#SUSAN ROSS FOR PRESIDENT!

[yourreddancer]

Resistance HQ Bulletin 9, 11/20/24

From Meidas Touch

Ron Filipkowski

… Trump is reportedly set to appoint Ross Vought as his Budget Director. So his Border Czar wrote the section on Project 2025 on the border, his FCC nominee wrote the section on Project 2025 on the FCC, and his Budget Director wrote the section on Project 2025 about the budget. But Trump said in the campaign he has no connection to Project 2025 and doesn’t know any of the people involved.

… Surprising criticism from Rand Paul on Trump’s announced plan to declare a national emergency in order to use the military to round up and deport migrants. “I think it’s a terrible image. That’s not what we use our military for. We never have. I will not support an emergency to put the Army into our cities.”

… The updated popular vote count according to Cook Political is now Trump - 49.89%, Harris - 48.24%. Trump’s lead continues to shrink.

… JD Vance said today that the Senate just needs to confirm every Trump nominee with no questions asked since Trump “just won a major electoral victory.”

… Thom Tillis said that Republicans citing recess appointments of previous presidents like Obama is a much different situation than what Trump wants to do because none of those were Cabinet-level positions: “Not for a Cabinet-level position. That should be absolutely off the table. And quite honestly, any serious candidate .. I would have to really wonder if they would want it or be willing to accept that under a recess appointment.”

… Tommy Tuberville suggested to Steve Bannon though that they are cooking up some kind of plan to ram Trump appointments through after the new Senate is sworn in early Jan and before Trump takes office. Unclear how this would happen if a few Republican Senators refuse to vote to adjourn, but we know that Trump and his henchmen are constantly searching for ways to justify ignoring the Constitution and all established norms.

… Trump raged on Truth Social that his amazing nominees are being criticized: “This is what the Radical Left Lunatics do to people. They dirty them up, they destroy them, and then they spit them out.”

(EVERY RETHUGLIKKKON ACCUSATION IS A CONFESSION)

… ABC has obtained Venmo and PayPal records showing payments of $10,000 from Matt Gaetz to two women he allegedly paid for sex. One was a minor at the time. Maybe he was just donating to their tuition out of the kindness of his heart.

… Tim Burchett responded to the House Ethics report on Gaetz getting hacked: “Can someone hack the Epstein files for American to see?” Careful what you wish for.

… Lindsey Graham met with Gaetz today in his office. Lindsey told CNN: “I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true. I urge my Senate colleagues not to join the lynch mob.”

… Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez was asked if Gaetz would make a good AG: “It doesn't matter what I think, the president-elect of the United States thinks that he'll make a good AG. I’m not a fan of Matt Gaetz. I wasn’t a fan of his when he was here. I think he was a disruptive force when he was in the House. But Trump has faith in him.” Hell of a ringing endorsement.

… Democratic Rep. Sean Casten introduced a privileged resolution to release the Ethics Report on Gaetz to force Republican House members to vote on whether to keep it concealed, per Punchbowl news. They only need a few Republican votes.

… Meanwhile, the Senate made a formal request for the House Ethics report on Gaetz to be turned over to them so they can do their job properly.

… But the Ethics Committee voted along party lines with Republicans voting to keep the Gaetz report secret and Democrats voting to release it. After Republican Chair Michael Guest told the press that the full committee “agreed” not to release the report, Dem Rep Susan Wild flamed him, saying that was a complete lie, they all agreed not to discuss the vote, but since Guest lied about what happened she felt compelled to disclose it was a straight party-line vote.

… But GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden told CNN after that he would vote to release the Gaetz report if it was brought to the floor for a vote. So that’s one.

… Trump rolled out a new product line today - Trump Guitars. He is selling an electric Trump Guitar on is website for $1,500 and an acoustic Trump Guitar for $1,250. They have an American flag with Trump’s face on them. He is also offering signed guitars for $10,000 and promises that they will arrive before Christmas if you order now.

…

The website for the Trump guitars does NOT say where they are made, so you know what that means.

… Nikki Haley trashed Tulsi Gabbard today: “She said that Trump turned the US into Saudi Arabia’s prostitute. This is going to be the future head of our National Intelligence? She tried to cut our annual defense budget. Tulsi Gabbard defended Iran. She went to Syria for a photo op with Assad while he was massacring his own people. She said he was skeptical he was behind it. This is disgusting. Everything she said about it was Russian talking points. Every bit of it. That was Russian propaganda.”

… More from Haley: “After Russian invaded Ukraine, she blamed NATO. The Russians and the Chinese played her talking points on Russian and Chinese TV. She’s defended Russia, Syria, Iran and China. DNI is not a place for a Russian-Chinese-Iranian-Syrian sympathizer.”

…

… Attorneys for former GA elections workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss filed a motion today in court seeking to have Rudy Giulianiheld in contempt of court for continuing to repeat the same false statements about them in recent media interviews that he was found liable for.

… Comcast announced it will create a separate spinoff media company that will package MSNBC, Bravo, CNBC, SyFy, and USA Network together under the new umbrella. Most industry analysts are saying they are doing this with the intent to sell them.

… WaPo reported losing $77 million this year, and that was before 250,000 people canceled their subscriptions after Jeff Bezos pulled the plug on the planned Harris endorsement.

… Alex Jones has filed lawsuit against the Sandy Hook families and The Onion, alleging that the sale and acquisition in the bankruptcy proceeding violated acceptable rules and practices for blind bidding.

The Onion’s offer was reportedly $7 million.

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 8.10

Beer Birthdays

Edward Greenall (1758)

Charles Haberle (1860)

George E. Muelebach (1881)

Chuck Skypeck (1954)

Lisa Dergan; St. Pauli Girl 2003 (1970)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Ian Anderson; Scottish-English rock flautist and singer (1947)

Antonio Banderas; actor (1960)

Alexander Glazunov; Russian composer (1865)

Rick Overton; screenwriter, actor and comedian (1954)

Norma Shearer; Canadian-American actress (1902)

Famous Birthdays

Al Alberts; pop singer (1922)

Jorge Amado; Brazilian writer (1912)

Devon Aoki; model (1982)

Samuel Arnold; English composer (1740)

Rosanna Arquette; actor (1959)

Patti Austin; singer-songwriter (1950)

Noah Beery Jr.; actor (1913)

Laurence Binyon; English poet (1869)

Claudia Christian; actor (1965)

Suzanne Collins; writer (1962)

Jeff Corey; actor (1914)

Charles Darrow; Monopoly creator (1889)

Jimmy Dean; singer, sausage mogul (1928)

Gilles de Roberval; French mathematician (1602)

Alfred Döblin; Polish-German physician (1878)

Rica Erickson; Australian botanist (1908)

Jon Farriss; Australian drummer (1961)

Leo Fender; founded Fender Musical Instruments (1909)

Eddie Fisher; singer and actor (1928)

Rhonda Fleming; actor (1923)

Julia Fordham; English singer-songwriter (1962)

Jimmy Griffin; singer-songwriter and guitarist (1943)

Jack Haley; actor (1898)

Angie Harmon; model, actor (1972)

William Harnett; Irish-American painter (1848)

Bobby Hatfield; singer-songwriter (1940)

Fred Ho; saxophonist and composer (1957)

Herbert Hoover; 31st U.S. President (1874)

Daniel Hugh Kelly; actor (1952)

Kåre Kolve; Norwegian saxophonist and composer (1964)

Zofia Kossak-Szczucka; Polish writer (1889)

William Manuel Johnson; bassist (1872)

Jimmy Martin; singer and guitarist (1927)

Frank Marshall; chess player (1877)

Tom Laughlin; actor (1931)

Anton Losenko; Russian painter (1737)

Ward Moore; author (1903)

Henri Nestle; German chocolatier (1814)

Kate O'Mara; English actress (1939)

Wolfgang Paul; physicist (1913)

Charlie Peacock; singer-songwriter (1956)

Michael Pepper; English physicist and engineer (1942)

Hieronymus Praetorius; German composer (1560)

Mark Price; English drummer (1959)

Abai Qunanbaiuli; Kazakh poet, composer, and philosopher (1845)

Tony Ross; English author and illustrator (1938)

Ronnie Spector; pop singer (1943)

Andrew Sullivan; political blogger (1963)

Justin Theroux; actor (1971)

Arne Tiselius; Swedish biochemist (1902)

John Kirk Townsend; ornithologist and explorer (1809)

Diane Venora; actress (1952)

Trần Tế Xương; Vietnamese poet and satirist (1870)

Vernon Washington; actor (1927)

Susan Dorothea White; Australian painter (1941)

William Willett; English inventor, founded British Summer Time (1856)

[docrotten]

COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (1970) – Episode 221 – Decades of Horror 1970s

“This is the voice of World Control. I bring you peace. It may be the Peace of Plenty and Content or the Peace of Unburied Death.” Is that a multiple-choice question? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they check out some apocalyptic science fiction and horror with Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)!

Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 221 – Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)

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

Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

Thinking this will prevent war, the US government gives an impenetrable supercomputer total control over launching nuclear missiles. But what the computer does with the power is unimaginable to its creators.

Directed by: Joseph Sargent

Writing Credits: James Bridges (screenplay); D.F. Jones (based on his 1966 novel Colossus)

Cinematography by: Gene Polito (director of photography)

Visual Effects by: Albert Whitlock (special photographic effects)

Selected Cast:

Eric Braeden as Dr. Charles Forbin

Susan Clark as Dr. Cleo Markham

Gordon Pinsent as The President

William Schallert as CIA Director Grauber

Leonid Rostoff as Russian Chairman

Georg Stanford Brown as Dr. John F. Fisher

Willard Sage as Dr. Blake

Alex Rodine as Dr. Kuprin

Martin E. Brooks as Dr. Jefferson J. Johnson (as Martin Brooks)

Marion Ross as Angela Fields

Dolph Sweet as Missile Commander

Byron Morrow as Secretary of State

Lew Brown as Peterson

Sid McCoy as Secretary of Defense

Tom Basham as Thomas L. Harrison

Robert Cornthwaite as First Scientist

James Hong as Dr. Chin

Serge Tschernisch as Translator (as Sergei Tschernisch)

John Davey as Military officer on phone (uncredited)

Paul Frees as Colossus (voice) (uncredited)

Fred Holliday as Military Computer Entry – Missile Launch (uncredited)

Robert Quarry as Scientist (uncredited)

Don Ross as Logan US Air Force (uncredited)

William Traylor as Party Guest (uncredited)

Given the current state of humankind, it makes perfect sense to turn planet management over to a supercomputer, right? Enter Charles Forbin and Colossus, his mountain-size, 70s-style, omnipotent computer. Of course, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley and leave us nothing but grief and pain, for promised joy!” (Robert Burns) And they “gang agley” in a hurry!

The Grue-Crew are agog at the cast – Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent, and a mountain-full of recognizable character actors, many of whom have horror cred – so there is much fodder for their talkabout! By the way, is it still science fiction if it’s happening today?

At the time of this writing, Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) is available to stream from Vimeo, and is available on Blu-ray formatted, physical media from SHOUT! Factory. 

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Doc, will be Nightwing (1979), adapted from the 1977 novel by Martin Cruz Smith. Vampire bats, fellow babies!

We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com. 

Check out this episode!

[richardcassidy]

Between Earth & Sky from Andrew Nadkarni on Vimeo.

Renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni studies "what grows back” after a disturbance in the rainforest canopy. After surviving a life-threatening fall from a tree, she must turn her research question onto herself to explore the effects of disturbance and recovery throughout her own life.

betweenearthandsky.com _____

a film by ANDREW NADKARNI   featuring NALINI NADKARNI   produced by SWETHA REGUNATHAN KATIE SCHILLER   executive producers CAITLIN MAE BURKE SU KIM   edited by PETER ZACHWIEJA   directors of photography JOE VAN EECKHOUT DEREK KNOWLES   original score SARI MELLAFE   associate producers MEGAN MASSEY DEVIN TUSA PETER ZACHWIEJA _____

additional cinematography KATELYN REBELO ANDREW HINTON   assistant editors JORDAN TULLIS REBECCA SCHWARTZ   additional footage provided by MERETE MUELLER   additionally featured KEYLOR MUÑOZ ELIZONDO INDIRA KULKARNI AMY McDERMOTT   business affairs DEVIN TUSA   clearance consultant ADAM LAWRENCE   graphic design MEGAN ROJEK _____   produced in association with AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY | POV Shorts   executive producers for American Documentary | POV Shorts OPAL H. BENNETT ERIKA DILDAY CHRIS WHITE   produced in association with IF/THEN SHORTS | FIELD OF VISION   consulting producer | IF/Then Shorts MERRILL STERRITT   coordinator | IF/Then Shorts CHRISTINE CHUNG _____   post production services CUTTERS STUDIOS   president & managing director | cutters studios CRAIG DUNCAN   managing director & executive producer | cutters CAITLIN GRADY   additional editing | cutters REBECCA SCHWARTZ   senior producer | cutters JAYSON RAMOS   executive producer | post-production ELIZABETH KRAJEWSKI _____   managing director | another country TIM KONN   executive producer | another country LOUISE RIDER   sound designer & mixer | another country JORDAN STALLING   associate sound designer & mixer | another country LOGAN VINES

producer | another country JOSH HUNICUTT _____   managing director | flavor NEAL COHEN   executive producer | flavor KATE SMITH   flame artist | flavor MOISES TAVERA   resource manager | flavor JULIE KLOS _____   color ASSEMBLY   supervising colorist MARÍA CARRETERO   colorist JOSÉ FONT   producer | assembly VERONICA WEBB _____   co-produced by IT DOESN'T SUCK PRODUCTIONS   impact support provided by THE REDFORD CENTER JILL TIDMAN HEATHER FIPPS ARATHI GOVIND CAIT FITZWATER NICO CADENA   production support provided by BRIC TV KUYE H. YOUNGBLOOD CHARLIE HOXIE SRIYANKA RAY   additional production funding provided by MOUNTAINFILM _____   special thanks to the family JACK LONGINO AUGUST LONGINO NATALIE VANDEVEN RIKKI NADKARNI LONGINO   special thanks to the family BOB DEUTSCH ELLEN DEUTSCH PAULA DEUTSCH THELMA DEUTSCH AMAL FALLAH SUSHA FALLAH SAROJ GHOTING MOHAN NADKARNI VINAY NADKARNI   special thanks EMILY BEST ELLA CHRISTIANSEN MARK DUPLASS DOUG FABRIZIO JESSICA FITZMORRIS DAISY FRIEDMAN PAUL GABRIELSEN JO GENNETT LORENA LOURENÇO RANDY MacLOWRY KHAULA MALIK CRISTY MEINERS KELSIE MOORE SKYLAR NIELSEN MALIKKAH ROLLINS ZEV ROSE BROOKE ROSS SUSAN SCHILLER KIRA SIMON-KENNEDY REENA SHAH KATRIN SPIRIDONOVA TRACY HEATHER STRAIN _____   location & access support MONTEVERDE CLOUD FOREST BIOLOGICAL PRESERVE MONTEVERDE INSTITUTE OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY - COLLEGE OF FORESTRY STARKER CAPSTONE WORKSHOP THE MOBILE MOON CO-OP UNIVERSITY OF UTAH _____   archival materials   "Climbing a Tree" produced by Elaine Clark & Doug Fabrizio cinematography by Nathan C. Balli provided by RadioWest   "Nalini Nadkarni | Tapestry Thinking: Weaving Together the Unexpected" provided by TEDxSaltLakeCity   "Not My Job: We Quiz Tree Canopy Expert Nalini Nadkarni On Canapés" Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! provided by NPR   "Fallen: A Transdisciplinary Tale of Disturbance and Recovery" provided by Society of Critical Care Medicine   "Rain Forest: Heroes of the High Frontier" provided by National Geographic   "The Second Voyage of the Mimi" provided by Bank Street College of Education   "Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees" provided by University of California Press _____   The filmmaking team would like to acknowledge that this documentary was filmed on the unceded territory of the Quinault, Rama, Eastern Shoshone, Chepenefa Peoples, who have stewarded this land throughout the generations.

We thank them for their strength and resilience in protecting this land, and aspire to uphold our responsibilities according to their example. _____

If you were affected by sexual violence, you are not alone.

NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT HOTLINE 800.656.HOPE online.rainn.org 

The National Sexual Assault Hotline is operated by RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. _____   "Between Earth & Sky" won the 2021 IF/Then x The Redford Center Nature Access Pitch at DOC NYC 2021.

This film was produced by By the Creek Productions, which is solely responsible for its content.   © 2023 By the Creek Productions LLC All Rights Reserved ___

betweenearthandsky.com/resources

[albertcapraro]

October 1977 - From Seventh Avenue ALBERT CAPRARO (Excerpt) By Felice E. Kronfeld One morning a few years ago, #AlbertCapraro picked up his ringing telephone to hear, "This is the White House calling." The woman on the. other and of the line identified herself as Nancy Howe, secretary to First Lady Betty Ford. Howe told a suspicious Capraro that her boss had just spotted a story about him with photos of his clothes in the Washington Star. Would it be possible Howe wondered for Capraro to come to the White House as soon as possible to design some clothes from the fabrics President Ford. had brought back from the Orient?

In addition to the former First Lady, Capraro has designed clothes for among others Diana Vreeland, Phyllis George, Barbara Walters, Diana Ross, Mrs. Barry Goldwater, Betty Furness, Lyn Revson, Mrs. Bob Hope, and Susan Ford.

Featured here are some examples of Capraro's current fashion philosophy. "I feel today's modern look in fashion is achieved through interesting textures and patterns," Capraro says, "often combining some of the most unexpected ones. to. achieve the looks I want." In addition, he continues, "The modern point of view in dressing is seasonless clothes. The old rules for certain fabrics and dressing for particular seasons no longer exist."

