Well, it didn’t really happen like that, but yeah, the Iran-Contra Scandal contributed heavily to the onset of the crack cocaine epidemic. The fact that they couldn’t use the US military in this operation is why cocaine became involved.

They needed to smuggle illegally purchased weapons to Central America, so they hired drug smugglers to smuggle guns in the other direction. What does a drug smuggler do after he’s dropped off his weapons, and finds himself in Central America with an empty plane, a fistful of dirty money, and CIA cover?

That’s right, he fills it full of cocaine, flies it back to America, and quintuplets his money. And they did it over and over and over, until there was so much coke on the streets of America, that it went from being the drug of the wealthy and celebrities, and became the drug of the ghetto.

And how do we know this? Because smuggler Eugene Hasenfus was captured, and he spilled the entire story.

The only question was: Was the CIA aware of the drug smuggling? Some think that they used it to raise even more money for their cause, but I’ve never seen any real evidence of that, other than speculation. OTOH, I find it hard to believe that they didn’t know their pilots were smuggling cocaine back to America. If they didn’t know, they should have, they’re the CIA. Besides, it’s not exactly a big leap to realize they would do this. They didn’t hire commercial cargo pilots to do some side gigs, they hired drug smugglers specifically because they were smugglers. They aren’t going to fly an empty plane home. Of course, they’re going to smuggle Coke (or weed), back in their planes. Duh.

It’s a wild tale. I once told the entire thing to a friend, who listened through the whole story, then said “Did that really happen?”

George HW Bush pardoned him on the advice of William Barr, giving Barr the start of a career helping presidents avoid responsibility for their illegal activities.

Giving this traitor a television platform instead of a prison cell, was one giant step in making Republicans feel untouchable, no matter how poorly they behaved. Even treason is excused, and rewarded.

North wasn’t the “Fall Guy.” That makes him sound like a scapegoat, which he wasn’t, he was the guy managing the entire operation.

Also, it wasn’t part of an operation to get the Iranian hostages released. They had been released back in 1980, as soon as Reagan had been inaugurated. The Iran-Contra Conspiracy happened later, but the wound from that humiliating episode was still stinging in the American psyche. The fact that North was selling weapons to our bitterest enemy at the time is only one of the things that made this such an egregious violation.

Iran-Contra was about providing weapons, training, and support to the conservative soldiers fighting the establishment of a Russian-supported regime in Central America.

When Nancy Reagan was a struggling actress in Hollywood, she had a reputation for giving the best blowjobs in town. True story.

Vertigo is often considered his best, but it’s one of my least favorite among his best. Rear Window is my favorite movie, and I like The Man Who Knew Too Much, Lifeboat, and Stranger on a Train a lot, too. I’ve heard that someone is working on a remake of Strangers on a Train.

The chance of a payphone being handy in the middle of a demonstration is pretty small. If you have to run a half mile to find a pay phone, then the strategy starts to break down.

However, if you want to try this, maybe The Payphone Project can help you locate the nearest phone. According to the listing for my hometown, it’s likely a campground or cheap hotel.

I’m not saying those people aren’t important, I’m saying they shouldn’t be the highest priority when deciding which issues to highlight during a presidential campaign. Sure, transpeople need our support, but their issue personally affects a far smaller segment of the population than an issue like healthcare, which affects literally EVERYBODY.

The First Rule of Politics is Get Elected, and that means highlighting the issues that will bring you the most votes. Once elected, then you can do whatever you want to help whoever you want. If you are one of those people who needs that sort of support (not just transfolk), then focus more on what it will take to get your advocates into power, instead of just using the campaign to highlight your own personal issues. Get your people elected, and then pressure them to help you.

This is what politics is, and why it often gets smarmy in practice, but that’s the game. If you want to win, you have to play it.

Yeah, the interest idea doesn’t make sense, especially since for most of the 21st century the interest on savings accounts has been negligible.

If it cost $6 on the $1500 loan, that’s most (of not all) of the interest right there, and it takes time for that interest to accrue significantly. It’s not going to happen in a couple of days.

If this was the scheme, then your ex-boss was no criminal mastermind.

Edgar Allen Poe laid out the rules for a fully satisfying revenge in his story The Cask of Amontillado:

1. The revenge has to be worse than the original offense.

2. You have to get away with it.

3. The person has to know who did it, and why, yet there’s nothing they can do about it.

Take away any of those factors, and it isn’t a fully satisfying revenge plot.

It’s a tiny bear, imported from Russia. $8000.

Putin has always justified his invasion of Ukraine using similar language. I specifically remember him dismissing their history saying something very similar to "Ukraine as a state has no geopolitical meaning, no particular cultural import or universal significance, no geographic uniqueness, no ethnic exclusiveness, " and other nearly direct quotes.

Clear confirmation that Putin is using this publication as his playbook.

It was published in 1997. Time flies when you’re resisting oppression.

Try the Wikipedia entry under Content. It breaks down the plans for each region.

Interestingly, it mentions Iran is a key ally, referring to the “Moscow-Tehran Axis.”

Despite the opposition, you are correct. We need to focus on issues that will win elections, not issues that affect a miniscule minority. The best help for those people is a government that will support them, so they have to understand that getting out of the way, and allowing their supporters to get elected is the best thing they can do.

If transgender people and their supporters want action, then stop demanding that the focus be on them, and support other Democratic issues that will lead to getting elected. THEN they can advocate for their rights with people who will actually listen.

They first broke during the New Wave era, and were considered one of the quintessential New Wave superstars, along with The Cars, Talking Heads, Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls, etc.

Their wives would be so mad!

“Glitter!? Again? How many times have I told you I to stay out of that strip joint? I hope you like the couch, that’s where you’ll be sleeping for a while!”

If they were just bounty hunters, with no ID or uniforms, and somebody stopped them, I doubt any judge would allow a case to go forward. There is no law that says citizens have to cooperate with violent, unidentified strangers.

Don’t forget, the State decides if it’s self-defense or not, and Self-Defense states tend to be Red. Florida has some of the “strongest” Self-Defense laws, and the State would side with these goons every time.