Timely and informative, as only Josh delivers-enjoy!
Jimmy Kimmel has been returned to air after Trump’s attacks on free speech, and the men of MAGA crash Grindr in Arizona during the Charlie Kirk memorial.
Hello Everyone. I hope all are having a grand day. We had the car taken to a garage to have it repaired. The engine did seize but the timing chain did not break as we thought. Ron asked why the engine locked up and the guy couldn’t tell why yet. It had the correct amount of oil but the anti-freeze which had been full was way down. The mechanic seem to think the engine block could have cracked. Either way it would have to be replaced. The needs a different engine … but new engines for that car are hard to get and the cost has jumped because they are made in Mexico and tRump’s tariffs are jumping up the price. The good news is after calling a dozen different places the man was able to find an engine for it that had only 5,000 miles on it. Basically new. The car it had been in was totaled so he could get it for us for 2 grand. Ron told him to go ahead. He will get back to us with the labor cost.
On the bathroom well all good plans of … Ron got the pipes in for the water lines both hot and cold also the shower drain, we got the toilet taken off, the new floor put down which due to the tiles no locking heeded to be glued with corners ones being brad nailed, the toilet replaced with a new seal. All good. Ron rechecked his measurements and we even set the shower where he wanted it to check the alignment of the water and drain pipes. We moved the shower back out and Ron built half the wall going across the two bathrooms and which would be the side wall of the shower. He installed the vent pipe in the wall. He ran the electric needed for the exhaust fan through the 2x4s.
Then life got in the way of it being easy. This morning we moved the shower in front of where it was to go. Ron had for some reason made the drain pipe far too high from the floor decided to block the shower up so we could slide it back in place and lower it down over the pipe. We got it blocked up and several times the blocks fell sideways so we scrambled to keep the shower from doing any damage like braking a water pipe. Then as he got it back nearly to the wall reality made itself clear.
The shower did not fit between the wall and the water pipes and the shower drain was off center of the hole in the shower itself. Ron tried so hard to force it to wedge it in place until I reminded him that if he broke the pipes then the floor would have to be taken up and as it was glued that means all new floor tiles. So we stopped for the day. Tomorrow we move the shower out of the way and he will need to move the wall. I hate to take even a couple inches out of the master bathroom but I guess if we have to do it to make getting both bathrooms done, then we do. Below are the current pictures. Best wishes for all and hugs for those that want them.
We each and all have to be diligent with checking what we post before we post it, because this is real, and it’s in many places.
Snippet from BBC:
A secret Russian-funded network is attempting to disrupt upcoming democratic elections in an eastern European state, the BBC has found.
Using an undercover reporter, we discovered the network promised to pay participants if they posted pro-Russian propaganda and fake news undermining Moldova’s pro-EU ruling party ahead of the country’s 28 September parliamentary ballot.
Participants were paid to find supporters of Moldova’s pro-Russia opposition to secretly record – and also to carry out a so-called poll. This was done in the name of a non-existent organisation, making it illegal. The results of this selective sampling, an organiser from the network suggested, could lay the groundwork to question the outcome of the election.
The results of the so-called poll, suggesting the ruling party will lose, have already been published online. (snip-go read it)
I still think pageants suck as a way for women to get themselves through school/training.-A
The crowning of the new Miss International Queen ignited social media outrage, with viewers calling out racism and micro-aggressions among fellow contestants.
By B.Kadijat Towolawi Published September 22, 2025
When Miss USA, Midori Monet, a statuesque Black trans beauty, was crowned Miss International Queen 2025, her victory was met with a frosty reception from her fellow contestants. What should have been a moment of celebration devolved into an awkward scene as the other contestants, all transgender women, largely ignored the newly crowned queen, instead flocking to Miss Cuba, the visibly displeased first runner-up.
And to make matters even messier, Miss Cuba, Olivia Lauren, later spoke out about Monet’s alleged behavior, and social media is sounding off about it. Grab a seat because it’s a lot to unpack.
The Miss International Queen, held annually in Pattaya, Thailand, is the world’s largest and most prestigious beauty pageant for transgender women. Since its launch in 2004, the competition has provided trans women with a platform to showcase their talent, raising global awareness and celebrating inclusion. But according to social media, Monét’s crowning moment was anything but celebratory.
