“In Nearly Every Major City And Most Small Towns, There Are Anarchists, Or People With Unlabeled Anarchist

#Mood #me

Me, a gay, doing anything

Army investigates 101st Airborne chaplains accused of dismantling on-post programs for Jewish soldiers

The 101st Airborne Division chaplains have fired the longstanding Jewish lay leaders at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, allegedly without providing any reason, effectively ending Friday night Shabbat services for Jewish soldiers and their families.

Chaplains in the 101st Airborne Division have fired the longstanding Jewish lay leaders at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, allegedly without providing any reason, effectively ending Friday night Shabbat services for Jewish soldiers and their families.

The two ranking chaplains also refused to support the Jews’ attempts to celebrate Passover on March 30, the first night of the eight-day long religious celebration, allegedly because it conflicted with Christians’ Good Friday observances and would save money during the installation’s four-day holiday.

Jeanette Mize, her husband, Curt, and son, Lawrence, served as lay leaders for Jewish worship on the installation for nearly two decades. On Feb. 28, the three were allegedly fired without cause under the direction of the division chaplain, Col. John Murphy, and his deputy chaplain, Lt. Col. Sean Wead.

“There was no explanation why I was fired,” Jeanette Mize told Army Times.

She added that her family has “faithfully provided weekly Shabbat and yearly religious worship events since 1999,” and they have worshiped at Fort Campbell since 1984.

“This is the first time in at least 34 years that the Jewish soldiers and their families have been denied weekly Shabbat worship at Fort Campbell,” she said.

Mize and her family have never been paid for the services they provide for the roughly 80 members of the Jewish community on Fort Campbell.

“There is no synagogue in the Fort Campbell area or the nearest towns of Hopkinsville or Clarksville,” she said. “The nearest synagogue is located in Nashville, more than 50 miles away.”

Mize added that other religious groups at Fort Campbell could actually worship nearby, “outside the gate,” but there is still worship at Fort Campbell for these organizations.

At the meeting in which she was terminated, two subordinate chaplains did not give her a reason for her dismissal, and would only say they appreciated her service of many years, according to Mize.

“I asked him what he ‘appreciated,’ since he and [the other chaplain] had never been to a worship event, even though I had invited them for High Holy Days and Shabbat,” she said.

One of the chaplains told her he had been busy with a Catholic event and that another Christian Army chaplain reported back to him.

When Mize said that chaplain has never attended a religious worship service, he responded that “it would compromise his religion to attend,” according to Mize.

“They had to celebrate Passover on a non-Passover date,” Weinstein said. “That’s like telling Christians ‘I know you want to do Christmas on Dec. 25, but it’s more convenient if you do it on Dec. 7, so we can save money.’ ”

Mize said she was told that if the Jewish community still wanted to hold a Passover event on the proper night, there would be no advertising or support for it.

“When you say that some of the most senior military chaplains can’t even observe Jewish faith practices because it would be offensive to their religious views, it doesn’t get much worse than that, except when you tell them that if they want the base chaplains to support Passover, they have to choose a day that isn’t Passover,” Weinstein said.

Mize added that one chaplain in particular, whom she characterized as a fundamentalist Christian, bullied and threatened to take over the religious decisions for Jewish worship after he was assigned to be the Jewish lay leaders’ chaplain sponsor in the summer of 2017.

“I made appeals to replace him,” Mize said. “Nothing was done about this. [He] enjoyed his position and exerted his authority.”

Mize said the lower level chaplains were under the direction of Murphy and Wead, who she claims were transparent in their intention to make conditions so bad that she would quit. The dismissals came when she would not do that, according to Mize.

Sirius you should serenade Remus

Sirius: I’m more of a poet than a singer.  But I guess I could romantically recite my own poems to him?

@allthebeautifulthingsblog

On falling in love with your gay best friend 💖

follow me @dresdoodles or on twitter

Wolfstar Fanfic - Constellations in Your Soul.

