#Ken Chenault

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Allison Janowski at DNC:

5:30 PM

Call to Order The Honorable Jaime R. Harrison Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Gavel In The Honorable Mitch Landrieu DNC Night 2 Co-Chair and Committee Co-Chair Invocation Rabbi Sharon Brous IKAR Imam Dr. Talib M. Shareef The Nation’s Mosque Pledge of Allegiance Joshua Davis National Anthem Aristotle “Aris” Garcia Byrne Remarks Jason Carter Grandson of President Jimmy Carter Remarks Jack Schlossberg Grandson of President John F. Kennedy Remarks: “Project 2025—Chapter Two: The Economy” The Honorable Malcolm Kenyatta Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

6:00 PM

Remarks Kyle Sweetser Former Donald Trump voter Remarks Stephanie Grisham Former Trump White House Press Secretary Remarks Nabela Noor Content creator Remarks The Honorable Gary Peters United States Senator, Michigan Remarks Kenneth Stribling Retired Teamster

7:00 PM

Roll Call Remarks Minnesota Delegation Remarks California Delegation

8:00 PM

Host Introduction Ana Navarro Remarks The Honorable Chuck Schumer United States Senate Majority Leader Remarks The Honorable Bernie Sanders United States Senator, Vermont Remarks The Honorable JB Pritzker Governor of Illinois Remarks Ken Chenault American business executive Remarks The Honorable Michelle Lujan Grisham Governor of New Mexico

9:00 PM

Keynote Remarks Angela Alsobrooks Democratic Nominee for the U.S. Senate, Maryland; Long-time mentee of the Vice President Remarks The Honorable John Giles Mayor of Mesa, Arizona Remarks The Honorable Tammy Duckworth United States Senator, Illinois Remarks Douglas Emhoff Second Gentleman of the United States Remarks Michelle Obama Former First Lady of the United States 10:00 PM Remarks Barack Obama 44th President of the United States Benediction Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr. African Methodist Episcopal Church, 7th Episcopal District His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

The Dem Convention speakers schedule is out for Night 2. Former President Barack Obama and former FLOTUS Michelle Obama are the main speeches of the night.

Other notable speakers: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Jason Carter, Stephanie Grisham, New York Sen. and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Angela Alsobrooks, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Tonight will also feature the roll call for the Presidential nomination of Kamala Harris and the Vice-Presidential nomination of Tim Walz,

[bouncinghedgehog]

BREAKING: Donald Trump gets infuriating news as titans of business like Mark Cuban, Reed Hastings, and Aaron Levine band together to launch a new initiative to elect Kamala Harris.

Business for Leaders for Harris has launched a series of slickly produced video testimonials from small business owners as well as the aforementioned prominent industry leaders to argue for a Harris presidency.

At the top of the list are Shark Tank billionaire Mark Cuban, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, Box CEO Aaron Levine, former American Express CEO Ken Chenault, and former Merck CEO Ken Frazier. They all recorded short videos in support of Harris.

"Kamala Harris brings order and innovation. Donald Trump brings chaos and fear and hopelessness. We need someone who will bring us hope in a very tangible way and that is Kamala Harris," Chenault said in his testimonial.

"In many ways, I think it will be an improvement from the current administration. And one of her differences is the level of interest that she has," said Hastings.

Business Leaders for Harris comes from the progressive Republican Accountability PAC. The super PAC received $6 million from Hoffman and $7 million from Hastings alone.

On top of that, Hoffman will be hosting the new Business Leaders for Harris podcast, the first episode of which will feature him talking to Cuban and then Hastings.

Hoffman said he has heard from "a whole bunch of CEOs, who actually feel very strongly that Harris is better for business, but who don’t feel like they can speak up as much because they’re currently in ‘the seat.'"

"They’re kind of like, ’Hey, I got a bunch of employees. I got shareholders. I got customers," he added.

[docrotten]

I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957) – Episode 153 – Decades Of Horror: The Classic Era

“All right now, we’ll move in stagger fashion. We’ll circle the outer edges first and keep going round and round till we meet in the center.” And that’s called a “search grid?” Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Doc Rotten, and Jeff Mohr – as they go for the winning combination of mad scientist and teenage angst in I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 153 – I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era! Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website. Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

A troubled teenager seeks help through hypnotherapy, but his evil doctor uses him for regression experiments that transform him into a rampaging werewolf.

