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Nicholas F. Benton

@nfbenton.bsky.social

Founder/owner/editor/national affairs columnist, Falls Church News-Press, progressive weekly newspaper inside the DC beltway since 1991, FCNP.com. Author, LGBT best sellers, Extraordinary Hearts & Gay Men in the Feminist Revolution. I follow back.

23,194 Followers  |  19,578 Following  |  147 Posts  |  Joined: 15.11.2024  |  1.6252

Latest posts by nfbenton.bsky.social on Bluesky


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Fighting Fire With Fire - Falls Church News-Press Online As the map of Virginia on page one of this edition, the proposed new redistricting of U.S. congressional districts designed by the now-stronger Democratic majority in the state legislature, and which ...

www.fcnp.com/2026/02/12/f...

13.02.2026 01:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Boccelli & Bad Bunny Bring Us Back to Love - Falls Church News-Press Online With a bit of a thaw in the weather this week, events from the last week have produced some grounds for optimism as America moves toward world-changing midterm elections in the fall that, Iโ€™m increasi...

www.fcnp.com/2026/02/12/b...

13.02.2026 01:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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On the Martyrdoms Of Pretti and Good - Falls Church News-Press Online The second execution in Minneapolis by Trump shock troops last weekend needs to be understood in the context of the on-going coup against the U.S. Constitutional government that is well underway. The ...

www.fcnp.com/2026/01/28/o...

01.02.2026 01:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Will Virginia Be Next? - Falls Church News-Press Online โ€œA national coalition of locally-elected, top prosecutors today announced the formation of the Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach โ€“ an effort to hold federal officials accountable when th...

www.fcnp.com/2026/01/28/w...

01.02.2026 01:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Cโ€™wealth Atty Leads National Fight Back - Falls Church News-Press Online Concerned that with new Democratic leadership in Virginia that Virginia could become the target of a major ICE offensive, Falls Churchโ€™s and Arlingtonโ€™s Commonwealth Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti joi...

www.fcnp.com/2026/01/28/c...

01.02.2026 01:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

There is indeed a volcanic rage growing in the US against Trump and his โ€œ24/7 for saleโ€ corrupt presidency, against the loss of affordable healthcare, against an economy where full time employees need SNAP and Medicaid to survive, and against the loss of rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

30.12.2025 09:10 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 11    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Ignorance & Freedom Are Incompatible - Falls Church News-Press Online A nation cannot be both ignorant and free, Thomas Jefferson said. In short, that explains whatโ€™s been going on under Trump. Education, access to information, and values rooted in respect for others: t...

www.fcnp.com/2025/12/18/i...

19.12.2025 19:46 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Days & Months Ahead - Falls Church News-Press Online As we move toward another new year, folks in law and policy-making positions throughout this region are holding their breaths in anticipation of dire conditions due to the Trump administrationโ€™s feder...

www.fcnp.com/2025/12/18/t...

19.12.2025 19:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Trump and his White House are a batch of depraved criminals. The desecration of the Kennedy Center is only their latest caper.

19.12.2025 18:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Old War Horse Bidenโ€™s Great Speech Last Week - Falls Church News-Press Online It was great seeing the old trooper, former President Joe Biden, being the same Old Joe in a rare public appearance last week. It was Dec. 4 at a national gathering in D.C. of LGBTQ elected officials ...

www.fcnp.com/2025/12/11/o...

11.12.2025 22:17 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Old War Horse Bidenโ€™s Great Speech Last Week - Falls Church News-Press Online It was great seeing the old trooper, former President Joe Biden, being the same Old Joe in a rare public appearance last week. It was Dec. 4 at a national gathering in D.C. of LGBTQ elected officials ...

www.fcnp.com/2025/12/11/o...

11.12.2025 22:17 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Redirecting...

Out this week, Nicholas Bentonโ€™s latest book is a compilation of 2025 works subsumed under the titles of โ€˜Please Donโ€™t Eat Your Childrenโ€™ (the title derived from Jonathan Swiftโ€™s satire) and โ€˜Cult Centuryโ€™ (describing the current thatโ€™s led to Trump).

www.facebook.com/share/p/15Nn...

10.11.2025 17:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image 08.11.2025 21:25 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 31    ๐Ÿ” 9    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Grab Him By The Neussy! - Falls Church News-Press Online Hereโ€™s a sampling of the incredible creativity seen on posters held by the some seven million Americans who came out of their homes last Saturday to rally on No Kings Day. Some were home grown Falls C...

www.fcnp.com/2025/10/23/g...

01.11.2025 20:51 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Please Donโ€™t Eat Your Children, Part 5 - Falls Church News-Press Online Of note is the sad passing this week at age 70 of Bjorn Andresen, who at age 15 was an internationally acclaimed teen star of the classic 1971 art film by Lucino Visconti based on Nobel Prize-winner T...

www.fcnp.com/2025/10/30/p...

