Anna Brown

I'm going to keep the train rolling on Substack, so y'all subscribe. If you liked Matter of Faith, you'll like what I've got up my sleeve next. open.substack.com/pub/annabeahm/…

Reasons I don't miss being a slave to the news cycle: I didn't have to think about content related to megarich women going to space.

I don’t want to connect my coffee machine to the wifi network. I don’t want to share the file with OneDrive. I don’t want to download an app to check my car’s fluid levels. I don’t want to scan a QR code to view the restaurant menu. I don’t want to let Google know my location before showing me the search results. I don’t want to include a Teams link on the calendar invite. I don’t want to pay 50 different monthly subscription fees for all my software. I don’t want to upgrade to TurboTax platinum plus audit protection. I don’t want to install the Webex plugin to join the meeting. I don’t want to share my car’s braking data with the actuaries at State Farm. I don’t want to text with your AI chatbot. I don’t want to download the Instagram app to look at your picture. I don’t want to type in my email address to view the content on your company’s website. I don’t want text messages with promo codes. I don’t want to leave your company a five-star Google review in exchange for the chance to win a $20 Starbucks gift card. I don’t want to join your exclusive community in the metaverse. I don’t want AI to help me write my comments on LinkedIn. I don’t even want to be on LinkedIn in the first place. I just want to pay for a product one time (and only one time), know that it’s going to work flawlessly, press 0 to speak to an operator if I need help, and otherwise be left alone and treated with some small measure of human dignity, if that’s not too much to ask anymore.

I still write every now and then. Here's my latest: open.substack.com/pub/annabeahm/…

I have a few initial thoughts after having the opportunity to review the Firefly report of Mike Bickle and IHOPKC. A key question that every investigator should repeatedly ask while investigating and writing an investigative report is, "Who should be the primary audience of this report?" The answer to that question often determines how a report is written and what is included and omitted from it. In my opinion, the primary audience should always be the reported victims. That was not clear from reading Firefly report. I also found the report confusing in how it was organized and unpacked. I say that as an attorney who is trained to think and argue in a logical and oftentimes linear fashion. Jim Holler is an experienced, reputable and gifted investigator. He is not an attorney and, therefore, should not be expected to write as one. Furthermore, I recognize that this investigation involved hundreds of interviews related to a myriad of issues spanning decades at IHOPKC. I acknowledge the profound challenges any writer faces when integrating and synthesizing such a volume of information into a final report. There is no perfect way to accomplish that Herculean task. I thought the section regarding Mike Bickle was sufficiently communicated and probably achieved what it needed to accomplish. However, I was disappointed in the final section that addressed others who reported being abused by IHOPKC staff and volunteers. That section tended to seemingly gloss over much of the abuse even though such abuse is no less egregious than what was perpetrated by Mike Bickle. I can understand how some survivors might be disappointed and/or frustrated by what they read. In sum, I commend Jim Holler and the Firefly team for their tireless work and for creating safe spaces that enabled many survivors to boldly step forward and share the horrors inflicted upon them within the IHOPKC community. I believe the watching world will find the contents of this report to be nothing short of horrific and will be satisfied that darkness has finally come to light at IHOPKC. On the other hand, I think there will be many who were formerly part of the IHOPKC who realize that there is still much darkness that must be exposed, and that the Firefly report (understandably) could not fully accomplish that. My hope is that this report is just the beginning of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us God.

Woof. What a day for journalism.

I'm traumatized by this image

*pooper not proper

Not living in Alabama anymore but still a party proper. Never registered with a party and never will. I will always vote though. There's gotta be other party poopers out there, and I really hope we can crash this really weird party situation in my lifetime.

Pretty damn tired of every election progressively becoming "the worst ever." I don't want another boomer to complain about my political cynicism. Kindly, consider a mile in my shoes wherein 2016 was my first opportunity to vote for the president.

Drop your #ReformationDay memes if you got them! 👇🏼

Read it again. Jesus literally existed to demolish the religious culture of the time. He was counter-culture, counter-government, counter-everything-you've-been-taught-about-religion.

Freddie Freeman in the 2024 World Series: 4 HR, 9 RBI, 5 extra-base hits. The entire Yankees team: 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 extra-base hits.

Alright Dodgers, let's get the pennant before my Fubo subscription runs out.

@fordm 💙💙

The 10-year-old kid who caught Freeman’s walk-off grand-slam ball didn’t know he was going to the game until he got to Dodgers Stadium. His parents told him he was going to the dentist. nbclosangeles.com/news/local/los…

I bleed dodger blue!! 💙 💙

@MattScalici Literally dreading the LSU matchup

This Alabama team is up there with the most inept SEC teams I’ve seen in 20 years. Unwatchable for any reason other than sadism or masochism.

evangelicals will be like “you are saved by faith alone” and then won’t believe you’re saved if you don’t vote republican