text:
For several months, Shawna Murphy, a home-based childcare provider in Seattle, had received a stream of emails, letters and robocalls – some two dozen of them – telling her she had the right to stop paying union dues.

Then early one afternoon, while the six children in her charge were napping, a man with a briefcase knocked on her door. At first Murphy thought he was a lawyer, but then she realized he might be a state inspector of childcare providers. So she opened the door.

“He said there’s this supreme court case that will impact me, and he pulled out this leaflet and told me that I don’t have to be part of the union and don’t have to pay union dues,” said Murphy, a member of the Service Employees International Union. “I told him, ‘I’m a proud supporter of the union, and you can leave now.’”

The man was one of the many foot soldiers in a highly unusual offensive against public-sector unions in the US north-west. A conservative group, the Freedom Foundation, has dispatched activists to visit the homes of more than 10,000 childcare and home-care workers in Washington and Oregon to advise them that under a two-year-old supreme court decision, they can opt out of paying union dues.

Tom McCabe, chief executive officer of the fast-growing foundation, funded by a web of conservative groups, said: “My goal is to provide freedom to union members and to give them a choice about whether or not they want to belong to a union.”

But labor leaders and their progressive allies say the group’s goals go far beyond that. Washington state in particular has passed union-backed progressive legislation recently, enacting a $15-an-hour minimum wage and a law that will allow Uber drivers to unionize. They say the Freedom Foundation’s unorthodox tactics are part of a grand plan to weaken unions and their treasuries, sap their political influence and ultimately flip Washington and Oregon from Democratic to Republican.

Freedom Foundation TV ad: Mary Jane took back her freedom.

“The Freedom Foundation says they care about workers, but what they’re really about is defunding unions and defunding the left in our state,” said Aaron Ostrom, executive director of Fuse Washington, a statewide coalition of progressives. “They see this as the best tactic to turn Washington from a blue state to a red state.”

Labor leaders say never before have they seen a foundation undertake such an aggressive, multi-pronged campaign against unions; nor have they ever seen such canvassing to advise workers about quitting their unions. Labor leaders predict that if the foundation succeeds in weakening public-sector unions in Washington and Oregon, conservatives will roll out similar campaigns in Illinois and Pennsylvania. Labor officials say the foundation is part of a nationwide conservative, dark money network, with the Koch-backed State Policy Network, a 50-state free-market group, helping to finance the foundation.

The foundation’s tactics go well beyond door-knocking. It has made public records requests to numerous counties to obtain the names and addresses of home-care and childcare aides. It does podcasts that rail against unions and sponsors a website, optouttoday.com, telling public-sector workers they can quit their unions.

Last December, the foundation sent activists dressed as Santa Claus to stand outside government buildings, where they told workers they could give themselves a holiday gift by exercising their right not to pay that portion of union dues that goes to political activity. The foundation has also filed myriad lawsuits and complaints against public-sector unions, challenging everything from their ability to speak to newly hired government employees to their failure to file all required political spending reports.

“I have to give them credit, they’re pretty nimble,” said Greg Devereux, executive director of the Washington Federation of State Employees, part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Afscme). “They get to attack all day long. They don’t have to be for anything. It’s fun for them to go after SEIU [Service Employees International Union], the Washington Education Association [a teachers’ union] and Afscme. We’re three of the major political players in the state, and they get to attack 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Northwest Accountability Project, fighting back against would-be union busters.

Unions are so concerned about the foundation’s efforts that they have created a new organization, the Northwest Accountability Project, that seeks to expose and discredit the foundation. It, too, has made hard-hitting videos, and it has gone house to house in Tom McCabe’s neighborhood to distribute flyers attacking him as an extremist. The Accountability Project has also made disparaging robocalls to McCabe’s neighbors and church congregants.

McCabe says the foundation is misunderstood – and wrongly vilified. “The focus that we have is on helping union members, informing union members that they have a constitutional right to leave their union if they wish,” he said. McCabe was referring to a 2014 supreme court decision, Harris v Quinn, which ruled that it violates the first amendment to require partial public employees, like home-care aides and home-based childcare workers, to pay union dues.

McCabe decried Washington and Oregon laws that require government workers to pay so-called fair-share fees to the unions that represent them even when they refuse to join the union. “They’ve gotten the legislature to require that if you’re a union member, the government takes money out of your check every month and sends it to the union, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said.

McCabe denied that the foundation’s goal was to defund the left. “Personally and professionally, that’s not a priority to me.” He said defunding the left might be “an ancillary benefit” of the foundation’s campaign to educate workers about their rights.

But in a fundraising letter last August, McCabe indicated that his foundation’s goal was indeed to defund and defeat public-sector unions – in part to undo Democratic control in the north-west.

“Labor bosses are the single greatest threat to freedom and opportunity in America today,” he wrote. “By taking money from hard-working, dues-paying Americans, they’re funding a broken political culture in states like Oregon and Washington.”

His fundraising letter added: “The Freedom Foundation has a proven plan for bankrupting and defeating government unions through education, litigation, legislation and community activation.”

Noting that his group has expanded its efforts from Washington into Oregon, McCabe continued: “We have crossed the Columbia [river], and we won’t be satisfied with anything short of total victory against the government union thugs.”

In a January speech in Oregon to the Koch-backed group Americans for Prosperity, Anne Marie Gurney, the Freedom Foundation’s Oregon coordinator, declared: “Our No 1 stated focus is to defund the political left.”

Convinced that the Freedom Foundation is partisan, 18 labor unions and progressive groups have asked the Internal Revenue Service to strip the foundation of its tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status. “The Freedom Foundation is operated for the private benefit of the Republican Party and other conservative and libertarian groups,” the groups wrote. “The fact that the Freedom Foundation is a 501(c)(3) is ridiculous,” said Jaxon Ravens, chairman of the Washington state Democratic party. “McCabe is a Republican political operative.”

“They’re strong and they’re getting stronger,” Ravens added. “There’s a ton of money out there that rightwing groups can dump into these efforts.”

But Freedom Foundation officials deny that they are partisan or are flouting IRS regulations. “We didn’t violate any laws,” said James Abernathy, the foundation’s general counsel. “They take things out of context. They tell half-truths.

“Our goal is not to help a political party,” McCabe added. Then, referring to union members, he said, “Our goal is to help people who we believe are being held in bondage against their will.”

Before taking the foundation’s helm, McCabe headed the Building Industry Association of Washington, turning it into a political and lobbying powerhouse during his two decades there.

The Seattle Times wrote that under McCabe, the builders association “became virtually synonymous with GOP politics in the state, spending nearly $11m on conservative candidates and causes from 2002 through 2010”.

Under McCabe, the group described the former Washington governor Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, as a “heartless, power-hungry she-wolf”.

In 2008, the Washington attorney general sued the association for failing to report all political spending, and it ultimately paid $242,000 in fines. After tensions erupted over the association’s politicking, McCabe resigned, leaving with a $1.25m severance package

Just as unions abhor the Freedom Foundation, the foundation detests the labor-backed Northwest Accountability Project. “It’s been set up to harass us, intimidate us and stop us,” said Abernathy, the general counsel.

The flyers it distributed to McCabe’s neighbors decry his “record of failure” and “rightwing agenda”, accusing him of “campaign finance violations” and “wasting millions on extreme politics”. Its robocalls say McCabe’s foundation is funded by “out-of-state billionaires who want to keep wages low, eliminate paid sick leave” and slash education funding.

His wife, Susan, was so upset that she wrote a letter to neighbors defending her husband, slamming the Accountability Project’s “four-page page glossy hit piece” and saying: “It is disappointing to see unions resort to harassment and intimidation.”

The Accountability Project organized a protest at Wells Fargo bank in Seattle to protest that one of its executive vice-presidents, Jeffrey Grubb, is a trustee of the Murdock Charitable Trust, which has donated heavily to the Freedom Foundation.

“They attack our CEO and a board member,” Abernathy said. “They’re using traditional union intimidation.”

What especially galls some Freedom Foundation officials is that public-sector unions use members’ dues to help elect government officials, who, they say, become too generous in collective bargaining.

“You lose the adversarial nature of the negotiations when the government, the employer on one side of the table, supports and was supported by the union on the other side,” Abernathy said. “They’re a giant lovefest between each other.”

But Devereux, president of the state employees’ union, called that pure fiction. If negotiations are such a lovefest, he said, why did 110,000 state employees have to endure a seven-year pay freeze from 2008 to 2015?

The Freedom Foundation boasts that 55% of the home-based childcare providers in Washington have stopped paying union dues. But the union representing the state’s childcare providers, SEIU Local 925, said many providers were already not paying dues when the foundation began its campaign. Local 925 officials acknowledge that 600 of the 7,000 home-based providers represented by the local have stopped paying dues in response to the foundation’s campaign.

Kathy Miller, a childcare provider, said she opted out of paying dues “because I didn’t appreciate having the union strongly suggest whom I should vote for in every election.”

“To be fair,” Miller added, “in the beginning the union did help, but as time went on, it became crystal clear that they were all about collecting dues money to get more Democrats elected.”

Labor leaders point to an irony in the Freedom Foundation’s canvas – when labor organizers knock on workers’ doors as part of a unionization drive, company officials and conservatives frequently complain that “union thugs” are intimidating workers and violating their privacy.

