#Bennie Thompson

[dicapiito]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Allison Janokwski at DNC:

5:30 PM

Call to Order Alex Hornbrook Executive Director of the 2024 Democratic National Convention Committee Gavel In The Honorable Cory Booker United States Senator, New Jersey Invocation Sri Rakesh Bhatt Sri Siva Vishnu Temple Bishop Leah D. Daughtry The House of the Lord Churches Pledge of Allegiance Students from Moreland Arts & Health Sciences Magnet School from St. Paul, MN National Anthem Jess Davis Presentation of Honorary Resolutions The Honorable Jaime Harrison Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Joined by Vice Chairs The Honorable Keisha Lance Bottoms, Ken Martin, Henry R. Muñoz III, Treasurer Virginia McGregor, and Finance Chair Chris Korge. Remarks Mini Timmaraju President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All Remarks Alexis McGill Johnson President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund Remarks Cecile Richards Reproductive Rights Champion Remarks Kelley Robinson President of the Human Rights Campaign Remarks Jessica Mackler President of EMILYs List Remarks María Teresa Kumar Founding President and CEO of Voto Latino Remarks The Honorable Tom Suozzi Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New York

6:00 PM

Welcome Remarks The Honorable Cory Booker United States Senator, New Jersey Joint Remarks The Honorable Aftab Pureval Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio The Honorable Cavalier Johnson Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Joint Remarks Rashawn Spivey and Deanna Branch Lead pipe removal advocates Remarks The Honorable Lisa Blunt Rochester Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Delaware Remarks The Honorable Grace Meng Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New York Remarks: “Project 2025—Chapter Three: Freedoms” The Honorable Jared Polis Governor of Colorado Remarks The Honorable Debbie Wasserman Schultz Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Florida Remarks The Honorable Suzan DelBene Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Remarks The Honorable Keith Ellison Attorney General of Minnesota Remarks The Honorable Dana Nessel Attorney General of Michigan Joint Remarks Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg Parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin Performance Maren Morris American singer-songwriter

7:00 PM

Remarks The Honorable Veronica Escobar Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas Remarks The Honorable Chris Murphy United States Senator, Connecticut Remarks The Honorable Javier Salazar Sheriff of Bexar County, Texas Remarks The Honorable Pete Aguilar Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Influencer Remarks Carlos Eduardo Espina Content creator Remarks Olivia Troye Former Trump administration national security official Remarks The Honorable Geoff Duncan Former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia Remarks The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mississippi Remarks Sergeant Aquilino Gonell Retired United States Capitol Police Officer Remarks The Honorable Andy Kim Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New Jersey Influencer Remarks Olivia Julianna Content creator Performance Stevie Wonder American singer-songwriter and musician Remarks Kenan Thompson and Guests on Project 2025 American comedian and actor

8:00 PM

Host Introduction Mindy Kaling Remarks The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Remarks The Honorable Bill Clinton 42nd President of the United States Remarks The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker Emerita of the U.S. House of Representatives Remarks The Honorable Josh Shapiro Governor of Pennsylvania Remarks Alexander Hudlin Jasper Emhoff Arden Emhoff Remarks The Honorable Catherine Cortez Masto United States Senator, Nevada

9:00 PM

Performance Amanda Gorman National Youth Poet Laureate Remarks The Honorable Wes Moore Governor of Maryland Remarks The Honorable Pete Buttigieg Performance John Legend American singer-songwriter Sheila E. American singer and drummer Remarks The Honorable Amy Klobuchar United States Senator, Minnesota Remarks Benjamin C. Ingman Former student of Governor Walz Remarks The Honorable Tim Walz Governor of Minnesota Benediction William Emmanuel Hall Lead Pastor of St. James Church in Chicago

Apologies for the delay of night 3’s release of the DNC Speaker schedule.

The main speaker of tonight is Minnesota Governor and Kamala Harris VP pick Tim Walz.

Other notable Speakers: Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Geoff Duncan, Andy Kim, Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, Josh Shapiro, and Pete Buttigieg.

Grace Meng and Debbie Wasserman Schultz were initially set to speak on Monday, but got moved to tonight.

Performers: Maren Morris, John Legend, Amanda Gorman (poem), Stevie Wonder

[tomorrowusa]

The 800+ page final report by the House January 6th Committee was released on Thursday evening.

The initial takeaway is that it is a particularly well-written work. That puts it in the same class as the official 9/11 Commission Report which was released in 2004. The latter was widely praised for its clarity.

