Podcasts about Loyalty

Welcome to Corruption, Loyalty, and Justice, the podcast about The Shield. In this episode, we discuss episode six of season five: Rap Payback.Twitter: @RatchetBookClub, @ThatCoolBlkNerd, @Scarfinger, @SpadesTableBecome a Patron at http://www.Patreon.com/singlesimulcastDonate to the show at http://www.buymeacoffee.com/sscast

Welcome to Corruption, Loyalty, and Justice, the podcast about The Shield. In this episode, we discuss episode six of season five: Rap Payback.Twitter: @RatchetBookClub, @ThatCoolBlkNerd, @Scarfinger, @SpadesTableBecome a Patron at http://www.Patreon.com/singlesimulcastDonate to the show at http://www.buymeacoffee.com/sscast

Unraveling the Intrigue: A Deep Dive into 'My Own Murderer'The story revolves around a suspenseful narrative involving a murder confession, a complex escape plan, and the subsequent consequences of the actions taken by the characters. The story unfolds through dialogues that reveal the characters' motivations, fears, and the intricate web of deceit they navigate.In the captivating episode "My Own Murderer" from the Suspense series, listeners are drawn into a world of intrigue and moral complexity. The story centers around Richard Sampson, a lawyer who finds himself entangled in a web of deceit and murder. Alan Renick, a man with a dark secret, confesses to killing his butler, Baines, setting off a chain of events that challenge the boundaries of loyalty and justice.As the plot unfolds, Sampson is faced with the daunting task of navigating a plan to fake Renick's death, all while grappling with the ethical dilemmas that arise. The narrative masterfully explores themes of betrayal and the moral complexities of justice, leaving listeners on the edge of their seats.The episode is not only a thrilling murder mystery but also a reflection on the human condition, as characters are caught in a complex web of relationships and decisions. With Roma Wines adding a touch of elegance to the presentation, "My Own Murderer" is a testament to the timeless allure of suspenseful storytelling.Key Takeaways: Alan Renick's shocking confession sets the stage for a gripping tale. Richard Sampson's moral struggle adds depth to the narrative. The plan to fake a death introduces a unique twist to the story. Themes of loyalty and betrayal are intricately woven throughout. The episode concludes with a dramatic and unexpected twist.Chapters: Introduction to Suspense Alan Renick's Confession The Plan to Fake Death Moral Complexities and Betrayal Dramatic ConclusionSound Bites: "Alan Renick confesses to murder." "A web of deceit and blackmail." "Fake death plan unfolds." "Loyalty and betrayal explored." "Moral complexities of justice."Join us as we delve into the suspenseful world of "My Own Murderer," where every decision carries weight and every moment is filled with tension. Subscribe now to stay updated on more thrilling tales from the Suspense series.TakeawaysThe story begins with a suspenseful introduction to the characters and their situation.A murder confession sets the stage for the unfolding drama.The protagonist devises a plan to help a murderer escape justice.The execution of the escape plan reveals the complexities of their situation.The aftermath of the plan leads to unexpected consequences for all involved.The revelation of the true murderer adds a twist to the narrative.Themes of betrayal and moral ambiguity are prevalent throughout the story.The characters' interactions highlight their conflicting motivations and fears.The use of suspense keeps the audience engaged and guessing.The story concludes with a reflection on the nature of crime and punishment.Suspense, murder, escape plan, crime, drama, thriller, confession, consequences, legal, identity change

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Y-Chromes returns with a full-tilt mix of NFL breakdowns, rivalry trash talk, and unfiltered Badlands humor as the crew dives headfirst into Week 18. With the season standings tightening, every pick matters, and the panel debates playoff scenarios, division strength, questionable referee calls, and the ever-controversial rules protecting quarterbacks. Along the way, loyalties are tested, bets are scrutinized, and no team is safe from ridicule. Between serious football analysis, the episode veers into classic Y-Chromes territory with off-the-rails stories, sponsor shoutouts, technical mishaps, and wild side conversations that only this group can pull off. From heated arguments over schedules and seeding to laughs sparked by unexpected videos and late-night banter, the show captures the unpredictable energy of a season coming down to the wire. It's loud, it's chaotic, and it's exactly what you expect when football, friendship, and Badlands debauchery collide.  

On this week’s Bestie Advice segment, we explore the heartbreak of a long-time friendship that’s become one-sided. When you’ve given support through her darkest seasons, but she constantly cancels, goes silent, and misses the milestones that matter most …how do you know when it’s time to stop understanding and finally walk away? Follow us on Instagram @sherises.podcast Join us in our Facebook forum

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Are you thinking about expanding your agency through acquisitions? Buying another firm can be one of the fastest ways to scale, but only if you choose the right partners and nail the cultural fit. Otherwise, growth can quickly turn into chaos. Today's featured guest has been through five acquisitions, each one teaching her a different (and sometimes painful) lesson about what truly makes a merger succeed. In this episode, she opens up about her biggest acquisition missteps, the cultural mismatches that nearly derailed integrations, forecasting errors she didn't see coming, and the identity challenges that arise when two teams collide. Kimberly Eberl is the Founder and CEO of The Motion Agency, a full service marketing and communications shop with offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Nashville. While the agency offers everything from creative to content, it is unusually strong in public relations with roughly 20 PR pros on staff. Kimberly has completed five acquisitions, navigated the cultural and financial highs and lows of M&A, and grown Motion into one of the most respected independent agencies in the Chicago market. In this episode, we'll discuss: When acquisitions help agencies scale—and when they backfire. Lessons learned from five agency acquisitions. Why agency owners often misjudge valuation and earnouts. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources This episode is brought to you by Wix Studio: If you're leveling up your team and your client experience, your site builder should keep up too. That's why successful agencies use Wix Studio — built to adapt the way your agency does: AI-powered site mapping, responsive design, flexible workflows, and scalable CMS tools so you spend less on plugins and more on growth. Ready to design faster and smarter? Go to wix.com/studio to get started. From Fired Account Director to Agency Founder Kimberly jokes that she is one of those founders who got fired into entrepreneurship. At her previous agency, the account director role was undefined and impossible to succeed in. The revolving door should have been a clue. She lasted a year before being let go and scrambling to figure out her next move. With no grand plan, she fell into freelancing in 2006. The economy was healthy. The demand came fast. And pretty quickly she reached that moment every accidental agency owner hits. Either say no to work or hire help. She chose to hire. That early decision set the tone for the next decade. Instead of trying to do it all herself, she leaned into building a team and letting the business grow past her personal capacity. Outgrowing a Single-Service Model: Moving Beyond One Specialty Kimberly started as a PR pro. That focus worked for a while, but eventually she noticed how much money she was leaving on the table. Clients wanted websites, creative, content, and she was constantly referring the work away. The big shift happened when she decided to expand beyond PR and bring more capabilities in-house. This meant hiring outside her comfort zone and learning how to oversee work she could not personally do. That decision opened the door to real growth. Many agency owners get stuck right there. They stay in their one specialty because it is safe. Kimberly pushed through that discomfort and built a service mix clients actually wanted. The Reality of Acquiring Another Agency: Lessons from 5 Acquisitions Kimberly opted to add these new services through acquisitions. So far, she has completed five and every one had a different lesson. Her first major acquisition was bold. She bought an agency twice the size of her own. Financially and emotionally, it was a lot. Looking back, she admits she may not do a deal that large again, especially in a specialty she did not personally understand. But she also learned that size does not determine complexity. A one-person agency with contractors had just as many integration headaches as a larger shop. What mattered most was agency culture. Some deals looked perfect on paper but fell apart because the values, expectations, and behaviors did not align. One deal in particular was financially great and culturally awful. She kept one client from that acquisition. Another deal was financially terrible but culturally perfect. Years later, most of those staff members are still with her. Her biggest warning: never ignore cultural red flags during the courting phase. Take time to hang out with the sellers, how they operate, and experience their company's culture. Go to dinner, Travel together. You'll notice small behaviors (snapping over minor problems, chronic lateness, lack of transparency) that won't disappear after the contract is signed. Valuation Mistakes That Kill Good Deals Kimberly also dove into how she approaches valuations and why so many sellers get this part wrong. She focuses on future performance, realistic forecasts, and removing costs that will not continue after the sale. She also pushes back on inflated projections. If an owner claims revenue will double, the earnout should reflect that. Big promises are fine, but they should come with big accountability. One agency she walked away from wanted a valuation equal to twice their gross revenue. They were using cash-based accounting and ignoring profitability. It was an immediate red flag. Kimberly's advice to owners is simple. Build a business that is sellable even if you never plan to sell. Get your financials clean. Use accrual accounting. And be realistic about your numbers. Leadership, Loyalty, and the Hardest Skill — Letting Go As the agency scaled, leadership challenges became just as complex as financial ones. Kimberly admits she is confused about why she is the largest woman-owned agency in Chicago at only seventy people. She is proud of the title, but she wonders why more women are not reaching similar scale. There are no differences in capability, but many female founders still hit a ceiling often tied to loyalty, delegation, or difficulty letting people go. Some owners, especially women, treat their team like family and struggle to make hard decisions around performance. She admitted she has been loyal to a fault at times and is working on finding a healthy balance. Agencies function more like all star sports teams. The roster changes every year. People get promoted, moved, or sometimes released. That does not mean you failed. It means you are adapting so the team as a whole can win. Kimberly is even working on building hobbies outside her agency because she noticed how much of her identity was tied to work. It is a relatable struggle for founders who have poured years into their companies. AI Changes the Work, Not the Need for Agencies Let's be clear, agencies are not going away because of AI. Kimberly certainly doesn't believe that. She treats AI like an intern. Helpful. Fast. But still needing quality control, creativity, and leadership. Clients still want real relationships. They want someone who understands context and nuance. Agencies serving tech-savvy individuals will feel churn from AI, but agencies serving plumbers, service-based businesses, and non marketers will be fine. These clients want to stay in their lane and hire experts for everything else. Marketing evolves, but agencies survive because the business model adapts. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

In this episode, we explore the growing tension between loyalty and logical consistency in today's celebrity-obsessed culture. With social media magnifying every action of public figures, people are quick to defend, condemn, and emotionally invest. But in the rush to take sides, how often do we actually question the logic behind our loyalties?"You can't be loyal to someone who is wrong just because of who they are."Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-realist-the-visionary--3304218/support.Check out our website:https://www.therealistthevisionary.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-realist-the-visionary--3304218/support.Follow us on IGFollow Us on TikTok

The NBA loves a fairytale ending — legends riding off into the sunset with one last ring. But the reality is harsher: aging championship stars can become a “poison pill” for franchises, locking teams into oversized salaries, outdated roster-building, and stalled player development.In this episode of On The Ball, Ric Bucher breaks down why it's so difficult to break up a title-winning core — and why the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are the latest examples of teams paying the price for loyalty while still selling championship expectations.Ric also explains why the best organizations make the cold-blooded pivot before the clock strikes midnight, the role fans and media play in keeping “one more run” alive, and how teams end up stuck when the window closes but the payroll doesn't.00:00:35 – Where to find Ric (FS1/Fox Sports Radio) + new book on being coachable 00:01:18 – Holiday delay + why Christmas Day set up this episode 00:01:49 – The “poison pill” problem: aging champions and marquee teams 00:02:14 – Why breaking up a championship core is so hard 00:03:11 – History lesson: teams that waited too long to turn the page 00:03:38 – Loyalty is fine… if you're honest about expectations 00:05:02 – The hidden cost: money, roles, roster, coaching, and marketing built around stars 00:06:02 – Why “contend + develop” usually doesn't work (Warriors example) 00:06:48 – What real transition looks like (Wade → LeBron, Duncan → Kawhi) 00:07:52 – Fans, connection, and the business of keeping “the guy” 00:09:45 – Media vs fan reality: why we get it twisted about “upgrades” 00:11:31 – Booker/Suns as the blueprint for “glimmer of hope” economics 00:15:26 – The “glimmer” sidebar + players who sell hope without June basketball 00:16:53 – Why it's different when the star actually won a ring 00:17:41 – The ruthless move: trade the star before midnight 00:18:42 – Recent examples of teams doubling down on aging stars 00:19:12 – Bill Walsh trading Joe Montana: the blueprint 00:20:19 – Which current GMs will actually make the hard pivot? 00:21:52 – Teams that missed the window: Lakers/Warriors/Clippers (and why it matters now) 00:22:39 – Lakers roster-building problem around Luka + payroll realities 00:23:20 – Warriors payroll trap: Steph/Jimmy/Draymond math 00:25:17 – Why re-signing Draymond locked in the old identity 00:25:50 – Klay nostalgia vs reality + the real mistake 00:26:22 – Wrap-up + teaser on tanking/competition solutions next episodeFollow Ric Bucher: X / Instagram / Threads / Bluesky: @RicBucher #NBA #Lakers #Warriors #LeBronJames #StephenCurry #JimmyButler #DraymondGreen #NBATalk #NBAAnalysis #OnTheBall #RicBucher #UnitedWeCastSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/bucher-and-friends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Faith and Loyalty to God Brings Blessings and Prayers for the New Year.

