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Created
Fri, 24/05/2024 - 23:00
So say those working to steal it So this is what it’s like to live history. You may have read about the Civil Rights movement and watched coverage of Vietnam, the first moon landing, and the Watergate hearings as they happened. But in this century, American history is more personal. A friend who lost her fiancé on Sept. 11 and dreads every anniversary. We participated in electing the first Black president, lived through the Great Recession, and sheltered from COVID-19. We watched the Trump insurrection unfold live. At a remove like past events, yes, but the feeling is more visceral. This week, we found out that key actors in our national drama fly flags representing support for unmaking our democratic republic and constructing in its place a white Christian theocracy. Heather Cox Richardson reminds us that the Appeal to Heaven flag has been on display “in front of the office of House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and over the houses of Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito and the architect of the right-wing theocratic takeover of the federal courts, Leonard Leo.” “Slow-motion train wreck” may be overused but feels right here.
Created
Fri, 24/05/2024 - 22:00

Dear Joseph (we’re both adults, so I can call you by your first name),

I regret to inform you that we cannot accept your book Heart of Darkness for publication. I loved how short it was, but I hated how dumb it was.

Your story makes no sense. Marlow—is that a first name? Last name? Beyoncé situation?—spends the whole time being like, “Oh no, it keeps getting darker as I go down this boring-ass river, which I could have predicted because I’m going toward a place literally called the heart of darkness.”

Just turn around and go home, dude! It’s not like you went to Great Wall Szechuan with your gorgeous daughter and your loser boyfriend, Gary, and you and Dani got in a fight in front of Jake with the great bangs, and then you read the same fortune cookie at the same time just as lightning struck the restaurant, which made you switch bodies and now you’re stuck. That’s a real problem with some actual stakes. And as my shining daughter’s English teacher, Mrs. Dotmore, always says, without stakes, a story is just a bore-y. Mrs. Dotmore has six cats.

Created
Fri, 24/05/2024 - 18:53
Quick Takes: Hamas, China Semis and More

It seems that the US has figured out that when you’re genociding someone, that helps the organization resisting genocide recruit:

Biden officials have also become increasingly concerned that Hamas has been able to recruit during wartime — thousands over the last several months. That has allowed the group to withstand months of Israeli offensives, according to a person familiar with U.S. intelligence.

Imagine that. People wanting to fight back against those who killed their women and children. Who would have thought such a thing would happen? It’s so contrary to human psychology.

Created
Fri, 24/05/2024 - 09:30
He is against birth control and been for years Speaker Mike Johnson is one of the most extreme anti-abortion zealots in the US Congress. And he’s just as extreme on contraception: Johnson is known for being among the most anti-abortion lawmakers in Congress, and for railing against the use of “abortion as a form of birth control” before he was in office. But his statements and actions suggest he does not see much difference between abortion as a form of birth control and birth control as a form of birth control.  As a lawyer, Johnson worked on multiple cases representing plaintiffs who refused to dispense, counsel, or provide emergency contraception, which they considered to be abortion-inducing drugs.
Created
Fri, 24/05/2024 - 08:18

IN ORDER to improve safety for people travelling with wheelchairs, the Point to Point Transport Commissioner hosted information sessions in C.ex Coffs Harbour on Tuesday 14 May. The Commissioner is NSW’s regulator for taxis, hire vehicles and rideshare services. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone...

The post Improving travel safety for wheelchair users in Coffs Harbour appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Fri, 24/05/2024 - 08:16

FOUR producers from the region shared their foodie journeys with an engaged audience at the third Coffs Coast Long Lunch (CCLL) at Shearwater restaurant on Saturday 18 May. Themed ‘Kitchen Stories’, the speakers on the day were Laura Mariel Gonzales, Loic Prouin, Dianne Knobloch and Jodie Nancarrow. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s...

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Created
Fri, 24/05/2024 - 08:11

THE RISK of sudden cardiac arrest deaths should decrease dramatically on the Coffs Coast as the region adopts a new initiative called the Defib Hero program. Guy Leech, the founder of Heart180 and a former world champion Ironman and surf lifesaver, spent a day in Coffs Harbour on Wednesday 15 May talking to schools and...

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Created
Fri, 24/05/2024 - 08:06

THE Bellingen community gathered on Saturday, May 18 to celebrate the opening of new netball courts at Connell Park. Bellingen Shire Mayor Steve Allan officiated the opening, which was followed by the first official game on the courts featuring ladies first grade teams, alongside a social game on the second court. Advertise with News of...

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