Sadly, the hardcopy editions of the report won’t be available in time for Christmas giving. But the committee has made all of it available online in PDF.

FINAL REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6TH ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL

After three Forwards (one each by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chair Bennie Thompson, Vice Chair Liz Cheney) there’s an Executive Summary which runs from page 1 through page 134. The overall Narrative goes from page 195 through page 692. The Narrative is followed by four Appendices.

Everything is copiously footnoted. There are sources galore. The only downside may be that in the Narrative section, the footnotes are placed at the end of each chapter rather than at the end of the overall Narrative. But that’s a minor issue — and it does give the reader a chance to pause and reflect on each of those sections.

A news story about the release of the January 6th Report...

Jan. 6 committee releases final report, says Trump should be barred from office    

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

J D Crowe, Mobile Press-Register

* * * *

Kevin McCarthy’s treachery.

         Axios reported on Monday about a new scandal involving Kevin McCarthy and Tucker Carlson that will reverberate for months—a near eternity in political dog-years. McCarthy has granted private access to Tucker Carlson’s producers to more than 1,400 hours of surveillance video from inside the Capitol on January 6th. See Axios, Exclusive: Kevin McCarthy gives Tucker Carlson access to massive trove of Jan. 6 riot tape.

I urge you to read the entire relatively brief article in Axios to learn the details. Tucker Carlson claims that the January 6th insurrection was “mere vandalism” and will comb through the videotapes to find footage of insurrectionists who happened to walking from one portion of the crime scene to another—making it appear that they were tourists who had lost their way.

         McCarthy’s action is stupefying. He has granted access to non-public materials to a propagandist who has continuously misrepresented the facts about the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection. More importantly, the materials to which Carlson has been granted exclusive access do not belong to Kevin McCarthy, to Fox News, to the GOP, or to Tucker Carlson. They belong to the American people. If full transparency is appropriate, then it is appropriate for all news organizations and the American public, not merely to a politically motivated hack like Tucker Carlson.

         But the full set of videotapes should NOT be released! They show, among other things, the movement of the Vice President, Speaker Pelosi, and House and Senate leaders. If those tapes are released, all members of Congress will be less safe during the next emergency.

         What could Kevin McCarthy have been thinking? Did he make a deal with Tucker Carlson to gain the on-air personality’s assistance in securing votes for McCarthy's Speakership bid? It makes absolutely no sense and is a gross violation of congressional ethics and the constitutional office occupied by McCarthy. The co-Chair of the January 6th Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, called out McCarthy’s actions. See The Hill, Bennie Thompson rips McCarthy for giving Tucker Carlson Jan. 6 footage.

         Per Bennie Thompson,

If Speaker McCarthy has indeed granted Tucker Carlson — a Fox host who routinely spreads misinformation and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s poisonous propaganda — and his producers access to this sensitive footage, he owes the American people an explanation of why he has done so and what steps he has taken to address the significant security concerns at stake.

         This is a breach of ethics and trust of epic proportions—and should be treated as such by the media and American citizens. Do your part. Don’t let this travesty fly under the radar. Speak up!

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[reasoningdaily]

Biden to travel to Mississippi in wake of deadly storms

Alex Gangitano

People sit in front of a damaged home on Saturday, March 25, 2023 in Silver City, Miss. (AP Photo/Michael Goldberg)

President Biden will travel to Rolling Fork, Miss., on Friday to survey the damage from the massive and deadly storms that tore through the state over the weekend.

First lady Jill Biden will also join the president on the trip. They will assess recovery efforts and “reaffirm their commitment to supporting the people of Mississippi as long as it takes,” the White House announced on Wednesday. 

The Bidens also plan to meet with first responders, state and local officials, and communities impacted by the storms.

The president on Sunday declared an emergency to aid recovery and clean-up efforts in Mississippi, making federal funds available for a number of counties that were ravaged in the state. Multiple tornadoes ripped through Mississippi on Friday, with one of the more devastating ones striking 60 miles northeast of Jackson.

Biden on Saturday called Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) and lawmakers from the state, including Republican Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson.

On those calls, the president expressed his condolences for the lives lost and the damage resulting from the tornadoes and asked how he can be most supportive.

The president typically visits sites of natural disasters and other incidents to survey damage and meet with first responders, local leaders and those impacted.

He faced backlash last month for not visiting Ohio in the wake of the train derailment in East Palestine. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan went on behalf of the administration. Manwhile, former President Trump also visited the site.