Mary Kay Henry, the SEIU’s national president, says the Freedom Foundation is weakening workers and not just unions. “I look at this as an attack on workers who are trying to come together to improve their lives,” Henry said. “It’s a direct assault on childcare workers who have invested in an organization that has lifted them to a better life – from a sub-minimum wage to minimum wage and now to a salary above minimum wage with paid time off. And now they’re door-knocking and saying, ‘Do you want to save $30 a month to buy your kids’ shoes?’ That enrages me.”

Murphy, the Seattle childcare provider, acknowledged that she was sometimes frustrated that her union hasn’t achieved more for the workers. But rather than consider quitting, Murphy said: “We need, a bigger union because that will help us bargain better.”

question: What is the Freedom Foundation?

answer: The Freedom Foundation is a conservative anti-labor union group that have been undertaking a campaign to undermine unionization efforts in the states of Washington and Oregon.

question: What is the Northwest Accountability Project?

answer: The Northwest Accountability Project seeks to expose and discredit the Freedom Foundation. It has campaigned from house to house to attack the Freedom Foundation as an extremist organization.

question: What are unions doing to push back against the Freedom Foundation?

answer: They have backed the Northwest Accountability Project. 18 unions and progressive groups have asked the Internal Revenue Service to strip the Freedom Foundation of its tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status, because they believe that the foundation is partisan. They believe that the Freedom Foundation is operated for the private benefit of the Republican Party and other conservative groups.


split: test

text:
                                   3 Shadows
Oh what will you do Thomas Blaire?
He laid there in the dirt against the bridge support pole and lifted his head to watch the light flickering slowly on and off. He was curious about the flies who would continue to run into the light over and over; as if they were memorized with the thought of killing themselves and smashing their fragile bodies into the light.
The ground began to slowly vibrate and shake and he knew that he would half to consider the possibility again this time. One shadow got up and sat on the tracks. This first shadow was unafraid; he was ready and complacent with the idea of solace and peace. This shadow was ready for the long fight to be over.
A second shadow danced slowly to train tracks, nervously the shadow creped next to the tracks and flirted with the idea. This second shadow liked the thought but was nervous of the consequences. Yes the shadow knew that it would bring him peace but also knew it may hurt others; however horrible these others may have been it may still bring tears and pain to them. The ground began to shake more violently as the train neared.
A third shadow got up and walked away from the train tracks and started following a long dirt path towards a place that Thomas used to call home. This shadow was a fighter. This shadow was more optimistic than all the others, he wasn’t ready to give up.
The shadows danced before the light went out and the whole bridge and ground shook as the train went by full steam ahead.

title: [TH] 3 Shadows

question: What is this story about?

answer: Someone who sits watching a train approach contemplating shadows that are killing themselves.

question: What are the shadows?

answer: We do not know.

question: Who is first mentioned in the story?

answer: Thomas Blaire, although it is not clear if he is the main character.

question: What is one possible thing the shadows are?

answer: Flies.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A man stares at an oncoming train, watching the shadows of flies place themselves upon the tracks and then dance away.


text:
[Vlacherna, opening to its closed karst basin (in the back)] [Village of Vlacherna] [Closed karst basin: Vlacherna-Hotoussa-Kandila]

VLACHERNA is a settlement in Arcadia, Greece. Administratively it is the seat of the local community (residents 371, 2011 census). It is a municipal unit of Levidi in the municipality of Tripoli (Kallikratis Plan, 2010). It is built at a height of 954 meters above sea level, on the slopes of Mainalo. It is 32 kilometers from Tripoli, 7 km from Levidi and 12 km from Vytina.

Most villagers are farmers. For their sheep and goats and their fieldwork, they need the meadows and fields that are located in the widening plain below their village. But peculiarities of nature—too much or too little water, depending on the annual time—are a burden for them, also, because the plain is a large karst basin without surface drainage.

The photo with the sheep shows the main part of the basin, where attempts are made to avoid flooding by several ditches and subterranean drainage. However, when there is very much winter rain, floods are possible in spite of two ponors (katavothes) and an artificial tunnel. The flooding then forces the farmers to delay their cultivations.[1] The basin has two extensions to the far northeast.

The first basin extension has a large karst spring (Sintzi Spring)[2] right, where the surface of the sedimentary deposits of the basin touch the limestone formation of the mountain. Existence of water even in the dry summer period makes the soil more fertile for more grassland an acres to cultivate.

[1] Cultivation delay confirmed by “Portal and Blog” of www.vlaxerna.gr (February 28, 2014). See External Links: … cleaning of the ditch…

[2] Sintzi spring in “Vlacherna-Kandila karst basin”, Peloponnese: :Image:Sintzi-Spring Upper-Arcadia Karst-basin Peloponnese Greece.jpg, see External Links for more

title: Vlacherna, Arcadia

question: What is Vlacherna?

answer: It is a settlement in Arcadia, Greece.

question: What occupation do most villagers have in Vlacherna?

answer: Most villagers have the occupation of farmer in the settlement.

question: Where is Vlacherna built?

answer: It is built at a height of 954 meters above sea level, on the slopes of Mainalo.

question: What is one of the biggest hurdles for the farmers in the settlement?

answer: Having too much water that causes floods is a big hurdle for the farmers in the settlement.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes a settlement in Arcadia, Greece called Vlacherna. It describes the village life in the settlement along with its landscape.


text:
By

February 08, 2018 at 10:59 PM EST

[]

WARNING! THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FROM THURSDAY’S EPISODE OF _RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS 3_. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

If you thought _RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3_ couldn’t get any gayer, think again, as the shocking conclusion to the most recent episode seemingly indicated that key clues to solving the show’s impending twist are hiding in the plot of the 2010 movie musical _Burlesque_, starring drag icons Cher and Christina Aguilera.

As Morgan McMichaels and Thorgy Thor did before her, _All Stars_‘ latest casualty, Milk, sashayed into the Werk Room Thursday evening to leave her mark on the show’s storied elimination mirror, only to be interrupted by a pre-recorded video from RuPaul herself. “You haven’t seen the last of me,” Ru told the departing queen, later closing out the message by shouting, “Wagon Wheel Watusi!”

“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” is of course the title of the Diane Warren-penned solo number that Cher’s character, Tess, the owner of _Burlesque_’s titular establishment, sings toward the middle of the film as the threat of the club’s closure looms. On the surface, it’s easy to draw the conclusion that, given Ru’s reference, Milk — and the ladies eliminated before her —will return to the show to in some capacity, as Tess bounces back by the end of the film. But it’s Ru’s “Wagon Wheel Watusi” bit that perhaps offers the clearest insight into the dynamics of the _All Stars_ twist ahead.

_Burlesque_ also follows an aspiring singer, Ali (Aguilera), who rises from lowly waitress to marquee performer at Tess’ venue. She gets there after Tess, reluctant to give a server the shot at dancing on her esteemed stage next to cutthroat showgirls like boozy bombshell Nikki (Kristen Bell), cautiously lets Ali strut her stuff in the hopes of joining the squad. The song she chooses for Ali to lip-sync to? Yep, “Wagon Wheel Watusi,” the song that allows Ali to swoop in and steal the gig away from another woman.

“What are you so excited for?” Nikki, watching from the back of the theater, says to a pregnant colleague who’s applauding Ali’s ace rendition. “She’s _your_ replacement.”

And that’s probably how _Drag Race_‘s “RuVenge” plot will play out this year. Instead of randomly inserting one dearly departed queen back into the competition, it’s looking like Ru could be herding her _All Stars_ eliminees and saving them for an epic lip-sync battle against the remaining contestants. With 10 contestants overall, at the season’s midway point, we’ll probably see the five ousted queens (Morgan, Thorgy, Milk, and whatever duo joins them in later episodes) paired with five ladies who are still in the running for the crown in two weeks’ time. Each pair might be tasked with lip-syncing for their lives — one eliminated queen vs. one active contestant — to continue on in the competition.

“There have already been clues and there will be more clues!” Thorgy recently told EW after her elimination. “You’ve never seen [the _All Stars 3_] twist from _any_ other season. I don’t know if the fans are going to love it or hate it, but it’s really dramatic.” A lip-sync extravaganza that could strip steadfast competitors like BenDeLaCreme, Trixie Mattel, and Shangela of their hard-earned spots on the _All Stars_ stage sounds dramatic enough for us.

Episode Recaps

-   []

    S9 E14 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ finale: The winner of season 9 is...

    By Marc Snetiker

-   []

    S9 E12 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: 'Category Is'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E11 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: 'Gayest Ball Ever'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E10 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: 'Makeovers: Crew Better Work'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E9 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: 'Your Pilot's On Fire'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E8 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: 'RuPaul Roast'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E7 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: '9021-HO'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E6 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_: Snatch Game

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E5 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: 'Reality Stars: The Musical'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E4 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: 'Good Morning Bitches'

    By Caitlin Brody

-   []

    S9 E3 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: Draggily Ever After

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E2 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ recap: 'She Done Already Done Brought It On'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S9 E1 Recap

    _RuPaul's Drag Race_ premiere recap: 'Oh. My. Gaga!'

    By Carson Kressley

-   []

    S8 E4 Recap

    RuPaul's Drag Race recap: New Wave Flashback

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S8 E3 Recap

    RuPaul's Drag Race recap: RuCo's Empire

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S8 E2 Recap

    RuPaul's Drag Race recap: Bitch Perfect

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S8 E1 Recap

    RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 premiere recap: Keeping It 100

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S7 E12 Recap

    RuPaul's Drag Race recap: And the Rest Is a Drag!

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S7 E11 Recap

    RuPaul's Drag Race recap: Hello, Kitty Girls!