[trumpetnista]

CMW2/Trumpetnista: Safe (6/?)

Summary from FFN: NOW A WIP: She was Olivia Pope, not Alex Jones, not Julia Baker, and she was a mess;In this AU of 4x16, instead of Alex seducing Russell to feel alive again, Olivia decides on a better course of action, a course of action that starts with a phone call to Fitz;HEAVY SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 WITHIN;Rated for language, imagery, and later Olitz lovemaking;4th in my 2016 SSS Project

Teaser from Chapter 6: "I'm not talking about the Oval. I'm talking about Virginia." 

"It is always about the Oval with you. You want Mellie in there next. You want a Grant Dynasty." 

"She could be a great President, Liv. She just needs a little polish..." 

"What she needs is a lot of nepotism, handholding and conniving, not polish. She isn't Fitz, Cyrus. Mellie is unqualified. She has no political experience or capital of her own. She graduated top of her class at Harvard and passed the Bar with flying colors, which is nothing to scoff at but it's not enough. The Oval is not going to happen for her yet. It may not even happen at all. If she really wants to be President, then she needs to put on her big girl panties and pay her dues. She can't cut corners, cheat, or ride on someone's coat tails this time. She needs to legitimately get the job as Virginia's Junior Senator, do the job correctly for at least 4 years, and then she can run for President. She also needs to establish a more humble and approachable image, not to mention that she's still only known as Fitz's wife. Contrary to popular belief, being First Lady isn't just being arm candy and a Stepford Wife in red and pearls. You can do a lot of good, powerful things as FLOTUS but Mellie hasn't taken advantage of that opportunity, not really... don't give me that look. I'm not telling you things that you don't already know, Cyrus." 

"...you're right. I just...can you really walk away from it all? The Game?" 

Disclaimer for the full story: “Honestly, it’s not mine!”

"Olivia..."

"Don't."

"Liv, I..."

"I don't want to hear it. You've said and done enough tonight. Hang up the phone."

"You don't understand..."

"I understand enough. Jake, you owe me 450 dollars. 150 was to keep him from calling the police on you and the rest was to help cover his medical costs. I want my money by Monday and this? This is done. Whatever new assignment Rowan gave you is done. You're off duty, Son and good luck explaining this to him. Maybe he'll just exile you to Switzerland instead of putting you back in The Hole or into a shallow grave."

"Rowan didn't assign me to do anything. He has no say in what I do now. I'm free."

"You really believe that? You really expect me to believe that? Okay."

"...Olivia, the guy back there wasn't just a photographer, he was a PI hired by BNC and TMZ. He's been following you around for weeks and he had notes on a story about you going to your Group sessions. He found your therapist's office building and even got copies of all of the prescriptions that you're on and... I was just trying to protect you and your business. Reputation is everything in DC. Image is everything. You know that better than anyone. I mean, I'm glad that you're getting better but still, no one is going to hire a Crisis or Campaign Manager whose..."

"Crazy. That's the word you were going to use, right? I'm just so crazy and just so helpless, aren't I? I can't even tie my shoes or wipe my nose without someone holding my hand, isn't that right? I'm just so pathetic and let's be honest: you're not happy about me healing at all because you can't benefit from it."

"That's not even close to true!"

"...okay."

"It's not, Olivia! I really care about you and..."

"...you have a very bad way of showing it. Huck will be at your place on Monday. Don't make him have to look for you. Goodbye, Jake."

"Liv..."

"Goodbye, Jake."

"I'm retired from Politics, Cyrus. I'm a Fixer, not a King or Queen Maker. I'm done."

"Look, I know that you and Mellie have a past but there's a chance for History to be made here and..."

"Has Susan Ross decided to leave DC? I hope not. She's already doing a fantastic job as Vice President. America's future is in good hands."

"I'm not talking about the Oval. I'm talking about Virginia."

"It is always about the Oval with you. You want Mellie in there next. You want a Grant Dynasty."

"She could be a great President, Liv. She just needs a little polish..."

"What she needs is a lot of nepotism, handholding and conniving, not polish. She isn't Fitz, Cyrus. Mellie is unqualified. She has no political experience or capital of her own. She graduated top of her class at Harvard and passed the Bar with flying colors, which is nothing to scoff at but it's not enough. The Oval is not going to happen for her yet. It may not even happen at all. If she really wants to be President, then she needs to put on her big girl panties and pay her dues. She can't cut corners, cheat, or ride on someone's coat tails, this time. She needs to legitimately get the job as Virginia's Junior Senator, do the job correctly for at least 4 years, and then she can run for President. She also needs to establish a more humble and approachable image, not to mention that she's still only known as Fitz's wife. Contrary to popular belief, being First Lady isn't just being arm candy and a Stepford Wife in red and pearls. You can do a lot of good, powerful things as FLOTUS but Mellie hasn't taken advantage of that opportunity, not really... don't give me that look. I'm not telling you things that you don't already know, Cyrus."

"...you're right. I just...can you really walk away from it all? The Game?"

"Not walking away from The Game when I should have has led to me losing some of my closest friends, breaking my own heart by constantly hurting those who are still around to love me, neglecting my business, and losing a good portion of my sanity. I'm finally recovering. I'm stronger than I've been in a long time and I have absolutely no intention of setting myself back, especially not for Mellie, of all people. She wouldn't piss on me if I was on fire so why the hell should I go out of my way to help her? I've done more than enough for her. She doesn't deserve any more of my time or effort and to be honest, she doesn't deserve any more of yours and Fitz's either. She's always said that she's been held back, that we and the whole world has done nothing but conspire to take away her dreams. She's said that she is a political animal that can handle herself no matter what so let her prove it. Let her earn her place in the sun all by herself. As for your future, instead of trying to make a Grant Dynasty, I say that you should back Susan's campaign for the Oval when it kicks off or go and hook up with Frankie Vargas out of Pennsylvania if you want to switch Parties. They are the Candidates for '16. They are who America deserves to represent them after Fitz is done. Mellie is nothing. People like Hollis Doyle and Donald Trump are more qualified to lead than her and that's both very sad and downright terrifying. What a time we live in, huh?"

"I thought you said that you were retired from Politics."

"I am but that doesn't mean that I don't keep up with things. How's the Brandon Bill going?"

"Slowly. They're fighting like cats and dogs over every word."

"Figures. Don't give up on it, though. It's needed legislation and it will be Fitz's Legacy when it passes. It'll be his New Deal, his Medicaid, his Interstate System, his Moon Landing. You'll see."

"Speaking of Fitz..."

"We can talk about Fitz when we talk about Michael."

"...right. I just...I noticed that he's been happier and more much focused, lately. I know that you came to see him a couple of weeks ago so I was wondering if you two were..."

"It's none of your business, Cyrus."

"I'm asking as your friend, not as his Chief of Staff, Liv."

"Asking questions as my friend can and will lead to you interfering as his Chief of Staff where you have no right or business doing so. It's happened before and it won't be happening again. What is and isn't going on between Fitz and I is between us and only us now. That's how it should've been from the start but I wasn't ready for it to be like that. Now, I am. Finish your coffee before it gets cold."

To accent her words, Olivia drank the last of her hot chocolate and kept her gaze straight ahead. Sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial gave them both a prime view of the Washington Monument, highlighted by the Saturday morning sun. Cyrus had texted her after her run, wanting to know if she could meet him to catch up.

Saturday was her off day. Unless there was a catastrophic emergency, she was to be left alone.

She would go on a run and then, depending on her mood, she'd go home to relax or she'd pick someplace to hang out for the day. The Monuments, the museums (sans the Smithsonian), her favorite gym for boxing & swimming, and she had joined the evening Bikram Yoga classes at the rec center that housed her Group sessions. That was how she discovered what Jake had done to the reporter. She had hurried over to help just in time to see him fleeing into the night and the groaning man coughing up blood on the pavement...

"Just...be careful with whatever the hell you're doing now, all right? Both of you."

"Because we could bring the Republic for which we stand crashing down and end up ruining countless lives for having the nerve to love and want the best for each other, even in secret?"

"...because I never want to see either of you hurting like you've been ever again."

As if letting air out of a balloon, the piss and vinegar in her body language drained away. After a long beat of silence, Olivia scooted over on the step they were sharing and put her head on Cyrus' shoulder. For all of his flaws and manipulating, Cyrus Beene was still one of her closest friends, her mentor. He was a member of her family, as dysfunctional and twisted as it was at times. He did care for her, even loved her in his own Cyrus way and she couldn't forget that.

Cyrus Beene was a Monster but he was her Monster, Fitz's too.

"Sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I've given you plenty of reasons not to trust me over the years."

"An encyclopedia's set worth of reasons."

Another long beat and then both of them laughed.

[jennamoran]

Locus Araunah

Surprise! Jenna Moran visual art.

hat tip to the “Ross Draws” and “Proko” youtube channels for essential guidance throughout the process of drawing this.

