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If you love peaty whisky, this post is for you. Ardbeg has been producing the smoky stuff since 1798 on the island of Islay in western Scotland. The small distillery has only two stills and sits right on the sea. It’s literally everything you think of when you think of a sea-washed Scottish distillery.

Last week, we went on Instagram to taste through Ardbeg’s main expressions with podcast host and travel writer Mike Schibel. Our tasting started with Ardbeg’s new expression, Wee Beastie, and ended with this year’s special release of Blaaack. It was an hour-or-so long whirlwind of some of the tastiest, smokiest, and award-winning peaty scotches on the market today.

There are no musician tie-ins here. No gimmicks. This is just damn-fine whisky that’ll help you fall in love with the peatier side of the whisky world.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie

ABV: 47.4%
Average Price: $50

The Whisky:

This is a very new expression from Ardbeg (it was released in April of 2020). The juice is aged for only five years in both ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks before marrying for the final product. The idea is to give a sense of the quality of the peaty juice from Port Ellen’s malting house.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a sharp sense of alcohol and peat up top with a hint of fruitiness. The fruit leans more pear, with a flourish of vanilla behind a real brininess and mild(ish) notes of peat. The rawness of the peaty tar sticks to your senses as a hint of smoked bacon fades alongside the fruit, brine, and peat.

Ardbeg Ten

ABV: 46%
Average Price: $60

The Whisky:

This is Ardbeg’s signature bottle and a true gateway to the peaty style of single malt scotches. The real highlight with this expression is the peat via sherry casking. It’s truly a classic.

Tasting Notes:

Smoke, fruit, and a hint of lemon zest lead the way. There’s a sense of black pepper spice, smoked meat, plenty of brine, a dose of vanilla, and a whisper of nuttiness. A sense of bitterness and a touch of licorice come into play as the sip very, very slowly fades through the smoke, nuttiness, and fruit.

Ardbeg Uigedail

ABV: 54.2%
Average Price: $90

The Whisky:

Pronounced “Oog-A-Dal,” this expression is all about being “dark and mysterious” — much like the lake the distillery pulls its water and the name of this expression from. The juice is a mix of single malts from both ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks and is bottled at cask strength.

Tasting Notes:

Smoked fruit and Christmas spices greet you with a hint of florals and… maybe even bananas. The dram has a fruity sweetness that counterpoints the heavier smoky nature of the sip. The sip opens up wonderfully with a drop of water as the spices, smoke, and fruit all balance each other out deftly. The sip ends quickly but with a nice dose of warmth.

Ardbeg Corryvrecken

ABV: 46%
Average Price: $100

The Whisky:

This whisky is named after the world’s second-largest ocean whirlpool, called Corryvrecken. The juice in the bottle is Ardbeg Ten blended with single malt that’s been aged exclusively in new French Limousin casks.

Tasting Notes:

Moments of spice, vanilla, brown sugar, and dark, tart fruit open this sip. Sea salt, black pepper, dark spices, and more tart berries mingle on the palate. The subtly of the sip hints at florals as and almost dark chocolate feeling arrives late on the lingering, peppery finish.

Ardbeg Blaaack

ABV: 46%
Average Price: $130

The Whisky:

Ardbeg’s Blaaack is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary this year. This specialty and very-limited release was aged in Pinto Noir casks from New Zealand this time around, adding a very plummy depth to the dram.

Tasting Notes:

Cedar, mushroom umami, mild smoke, cherry, vinous red wine, and a hint of citrus zest greet your nose. The sip is texturally reminiscent of velvet with plenty of peaty smoke, brine, ripe and sweet fruits, a vinous note, and powdery dark chocolate. The velvet texture of the sip really grabs your senses as the bitter chocolate, fruit, and spice fade out over time and another rush of peat and cedar flood the senses.

Check out the full tasting below!

Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers will head to Orlando with championship aspirations, as they get a healthy Ben Simmons back on the floor for the eight-game push to the postseason. If at full strength, Philly figures to be a force to be reckoned with, but that of course comes with the giant caveat hanging over the NBA that is: Will this restart go off without a hitch?