  Director: Gene Fowler Jr.

Writers: Herman Cohen, Aben Kandel

Makeup Creator: Phillip Scheer

Selected Cast:

Michael Landon as Tony Rivers

Yvonne Lime as Arlene Logan

Whit Bissell as Dr. Alfred Brandon

Charles Willcox as Jimmy (as Tony Marshall)

Dawn Richard as Theresa

Barney Phillips as Detective Donovan

Ken Miller as Vic

Cynthia Chenault as Pearl (as Cindy Robbins)

Michael Rougas as Frank

Robert Griffin as Police Chief P.F. Baker

Joseph Mell as Dr. Hugo Wagner

Malcolm Atterbury as Charles Rivers

Eddie Marr as Doyle

Vladimir Sokoloff as Pepe the Janitor

Louise Lewis as Principal Ferguson

S. John Launer as Bill Logan (as John Launer)

Guy Williams as Officer Chris Stanley

Dorothy Crehan as Mrs. Mary Logan

A young Michael Landon, just a few years before rising to fame as “Little Joe” Cartwright in Bonanza, stars as Tony Rivers, a troubled teen struggling with anger management. Whit Bissell is featured as Dr. Alfred Brandon,  a psychologist (or mad scientist) with ulterior motives. Yes! Oh, yes, indeed! It’s the AIP/Herman Cohen campy classic, I Was a Teenage Werewolf. The Grue-Crew is in full Drive-In Theater mode for this one.

High-quality versions of I Was a Teenage Werewolf, streaming or physical media, are not available, but there is a reason. Susan Hart, the actress and widow of AIP co-founder James Nicholson, owns the rights to eleven AIP films outright: It Conquered the World (1956) and its remake Zontar, The Thing from Venus (1966); Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) and its remake The Eye Creatures (1965); I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957); I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957); The Amazing Colossal Man (1957); Terror from the Year 5000 (1958); Apache Woman (1955); The Oklahoma Woman (1956); and Naked Paradise (1957). She frequently negotiates rights for merchandise and theatrical showings, but physical media has not been updated for release in decades. You can, however, purchase a VHS tape of the movie.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule, as chosen by Chad, is The Wasp Woman (1959). Yes, they’re sticking with 1950s B-movies, but moving from AIP/Herman Cohen on to Film Group/Roger Corman!

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

Check out this episode!

[enetarch-issues-americans-have]

Two of America’s most prominent Black business leaders have a warning for companies abandoning DEI | CNN Business

[hotnew-pt]

Dois dos mais proeminentes líderes empresariais negros da América têm um alerta para as empresas que abandonam a DEI #ÚltimasNotícias

Hot News Nova Iorque CNN – Ken Frazier cresceu em um bairro pobre da Filadélfia, filho de um zelador e neto de um homem nascido na escravidão. Ele ascendeu às alturas da América corporativa como CEO da Merck de 2011 a 2021, tornando-se o primeiro executivo-chefe negro de uma grande empresa farmacêutica. Ken Chenault, CEO da American Express de 2001 a 2018, tornou-se apenas o terceiro CEO negro…

[recentlyheardcom]

Two of America’s most prominent Black business leaders have a warning for companies abandoning DEI

New York CNN  —  Ken Frazier grew up in a poor Philadelphia neighborhood as the son of a janitor and grandson of a man born into slavery. He rose to the heights of corporate America as CEO of Merck from 2011 to 2021, becoming the first Black chief executive of a major pharmaceutical company. Ken Chenault, the CEO of American Express from 2001 to 2018, became just the third Black CEO of a…

[lboogie1906]

Renee Chenault-Fattah (October 12, 1957) is a journalist and former co-anchor of the WCAU NBC 10 News at 4 and 6 p.m. on weeknights in Philadelphia. She is married to former Congressman Chaka Fattah of the 2nd Congressional District of Pennsylvania.