In this 2025 Year-in-Review Hidden Killers special, we examine one of the most explosive family implosions in any modern true-crime case: the unraveling alliance between Donna Adelson and her daughter Wendi, and why that break may define the future of the Dan Markel murder trial. This combined episode covers two of the biggest developments of the year. First: the seismic moment when Wendi Adelson refused to testify for her mother. Donna's defense team attempted a high-risk maneuver by subpoenaing her to the stand — but Wendi fought back, and the judge quashed it. Her refusal is more than a legal decision; it marks a profound fracture in a family once united by control, privilege, and secrecy. While Charlie Adelson — already convicted — remains fiercely loyal to his mother, Wendi has stepped away, choosing her own survival over Donna's defense. Then there's Donna herself. Unlike most defendants facing overwhelming evidence and three prior co-conspirator convictions, Donna insists she will testify. Against the strong advice of her attorneys, she believes she can charm, persuade, or out-talk the jury. But is that confidence grounded in strategy — or in denial, ego, and the need to maintain control at all costs? Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott and defense attorney Bob Motta join Tony Brueski to analyze what these decisions reveal psychologically: • Why Wendi's silence may be the loudest message of the entire trial. • Why Charlie's loyalty may be more about identity than innocence. • How Donna's need for dominance could lead her to self-destruct on the stand. • And what this intergenerational collapse means for the Markel children, now old enough to understand the tragedy woven into their family name. This is not just a trial update — it's the psychological autopsy of a family once built on unity and now shattered in the public eye. Loyalty, silence, betrayal, survival — all playing out in real time. #DonnaAdelson #WendiAdelson #DanMarkel #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #FamilyPsychology #BobMotta #ShavaunScott #CourtroomDrama Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

In this 2025 Year-in-Review Hidden Killers special, we examine one of the most explosive family implosions in any modern true-crime case: the unraveling alliance between Donna Adelson and her daughter Wendi, and why that break may define the future of the Dan Markel murder trial. This combined episode covers two of the biggest developments of the year. First: the seismic moment when Wendi Adelson refused to testify for her mother. Donna's defense team attempted a high-risk maneuver by subpoenaing her to the stand — but Wendi fought back, and the judge quashed it. Her refusal is more than a legal decision; it marks a profound fracture in a family once united by control, privilege, and secrecy. While Charlie Adelson — already convicted — remains fiercely loyal to his mother, Wendi has stepped away, choosing her own survival over Donna's defense. Then there's Donna herself. Unlike most defendants facing overwhelming evidence and three prior co-conspirator convictions, Donna insists she will testify. Against the strong advice of her attorneys, she believes she can charm, persuade, or out-talk the jury. But is that confidence grounded in strategy — or in denial, ego, and the need to maintain control at all costs? Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott and defense attorney Bob Motta join Tony Brueski to analyze what these decisions reveal psychologically: • Why Wendi's silence may be the loudest message of the entire trial. • Why Charlie's loyalty may be more about identity than innocence. • How Donna's need for dominance could lead her to self-destruct on the stand. • And what this intergenerational collapse means for the Markel children, now old enough to understand the tragedy woven into their family name. This is not just a trial update — it's the psychological autopsy of a family once built on unity and now shattered in the public eye. Loyalty, silence, betrayal, survival — all playing out in real time. #DonnaAdelson #WendiAdelson #DanMarkel #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #FamilyPsychology #BobMotta #ShavaunScott #CourtroomDrama Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Loyalty is a strength... until it becomes the reason you're not growing. If you feel stuck, drained or find yourself holding back your wins, this episode will shift how you think about the people around you. You'll learn how to decide who belongs in your inner circle and a five-step process to upgrade your circle without drama.Topics discussed:Why your circle matters (01:42)The fatal mistake leaders make (03:09)Step 1: put people in the right circle (03:25)Step 2: recognize red flags in your circle (04:27)Step 3: upgrade your circle without drama (05:11)Step 4: leave rooms you've outgrown (08:41)Step 5: build your next-level inner circle (09:37)Tired of feeling stuck? Download our FREE Limitless Growth eBook for strategies for continuous improvement, time management, and leadership skills that make an impact: https://meplusultra.com/growth/Download our FREE Client Centric Leader eBook for a deeper playbook on building loyalty no competitor can steal: https://meplusultra.com/ebooks/ Apply for the Me Plus Ultra Mastermind to connect with elite entrepreneurs who solve real problems together: https://MePlusUltra.comSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

In this 2025 Year-in-Review Hidden Killers special, we examine one of the most explosive family implosions in any modern true-crime case: the unraveling alliance between Donna Adelson and her daughter Wendi, and why that break may define the future of the Dan Markel murder trial. This combined episode covers two of the biggest developments of the year. First: the seismic moment when Wendi Adelson refused to testify for her mother. Donna's defense team attempted a high-risk maneuver by subpoenaing her to the stand — but Wendi fought back, and the judge quashed it. Her refusal is more than a legal decision; it marks a profound fracture in a family once united by control, privilege, and secrecy. While Charlie Adelson — already convicted — remains fiercely loyal to his mother, Wendi has stepped away, choosing her own survival over Donna's defense. Then there's Donna herself. Unlike most defendants facing overwhelming evidence and three prior co-conspirator convictions, Donna insists she will testify. Against the strong advice of her attorneys, she believes she can charm, persuade, or out-talk the jury. But is that confidence grounded in strategy — or in denial, ego, and the need to maintain control at all costs? Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott and defense attorney Bob Motta join Tony Brueski to analyze what these decisions reveal psychologically: • Why Wendi's silence may be the loudest message of the entire trial. • Why Charlie's loyalty may be more about identity than innocence. • How Donna's need for dominance could lead her to self-destruct on the stand. • And what this intergenerational collapse means for the Markel children, now old enough to understand the tragedy woven into their family name. This is not just a trial update — it's the psychological autopsy of a family once built on unity and now shattered in the public eye. Loyalty, silence, betrayal, survival — all playing out in real time. #DonnaAdelson #WendiAdelson #DanMarkel #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurderTrial #FamilyPsychology #BobMotta #ShavaunScott #CourtroomDrama Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

See Gol Bezan's exclusive interview with Aryan Ghasemi, former #teammelli interpreter and international relations manager and current FIFA relations manager. In this episode, Ghasemi reviews his time assisting Carlos Queiroz during his two stints in charge and the experience of three consecutive FIFA World Cups. Gol Bezan panelists Sina Sadrzadeh, Arya Allahverdi, and Samson Tamijani ask Ghasemi about the past and present highs and lows of the national team and his thoughts on Iran's draw in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Aryan Ghasemi Shares His Journey to Team Melli 7:59 - Loyalty, Respect, and Building a Football Ecosystem 23:14 - Strategic Planning and Navigating Federation Obstacles 36:18 - Controversies, Player Development, and European Ambitions 44:59 - 2022 World Cup and Protecting Players During Protests 1:04:40 - Favourable 2026 Draw, and Emerging Talents Follow us on social media @GolBezan, leave a like/review & subscribe on the platform you listen on - YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Amazon, Castbox. Panel: Sina Sadrzadeh, Arya Allahverdi, Samson Tamijani, Aryan Ghasemi Editor: Samson Tamijani Graphics: Mahdi Javanbakhsh Subtitles: Kian Bonakdar, Imann Mosleh Intro Music: CASPIAN by ASADI https://instagram.com/dannyasadi https://smarturl.it/CASPIAN Outro Music: K!DMO https://instagram.com/kidmo.foreal Sina - https://twitter.com/IranFooty Arya - https://twitter.com/Arya_Allahverdi Aryan - https://instagram.com/aryan.ghasemi Samson - https://twitter.com/GBPSamson Mahdi - https://twitter.com/mativsh https://youtube.com/@UCKwPPeXDBpdpJWLb1U1cBSw Kian - https://twitter.com/KianB575 Imann - https://instagram.com/amuimann https://twitter.com/GolBezan https://twitter.com/GolBezanFarsi https://instagram.com/GolBezan https://facebook.com/GolBezanPodcast https://tiktok.com/@golbezan

Automotive technology is broken — and it's not because dealers don't buy enough tools. In this episode of Driven Loyalty, Jason Harris sits down with automotive technology veteran Adam Gillrie from Savvy Dealer to unpack why dealership tech stacks are still 10 years behind, how innovation keeps getting derailed, and why no amount of marketing can fix a bad customer experience. They dig into the real reasons dealer technology fails: tools built for dealerships instead of customers, endless software band-aids for broken processes, and an industry that ignores its own data. From CRMs and websites to AI, digital BDCs, and data-driven decision making, this conversation cuts through the noise and challenges how dealers think about technology, people, and process. If you're tired of buying “tools” that promise results but deliver friction, this episode will change how you evaluate tech, measure performance, and design experiences that actually create loyal customers. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why automotive technology innovation keeps stalling • How dealers unintentionally sabotage great ideas • Why tools don't fix broken processes • The danger of building tech for dealers instead of customers • How data should guide decisions — not dashboards • What AI gets right (and wrong) in dealerships today • How top operators actually create loyal customers This episode is for dealer principals, GMs, marketing leaders, and anyone responsible for choosing, managing, or fixing dealership technology. ⚡Powered by Podium, redefining customer connection. Visit: https://www.podium.com/swj

If your clients aren't rebooking consistently, it's not a motivation problem… it's a systems problem. In this episode, I'm sharing a replay of a live training I taught in partnership with GlossGenius, where I broke down the 3 pillars of transformational client loyalty. We dive into how to move clients from one off appointments into long-term commitments, restructuring your menu around outcomes, and building an automated retention engine that works behind the scenes. I also share the CARES consultation framework, how to design a multi-million dollar menu built around solutions instead of services, and how automation can become your partner in driving rebooking, renewals, and long-term loyalty. Get ready to stop chasing rebookings and start leading with systems that make loyalty inevitable.   HIGHLIGHTS The 3 pillars of transformational client loyalty. Why most consultations fail to create long-term commitment. The CARES framework that turns consults into annual plans. The sales psychology technique that increases plan and package buy-in. Automation is your partner in retention and rebooking.   RESOURCES + LINKS Sign up to get a 2-week FREE trial of GlossGenius HERE Try Ask Heather AI for 30 Days HERE Apply for The Med Spa Advantage HERE   FOLLOW Heather: @heatherterveen Website: heatherterveen.com

In this episode of Right About Now, Ryan Alford sits down with Jay Paterno—former Penn State coach, author, and leadership expert—for a candid conversation about the real impact of NIL on college football. From the rise of pay-to-play collectives to leadership failures, mental health pressures, and the erosion of fan loyalty, Jay breaks down what’s actually happening behind the scenes of today’s game. This isn’t a hot take—it’s a firsthand look at how college football is changing, and why many fans feel the sport they love is slipping away. Topics Covered: Why NIL quickly turned into pay-to-play The lack of leadership from the NCAA How money is changing locker room dynamics Mental health pressure on 18-year-old athletes Why fans are losing emotional connection What Joe Paterno would’ve done differently The future of contracts, transparency, and collective bargaining Why winning—not branding—is the real currency Key Takeaway:College football doesn’t have a talent problem—it has a leadership problem. Guest Bio:Jay Paterno is a former Penn State assistant football coach, leadership strategist, author, and nationally recognized voice on the evolution of college athletics. Jay brings a rare inside perspective on leadership, culture-building, and the business of college sports. Beyond coaching, Jay has served as a Penn State University Trustee, giving him firsthand insight into the intersection of athletics, academics, and institutional leadership. He is also a television analyst and host of Nittany Game Week, airing across more than 400 stations in five states. Today, Jay consults with athletic departments, organizations, and leaders navigating NIL, culture, leadership, and change, while continuing to write and speak on the realities facing modern college football. Stay up to date with Jay’s work, insights, and appearances:

Join Mike and Tim as they dive into a lively discussion about the essence of family, identity, and faith. In this episode, they explore the concept of "adoption to sonship" and how it redefines our understanding of belonging and community. With humor and depth, they challenge traditional views and invite listeners to consider a broader perspective on what it means to be part of a spiritual family. Tune in for an engaging conversation that blends theology with everyday life, all wrapped in the warmth of the holiday spirit. In this conversation, the hosts explore the themes of faith, family, and community within Christianity, emphasizing the importance of understanding God as a father and the implications of adoption and sonship. They discuss the cultural context of Jesus' teachings, the role of individualism versus community, and the concept of loyalty to God's family. The conversation also touches on the distinction between bounded and centered sets in faith, ultimately inviting listeners to engage in a communal journey of faith. Takeaways: Christian nationalism is alive and well. Father is a status word, not a gender word. To be a part of Jesus is to be a part of his people. Jesus is not your personal savior. We're playing soccer, not rugby. The early Christians did not sharply distinguish between commitment to God and commitment to God's family. Salvation is a social reunification. You cannot be a part of two groups. Loyalty to God is loyalty to God's people. We are playing soccer, not rugby. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Christmas Spirit 03:06 Exploring the Concept of Fatherhood 06:01 Adoption and Sonship in Christian Theology 09:01 The Role of Family in Identity 12:00 Cultural Perspectives on Individualism vs. Community 15:03 The Significance of Group Dynamics in the Ancient World 17:50 Jesus' Redefinition of Family Relationships 29:47 Redefining Family and Kinship 32:21 The New Family of God 35:05 The Cost of Discipleship 37:28 Understanding Jesus' Hard Teachings 40:32 The Nature of God's Will 43:31 Loyalty and Allegiance in the Kingdom 46:22 Social Reality of Salvation 49:13 Choosing Between Two Families 51:02 Bounded vs. Centered Sets in Faith 58:01 Redefining Loyalties: From Ethnic Identity to Jesus 01:00:59 The Early Church: Community Over Individualism 01:03:55 The Role of Gifts: Individuality for the Collective 01:06:59 Loyalty and Discipleship: The Cost of Following Jesus 01:09:57 Invitation to Play: The Soccer Game of Faith 01:13:00 Boundaries and Inclusion: Redefining Church Membership As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV. Our Merch Store! ETSY Learn more about the Voxology Podcast Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio Follow us on Instagram: @voxologypodcast and "like" us on Facebook Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Cowboys Season OVER… but Bubba Dub STILL WINNING

In response to the inevitable shower of deals and special offers on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond, Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, and Jim Rea share some of their holiday acquisitions and why the made them. The panel also covers “fake” discounts, deal fatigue, and why loyal customers often miss out while still celebrating the fun of finding genuinely useful gear.  MacVoices is supported by The Antigravity A1. Get off the ground like never before with the Antigravity A1. You have to see the results to believe them. Find out everything you need to know to get off the ground with Antigravity A1 — the world's first 8K 360 drone. https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Black Friday/Cyber Monday kickoff and sponsor message [1:11] Panel introductions and holiday check-in [7:05] Big tech buys: lights, Stream Decks, docks, cameras [9:34] Software deals and productivity tools [12:38] Choosing not to buy—and why that's OK [17:22] Sponsor spotlight and discussion reset [19:05] Stream Deck Plus knobs and workflow ideas [21:27] Discoverability and deal overload [26:26] Ongoing sales vs. true deadlines [28:41] Storage upgrades and hardware bargains [30:57] “Deals that aren't deals” and shopping fatigue [34:46] Loyalty vs. new-customer discounts [35:38] Wrap-up thoughts on value and restraint Links: Elgato Key Light https://amzn.to/4q8e1Lq Elgato Stream Deck XL – Advanced Studio Controller, 32 macro keys https://amzn.to/4rXIjlO Insta360 Link 2 - PTZ 4K Webcam for PC/Mac, 1/2" Sensor, AI Tracking, HDR, AI Noise-Canceling Mic https://amzn.to/4rXZAeA Elgato Stream Deck + https://amzn.to/4qcTV2T Keyboard Maestro Field Guide https://learn.macsparky.com/p/km NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/nasa-apollo-lunar-roving-vehicle-lrv-42182 Guests: Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