///I started writing a Wolfstar fanfic, it’s my first fanfic that I’ve actually written with the intent to post. If you like it, let me know and I’ll post more on it. Also, plot suggestions are welcome. I’m not actually all that creative, most of the stuff I make is inspired by existing things. It would actually be really helpful if you’d leave comments and maybe be my beta readers? I’m not super great with editing. :) ///

    Remus strolled through the wall that led to Platform Nine and Three Quarters after he’d replayed it over and over in his mind, both of his canvas suitcases in tow behind him. As he paced towards the train awaiting him and other students he tried to keep his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him, hoping that he wouldn’t run into anyone on his way to the doors. The stairs to the train were shorter than he remembered them being, but that could be drawn up to his growth spurt this summer. The small smile that snuck onto his face once the cool air from the inside of the train hit him was unintentional, but when you smell home, there’s not much you can do but smile. The train had a tendency to carry many smells at once and it would often overwhelm Remus’ senses to the point that he would have to cover his nose until he got to whatever booth his friends were in, but this year he’d come early for the specific reason of being able to pick an ideal booth where everyone would comfortably fit rather than one barely big enough to fit the four of them, as had happened in all previous years of riding the train. 

    He shifted so his things were single file with him and slipped into an empty booth in the back corner that was slightly larger than the other aisle booths. Once his luggage was in the overhead, he sat close to the glass doors of the booth, in clear sight of the aisle so he could catch James or Sirius before they went into a different compartment and made him move. Peter was always late, last year he’d almost missed the train entirely. Remus smiled slightly at the memory of his friend falling over in the middle of the walkway as the train started to move, barely pulling his bag through closing doors. 

    I wonder whether James or Sirius will arrive first this year. If James managed to beat Sirius to the train, Sirius would be stuck with the middle seat, which was unfortunate as he enjoyed watching the scenery pass by. Remus could easily recall most of Sirius’ facial expressions, and he always seemed peaceful when watching the scenery pass by, even if it was moving too fast to distinctly make out. However, if Sirius got here first, James would spend the whole time getting up to go get snacks or to flirt with Lily Evans. Poor Lily, she has to put up with James being even more obnoxious than he is around me. He smiled slightly, becoming lost in thought about his friends, and about how the upcoming year would turn out. Surely they could have one year where no one almost died in a Quidditch match or deciding to explore the Forbidden Forest. Then again, he was friends with James Potter and Sirius Black. If anything did happen, he was sure he would be in the middle of it with them. Maybe I can try to reason them out of doing something lethally idiotic-

    His thoughts were interrupted by Sirius knocking on the glass of the compartment door before sliding in, flashing Remus one of those confident smiles he threw around. Remus stood, hugging him with a light clap on the back.

    “Hey Remus! Did you do anything fun this summer?” Sirius pulled out of the hug after a moment, though he seemed a little stiff, and heaved his things into the overhead before sitting down. Remus sat back down by the glass door, offering a shrug with his response.     “If by fun you mean idiotic and likely resulting in injury, no.” Sirius made a small offended noise, as if he didn’t know exactly what Remus was jabbing at. “However, I did acquire something you might want to use.” 

    Sirius noted the glint in Remus’ eye and grinned. Most people probably would have thought he was the innocent caretaker of the group, but the fact was, he was most often the main perpetrator in planning each prank and assault. Sirius made a hand motion that could be easily interpreted as, Hand it over. Remus handed Sirius a bottle of muggle hair dye. They both gave somewhat villainous smiles before quickly returning back to normal behavior as Remus barely caught sight of James before he burst into the compartment. Sirius shoved the bottle into his robes inner pocket.

    “Helloooooo Beauties! How are you guys! I hope you’re ready because I’ve been planning pranks and ‘creative activities’ all summer.” Sirius stood to give James a bone-crushing hug, back and shoulders stiffening when James squeezed back, before sitting back down. Remus frowned slightly at that, though started smiling again once in Sirius’ line of sight. James tossed his things carelessly into the overhead on Sirius’ side, all but falling into his seat as he launched into his plans for this year. Is he uncomfortable, maybe his muscles are stiff if he did something strenuous recently. Remus grimaced slightly at the not-so-faint scent of fabric softener, covering his nose while his thoughts were interrupted with a wave of nausea. James went on about letting loose a number of nifflers in the Great Hall, setting off fireworks over Gryffindor Tower, hiding tiny rubber ducks (a muggle toy) all over the prefects bathroom, and a number of other pranks that would likely require much revision by Remus to be feasible. It took him a couple minutes to realise Remus was looking nauseous. 