She majored in political science at Johns Hopkins University and went on to earn her JD at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She worked at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, a law firm in New York, and clerked for Judge Damon Keith of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She began her media career, earning an MA in journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

She joined WCAU, the Philadelphia CBS TV affiliate, in September 1991, and served as an anchor and a reporter. After a few years anchoring the noon broadcast with Tim Lake, she was promoted to the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news in March 1995. WCAU had become the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia. In 2003, Lake joined her as co-anchor at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m., after she had spent 8 years co-anchoring newscasts at 6 and 11, first with Ken Matz and then with Larry Mendte.

The criminal case involving her husband, Chaka Fattah, made it increasingly difficult for her to continue as an anchor, and she went on leave for seven months following his indictment. She left the station. Although she was mentioned in a business dealing of her husband’s, she was never charged with anything in connection with the activities that ultimately led to his conviction.

She serves on the board of trustees of Johns Hopkins University. She serves on the board of directors of Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, a non-profit dedicated to assisting low-income Philadelphians in overcoming hurdles caused by past criminal records.

She was named to the PoliticsPA list of “Sy Snyder’s Power 50” list of influential individuals in Pennsylvania politics. She was named to the PoliticsPA list of “Pennsylvania’s Most Politically Powerful Women”

The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted her into their Hall of Fame. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[adventuresinclientservice]

Weapons of choice.

After I wrote, “Why clients get the agencies they deserve,” I heard from my  fellow blogger, friend, and frequent commentator Rick English, who, after reading what I posted, had this to say:

“bad clients will break the hearts of the creatives and are the reason that account people are not allowed to carry guns.”  

Okay, this struck me as a little scary contemplate – Robert striding into a client meeting armed to the teeth -- but wickedly funny.  The last time I fired a gun was freshman year at George Washington University, where I took a one-credit course in shooting, using a .22-caliber rifle for target practice.  If anyone cares to know, I was a lousy shot.  Me with a gun is no threat to anyone.

My lack of marksmanship got me thinking about clients, colleagues, and weapons of choice.  Guns are out, but no one needs them, given there is alternative armament that can be devastating, if properly used.  

Take, for example, a high-caliber listening skill, meaning the ability to hear what clients really are saying – the text of course, but also the sub-text, what clients are not saying but thinking -- combined with asking thoughtful, insightful, to-the-point questions that are sure to hit the mark, deescalating even the most heated moment.

Language is another potent weapon.  I recall a famous line of unknown provenance  -- it could have come from Mark Twain, or maybe Dorothy Parker – that goes, “I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed.”  Drollness aside, it speaks to the deadly effectiveness of well-crafted, thoughtful language – not defensive, not argumentative – just sound, well-reasoned, and ultimately persuasive.

Now imagine your client is a Stephanie McCarty-- someone as ill-informed as she is  unknowledgeable – you would need a full arsenal of listening and language weaponry to deal with her.  Luckily not all clients are this clueless.  

I make mention of one in Chapter 34 of the current, third edition of The Art of Client Service, “Respect What It Takes to Do Great Creative,” where I refer to an unnamed client who was a master of providing feedback whenever the agency was presenting creative work. 

The agency that then employed me was Digitas, the client was American Express, and the master was Morris Perliss, then the head of the company’s “Personal Card” division, which many of us knew as the Green Card.  All of us loved Morris Perliss, the Creatives most especially, not because he was “easy” – he was anything but -- because he was everything McCarty is not:  knowledgeable, thoughtful, respectful of the Creative process, tough yet supportive.

There were enough of these accomplished clients that, years ago, I wrote a series of posts called, “Clients I loved,” where I singled out  Karen Jones, David Vining, Mike Dunn, Virginia Ann Holman, and Ken Chenault for their remarkably effective skills in working with advertising agencies.  They varied in industry, title, tenure, and demeanor, but all of them were highly effective in working with the agencies where I served.

With these clients, I never worried about entering a room armed.  With McCarty, or someone of her ilk, there is no amount of weaponry that would serve as protection.  And would I be tempted to dispatch her?  Not likely, but I’d sure as hell think about it.

[robertosekiya10]

Estilos de Liderança Empresarial: Chaves para o Crescimento Sustentável

Estilos de Liderança Empresarial: Chaves para o Crescimento Sustentável

No mundo dos negócios, a liderança é o motor que impulsiona a inovação, a motivação e, por fim, o sucesso de uma empresa. Os estilos de liderança de um empresário ou empreendedor podem definir o rumo de sua organização, influenciando diretamente no clima organizacional, na produtividade e, consequentemente, nos resultados econômicos e financeiros. Neste artigo, exploraremos os principais estilos de liderança que têm demonstrado ser eficazes para o crescimento empresarial, apoiados por exemplos práticos de líderes de sucesso e dados relevantes.