(Transcript and explanation:

TEXT BOX: IF you are visiting Argentina, do not travel to anywhere on the map marked as either Paris or “Locus Araunah.” Stolen imperfectly from the mortal world in 1954 by Araunah, Magister of the Dark, this city is magical and glorious but no longer congenial to human life. Its residents are principally dryads and elves---it being acceptable to the Dark for these inhuman fey to live---with a smattering of other faery folk. A small overclass/underclass of humans preside like Victorian nobility over the high society of the Chancel, but they’re born knowing that eventually they’ll have to kill themselves for their master’s pleasure, so they don’t take much joy in their social standing. Neither will you, should you travel there and be inducted into their ranks!

IMAGE: two figures at a landing on an outdoors spiral staircase. One has a jumble of flowers for a head and a garment corseted with vines. The other is a human woman. The human is wearing mourning veils, but from late enough in mourning that they’re behind the head rather than in front, and holding a handkerchief with a notable dark spot. She is looking out, past a break in the iron raliing, towards a lake or the sea.

EXPLANATION: In Nobilis 1st, "the Dark” was a divine faction with name and some details inspired by Susan Cooper’s “the Dark is Rising” series. Over the course of development, partly to differentiate them from fallen angels, they wound up taking on a specific association with human suicide. In third edition they picked up some redeeming features---becoming advocates for human agency in contexts outside of death as well, and switching from “humanity is a blight” to “we like these people, just, they’ve got to die”---but they still leaned pretty heavily into the original associations. Thus, Araunah, whose Chancel (pocket dimension) is meant to be pretty cool and magical and urban fantasy-like ... but also awful, and with some nasty industry/weapons manufacture/pollution-type elements mentioned outside the context of this box.

Starting with Glitch and continuing forward into the planned 4th edition I’ve dropped the Susan Cooper reference entirely; what was the Dark is now the Game, and what was the Light is now the Rule. ... but Xavid, who did the new layout for the 3rd edition when I was stalling out on it, wanted to keep to the old text whenever possible, and I felt like that wasn’t the kind of thing where I should overrule people, so ... the text is unchanged.

(3e to be re-released when: I have updated the last of the early-draft art stuff for the inside; when I have finished my comments on the current layout draft, which I’m doing as I update the art; and when the version that results after any changes based on those comments has been run past a few extra sets of eyes.)

[suprememouser]

Newman's dark group were the main villains of season 15 of Seinfeld.Formed by Newman,after Jerry got him fired from his job as a mailman in The Ultimate Victory, which Newman viewed as the final straw.Made up of Kenny Bania,the recently resurrected and corrupted Susan Ross,and Kramer's Anti Matter dimension counterpart Remark. Newman originally wanted to recruit Donald "Bubble Boy" Sanger but couldn't due to Sanger's death in the Season 14 finale ("The Battle") across Season 15 the NDG caused problems for the main cast including -Hexxing Jerry's name so whoever sees it goes into an unstoppable hatred of Jerry("The Hate Plague") -Killing David Puddy and snuffing his corpse into Elaine's rather gross fridge("The Fridge") -Freeing Crazy Joe Davola from the silent prison dimension he was put("The tuna salad") -Making Jerry wonder what the letters 'NDG' mean ("the letters") -Hacking into ECW's computers so George had to do a hardcore match against Jerome 'New Jack' Young ("The Match" ) -Turning off and on the power in the apartment so the group oversleeps ("The Blackouts") -Framing Kramer for the assassination of the President ("The Trip") -Making sure the post office takes extra long in delivering to Jerry's house ("The Package") But the NDG's downfall came in The Bus Stop. After The Beginning in which George revealed he still loved Susan, Ross was inspired to betray the NDG during Newman's attempt to seal his good side (Oldman) away forever,causing Oldman become the dominant force and the deaths of Bania,Remark,and Ross herself. After the defeat of NDG Oldman joined the group

References to the NDG are somewhat common but notable instances included -After George takes the last doughnut in The Doughnut box Oldman says he called debs on it  George responds with "oh yeah Mr. NDG ?" which causes Oldman to drop the subject - the NDG is name dropped as one of these groups defeated by the group as Jerry talks down the Zilian invasion fleet in The Invasion and to The UN in The Big Speech

[kwebtv]

The Wild Wild West Revisited   -  CBS  -  May 9, 1979

Western

Running Time:  96 minutes

Stars:

Robert Conrad as James West

Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon

Paul Williams as Dr. Miguelito Loveless Jr

Harry Morgan as Robert T. "Skinny" Malone

Jo Ann Harris as Carmelita Loveless

Trisha Noble as Penelope Devaraux, British Intelligence

Jeff MacKay as Hugo Kaufman

Susan Blu as Gabrielle Jackson

Robert Shields as Alan – Miguelito's $600 bionic man

Lorene Yarnell as Sonia – Miguelito's $600 bionic woman

René Auberjonois as Captain Sir David Edney

Wilford Brimley as President Grover Cleveland

Ted Hartley as Tsar Nicholas of Russia

Skip Homeier as Joseph

Jacquelyn Hyde as Queen Victoria

Joyce Jameson as Lola

Alberto Morin as King Alfonso

Mike Wagner as Deadwood

John Wheeler as Henry

Jeff Redford as The Kid

[tuseriesdetv]

Noticias de series de la semana

Renovaciones

The CW ha renovado Superman & Lois por una segunda temporada

FOX ha renovado The Simpsons por una trigésimo tercera y trigésimo cuarta temporada

ITV ha renovado Finding Alice por una segunda temporada

Cancelaciones

La tercera temporada de Pose (FX) será la última

CBC ha cancelado Frankie Drake Mysteries tras su cuarta temporada

Noticias cortas

Chelsea Harris (Sykes) será regular en la tercera temporada de Snowpiercer.

Fichajes

Sissy Spacek (Castle Rock, Carrie) y Ed O'Neill (Modern Family, Married with Children) protagonizarán Lightyears. Serán Irene y Franklin, una profesora de inglés jubilada y un carpintero que llevan décadas ocultando un portal a un extraño planeta desierto en su patio trasero.

Mandy Patinkin (Homeland, The Princess Bride) se une como regular a la quinta temporada de The Good Fight. Será Hal Wackner, alguien que abre un juzgado en la parte de atrás de una copistería sin tener formación jurídica.

Edie Falco (The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie) será Hillary Clinton en Impeachment, la tercera temporada de American Crime Story.

Ray Liotta (Shades of Blue, Goodfellas) será Big Jim, el padre de Jimmy (Taron Egerton), en In With the Devil.

Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Luther) se une a Obi-Wan Kenobi. Se desconocen detalles.

Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat, Hustlers), Riley Keough (The Girlfriend Experience, The House That Jack Built) y Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love, Criminal Minds) serán Katie Buranek, corresponsal de guerra; Lauren Reece, triatleta de élite y esposa de James (Chris Pratt); y Lorraine Hartley, la primera mujer secretaria de Defensa; en The Terminal List.

Dakota Fanning (The Alienist, I Am Sam) será Susan Ford, la hija de Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer), en The First Lady.

Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, Sweeney Todd) protagonizará Magpie Murders junto a Lesley Manville. Será el detective Atticus Pünd.

Devon Sawa (Final Destination, Casper) se une como recurrente a Chucky, en la que Jennifer Tilly volverá a interpretar a Tiffany Valentine. Zackary Arthur (Transparent, Kidding), Teo Briones (Ratched, Pretty Little Liars), Alyvia Ayn Lind (Daybreak, Masters of Sex) y Björgvin Arnarson serán regulares en los papeles de Jake Webber, un adolescente solitario que busca su sitio tras la muerte de su madre; Junior Webber, el primo de Jake y opuesto a él; Lexy Taylor, la princesita del instituto, novia de Junior y principal acosadora de Jake; y Devon Lopez, el típico vecino fan de los true crime.

Geoff Stults (Enlisted, Little Fires Everywhere), Tiya Sircar (The Good Place), Alanna Ubach (Euphoria, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce), Laurie Davidson (Will, Cats), Andre Hyland y Jules Latimer estarán en Guilty Party junto a Kate Beckinsale. Serán Marco, el marido de Beth (Beckinsale); Fiona, socia de Beth; Tessa, una presentadora de noticias; George, un traficante de armas; y Toni, una joven sentenciada a 92 años de prisión sin libertad condicional por asesinar a su marido.

Alec Mapa (Ugly Betty, Devious Maids) protagonizará junto a Kelsey Grammer y Alec Baldwin la comedia de ABC sobre tres antiguos compañeros de piso que vuelven a reunirse. Será Andre, un hombre gay muy empático que funcionaba como pacificador ante Channing (Baldwin) y London (Grammer) mientras busca el éxito romántico y profesional que hasta ahora no ha conseguido.