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S7 E10 Recap

    RuPaul's Drag Race recap: Prancing Queens

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S7 E9 Recap

    RuPaul's Drag Race recap: Divine Inspiration

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S7 E8 Recap

    'RuPaul's Drag Race' recap: 'Conjoined Queens'

    By Stephan Lee

-   []

    S7 E6 Recap

    'RuPaul's Drag Race' recap: 'Ru Hollywood Stories'

    By Stephan Lee

[]

RuPaul's Drag Race

RuPaul — as host, mentor, and creative inspiration — decides who's in and who's out.

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| type                              | -   TV Show                       |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| seasons                           | -   11                            |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| rating                            | -                                 |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| genre                             | -   Reality                       |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| network                           | -   VH1                           |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| stream service                    | -   Amazon                        |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

question: What does the article say about how the movie Burlesque is a clue to the upcoming RuPaul's Drag Race twist?

answer: The show was interrupted by a prerecorded video in which RuPaul said "You haven't seen the last of me" and "Wagon Wheel Watusi". The former is a song sung by Cher's character in Burlesque and suggests the eliminated contestants will return to the show in some capacity. Wagon Wheel Watusi is a song that the character Ali lip-syncs in attempt to steal a gig from another woman, which suggests the eliminees could be participating in a lip-sync battle against the remaining contestants.

question: What does the article say about the winner of the drag race?


text:
**Just looking for a little feedback on this. It deals with a couple of metal-heads, so I thought I'd bring it over this way. If you think it's good, tell me. If you think it's garbage, tell me that too.**

***Term Limit***, by The_Bloodening

After knocking a couple of times on the front door of Ben’s rustic suburban colonial house, rustic being the term he himself has used on several occasions to describe the probably-once-beautiful home he’s lived in for the five years we’ve worked together—I might use a different word to describe this place, but rustic fits the bill just as well as any—and waiting a few minutes with no answer, I simply let myself in. He called me an hour ago and asked that I pay him a visit.

The two of us began our shitty jobs at a shitty nearby restaurant on the same day and we hit it off almost instantly. The ultra-lax dress code in place at the time, and since abolished for something a little more uniform, allowed us to display that most important aspect of our respective personalities on our T-shirts—the music we listen to. It was almost like there was some kind of magic at play that day. He introduced himself and told me that he liked my Slayer shirt, because he owned the same one. I liked his Pantera shirt for the same reason. Nothing would be able to stop us now. “Metal brother”, he called me on that first day. Soon, it was “metal brother *for life*.”

  Five years of working together, and the friendship we’ve forged outside of work, and never once have we tired of the jocular arguments about whether Metallica sucked more than Megadeth now. It never mattered that both of us are huge fans of both groups in all of their incarnations. Nearly identical views on most other forms of music—hip-hop, country, radio pop—only strengthened our bond.

 I dated his sister, Rachel, for about a year, until she dumped me for another of Ben’s friends, because, she said, he has a car. I guess that’s how it goes—leave the schmuck with a decent-enough job for this guy, Todd (it’s always a fucking Todd, too), who, though he did indeed have a car, was forced by necessity to abandon his embryonic dreams of rock superstardom and sell his guitar so that he could put gas in his car to drive Rachel to the hospital one night, only to be told that it was not in fact cramps and bloating from a diet poor in all of the things one needs to be healthy, but instead it was some kind of uterine disorder and now she cannot have children. Todd was indifferent, upset only that he realized all too late that he could have asked his grandmother for the gas money instead.

Ben and I quickly found ourselves embroiled in a take-no-prisoners game of one-upmanship. “See this,” he said to me one day, pointing to a long, gnarly scar running the length of his forearm and across his elbow, “Cannibal Corpse, ’99. Diving off the stage, I caught some dude’s shoulder spike. Tore right through me. I got a roll of duct tape from one of the sound guys and wrapped it up right there. When I got home, I chugged half a fifth of Absolut and sewed it up myself.” The last part was self-evident.

“Oh, yeah,” I told him. “Where you should have definitely gone to the hospital, I actually did. On the frontlines of a Soulfly show, I found myself on the bottom of a twenty-person dog-pile. I was fucked when the first guy fell on me—some dude who must have been at least three-fifty. The other nineteen guys were just there for the show. After excavating my corpse from the wreckage, it was apparent my leg was broken,” I said, showing him my much less-conspicuous scar, one that cut my favorite tattoo clean in half. “But, as they say, the show must go on. So, they wheeled my carcass off the grounds and into an ambulance, my middle finger, growing taller and more defiant by the second, only came back down once I was safely in the back of that thing. That was when the pain really started to make itself known.”

Our main divergence is probably black and death metal. Ben prefers death metal, and you can barely get him to listen to any kind of black metal before he inevitably brings up Immortal and their ridiculous corpse-painted romps through Northern forests. It’s hard to disagree. Myself, I like my metal like I like my women: Black and passionate. One of life’s sad ironies is the sheer dearth of black women into black metal.

Ben’s biggest problem with the early-mid black metal scene was something shared by many people of many musical persuasions. “The whole church burning thing is totally ill-conceived and childish. Anyone can wait until midnight on a Tuesday when a church is totally empty. If Varg and those buffoons had any balls, they’d have gone in there on a Sunday morning with chainsaws and tear gas, and slaughtered everyone inside before lighting their blaze in the Northern sky, thus killing two birds with one stone: You get rid of the churches, which is good, but you also take out all of those with the most to gain by rebuilding those disgusting ungodly constructs.” It’s hard to argue with logic that sound.

When I open his door and step inside, I find the usual mess of beer cans on the table, in the sink, on the floor surrounding the couch, and even stuffed into the couch cushions. I call out his name a few times and get no response in return.

Among the mess on his table lay a small black handgun, a 9mm. Glock with the words “Term Limit” etched erratically across the barrel. I pick the weapon up and hold it in my hand, turning it in my palm and examining it in the dim light shining in from outside. I try to spin it around my finger like I’m fucking Doc Holliday, but it slips from my hand and lands on my foot. The loud smack-thud of the pistol on my foot, then the floor, followed by my own exclamation of pain and terror convinces me that Ben just isn’t home. Term Limit. It dawns on me that my fingerprints are all over this thing. Oh well, if I’m going to be implicated in a murder, I might as well make the 24-hour cycle for it.

I place the gun back on the table where I found it and head upstairs to use the bathroom, calling his name as I ascend the steps. The bathroom door is closed and I knock before entering. It’s empty and I relieve myself. When I come out, I cross the narrow corridor to Ben’s room and knock. Maybe he’s sleeping. No answer again, so I open the door to peek inside.

I hear from his stereo the faint sound of Deicide’s *Once Upon the Cross*, his all-time favorite record, and one that should, admittedly, never be played at such a low volume. The room is dark, but enough light shines through the drawn shades to reveal the silhouette of my best friend swinging from the ceiling by his neck. Fuck. This is why he brought me here. I sure wish I had a Lady Gaga CD to put in the player, so the blame for this death might go to someone a little more deserving of public outrage than Glen Benton. Who am I kidding? No one but me is going to care about this. He wanted me to find him. He wanted me to find the note, too.

Ben never gave any indication that this would be his preferred end. Maybe he didn’t prefer it. Nevertheless, he’s dead, and the time for decoding preferences seems to have passed. I flipped on the light, and aside from the obvious dead body pendulating slowly in the air, the ceiling creaking with each subtle shift in Ben’s direction, nothing appears out of place. He’s wearing the same shirt I had on the day we met, the Slayer shirt depicting fields of hanging victims, dead or awaiting torture. I’m wearing the same shirt today. This has happened a hundred times in the years that we’ve been friends. I guess this is the last time.

I pick up the folded piece of paper that lay beneath his feet. I note my name scribbled on the outside before opening it. Thankfully, he typed it out and probably printed it at the library. I don’t think he was too concerned with getting his message just right—I’ve heard his message, but I guess he left this last part out. He probably just wanted me to be able to read it. His penmanship was never up to snuff.

>Tony,

>Well, obviously…

>Somewhere along the line I contracted HIV. Probably Todd. We were sharing a couple of years back. You remember. I know you do because you always gave me that look when I told you I wasnt. Sure, the guy is the poster child for AIDS, but I rationalized myself into oblvion. Surely Rachels been infected too. Maybe I’ll see her soon. Anyway, Term Limits yours. I know you couldn’t keep your grubby hands off of it so you might as well take it before the cops get here. My gift to you. Do whats right with it. There are few exceptable excuses for possessing such a thing. Make it count.

>Your metal brother forever,
>Ben

>ps it was metallica all along

I notice a similar note made out to Todd and Rachel, but leave it untouched. They should have been here by now. I mean, how’d I beat them on foot? They’ll make it eventually.

I start the album over and turn it up to an appropriate volume. Before making my way down the staircase, I grab Ben’s cold limp hand, forcing upon him one last clenched fist, which immediately falls limp.

Downstairs, I pick up Term Limit and place it in my waistband and open the door, taking my final exit. As I’m leaving, I see Todd and Rachel getting out of their car. “He’s upstairs,” I tell them. “He’s got something for you guys. See you around.”

title: A short story I'm looking for feedback on, if you don't mind

question: What does the story say about what Tony says about Ben?

answer: Ben is Tony's good friend. They have been working together for five years and spend time together out of work. They like similar music. Now Tony enters Ben's apartment and finds him dead.  He changes himself. Then Tony finds Ben's note that writes he contracted HIV.

question: What does the story say about Rachel?

answer: Tony dated Ben's sister, Rachel, until she dumped him for Todd because, she said, he has a car. One night, Todd drives Rachel to the hospital, and it turns out that she had a uterine disorder and now she cannot have children. Ben thinks that Rachel contracted HIV.

question: What does the story say about Todd's brother?


text:
[]

Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the _Mother Jones Daily_ newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.