    “Remus, you look pale. What’s up?” James frowned slightly, worried about his friend. Remus couldn’t do much about it and simply summarized,

“Just the smell, James. Did your family begin using a new fabric softener in the wash?” He crossed his legs so his stomach didn’t feel so uneasy. “Sirius, would you open the window, please.” his voice came out a mutter through the sleeve of his robes. Sirius immediately pulled open the window, looking mildly concerned. Remus felt a surge of appreciation as fresh air flooded the compartment. 

“Actually, yeah. I think my mum switched which one she uses. Is it bothering you?” James took off his Robe. “She washed my robe this morning, sorry. I didn’t think about the smell.” James stuffed the robe into this bag, hoping that would limit the scent for Remus. 

Remus shrugged. “It’s not your fault James, you don’t have to apologize. Thank you for putting it away.” He kept his sleeve up to cover his mouth and nose for a while before he felt his nose was safe enough to lower it. James continued on about where he thought they could get the nifflers, and about where to acquire the fireworks for Gryffindor Tower, though Remus didn’t miss the occasional glance to check on him. Peter didn’t get to their compartment until the train was starting to pull out of station, huffing for air while looking somewhat exhausted. 

“H-hi guys, I’m sorry I’m late… Again. I really didn’t- didn’t mean to, there was bad traffic and then I saw this cat at Kingscross Station and it was so cute, I couldn’t-” Sirius gave him a huge hug, similar to the ones he’d given Remus and James. Chamomile and mint seemed to be faintly emanating off of Peter.  

“No problem, Pete! At least you’re on the train. I almost thought you weren’t going to make it.” Sirius spoke as he sat down while Peter climbed on the seat to push his bags into the overhead on Remus’ side. Remus smiled slightly at Peter, still a little sick to his stomach, but feeling much better than earlier. 

“Nice to see you after summer break, Peter. Is your garden doing well?” Remus smiled slightly at the light that overtook Peter’s expression. 

“Oh, yes! My Lavender and Chamomile are maturing beautifully. I even brought some homemade tea-bags, I designed the mixture myself. I think you’ll like it. There’s mint in it too, and some other things, the odor shouldn’t be too strong, so you’ll be able to drink it even around full-moon.” Peter rushed the words out quickly, digging around in his pockets before pulling out a small cloth bag with the mixture inside. Remus smiled wider, letting Peter place it in his palm before his hands returned to his pockets and pulled out a small strip of woven embroidery thread, running his fingers over it and twisting it into different shapes. 

“Thank you, Peter. I really appreciate it.” Remus put the cloth bag in his robes inner pocket. 

The ride to Hogwarts seemed shorter than the actual 9 hour ride, but that was likely because they spent the whole time either talking or sleeping. Remus spent only the last 20 minutes dozing in his corner, abruptly woken by the train’s whistle, alerting everyone of their soon arrival. James was continually talking, frequently interrupted by Sirius interjecting another thought that was usually more stupid or more dangerous. They hustled out of the compartment and off of the train. Remus and Peter were mostly quiet while navigating through hundreds of students and dozens of teachers helping to guide the tide of children and adolescents. 

Remus kept a careful eye on Sirius and James so he didn’t lose them, while Peter was barely avoiding running into Remus with all the people trying to shove past and into them. I hate crowds. So many people. Too many smells. Remus grimaced at the clashing sounds and sights of the hoard around them. Relatively soon everyone halted, waiting for transportation up to the school grounds. 

The school kept transportation orderly, sending each group of 4 to 5 students up to the school grounds 5 or 6 groups at a time. It wasn’t much of a wait to be able to sit down in the Great Hall. Everyone was very loud, voices garbling and rumbling over each other before they got to Remus’ ears. He glanced over at James, then felt his eyes roll while James was unabashedly staring at a red-headed Lily Evans only six or seven seats down. Sirius frowned when he saw Remus’ reaction before seeing the cause and grinning evilly.