We’ve already seen a number of players, most of whom are not on championship contenders, withdraw due to injury concerns, family concerns, or testing positive for COVID-19 prior to going to Orlando. As the MLS battles outbreaks within their bubble at Disney, with one team withdrawing and another having to have a game postponed, there has to be at least some concern something similar could happen to the NBA if they don’t take extreme precaution.

The league has done what it believes to be what is necessary with the guidelines in place for testing, isolation, and distancing — particularly important early on as players arrive from all around the country. Embiid himself isn’t a fan of the NBA’s restart plan and has plenty of concerns, one of which being that he doesn’t trust all of his fellow players to do their part in following those protocols and rules that are in place to try and mitigate any spread of the virus in the bubble, as he told reporters on Tuesday via Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

“I look at myself and I’ve been doing this for quite a bit now — six, seven years,” he said. “Like I said, all I do is play video games and stay in my room on the road, or even when I’m home. Just stay home, play video games, do what I’ve got to do. Just being with my family.

“And obviously we’re all different. Some guys like to go out and some guys like to do stuff, (there are) some guys that like adventure. So that’s the way I’m thinking. I know myself. I know I’m not going to put everybody else at risk, but the question is, is everybody else going to do the same? And just being around this business, I surely don’t think so.”

Embiid has concerns about the motivation for the league pushing so hard for the restart (money) and whether it will be truly safe, but also said he doesn’t want to let down his teammates and the city so he’ll be going and trying to play for a championship. His point on players potentially not following protocols is valid, and it remains to be seen if the league will be able to effectively enforce the rules to keep players from breaking the bubble or doing things inside of it that could put the restart in jeopardy.

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

Jim Jefferies: Indolerant — The Aussie comedian (who remains notorious for his gun-control opinion) pulls a 180 from where he was five years ago. He’s less focused on issues these days and grows incredibly banal at times, but he’s still uproariously funny. While reflecting upon the state of comedy today, he manages to dole out some hefty insight on life while telling an epic tale of the pursuit of lactose at all costs.

Netflix has also dropped many other comedy specials over the past few months, and here are the highlights:

Eric Andre: Legalize Everything — This New Orleans-filmed special shows Eric Andre once again busting through comedic boundaries while taking on the wars on sex, drugs, and… fart jokes? Alright. Seriously though, It’s the best comedy special of the year and highly relevant to the U.S. police-related discussion today.

Pete Davidson: Alive From New York — From SNL to a ton of upcoming movies, Pete Davidson’s doing everything, and now, he’s got his very first Netflix original comedy special. Yes, he’s dropping all kinds of unfiltered anecdotes on everything from his SNL-related discomfort to his Louis C.K. beef and Ariana Grande relationship.

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything — The Emmy and Grammy winning comedian brings his newest comedy special to the streaming giant. Look forward to anecdotes involving a full-scale Millennium Falcon replica and how home buying gets tied to the term “suicide squad.” Stick around for the post-credits bonus, in which Patton introduces another one-hour comedy special, Bob Rubin: Oddities & Rarities.

Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours To Kill — The legendary Jerry Seinfeld has dropped his second Netflix special. Expect him to keep mining everyday life to unveil comedy in the commonplace. Although the title of this special feels Bond-esque, Seinfeld doesn’t disappoint those expecting his trademarked sharp perceptions about everyday life.

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (Netflix stand-up special) — The newest Netflix comedy special arrives today with Hannah Gadsby following up on Nanette with a second turn named after one of her dogs. Gadsby’s hope was that Douglas would “inspire comedy disobedience,” according to Netflix, and this LA-filmed special promises to upend all expectations.

Marc Maron: End Times Fun — The long-time standup comic, GLOW star, and prolific podcaster unleashes his latest comedy special. Expect Maron’s thoughts on cell phones, vaccinations, and Tumeric. Oh, and he’s definitely talking about his ongoing beef with Marvel movie fans.

George Lopez: We’ll Do It For Half (Netflix stand-up special, Tuesday) — Somehow, this is Lopez’s first Netflix comedy special despite his storied stand-up roots. In one hour, Lopez dives into lessons that he’s learned from the Latino community, along with issues related to emotional support animals, gender reveal parties, and elevator etiquette.

Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis — Taylor Tomlinson has made a high-spirited appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, and Netflix now presents her first comedy special. Over the course of an hour, Tomlinson will discuss how she’s leaving the mistakes of her early 20s behind her (and tell us why why your twenties are not truly “the best years of your life”).

Tom Segura: Ball Hog — This special promises to not be for the faint of heart, and Segura is leaving no target-stone unturned. He tackles emotionally fragile people, arguments with one’s family, up-ending expectations, and he offers some common sense on following dreams, live from a recent performance in Austin, Texas.

Here are a few options elsewhere on TV:

Stargirl (CW, 8:00 p.m.) — Courtney’s unexpected confrontation convinces Pat that it’s time to tell Barbara what’s up, and Cindy’s catching heat from her own dad.

Dirty John (USA 10:00 p.m.) — The Betty Broderick Story is an irresistibly trashy series that’s even dirtier that last year’s effort. This week, Betty’s lost identity means that she’s turning her pain outward, with fatal results.

The WNBA is set to start its season later this month, as the teams have arrived at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida — where the conditions are, per videos from the bubble, less than ideal. Once games start, players will wear uniforms with Breonna Taylor’s name, as well as warmups that say Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name, continuing to spotlight the killing of Taylor and other women by police brutality.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Kelly Loeffler, a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream and appointed United States Senator from Georgia, opposed that idea.

U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler objected to the WNBA’s plans to honor the Black Lives Matter movement, warning Tuesday that subscribing to a “particular political agenda undermines the potential of the sport and sends a message of exclusion.”

Loeffler called for everyone to be “united” and to “remove politics from sports,” which only further illustrates how badly (and purposefully) she is missing the point of the Black Lives Matter movement. Calling for an end to police brutality and racism shouldn’t be a political issue — insisting it is political only further evidences what side Loeffler falls on with regards to race, and as such, there’s a push from within the WNBA by the players association for her to be removed as an owner in a league that is predominantly Black.

Loeffler, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate last year by Georgia governor Brian Kemp to replace Johnny Isakson and made headlines earlier this year when she and her husband sold $20 million in stock following a closed-door meeting on COVID-19 in February, will face her first election later this fall in November, and has clearly chosen to stake her opposition to Black Lives Matter as a campaign point. The WNBA quickly issued a statement, noting that Loeffler was “no longer involved in the day-to-day business” of the Dream since being appointed to the Senate in October 2019.

Her status as active or not likely won’t be relevant to players if there are any ties between Loeffler and the Dream, even as the WNBA clearly looks to distance themselves from Loeffler. Without completely removing her from any post as a co-owner of the Dream, this issue will remain and illustrates a broader problem the NBA and WNBA face with regards to making public, grand statements about supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and their players while some of those in ownership positions support and donate to candidates (like Loeffler) that vehemently oppose that movement and would prefer to maintain the status quo that assists in them keeping their immense wealth and power.

Over the past two months, as the nation has seen thousands take the streets to protest police violence and systemic inequality, athletes and celebrities have lent their voices and their influence in an effort to affect meaningful change. The killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor have mobilized Americans in a way we haven’t seen in a generation.

Even as the NBA prepares to resume its season in Orlando later this month, many players and league officials have voiced concerns about how to make sure the return of professional sports doesn’t distract from the Black Lives Matter movement and instead leverages its platform to bring greater awareness to the cause and spur concrete action.

Kyrie Irving was one of the first to express reluctance about the NBA restart, and though he won’t be participating with the Nets as he continues to rehab from injury, he’s funneling his efforts elsewhere to make the most of this opportunity. On Tuesday, it was announced that he’s producing a television program designed specifically to bring justice for Breonna Taylor, an unarmed black woman who police shot to death in her apartment as the plainclothes officers executed a no-knock warrant.

Via ESPN:

The broadcast will include specific calls for action, such as calls to the offices of city and state officials, voter registrations and social media posts bringing attention to Taylor’s case.

Irving, who has been vocal about social justice issues, says as society is calling attention to police brutality and systemic racism, it is “critical to magnify how these unjust behaviors and practices are directly impacting Black women.”