Eoin Macken (Merlin, The Night Shift) y Jack Martin protagonizarán La Brea junto a Natalie Zea y Zyra Gorecki sustituyendo a Michael Raymond-James y Caleb Ruminer. Formarán la familia Harris. También se unen a la serie Jon Seda (Chicago PD, Treme) y Veronica St. Clair, que ya participaron en el piloto, y Lily Santiago.

Mary Holland (Homecoming, Veep), Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf, Dollface), Christina Anthony (Mixed-ish), Samsara Yett (The Flight Attendant), Cameron Britton (The Umbrella Academy, Mindhunter) y Benjamin Levy Aguilar (Filthy Rich) se unen a The Woman in the House. Serán Sloane, dueña de una galería de arte y amiga de Anna (Kristen Bell); Lisa, una chica dulce y sexy que puede esconder algo; la detective Lane; Emma, la adorable hija de nueve años de Neil (Tom Riley); Buell, el manitas de Anna; y Rex, alguien no muy brillante pero irresistible.

Dallas Roberts (Insatiable, The Good Wife), Clea Lewis (The Americans, Ellen) y Nicole Chanel Williams (Boomerang) serán recurrentes en American Rust como Jackson Berg, dueño de una farmacia preocupado por la proliferación de cadenas en tiempos de crisis; Jillian, una mujer baptista preocupada por qué pensará su marido de que ella y sus compañeras de la fábrica se quieran sindicar; y Jojo, una mujer que vive en la carretera y acoge a Isaac (David Alvarez).

Andrea Martin (Difficult People, Great News), Robert Ri'chard (One on One, Cousin Skeeter), Juani Feliz, Kate Rockwell y Sullivan Jones (The Looming Tower) se unen como recurrentes a Harlem.

Michael James Shaw (Blood & Treasure, Limitless) se une como regular a la undécima y última temporada de The Walking Dead. Será Mercer, que en los cómics es un marine que se relaciona románticamente con Juanita (Paola Lázaro).

Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy, Luke Cage) se une como regular a True Story. Será Gene, un fan muy entusiasta de The Kid (Kevin Hart).

Catherine Haena Kim (FBI, Ballers) y Craig Parker (Charmed, Reign) serán recurrentes en la tercera temporada de Good Trouble como Nicolette Baptiste, una abogada de la oficina del fiscal del distrito; y Yuri Elwin, un artista de perfil alto que necesita un becario.

Conrad Khan (The Huntsman: Winter's War, County Lines) se une a la sexta y última temporada de Peaky Blinders. Se desconocen detalles.

Sarah Niles (Catastrophe, I May Destroy You) se une como regular a la segunda temporada de Ted Lasso. Será Sharon, psicóloga deportiva que comienza a trabajar para el AFC Richmond.

Matthew Sato (Chicken Girls, Save Me) y Emma Meisel (American Horror Story) se unen como regulares a Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. Serán Kia y Steph, el hermano y la mejor amiga de Lahela (Peyton Elizabeth Lee). Ronny Chieng (The Daily Show, Crazy Rich Asians) será recurrente como un cirujano cardíaco.

Momo Rodríguez (La Chamba) se une como recurrente a la tercera temporada de Mayans MC. No se conocen más detalles.

Thom Scott II (American Soul) será recurrente en la quinta temporada de Saints & Sinners como el doctor Ross, un médico talentoso especializado en procedimientos experimentales pioneros para asegurar tratamientos exitosos por cualquier medio.

Jess Schine se une a Long Slow Exhale como regular. Será Eddie Hagen, ayudante de la entrenadora (Rose Rollins).

Pósters

    Nuevas series

Apple TV+ ha encargado ocho episodios de Roar, antología con historias independientes contadas desde un punto de vista femenino. Protagonizada por Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies, The Hours), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Genius: Aretha), Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie, Unbelievable) y Alison Brie (GLOW, Community). Basada en el libro de historias cortas de Cecelia Ahern (2018). Creada, escrita y producida por Liz Flahive (GLOW, Nurse Jackie) y Carly Mensch (GLOW, Weeds). Producen Kidman (Big Little Lies, The Undoing), Bruna Papandrea (Big Little Lies, The Undoing), Steve Hutensky (Queen America, Nine Perfect Strangers) y Allie Goss (The Crown, Daredevil).

Netflix adaptará The Talisman, la novela de Stephen King (1984), en la que un chico de 12 años comienza un viaje de costa a costa para encontrar un cristal que podría salvar a su madre moribunda. Escrita por Curtis Gwinn (Stranger Things, The Walking Dead) y producida por Steven Spielberg (The Goonies, Back to the Future) y los hermanos Duffer (Stranger Things).

Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Morning Show, Miss Sloane) y David Oyelowo (Selma, Nightingale) protagonizarán The Girl Before en HBO Max y BBC One. Jane (Mbatha-Raw) tiene la oportunidad de vivir en una bonita casa minimalista diseñada por un enigmático arquitecto (Oyelowo) a cambio de seguir unas estrictas normas en toda la calle que no permiten los libros, las fotos o el desorden. Jane cree que la casa la está cambiando y descubre qué le ocurrió a la chica que vivió allí antes que ella. Creada, escrita y producida por J.P. Delaney y basada en su propia novela (2016) y dirigida por Lisa Brühlmann (Killing Eve, Servant). Cuatro episodios.

Netflix encarga diez episodios de una comedia multicámara centrada en Chelsea (Emily Osment; Young & Hungry, Hannah Montana), una altanera e ingeniosa intelectual sin habilidades sociales para vivir en el mundo real que se ve obligada a vivir con su despreocupada y jovial hermana y sus amigos, uno de ellos Grant (Gregg Sulkin; Runaways, Wizards of Waverly Place), un dulce y romántico entrenador personal. Creada, escrita y producida por Jack Dolgen (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Diary of a Future President) y Doug Mand (How I Met Your Mother, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). Producida por Kourtney Kang (How I Met Your Mother, Fresh Off the Boat) y dirigida por Pamela Fryman (How I Met Your Mother, Frasier).

Shira Haas (Unorthodox, Shtisel) interpretará a Golda Meir, la primera y única primera ministra mujer de Israel, en el drama Lioness. Basada en el libro de Francine Klagsbrun (2017), escrita por Eric Tuchman (The Handmaid's Tale, Kyle XY), dirigida por Mimi Leder (The Morning Show, The Leftovers) y producida por Barbra Streisand (A Star Is Born), Nina Tassler y Denise Di Novi (Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands).

Amazon encarga The Devil's Hour, thriller británico sobre una mujer que se despierta cada día a las 3:33 de la mañana. Su hijo de ocho años es retraído y falto de emociones, su madre habla con sillas vacías y su casa está encantada. Ahora su nombre está inexplicablemente conectado a una serie de brutales asesinatos en la zona. Escrita por Tom Moran (The Feed, White Rabbit), dirigida por Johnny Allan (The Irregulars) y producida  por Steven Moffat (Sherlock, Doctor Who).

Disney+ adaptará We Begin at the End, la novela de Chis Whitaker (2020) que sigue la relación entre Vincent King, un convicto que sale de prisión treinta años después de haber matado a una niña de siete años; Duchess Ray Radley, la sobrina de trece años de la víctima; y el jefe de policía de un pequeño pueblo de California cuyo testimonio envió a Vincent a prisión aunque era su mejor amigo. Producida por Thomas Kail (Hamilton) y Jennifer Todd (City on a Hill).

Netflix encarga una serie de animación de Asterix & Obelix basada en el libro 'Le combat des chefs'. Dirigida por Alain Chabat (Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra).

Apple TV+ encarga Dr. Brain, adaptación de acción real de la historieta digital coreana que sigue a un científico (Lee Sun-kyun, Parasite) obsesionado con encontrar nuevas tecnologías para acceder a la consciencia y los recuerdos cuya familia sufre un misterioso accidente. Utilizará sus habilidades para acceder a los recuerdos de su esposa para entender qué ocurrió y por qué. Escrita, dirigida y producida por Kim Jee-woon (Mil-jeong).

David Simon (The Wire, Treme) y George Pelecanos (The Wire, Treme) escribirán y producirán We Own This City, limited series de HBO que cuenta la historia real de la unidad de rastreo de armas de la policía de Baltimore. Basada en el libro del periodista Justin Fenton (2021).

Starz prepara un revival de Party Down con el regreso de actores y productores. Seis episodios.

IMDb TV encarga un spin-off de Bosch en el que Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) se embarca en el siguiente capítulo de su carrera y trabaja junto a su antiguo enemigo Honey "Money" Chandler (Mimi Rogers) para encontrar justicia. Volverá también Madison Lintz en el papel de Maddie Bosch.

ITV ha encargado cuatro episodios de The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, un drama true crime sobre John Darwin, el funcionario de prisiones que fingió su muerte en un accidente con una canoa en 2002 para estafar a compañías de seguros. Anne, su esposa, denunció su desaparición en la costa de Cleveland, Inglaterra, y mintió incluso a sus hijos. Basado en un manuscrito no publicado del periodista David Leigh, que encontró y entrevistó a Anne en Panamá. Escrita y producida por Chris Lang (Unforgotten, Dark Heart) y dirigida por Richard Laxton (Mrs. Wilson, Him & Her).