Sirius threw a roll at James’ head to snap him out of it. “Careful, James. Or you face might get stuck in a stupid look. Oh, sorry, I forgot it was already stuck like that.” 

James scoffed at that, throwing the roll back at Sirius. “Whatever, Drama Queen.” Remus smiled a bit, sighing. This is going to be a very long year, isn’t it? He glanced at Sirius, then felt his face flush a little. God damn he’s beautiful though. 

    Sirius shifted how he was sitting throughout the meal, leaning forward, or slouching a bit, or propping a leg up on his knee. It wasn’t uncomfortable shifts, but they made him look more ordinary than the rest of his family. His sibling, cousins, his whole family sat with stiff backs and airy postures. No doubt that’s his intent though. Remus noted how much more down to earth and grounded Sirius had always been. Stomach laughs and crooked smiles and mischief. None of his family’s superiority bullshit. Remus risked a glance at Sirius, trying to pinpoint why his movements were off. He seemed fine moving around, but every so often he’d start moving one way and abruptly stop, like something was blocking him. What on earth? 

    Remus kept a careful eye on Sirius the rest of dinner, even while the first years were being sorted into their houses. Sirius wasn’t entirely oblivious to Remus’ attention and looks of concern, but he didn’t seem to mind or care. Near the end of dinner, Remus mouthed, ‘Are you okay?’ Sirius only gave a stupid smile and nodded, like ‘Duh, why wouldn’t I be.’ Remus frowned as Sirius turned away from their brief interaction to talk to James and Peter. He’s definitely not okay… 

    As dinner came to a close, everyone started trickling out of the Great Hall, tired and full of food. Peter was the first to turn in. 

    “I’ll see you guys in the dorm room, I’m kind of tired though, so I might be asleep. See you tomorrow.” He gave a wave before quickly walking off to the dorm rooms. Peter tended to walk quickly, avoiding attention where he could.

“He had a good idea there.” James shrugged, standing only a few minutes after Peter left. “I’ve got to get my beauty sleep if I want Evans to fall for me, and most of the people should already be in bed. I’ll see you boys later in the dormitories.” He gave a quick smile and walked off slowly, winking at Lily on his way out. She only rolled her eyes at him and continued on with her current conversation. 

    Remus was quiet for a few minutes before looking Sirius in the eyes, a controlled expression on his face. “Sirius, what’s wrong.” Sirius’ face was blank for a moment before smiling widely, though his eyes looked caught. 

    “What do you mean? You shouldn’t be all cryptic Remus, someone might mistake your sock-folding arse for a mysterious type.” he pointed at Remus. “You do know girls go for the mysterious quiet type, don’t you?” 

    “Stop deflecting. I know something is wrong. You don’t have a full range of movement and you keep flinching when you try to move your shoulder back. I can’t figure out if you got injured or if you’re just feeling weird today. I mean it’s not like-” Remus paused, eyes widening. -like somebody beat you. He was about to say. Poor choice of words Remus. You know how his family treats him. “Oh. This morning?” Remus frowned, studying Sirius’ face. Sirius frowned, nodding in small motions. “You haven’t had somebody look at it yet, have you.” Sirius shook his head, lips pulled tight. Oh I am going to murder them. Just as soon as I get the chance their heads are going t- 

    “Remus, you’re getting angry again.” Sirius spoke quietly, calmly, gently taking Remus’ attention. 

    “I thought you said they were going to control themselves over the summer. They said they’d minimize damage.” Remus couldn’t help the slight growl that crept into his voice. He’s my friend. It should be me instead. He doesn’t deserve this, I do. Why does he have the shitty family? Remus knew his thought process was illogical. Neither of them had control over their families or who was in them, but he still felt that Sirius deserved none of the lot given to him. 

    “They did. This was the first time in two weeks, Remus. Calm down a bit. I was going to ask you to help me out a bit once the others were in bed.” Sirius gave a small comforting smile. Sirius is in pain and he’s comforting me? 

    “Yeah…okay. Abandoned bathroom?” Remus looked to Sirius for his response, wanting to help. Sirius gave a quick nod and they both stood up, walking out of the Great Hall. At least he’ll be safe here at school. I’m glad we get to go to Hogwarts.