The program will air PlayersTV, a digital platform on Samsung TV that is similar to the Players’ Tribune in that it is designed specifically for athletes to produce their own stories. The show will feature a variety of guests, such as Jemelle Hill and Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza.

(ESPN)

Vauhxx Booker, a civil rights activist from Bloomington, Indiana, claims that a group of white men threatened to lynch him during an altercation on July 4 near Lake Monroe, but he was saved by onlookers who intervened.

Video taken during the incident shows he was held down by a group of men who pinned him to a tree in a wooded area. Booker says that while he was being held down, the men threatened to break his arms, repeatedly said “get a noose,” and told his friends to leave the area.

The men later let him go after being confronted by onlookers who gathered at the scene.

The incident began, according to Booker, when he and his friends were making their way to the lake to see the lunar eclipse when a white man on an ATV told them they were trespassing. When Booker and his friends continued to walk to the lake, the man on the ATV and his friends allegedly shouted “white power” at them, which is when things turned violent.

Booker says that one man wore a hat with the confederate flag.

Booker recounting the story to reporters on Monday.via Cameron Ridle / Twitter

“I don’t want to recount this, but I was almost the victim of an attempted lynching,” he later wrote on Facebook. “I don’t want this to have happened to me or anyone. It hurts my soul and my pride, but there are multiple witnesses and it can’t be hidden or avoided.”

Multiple people recorded portions of the incident on their camera phones. In the videos, the white men can be heard calling someone a “nappy-headed bitch” and insulting “liberals.”

Video documentation of Bloomington resident Vauhxx Booker being attacked, July 4, 2020

www.youtube.com

The altercation caught the attention of other people making their way to the lake who intervened by filming the incident, calling the Department of Natural Resources, and demanding they let Booker go.

“I’m here alive today because folks stopped being bystanders. They didn’t just film me,” Booker said at a protest on Monday adding that their actions, “affirmed that black lives matter.”

In his Facebook post, Booker says that the crowd refused to leave him to be killed by the men.

According to witnesses, it took DNR agents one to two hours to arrive at the scene of the altercation. Booker says they refused to make any arrests.

“They left a clear and present danger loose in our community,” Booker said of the DNR officers. “I don’t have a doubt that if it would have been five Black men who had attacked a white man, they would have been in jail that night.”

The DNR says that the incident is still under investigation. Booker’s lawyer believes that arrests will be made soon.

On Monday, a Black Lives Matter group gathered in Bloomington, Indiana to protest the incident and support Booker.

The peaceful protest ended in violence when a red car sped through the gathering injuring two people who hung on as it drove away. The driver of the car has not been identified.

“The 35 year-old man that had clung to the side of the vehicle suffered abrasions to his arms as a result of falling from the vehicle. The 29 year-old woman that had been on the hood was said to have been knocked unconscious and suffered a laceration to her head,” the Bloomington Police Department wrote, according to NBC News.

The incident near Lake Monroe is another example that racially-motivated violence is still a problem that must be confronted. It also shows why the goals of the growing Black Lives Matter movement gaining traction across the country are so vital to the survival of people of color.

The bystanders who wouldn’t let Vauhxx Booker be the next victim is an inspiring example of what can happen when allies step in and refuse to accept violence. Wouldn’t it be great if the cops who stood by allowed George Floyd to be murdered did the same thing?

“We need to stop being bystanders,” Booker said on Monday. “I’m here today because folks stopped being bystanders.”

As more and more videos of adults throwing tantrums over being asked to wear masks go viral, one has to feel for the employees on the receiving end of such behavior. It’s hard enough to have to work serving the public during a pandemic. Having to politely but firmly deal with irate customers taking their angst out on you, especially when you have no control over policies or legal mandates, must be endlessly frustrating.

One might assume that grown-ups would rise above the urge to harass teenagers who are just trying to do their job serving them in the safest way possible, but that’s unfortunately not always the case.