ABC Signature ha adquirido Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body, las memorias de Rebekah Taussig (2020), para su adaptación televisiva. Trata sobre una chica paralítica que creció en los noventa sin referentes adecuados en la ficción que retratasen su discapacidad como algo complejo y ordinario, incómodo y bello, doloroso y enriquecedor, y que quiere reflejar las complicaciones de la amabilidad y la caridad, vivir de forma dependiente e independiente, experimentar intimidad y cómo la omnipresencia del capacitismo en los medios de comunicación y las redes sociales se traslada directamente a la vida diaria. Escrita y producida por Taussig y dirigida y producida por Randall Einhorn (The Office, Parks and Recreation).

Fechas

Calls se estrena en Apple TV+ el 19 de marzo

La 1ª parte de la sexta y última temporada de Supergirl se estrena en The CW el 30 de marzo

La 4ª temporada de No Activity, que será de animación, se estrena en Paramount+ el 8 de abril

La tercera y última temporada de Pose se estrena en FX el 2 de mayo

La 2ª parte de la primera temporada de Ghostwriter se estrena en Apple TV+ el 2 de mayo

La segunda temporada de Duncanville se estrena en FOX el 23 de mayo

Housebroken se estrena en FOX el 31 de mayo

Tráilers y promos

Made for Love

Queen of the South - Temporada 5

Animal Kingdom - Temporada 5

No Activity - Temporada 4

Lupin - Parte 2

[newagesispage]

                                                                AUGUST    2021

THE RIB  PAGE

Fran Drescher is running for National SAG-AFTRA President with Anthony Rapp as secretary treasurer for Unite for Strength!!! Matthew Modine is running under Membership first with Joely Fisher for Secretary Treasurer. Running in local elections are, among others, Yvette Nicole Brown, Shari Belafonte, Rosie O’Donnell, Jeff Garlin, Ezra Knight, Dule Hill, Camryn Manheim, Sara Rue, Mindy Cohn and Ever Carradine. Sept. 2 is the day!** Frances Fisher filed a suit against SAG-AFTRA over the health care plan but a judge rejected it.

*****

Sha’Carri Richardson’s problem is all our problem. No more drug testing for Mary Jane in this country!

*****

Chuck Schumer finally unveiled the Cannabis administration opportunity act to end Federal prohibition of marijuana.

*****

Dolly Parton used the $10 mil + in royalties from the Whitney Houston version of her song to invest in a black neighborhood in Nashville.

*****

Bob Balaban and Henry Winkler play brothers in The French Dispatch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait for October 22!!!!!!!!!!!!** The next Wes Anderson film will star Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody and Tom Hanks. No other details are out there yet.

*****

Trees save lives in heat waves.

*****

TBS will bring us n updated Stupid Pet Tricks with Sarah Silverman.

*****

So much organized religion is based on forgeries, fakes and plundering. Virtually none of it is based on any sort of truth, spiritual or even historical. Just lies to fulfill an agenda and control the masses. And so far it has worked. –Larry Charles

*****

Scarlett Johansen has sued Disney cuz her contract guaranteed a theatrical release only.

*****

An expert on the circus industry recently reached out to me and urged me to not compare Trump and his comeback tour to clowns and the circus, as that is an insult to clowns. –Jim Acosta

*****

Eric Adams has won the Dem primary for Mayor in NY.

*****

Have you seen High on the Hog?? It’s awesome!!

*****

Jeff Flake will be ambassador to Turkey.

*****

Cornell West resigned from Harvard with a scathing letter accusing the school of “intellectual and spirited bankruptcy of deep depths.”

*****

Biden gave a hell of a speech in Philly. He needed to go on more about the filibuster but he was passionate about the For the People act and the John Lewis voting rights advancement act.  He roared, “Peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country.”

*****

Will Celebrity Dating Game continue? I am sure they think romance expert, Michael Bolton is a cute and quirky thing to do but not so much. If it stays, I hope they change the music, at least those final notes. And why are half of the questions, “Who am I?” The show could be cute but they need a little work!!

*****

Jeff Bezos donated $200 mil to the Smithsonian air and space museum.**Feminists everywhere winced when Gayle King was interviewing the Bezos space team.  Bezos commented about the 18 year old going with them into space and that he was just worried about the prom at 18. Gayle said “And I was just hoping for a date to the prom.”** But we have to love Wally Funk, the oldest woman to go into space.**Bezos thanked the Amazon employees and customers for paying for his trip. Yikes!**  Saw a great sign: Pay fair taxes, end hunger, help people, end poverty, save Earth or fly to space.

*****

Antonio Banderas and Harrison Ford will star in Indiana Jones 5.

*****

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ashes were laid to rest 5 years after her death.

*****

The Britney conservatorship mess is still going thru the courts, and now topless?

*****

Pope Francis underwent colon surgery which caused him to comment on the need for good health care for all.

*****

Questlove brings us Summer of Soul!!!

*****

Reports show that about 150 people were killed by guns in more than 400 shootings during the 4th.

*****

Has anybody ever built a show around the Tex Watson tapes?? The LAPD apparently liked to deny them but there was a book.

*****

Henry Hall is out with his debut album, Neato, along with a tour.

*****

Do all male law enforcement officers have to be bald now?

*****

Idaho has begun an eradication campaign that could slash the number of gray wolves living in the state by 90%.

*****

Hooray for the monthly child tax credit!!

*****

Release Me 2 from Barbra Streisand is due out August 6.

*****

The look into the Jan. 6 insurrection has begun. Kinzinger and Cheney are in. **Tucker Carlson attacked Harry Dunn, a Capitol officer on air. The man protected Carlson’s son, a House staffer.** On Jan. 5, the Steve Bannon podcast went like this: All Hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this. It’s gonna be moving. It’s gonna be quick.** Why is mainstream media putting nearly all eggs in the Covid and Olympic baskets and only a few on the insurrection hearing?

*****

Why do so many that call America , “great” seem to hate it?? How can one love this country and not want majority rule, not want democracy??

*****

The Emmy noms are out: Lovecraft Country was nominated even though it has been cancelled.  Also hooray for Pose, The Flight attendant and for Conan!! Lead actor is a tough category with Matthew Rhys, Billy Porter and Rege-Jean Page. Aidy Bryant and Jean Smart got lead and supporting noms. I have to route for Ewan McGregor and Anya Taylor-Joy. I am excited for Paul Reiser, Bowen Yang, Evan Peters, Carl Weathers, Renee Elise Golsberry, Dave Chappelle, Helena Bonham Carter and Daniel Levy. There is love for Yvette Nicole Brown, Issa Rae and Maya Rudolph. The Masked Singer got a few noms. The doc category included Tina, Allen V. Farrow and The Bee Gees. Friends: The reunion got 4.

*****

“Voting is not supposed to be easy. That’s what our men died for.”- Jack Finger

*****

Giant Pandas are no longer endangered.

*****

Zalia Avante- Garde is the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee Champ.** I’m more impressed by the girl who won the Spelling Bee than the billionaire who went to space. –Mike Jollett.

*****

Why do they have to run erectile dysfunction ads during true crime rape episodes? ** And why do people still say things like, “this just don’t happen here” or “dumped like a piece of trash? “ There have to be other things to say.

*****

Tom Barrack, chairman of the inaugural committee for Trump was arrested for foreign lobbying shenanigans. America first, right?** Wilbur Ross lied to congress about the census and the Trump administration declined to prosecute.** Stephen Calk, bank exec was found guilty of trying to get a WH position by giving Manafort millions in loans.

*****

Jake Ellzey won the Texas special election run off for congress, beating out Trump’s girl Susan Wright.

*****

Every city should have a Peacemobile!!!!!

*****

The Chinese government has been called out for malicious cyber -attacks.  Four officials have been indicted in California.

*****

Miracle Workers’ Simon Rich was there when FB was invented and was so creeped out by people using it to stalk women.

*****

There was a story in Rolling Stone about how Eric Clapton threatened to cancel shows if the venue required proof of vaccines. Valerie Bertinelli tweeted: Once a dick, always a dick.

*****

Every Fox news host is vaccinated. –Mikel Jollett

*****

Toyota has dropped out of Olympic ads.  Contenders are starting to drop out due to positive Covid tests.

*****

Actor Isaiah Stokes has been indicted for murder.

*****

Lionsgate has bought the rights to Clerks 3.

*****

Ready or not, here come the Olympics.- Harry Shearer

*****

The Cleveland Indians will now be the Cleveland Guardians.

*****

A bust of KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest was taken out of the Tennessee capitol.

*****

American Housewife was sold into syndication.

*****

The poorest zip codes include Erie, Pennsylvania, Decatur and the south end of Peoria, il, Canton, Oh, Waterbury, Ct., Bonsecour, Al. and Elpaso, Tx.

*****

Issa Rae married Louis Diame.