In a now-viral TikTok clip, Monét and Cuba’s Oliva Lauren waited for the winner to be announced. When Monét was named Miss International Queen 2025, the stage erupted in excitement but not for Miss USA who was named the winner.
But instead of embracing Monét, the other contestants swarmed to Miss Cuba, the first runner-up, creating a moment that was head-scratching.
Social media immediately reacted. “The fact that most of the women ran to the runner-up and not the winner speaks volumes to their character,” one TikTok user wrote. This is an absolute representation of what Black women encounter daily.”
Another pointed out that Lauren had now lost to Monét twice — first at Miss International Queen USA, then again on the international stage.
Then things began to escalate. In a post-pagent interview, Miss Cuba openly called out what she described as “bullying” throughout the competition. “The two that you see standing next to me have made it impossible for me to enjoy 100% of it,” Lauren said, referring to Miss USA and Miss Vietnam. “They have tortured me throughout the whole thing, as well as my other sisters, each and every single day.” She described her experience as “very sour” and claimed she would continue to stand her ground to speak her truth.
But Monét, The Black winner kept it classy, offering a different perspective. In her own interview, she urged people to focus on love rather feeding into negativity. “There is so much hate going around. There is so much envy, bitterness, jealousy, all the things that plague this world. I want you to know that it’s okay to believe in yourself.”
Not missing a beat, the winner ended on a positive note: “Karma is real. Love is real. It’s not about what you do, but about your actions are about how you make people feel.”
The drama became a viral online conversation. While there were a few who questioned if Miss USA really did bully Miss Cuba, but most were like TikTok creator Timothais, who highlighted potential racial undertones in the way the drama unfolded, noting, “Now is it sour grapes? Who knows. But I can guarantee you if Miss Cuba had won, we wouldn’t have known anything about what happened to her backstage.” (snip-embedded on the page linked in the title above)
Some tiktokers accused Miss Cuba of being the real bully. “I really think Cuba was the bully, probably with micro aggressions,” one TikTok user wrote. “And Miss USA and the 2nd runner up was not having it. So, why not be the victim.” Others argued that the cold response toward Monét reflected deeper issues in pageant culture.
Still, another TikTok user chimed in: “Cuba was very messy and distasteful! Especially in the interview! That’s why she didn’t win.”
Others celebrated Miss USA for carrying herself with grace beyond the controversy. As one fan summed it up: “Style and grace transcends it all. She won for that reason. Congratulations to that beautiful Black queen.”
In the end, Miss Cuba apologized calling it all a … misunderstanding.
Tell-It Report: Colin Kaepernick to Fund Independent Autopsy For Trey Reed by Michael Harriot
The Delta State University student was found hanging from a tree on campus on Sept. 15. Read on Substack
In Gullah Geechee communities, a “tell-it” was a designated lookout, community warning system and the most trusted source for news and information. The Tell-It Report is ContrabandCamp’s weekly roundup of the Black stories that deserve more attention — from politics to entertainment.
Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp will fund the independent autopsy for Demartravion “Trey” Reed, who was found hanging from a tree in Mississippi. The state medical examiner has ruled his death a suicide.
The Black unemployment rate has increased by 1.5% in the last three months.
The Justice Department has quietly scrubbed from its website a study that shows that right-wing extremists have killed more Americans than any other domestic terrorist group.
Read the full stories below:
Activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is funding an independent autopsy for Demartravion “Trey” Reed, the 21-year-old Delta State student who was found hanging from a tree on the Cleveland, Miss., campus on Sept. 15.
The Cleveland Police Department released a statement on Sept. 18 stating that the initial autopsy, conducted by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office, ruled Reed’s death a suicide. Days prior, Delta State’s Director of Public Safety Mike Peeler said that there was no evidence of foul play. Reed’s family challenged their findings and is demanding answers.
On Friday, Ben Crump announced that Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative” would be covering the cost of a secondary autopsy.