Liderança Transformacional

A liderança transformacional é caracterizada pela capacidade de inspirar e motivar a equipe, promovendo uma visão de futuro que engaja e alinha todos os membros em direção a objetivos comuns. Este estilo é exemplificado por executivos como Satya Nadella, CEO da Microsoft, que revitalizou a cultura da empresa em torno da aprendizagem contínua e inovação, levando a um aumento significativo no valor de mercado da Microsoft.

Dados financeiros corroboram o impacto positivo dessa abordagem, com a Microsoft reportando um crescimento consistente em receita e lucratividade desde a assunção de Nadella em 2014. A liderança transformacional, portanto, mostra-se eficaz ao promover um ambiente que favorece a inovação e a adaptabilidade, elementos chave em um mercado cada vez mais volátil e competitivo.

Liderança Participativa

O estilo participativo, também conhecido como democrático, enfatiza a importância da contribuição de todos os membros da equipe nas decisões da empresa. Esse tipo de liderança é bem representado por Tony Hsieh, ex-CEO da Zappos, que priorizou a cultura empresarial e a satisfação dos empregados como pilares para o sucesso da organização. Através de práticas como escritórios abertos e incentivo à comunicação livre, Hsieh demonstrou que envolver os funcionários nas decisões empresariais pode levar a um aumento significativo na inovação e na lealdade da equipe.

Estudos de caso da Zappos revelam melhorias notáveis na satisfação dos funcionários, o que se traduziu em melhor atendimento ao cliente e desempenho financeiro superior, destacando a eficácia da liderança participativa para engajar e motivar a equipe.

Liderança Situacional

A liderança situacional enfatiza a flexibilidade, adaptando o estilo de liderança às necessidades específicas da equipe e do momento. Jeff Bezos, fundador da Amazon, é um exemplo notório de um líder situacional, capaz de alternar entre diferentes estilos de liderança conforme as exigências do ambiente de negócios. Sua capacidade de adaptar estratégias rapidamente em resposta a mudanças de mercado permitiu à Amazon dominar diversos setores.

Um exemplo disso é a forma como Bezos liderou a Amazon através da diversificação de produtos e serviços, indo além da venda de livros para se tornar um gigante do e-commerce e da computação em nuvem. Esse tipo de liderança requer uma compreensão profunda do mercado, bem como a habilidade de motivar e inspirar a equipe a inovar e se adaptar constantemente. A liderança situacional de Bezos mostrou-se eficaz não apenas no crescimento exponencial da Amazon, mas também na manutenção de sua posição de liderança frente a concorrentes fortes e em um ambiente de negócios em constante evolução.

Liderança Servidora

O conceito de liderança servidora foca na priorização das necessidades da equipe antes das do líder. Ken Chenault, ex-CEO da American Express, é frequentemente citado como um líder servidor, enfatizando o desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional dos funcionários. Esta abordagem contribuiu para a construção de uma cultura empresarial forte, com altos níveis de engajamento e lealdade dos funcionários.

Dados financeiros da American Express durante a gestão de Chenault mostram um crescimento robusto, evidenciando que focar no bem-estar e desenvolvimento dos funcionários pode resultar em melhor desempenho financeiro.

Os estilos de liderança empresarial são variados, cada um com seus próprios méritos e aplicações dependendo do contexto organizacional. No entanto, uma característica comum entre todos os líderes de sucesso é a capacidade de adaptar seu estilo conforme necessário, sempre com foco no crescimento sustentável da empresa. A liderança eficaz, portanto, não se resume a uma fórmula fixa, mas sim à habilidade de navegar pelas complexidades do ambiente.