*****

The court of appeals disqualified Judge John W. Ouderkirk from the Jolie- Pitt divorce because of a business relationship with Pitt’s attorney.

*****

Joe Manchin owns a coal company.

*****

The Hollywood walk of fame has welcomed Jimmy Smits, Kathie Lee Gifford and 90 year old Marla Gibbs. Terry Crews is next!

*****

Generation after generation of women love the bad boy.  Do they never learn? I will never understand, please explain.

*****

Pelosi rejected 2 of the noms to serve on the special committee looking into Jan. 6. Kevin McCarthy withdrew his 5 noms.

*****

The gun that killed Billy the Kid is for sale.

*****

I think you should leave with Tim Robinson on Netflix is hilarious if U get thru the gross. U can’t miss the episode with Clifton Davis and Fred Willard!!

*****

Joaquin Phoenix is trying to get some bears from a traveling show moved to an accredited sanctuary. The Bearadise Ranch in Florida has been cited for, “violating state wildlife laws.”

*****

Go employees Go!! Frito Lay is on strike, Coal miners are on strike and Ride Share drivers are on strike. A good portion of this country should be on strike. The top of the corporate ladder needs to learn! Let those that treat us fair rise to the top.

*****

Who owns Brett Kavanaugh?

*****

A Bishop seeking to deny Biden communion was caught on Grindr.

*****

Gabriel Jagger married Anouk Winzenried.** I don’t know why the Rolling Stones bass player doesn’t just change his name to “not pictured.” –Michael Mckean

*****

Frank Fritz will not be back on American Pickers.

*****

For the first time, astronomers have seen behind a black hole. Einstein predicted the gravitational pull of black holes is so enormous that they warp the very fabric of space. He was right. Scientists have now spotted light which was being emitted by the far side of the black hole.

*****

Look for Heels on Starz.

*****

What is this new screen for Amazon? It sucks.

*****

Biden has signed an executive order to protect infrastructure from cyber- attacks.

*****

Arthur was canceled.

*****

The Kennedy Center has revealed the latest honorees. The 44th class is Justin Diaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler and Joni Mitchell and will be held on Dec. 5.

*****

Get well Bob Odenkirk!!!! The fabulous Odenkirk collapsed on the set of Better call Saul from a minor heart attack.

*****

Days alert: We have lost Days of Our Lives first director, Joseph Behar.  He will be missed.** Marla Ginns is joining the cast as Paulina’s Mother. ** Is EJ throwing Sami out? Will AJ McLean join the cast? **Rex is back.**Peacock is bringing us a limited series, Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem that will send many couples on romantic vacations and lead to intrigue. Lisa Rinna will star.** Arianna Zucker (Nicole) is set to marry Shawn Christian (former Daniel).  He popped the question on Father’s Day.

*****

R.I.P. President Jovenel Moise, Philece Sampler, Robert Downey Sr., Richard Donner, flood victims of Belgium and Germany,  Robby Steinhardt, Covid victims, Joseph Behar, Robert Moses, Jackie Mason, Dusty Hill, joey Jordison, Priscilla McMillan, Ron Popeil, Carl Levin, Saginaw Grant and Charles Robinson.

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 8.10

Beer Birthdays

Edward Greenall (1758)

Charles Haberle (1860)

George E. Muelebach (1881)

Chuck Skypeck (1954)

Lisa Dergan; St. Pauli Girl 2003 (1970)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Ian Anderson; Scottish-English rock flautist and singer (1947)

Devon Aoki; model (1982)

Antonio Banderas; actor (1960)

Charles Darrow; Monopoly creator (1889)

Alexander Glazunov; Russian composer (1865)

Rick Overton; screenwriter, actor and comedian (1954)

Famous Birthdays

Al Alberts; pop singer (1922)

Jorge Amado; Brazilian writer (1912)

Samuel Arnold; English composer (1740)

Rosanna Arquette; actor (1959)

Patti Austin; singer-songwriter (1950)

Noah Beery Jr.; actor (1913)

Laurence Binyon; English poet (1869)

Claudia Christian; actor (1965)

Suzanne Collins; writer (1962)

Jeff Corey; actor (1914)

Jimmy Dean; singer, sausage mogul (1928)

Gilles de Roberval; French mathematician (1602)

Alfred Döblin; Polish-German physician (1878)

Rica Erickson; Australian botanist (1908)

Jon Farriss; Australian drummer (1961)

Leo Fender; founded Fender Musical Instruments (1909)

Eddie Fisher; singer and actor (1928)

Rhonda Fleming; actor (1923)

Julia Fordham; English singer-songwriter (1962)

Jimmy Griffin; singer-songwriter and guitarist (1943)

Jack Haley; actor (1898)

Angie Harmon; model, actor (1972)

William Harnett; Irish-American painter (1848)

Bobby Hatfield; singer-songwriter (1940)

Fred Ho; saxophonist and composer (1957)

Herbert Hoover; 31st U.S. President (1874)

Daniel Hugh Kelly; actor (1952)

Kåre Kolve; Norwegian saxophonist and composer (1964)

Zofia Kossak-Szczucka; Polish writer (1889)

William Manuel Johnson; bassist (1872)

Jimmy Martin; singer and guitarist (1927)

Frank Marshall; chess player (1877)

Tom Laughlin; actor (1931)

Anton Losenko; Russian painter (1737)

Ward Moore; author (1903)

Henri Nestle; German chocolatier (1814)

Kate O'Mara; English actress (1939)

Wolfgang Paul; physicist (1913)

Charlie Peacock; singer-songwriter (1956)

Michael Pepper; English physicist and engineer (1942)

Hieronymus Praetorius; German composer (1560)

Mark Price; English drummer (1959)

Abai Qunanbaiuli; Kazakh poet, composer, and philosopher (1845)

Tony Ross; English author and illustrator (1938)

Norman Shearer; Canadian-American actress (1902)

Ronnie Spector; pop singer (1943)

Andrew Sullivan; political blogger (1963)

Justin Theroux; actor (1971)

Arne Tiselius; Swedish biochemist (1902)

John Kirk Townsend; ornithologist and explorer (1809)

Diane Venora; actress (1952)

Trần Tế Xương; Vietnamese poet and satirist (1870)

Vernon Washington; actor (1927)

Susan Dorothea White; Australian painter (1941)

William Willett; English inventor, founded British Summer Time (1856)

[thegayagenda-forkids]

Why Cami is important, and why we need more of her types of characters.

While everyone is watching the Cartero/Tennis Boyfriends storyline, as well as Elena’s story and Gabi’s story, I want to talk about the only openly gay character at the moment (Episode 7/8), Camilla, but to really get to talk about her, I have to dive a little bit into the history of gay characters in comedies.*

**I’m only including gay characters in comedies because otherwise my list would be too long to be able to dive into, and this post is going to be mostly about Cami.

So, the first openly gay character to appear on American TV is Steve, played by Phillip Carey in 1971 on “All in the Family.” He appeared for only one episode, but he opened the door back when being gay was taboo, and wrong, and he wasn’t killed onscreen or beaten up. In fact, he was played straight, in a way. Throughout the episode, the main character is speculating about several other men being gay, while Steve was described by that character to be “a real man’s man.” It’s at the end of the episode where Steve comes out to him, dismisses the rumors about the other men the main character suspected, and then he was never seen on TV again. And his appearance is so important because it challenged stereotypes of what gay men on TV were, and where it was appropriate to see these topics. He opened the door for more gay characters to show up.

However, it was a bit of a double-edged sword because for the next several years, the gay characters we saw were “very special episode” characters, approached the same way these characters would approach cancer, or drugs, or addiction. They were a sensitive topic people need to know about, the episode will be less funny to show the full gravity of the situation. But, gay people were seen on TV.

Slowly, people start accepting that gay people exist, and while they might not wish direct harm on them, the general attitude was still very anti-LGBT rights. So gay characters shifted on tv and they were no longer sensitive topics to approach, but a minor/recurring character who was overwhelmingly male, flamboyant, stereotyped to hell, and typically, the “Gay Best Friend.”

The true turning point, in my opinion, was Ellen DeGeneres on “Ellen.” She was the main character of her show, personally in the process of finding herself and coming out, and then deciding to have the character she played come out in a serious, but relatively humorous way. There was backlash, her show didn’t last much longer after that, and overall, she took a huge risk. But she started the first step of the process: character first, sexuality second. She wasn’t defined for being gay like every other person, with potentially the exception of Steve, was up to this point.

But Steve and Ellen served different purposes. Steve de-stigmatized the idea of gay people appearing on TV by only revealing he was gay at the end. He only appeared for one episode, let everyone see how throughout the episode, he was the opposite of gay men they built up in their mind, and then only let the hammer drop right before vanishing forever. Ellen went through four years of people getting to know her, she was the principal main character, and then she came out after. Steve allowed gay people to be shown more on TV, Ellen allowed us to get to know them.

