Heather Actually a PhD

PhD, English Lit. Done with all of this. We will grieve not, rather find, Strength in what remains behind.

[Heather Actually a PhD @Bessthefirst]

@Emmyfromcbus Sending prayers!!

[Paul Renner @Paul_Renner]

Andrew Gillum was nearly Florida’s Governor.

Thankfully, Florida voters rejected him.

Now he’s been arrested on drug charges, a reminder that elections have consequences and we can’t afford to get this one wrong.

[Paul Renner @Paul_Renner]

Florida needs a Governor who knows how to lead in a crisis. In the military, we trained for the worst so that when the moment came, we acted without hesitation.

That’s the same kind of leadership I’ll bring to hurricane response — preparation, resources, communication, and calm under pressure.

When the storm comes, Florida deserves a battle-tested leader ready to act.

[Heather Actually a PhD @Bessthefirst]

Happy 250th from St. Augustine, Florida ❤️🤍💙🇺🇸🎆

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

Why is it ‘cancelled’ in the U.K. but ‘canceled’ in the U.S.?

Because we gave them that L in 1776.

[Heather Actually a PhD @Bessthefirst]

Happy 250th 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙

[Heather Actually a PhD @Bessthefirst]

@LaurasMiscMovie That is understandable! It is so cool! My husband got a Sam the Eagle 4th of July mug at Hollywood Studios the other day. He also doesn't usually want souvenirs lol

[Judge Don Willett @JusticeWillett]

One nation in all of human history staked its existence on a single blazing truth: every soul enters this world crowned in God-given rights beyond the reach of any earthly power. 250 years later, America remains the boldest wager ever placed on human liberty. ❤️ 🤍 💙

[Paul Renner @Paul_Renner]

The most dangerous place in Washington is between Byron Donalds and a TV camera.

He'll never miss a chance to be on TV, but he's missed more than 150 votes in Congress.

[Ron DeSantis @RonDeSantis]

250 years ago, on July 2nd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain.

John Adams wrote to his wife the next day:

“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.—I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

Well, not quite.

On July 4th, the delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence — and that has been the day for celebrations ever since.

[Heather Actually a PhD @Bessthefirst]

@JamesUthmeierFL This is a mistake. And very disappointing. Donalds will ruin everything Desantis has done for our state.

[AG @AGHamilton29]

Signing a surrender document while meeting with the French President is a little too on the nose…

[AG @AGHamilton29]

The change in talking points is astonishing. A few weeks ago it was that it doesn’t matter if the SoH opens and we have all the leverage.

Now Trump basically admits Tehran blackmailed him into giving everything they wanted because they controlled the strait. Which btw incentivizes them to keep increasing their demands using same leverage.

In the same press conference, Trump defended not having any enforcement mechanism in the deal and even allowing the leading sponsor of terror continue their ballistics missile program. Not to mention giving them full sanctions relief with little in return.

The Obama deal at least requires specific nuclear commitments for the financial relief. Trump didn’t even get that.

Trump spent months telling Americans that we won and now Iran will give up everything. Then he signed a deal where they gave up nothing substantively and says he didn’t have a choice.

Why did he set the expectations to be that they would give up their nuclear program, end terror funding, end ballistic missile program?

A lot of people defended the admin’s strategy for months only to have him throw the entire enterprise under the bus.

And btw Tehran is already violating the agreement today in attacking ships but it doesn’t matter because apparently they can do whatever they want because all that natters is keeping the strait open at any cost. Many of us gave the admin a lot of leeway because they deserved credit for making the call. But there is no spinning this when he’s openly saying it.

[Maude Frome @frome_maude]

As we drift towards #midsummer when the veil between the worlds is thin & faery magic abounds, it should be remembered that the fae are very tricky. However iron or salt placed across the doorstep will protect your home. #FairyTaleTuesday #FolkloreSunday

[Heather Actually a PhD @Bessthefirst]

Excellent reading ❤️

[The Culturist @the_culturist_]

Tom Bombadil is the most mysterious character in The Lord of the Rings.

He's the oldest being in Middle-earth and completely immune to the Ring's power — but why?

Bombadil is the key to the underlying ethics of the entire story, and to resisting evil yourself...

