to hate gay people, the LGBTQ community. It's teaching people to hate immigrants. And there's many cases that I could point to. … There was the whole Haitian immigrant thing. Well, they freaked out over in Baldwin County, and the local politicians, Republicans, held a town hall and acted like there were 1,000 people there. “Oh, the Haitians are coming here!” And they weren't. They weren't coming there. But what happened was, is because of that, people in Mobile — where I live, on the other side of the bay — started commenting and saying, “Oh, I saw some Haitian immigrants here today.” And then you realize now they're just targeting people because of the color of their skin. We didn’t have any Haitian immigrants at the time, you what I'm saying?

I mean, this is horrible. And I don't have a problem going toe to toe with these people and telling them they're wrong and what they're doing is wrong, because somebody's got to do it. And you've got to do it loud, but you do have to do it right. In Tommy Tuberville’s case and the Republican Party's case, you look at the whole LGBTQ, trans athletes stuff. I think there's zero of these NCAA athletes that are in the state of Alabama; there's like eight or something out of 175,000 NCAA athletes. While 40% of our state is in poverty, and we die quicker than everyone else. That is an absolute insult to the people of Alabama. People need to know it. It needs to be repeated, just like they repeat lies over and over and over again. The truth needs to be repeated over and over and over and over again. They are teaching people to hate — they are dividing people so they can literally steal from us. I mean, that's the way I look at it, with these tariffs, which are regressive taxes, which hurt states like Alabama, where we have so many people in poverty because regressive taxes hurt lower-income individuals the most. It's just like I said, I'm gonna bring it to them.

You talked about the tariffs right there, and you've talked about how Trump won't be on the ballot in 2026. Without having you divulge all of your campaign strategy, I'm just curious how much you try to tie your opponent to Donald Trump, knowing that he has a kind of cult-like fan base that boosts the GOP turnout numbers during presidential years. Is it smart to run against Trump in 2026, you think? And I mean, obviously, a lot will happen between now and then; it might make having to run against Trump inevitable. But I'm just curious, tying Tommy Tuberville to Trump's unpopular tariffs, to corruption with Qatar, all that kind of stuff — is that the way you think you win?

Well, you know, it's going to be a day-to-day thing as things develop. But the way I win is by representing Alabama. That's the way I win: by representing people here, by pointing to the issues that are the problem and making the Republican Party as a whole own these problems, because they are their problems. They are the establishment. They have been in the establishment. And this whole charade that they're pulling, it can't last. So what do they do? It's more about, what are they going to do? I don't think they can continue to run the social conservative campaign, because, like I said, they're kind of like, where does it go from here? They keep going, right? So where is it going to go? Are they going to turn Alabama into a theocracy, like Iran, where women don't have rights? I mean, what are they going to do? They're there. They're on the ledge. They went that direction. So now, what are they going to do? They can't win on the economy. They sure can't win on the economy, so we'll see. But more than likely, what they're going to do is they're going to pick a minority group, and they're going to blame that minority group, and they're going to go across the media, they're going to go use their social media influencers, and they're going to villainize some minority group so they can divide people in Alabama. So that's what I'm watching for: for them to do something like that, because that's their playbook and that's all they got while they steal from us.

The post He voted for Trump, twice. Now he wants to take down MAGA and the “pathetic” Tommy Tuberville appeared first on Salon.com.

14

General Discussion / Even a millionaire is having a hard time buying a typical $60k car??

« on: May 20, 2025, 11:17:07 PM »

"I can't see putting $60,000 into a car when our house growing up was worth $10,000" - Larry Bird

All his life, Larry Bird has always represented his humble beginnings. No matter how many MVP awards he won, how many sellout crowds chanted his name or how many millions filtered into his bank account, that deep-rooted simplicity never shifted.

The French Lick icon might have grown into one of the NBA's most revered legends, but his values stayed small-town. And even in retirement — long after the last shot was taken and the spotlight moved on — Larry has remained firmly tethered to the soil he grew up on.

A humble Bird
At the height of his career, Bird was one of the highest-paid players in the league. Between NBA salaries and endorsement deals, he earned well over $20 million during his playing days — a substantial sum in the '80s and early '90s.

But while many of his contemporaries were splurging on flashy cars and sprawling estates, Bird was doing something else. Not buying.

"It's the same with nice cars, Mercedes-Benz and all that," the legendary forward said. "I can't see putting $50,000 or $60,000 into a car when our house growing up was worth $10,000. I just can't buy that. And clothes never did catch my eye. I never really enjoyed 'em. I always wore what I felt comfortable in. I'll wear pretty much anything if I get it for free."

For Bird, the glitz of NBA stardom never replaced the comfort of familiarity. During his years in Boston, he lived like anyone else in the city — enjoying the convenience, the food, the buzz. But when it came down to it, he always found his way back to French Lick. Back to quiet streets, modest houses and routines untouched by fame.

That connection to home wasn't just sentimental but shaped his entire outlook on money, comfort and status. Larry built a life rooted in purpose, not possessions. He grew up in a small house in French Lick that, by today's standards, would barely pass for a starter home.

His family lived paycheck to paycheck and after his father took his own life when Bird was still a teenager, money became even more of a pressing issue. There were no luxuries in his childhood — only the basics and sometimes not even that.

That perspective never faded. Even after becoming a three-time NBA champion, three-time Most Valuable Player and Hall of Famer, the Boston icon never lost sight of where he came from. In a league where style often reflects success, "Larry Legend" never bought into the flash.

Rooted in French Lick
Bird's attachment to French Lick goes far beyond nostalgia. It's the place that gave him perspective. A small rural town with a population of under 2,000, French Lick became the Celtics legend's refuge before and after fame. His humble background altered the course of his basketball journey.

In 1974, Bird accepted a scholarship to play for legendary coach Bob Knight at Indiana. But the sheer size of the campus and the culture shock of Bloomington clashed with his small-town roots.

Coming from a financially strained home, the transition felt overwhelming. He lasted less than a month before dropping out and returning to French Lick. A year later, he enrolled at Indiana State, a smaller, quieter school that matched his rhythm.

When he left Indiana State and took the NBA by storm, he carried French Lick with every step. And when the fame started to stretch too far, too loud, too fast — Larry went back.

Even during his coaching and executive days with the Indiana Pacers, Bird never strayed from his code. He brought the same work ethic and grounded mentality to the front office that he had on the court. His success as a team president — even earning the NBA Executive of the Year award in 2012 — never distracted from the fact that he'd rather be home, keeping things quiet.

There's a calm certainty in the way Bird sees the world. In an era of constant spending and curated lifestyles, he remains an anomaly. A man who made millions but still can't justify a luxury car. A Hall of Famer who never found pleasure in fashion. A legend who went home and stayed home. In his own way, Bird stands as a reminder that greatness doesn't always come out as flashy.

15

General Discussion / She probably know her time is up so gotta hit it one more time

« on: May 20, 2025, 11:13:20 PM »

Teacher allegedly had sex with student in classroom hours before arrest for relationship
RIVERVIEW, Fla. (WKRC) - A high school teacher has been arrested, accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a student.

Detectives began investigating 27-year-old Brooke Anderson on May 16, after receiving information about an inappropriate relationship with a male student, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The student revealed that the relationship started in September 2024 with sexually explicit text messages.

In the weeks leading up to Anderson's arrest, the relationship reportedly escalated, with the student disclosing multiple instances of sexual activity.