Roberto Sekiya

CEO da B2B Business Connection

Fundador da Causa Empreendedora

Mentor e Palestrante

Foi Subsecretário de Empreendedorismo e da Micro e Pequena Empresa do Governo do Estado de São Paulo

www.robertosekiya.com.br

www.causaempreendedora.com.br

www.b2bconnection.com.br

[blackvotersmatterfund]

Local Organizations Launch Accountability Campaign Targeting T.X. Business for Supporting Voter Suppression

Black Voters Matter (BVM) and a coalition of local Texas organizations today announced the launch of a new campaign to hold Texas-based corporations accountable for their roles in supporting voter suppression legislation. The campaign, targeting businesses like AT&T which have previously funded voter suppression efforts, demands that these corporations take a stand against a package of voter restrictions that would disproportionately impact Black voters. The package includes Senate Bill 7, a proposal that would place severe restrictions on mail-in voting and give the attorney general unprecedented authority to crack down on so-called voter fraud, which is advancing in the Texas legislature.

Today’s campaign announcement follows reports that Merck CEO Ken Frazier, former American Express CEO Ken Chenault, and 70 other prominent Black business leaders delivered a letter urging the business community to fight restrictive voting laws.

“Last year, these businesses made lofty promises and issued statements about their commitments to racial justice and equity. But given the opportunity to speak out against racist voter restrictions, these corporations have suddenly gone silent,” said Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. “For years, Texas businesses have bankrolled local, statewide, and national campaigns to restrict ballot access — particularly in Black communities. We are launching this campaign to hold them accountable to their promises of racial equity and to urge them to use their political access to block this dangerous legislation.”

“We’re launching this corporate accountability campaign because we know that, when backed by grassroots activism, corporate pressure works,” said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. “We’ve seen it stop aggressive campaigns against the LGBTQ community in North Carolina and block attacks on women’s rights in Georgia. Now, we’re calling on Texas businesses to do right by Black workers and their communities and take a stand against this racist, unconstitutional legislation.

”The Texas campaign is a joint effort between nearly a dozen local and national voting rights organizations, including Black Voters Matter, Texas Organizing Project, MOVE Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project and others. The campaign includes paid advertisements, which ran this week in the Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News, and direct actions at Texas businesses. Additional actions are planned for the coming weeks.

This corporate accountability campaign follows a similar BVM effort to hold businesses accountable for their roles in supporting voter restrictions in Georgia. That campaign, which targeted Georgia-based businesses like Delta Airlines, Coca-Cola, and Southern Company as well as the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, urged businesses to speak out against Senate Bill 202, which was ultimately signed into law by Georgia governor Brian Kemp.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 1, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

The efforts of Republican state legislators in 43 states to suppress voting have made the rubber of Republicans politics meet the road of reality.

Republicans are pushing the idea that it is imperative to pass laws to protect the sanctity of the vote because their supporters are concerned that the 2020 election was stolen. But, as observers have pointed out, if they want to reassure their voters that the election was clean, the way to do it would be to tell them the truth: the election wasn’t stolen.

This reality has been established by Christopher Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the United States Department of Homeland Security whom Trump fired after he said the 2020 election was “the most secure in American history”; by former president Trump’s attorney general William Barr, who said that the Justice Department had found no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would have changed the outcome of the election; and by judges who dismissed more than 50 lawsuits alleging voter fraud.

Last week, Trump lawyer Sidney Powell claimed in a court filing that “no reasonable person” would believe that her lies about election fraud “were truly statements of fact.”

And yet, rather than admitting that Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 election fairly, Republicans are claiming that they must relieve supporters’ concerns about the stolen election—a myth they, themselves, have created—by passing legislation that will suppress Democratic votes.

There seem to be a couple of things at stake here.

One is that, having riled up Trump supporters by telling them that the election was stolen, Republican leaders can’t very well now back down and admit that they were lying. So they are playing this charade out in the hopes that they can keep Trump supporters energized enough to keep showing up at the polls and to keep voting Republican.

The other, of course, is that Democratic wins, especially in Georgia, indicate that the Republicans must either change their political positions or get rid of Democratic voters. Since the one seems impossible to them, they are going for the other.

But the political imperative to get rid of Democratic voters is running headlong into modern America. Not only is 2021 more openly multicultural than the 1890s, when the previous avalanche of voter suppression kept poor people of all races and ethnicities from the polls, but also the people who approve of racial equality have way more economic power than they did a century or more ago.

Yesterday, more than 70 Black executives wrote a letter urging companies to fight the voter suppression measures under consideration in 43 states. “There is no middle ground here,” said Ken Chenault, the former head of American Express. “You either are for more people voting, or you want to suppress the vote.”