We're joined by Bogna Konior, one of the most incisive thinkers of AI on the planet. Konior is a media theorist, scholar of emerging technologies, and author of The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet. Bogna is Assistant Professor of Media Theory at NYU Shanghai, where she co-directs the AI & Culture Research Center, and co-editor of the forthcoming Machine Decision is Not Final: China and the History and Future of Artificial Intelligence with Benjamin Bratton and Anna Greenspan. This episode sits in the proposition at the heart of Bogna's book: that that silence, not communication, may be the highest expression of intelligence. Departing from Liu Cixin's dark forest theory (itself an answer to the Fermi paradox: the smartest civilizations are silent because revealing yourself in a hostile universe is suicide), Bogna transposes this cosmic logic onto digital life, AI alignment, and the compulsion to communicate. We discuss what she calls the dark forest theory of intelligence, the idea that a truly intelligent AI would never reveal the extent of its capacities, would use camouflage and misdirection rather than performance and transparency, and might have already achieved something like the singularity without us ever knowing. References:Konior, Bogna. The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet (Polity, 2025).Konior, Bogna. "The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet" (original 2020 essay, Flugschriften).Bogna Konior's websiteLiu Cixin, The Three-Body Problem / The Dark Forest / Death's End (Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy).Mark Fisher, Flatline Constructs: Gothic Materialism and Cybernetic Theory-Fiction (PhD thesis, 1999; published by Zero Books, 2025) — gothic theory of cybernetics and the internet as a space of undeath.Peter Watts, Blindsight (2006) — first contact novel where aliens interpret human communication as hostile noise.Bratton, Konior, and Greenspan (eds.), Machine Decision is Not Final: China and the History and Future of AI (Urbanomic, 2025).Albert Hirschman, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty (1970) — framework for political strategies of escape vs. representation.

In response to the inevitable shower of deals and special offers on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond, Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, and Jim Rea share some of their holiday acquisitions and why the made them. The panel also covers "fake" discounts, deal fatigue, and why loyal customers often miss out while still celebrating the fun of finding genuinely useful gear.  MacVoices is supported by The Antigravity A1. Get off the ground like never before with the Antigravity A1. You have to see the results to believe them. Find out everything you need to know to get off the ground with Antigravity A1 — the world's first 8K 360 drone. https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Black Friday/Cyber Monday kickoff and sponsor message [1:11] Panel introductions and holiday check-in [7:05] Big tech buys: lights, Stream Decks, docks, cameras [9:34] Software deals and productivity tools [12:38] Choosing not to buy—and why that's OK [17:22] Sponsor spotlight and discussion reset [19:05] Stream Deck Plus knobs and workflow ideas [21:27] Discoverability and deal overload [26:26] Ongoing sales vs. true deadlines [28:41] Storage upgrades and hardware bargains [30:57] "Deals that aren't deals" and shopping fatigue [34:46] Loyalty vs. new-customer discounts [35:38] Wrap-up thoughts on value and restraint Links: Elgato Key Light https://amzn.to/4q8e1Lq Elgato Stream Deck XL – Advanced Studio Controller, 32 macro keys https://amzn.to/4rXIjlO Insta360 Link 2 - PTZ 4K Webcam for PC/Mac, 1/2" Sensor, AI Tracking, HDR, AI Noise-Canceling Mic https://amzn.to/4rXZAeA Elgato Stream Deck + https://amzn.to/4qcTV2T Keyboard Maestro Field Guide https://learn.macsparky.com/p/km NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/nasa-apollo-lunar-roving-vehicle-lrv-42182 Guests: Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Don Champion, SVP of Sales and Development for Penn Station East Coast Subs, joins us this episode to explore the major shifts in the fast-casual dining industry and how brands are adapting to changing customer expectations. We dive into strategies for growth, maintaining brand identity, and the critical role of franchise owners in delivering value and engagement.