Tom Bombadil is an enigmatic, merry hermit of the countryside, known as "oldest and fatherless" by the Elves. He is truly ancient, and claims he was "here before the river and the trees." He's so confounding that Peter Jackson left him out of the films entirely.

This is understandable, since he's unimportant to the development of the plot. Tolkien, however, saw fit to include him anyway, because Tom reveals a lot about the underlying ethics of Middle-earth, and how to shield yourself from evil.

The hobbits meet Bombadil early on in their quest, before they reach Bree and the Prancing Pony Inn. He rescues Merry and Pippin from Old Man Willow, and invites the hobbits to stay at his house in the Old Forest.

There, the hobbits realize something strange about him: the Ring has no power over Bombadil whatsoever.

When he wears it, he remains visible. He treats it as a plaything, making it disappear with a magic trick. Indeed, at the Council of Elrond, Gandalf rejects the idea of giving the Ring to Tom, for he would likely misplace it or forget about it entirely.

So just who is he, exactly?

When Frodo asks this very question to Tom's wife Goldberry, she simply responds "He is." It's a cryptic answer that echoes God's famous answer to Moses in the Book of Exodus: "I am who I am."

Thus, many theorize that Bombadil is God, some kind of angelic being, or even the spirit of the Music of the Ainur (due to the fact that he is constantly singing). But Tolkien's letters reveal something considerably more interesting…

In April 1954, Tolkien wrote:

"The story is cast in terms of a good side, and a bad side, beauty against ruthless ugliness, tyranny against kingship… but both sides in some degree, conservative or destructive, want a measure of control.But if you have, as it were, taken a 'vow of poverty', renounced control, and take your delight in things for themselves without reference to yourself… then the questions of the rights and wrongs of power and control might become utterly meaningless to you, and the means of power quite valueless…"

So, Bombadil is a representation of what it means to take pure delight in the world around you — to experience people and things simply as they are, without any thought for what they could be or how you could use them. And this is why the Ring has no power over him.

To Bombadil, the One Ring is simply a ring, and the possibilities of what can be achieved through its power are of no importance. He is able to resist its evil precisely because he is entirely content with the world around him.

At the end of the story, having accomplished what he set out to do in Middle-earth, Gandalf pays Tom a visit before returning to the Undying Lands:

"I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil: such a talk as I have not had in all my time."

If Bombadil is the epitome of simply enjoying life and being, Gandalf is the epitome of doing. He guides the hobbits, fights the Balrog, and runs up and down Middle-earth to help destroy the One Ring.

But now that he's finally liberated from doing, he immediately heads to Bombadil's. He does so with a sense of relief, as if he's at last able to access a purer and higher mode of being — a sort of innocence that cannot be fully experienced by those consumed by doing.

Of course, by this Tolkien doesn't disparage the value of action. The entirety of LOTR displays the importance of rising up against evil, even in the face of all odds. But with the inclusion of Bombadil, he does remind readers that fighting isn't all there is.

Bombadil reminds us that while it's important to strive and *do*, it is just as important to occasionally step back and *be*. Indeed, your ability to do so plays a crucial role in helping you resist the allure of evil…

Read the full piece here:

https://t.co/aqK2daehIL

The unsung hero of The Lord of the Rings...

[Paul Renner @Paul_Renner]

Byron Donalds still won't debate.

Why do you think he's avoiding the stage?

1️⃣ Doesn't know the issues
2️⃣ Doesn't want to defend his record
3️⃣ Doesn't want voters comparing candidates
4️⃣ All of the above

[Richard FL @richardgalaxia]

Polls aren't votes. Donalds is afraid to debate. Just say it out loud.

[Heather Actually a PhD @Bessthefirst]

I am absolutely sick of the GOP. We will lose all the gains of the last 8 years. I won't vote for Byron Donalds. If we don't have a primary, how can we say we are for democracy? How are we different from Democrats?? We just appoint rulers now?

[Joel Griffith @joelgriffith]

Something is deeply off with the @FloridaGOP. Hopeful that @GovRonDeSantis will speak out: Republican voters deserve a debate between @Paul_Renner , @JayCollinsFL, and @ByronDonalds. This is a primary election, not a coronation.