If corporate America is going to lead the way out of the recession, then Apple would seem to be its Horatio Alger. The expansion of the nation’s most lucrative tech company into cloud computing is driving demand for vast data centers and the workers needed to build and maintain them. Just last week, Apple gained approval to build a $1 billion server farm in Reno, Nevada—a state that suffers from the nation’s worst budget deficit and highest unemployment rate.

But Apple’s move will do little to nothing to solve Nevada’s employment and budget woes. To the contrary, before Apple would agree to break ground in the Silver State, it demanded and received $88 million in state and local tax breaks—the largest corporate tax exemption in Nevada history. What’s more, the deal doesn’t even require that Apple create new jobs or hire locals.

While defenders of the tax break argue that it will help incubate a new tech industry east of the Sierras, the industry’s own experts aren’t so sure. “People have a vision of data centers as places where there are lots of nerds walking around with keyboards and configuring servers,” says Rick Villars, vice president of data center and cloud research at the corporate consultancy IDC, “but the scales and the types of data centers that an Apple or a Facebook or an Amazon or any of those companies are putting together are very different; the actual head counts in the facility are minimal. It’s really a lights-out environment.”

“When you are subsidizing a server farm” and not collecting property taxes, “you are not going to be bringing any economic benefit.”

This fact hasn’t stopped other states and cities from rewarding Apple and its brethren with similarly sweet deals. In 2010, the North Carolina Legislature debated for less than a minute before giving Apple a $46 million tax break to construct a data center in the town of Maiden, which itself agreed to cut Apple’s would-be property taxes in half, and slash local taxes on its assets by 85 percent—all for creating 50 jobs, none of them set aside for locals. Tech companies such as Yahoo, eBay, and Facebook have inked similar agreements in Oregon, Washington, and Utah.

Nevada, hammered by the mortgage crisis and increasingly stiff competition from out-of-state casinos, certainly needs the jobs Apple claims it will provide: Some 200 contract workers and 35 full-timers earning an average of $25 an hour. Yet even if the company makes good on those numbers, it is receiving a subsidy exceeding $374,000 per worker—more than double the norm for factory subsidies in the (highly subsidized) auto industry. “Unlike the auto industry, however, server farms do not spin off large supply chains,” points out Leigh McIlvaine, an analyst with Good Jobs First, a group that tracks corporate subsidies. “When you are subsidizing a server farm, which really only has benefits through property tax revenues, and you take those property tax revenues away, you are not going to be bringing any economic benefit to the state at all.”

Nevada will be bringing a lot of benefit to Apple, however. The deal reduces Apple’s taxes over the next decade from an estimated $105 million to a mere $17 million, with much of the $88 million difference coming from an 85 percent reduction in personal property taxes and sales taxes on the roughly $1 billion in equipment Apple intends to purchase. The company will further reduce the tax on its servers by purchasing them through a shell office opened in a “tourism improvement district” in downtown Reno—a scheme the Reno City Council approved last month. All told, the arrangements lower Apple’s sales tax rate from 7.5 percent down to 0.5 percent—a steal for a facility that consists largely of expensive computer gear.

Apple’s deal with Nevada was negotiated in private out of concern that “the public rumor mill would actually have run them off.”

But that’s not all: Apple also has the option to extend its personal property tax exemption for up to 30 years if it makes additional investments.

Some Nevada officials question whether getting Apple is worth the price. “I have significant concerns about the length of the term of the agreement along with the overall percentage of the abatements that were offered in exchange for such a limited creation of jobs,” Secretary of State Ross Miller told me. “Whether or not this strategy will cause more significant economic activity to move to Nevada remains to be seen.”

To secure the data center deal, Apple relied on Greg Ferraro, a close adviser to Gov. Brian Sandoval. Steve Hill, director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, told the the _Las Vegas Sun_ that the terms were negotiated in private, out of concern that “the public rumor mill would actually have run them off.”

In the event that Nevada balked on the tax breaks, Apple had said that it would locate the facility in Prineville, Oregon—the state has no sales tax, and tiny Prineville is in a “rural enterprise zone” that offers a 15-year property tax exemption. Prineville also benefits from cheap hydropower, which would have saved Apple’s power-hungry data center about $12.5 million in energy costs over 20 years. Still, Apple has said it eventually plans to build its own renewable energy plant for the facility, and its executives liked Reno’s proximity to its Cupertino headquarters—locating the servers in tax-happy California was apparently never a consideration.

It’s not as though Apple needs to play economic hardball with struggling local and state governments. It was the third most profitable company on the Fortune 500 last year, and is sitting on $110 billion in cash reserves. By contrast, Nevada faces a $1.2 billion shortfall in 2013. That’s more than one-third of its budget.

Even so, Nevada’s Steve Hill is convinced the pact with Apple makes sense. “Showing that a company with the stature of Apple has chosen Nevada has benefits that are not easily quantifiable, but I think will show up,” he told me. Nevadans just shouldn’t expect to notice them anytime soon. After all, he adds, “We have tried not to present it as a solution for the state.”

question: Why are some Nevadans ambivalent about Apple's new data center?

answer: The data center may not create many jobs, and the state gave them an immense property tax cut to entice them to build the center. Nevada has a budget shortfall of more than a billion dollars, while Apple has a surplus almost a hundred times that amount. Some are worried that the construction of the server farm will not bring much revenue to Nevada, and thus they should have taxed it normally.

question: What alternative locations did Apple select for the data center?

answer: Apple had considered Prineville, Oregon, because the region has no sales tax, and there is a fifteen year property tax exemption. There is also cheap hydropower in the region. California was never considered due to high taxes, but Reno was close to their Cupertino headquarters.

question: Why do tech experts suggest that the server farm will not create many jobs?

answer: Unlike with car companies, server farms do not create big supply chains. In addition, despite the scale of the data center, experts say that not many people need to be employed to run a server farm. The actual head-counts of faculty are minimal.


text:
By Staff reporter [Time of article published] Jan 20, 2018

CAPE TOWN - Memphis Meats aims to turn around the future of the meat industry through its meat production without having to slaughter animals.

A consumer analyst at GlobalData, Chris Lo notes that the new products will not be ready to enter the market until 2021.

International investors and venture capital companies have eyed investment opportunities in this emerging sub-industry.

Memphis Meats - a Silicon Valley-based group is backed by Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Cargill, former General Electric CEO, Jack Welch, and led by DFJ Venture Capital Group.

This 'clean meat' company says it has already produced beef, chicken and duck directly from animal cells, without the need to raise and slaughter animals.

You must be wondering how? The process works by combining self-producing cells in tanks, or bioreactors with oxygen, sugar and other nutrients.

The managing director, co-founder and the CEO of Memphis Meats, Uma Valeti said, "We are going to bring meat to the plate in a more sustainable, affordable and delicious way".

ALSO READ: FEARS BIRD FLU WILL DRIVE MEAT INFLATION

"The world loves to eat meat, and it is core to many of our cultures and traditions. Meat demand is growing rapidly around the world. We want the world to keep eating what it loves," Valeti added.

COMPETITION

Memphis Meats competes with Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, all with the common goal of transforming the way conventional meat is produced.

Impossible Foods, a California company aims at changing the paradigm of the global food system via one product - a burger, Forbes reported.

ALSO READ: PRICE FOR CHICKEN MEAT GOES UP BY 5%

This company produces plant-based burger, but it smells, cooks, tastes, and even bleeds like the real one.

Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat said, they started with a simple question of why an animal is needed to have meat, why not build meat directly from plants?

The near future surely holds a full basket of lab meat for consumers.

TOP STORY: BITCOIN CASH MAY KILL BITCOIN

- BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE

question: How does Memphis Meats plan to create meat without animals?

answer: By combining self-producing cells in tanks or bioreactors with oxygen, sugar and other nutrients.

question: Is the process of creating meat from animal cells considered safe?

answer: That information is not known.

question: Was this created to make vegetarians feel comfortable with eating meat?

answer: That information is not known.

question: When was this project proposed to enter the market?

answer: By 2021.

question: How is plant-based meat produced?

answer: That information is not known.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: This article talks about a meat producing company called Memphis Meats which claims to produce meat without slaughtering animals. The company, backed by Richard Branson, Jack Welch, Bill Gates and led by DFJ Venture capital group, aims to make its meat through the combination of self-producing cells in tanks or bioreactors with oxygen, sugar and other nutrients. They claim to have successfully produced beef, chicken and duck with animal cells. Their major competitors in the market include Beyond Meat and Impossible foods, companies that make their meat through plants.


text:
Someday I want to be able to walk the earth, just like the greatest minds through history have. Think about it, Albert Einstein, Julius Caesar, Isaac Newton and in the future, me, Mike the fish. It will happen, i am fully convinced it will. I just need to find out how to get up there.

Some people might wonder why, but the answer is very simple... Fish, are not particulary smart. I have yet to meet a fish whom I can have an intellegent discussion with. It seems that noone possess a deeper mind, a more profound way of thinking. I have searched every corner of the Atlantic ocean for answers. I have talked to every kind of creature that exists in this otherwise marvelous place, only to be met with more questions. All they seem to care about is food and procreation, what about the big questions. What about the purpose of evolution. What about the fearful afterlife. To fish or not to fish?