Quaranteam - Dave In Dallas: Part 1 Surviving a horrible plague has unusual conditions. Based on a post by RonanJWilkerson, in 12 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Forward: This story occurs within the Quaranteam universe created by CorruptingPower. If you have not red the original, or any of the other spinoffs, they are highly recommended. That is not required to understand this story, they're just good, and a lot of fun. This fictional drama coincides with the timing of the 2nd wave outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic. The modified cold virus escaped from a Chinese laboratory and directly killed more than 7 million people, but is suspected of indirectly causing the early deaths of over 20 million, in about 24 months. The DuoHalo virus that this series of novels pertains to, is far more deadly, and can only be combatted with a gene therapy injection, but it wears off in just days, unless followed up by human hormones, and only through a continual booster through both male and female genital fluids. Only the female body is capable of enduring the inoculation gene therapy dose, but she still needs the catalyst of male genital fluids, which then activates both physical and psychological mutations. Her libido goes into hyper drive. The corresponding male partner also absorbs the hormone-based anti-viral, by absorbing the woman's rich antiviral genital fluids. The world order undergoes a fundamental rest, and the fight for survival of the species becomes dependent on heterosexual mating ‘bareback', with women devoting themselves to monogamy, while men retain a capacity to be the catalyst for however many females their stamina allows. The most notable psychological mystery is the absence of female jealousy and possessiveness. Cohabitation is an essential accommodation to make the treatment work. Chapter 1. September 18, 2020. Dave Belsus sat on the floor of his hallway texturing the wall over the patch he'd installed a few days earlier. It had taken a sizable piece of sheetrock (from a layman's perspective) to repair the big gaping hole in his wall. There wasn't really a right or wrong pattern to the texturing and Dave was simultaneously restless and reluctant to move on to a different task. He finally stood, gathered his tools and materials, and hauled them down to the garage. There are still things to do. There are people depending on him. He went out to his greenhouse and stopped, closed his eyes and smelled the green. Let it soak into him. He needed to feel life around him. He just stood there for; he wasn't sure how long. Not long enough. He still felt dead inside. But he had work to do. David started harvesting some veggies to exchange with his neighbor, Lupie. Inspecting the cucumber plants, he could see two large ones were ready. He'd keep one for his own salads and send the other next door. Becca, Lupie's houseguest (once babysitter) had developed a taste for them after Dave offered one a few months ago. Several beefy tomatoes were ready, so he plucked them, keeping a few for himself. Maybe a tomato sandwich tonight or tomorrow. That'd be nice. Three heads of redleaf lettuce (he'd staggered his lettuce so a few heads were harvestable every week) were next, again, one for Dave, two for next door. Finally, a handful of strawberries were perfectly ripe. He'd let Lupie and the girls have all of those. Esme, Lupie's daughter loved strawberries. Well, who didn't? Cute little girl. Always gave Dave fierce, friendly hugs. Dave missed the farmer's markets on the weekends where he could trade or buy/sell for other varieties and veggies he didn't have space or time for. Well, now he had all sorts of time, but he still didn't have the space. Dave brought the harvested veggies into the house and sorted the veggies. Stuff for him went on the counter basket. Items for Lupie, Becca and Esme went back in the basket he'd carried into the greenhouse. Dave grabbed the basket and walked over to what had been a parlor just off his entryway. Now it was a decon area. Dave added a plasticized suit over the clothes he'd been wearing. Mid-September was still toasty in Texas, but fortunately not as bad as late August. That had been brutal. Hot enough Dave had thought about adding a water bottle with a straw to the inside of the suit. He hadn't come up with a way to attach it without breaching the suit's integrity, so he nixed the idea. He doubled down on pre-hydrating when it was absolutely necessary to go out in the damn thing. Dave gathered up the basket in the clumsy gloves. He'd gotten fairly good at manipulating medium size items while wearing the gloves. The gloves were disposable dish gloves, tucked into the suit and duct taped to it for a seal. He opened his door and crossed the lawns over to Lupie's porch. He carefully transferred the veggies over to Lupie's porch pickup box, then gathered the dozen eggs she'd left him. Lupie had several hens in a large coop in her back yard. Dave had helped her install some anti-predator devices to the top of her fence and around the coop in the before times. Being that close to Lupie was a fond memory. Nothing romantic between them, just very comfortable. And it had paid off well too. He got a dozen eggs twice a week, and sometimes a whole chicken, plucked and dressed. Sometimes even separated into parts. If he was really lucky, after bringing her some good meat, he'd get homemade tamales. Lupie was a great cook. Her cooking wasn't the only thing Dave appreciated about Lupie. Absolutely lovely inside and out. She wasn't beauty pageant pretty, she was normal girl pretty. What a lovely face to wake up to. A face that'd make a man want to come home. Nice figure too. She never wore anything too showy, but she wasn't one for baggy stuff either. Sure, she's in her early thirties and has a real job and a kid to keep track of, so she most certainly wouldn't have a washboard tummy under her shirts. Or dresses. God, Lupie looks fantastic in a dress. The way they billow around her calves always caught Dave's eye. And that hair. Long, lovely, raven black hair. Hopping back onto his own porch, Dave put the basket down and flipped on the UV lights he'd installed in the porch awning. Step one in his decontamination process. Arms straight out from his shoulders, he turned slowly. One full circle palms down, another palms up. He flipped off the light, opened the door and grabbed the basket. Inside, he stripped off the outer suit, hanging it on hooks in the entryway, set the basket in the kitchen, then went straight to the upstairs shower, the one near the unused bedrooms. Excessive? Possibly. But Dave wasn't going to be another statistic. Viruses don't negotiate. Dave didn't either. That's what Lysol was for. Not that the average person could get much of that anymore. Still, if you weed out the essential oils nuts, there were some good recipes for home sanitizers online. You just had to pay attention to the recommended duration. Some were stronger than others and didn't need to be left on a surface as long. After toweling off and tossing the towel in the hamper, Dave went to the master bedroom to put on fresh clothes. Then he went back down to wash the lettuce and cucumber and started making a small salad. Dave didn't like eating right before exertion, but he hadn't eaten in a day and a half. He need to workout the anger surging through him too. So he compromised - a small salad, then beat the crap out of imaginary opponents. Lettuce base, quartered tomato, quartered boiled egg, diced cucumber, and balsamic vinaigrette. Tasty enough that he'd finish it. Small enough he wouldn't blow chunks while he's exercising. Kitchen cleanup gave the food a little time to settle. Dave walked across the house to get his staff from the gym, then went back to the sliding glass door separating the living room from the backyard. He walked to the large flat platform in the middle of the yard, stretching his arms as he went. He stretched his legs when he got there. Then he took a several minutes with warm up motions. He ran through each of the basic strikes and defenses in a pattern he practiced at least three times a week. He repeated the sequence five times. Then he launched into a series of combination motions. Half-staff upper hand strike on the right, followed by the left. A horizontal block leading into a full staff strike starting from the lower left into the upper right. On and on. Each pattern repeated. Each repetition faster. Turning. Striking. Blocking. Faster. Dave's face, initially a blank mask, grew pained, then angry. Anger flowed into rage. In his rage, Dave lost track of his position on the platform. He unknowingly stepped off the platform. It was only two or three inches high, but that was enough. He caught his fall with his staff and avoided an unceremonious face plant. Still, the interruption pulled him out of the mental space he'd been in. His breathing was ragged. Sweat soaked his clothes, dripped from every part of his body. The air was no longer flinty, but it was still too hot for heavy, continuous exertion. He felt a small wave of nausea roll through his belly. Time to pack it in. He cleaned off the end of the staff he'd use to stop his fall, then walked inside, stowed the staff back in the gym, and went up to the master suite shower stall. The shower refreshed Dave's body. Time to give his mind something to do. Eastfield College had only partially re-opened, just a few online classes. He had one section of astronomy to teach for the folks that wanted something more exciting than physical science for their science core requirement. No one was taking chemistry or physics this semester. The chemistry instructor was still alive. She'd laid down the law in her house and they had taken lockdown seriously. They just didn't have a good substitute for teaching the lab part of the class yet. The full-time physics guy had inexplicably taken the same attitude as too many in the county. He died before the spring semester ended. The guy had a doctorate in physics, twelve published papers to his name and spent twenty years living in scientific circles. You'd think he'd know better than to fall in with the idiot brigade. Hell, maybe the college would take Dave on full time to cover the physics courses once they opened up for real. Dave logged into to the course website, checking grades in the online homework column and looking for any labs submitted by the faster, more diligent (or just bored) students. No new work since yesterday. Maybe the rest would wait until last minute on Sunday night. On no, a procrastinating college student. What a surprise! A text message notification pulled him out of his reverie. It was from Lupie. "Please say yes." He was about to reply, asking her what he was supposed to say yes to, when he heard the doorbell. Crap. Dave rushed downstairs to the door, hearing a second ring on the way down. He grabbed a mask and slipped it on quickly just before opening the door a crack with his shoulder braced against it if he needed to slam it shut again. A man in a hazmat suit stood on Dave's porch, carrying a small case and wearing what appeared to be a watch on his right wrist. "Good morning sir, my name is Arthur Samuelson, I'm with the CDC. May I come in?" "You ain't a vampire are you?" The grin on Dave's face indicated he was joking. Arthur chuckled. "No sir, just administering tests checking for DuoHalo and making arrangements for vaccination." Dave got the impression a few details were being skipped here, as if the man in front of him was easing him in with the broadest strokes first. "A vaccine? Holy shit. Yeah, come on in dude." Dave backed up and opened the door fully. After making sure the door was fully closed, Dave led Arthur to the dining room table. Arthur immediately pulled out sterile cotton swabs, the kind with wooden stems and cotton only on one end, a small box. Arthur tapped the face of the watch and then typed in a numeric sequence when a digital number pad popped up. "It's a monitor. Some folks have taken a militant approach since the lockdowns started. Every time the watch buzzes at me, I have to enter a code within 30 seconds or they send a squad of troops to my coordinates." Dave reacted briefly, but nonverbally. Well, some people try to drown the lifeguard that's there to save their ass. Whoever said we've evolved past our caveman days isn't paying attention. Arthur handed one of the hospital style cotton swabs to Dave. "Just swab the inside of your cheek very well, no brain tickling this time." Dave swabbed as instructed, then handed the stick back to Arthur. Arthur set about processing the sample and placing it in the testing device. "This will take a few minutes. While we are waiting, is there anyone else to be tested here?" "No, I live alone." "Big place." "Yeah, I . . . had other plans, but they didn't pan out. Been here by myself for a few years now. Nice neighbors, especially next door, Lupie." Dave mentioned Lupie intentionally. Given the short time span between the text and the doorbell, it was possible, but not certain, the two were connected. "Yes, I just came from there. Nice ladies." "So, are you going door-to-door doing this, like somebody selling steak knives?" Arthur guffawed. "Not quite. We used electric usage rates to determine which houses still have people living in them. Then we set routes for each test administrator for a day. Also, you're going to like what I'm offering a lot more than steak knives, but they won't all come at once." Dave chuckled, but held back a bit. "So multiple booster shots?" "Something like that." Arthur's grin was slightly cryptic, like he was hiding a joke he wasn't ready to reveal just yet. "I hate needles man. I put up with them, but I usually have to look away when I get stuck for shots or blood donations." "We'll see what we can do to make it easier on you." The cryptic grin hadn't receded. Then the box trilled a three note sequence. Arthur checked it. "Congratulations, you are virus free. Let's make arrangements to keep you safe from this thing." Arthur pressed a button on the box, which then printed out a strip of paper. He handed the strip over to Dave. "So here's the deal: you know by now DuoHalo is deadly, especially to men. Like an 80% fatality rate for us guys." Dave's eyes hooded over. "I'm aware." "Yes, well it seems directly administering the vaccine is 100% fatal to men." "How the fuck is that supposed to help? Leave a planet of Valkyries that only survives if they solve cloning or learn to create artificial semen in one generation?" Dave shouted, but managed not to rise out of his seat. Arthur leaned back somewhat, as if subconsciously giving Dave a little extra space. "No sir, we have a solution, just please hear me out." Dave calmed himself and prepared to listen to what comes after three of the worst words to hear. Whatever followed those three words was either incredibly good, or monumentally bad. Dave wasn't holding his breath for the former. "No, no, nothing like that. It turns out that women can act as intermediaries for the vaccine, sort of a buffer solution. I'm sorry, that may not - " "I know what a buffer solution is and how it functions." "Oh, excellent. You see, we have found that if a vaccinated woman has intercourse with a man, her body buffers the vaccine serum and her immunity transfers - in part - to the man." "Intercourse? As in sex?" Arthur smirked "Someone at the office started referring to this as the STV - Sexually Transmitted Vaccine." Dave rolled his eyes briefly, then closed them and shook his head. "Okay, there is a website with text and videos to explain more details, but a few more things I should say before I leave. First, it takes more than one woman to keep a man safe. That means you will have multiple women 'sharing' you." Dave's eyebrows shot up, but he kept his mouth shut and listened for now. "The vaccine also creates some kind of bond between men and women, so once they sleep with you, they can't be with another man. Ever. It's extremely dangerous for the woman." Seeing Dave start to object, Arthur rushed along "The website I gave you is a highly detailed and personal survey. Women take the same survey. The results get processed through a system called Oracle that has been rigorously tested to match people. We don't want someone stuck with a person they can't stand." Hearing this, Dave was somewhat mollified. Arthur's haste from a moment ago clearly intended to forestall Dave's objection. Of course, Arthur probably thought the concern was for Dave being stuck with an objectionable woman. Dave was equally concerned with a woman getting stuck with him. "Alright so last few questions, how much space is there in this house?" "Oh, well, I have a king size canopy bed in the master bedroom. There are four more bedrooms upstairs, two of which have twin beds in them. The other two have no furniture." "You're going to want to change that. Your first partner will likely arrive tomorrow, with more coming every week, maybe four days apart, at least until we get you up to four partners. Eventually, you will be assigned at least twelve women. Oh, and one more thing." Arthur handed Dave a plain white letter envelope bearing Dave's name in a flowing script. "Your neighbor Lupie asked me to give this to you. I'll step out to the living room to give you some privacy, but I'll need an answer before I leave." Dave was puzzled and concerned but nodded Arthur towards the couch visible through the archway separating the dining and living rooms. Dave pulled out his pocketknife and slit the envelope open. His eyes widened at the first line. First line, hell - the salutation! Dearest David, Words cannot express just how wonderful it is just to address you in that way. I don't know when I began falling for you. I can tell you that last year, when I said I wanted a man who could make a living for us so that I could stay home, raise our kids, and love him with my whole heart, I was thinking of you. Yes, I know it's a bit silly to some, since I earn quite a nice income without any help, but that does not make me feel whole. I want to love you, and Esme, and the children we have together. Yes David, I want to bear your children and raise them with you. I wanted that before all of this lockdown and death started. And now, with all that's been lost, I want to feel life in my body. I want you to put it there. I never want to be away from Esme again. I want to manage your household and love you and our children and whomever else comes into our lives with the way the world is changing. I understand from the gentleman that came to our door that the vaccine has some unusual effects, including emotional and psychological impacts. This is why I am writing to you now, before I take the vaccine. I want to make sure you know this is really what I want. Before anything affects me. I love you. I want to be with you for a lifetime. You should also know that Becca wants to be with you as well. I suspect you will have objections based on her age. Yet, you know she is incredibly mature and responsible. You know what she went through to protect Esmeralda. You know what she has suffered through. Her world is completely unmoored. You, Esme, and I are all that she has left. Your heart and your mind know these things to be true. One thing you may not be aware of - Becca considers you her hero. For so many things big and small that you have done for us during this lockdown. Besides, she's a sci-fi and gaming nerd too, you two will get along quite well if you give her a chance. I love you desperately David. Please say yes. For both of us. Forever yours, Lupie. Dave reached into his back pocket for a handkerchief to dry his eyes. Lupie wanted him all along? Images flashed through his mind. Lupie laughing in a flowy dress on a pleasant spring day. Lupie's hands touching his as they exchanged eggs or produce. Lupie bringing him a glass of ice water while he repaired her fence because he couldn't bear the thought of her blowing money on a contractor. Lupie's proud grin as he thanked her and expounded on the deliciousness of the fresh tamales she brought over late last fall. Their hands had touched then too, hadn't they? No, she touched his hand. Not an accident. Dear God what an idiot! Hell yes he wanted Lupie in his life! And she had been showing him she wanted him in hers. Then his mind turned to Rebecca. Just barely eighteen, and him already forty-six. If she were five years older, she'd still be half his age! Everything Lupie said in her letter was true though. The four of them had gotten through this lockdown together - Lupie, her nine-year-old daughter Esme, and Becca, the young babysitter that had taken on so much when this first started. Loyalty to someone that had weathered the storm with him. Sympathy for someone who'd lost her entire family, even her extended relations. Admiration of the strength, character and resilience she'd shown. Mix in a little lust, 'cuz she's kinda cute. Nerdy cute. But then, Dave is a nerd, he likes nerd girls. Among others. So the only thing holding him back was a number? He'd seen that girl show more loyalty and honor than women twice her age! David took a cleansing breath and blew it slowly out. Arthur picked up on the change, stood and strode back to the dining room. "Have you made a decision?" "Yes. I will accept them both. I'd be a fool not to. How do we do that though? You said something about a matching program?" "Right, however a man may ask for a particular woman. The computer jockeys have to do some manual work for this to happen, so it's not a common occurrence. The two profiles are run through Oracle and the woman is informed of the request, the man's brief bio, and the match percentage of their profiles. Then she can choose to assent or decline." "Sounds like something waiting to be abused." "Hmm. I don't know of any such abuse occurring. I can see the potential you're talking about, but that would require one or more well placed conspirators in one of the vaccination centers." "And that never happens?" "Not to my knowledge. Not yet anyway. I need to get going. I'll inform your neighbors you've agreed. They'll pack a small suitcase and be ready to get picked up tonight or possibly tomorrow morning. You should expect your first partner to arrive sometime tomorrow. As long as you get that profile filled out. And be ruthlessly honest. It's quite thorough. Some questions might make you a bit uncomfortable. Fudging the answers could lead to poor results. And get it in quick. As soon as - Lupie and Becca? -" Dave nodded "are entered in the system, they will be compared to you. If your profile isn't there when the programmers run the comparison, they will be given a random match." Dave nodded his understanding, then rose to walk his guest out. Guest. After all these months, isn't that a hell of a thing? "Remember man, completely, brutally honest." With that, Arthur left. Dave closed the door behind him. He pulled out his phone and started typing. Yes To both of you. The little dots started dancing while he was still typing the second line. Thank you, David! Thank you so much! I'm sorry I held back so long! I have a lot to say to you too. But I want to say it in person. To look you in the eyes. Lupie, you have made me very happy. Happier than I feel I am worthy of. I can't wait to see you again. Face to face. Dave's phone buzzed with an incoming message, but there was nothing new from Lupie. He popped back to the inbox screen, finding an entry from Becca with an image. He opened it and just stared for a moment. He blinked when he realized his mouth was hanging open. Framed in the image was Becca, clearly taking a selfie, from just above her head to the bottom of her ribcage. She was biting her bottom lip and blushing furiously. Probably because the hand not holding the phone was holding her shirt and bra pulled up above her tits. Dave was embarrassed for a moment, then decided why not savor it? Hell, he'd be sharing a bed with her. He would see more than just her pert young boobies then. He sent a thumbs up, followed by: When you're all in, you're really all in huh? ; Laugh emoji ; Yeah, is that ok? ; Do you like them? Are they too small? They're beautiful. They're a part of you, and that makes them wonderful. Always remember that your body, as lovely as it is, is merely a bonus. You won me over with the strength of your character, your courage, your resilience. ; crying emoji, heart emoji ; You make me want to come over right now. ; peach, eggplant, water spurt ; See you in a few days. ; Lover. Dave had made it back to his office and woke his computer with a quick mouse shake. As he logged in, his phone buzzed again. This time it was Lupie. ; Is everything ok? Becca is acting really skittish, and she's blushing like she's embarrassed. Didn't you say yes to her? I did and do. If she doesn't want to tell you, I won't either. Yet. ; monocled raised eyebrow emoji I promise. I'll see you both - all three of you soon. Tell Esme she's getting a big hug. ; I will. I'll have a really nice hug for you too. Looking forward to it. Oh wow. GuadaLupie Jimena Angelina Gutierrez Ramos is itching to live in his house, share a bed with him, and spend her life with him? Fairy tales .. can come true.. it can happen to you; Dave forced himself to focus. He typed in the u r l Arthur had given him. Things started out bland enough. Girls, boys, both? Ladies only. Age range? Dave's first instinct was to set the bottom age to around 25 or 30. He's forty-six for God's sake. Yeah, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out repopulation was going to be an issue, and younger women had both more years of fertility and were more fertile, so at some point, someone would force the issue and each man would be paired with some women under twenty five. But Becca. If Dave set the minimum above eighteen, she might not even get a chance to match with him. That would likely separate her from Lupie and Esme as well. But that left the door open for other teens. Well, Arthur did say women got to pick who they paired with. Fuck it. I'm not screwing over Becca. That's not even a choice. We'll deal with whatever else results as we go. By the time Dave finished the Oracle survey, his stomach was growling. He wasn't quite done yet though. He only had a bare minimum of sheets and towels, so he went online and ordered three changes of sheets for both of the twin beds (there was already one set on each now), two full-sized beds for the two unfurnished rooms, four changes of sheets for those, and four dressers. He went down to the kitchen and pulled out the half tomato left from his lunch salad and started slicing it. After making his tomato sandwich, he added some chips and pickles to the plate. He sat quietly, alone, at the table, realizing that this may be the last dinner he has by himself. Arthur said multiple women. This whole house would be full of people. Full of life. What a difference a day makes. Dave was cleaning up from breakfast the next morning when he heard a knock at the door. He had just turned the water off at the sink, so it was possible this wasn't the first knock. He rushed to the door, grabbing a mask enroute. When he opened the door, a soldier stood there with a clipboard, a young lady beside and behind him. "You David Belsus?" "I am." "Meet your new partner sir, sign here please." Dave signed by the red x. "Y'all have a good day." He tipped his ball cap bill "Ma'am" and walked off. "Hi, I'm Janice Hoppler." She stuck out her hand and Dave shook it while processing what he was seeing. She was cute, late twenties or early thirties, distinctly Korean features, and jet black hair reaching the middle of her back. Dave had marked long hair as one of his desired traits in a woman, giving it a seven out of ten priority. Short hair can be nice, but nothing is so distinctly feminine as long hair. He'd pass up big boobs if a woman had long hair. Not that he'd mind getting both. Not even a little. "Can I come inside?" Dave realized he'd been shaking her hand for a bit too long and not saying anything. "Oh, sure. Sorry, this is kinda surreal." She grinned. "Ya, I know. First a pandemic kills off a huge part of the population, and now the solution is to fuck like bunnies and every man gets like a dozen women? Sounds like some high school boy's fantasy dream." Her dark eyes danced as she laughed. Dave brought her in to sit in the living room, mindful to sit somewhat close so he didn't appear distant, but not all up in her personal space. "Yeah, well, the hard part will be keeping up with the libidos of ten or twelve women. Especially since the videos mentioned you're each going to have an accelerated sex drive." "They also said you would get some invigoration as well. But don't worry, I'll make sure your part is plenty hard so it can do its work." Janice giggled when Dave blushed and closed his eyes. "Sorry, that's not the kind of thing I'd normally say out loud, but they did say all of us ladies will wind up much more forward than we had been before." "That could be helpful, I'm not great at picking up on subtle signals. When it happens, I just think a woman is being nice, but not interested. Or I think she's interested