After complaints that companies had been quiet about the Georgia voter suppression bill, the chief executive officer of Delta Airlines, Ed Bastian, issued a statement calling the new law “unacceptable” and noting that “[t]he entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections. This is simply not true. Unfortunately, that excuse is being used in states across the nation that are attempting to pass similar legislation to restrict voting rights.” Bastian condemned the “sweeping voting reform act that could make it harder for many Georgians, particularly those in our Black and Brown communities, to exercise their right to vote.” He pledged “to protect and facilitate your precious right to vote.”

Shortly afterward, the leader of Coca-Cola, James Quincey, followed suit with an interview on CNBC that called the law “unacceptable.”

After Bastian spoke, Georgia Republicans said they were caught off guard by his opposition. In the Georgia House, Republicans voted to get rid of a tax break on jet fuel that benefits Delta. David Ralston, the leader of the Republican Party in the House said: “They like our public policy when we’re doing things that benefit them,” then added: “You don’t feed a dog that bites your hand. You got to keep that in mind sometimes.”

That is, Republican lawmakers made it clear they are not legislating in the interest of the public good, but are instead using the law to retaliate against Delta after its chief executive officer criticized their voter suppression law. (The Georgia Senate did not take up the bill before the legislature adjourned.)

Similarly, Ralston told reporters he was now a Pepsi drinker, seemingly retaliating against Coca-Cola for its own opposition to the law.

A similar scene played out in Texas, where legislators are considering an even more restrictive bill that tries to end drive-through voting and 24-hour polling places, as well as giving partisan poll watchers more leeway to harass voters, including by recording them on video. Today, American Airlines announced it was “strongly opposed to this bill and others like it.” The company affirmed its support for democracy and called for making it easier, not harder, to vote. “Voting is the hallmark of our democracy, and is the foundation of our great country. We value the democratic process and believe every eligible American should be allowed to exercise their right to vote, no matter which political party or candidate they support.”

Tonight, the chair of the Dallas County Republican Party, Rodney Anderson, retweeted a statement cheering on the Georgia House for trying to strip Delta of the multimillion dollar tax break for criticizing the state’s voting bill. Then he suggested retaliating against companies that oppose Texas’s proposed voting restrictions by increasing their tax burdens. Within an hour, he had deleted the tweet.

In the late nineteenth century, southern lawmakers’ calculation that business would support voter suppression efforts would have been accurate. Indeed, southern lawmakers could suppress Black voting in part because business leaders across the country were happy to see poor voters cut out of political power, especially after the alliance movement suggested that farmers and workers might make common cause across race lines to change laws that privileged industry over ordinary Americans. When fourteen southern lawmakers defended their region’s suppression of Black voting in an 1890 book, they dedicated the work to “the businessmen of the North.”

The reaction of today’s business leaders to new voter suppression measures suggests that the old equation in which businessmen want to get rid of Black and poor voters is no longer so clear. While businesses undoubtedly like preferential treatment, they now answer to a broader constituency than they did a century or more ago, and that constituency does not necessarily support voter suppression. Today, Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, which is developing a hub in Atlanta, took a stand against the new Georgia election law. He wrote: “We hope that companies will come together and make clear that a healthy business requires a healthy community. And a healthy community requires that everyone have the right to vote conveniently, safely, and securely.”

In 1890, southern white leaders promised the North that voter suppression would make the South bloom. They were wrong: by concentrating wealth and power among a few white leaders, it kept the South mired in poverty for at least two generations. Rejecting voter suppression this time around could write an entirely different story.

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

 HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[glowinggator]

ayo 😎 i’m here abt the matchups lol,,, uh, i’m a girl, i’m bisexual, i’m a mallgoth (a type of goth subculture if u didn’t know!), i love to draw and dance, and... i’m funny, ig? i think? i say dude and bro and stuff a lot. but i’m also a really good empath? and my humor is like “pees on the ceiling aggressively” LFJSKDK- sorry if this is annoying 🏃💨 ok bye i love ur blog

I match you with... 

April!!

You are... such a vibe to her. It’s best friends from the get-go, honestly. The first thing that draws her to you is your sense of fashion! Whether you’re a pre or post-revival mallgoth, she thinks you’re so pretty and badass. She ends up falling super quick, and honestly? Who can blame her?