To me it is obvious that I need to find a way to get up there, with the land-fauna, or at least that is what I call them. Although, I'm sure they have a more sophisticated name for themselves.
If you wonder how I know that they are smarter than fish, it is because I have seen it.   I have seen their faces, their tall and not very fine prospected faces. Most of them have have big goggles surrounding their small marble eyes. Some have this big plastic gadget in their mouth that produces bubbles every once in a while. I'm certain that the goggles and the bubble-gizmo is of external constructions and not a natural part of their body, however I do not know what their purpose is. At first, I believed that the mouth-device was used for them to breathe under water. To my surprise, I some time later found out that they can indeed breathe in this, to them, foreign realm.
I know because I have met a land-fauna who did not have a mouth-gizmo. It was somewhere in the southwest Atlantic, not too far from the shore. I was of course thrilled to see him, however as it seemed, unresponded. He was rather rude to me to be honest. I introduced myself but he did not respond. He just stared at me with his seemingly fearful eyes. His pale white face appeared to be apathetic to my presence. He was not moving a single limb, he was not responding to anything I did. He did not put an effort to communicate. Not even a single bubble. There was not much I could do, so I left.

I suppose land-faunas can be as dumb as fish.

I have a plan on how to reach the other realm. The only problem is that it is slightly, just slightly based on luck. The plan itself is rather simple, it does not require much of me. The plan is as follows:
1. Find the right land-fauna.
2. Get the land-fauna to pick me up.
3. Use land-faunas ship to travel to shore.
4. Find answers.

See it is very simple.

I have seen land-faunas use these lines with a shiny metal figure on the end of it. I reckon it is to give us fish opportunity to get to the upper realm. I need to search long enough and not give up. Tenacity is the key to success, is what my father used to say, he was great fish.

Right there! My fate has finally crossed the path of the right land-fauna. He is the one. His line is right over there. I swim ferociously to it, I will not miss this opportunity. I examine the metal figure thoroughly. It is quite sharp and the only way to grip it is with my mouth. The metal figure pierce through my jaw. The excruciating pain that ensues is beyond comprehension, however not in vain. The line is rising, it is working. We are going towards the surface. I try to ignore the pain as much as possible, I drown the taste of blood with the soothing thought of lifelong fulfillment. Slowly but surely we reach above the surface. There he is, the land-fauna in his rightful realm. Majestic. My head is dizzy and it is getting darker. It must be from the pain and the loss of blood. I just hope he hurries to get aid.

I will be greater than Mozart, Julius Caesar and Albert Einstein combined. I am Mike the fish, is the last thought before everything disappears.

title: [MF] Mike The Fish

question: Explain Mike's motivation.

answer: Mike wants to be able to leave the water and walk the earth someday so that he can have an intelligent discussion with the land-fauna. He doesn't find conversations with other fish intellectually stimulating.

question: What happens to Mike at the end of the story?

answer: Mike (intentionally) gets caught on a fishing hook and is dragged out of the water, where he is unable to breathe and dies.

question: Where does Mike live?

answer: Mike lives underwater somewhere (possible the ocean, although this is not made explicit).

question: Explain who the land-fauna are.

answer: The land-fauna are human beings.

question: What does Mike not realize about the land-fauna he encounters who isn't wearing a mouth-gizmo?

answer: Mike doesn't realize (but the reader should be able to infer) that this particular land-fauna is dead.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Mike is a fish who dreams of living on land where he can discuss intellectual matters with human beings, whom he calls land-fauna. He isn't satisfied with the company of other fish, whom he finds unintelligent. He concocts a plan to get to the surface with the help of a land-fauna and succeeds by allowing himself to get caught on a fishing hook. The land-fauna drags him out of the water and he suffocates.


text:
Dear President Obama:

Good luck on your journeys overseas this week, and congratulations on decisively winning your second term as our president! The first time you won four years ago, most of us couldn't contain our joy and found ourselves literally in tears over your victory.

This time, it was more like breathing a huge sigh of relief. But, like the smooth guy you are, you scored the highest percentage of the vote of any Democrat since Lyndon Johnson, and you racked up the most votes for a Democratic president _in the history of the United States_ (the only one to receive more votes than you was... _you_, in '08!). You are the first Democrat to get more than 50 percent of the vote twice in a row since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

This was truly another historic election and I would like to take a few minutes of your time to respectfully ask that your second term not resemble your first term.

It's not that you didn't get anything done. You got A LOT done. But there are some very huge issues that have been left unresolved and, dammit, we need you to get some fight in you. Wall Street and the uber-rich have been conducting a bloody class war for over 30 years and it's about time they were stopped.

I know it is not in your nature to be aggressive or confrontational. But, please, Barack -- DO NOT listen to the pundits who are telling you to make the "grand compromise" or move to the "center" (FYI -- you're already there). Your fellow citizens have spoken and we have rejected the crazed ideology of this Republican Party and we insist that you forcefully proceed in bringing about profound change that will improve the lives of the 99 percent. We're done hoping. We want real change. And if we can't get it in the second term of a great and good man like you, then really -- what's the use? Why are we even bothering? Yes, we're that discouraged and disenchanted.

At your first post-election press conference last Wednesday you were on fire. The way you went all _Taxi Driver_ on McCain and company ("You talkin' to me?") was so brilliant and breathtaking I had to play it back a dozen times just to maintain the contact high. Jesus, that look -- for a second I thought laser beams would be shooting out of your eyes! MORE OF THAT!! PLEASE!!

In the weeks after your first election you celebrated by hiring the Goldman Sachs boys and Wall Street darlings to run our economy. Talk about a buzzkill that I never fully recovered from. Please -- not this time. This time take a stand for all the rest of us -- and if you do, tens of millions of us will not only have your back, we will swoop down on Congress in a force so large they won't know what hit them (that's right, McConnell -- you're on the retirement list we've put together for 2014).

BUT-- _first you have to do the job we elected you to do_. You have to take your massive 126-electoral vote margin and just go for it.

Here are my suggestions:

1. DRIVE THE RICH RIGHT OFF THEIR FISCAL CLIFF. The "fiscal cliff" is a ruse, an invention by the right and the rich, to try and keep their huge tax breaks. On December 31, let ALL the tax cuts expire. Then, on January 1, put forth a bill that restores the tax cuts for 98 percent of the public. I dare the Republicans to vote against that! They can't and they won't. As for the spending cuts, the 2011 agreement states that, for every domestic program dollar the Republicans want to cut, a Pentagon dollar must also be cut. See, you are a genius! No way will the right vote against the masters of war. And if by some chance they do, you can immediately put forth legislation to restore all the programs we, the majority, approve of. And for God's sake, man -- declare Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid untouchable. They're not bankrupt or anywhere near it. If the rich paid the same percentage of Social Security tax on their entire income -- the same exact rate _everyone else_ pays &-- then there will suddenly be enough money in Social Security to last til at least the year 2080!

2. END ALL THE WARS NOW. Do not continue the war in Afghanistan (a thoroughly losing proposition if ever there was one) for two full more years! Why should one single more person have to die FOR NO REASON? Stop it. You know it's wrong. Bin Laden's dead, al Qaeda is decimated and the Afghans have to work out their own problems. Also, end the drone strikes and other covert military activities you are conducting in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Colombia and God knows where else. You think history is going to remember the United States as a great democracy? No, they're going to think of us as a nation that became addicted to war. They'll call us warlords. They'll say that in the 21st century America was so in need of oil that we'd kill anyone to get it. You know that's where this is going. This has to stop. Now.

3. END THE DRUG WAR. It is not only an abysmal failure, it has returned us to the days of slavery. We have locked up millions of African Americans and Latinos and now fund a private prison-industrial complex that makes billions for a few lucky rich people. There are other ways to deal with the drugs that do cause harm -- ways built around a sense of decency and compassion. We look like a bunch of sadistic racists. Stop it.

4. DECLARE A MORATORIUM ON HOME FORECLOSURES AND EVICTIONS. Millions of people are facing homelessness because of a crooked system enacted by the major banks and Wall Street firms. Put a pause on this and take 12 months to work out a different way (like, restructuring families' mortgages to reflect the true worth of their homes).

5. GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS. You already know this one. The public is sick of it. Now's the time to act.

6. EXPAND OBAMACARE. Your health care law doesn't cover everyone. It is a cash cow for the insurance industry. Push for a single-payer system -- Medicare for All -- and include dentistry and mental health. This is the single biggest thing you could do to reduce the country's deficit.

7. RESTORE GLASS-STEAGALL. You must put back all the rigid controls on Wall Street that Reagan, Clinton and the Bushes removed -- or else we face the possibility of another, much worse, crash. If they break the law, prosecute them the way you currently go after whistleblowers and medical marijuana dispensaries.

8. REDUCE STUDENT LOAN DEBT. No 22-year-old should have to enter the real world already in a virtual debtors' prison. This is cruel and no other democracy does this like we do. You were right to eliminate the banks as the profit-gouging lenders, but now you have to bring us back to the days when you and I were of college age and a good education cost us little or next to nothing. A few less wars would go a long to way to being able to afford this.