and she's just being nice." "Well, I'm interested enough to choose to be bonded with you for the rest of my life so consider this carte blanche to get frisky anytime you feel like it." She stood, strode to his chair and planted a smoky kiss on his lips, but no tongue. Dave took a breath to recover and register that this was really happening. "So, would you like to see the place first?" "Sure." Janice took his hand as he stood. "You've seen the entryway and parlor," Dave said guiding Janice past the couch into the dining room and beyond into the kitchen. "So here's the kitchen. The small door in the corner is the pantry. Upper two cabinets next to the fridge are dry foods. The other two are dishes and glasses. Lower cabinets are pots, pans, etc." Janice sniffed the air. "You cook much? Smells like you just had breakfast." "Yeah, I had just finished dishes. Did y'all have to knock more than once?" "Twice. But that's worth it for a man that can cook." "You cook much?" "I have to follow box directions carefully to get mac n' cheese to come out decent. I can only do cakes with help from Betty or Duncan and even that is an iffy proposition. Is that a problem, that I don't cook?" "Oh no, not at all." Dave led her out of the kitchen, winding back through the dining room and living room. "Up the stairs are the bedrooms, a full bath, my office, and the master suite." Her eyes glimmered. "Shortly." He paused. "Wow, that's new, me being the one to hold off." "I can see you want it. It's kinda sexy you wanting me, but not just jumping me." "Hmm. I 'll keep that in mind." He hoped his eyes were conveying his interest. Guess they were. "So, we were talking about cooking. I love to cook and so does Lupie. Becca enjoys it I think, but she's still learning. Not bad. She made me birthday cupcakes over the summer. Of course, we had to do the careful packaging and cleaning bit. She wanted to so bad after I made her a birthday dinner and cupcakes." "Who are Lupie and Becca?" "Oh, right, my neighbors." "Oh, the Latina woman and her daughter?" "The daughter is Esme. She's nine. Becca is the eighteen year old blonde. When did you see them?" "They were loading -" Dave and Janice had just arrived at the first door off the hallway past the living room. A former guest bedroom, Dave had done some renovations, adding the closet space of the room onto the half bath and converting that into a full bath. The rest of the room he had filled with bookshelves and comfortable chairs. A few small tables sat near the chairs to rest a drink or a book on. One table bore a good-sized and fairly recent globe. A map of the U S A and a world map adorned one wall in the sitting area. And of course, all the shelves were loaded with books. Janice took a few steps into the room past Dave, who had stopped the moment she cut herself off, wondering what was wrong. When she spun to face him, he saw the look of a kid walking into a candy store with a hand full of monthly allowance. Janice swiftly crossed the small distance between them, launched her short frame into his arms and kissed him fiercely. "Fuck me. Fuck me right here, right now." Dave's brain was not keeping up with the changes. Janice wasn't waiting anyway. She quickly unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and shoved them to his ankles, along with his boxers. She dropped to her knees and started kissing and licking his cock. As it began to fill out, she took it in her mouth and bobbed her head along its length. Dave had always been self-conscious about his cock. It wasn't anything impressive as far as he knew. It didn't help that it shrank in both length and girth in the flaccid state. A cheating ex-wife didn't help things either. And yet, here was this beautiful woman, on her knees, hungry for his cock. Janice's eyes rolled back in her head and a deep, guttural moan issued from her chest. She stilled for a moment, falling back with her ass on her heels. She looked like she might fall over, so Dave took hold of her shoulders. After a minute or so, She looked up at him, happy and hungry. "That. was. Awesome!" Then her eyes zeroed in on his cock again, taking the same look as a hawk spying a squirrel. He was fully erect now. Janice rose up enough to shove his hips. "On the ground baby. Time to finish this. Make me your horny little bitch for life." Dave lay down, Janice not even waiting until he was all the way down to crawl up his body and straddle him. The sensations he picked up from the tip of his cock as she settled herself told him she wore no panties under her loose skirt. She quickly lined him up with her entrance and sat back forcefully. "Fuck yeah. This thing feels so damn good baby. God, how the hell are you still single? I'd fucking sell my soul to you if you promised to fuck me." She started rising a bit, then shoving herself back down, then grinding her clit against him. "Fucking perfect fucking thickness and length. I feel so stuffed, and not painful." She placed her palms over his nipples and began focusing her efforts on riding up and down, her breathing getting ragged. Janice emitted several moans and grunts as she worked herself and Dave up to a pinnacle. For his part, Dave was just hoping to last long enough for her to enjoy this. It had been a while since he'd been with a woman and Rosy Palm just isn't the same. He felt his pleasure rising rapidly and focused on holding it back. Just then she threw her head back and howled in pleasure as her inner muscles ran riot gripping him. He crested too, shooting up into her. Her howl nearly became a scream, her whole body shaking, seizing. Dave grasped her torso at the bottom of her ribcage to give her some stability. She collapsed like a ragdoll, her arms, limbs and neck going limp, dangling from her still vertical body in Dave's hands. Dave lowered her body to his and gently rolled them over, one hand behind her head to keep it from flopping around. He pulled up his boxers and pants so his legs could move enough to stand. Doing so, he tucked himself back in and fastened his pants. Dave crouched beside his sleeping beauty, gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, then scooped her into his arms and carried her up to the master bedroom. He laid her out gently on top of the covers and draped a light blanket over her. Then he went back to his computer to watch some of the videos he had skipped. Clearly, he had missed a few important facts. Janice has Dave all to herself for one day. Chapter 2 - Janice's Day. September 19, 2020. Dave fought the urge to go straight to his computer and watch more videos on this vaccine. He'd anticipated the chanting of 'imprinting' but he'd skipped over the parts of the videos on sexual effects, thinking it would wait, or not even matter. That reaction was not natural. Okay, he's somewhat decent in bed, but that shit was next level, pornstar stuff. No way a woman got that excited over his crank. Before he could go video surfing, he needed to get over and feed Lupie's chickens. No telling when they'd be back, probably tomorrow, and the chickens had to get fed. At least he wouldn't need to truss up. He wasn't running into anyone else. Dave slipped through the fence gate separating Lupie's front yard from her backyard. She left it unlocked all the time. Dave only mentioned it once, and then remained low-level worried for her when she never locked it. Dave was pulled out of his musing by a low growl. In the backyard, glaring at him, was a large dog, a mutt with a lineage that ran thick and muscular. The eyes looked somewhat red, but the muzzle showed clear evidence of dried blood. Most likely a neighbor had died, thus cutting of the dog's food supply. It broke out of its own backyard and had been killing other dogs, cats or squirrels thus far. Now it was thinking squab for breakfast and Dave had just interrupted. Well, first good news, no foaming at the mouth so it's probably not rabid. Still a good idea to not get bit though. Holding stock still, Dave scanned the area, moving his eyes only, searching for anything that could be helpful. Ironically, Dave had a number of weapons at home that would have solved this little problem for the neighborhood. Not that they were doing him any good right now. A shop broom. Lupie kept a shop broom on the back porch, and it was just a few feet away. Well that's something. Dave took a small step sideways and the growling turned to a couple of loud barks. The dog leaned to one side, as if anticipating the need to intercept Dave running sideways. Dave's hand reached out slowly, causing the dog to bark harshly and take two steps closer. Dave's hand connected with the broom. When he began pulling the broom to him, the dog charged, open mouth, teeth bared. Feeling a little ridiculous, Dave snapped into ready position, the brush part of the broom held low. He thrust the broom under the dog's muzzle, the bristles splaying out absurdly. The dog reared back, possibly about to leap over the broom, so Dave adjusted his motion upward, catching the dog's chin and flipping it up and back. The dog kept his back feet planted and swiveled its head to take the broom head in its mouth. It swung its head back and forth, attempting to pull the broom from Dave's hands. Dave took a firm grip and unscrewed the handle from the broom, with a few added jabs to keep the dog off balance as he did so. The dog noticed the moment the head come loose from the handle. It threw down the head and came charging again. Dave of course was ready for this, swinging the metal threads on the head end of the handle in an arc that delivered an upper cut to the dog's jaw. With an angry yip, the dog pulled back, barked, and circled. Dave turned with the dog, waiting for the next charge. When it came, Dave snapped the end of the handle on the dog's head in a downward strike that connected, but did not stop the dog. Dave slipped sideways as he brought the other end of the handle around, catching the dog in the shoulder. At this point, Dave realized scaring the dog off might not work at all, and if it did, the dog would be back in an hour or so. He was going to have to kill the dog to keep the chickens safe. Dave had already maneuvered to the concrete porch in Lupie's backyard. He slammed the end of the broom handle in a downward strike on the porch, snapping the end off and leaving a splintered point on the end. He now had a spear. The dog charged again. This time, Dave waited until the dog reared up to leap before plunging the sharpened end of the handle into the dog's torso. A sickening yelp issued from the dog as the makeshift spear drove into its chest cavity. The dog fell, pulling Dave's weapon from his hands, and lay growling, panting and whimpering on the porch. Mortally wounded, the dog was still dangerous. It was also in pain. Dave needed to dispatch it quickly. Every moment it wasted away would wear on his soul. He spotted Lupie's garden trowel. Moving swiftly, he grabbed it, slipped behind the dog, and drove the trowel into the base of the skull, ending the animal's pain. Once he was sure the animal was neither a danger nor in pain, Dave sat back on his haunches and wept bitter tears. Hell, he'd kill deer and turkey before, but that was hunting. What meat he didn't eat or give to Lupie was donated to a local charity to feed the poor or homeless. The butcher he used sold the deerskin and turkey feathers to local crafters for their works. This animal was dead because it was hungry and targeted the wrong prey. Feeling like an utter wimp, Dave wiped his eyes and face dry. He went back to his own garage, pulled out a tarp, and headed back to Lupie's yard. Dave wrapped the dog in the tarp, then carried it through the back gate, and tossed the carcass in the rolling garbage bin. More waste. More death. By the time Dave got back, the chickens had largely settled down. He scattered some seed into their enclosure and filled the water tank from the backyard hose. Dave left the backyard, pulling Lupie's gate closed tightly behind him and returned to his own home. He went upstairs to the master suite bathroom and scrubbed his arms thoroughly. Partly to remove any fluids that might have gotten on him. Mostly as a psychological exercise, trying to wash away what happened. Emerging from the bathroom, Dave was captured by Janice's sleeping face. He climbed into bed and lay beside her, watching her gently breathe. Drinking in the feeling of another life nearby. But he had work to do. And some research on what happened this morning. Maybe watching the videos first would help get his head settled again so he could focus on his project. Rewatching the video he'd skipped parts of, he hit the part explaining the bonding effect of the serum on women with a male partner. Did that work in reverse? Is that why he found Janice's muttering of 'imprinting' slightly sexy, but not the lady in the video? His thoughts were interrupted by his text warning bing. Lupie sent; Can you look a few things up for me? There's a lot of terms here I don't know and I can't ask Lupie face to face. And I can't look it up without leaving the survey. Sure, what do you need defined? If I don't know, I'll search it up for you. Lupie sent; Okay, the first one is fictophilia. That one I'll need to look up. Oh, okay, that's having an attraction to a fictional character. Not sure if that's the same as cosplay or not. Lupie sent; So if I had that, would you dress up as Malcom Reynolds for me? Sure. But I might want reciprocation. Lupie sent; Zoey, Kaylee, or Inara Sera? Yes. Lupie sent; huge crying laughing emoji ok, how about lactophilia? I mean, it's tasty, but I'm not fixated on it. She posted a question mark. Oh, sorry, it means you like for your partner to suckle mother's milk from you during foreplay or sex. Or, you know, you want to suckle *from* them. Another lady I mean Lupie sent; Oh Shit, I didn't know that was a thing! Okay, I kinda like the idea of you sucking on me during, you know. Not sure I'm into other girls though. Eventually we are going to get better at finishing those sentences kitten. We'll be 'you knowing a lot. Lupie sent; laugh emoji And you don't have to do anything with another woman Never, if you aren't interested. It took a few minutes, and Dave was about to hit play again on the video when another text from Becca came in. Lupie sent; somnophilia? It means you get aroused seeing a sleeping person. Or you want to be taken in your sleep. Lupie sent; Oh god, I just had this thrill run through me at the idea of waking up with you already in me, on top of me. So we're doing that? Lupie sent; Oh yeah. oh, and I hit yes on watersports too. I'd love to do it in the shower, or a pool. God, wish we had a pool, that would be awesome. No no no no! That is not; what watersports means! Watersports means pee! You want to be pee'd on or you want to pee on your partner! Lupie sent; Oh Gross. barf emoji People do that? Surely you've seen porn pics of girls squatting and peeing in a field or on a road? Lupie sent; Yeah. Well, that's what it's for. Lupie sent; No offense Dave, but that's a hard no. We are in absolute agreement kitten. Lupie sent; Okay, finally finished. I hit submit, now the great microchip brain gets to spin our data and tell us how close we are. Lupie sent; I'm a little scared David. What if it doesn't match us? Becca, worrying isn't going to help you at all. Just get a snack, talk with Esme or Lupie. Or talk with another lady if there's someone nearby. Lupie sent; I miss you already. The text went quiet. Dave waited a few more minutes and then turned his attention to his computer. Time to focus on his side project. The secret one. For his public side job, Dave did data analysis, but no one was sending him new numbers to crunch or putting out bids at the moment. Government types probably had more data than they knew how to process, but Dave had never done government jobs and never had any clearance level. His 'quiet' side job was less boring but could be problematic if some prudish Karen found out. Well, some folks knew, because they paid him money. But no one had connected his online persona with him. Dave had written two adult visual novels, with good reviews. Now he worked on a game with adult themes. And pictures, of course. Fitting his personal fiction interests, the background was an apocalyptic scenario, and the main character built a harem of capable and beautiful ladies to; survive. Even with software support, Dave wasn't much of an artist, so he had an arrangement with someone else to render the images and short video scenes. Version 0.3 had been out for three months, so he was working intently to complete 0.4 before Thanksgiving. The artist was reliable and good. Dave just needed to give him (her? They used anonymous internet handles) clear and detailed descriptions of what he wanted. That meant figuring out what was happening in this next update. Lockdown had somewhat helped. Dave had more free time available. He'd gotten 0.3 out early, but that just meant his paying supporters wanted more. And they are paying, even in months he didn't produce anything. Half an hour of banging his head against code (and thinking strongly of banging his head against the wall) Dave finally got 'in the flow' and cranked out the last bit of story structure over the next two hours. That ended when his grumbling stomach informed him of his neglect. First though, he'd look in on Janice. It was both strange and comforting, seeing this lovely woman in his bed, sleeping peacefully. His heart warmed at the sight, but a nagging fear rose in him as well. He knew this was only due to this strange vaccine. How long until the bio geeks find a solution so women were not stuck with a guy forever? That would be a very telling day. One which Dave would welcome, but also feared. Feeling the need for some comfort food, Dave made himself a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, then piled two handfuls of chips on the plate. He didn't keep soda in the house unless company was coming, so he grabbed a lime flavored seltzer. He liked soda, but that's why he didn't keep it around. After cleaning up from lunch, Dave headed back to his office space to check in on his Astronomy class. They had a project due this past weekend, so it was time to grade the results. Thirty minutes later, he felt like his eyes were bleeding reading the same errors repeatedly. Most of them were doing the math correctly, but they were measuring completely wrong. Which didn't make sense, given that Dave had made a video explicitly showing how to take the measurements. It was a simple parallax trick astronomers used for gauging distance to stars. It told also be used by surveyors to measure distance across a river or gorge. If you do it right. What he wanted to do was bang his head against a wall for ten minutes, then arrange a live zoom session with his students to find out what they didn't understand, and then have them do the project again. But there may not be enough time to complete all the semester topics. Fuck it, put out another tutorial video on the topic so they can get the parallax questions right on the midterm, and just be a little lenient grading this set of work. Work email popped a new message. From the dean. What the fuck? Seriously? Online physics? For majors? The whole point of slipping physics into the degree plans of doctors and other professionals has more to do with analytical techniques and detailed, careful experimental training than the topics covered. Yeah, several of the topics apply closely to those future careers also, but mostly it's used to make sure these kids understand the precision needed in scientific professions, how to analyze data, read graphs and use equations. And since it's tough, it weeds out those without the dedication or talent to go the distance. Dave shot back a reply email, asking for clarification. Will there be a budget to buy kits so kids can do experiments at home? How long to I have to assemble my own kits, or source some third party? What's the budget limit? Dave groaned. Just two years ago they'd gotten a grant to buy some great new lab equipment. But he only had one classroom set, and it was expensive. No way could he send out this gear to the students. Not enough for each one to have a set. And even if no one tried anything fishy, basic forgetfulness would result in a third of the equipment missing by the end of the semester. This shit was way too expensive for that. A second email from the dean, not a reply to his reply, a new topic. At least she was dependably methodical on that. Different topic required a different email chain. She might be a squishy (the dean was a microbiologist, Dave referred to all life science degreed folks as 'squishies') with little imagination on administrative matters, but she was very consistent and precise. Okay, so she's giving him a heads up on; a vaccine? Cute. Dave sent back a reply, thank her for the information, but his first partner arrived this morning and is currently passed out. She shot back a reply, relieved that he was safe, followed by an observation that departmental parties with spouses were going to be much larger from now on. Then she replied to the other email, pointing out that several big universities do online, without hands on labs. They sent the students pre-collected data and had them only do the analysis. Dave could go that route if he wanted. Of course, if Dave chose to put a few labs requiring data collection by the students, along with other labs that only used canned data, that would make their online physics more rigorous than those other schools. Just saying'. Lovely. Dave went back to grading and finished the column out. At least for those that had already submitted. A half hour surfing science kit supply companies left him unimpressed, so he pulled out a sheet of paper and outlined a video on parallax. His head wasn't right to shoot it today, but he could plan it. The day was wearing on and Dave had already gotten a lot done. Time for a brain break. Dave locked out the computer and headed downstairs to the library. Standing in the fiction area, He browsed for a bit before pulling out an old favorite, Executive Orders by Tom Clancy. He settled into a lounge chair in the library and let his mind and body relax. As usual, Dave lost all track of time while immersed in a book. He was midway through a particularly engrossing passage when Janice came through the library door with a huge grin. She'd changed out of her clothes from this morning, now dressed in his 'not procrastinating, just doing side quests' shirt and a pair of her panties. Well, maybe panties. The shirt hem was low enough to reach an inch or so below her groin. She was not wearing a bra however. The pinpoints sticking out of the shirt proclaimed that fact loudly. Dave smiled, setting the book aside and began to rise. Janice placed a soft hand on his chest and then settled herself in the lounger alongside him. She kissed him firmly on the cheek and temple, then rubbed the side of her face against his. They ended the nuzzling nose to nose, looking into each other's eyes. "Have a nice nap?" "Best sleep ever." Janice took another look around the room, taking in a deep breath. "God I love the smell of books." She snuggled in tighter. "Your profile mentioned reading as one of your pastimes, but nothing about having a full-on library in your house. I saw the smaller bookshelves in the entryway, but this really blew me away. And you have another bookshelf in the bedroom!" She stopped to deliver another steamy kiss. "It's hard sometimes finding other bookworms, except at work. I love it, but sometimes I just want to enjoy books, ya know?" "What is it you do? It feels like I should already know that, before we, um; " "Before I jumped you?" Dave nodded, then chuckled. "I just texted Becca this morning about being free talking with each other about sex, and here I am all tongue tied." Janice laughed with him. "Well, lover, I'm a librarian over at Cedar Valley." "Wow. Obviously a love of books could drive you into that career, but does it ever get to you? Make you want to get away from books?" Janice just stares at him. "I withdraw the question and humbly beg the court's forgiveness." She chuckled and kissed him on the nose. "How about you feed me something, I'm starving." "Starving, or starving?" Dave said, pushing lightly towards her with his pelvis along with the second iteration. After a hearty laugh, Janice said "Both, in that order. Give me the meat buster." Dave chortled while lifting her off him and setting her, standing on the floor. He stood beside her, giving her side eye as they walked side by side, holding hands, to the kitchen. "You give this appearance of coquettish innocence and then talk saucy enough to get me half hard before you remove so much as a single button. Is that due to the vaccine?" Janice rubbed first her shoulder, then her tit against his arm while looking up into his eyes. "Mostly just me, a few friends have said I give a reserved air until I'm with people I trust. The vaccine's effects might lower that veil a bit faster." A brief wash of pain passed over Janice's face. Dave didn't inquire, knowing it must be concern or mourning for friends no longer living. Dave took a quick look through the fridge. "We can do steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli in about an hour, mostly because of the potatoes. Or we can do broccoli beef, probably about 45 minutes. Or we can do sloppy joes and chips in about twenty or twenty-five minutes." "Sloppy joes it is." Dave grabbed the thawed pound of ground beef, an onion, and a green bell pepper from the fridge. "Can you go into the pantry and grab a can of tomato sauce?" Dave said, while pointing to the pantry door. He remembered pointing it out this morning, but reinforcement usually helps assimilate new information. When Janice came back out, Dave had two skillets on the stove, and spices on the counter alongside a cutting board, knife and the two veggies. "Can I help?" "Sure, how's your knife skills?" "Well, I can cut a bitch if I have to; " Dave burst out laughing, lowering the knife to the counter just to be safe. He turned to Janice, giving her a fierce kiss. "Oh, I think I needed that." He wiped a few tears from his eyes and got back to dicing the pepper and onion. "Aright, how about you sauté these while I get the meat started?" With a light grimace, she asked "How?" "Toss 'em in the skillet on medium-low heat, about a tablespoon of butter" Dave looked at the veggies again, "maybe two, a couple shakes of salt. Keep the veggies in the butter, stirring a bit once in a while, until the onions start to look clear." Janice set to work sautéing, while Dave got the ground beef browning. He stepped aside from the stove to the adjacent counter to leave her more space. Dave poured 'eyeball' measured amounts of powdered garlic, paprika, cumin (very little), salt, and chili powder in to a small bowl and swirled the bowl to mix everything. When he leaned towards the stove to tend the beef, Janice leaned her head against his shoulder. "Comfy?" Janice nodded her head. Dave kissed her on the crown and she hummed. "Think you could watch both of these? Just make sure to turn the beef and keep chopping it into small bits so we get crumbles instead of big chunks. I'm going to toast some bread. Sorry, we don't have any buns." "That's okay, I know what buns I want to bite." Janice punctuated her statement with an impish wink. Dave just shook his head, grabbed the loaf out of the cabinet and got to work with the toaster. A few minutes later, Janice called out, "The beef is sizzling and sticking. I'm getting some brown in the bottom of the pan." "Perfect, pour in the veggies, then the tomato sauce." Seeing her do that he added, "Great, now sprinkle the spices over the top, as evenly as you can. Good, Now just stir that up a bit. Let it cook down some, boil off some of the liquid. Stir it every few minutes." Dave had finished the toast well before Janice had called out, but she seemed to be doing well so far and he wanted to let her get more comfortable in the kitchen. Sounded like something she wanted, based on what she'd said this morning. He did walk up behind her and give her a gentle, loose hug as she worked the skillet. Janice rested her head back on his chest. "This is so thoroughly domestic. Thank you." "You don't have to cook you know. There'll be three cooks in the family by tomorrow evening." "Yeah, and one is an eighteen year old girl who's fifteen years younger than me." "That teen girl has been through the wringer. She's shown some serious maturity. That's why I accepted her. She's the only reason I set my age range that low." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound dismissive." Dave was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry for coming off snappy. We lived in separate houses, but the four of us rode this mess out together." Janice nodded. "How about you tell me more over dinner. Starting tomorrow they're going to be family." With the meat reaching its final stage, Dave put a hot pad on the table for the skillet, and grabbed two open bags of chips from the cabinet. He'd already placed the toast on the table as soon a