01.11.2025 20:50 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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I asked Senator Warner this about DNI Gabbard

08.09.2025 13:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Trump is RICO Kingpin In the Epstein Affair - Falls Church News-Press Online It all points to the fact that the whole Epstein affair would, if brought fully to light, have Trump found guilty under federal RICO (Racketeering Influences and Corrupt Organizations) statutes as an ...

www.fcnp.com/2025/08/07/t...

12.08.2025 00:51 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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A Determined Turn to Tyranny - Falls Church News-Press Online The significance of Trumpโ€™s firing last week of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics cannot be overstated. It is a move that profoundly undermines the ability of anyone participating in the inve...

www.fcnp.com/2025/08/07/a...

12.08.2025 00:41 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Cult Century, Part 10: Now They Want Trump Gone - Falls Church News-Press Online Donald Trump and his best pal Jeffrey Epstein were truly children of the hyper-hedonistic excesses of the 1970s, when it was pretty much anything goes for almost an entire decade. This is not in any w...

www.fcnp.com/2025/07/24/c...

24.07.2025 22:18 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image 27.06.2025 16:07 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Cult Century: 1970s Roots Of Trumpism, Part 5 of 25 - Falls Church News-Press Online All of the critical ingredients of what has widely been identified by experts as the content of cult behavior toward both its own participants and the outside world are abundantly present in the opera...

www.fcnp.com/2025/05/29/c...

29.05.2025 23:04 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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a group of minions are standing next to each other and they are laughing and saying yay ALT: a group of minions are standing next to each other and they are laughing and saying yay
03.05.2025 13:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Australia rejects Trumpism ๐Ÿ™Œ

03.05.2025 11:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7190    ๐Ÿ” 1160    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 192    ๐Ÿ“Œ 119
03.05.2025 14:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

It would have benefited Trump to have watched Sesame Street.

It would have taught him how to not be a major asshole.

Big Bird's ass would make him a Sunday face. Just sayin'.

03.05.2025 08:09 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 10    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Puppetsโ€ฆ

02.05.2025 23:08 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 24136    ๐Ÿ” 5305    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 473    ๐Ÿ“Œ 203
A scene overlooking a wide creek with trees bringing in new leaves and blue skies in the background.

A scene overlooking a wide creek with trees bringing in new leaves and blue skies in the background.

Beautiful spring day here in the eastern Pennsylvania

03.05.2025 13:46 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1728    ๐Ÿ” 94    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 42    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
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NO OUTS AND TWO BALLS OH NO

03.05.2025 01:02 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 649    ๐Ÿ” 79    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 98    ๐Ÿ“Œ 45
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Weekly tradition: finding some rays of light no matter how dark the clouds. There is always some light. Finding it matters most when it is hardest.

Tell me something good.

What good thing happened in your life this week?

Felt brand new or felt like your old self again, just something good.

03.05.2025 14:34 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 908    ๐Ÿ” 94    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 379    ๐Ÿ“Œ 21
This image shows the large elegant barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365, located in the southern constellation of Fornax at a distance of 56 million light years.
The bright and intensely blue star directly below the galaxy core is supernova SN2012fr, which was discovered by Alain Klotz (TAROT La Silla telescope) on 27th October 2012.


As of 10th November 2012 the supernova appeared to be nearing its peak, with an R magnitude of 11.90. To get an idea of how bright this event is we can calculate the absolute magnitude M of the supernova using the following formula where m is the apparent magnitude and  D the distance in parsecs:

M = m - 5(log10(D) - 1)

This gives an absolute magnitude of -19.27 for SN2012fr. This means that if the supernova had occurred at a distance to us similar to Betelgeuse (643 light years), then its apparent magnitude would be -12.80, same as the full Moon!

Image details: 
Date: 7th and 9th November 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 205:57:56:51m, total 6hrs 9mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand

This image shows the large elegant barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365, located in the southern constellation of Fornax at a distance of 56 million light years. The bright and intensely blue star directly below the galaxy core is supernova SN2012fr, which was discovered by Alain Klotz (TAROT La Silla telescope) on 27th October 2012. As of 10th November 2012 the supernova appeared to be nearing its peak, with an R magnitude of 11.90. To get an idea of how bright this event is we can calculate the absolute magnitude M of the supernova using the following formula where m is the apparent magnitude and D the distance in parsecs: M = m - 5(log10(D) - 1) This gives an absolute magnitude of -19.27 for SN2012fr. This means that if the supernova had occurred at a distance to us similar to Betelgeuse (643 light years), then its apparent magnitude would be -12.80, same as the full Moon! Image details: Date: 7th and 9th November 2012 Exposure: LRGB: 205:57:56:51m, total 6hrs 9mins @ -30C Telescope: 10" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5 Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2 Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand

NGC 1365 and Supernova SN2012fr - From Rolf Wahl Olsen - https://flic.kr/p/dsnfg9

30.04.2025 01:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 252    ๐Ÿ” 33    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

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