9. FREE BRADLEY MANNING. End the persecution and prosecution of an American hero. Bush and Cheney lied to a nation to convince us to go to war. Manning allegedly hacked the war criminals' files and then shared them with the American public (and the world) so that we could learn the truth about Iraq and Afghanistan. Our history is full of such people who "break the law" for the greater good of humanity. Army Specialist Bradley Manning deserves a medal, not prison.

10. ASK US TO DO SOMETHING. One thing is clear: none of the above is going to happen if you don't immediately mobilize the 63,500,000 who voted for you (and the other 40 million who are _for_ you but didn't vote). You can't go this alone. You need an army of everyday Americans who will fight alongside you to make this a more just and peaceful nation. In your 2008 campaign, you were a pioneer in using social media to win the election. Over 15 million of us gave you our cell numbers or email addresses so you could send us texts and emails telling us what needed to be done to win the election. Then, as soon as you won, it was as if you hit the delete button. We never heard from you again. (Until this past year when you kept texting us to send you $25. Inspiring.) Whoever your Internet and social media people were should have been given their own office in the West Wing -- and we should have heard from you. Constantly. Need a bill passed? Text us and we will mobilize! The Republicans are filibustering? We can stop them! They won't approve your choice for Secretary of State? We'll see about that! You say you were a community organizer. Please -- start acting like one.

The next four years can be one of those presidential terms that changed the course of America. I'm sure you will want to be judged on how you stood up for us, restored the middle class, ended the s***ting on the poor and made us a friend to the rest of the world instead of a threat. You can do this. We can do it with you. All that stands in the way is your understandable desire to sing "Kumbaya" with the Republicans. Don't waste your breath. Their professed love of America is negated by their profound hatred of you. Don't waste a minute on them. Fix the sad mess we're in. Go back and read this month's election results. We're with you.

P.S. President Obama -- my cell number to text me at is 810-522-8398 and my email is MMFlint@MichaelMoore.com. I await my first assignment!

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter

question: What is the objective of the letter to the president?

answer: The letter congratulates the president on winning office for a second term. The objective is to give him advice on what needs to be changed over the next term. The author believes that though the president has accomplished much, he has failed in some respects. The author also wants to offer his assistance with anything the president deems necessary.

question: Why does the author believe the president should withdraw troops?

answer: The author sees the war in Afghanistan as pointless and that people are dying for no reason. The Afghans must work out their own problems. He believes that history will remember the US as a country so in need of oil they would kill anyone to get it.

question: Where does the author suggest the president should get the resources to make these changes?

answer: The author suggests that the president should mobilize the citizens who voted for him. He points out that the president has the email addresses of 15 million citizens. The author suggests the president gives his social media staff an office in the West Wing and gets them contacting the citizens for help and input.


text:
Twenty-three. The rapid succession of life continues as I add but one more digit to a rather meaningless collusion of numbers. As if rustled by a brief puff of wind, I awoke from a daze of self-loathing to answer the phone.

“Hello?”, I said.

The receiving end was silent, but a muffled string of vulgarity pervaded.

They continued, “Damnit. Hey Alex, it’s Dad. I dropped the phone. Hope you didn’t hear anything.”

Lying through my teeth, I obliged, “Of course not. I missed every shit, damn, fuck, and ass. Honest.”

“Smartass. Anyways, I just wanted to say happy birthday! The party is still on for tonight, right?”, Dad replied.

I despise people to an unhealthy extent, I would argue, but I feel contractually obligated to provide my parents with at least one night of awkward reminiscing a year. It’s the least I can do.

I responded with a sigh, “Yeah. It’s still on. Did you buy Doritos and Coke?”

I could sense him grinning over the phone.

He said, “Fuck yeah, I got the Doritos and Coke. Do you think me a monster?”

“He who asks the question is that which his mind has created for itself to become.”, I replied.

Confused, he inquired, “What the hell does that mean?”

Laughing, I said, “I read it in a shitty philosophy book. The author was obviously projecting.”

He paused for a few moments before responding, and said, “Clearly. Nonetheless, I’ll be attempting to decipher it until you get here. See you later, bud.”

“Bye, Dad”, I said.

I returned the telephone to its carousel, pondering the possibilities that could unravel at the party. My dad was brash, yet smart, and my mother was hilarious in the sort of hopeless vein you’d expect to find in a J.D Salinger novel. As is characteristic of my parents, they’ve recruited a band of middle-aged dream-crushers, their closest friends, to attend the event; A decision beyond my control.

I filtered through my closet in search of formal attire. Bright neon flushes brushed across my hands, fingers slipping through blazers, parachute pants, turtleneck sweaters, and various pink fabrics. It was obvious, then; Formality was beyond my comprehension. I gave in to a dark grey blazer, coupled with jeans and a teal turtleneck. I looked like a brilliant, if not dishevelled, author from the early twentieth century, wizened by years of alcohol abuse and anonymity. It’s the perfect look.

As I neared the house, cars wrapped around the bend of the narrow street. The driveway was filled with old station wagons, and the road was packed with brand-new Hondas and Toyotas. Bombastic, mediocre pop music pumped throughout the neighborhood. Boys like to have fun, too.

Before I reached out for the handle, the door swung open and I was met with the adoration of my parents. My friends were sitting on the back porch, smoking and drinking. Two groups of middle-aged adults were present; One group sat on the couch in fond remembrance of their college years, while another lay waste to a no-stakes game of blackjack at the kitchen table.

“We were just talking about you!”, my Mom exclaimed.

I replied, “I figured as much. What did I miss?”

She deflected for a moment to show me to the kitchen where a large heap of various foodstuffs was sat. Pizza, Doritos, Coke and beer; The staples of American consumerism.

“It’s all for you, but save room for dessert!”, Mom said.

“What’s for dessert? A healthy serving of self-deprecation, spiced with delusional reverence for the past?”, I said, pining for a sarcastic reponse.

“It’s only customary, Alex. It’ll be fun. Come on!”, she said.

I sat at the table for hours, retelling (and potentially reforging) the exploits of my youth. My friends glared at me from the porch, their eyes wide with sympathy. Many potential lives were lost to a violent outbreak of finger guns, pointed sharply at the temple. Despite their attempts to communicate with me, I had ventured deep into a pit of inescapable reminiscence and, once again, I had lost myself within.

I spoke sparsely for the rest of the night, clutching greasy pizza with one hand and cold beer with another. While a crescendo of laughter erupted around me, a single line of prose invaded my conscience.

I repeated it to myself, “Years can pass like light through glass, but still you’ll never see…”

title: [RF] The Harper Syndrome

question: Why does the narrator hate their life?

answer: They are not being true to themselves and they seem to have no friends.

question: Who has organized the birthday party for the narrator?

answer: The narrator's parents.

question: What makes the narrator's friends alienated from him?

answer: He does nothing but talk about himself.

question: What does the final line the narrator thinks of imply?

answer: That they lack self-knowledge and are not learning from their mistakes.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: It's the narrator's 23rd birthday. The narrator does not like people but their parents have held a party for them. They go out of a sense of obligation, but their feeling of self-loathing mounts as the story continues.


text:
_PERSPECTIVE_ is an adult romance drama directed by Bree Mills. The film was edited into two versions an R-Rated film available for digital download, stream or DVD purchase, as well as an uncut pornography style film available for digital and hard copy purchase. The film was praised by those in the adult and mainstream market.[1][2]

The film received dozens of nominations from major award associations such as AVN, XBIZ and XRCO.

Plot

Daniel and Jennifer are a young married couple with different wants and needs emotionally, professionally as well as sexually. Daniel and Jennifer explore these needs behind each other's back. The struggle of the two main characters ambitions get the best of them as they get competitive to stay together.[3]

Cast

-   Angela White as Jennifer
-   Seth Gamble as Daniel
-   Michael Vegas as Dr. Mercer
-   Whitney White as Girl #1
-   Abigail Mac as Girl #2
-   Gianna Dior as Girl #3
-   Derrick Pierce as Aaron
-   Eric Masterson as Guy #1
-   JJ Graves as Guy #2
-   Isiah Maxwell as Guy #3

Reception

Perspective has received rave reviews from critics. Porn critics rated the film as the best of 2019 and one of the best of the decade. Mainstream reviews questioned the story line as many last scolding reviews.[4]

The film was nominated for over a dozen industry awards winning a handful. The film was nominated for six AVN Awards and won a show best three awards at the 37th AVN Awards show. It also won an award at the XBIZ Awards and was nominated for ten more.[5][6]

Awards and nominations

  Year                                  Ceremony        Award          Nominee        Result
  ------------------------------------- --------------- -------------- -------------- --------
  2020                                  AVN Awards[7]   Best Actress   Angela White
  Best Actor                            Seth Gamble
  Best Screenplay                       Bree Mills
  Best Cinematography
  Best Director – Dramatic Production   Bree Mills
  Best Drama
  Best Editing
  Best Group Sex Scene
  Best Scenes
  XBIZ Awards                           Best Actor[8]   Seth Gamble
  Feature Movie of the Year
  Best Actress                          Angela White
  Best Supporting Actress               Abigail Mac
  Best Supporting Actor                 Michael Vegas
  Best Sex Scene — Feature Movie
  Best Screenplay
  Best Cinematography[9]
  Best Editing
  Best Art Direction
  Marketing Campaign of the Year

  : Awards and nominations received by _Perspective_

[1]

[2]

[3]  Adult Empire|url=https://www.adultempire.com/2721778/perspective-porn-videos.html%7Clanguage=en%7Caccess-date=2020-02-25}}

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

title: Perspective (2019 film)

question: What was the reception of the adult romance drama film "Perspective"?

answer: The film was praised by those in the adult and mainstream market and received dozens of nominations from major award associations. Some porn critics have rated the film one of the best of the decade. However other mainstream reviews questioned the storyline of the film.


text:
CHARLOTTE HUSSEY is Montreal-based poet, literary critic and English professor at Dawson College. She completed her MA '79 at Concordia University, MFA '91 at Warren Wilson College, and PhD '99 at McGill University. Her doctorate thesis was on the twentieth-century poet H.D.[1][2] She also teaches creative and academic writing at McGill University and has taught on Northern Quebec Aboriginal reserves. Outside her writing life, she is also a yoga instructor and Creativity Coach.[3]

She participated in Dial-A-Poem Montreal 1985-1987.