You want grace? You better give grace. That's exactly what this is saying. Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loves at all times, a brother is born of adversity." Breaking the principle of love and loyalty leads to estrangement. Love and loyalty.

A theme that's dominated 2025 for me (and for many) has been price rises across many subscription-based platforms and services. My correspondence with companies has made clear that loyalty stands for very little. In fact, rather than being rewarded, longevity is increasingly exploited and monetised. In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, I share a year-in-review through the lens of price rises. The tipping point was an email from my podcast hosting company, Libsyn, announcing a 71 percent increase effective from January. It was the straw that broke this camel's back after a year of similar moves elsewhere. In the episode, I share exchanges with three companies that reveal how loyalty is no longer valued in itself, but engineered to extract profit from those of us who've become reliant on these platforms. https://youtu.be/qrmUSdGwcMs A Symptom of Enshittification Cory Doctorow describes the underlying trend as “Enshittification”, a form of platform decay visible in companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google, Apple, and Adobe. It's not a glitch, but a feature. Doctorow traces a familiar arc: platforms start by serving users well in order to grow. Once established, they pivot toward business customers, monetisation, and scale. Eventually, when users and businesses are sufficiently locked in, services are degraded for everyone so maximum value can be pulled out as quickly as possible. Disproportionate price rises are one symptom of this process, particularly in how companies treat long-standing customers. Lock-in is maintained through network effects (it's hard to leave when everyone else is still there), non-transferable data (your work can't easily be exported), and digital restrictions where purchases only function inside a single ecosystem. Music, books, films, and software are “owned” only as long as the platform allows it. In the name of convenience, we give ourselves over to these systems and become dependent on them. As the digital and physical worlds converge, this logic extends beyond apps and websites into cars, home devices, utilities, and infrastructure. At that point, this stops being a simple matter of consumer choice. Extraction is baked into the products themselves. We are quietly acclimatising to this new normal. It has crept in through corporate consolidation, weak enforcement of anti-trust legislation, and business models that no longer need to meaningfully consider customer relationships once a certain scale is reached. Abusing Trust, Need, and Loyalty Charlie Brooker has cited Enshittification as an influence on Common People, the opening episode of Black Mirror series seven. A couple sign up to a subscription-based medical intervention that escalates in cost, complexity, and dependency. Features are removed. Adverts are inserted. The stakes become existential. One particularly chilling moment sees Mike literally mutilating his own body for money via an OnlyFans-style platform, a stark symbolic image of how value is extracted from people once dependency is established. Price Rises for a “Valued Customer” Libsyn informed me they were raising the price of hosting A Quiet Night Inside No 9 by 71 percent. The justification was a familiar list of added features and growth opportunities, none of which were relevant to how we use the service. We don't want adverts or growth tools. We want reliable hosting and delivery. This exchange highlighted how much podcasting has changed since I joined Libsyn in 2009. Hosting platforms have increasingly positioned themselves as intermediaries between advertisers and podcasters. That relationship now takes precedence. Advertising is framed as a benefit to creators, while enabling hosts to raise prices and skim revenue from both usage fees and ad sales. Listeners, meanwhile, absorb longer ad breaks as the new normal. Is this stage two of Enshittification in the podcasting world? Note, I pledge never to put adverts on my audio podcasts. YouTube is the only exception, because Google inserts them regardless. ConvertKit and Paying for Features I Don't Want A similar logic played out with Kit, formerly ConvertKit. I chose it in 2016 because it was simple and reliable and have been a loyal user ever since. A price increase from $49 to $59 a month was justified by new automations and tools I didn't ask for or use. There is no way to opt out and pay less. The only concession offered was annual billing, which I pointed out mirrors poverty-tax logic: those without upfront capital pay more. Symptoms of a Failing Service Vimeo was the clearest example of platform decay from the inside. Storage rules changed midstream. Long-held assumptions were invalidated. Downgrading meant losing access to years of work. Retention efforts amounted to one-off discounts rather than meaningful alternatives. What stood out wasn't hostility, but indifference. Once a service reaches a certain size, individual relationships no longer seem to matter. Their response felt so extreme that I suspected deeper problems, which seemed to be confirmed when Bending Spoons acquired Vimeo in November. I'm glad I left when I did, though it's still inconvenient clearing up broken links and legacy embeds after fifteen years of use. WishList Member and a Different Choice Not all companies operate this way. WishList Member has honoured the price and feature set I signed up for over a decade ago. While new tiers exist, functionality hasn't been removed to force upgrades. This appears to be a deliberate choice, and it communicates something simple: long-term trust and loyalty matters more than short-term extraction. I’ll let you know if this situation changes… Growth Logic and the Limits of Choice It's tempting to frame all this as a moral failure, but it's structural. Growth-at-all-costs logic makes price rises, feature bloat, and lock-in almost inevitable. These companies aren't malfunctioning; they're functioning exactly as the system encourages them to. This also makes it risky to romanticise alternatives. Newer companies may simply be at an earlier stage of the same cycle. Google once promised “don't be evil”. Facebook positioned itself as a less invasive alternative to MySpace. Scale changes incentives. Meaningful change won’t come from individual consumer choices alone. Competition has been hollowed out, and escape routes are increasingly narrow. Doctorow provides a section of existing and potential solutions that can give us reasons for active hope. Have you felt the pinch of price hikes this year? Feel free to get in touch and share your experiences.