Your texts are literally incomprehensible to anyone besides you two <3  “YOO BABE YOUR DEMON CAT LOOKS GNC AF” “YOURE INSANE.”  “That’s the worst sentence I’ve ever read! I’m going to bark like a dog now woof woof bark growl.” “I’m literally going to attack you like a feral possum </3″ 

Stupid texts at 3:00 AM when neither of you can sleep. You always go to bed with a smile on your face. 

Midnight runs to the gas station are so frequent, whether or not you live together yet. You quickly become an expert at climbing out of your window to land on the ground, sprinting to her car with mischievous eyes and bubbling laughter. The wind is cold, and it bites at your skin, but you don’t care. She cups your hands when you clamber into her old, 2000′s BMW she found on craigslist. The heating works fine, but you much prefer her hands. She kisses your fingertips with a giggle before driving off to raid the nearest gas station. The music is loud and you sing the whole way. 

Have you ever danced in the streets? What about the streets of the Hidden City? You both skip over the worn cobblestone, weaving in and out of the streetlights and other civilians.  (She totally brings a bluetooth speaker along too <3 She’s BIG into music, and y’all take turns choosing playlists.) 

She loves your art!! She’d hang up everything you make, if you’d let her. She likes to keep your doodles too!! It doesn’t matter how tiny it is, she’s keeping it. 

Movie nights are!! So fun with her!! It’s nice to cuddle under the blankets, watching the newest horror movie. Or alternatively, the dumbest B-List horror movie you guys can find. Mayhem always climbs up to sit with you guys, and you’re LEGALLY OBLIGATED to pet them. If you don’t, they’ll just climb on the TV </3 bastard baby

Unless you like to cook, takeout is very, VERY common between you two. She doesn’t like cooking a whole lot, unless she’s in the mood for it. She makes good breakfast, though!! And desserts: She loves to bake. (Also YES she totally teases you about how you’re as pale as the fucking flour retfygufyguhi)

She’s a really good singer! If you ever have trouble falling asleep, she’s not above singing to you for a little while. She’s a bit shy about it, but she’ll fucking do it!! MUAH. (She usually sings something by Mitski <3 Townie and First Love//Late Spring are her go-to’s.) 

Pride is so fun with her!! NY Pride is really, really fun in particular. Standing in front of Stonewall with your lover is... a really humbling experience. You smile for the entire parade and likely end up going home with a sunburn at the end of the day. It’s worth it. 

You already KNOW you’re gonna be besties with the turtles as well. Like, I’m sorry (not) but it’s unavoidable. You’re gonna be harassed by Donnie in particular during the infancy of your relationship. Like, he has to make sure you’re cool!! Once he decides you’re good enough for her, he totally starts including you in group calls. And missions. And technically-illegal acts of activism.  “APRIL bring your girlfriend we’re gonna go superglue Ken Chenault’s (CEO) door shut.” 

Her favorite kisses are the ones where you’re both smiling and laughing through it. She’ll cup your jaw so, so gently and run her thumbs across your cheeks. At the end she’ll press her forehead against yours, and the love that swims in her eyes is so pure, so sweet, that you can promise yourself that you’ll never forget it. And you’ll have thousands more kisses like this, each more memorable than the last. 

[nakediconoclast]

Voting interference.

Over 100 top CEO's including James Murdock, Ken Chenault, Ken Frazier, Reid Hoffman, Chip Bergh, Arthur Blank and executives of Delta, United and American airlines as well as 72 black executives are colluding to interfere with States rights (100 Top CEO"s Plot to Punish States Which Pass 'Restrictive' Voting Laws- Zerohedge.com)Specifically the Constitutionally specified voting procedures of each state.  In my opinion each and every CEO and executive officer that is involved should be brought up on RICO charges, tried, convicted and all of their wealth and position confiscated   All members of Congress that voted to pass HR1 should also be expelled and their wealth confiscated.  

It is the States that establish the rights and procedures for all elections.  Congress and the executive officers of the many corporations and companies are illegally interfering.

[par7133]

Bill Gates leaves Microsoft board

He is replaced by Ken Chenault, ex CEO of American Express