Publications

Poetry

-   _Rue Sainte Famille._ Montreal, QC: Véhicule Press, 1990.
-   _The Head Will Continue to Sing._ Montreal, QC: Over The Moon, 2000.
-   _Glossing the Spoils._ Stroud, Glos: Awen Publications, May 2012.

[1]

[2] Carolyn Souaid and Endre Farkas, eds. _Language Matters: Interviews with 22 Quebec Poets._ Signature Editions, 2013.

[3]

title: Charlotte Hussey

question: Who is Charlotte Hussey?

answer: She is a Montreal-based poet, literary critic, and English professor at Dawson College.

question: Summarize everything relating to Hussey's education.

answer: She went to Concordia University in '79 and got her MA, Warren Wilson College in '91 for her MFA, and McGill University in '99 for her Ph.D.

question: What does Hussey teach at McGill University?

answer: Creative and academic writing

question: List three notable poems written by Hussey.

answer:
- Rue Sainte Famille. Montreal, QC: Véhicule Press, 1990.
- The Head Will Continue to Sing. Montreal, QC: Over The Moon, 2000.
- Glossing the Spoils. Stroud, Glos: Awen Publications, May 2012.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Charlotte Hussey is a Montreal-based poet, literary critic, and English professor at Dawson College. She got her Ph.D. at McGill University in '99 and taught creative and academic writing there. Some of her notable poems include "Glossing the Spoils" and "The Head Will Continue to Sing."


text:
I sit here watching her go about her day, unaware of my monstrous thoughts. How I long to wrap my fingers around her neck. Or maybe I would hide underneath her covers until she gets home from school, peek my eyes out from under the blanket and watch her set her Dora the Explorer backpack on her toy covered floor. Then, as she sits on her Disney princess chair, coloring pinks and purples, I will leap out like a ninja, not being seen or heard until I want her to see and hear me.

But, I am trapped in this cage. She mocks me with her baby talk. Her voice a high-pitched whine equivalent to the shrieks of rusted swings in which children like her swing on at their schools. She says I’m cute.

Even what she calls me, Daisy, humiliates me. Emasculates me. If I could, I would show her how cute I really am, when my nails draw blood across her chubby cheeks. How cute I can be when her blonde hair is wet and curled from tears as she cries out for her mommy. Still, to her I am a friend, appealing in every way, as a true predator is.

She wouldn’t be my first victim. Abby with her long, straight, dark hair always a mess, was my first. She was six years old and more of a tomboy than my current girl Hannah. Her mother tried to dress her in floral dresses with her hair pulled back in pony tails on top of her head, but that lasted about five minutes until a temper tantrum and tears led to jeans and her hair in her face. I never did care for Abby.

 “Princess,” shrieked Abby. To this child I was Princess. A name and a concept I loathe.  She grabbed me with her chocolate covered fingers. Chocolate from a Hershey bar given to her by her mother after giving up pleading with her to eat cereal instead. “At school today we are going to make turkeys for Thanksgiving. My friend Ashley says that she has seen a real live turkey before but I don’t believe her.”

I tried to drown out her squeaky voice and insignificant details of her life. My hands pushed against her hands but my efforts to squirm free were useless. I could smell the sweetness of the chocolate mixed with her sweaty hands. Abby was disgusting. Why anyone would want to have children I will never understand. A part of you that’s less than half your size but controls you and takes you for granted. Abby was too young to be thankful for her mother but without her she would be vulnerable, an easy victim for any predator.

“Abby the school bus is here,” her mother called out from downstairs in the kitchen. In haste she tossed me back into the cage. My back hitting the water bottle. She ignored my hurt cries and grabbed her backpack and tromped down the stairs.

One day, Abby’s mom had just finished cleaning my cage and when she placed me back in, she left the cover cracked. A visible separation of freedom or confinement. Separate. I could relate to that. A line drawn in my mind dividing reason and empathy. I sometimes wonder why I am like this. Some people say that it’s fucked up childhood experiences that shape one into an emotionless monster. I suppose that could be so.

 When I was young, the first boy I lived with, Patrick, failed to separate my father from my mother and siblings. I watched my father eat my brother and sister alive. My father would’ve gotten me as well if he hadn’t already been filled up on his own flesh and blood. It took two days for the Patrick’s mother to realize what had happened and find the tiny bodies buried in saw dust.

I guess to spare Patrick of the massacre that had taken place his mother decided to dispose of the evidence. I watched in the corner of the cage as she picked up the stiff bodies of my siblings with tissue paper and walked into the bathroom. I couldn’t see what happened; only the blue paint on the wall and his mother’s pedicured blackish-purple toenails. But I heard the plunks of objects being submerged and the harsh swish of water. My mother and I were placed in one cage and my father in another and we were taken back to the store from which we came.

 While Abby was at school I had escaped. But before I could leave she needed to get what she deserved. I knew her habits: homework, dinner, a bath and bed. I sat on her windowsill, blending in with the brown teddy bears and unicorns which were far more innocent than me. I watched as her mom tucked her in and Abby listened attentively as she was read a princess story. Every young girl loves princesses.

They long to grow up and find their Prince Charming who will sweep them off their feet and save the day. Well Abby, Prince Charming isn’t here and instead of accepting a role of submissiveness and helplessness, perhaps you should have better prepared yourself for a situation such as this.

As her mother left and shut the door and she buried her face in her pillow, I jumped off the ledge and buried my fur in her face. It startled her and she jerked her head violently back and forth, her hair slapping me in the face- a weapon I did not account for.

“Mom,” Abby screamed.

My little hands struggled to grab her neck. My nails barely broke skin. I thought about biting her nose but before I could she pushed me off of the bed and onto the floor. In her feetie-pajamas she rolled out of bed and stumbled through the dark room towards the door.

“Mom,” Abby cried again. Her breathing became raspy and as she tried to yell again only a whisper came out in between the wheezing of her breaths. She fell to the floor.

The light from a nightlight illuminated her face. I stared her in the eyes as she looked at me, terrified. Warmness filled my stomach as I watched her struggle to breath. A feeling I expect one would feel when getting a hug, or seeing a loved one; but not a feeling I have ever experienced before that night.

Her mother and father ran into the room. Abby’s eyes were still locked on me as they tried to figure out was wrong. Her father kicked me away and I scurried under a dresser.

 Soon sirens from ambulances filled the house. Abby was assessed and calmed down and after deciding it was only a minor asthma attack she was released and spent the night in her parent’s room protected between her mother and father.

The next morning Abby’s mom searched the room before finding me in the closet.

“You evil fucking hamster,” she said almost growling in a hushed voice.

Someone finally knew my secret, my urges. She grabbed me and squeezed me hard as she threw me back into the cage. As we drove in silence in the car I knew I was going back to the pet store, but I don’t blame them for being uncomfortable with having someone like me around.

That’s when Hannah came into my life. Her nose pressed up against the glass of my cage in the pet store “Mommy, I want that one.” By “that one” I’m sure she didn’t mean the one who can feel nothing towards anyone, who will never love her when she cuddles him and who can only exhibit faked emotions and forced normal behaviors.

I suppose Hannah isn’t half bad for a human. She does want me to live a normal life, have friends, exercise, enjoy myself.  First, she introduced me to Boots. I attempted to have a healthy relationship with Boots. He was a bigger hamster, and all black with a white splotch on his chest. But he was always eating my portion of the food. “Boots, I do not mind sharing my home with you, but I would appreciate it if you would share the food equally,” I explained to him. I have become good at hiding who I really am from the time spent at the pet store as well as the many months spent pretending to be a normal pet.

“Hey, Daisy, how about you mind your own god damn business,” said Boots. He looked at me and laughed-snorting a little in the process.

 Well, after all this is a hamster eat hamster world and Darwin would appreciate my applying of the concept survival of the fittest. A few days later I was walking around the cage but stopped by the wheel with my back turned to Boots. “Hey, you actually left me a food pellet over here by the wheel? Thank you. I appreciate your generosity,” I said sarcastically.

“What?” asked Boots.

“Well I was just saying that I had you all wrong Boots. You are a great guy.”

Boots squinted his eyes and shook his head. “What the hell, you are weird.” He walked over to the wheel and I pushed him down lodging his head between the wires of the wheel.

 “You know what you have done to deserve this Boots,” I said, gently rocking the wheel back and forth causing pressure to build up and release around his throat.

He began to speak but a quick spin on the wheel snapped his neck for Boots and that was the last time he bothered me.

After that there was Delilah. It was exciting to have a woman with me. The companionship was great at first, but then she started accusing me of not paying enough attention. Stuck together day after day in a cage, I don’t know how I she could have thought I was neglecting her.