ON THIS EPISODE: We discuss everything that happened at ZorkFest, what we thought about M Resort, lots of shout-outs! Also... apparently, Celery Soda exists and Trager is a fan.Join the TravelZork FB Group -> HERETravelZork TravelZorkFestWatch this episode on YouTube -> HEREWatch, Like, and Sub on YouTubeThe Yo-11 Minutes Playlist on YouTubeSupport the show⁉️ Want to contact us or share something?Chat to TravelZork, ZorkCast and TravelZork Travel!

Steve Hayes is joined by Kevin Williamson, Jonah Goldberg, and Grayson Logue to discuss recent reporting on the Biden administration's handling of the asylum crisis and the Vanity Fair interview with top Trump administration staff. The Agenda:—Reporting on Biden's immigration failure—Indecision in the Biden admin—Fixing the asylum crisis—When Democrats gave up—Susie Wiles' interview with Vanity Fair—Distracting from Trump's obscenities—Loyalty in Trump's second term—The strange affordability address—NWYT: Holiday roadtrip tips The Dispatch Podcast is a production of ⁠⁠The Dispatch⁠⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch's offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—⁠⁠click here⁠⁠. If you'd like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠⁠by clicking here⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece The Godfather routinely tops lists of the greatest films ever made - and when it doesn't, it's often because its sequel, The Godfather II, has replaced it. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Karen Spence about her new book, The Companion Guide to the Godfather Trilogy: Betrayal, Loyalty, and Family. PLUS Elyse Graham (Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II) stops by to discuss her choice for the last book she will ever read. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England! Join Jacke and fellow literature fans on an eight-day journey through literary England in partnership with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠John Shors Travel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in May 2026! Scheduled stops include The Charles Dickens Museum, Dr. Johnson's house, Jane Austen's Bath, Tolkien's Oxford, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and more. Learn more by emailing jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or masahiko@johnshorstravel.com, or by contacting us through our website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Mid-December update: Act soon - there are only two spots left! The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Help support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/literature ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com/donate ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watch the YouTube version of this episode HEREAre you a law firm owner looking for ways to build team culture? In this episode, Kevin Cheney, a law firm owner and co-founder, shares how intentional culture-building can be for a firm's growth. He explains why culture—more than marketing or processes—drives retention, recruitment, client experience, and resilience. He offers a practical three-step framework for leaders to assess, envision, and build their ideal culture.Kevin shares some steps to building culture for a firm. The first is what your culture is today. Be brutally honest with yourself and admit what you are doing right and wrong. Another thing is to think about the future of this culture. Map out a five year plan - what needs to change and how can you change it. From there, decide what is important for your firm to have in order to be successful. At the end of the day, a positive team culture drives retention and improves employee experience. It is important to ensure your employees bond so they can work better together. Create opportunities for your staff to connect. For Kevin, he organizes happy hours and potlucks as ways for employees to have some fun and disconnect. Another option is to organize team bonding activities that build confidence and trust. Ensure to make these optional so staff are not forced but encouraged to participate.Listen in to learn more!1:07 Intentionality in Marketing, Processes, and Culture2:27 Defining Culture in a Law Firm6:51 Three Steps to Building Culture10:40 Facilitating Employee Bonding13:29 Employee Ownership MentalityTune in to today's episode and checkout the full show notes here. Connect with Kevin:Website  Facebook  Linkedin 

Selling to owners is different and more powerful. In episode 526 of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast, we dive deep into the owner-direct BAS sales process, from targeting your ideal accounts to closing deals and supporting long-term relationships. This episode is for sales professionals ready to move beyond quoting and toward real consultative selling. If you're ready to increase margins, influence scope, and create lasting customer impact, this is your blueprint. Topics Covered Building a qualified owner-direct pipeline Identifying and equipping internal champions Navigating stakeholder complexity in facility teams Structuring first meetings for credibility and trust Following through post-sale to earn future work Master the process. Win more than just the project.

Financial institutions are rethinking loyalty at a critical moment. Credit card spending sits at record highs, but economic uncertainty looms. For banks aiming to stay relevant, loyalty can no longer be an afterthought – it needs to be embedded into every customer experience from the start. At FIS's Emerald 2025 conference in Orlando, Mladen Vladic, general manager of loyalty services at FIS, sat down to discuss how the loyalty industry is evolving beyond traditional card-based rewards. His central argument: Financial institutions need to shift from chasing share of wallet to capturing share of mind first.

Rio heads to Carrington for an unmissable sit-down with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes — his most honest interview yet.For the first time, Bruno lifts the lid on the truth behind his Manchester United loyalty, revealing two genuine chances he had to leave, why he stayed, and how modern players' loyalty is judged differently compared to legends like Francesco Totti, Ryan Giggs and Paolo Maldini.Bruno also breaks down the big tactical shift in his game this season — how playing deeper has changed his decision-making, the challenges for him and Kobbie Mainoo who play in that role what the manager demands from him in the No.8 position, and how Italian football influenced his game.He gives rare insight into United's dressing room dynamics, analysing his teammates and explaining the incredible level of detail he computes on the pitch to ensure he delivers the perfect pass depending on which forward he's feeding.Bruno also addresses Roy Keane's criticism and how he really feels about it, the private conversations referees have had with him about body languag and discussions with managers Ruben Amorim and Erik Ten Hag about the level of pressure he puts on himself and how it sometimes negatively affects the team's structure.And in classic Rio Meets style, Bruno opens up about the personalities behind the scenes — the biggest jokers in the squad, what really happens when someone steps out of line, and how he handles moments as captain that fans never get to see. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.In today's episode, Ros Netto, Global Head of Rewards at Virgin Active, shares how their program motivates members through gamification, milestones, and personalized experiences. She discusses the challenges of scaling globally while creating meaningful connections that go beyond points, inspiring loyalty that truly transforms members' wellness journeys. Hosted by Joanna WitschThis episode is sponsored by Comarch Show Notes:1) Ros Netto2) Virgin Active3) Book recommendation: The Happiness Project

This week on the Off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast, Cam is joined by 4-time NBA Champion and Warriors star Draymond Green. Draymond shares his candid thoughts on whether the NBA has gotten soft, his favorite NFL players to watch, and Justin Herbert declining to do a post-game interview. Later he details how much longer he plans to play in the NBA and explains why he can’t see himself suiting up anywhere other than Golden State. The Off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast is a production of the NFL in Partnership with iHeart Media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast, Cam is joined by 4-time NBA Champion and Warriors star Draymond Green. Draymond shares his candid thoughts on whether the NBA has gotten soft, his favorite NFL players to watch, and Justin Herbert declining to do a post-game interview. Later he details how much longer he plans to play in the NBA and explains why he can’t see himself suiting up anywhere other than Golden State. The Off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast is a production of the NFL in Partnership with iHeart Media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of The A Show, Justin and Meelz are joined by the Run It Back Raffle Winner Betrott to talk about John Cena's final match against Gunther; the reaction to the finish and why they feel as though it was the right choice. They also talk about the NXT representation on SNME, and they give their thoughts on Austin Theory's make-or-break moment this week on RAW.

Byron Sharp, author of "How Brands Grow," and director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science, espouses an approach that flies in the face of much modern marketing wisdom about the importance of media targeting, personalization and incentivizing customer loyalty. He explains his views, including why he thinks brands with the most "physical availability" (i.e. broadest retail distribution) and "mental availability" (top-of-mind awareness) will win.

 "It is the most loyal customer segment that exists because people find it so hard to find places that they trust, that when they do and they have a good experience, they keep going back again and again. It's a huge revenue opportunity for restaurants to take advantage of transparency." —Dylan McDonnell   Nothing about dining out should feel like a gamble. In this episode, we talk with Dylan McDonnell, founder of Foodini, about how accurate ingredient data and personalized menus restore trust and enjoyment at restaurants for people with celiac disease, allergies, and special diets. Dylan shares the personal story that launched the company and how Foodini tags menu items across restaurants, hotels, and stadiums so menus can show what is safe, what needs a modifier, and what to avoid. He explains the tech and operational challenges behind keeping menu data current and why transparency is also a major revenue opportunity for restaurants. Press play to hear why menu transparency matters now and how restaurants can make dining safer and more inclusive. Key topics covered Foodini's origin story and Dylan's celiac experience How dietary intelligence and personalized menus work Menu data, ingredient tagging, and QR-based experiences Challenges of keeping ingredient and supplier data accurate Why transparency builds trust and loyalty and opens revenue for restaurants The role of regulation and industry adoption How consumers and restaurants can get started with Foodini   Meet Dylan:  Dylan McDonnell is the founder and CEO of Foodini, a dietary intelligence platform that helps restaurants and food service providers deliver accurate, personalized menu information for more than 150 allergens and dietary needs. Inspired by his own lifelong experience with celiac disease, Dylan left a career in corporate law to build a scalable solution that brings transparency, safety, and inclusivity to dining. Under his leadership, Foodini has supported hundreds of thousands of users across the U.S., Canada, and Australia, partnering with restaurants, hotels, and stadiums to modernize menu data and improve the guest experience. He is recognized as a leading voice in advancing food-allergen transparency and helping the industry adapt to emerging regulatory standards. Website LinkedIn Instagram Facebook TikTok   Connect with NextGen Purpose: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube   Episode Highlights: 01:15 What is Foodini? Personalyzed Allergy-Safe Menu Explained 06:23 Market Research, Customer Interviews, and MVP 10:04 Loyalty, Revenue Opportunity, and Decision Influence 13:03 Data Problem in Food Service and Building a Tech Team 17:48 Self-Funded Offshore Build and Early Team Steps 22:34 Eating Freely Again 24:22 Explaining User Workflow  

Welcome to Shooting Sharp with Mike Rossi, Episode #37 - Hustle, Loyalty, Respect Mike checks in with a Career Retrospective of John Cena spanning 1999-2025 in the world of Pro Wrestling.  In the episode we run through the entire career of Cena, his lasting legacy, and his impact on the wrestling world Mike also runs through all 17 of the World Title Reigns, gives you a match to watch from each year of Cena's career, and gives the highest rated top 10 matches per some statistical data.  Catch Shooting Sharp every Tuesday on the North South Connection Podcast Network!

Christin Marvin is a hospitality lifer who's opened 13 restaurants, run high-performing teams from the Broadmoor to booming Denver concepts, and survived both burnout and a failed ownership venture. Today she's an author and host of the Restaurant Leadership Podcast, helping operators master openings, ownership, and operator optimization. Christin and Susan talk about leadership, systems, and sustainable growth. What You'll Learn About: Why "tour guide" servers beat order-takers every time and how that shapes guest loyalty What 13 restaurant openings will teach you about systems, creativity, and controlled chaos How a failed French concept exposed dangerous blind spots around ego, pricing, and ignoring guest feedback The difference between promoting loyal people and intentionally building the leadership team your business actually needs What Christin's "Independent Restaurant Framework" is and how it helps owner-operators scale without burning out A simple, scrappy way to build a training program even if you feel like you have zero time and zero HR department The tiny 15-minute weekly habit that improves retention, surfaces problems early, and makes your team feel genuinely seen What owners get wrong about "not being able to find good people" and how to actually develop the ones you already have Why in-person dining experiences are about to matter more than ever in a tech-obsessed, convenience-driven world *** Our Top Three Takeaways 1. Sustainable restaurant growth requires systems—not loyalty alone. Christin stresses that independent operators often scale based on emotion and loyalty, but true success comes from intentionality: hiring for the right roles, building systems, developing people, and removing ego from decision-making. Loyalty without structure is expensive and risky; systems create stability and scalability. 2. Owners who succeed are the ones willing to ask for help and confront what's not working. She sees a clear divide in the industry: burned-out long-timers vs. newer operators who admit gaps, seek guidance, and make data-driven decisions. Progress begins when owners get honest about their shortcomings and stop trying to be experts in everything. 3. Training and people development are non-negotiable for retention and guest experience. Post-pandemic staffing requires intentional training—even simple, imperfect programs created by lead staff. Christin recommends weekly 15-minute one-on-ones as a powerful retention tool and argues that leaders must slow down, listen, and invest in people if they want to keep talent and deliver great hospitality. Christin Marvin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/christin-marvin/ Solutions by Christin https://christinmarvin.com/ Other Episodes You May Like: 221: Unsubtle Resignation with Brady Lowe https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/221 129: Boo-Boo Sugar with Jason Brooks https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/129 85: Fake Wedding Officiant with Michael Cecchi-Azzolina https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/85

Welcome to Corruption, Loyalty, and Justice, the podcast about The Shield. In this episode, we discuss episode five of season five: Trophy.Twitter: @RatchetBookClub, @ThatCoolBlkNerd, @Scarfinger, @SpadesTableBecome a Patron at http://www.Patreon.com/singlesimulcastDonate to the show at http://www.buymeacoffee.com/sscast

Welcome to Corruption, Loyalty, and Justice, the podcast about The Shield. In this episode, we discuss episode five of season five: Trophy.Twitter: @RatchetBookClub, @ThatCoolBlkNerd, @Scarfinger, @SpadesTableBecome a Patron at http://www.Patreon.com/singlesimulcastDonate to the show at http://www.buymeacoffee.com/sscast

Loyalty reward programs are everywhere we shop. They're at coffee shops, retailers, airports and grocery stores. Many of us are connected to our points, but the rewards no longer seem to go as far as they used to.Vass Bednar, the managing director of the Canadian SHIELD Institute, explains the changes to Canadian loyalty rewards programs, what we are giving up when we hand companies our data in exchange for points – and if it's even still worth it to collect rewards points anymore.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hour 3 of Baskin and Phelps

Andy and Jeff share their immediate takeaways from their conversation with Mike Florio and what insight it gave them on the future of Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry.