[gordoncstewart]

C'mon now! We can do better!

“…The world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around…. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.”THE REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., Memphis, TN, April 4, 1969 The world was messed up on April 4, 1969, the night the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr spoke these words in his last speech. America was sick. It was…

[usaitbari]

Congress honors Jan. 6 officers as committee announces it may make criminal referrals

Congress honors Jan. 6 officers as committee announces it may make criminal referrals

Congress honors Jan. 6 officers as committee announces it may make criminal referrals – CBS News Watch CBS News It was a busy day in Washington, with the Justice Department issuing subpoenas in its 2020 election probe, the House Jan. 6 committee saying it will make criminal referrals to the DOJ, and congressional leaders holding a ceremony to honor officers who defended the Capitol during the…

[reportwire]

Ginni Thomas tells January 6 committee she didn't discuss election activities with Justice Clarence Thomas | CNN Politics

Ginni Thomas tells January 6 committee she didn’t discuss election activities with Justice Clarence Thomas | CNN Politics

Washington CNN  —  Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, stressed that her election activities were separate from her husband’s role on the high court during her Thursday meeting with the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Thomas addressed her dynamic with her husband through a prepared statement at the onset of the…

[homerjacksons]

Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton BRIDGERTON 1.05

[ryebecca]

"He wasn’t certain how this woman had come to mean so much to him. It seemed that one day she was a stranger, and the next she was as indispensable as air. And yet it hadn’t happened in a blinding flash. It had been a slow, sneaky process, quietly coloring his emotions until he realized that without her, his life lacked all meaning." 🐝 ✨ - An Offer From a Gentleman, Julia Quinn

[msfangirlgonewild]

Poor Benny, how many drinks you have?

Poor John, trying to be bold

Colin and Will, they regret nothing 😂

[runn0ft]

Made these absolutely shit BE/Barbie things on my phone and never posted them, so I guess I will now. Pt. 1 | Pt. 2

[janetsnakehole02]

BENOPHIE NATION!!! THIS!!! IS!!! OUR!!! TIME!!!

the easter eggs could not be easter egging more clearly ohhh man it’s finally our time i CANNOT WAIT 😭😭😭

[sagesolsticewrites]

bestieeeeee <3

from the prompts: 5 for Brady and Jules, 14 for Benny and Vika 😘

Thanks so much for the request chickie, these were so much fun! 🥰 so sorry for the wait 😅 Blurbs are under the cut!

From this prompt list (inbox is open y’all!)

Brady & Jules

5.) "I never want us to forget why we fell in love in the first place."

With a sigh, Juliet climbed into bed, avoiding looking at the place where her husband should be.

He was away at a marching band competition, and he had assured her he’d be home before they went to bed, but Olivia and Janie’s bedtime had come and gone with no sign of him, and Juliet had tucked them in with soft promises that their father would be there to say hello in the morning.

She heard the familiar sound of the garage door opening and the jingle of keys in the dish by the door, her husband clearly trying to enter as quietly as he could.

As she heard him come upstairs and peek into the girls’ room, part of her longed to turn over, to see him enter their bedroom with what surely was a reasonable explanation for his tardiness and kiss her worries of the evening away.

But a larger part of her leaned into her stubbornness, and she feigned sleep as their bedroom door opened and John climbed into bed with a whispered apology and a brush of his lips to her cheek.

There was an odd distance between them now, John apologizing the next morning, saying there was an accident on their way back and traffic had backed up, so they hadn’t gotten back to the school until well after dark. Juliet had accepted his apology, and tried to get things back to normal, but there was still something nagging at her as she threw herself into the daily routine of kiss husband goodbye, get kids off to school, do housework, pick kids up from school, make dinner—

She was clearing out one of the cabinets in the study— her little library, as John liked to call it— when she came across an old photo book filled with pictures from when she and John had first started dating. Grinning as she flipped through the memories, she tried to think back to when the two of them had last had some true time alone and…

She couldn’t.

Since Janie had been born, they’d tried to have at the very least two date nights a month, but then John had taken on more responsibilities as director of the Victor High School marching band, and Jules was trying to juggle taking care of two wonderful children instead of just one and alone time had fallen by the wayside.

She’d planned to ask him about a potential date night when he came home from work that evening, but it seemed her husband had come to a similar conclusion and spoke up first.

“What would you say to us having a weekend away?” He’d said as he dried dishes at the sink beside her, their daughters off watching tv in the living room.