The owner of Mootown Creamery, an ice cream shop in Ohio, called out the folks who have been attacking her young female employees. Angela Brooks wrote on the shop’s Facebook page:

I’ve been trying not to say anything, but it is getting out of control. 🛑 STOP!!! 🛑 Stop yelling at these young girls. Stop slamming doors. Stop swearing at them and making a scene. STOP!!! These girls are wearing masks for YOUR protection. They are required by the state to wear them, and they do so with a smile because they care about you and your safety. In order to protect them and our other guests, I made the decision to require face masks in our store. I made that decision, not them!

Do you know how hard it is to work a summer rush in a face mask? With a line of customers to the door, some waiting outside, online orders dinging on a tablet, the phone ringing off the hook — and then have a customer throw a temper tantrum in the store calling the girls “paranoid” or “anti-american” or even worse – CUSS AT THEM! (Does it feel good to make a 16 year old girl cry in the bathroom? Or sob on her way home from work? Does that make you feel better about Covid? How would you feel if someone did this to your child?)

Knock it off!!!!!! I get it. This sucks. Covid is one of the most awful things many of us have experienced in our lifetime. Our lives are flipped upside down. Businesses are closing. Some of us are still out of work. We are stressed out, worried, and frustrated. However that is no excuse to take out your frustrations on teenage kids serving ice cream! (Most of which this is their first job!) Are you serious?! What control do they possibly have over the situation?

You are not welcome here if you have that little respect for us. It is not about the sales. Go somewhere else if you want to behave that way. The customers who are respectful, loving, understanding and kind are welcome at Mootown. We serve ice cream and smiles. If going out for ice cream puts you in that much of a bad mood, stay home!! You are not going to ruin the experience for everyone else.

We offer curbside pickup, outdoor ordering, online ordering, delivery to your home, phone orders — there are a dozen different ways for you to place an order and still maintain your rights to not wear a mask. If you don’t have a mask or don’t believe in social distancing – we respect that. We’ll take your order in any of those several ways, or understand if you don’t come back until after Covid. But you don’t get to walk in the store and yell at the girls. THAT STOPS NOW!!!

To those of you who haven’t been absolute monsters during all of this — THANK YOU!!!! We love you, appreciate you, and look forward to seeing you soon! 🐮🍦

Brooks set up a “virtual tip jar” for the girls through GoFundMe, which she said would be split evenly between the 16 part-time employees, many of whom are working to pay for college or saving to buy a car. Though the initial goal was $500, people have donated nearly $10,000 in a week.

In addition to the money, people have left supportive messages on the GoFundMe page, which hopefully help balance out the terrible treatment these girls have had to endure.

“Consider us buying virtual ice cream with a smile on our faces. Yum! These are exceptional times and we all have to be more generous and thoughtful and caring with each other to get through them. Thank you all for doing the right thing!”

“These young people deserve it. Bullying a bunch of teenagers just trying to do a job and save money is despicable. I hope this shows them that there are good people out here who recognize the difficulties they face just trying work a job to save money.”

“Thank you for standing on the side of sanity and the health of the community!”

“I donated because the owner stood up for her employees. And the owner is a valued member of the Berea, Ohio community. She is providing first jobs to young ladies and these LADIES need to know they are appreciated.”

Even in all of the madness and mayhem of the moment, it’s heartening to see people rally around those who are following public health recommendations and doing what needs to be done to protect everyone—even those who may not appreciate it.

Over the past few months, Lil Nas X has used his Twitter bio to update fans on the progress on his new album. Currently, it reads, “ALBUM: 92% DONE.” He’s getting close, but a new album isn’t all he’s working on: The rapper revealed today he also wants to make a new mixtape, and he has asked his fans for help.

Sharing an image of SpongeBob SquarePants character Squidward squeezing Mr. Krabs’ eyes, Nas wrote, “ALBUM’S ALMOST FINISHED BUT WORKING ON A MIXTAPE TOO! ALL PRODUCERS SEND BEATS TO [email protected] !”

Before this tweet, one fan wondered when would be a good time for a new Nas album to drop in light of all the other recent hip-hop releases, and Nas responded, “there’s no best time drop. trust i will have a plan to make sure this album and every single’ single from it goes crazy on the charts and sound amazing too.” He later added, “just want to make sure u guys have faith in me and what im about to do. despite what anyone else thinks or says.”