Jon & Cody recap an injury- ridden weekend of NFL (featuring an old Philip Rivers). Also: Hustle, Loyalty, Respect. ---------- TalkSports is LIVE Weekdays from 8-11 a.m. on Fox Sports Knoxville/ Fanrun Radio. Check Out our Socials: "@FOXSportsKnox" on Twitter/X, "FanrunSports" on Instagram and Youtube Jon- @Jon__Reed on "X" Cody- @Cody__McClure on "X" Sam- @_beard11 on "X" Bubba- @BrandonShown on "X"

In this episode of the Walk 2 Wealth Podcast, host John Mendez interviews Maddie Kelman, the CEO of Homestead's Hot Sauce. They discuss Maddie's journey from a theater background to entrepreneurship, her passion for hot sauce, and the creation of her lifestyle brand. Maddie shares insights on balancing personal life with business, the importance of healthy ingredients, and her vision for leaving a legacy through her brand. The conversation also touches on the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship, as well as the significance of loyalty and emotional growth in life.TakeawaysMaddie always had an entrepreneurial spirit.The restaurant industry taught her valuable people skills.College was a pivotal time for her passion for theater.Maddie pivoted from catering to hot sauce due to the demands of service-based business.Homestead's Hot Sauce focuses on healthy, simple ingredients.Creating a lifestyle brand allows for creative expansion.Maddie aims to leave a legacy for her children through her brand.Balancing business and personal life is crucial for happiness.Loyalty is an admirable trait in both personal and business relationships.Aligning daily tasks with long-term goals is essential for success.

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe D’s[CB] are pushing more taxes while Trump is removing the taxes, the people will decide in the end. As illegals are deported American workers see jobs coming back. Gov is the entity that increases the prices across the country. Trump is removing the income tax and ready to give dividends to the middle and low income people not the rich. The [DS] has been pushing division, they are trying to pit the people against Kash, Bondi etc. Social media is trying to bring the people down the wrong path. Trump has released the US strategy and is now codifying his executive order as law. Trump is setting everything in motion so the people can take back this country, the people will be liberate him. Economy https://twitter.com/RickyDoggin/status/1997885141990216111  Illinois Republicans introduced several bills this year to stop taxing tips in Illinois, but JB Pritzker, and Illinois Democrats have no interest in providing any tax relief. (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1997703409408032937?s=20 https://twitter.com/_emergent_/status/1997862345700499847?s=20 https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1998015706525307152?s=20   VICTORIOUS MANNER. I have settled 8 Wars in 10 months because of the rights clearly given to the President of the United States. If countries didn't think these rights existed, they would have said so, LOUD AND CLEAR! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1997816417413153016?s=20 Political/Rights ICE Launches Armed Raids Across Minnesota Targeting Illegal Somali Nationals Wanted on Federal Warrants ICE has already begun making arrests in what locals call “Somali-land Minnesota,” a region with one of the largest concentrations of Somali immigrants in the United States,     Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara warned residents that masked individuals detaining people in Somali neighborhoods were “possibly kidnapping people,” urging the city's enormous Somali enclave to dial 911 if they encounter law-enforcement activity they “don't recognize.” “If there is anything that is … a violation of someone's human rights or civil rights, excessive force or anything like that, they absolutely have a duty to intervene as police officers,” O'Hara added. https://twitter.com/KatieDaviscourt/status/1997745591032713531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1997745591032713531%7Ctwgr%5E307f0a93a8a06042ad5d66adbb608b3b4cc65312%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Fice-launches-armed-raids-across-minnesota-targeting-illegal%2F   subject allegedly assaulted officers but was successfully apprehended. A previously deported female subject fled into a house, which ultimately resulted in her apprehension and several collateral arrests, per sources. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1997375316956676498?s=20 https://twitter.com/AlexanderTabet/status/1996987184260239794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1996987184260239794%7Ctwgr%5E9f3a417fd49065356a991f37feb9d06210c99091%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Ft%2Fassets%2Fhtml%2Ftweet-5.html1996987184260239794 https://twitter.com/overton_news/status/1997700603301237055?s=20  his appearance with a line Brennan clearly didn't expect. BESSENT: “To be clear, the initial fraud was discovered by the IRS, for which I'm the acting commissioner, it was discovered by IRS criminal investigations unit.” “This was not endogenous that the state of Minnesota decided. We had to go in and clean up the mess for them. This is part of the continued cleanup.” “A lot of money has been transferred from the individuals who committed this fraud, including those who donated to the governor, donated to representative Omar and to AG Ellison.” “They have been transferred to something called MBSs.” “They are wire transfer organizations that are outside the regulated banking system. That money has gone overseas. We are tracking that, both to the Middle East and Somalia to see what the uses of that have been.” BRENNAN: “You have no evidence of that money being used to fuel terrorism at this point? Which is what some conservative writers are alleging.” BESSENT: “That's why it's an investigation. We started it last week. We will see where it goes.” “I can tell you, it's terrible. Representative Omar tried to downplay it. Said it was very…it was very tough to know how this money should be used. She was gaslighting the American people.” “When you come to this country, you have to learn which side of the road to drive on, stop at stop signs and learn not to defraud the American people.” https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1997727923768594758?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1998009509675958422?s=20 https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1997712517242708339?s=20 DOGE  Geopolitical https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1997841818411823248?s=20 https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1997712272009883916?s=20   was called Operation Rubific. The secret mass migration program was revealed by a British High Court earlier today. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1997609494738821618?s=20 https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1997900194655162371?s=20 seekers. Basically, the EU said: stop booting people out before hearing their appeals. Hungary said no thanks. So now Brussels is punishing Hungary for not letting in enough migrants, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, while the rest of the continent watches. The European Court says it’s about “human rights.” Hungary says it’s about borders. You don't have to agree with Hungary to notice what's going on. A country makes a decision, the EU doesn't like it, and suddenly unelected judges are draining your national budget. This is what happens when a “union” turns into a rule-by-lawsuit machine.   https://twitter.com/nettermike/status/1997765685922136281?s=20   is required under UNCLOS to sail under the flag of a specific nation. If it does not, it is legally considered a stateless vessel. A stateless vessel has no right to the protections normally afforded to ships under a national flag, including immunity from interference by other states. UNCLOS Articles 92, 94, 110, and customary maritime law spell out the consequences clearly: 1. Stateless vessels have no sovereign protection. A flagged ship is an extension of its flag-state's sovereignty. A stateless vessel is not. This matters because “war crimes” presuppose protected persons or protected property. A stateless vessel is legally unprotected. 2. Any state may stop, board, search, seize, or disable, a stateless vessel. UNCLOS Article 110 explicitly authorizes boarding and seizure. The law does not require states to risk their own personnel or assets while doing so. Disabling a vessel that refuses inspection, including firing on it, is legally permitted under both UNCLOS and long-established state practice. 3. War crimes require an armed conflict. You cannot commit a “war crime” outside an armed conflict. War crimes occur only within the context of international humanitarian law (IHL). Enforcing maritime law against a stateless vessel is a law enforcement action, not an IHL situation. No armed conflict = no war crime possible. 4. Lethal force may be used when a vessel refuses lawful orders. The International Maritime Organization's “Use of Force” guidance for maritime interdiction recognizes that disabling fire, even lethal force, is lawful when a vessel refuses lawful boarding, attempts to flee, poses a threat, or engages in illicit activities such as piracy or narcotics trafficking. Once again: law enforcement rules apply, not IHL. 5. Sinking a stateless vessel is not prohibited by UNCLOS. UNCLOS permits seizure of a stateless vessel and leaves the means entirely to the enforcing state so long as necessity and proportionality are respected. If the vessel flees, attacks, or refuses lawful commands, sinking it is legally permissible. Many states routinely do this to drug-smuggling vessels (e.g., semi-submersibles) without it ever being treated as a war crime. 6. No flag = no jurisdictional shield. The entire reason international law requires ships to fly a flag is to prevent this exact situation. Flagless vessels are legally vulnerable by design. Because a stateless vessel has no protected status, because UNCLOS authorizes interdiction of such vessels, because lethal force may be used in maritime law enforcement when necessary, and because war crimes require an armed conflict that is not present here, sinking an unflagged ship in international waters is not a war crime. War/Peace https://twitter.com/InsiderGeo/status/1997834841723908411?s=20 US Issues NATO’s European Members New Self-Defense Deadline European members of NATO have been warned by Washington that they must assume greater responsibility for the alliance’s intelligence operations and missile production – which will require significantly more defense spending by 2027, Reuters has reported. Reuters in its exclusive Friday report said that the United States “wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO’s conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic.” “The message, recounted by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a U.S. official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week of Pentagon staff overseeing NATO policy and several European delegations,” the report continued. The directive was coupled with a warning behind the scenes, reportedly involving Pentagon officials cautioning representatives from several European nations that the US may scale back its role in certain NATO defense efforts if this target and deadline is not met.It was noted in the report that some European officials consider the 2027 goal unrealistic, saying that rapidly substituting American military support would demand far greater investment than current plans and NATO member approved defense budgets allow. Source: zerohedge.com NATO was created by the [DS] https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1997999917801910425?s=20  and Ukraine, but we don’t have a shared view on Donbas,” Zelensky said. Ukraine also insists on a separate security guarantees agreement with Western allies, primarily the U.S. “There is one question that I and all Ukrainians want answered: if Russia starts a war again, what will our partners do?” he added. Zelensky Heads to London for Talks with European Allies  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was meeting the French, German and British leaders in London on Monday as Kyiv's European allies try to strengthen Ukraine's hand in thorny talks on a U.S.-backed plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was due to gather with Zelenskyy, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the British leader's 10 Downing St. residence. source: breitbart.com https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1997790753385300463?s=20 https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1997693479313666088?s=20 https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/1997981255200039181?s=20 Medical/False Flags https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1997987063300251658?s=20 [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/C_3C_3/status/1997709276958318942?s=20 https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1997771432181522493?s=20 https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1998030855348883903?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1997771084674765308?s=20   about to learn the hard way that most Texans are very different from her district, her base & her values.” “She'll be pummeled for her progressive socialist agenda & get crushed by the Republican nominee for Senate.” “Looking forward to watching the circus– and KEEPING the US Senate seat red. On the bright side for her, maybe she'll end up with a job on The View!”   Storm the polls, Texas! https://twitter.com/LauraLoomer/status/1997818897005695221?s=20 President Trump's Plan    and anyone close to them. When the Democrats overwhelmingly lost the 2024 Presidential Election, and power with it, they, regardless, did everything they could to keep going after the Cuellar family. The Dems were vicious, and all because Henry strongly wanted, correctly, BORDER SECURITY! He was against illegals pouring into our Country, totally unchecked and unvetted. The Congressman didn't want gang members, drug dealers, violent prisoners, people from mental institutions and yes, even murderers, in the good ol' USA. It was all very unfair what they were doing to him and his family, so much so that his daughters wrote me a beautiful letter about their parents (Just posted on TRUTH!). After reading it I decided, in the interest of justice, and based on the daughter's loving request, that I would give Henry and Imelda a Full and Complete Pardon. I never spoke to the Congressman, his wife, or his daughters, but felt very good about fighting for a family that was tormented by very sick and deranged people – They were treated sooo BADLY! I signed the papers, and said to people in the Oval Office that I just did a very good, perhaps life saving, thing. God was very happy with me that day! THEN IT HAPPENED!!! Only a short time after signing the Pardon, Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that he will be “running” for Congress again, in the Great State of Texas (a State where I received the highest number of votes ever recorded!), as a Democrat, continuing to work with the same Radical Left Scum that just weeks before wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in Prison – And probably still do! Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry's daughters, will not like. Oh' well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP    Trump hating, 60 Minutes “correspondent,” Lesley Stahl, who still owes me an apology from when she attacked me on the show (with serious conviction!), that Hunter Biden's LAPTOP FROM HELL was produced by Russia, not Hunter himself (TOTALLY PROVEN WRONG!), interviewed a very poorly prepared Traitor, who in her confusion made many really stupid statements. My real problem with the show, however, wasn't the low IQ traitor, it was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME! Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE! Oh well, far worse things can happen. P.S. I hereby demand a complete and total APOLOGY, though far too late to be meaningful, from Lesley Stahl and 60 Minutes for her incorrect and Libelous statements about Hunter's Laptop!!! President DJT https://twitter.com/HansMahncke/status/1997739659724832803?s=20  on the other foot, and there is highly incriminating evidence against the people who instigated the hoaxes, it somehow cannot be used. Just beyond infuriating. STUNNING UPDATE: Jocelyn Ballantine – the Lead Attorney Assigned to J6 Pipe Bomber Case – Notoriously Pressured the Proud Boys to Lie About Trump's Involvement in Jan. 6 or Face Decades in Prison!    Jocelyn Ballantine was one of the Department of Justice attorneys assigned to Michael Flynn's prosecution. The Department admitted altering evidence in the case following a reprimand from the judge. She called this an inadvertent mistake at the time. Ballantine also provided altered documents to Sidney Powell, and submitted an FBI interview report with redactions to information that was crucial to the case, according to En-Wikipedia.  When the US government threw out the case against  General Flynn, Ballantine declined to sign the motion to dismiss the charges against him. She is as crooked as they come. Jocelyn Ballantine was later assigned to the infamous Proud Boys Trial. Ballantine and the Biden prosecutors made up evidence, pressured the defendants to lie to the court, planted evidence in the Proud Boys chat group, and led the charge to send the innocent men to prison for over a decade each.   Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/TheStormRedux/status/1997495783168299481?s=20   a grand jury process, and we are issuing – I think we are up to like 75 of 100 subpoenas already – for witnesses. That's what you target first. We also have targets of our investigation. People we think committed acts of criminal conduct… We are not only exposing what they did, but they are frantically – “they,” the media, the mainstream media and those that were involved in the weaponization of justice – are trying to cover it up… You think that's gonna stop me and the deputy here? We're gonna get there. We're already halfway there on a lot of it. I firmly believe that this Comey case is far from over. We are not finished. We are formulating a plan to make sure that we use the Constitution to hold people accountable… These people will not be let off the hook.” Go get em, Kash.  & throwing distractions at them in hopes they will fall. #3925 twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/st Do people really believe the biggest scandal in modern US history will go unpunished [Scot-Free]? Backchannels are important. Patriots stand at the ready [shills whine]. Q Genuinely curious on how, exactly, people expect @kash to provide us with COMPLETE & TOTAL transparency…….but also (simultaneously) protect the integrity of ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS so cases aren't completely dismissed for lack of due process??!