“Us and the girls?” She asked, already mentally planning what she’d need to pack for them.

“No,” John said carefully, “I was thinking just the two of us.”

Seeing the protests already forming in her mind, he continues, “I already called the Crosbys, and Harry said he and Jean would be happy to have the girls over for the weekend.”

He sets the dripping plate in his hands on the drying rack, turning to face Jules as he takes her hands in his.

“I know it’s been too long since we’ve had time together just the two of us, and I’m so sorry about that, sweetheart. Will you let me fix that, please?”

Unable to fight off the tender smile growing on her face, Juliet nods.

“Of course, Johnny,” she says softly, her thumb stroking gently along his cheek.

That weekend, they drive into the city to drop the girl off with their Uncle Harry and Aunt Jean— “be good!”— before turning towards the mystery destination that John still hasn’t told her about.

“You’ll know it when we get there,” he’d assured her.

And as they drove along increasingly familiar streets towards their hotel, Jules realized she did.

“Johnny, did you—?”

“Cornell territory,” he grins, recalling her words to him the first night they met.

Jules lets out an incredulous laugh as she looks out at her old stomping grounds as a student.

Once they’ve dropped off their luggage, John takes his wife by the hand and takes her out for a stroll that’s a near step-for-step recreation of their first date, down to the diner they stop at next to one of many old bookstores she’d dragged him to back in the fall of 1940.

“Johnny, this is lovely,” she gushes over their milkshakes, “But… how in the world did you think of it?”

He smiles, the shy shrug of his shoulders bringing her back to that college senior she’d met in a bar all those years ago.

“You’ve been the love of my life since we met, Jules,” John says, “And I never want us to forget why we fell in love in the first place.”

There simply aren’t words for the emotions welling up in her at his tender words, and so she leans across the table to capture her husband's lips in a kiss— just like they’d done all those years before.

Benny & Vika

14.) “Let's get dressed up for dinner tonight." "We just cooked-" "We don't have to go out!"

“Let’s get dressed up for dinner tonight.”

Benny DeMarco sees his wife stiffen out of the corner of his eye where she’s setting the table and quickly realizes he made a mistake not giving her more context.

In his defense, he was mostly just thinking about a way to get her into that red dress he likes.

Vika— who on any other night would love her husband to whisk her away for a night out— is confused and more than a little upset at her husband’s sudden idea as she glances back to the pots simmering on the stove.

“We just cooked—”

“We don’t have to go out!” Benny scrambles to say, moving from his place on the couch to stand in front of her, trying to placate her. “Just… I thought it might be nice for us to have a date night in tonight. We haven’t had much of a chance to get dressed up just because lately.”

“Oh,” she softens, deep brown eyes melting like chocolate, “Benny, that sounds lovely.”

“I try.” He grins.

Vika glances back to the stove, doing some mental math.

“Alright, well… I’ll keep an eye on the stove while you get dressed, and then when you’re done all you need to do—”

“Vika,” he says, directing his wife’s attention back to him, “You just go get changed, tesoro, I’ll worry about dinner.”

“Benny…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it all under control.”

Luckily he does have it all under control, as tonight’s dinner is the pasta that Benny himself taught Vika how to make, and he relies solely on muscle memory as he waits for Vika to re-emerge.

The click clack of heels on the kitchen tile alerts him to his wife’s arrival as he’s plating dinner— having swapped out their usual plates for the slightly nicer ones that were a wedding gift from the Bradys.

As he looks up, Vika twirls shyly, a gold pin nestled in her dark waves complementing her usual jhumka necklace, and— Benny thanks every deity he can think of— the skirt of his favorite red dress fanning out around her.

“Will this do, Mr. DeMarco?”

Benny works his way around the table to pull Vika into his arms, his smile growing impossibly wide.

“You look perfect, Mrs. DeMarco.”

He beams at her attempt to bite back a smile— hearing her married name never fails to bring a smile to her face, and Benny adores it— and continues.

“You always look perfect, of course, but tonight…”

His gaze traces over her wide brown eyes sparkling with joy, gorgeous red-lipped smile, down to the dazzling diamond on her left hand.

“God, how did I get so lucky?”

Vika leans up onto her tiptoes to press a tender kiss to his mouth.

“I ask myself that every day, my love.” She smiles, pulling him back into the dining room, “Now come on. I’m hungry, and somebody made me go get dressed up instead of letting me finish dinner.”