“Trey’s death evoked the collective memory of a community that has suffered a historic wound over many, many years and many, many deaths,” Crump said in a press release. “Peace will come only by getting to the truth. We thank Colin Kaepernick for supporting this grieving family and the cause of justice and truth.”
The statement read that the family will initiate the process once Reed’s body is released by the state medical examiner.
Reed’s body was found hanging on the Mississippi university’s campus, where nearly half of the student body is Black. The case evoked memories of the violent history of the Jim Crow South.
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said he “condemn[s] the rumors circulating regarding his death.”
“We are getting mixed information. We are hearing everything on the media. We just want answers and truth because he was a young man I really loved,” Reed’s uncle, Jerry Reed, told Fox 13.
Family attorney Vanessa J. Jones told the local outlet prior to his death that Reed had spent time happy and with his family.
“He was here with his family. He was joyful and loving as ever. That is what he is being remembered for,” Jones said. “When he went back to Delta State University, he was his joyful self. So, the question is, ‘What happened?’”
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson is demanding a federal investigation.
“We must leave no stone unturned in the search for answers,” the Mississippi representative said. “While the details of this case are still emerging, we cannot ignore Mississippi’s painful history of lynching and racial violence against African Americans.”
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the Black unemployment rate has hit record highs since October 2021, according to the Associated Press.
In the last three months, the unemployment rate for Black Americans has gone up by 1.5% to 7.5%—twice that of the rate for white Americans—according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bloomberg calls this “a rare development outside of recessions.” Researchers have attributed the spike to a slower labor market affecting Black employees first, as well as the president’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.
Reports of the more than 319,000 Black women who’ve become unemployed at the top of the year became an early indicator of the overall economic decline of Black communities. Their unemployment rate spiked from 5.1% in March to 6.7% in August.
“The most vulnerable people tend to get laid off first, and unfortunately, that tends to be Black Americans, and that’s something that is very disturbing in and of itself,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at accounting firm KPMG US, told CNN.
Experts note that these numbers can indicate looming economic troubles for the entire country. Employers added an average of 29,000 jobs each month over the past three months. That’s a drastic decline from the 209,000 average over the same time period in 2024, Bloomberg reports.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the outlet that Trump predicts that recent tax cuts and immigrant deportations will add jobs for Black Americans.
“President Trump is implementing the same America First economic agenda that delivered historic job and wage growth — including record-low Black unemployment rates — in his first term,” she said. “The passage of the Working Families Tax Cuts will unleash economic growth through tax reform, deregulation, and incentives for job creation in the private sector that will benefit all Americans.”
Alexsis Rodgers, political director at the Black to the Future Action Fund, told the AP that this is a “new era.”
“There are people who obviously believed his promises, that Trump was going to do something about the cost of eggs, the cost of housing,” she said. “They’ve seen the focus instead is on ICE raids and downsizing the government.”
The Department of Justice recently removed a study from its website showing that far-right extremists have killed more Americans than any other domestic terrorist group, according to The Hill.
The study, titled What NIJ Research Tells Us About Domestic Terrorism, stated that “the number of far-right attacks continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism.” Jason Paladino first reported that the study had been scrubbed from the National Institute for Justice’s online library on Sept. 12.
The removal occurred just days after Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. In the wake of his death, Trump said, “The radical left causes tremendous violence,” he said, claiming “they seem to do it in a bigger way” than groups on the right.
However, there has been little evidence to suggest that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old lead suspect in Kirk’s killing, identifies as a leftist or that his actions were motivated by political ideology. There’s more of an indication that Robinson and Kirk had been among similar circles of internet culture, according to The New Yorker.
The study, which can still be accessed via the Wayback Machine, used data from the National Institute of Justice. It found that far-right extremists “committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives.” The authors also state, “In this same period, far-left extremists committed 42 ideologically motivated attacks that took 78 lives.”
Similarly, ContrabandCamp’s Michael Harriot showed that political violence is much more likely to come from the right than the left.
The NIJ study points directly to online chat forums as a source that reinforces their beliefs on gun rights, conspiracy theories, hate-based views and more. “Users grew more ideological and radical as other users reinforced their ideas and connected their ideas to those from other forums,” the study reads.
Scottie's Playtime 