Meanwhile, a few days ago, a Portuguese-speaking fan suggested that Nas drop his project this month, to which the rapper responded, “i’m sure it’ll be finished this month but not sure how i wanna drop yet.”

It looks like whether Nas decides to drop his album or mixtape first, something is on the way regardless.

Ray Fisher‘s social media campaign against Joss Whedon has reportedly reached an impasse. For now.

Shortly before the July 4th weekend, Fisher kicked off a flurry of headlines as the Cyborg actor retracted his endorsement of Whedon taking over director duties on Justice League after Zack Snyder left the film to deal with a family tragedy. But Fisher didn’t stop there. He went on to accuse Whedon of being “abusive and unprofessional” on set and, a few days later, the actor tweeted out his support for Whedon’s ex-wife Kai Cole and Angel star Charisma Carpenter. Both women have aired grievances with Whedon’s allegedly sexist behavior despite his public persona as an outspoken feminist.

However, despite Kevin Smith corroborating that were problems with Whedon’s attitude on the set of Justice League, Fisher has neglected to offer specifics about the director’s alleged behavior, and for good reason. In a video Q&A on Instagram, Fisher admitted that he’s still bound by a non-disclosure agreement and “under contract,” so he can’t go into more detail about Whedon without opening a world of trouble. At least for now. Via Heroic Hollywood:

So, I’ve gotta be very careful about what I say and how I say it. Otherwise I could get sued into oblivion. So just a disclaimer there. So for the folks who were looking for more specifics, I’m sorry that I cannot give them to you in the moment right now. Just gotta make sure all your ducks are laid out in a row, so you can go ahead and handle the situation appropriately, so you don’t end up being outside of professionally liable, legally liable for anything that could be litigious or whatever that would be. This will take some time. We will get it done, and we will win.

Whether this latest development means Fisher will go quiet on the Whedon subject remains to be seen, but it sounds like the actor could be biding his time or preparing for a legal battle that will allow him to speak out on what went wrong on the set of the superhero film.

(Via Heroic Hollywood)

As the NBA prepares for a hopeful restart to the season in Orlando one of the main basketball questions for this season and beyond is whether the relationship between Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert is tenable. While there have been grumblings the two haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on everything, the tensions between them came to a head when Mitchell tested positive for COVID-19 after Gobert’s test that resulted in the NBA shutting down.

Gobert issued a public apology for his “careless” behavior, but Mitchell was still fuming and it took a full month for the two to speak again. That issue only widened the rift between the two, and immediately launched speculation that the Jazz may have to choose between their two foundational players. That question still lingers and, whether the cause or not, any struggles the Jazz have during the restart and playoffs will surely lead to only more discussion about the Mitchell-Gobert relationship.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon recently spoke with Gobert about his relationship with Mitchell, who was very open about the frustrations they can have with each other on the court and was introspective about the role he plays in creating those frustrations. It’s a fascinating look at their relationship, as both have cited past successful partnerships between stars that were anything but friends, and Gobert and the Jazz front office state they believe the two can work together on the court towards the goal of winning a championship.

When the topic of Gobert’s prodding at Mitchell about not passing enough was broached, Gobert noted that he needs to be better about picking his spots as to when he should be demanding of the young guard and that, in his words, is “the a**hole.”

“I understand that I’m annoying. I can be very annoying,” said Gobert, adding that he knows Mitchell’s job is difficult as the focal point of defenses. “I think maybe because he was really good really early, I’ve been very demanding and maybe in not always a positive way. Sometimes you don’t realize it.

“Like with me, people can be hard on me and I can handle it, but for some guys, it can become very frustrating. I can understand that 100 percent. Donovan has gotten better every year since he’s gotten here. I think he’s going to keep getting a lot better. It’s pretty much, I’m the a–hole.”

Gobert goes on to note that he believes the two are in a good enough place after having talked through things and can work together, provided they’re willing to have those conversations out in the open. The Jazz have stated publicly that they still see the two as their foundational pieces, but with both headed for massive extensions, how this restart unfolds between the two of them may dictate whether they hold strong to that belief.