“I don’t understand why you treat me like this. You never let me in. If you won’t try to make me happy maybe I should find someone who will,” she complained, her voice almost as annoying as the little girl’s that claim me.

It was the same argument every time. “Delilah,” I said. “You know I care about you. I’m sorry I can’t show it but you know I do.”

“You never say the right things, you just say something that makes you look like you aren’t the bad guy and I am overreacting but I’m not. I’m sick of this.”

I was sick of it too. Obviously my expression of emotions wasn’t as mastered as I had though. But she had to go. And when we went for a stroll in our hamster balls- her pink, mine red- and hers just happened to roll down a flight of stairs no one expected me of nudging it.

Hannah is no more threatening than me. Misunderstood sometimes, when she does things that hurt me, just as every child I have ever known has. Some days she doesn’t even acknowledge I’m there. Sometimes she forgets to feed me or pets too hard. Maybe she doesn’t know she’s hurting me or maybe she is too young to understand, just as I can’t understand relationships, or trust or love.

I could keep this girl around. Maybe it would be good for me. Every normal hamster wants a child to take care of it. Not a life lived on some store shelf in a crowded cage until you get mean and they isolate you in your own cage. Then you get old and no one will want to love you, your fur dull in color, appeal lost forever. So then they feed you to the snakes. I’m not saying a snake can’t be outsmarted, but the concept isn’t a pleasant one.

Maybe I can be normal, forget my past and try not to hurt every living thing that comes in contact with me. Or maybe I am too hopeful and being this way isn’t a choice, but a disease that that darkens your mind. Until I figure this out, I’m going to sit here watching Hannah, watching you, as an unsuspected predator.

title: An Unsuspected Predator

question: What is the central theme of the story?

answer: The central theme is rehabilitation. The narrator goes through a terrible childhood that leaves him emotionally scarred, but by the end of the story, it seems that normal life is possible.

question: What does the text say about Abby?

answer: Abby was the first victim of the narrator, a six-year-old girl who called the narrator "Princess." The name annoyed the narrator, as well as her overall demeanor (mostly her being a child). When Abby's mom left the door of his cage open one day, the narrator got out but decided to attack Abby before escaping, going for her throat. He tried, but Abby managed to stay alive - but the whole thing was chalked up to an asthma attack. Abby's mom, however, realized what's up and took him back to the pet store.

question: What does the text say about Hannah?

answer: Hannah is the narrator's latest caretaker, and she usually treats him right. Sometimes she pets him too hard or doesn't pay attention, but those are exceptions. However, the narrator can't help but fantasize about hurting her. As time passes, he gets used to Hannah. He develops a sense of normalcy around her, hoping to become a normal hamster.

question: What does the story say about Jake the hamster?


text:
I used to be a god.  It was a pretty shitty experience.

There is endless amounts of paperwork to fill out to accept vacant deity positions.  You need to have your birth/creation certificate , a valid drivers license, and proof of existence in at least 4 dimensions.

After years in limbo I finally was offered and accepted my position to be the Supreme God of the creatures living under the Ice shell of Europa.  They were fun, didn't talk back much, and for the most part just swam around looking for some tail.  However, on the first day of October in a year long past, all their fucks got fucked in the fuck hole.

**They began to question my existence.**

One wrote a book called the *"Anus Illusion"* and others began looking for deeper meaning within their own consciousness.  Most importantly they started ignoring all of the chain emails I was sending them.  I was pissed, I deleted all of them from my Facebook page.  They responded by converting the previous holy day into a day for arts and culture?

**Seriously?**

**Why do they need culture and depth of being when they had me?**

**I drilled...**

*...and drilled* ^...and ^drilled^^...and ^^^drilled

Their **anuses** until I had enough natural gas to inject into their precious home's core to make it volatile.  The water became polluted, the seas were unlivable.  Within one Jovian revolution all but 4 had perished.

Those 4 resilient creatures  packed up and left on, setting their sights on the Big Apple, New York City.

Long story short, I never pursued the after they left.  They had abandoned me as their creator and leader and I had a lot of shit to think about.  I gave them food, water, space shit, and regularly mined their assholes for resources.  They lost respect for me and left me in a state of denial and inescapable depression.

My mind has been bobbing quietly on the ripples of space time for centuries, with no contact from anyone god or otherwise.

**...**

Last week I received from mail via Western Union from my old followers.  They made it to New York and they started a television program humans of Earth watch called, "Saturday Night Live."  They told me that without my support and constant anal pressure , they would have never had the fortitude to achieve their goals.

I was proud...

I **am** proud...

**I just want to drill some anus for that silky smooth gas.**

**I had deprived myself of the one thing that truly made my life happy.**

I ^^want^^to^die...^forever...

title: I Was a God Once.

question: Describe the narrator.

answer: The narrator used to be a god. After years in limbo, they became the Supreme God of the creatures living under the ice shell of Europa.

question: Is there a conflict in the story? Resolution?

answer: The conflict of the story is that the creatures began to question their god's existence. Their god became angry and destroyed their environment, killing all of them except four. Those four moved to NYC.

question: Are there any other important characters?

answer: No other characters are mentioned.

question: How does the main character feel about the other characters?

answer: The god thinks they're fun, but rather boring. The god becomes angry with them when they start questioning his existence. After god destroys all but four of them, they move to NYC and create the show Saturday Night Live, god is proud.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator used to be a god. After years in limbo, the god becomes the Supreme God of the creatures living under the ice shell of Europa. The conflict of the story is that the creatures begin to question their god's existence. Their god became angry and destroyed their environment, killing all of them except four. Those four moved to NYC; they create the show, Saturday Night Live. God is proud.


text:
[Aston Hall, 2005 photograph] ASTON HALL is a former English country house in the village of Aston, South Yorkshire. It is now a hotel, and a Grade II* listed building.

History

Aston Hall was a large country house, in the civil parish of Aston cum Aughton.

The manor house

The original manor house was home to the Darcys, descendants of George Darcy, 1st Baron of Aston. He married Dorothy Melton, whose ancestors were the earlier lords of the manor.

Following a fire, Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness had the remains of the old Darcy house pulled down.[1] It was rebuilt in 1771–72 by York architect John Carr.[2] Holderness let it to Harry Verelst, and sold it to him in 1774–75.[3] A marble staircase was added in 1776–77 by John Platt, for Verelst.[4][5]

The Verelsts

[Ann Verelst, wife of Harry Verelst, 1773 portrait by George Romney] The Verelst family owned the Hall and most of the original Aston estate for around 150 years. The house and grounds were eventually broken up at a sale in the 1920s.[6][7]

Harry Verelst had been Governor of Bengal from 1767 to 1769, and returned to England in 1770, marrying in 1771 Ann Wordsworth, with whom he had ten children. He spent heavily on acquiring from Holderness the Aston estate, as well as the house, causing him later financial problems when his assets in Bengal could not be repatriated. He died in 1785 in Boulogne, evading creditors. William Verelst (1784–1851), born at Aston Hall and the youngest of four sons, an academic and cleric, was last in the Verelst direct male line.[8][9]

James Webster-Wedderburn rented the house. It is described as having a library and billiard room, many bedrooms, and ample stables. It was the setting of a celebrated house party in 1813, with its flirtation between his wife, Frances Webster, and Lord Byron.[10] A wing for domestic service was added in 1825.[11]

The Hall passed to Charles Reed, who changed his surname to Verelst.[12] He was the illegitimate son of Arthur Charles Verelst (1779–1843), the third son of Harry Verelst and a cleric, who inherited Aston Hall in 1837.[13][14][15]

Recent times

At one period, the house was known as AUGHTON COURT, referring to the building with later additions on the site,[16] around 1872.[17] It then served as Aughton Hospital.[18] From around 1950 it was used as a hospital for female patients with intellectual disability, called Aston Hall Institution and then Aughton Court Hospital.[19] The hospital building programme in 1966 called it an “inadequate unit”, and foresaw expansion at nearby Middlewood Hospital.[20] In 1968 it was undergoing conversion into a nursing home.[21] The hospital was closed in 1984.[22]

Notes

Category:Country houses in South Yorkshire Category:Grade II* listed buildings in South Yorkshire Category:Defunct hospitals in England Category:Hotels in Yorkshire Category:Country house hotels

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

title: Aston Hall, Yorkshire

question: Summarize the history of Aston Hall.

answer: Aston Hall was a large country house in the parish of Aston cum Aughton. It was originally home to the Darcys, who were the descendants of George Darcy. He got the home through his wife, Dorothy Melton, whose ancestors owned the manor earlier. This old Darcy house was pulled down following a fire and was rebuilt in 1771-72. It was then sold to Harry Verelst in 1775-75.

question: Summarize the transformation of Aston Hall under the Verelsts.

answer: Aston Hall was owned by the Verelst family for almost 150 years. In the 1920s, the house and the grounds were broken up for sale. Harry Vereslt paid a heavy sum to acquire the Aston estate, but he faced financial issues when his assets in Bengal couldn't be repatriated. The Hall passed to Charles Reed, who was the illegitimate son of Arthur Charles Verelst, who was the third son of Harry Vereslt.

question: Summarize the recent history of Aston Hall.

answer: Aston Hall was known as Aughton Court at one point. It later served as Aughton Hospital. From 1950, it was used as a hospital for female patients who had an intellectual disability. It was then called Aston Hall Institution and Aughton Court Hospital. The hospital eventually closed in 1984. It's now turned into a hotel and Grade II listed building.

question: Summarize the condition of Aston Hall under the current hotel owners.