Then around that time, let me just say this: “Friends” was pretty problematic with several issues like the character of Ross and how Chandler’s birth parent transitioning, but there was one thing that was pretty well handled and relatively holds up, and that’s Carol and Susan. Now, by no means was their portrayal and representation perfect, and Ross frequently made jokes revolving around the fact that his ex-wife was a lesbian, but they were never jokes about Carol being wrong or weird, but rather self-deprecating ones, and then the show went on to show them raising and co-parenting a young boy with Ross and they even had the first lesbian wedding on TV, and, at least in my memory, they were never sexualized, meaning that they weren’t created to be objects of mens’ desires, they were simply in love and trying to lead fulfilling lives with each other.

And now we go from the sidelines all the way front and center with the original airing (not the reboot) of “Will and Grace.” The main character was an openly gay man living with a straight woman, who had a gay and an ambiguous, but potentially, bisexual best friends (Jack and Karen). And boy, was this show the first of it’s kind. Will wasn’t portrayed as flamboyant and taking on a stereotypical job, but rather the respected position as a lawyer, owning a nice apartment, and him being gay was only used as a fact while he dated men throughout the show. People at the time earnestly believed Will and Grace would get together in the end by how un-stereotypical and “not gay” Will acted.

But acting as his foil was Jack, perhaps the most flamboyant character to ever grace TV screens. He was loud, overly dramatic, cared too much about his appearance, and his goal was to be an actor. And he wasn’t automatically Will’s boyfriend because he was also gay. He was Will’s closest friend, a confidant, and though he could be an asshole, Jack was true to himself, even if his true self was every gay stereotype shoved into one body while Will got to break those stereotypes by being a well developed and well rounded character.

From there, Gay characters are a mixed bag. Normally in tv shows marketed for people 16 and up, not for children, and typically as side characters. We get our Kurt Hummels, our Mitch and Cams, our Oscar Martinezes, and all these others. They’re occasionally the main character in a cast, most of the time the side characters, and they’re varied. They’re also more visible, and they’re popping up more and more. Now, I’m not even going to get into Brooklyn Nine-Nine in terms of Queer representation because I could go on for days about how they’ve got it, and go into the similar media and target audience.

I’m, of course, talking about “Good Luck Charlie.”

Now I know, I KNOW! It was one episode where there were two moms that showed up for a play date. But it was one of the first kids’ shows to show a gay couple, and by kids, I mean that it’s marketed for people under 16 as well. And it was also pretty well addressed. The parents are wondering how to separate the couple in order to hang out while their toddlers played at the same time as arguing over who was the child’s mother since they each only met one. And when they open the door to Cheryl and Susan, they greet them normally and the only acknowledgment that comes is the father hitting his head like he had forgotten a word and saying “Taylor has two moms,” simply settling the argument about who was Taylor’s mom. And the rest of the episode was just about the parents trying to make friends but being annoying people until Susan and Cheryl fake headaches to leave. The episode treated them not as a “Gay Couple,” but rather a couple who happened to be gay. Not even Modern Family 10 years after the pilot can act like that.

And I KNOW you guys are waiting for it: Cyrus Goodman and Thelonious Jagger Kippen. I bet if I were to take a poll right now of who’s Disney’s first openly gay character, at least 90% of people would say it’s Cyrus Goodman. He was developed as his own person first; this adorable, quirky boy who loved his two best friends more than anything and would get over-enthusiastic for anything they did or he decided to pursue, and he went through panic, then he came out to Buffy. It’s also impressive that for Disney’s first gay main character, they didn’t have him already self-assured that he’s gay, but rather figuring it out and terrified when he came out to Buffy. He was afraid of what she’d think of him, what she’d say, and how their friendship would continue, which I touch more on *here.* At the same time, T.J. is also developed from a bully and antagonist to one of Cyrus’s newest, closest friends. He faces homophobic microaggresions while developing feelings towards Cyrus until he finally finds the courage to confess and start something new at the last episode. The fact that T.J. didn’t come out as gay until the last episode does not diminish his worth as a gay character. He was groundbreaking too because he is the first gay love interest in a Disney Show (and I mean mutual, because otherwise, that title would go to Jonah Beck and I’m not sure he can be counted as canon anything).

And now everyone is focusing on Bobby and Liam on “Diary of a Future President,” which is what the writers are shooting for, but we cannot forget about Cami! She is a form of casual representation that we need more of in writing. There was no marketing for her by Disney as a gay character, and she portrays a realistic representation. She mentions her girlfriend, makes small comments like “you two are hetero goals,” and lets us glimpse into her life. And she doesn’t take over a room like Jack does, she’s there for Cami, and has a good relationship with her kids, as proven by Gabi trusting her to pick up Bobby and Liam from Jupiter. And then the significance of Cami freeing Bobby and Liam from a storage closet is something I touched on earlier *here*.

So why is Cami important? Because she is the casual representation we want and deserve! She’s not a big deal on the show, but she also not diminished. She doesn’t need to make headlines to be important. She’s real, and believable, and I’m hoping there’s more of her as well as characters like her. Casual representation is important too, and it’s important because she’s not the only queer character on the show, and the other queer person isn’t her love interest.

Hopefully I got my message across that Cami is the next step of queer characters in shows.

[songsofprotestpeacerevolution]

President Trump continues to use inflammatory language as many Americans protest the unlawful death of George Floyd and the unjust treatment of black Americans by our justice system. As the protests have grown, so has the intensity of the president’s rhetoric. He has gone so far as to make a shocking promise: to send active-duty members of the U.S. military to “dominate” protesters in cities throughout the country — with or without the consent of local mayors or state governors. On Monday, the president previewed his approach on the streets of Washington. He had 1,600 troops from around the country transported to the D.C. area, and placed them on alert, as an unnamed Pentagon official put it, “to ensure faster employment if necessary.” As part of the show of force that Trump demanded, military helicopters made low-level passes over peaceful protesters — a military tactic sometimes used to disperse enemy combatants — scattering debris and broken glass among the crowd. He also had a force, including members of the National Guard and federal officers, that used flash-bang grenades, pepper spray and, according to eyewitness accounts, rubber bullets to drive lawful protesters, as well as members of the media and clergy, away from the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church. All so he could hold a politically motivated photo op there with members of his team, including, inappropriately, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Looting and violence are unacceptable acts, and perpetrators should be arrested and duly tried under the law. But as Monday’s actions near the White House demonstrated, those committing such acts are largely on the margins of the vast majority of predominantly peaceful protests. While several past presidents have called on our armed services to provide additional aid to law enforcement in times of national crisis — among them Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson — these presidents used the military to protect the rights of Americans, not to violate them. As former leaders in the Defense Department — civilian and military, Republican, Democrat and independent — we all took an oath upon assuming office “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” as did the president and all members of the military, a fact that Gen. Milley pointed out in a recent memorandum to members of the armed forces. We are alarmed at how the president is betraying this oath by threatening to order members of the U.S. military to violate the rights of their fellow Americans. President Trump has given governors a stark choice: either end the protests that continue to demand equal justice under our laws, or expect that he will send active-duty military units into their states. While the Insurrection Act gives the president the legal authority to do so, this authority has been invoked only in the most extreme conditions when state or local authorities were overwhelmed and were unable to safeguard the rule of law. Historically, as Secretary Esper has pointed out, it has rightly been seen as a tool of last resort. Beyond being unnecessary, using our military to quell protests across the country would also be unwise. This is not the mission our armed forces signed up for: They signed up to fight our nation’s enemies and to secure — not infringe upon — the rights and freedoms of their fellow Americans. In addition, putting our servicemen and women in the middle of politically charged domestic unrest risks undermining the apolitical nature of the military that is so essential to our democracy. It also risks diminishing Americans’ trust in our military — and thus America’s security — for years to come. As defense leaders who share a deep commitment to the Constitution, to freedom and justice for all Americans, and to the extraordinary men and women who volunteer to serve and protect our nation, we call on the president to immediately end his plans to send active-duty military personnel into cities as agents of law enforcement, or to employ them or any another military or police forces in ways that undermine the constitutional rights of Americans. The members of our military are always ready to serve in our nation’s defense. But they must never be used to violate the rights of those they are sworn to protect.

89 former Defense officials: The military must never be used to violate constitutional rights

Leon E. Panetta, former defense secretary

Chuck Hagel, former defense secretary

Ashton B. Carter, former defense secretary

William S. Cohen, former defense secretary

Sasha Baker, former deputy chief of staff to the defense secretary

Donna Barbisch, retired major general in the U.S. Army

Jeremy Bash, chief of staff to the defense secretary

Jeffrey P. Bialos, former deputy under secretary of defense for industrial affairs

Susanna V. Blume, former deputy chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary

Ian Brzezinski, former deputy assistant defense secretary for Europe and NATO

Gabe Camarillo, former assistant secretary of the Air Force

Kurt M. Campbell, former deputy assistant defense secretary for Asia and the Pacific

Michael Carpenter, former deputy assistant defense secretary for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia

Rebecca Bill Chavez, former deputy assistant defense secretary for Western hemisphere affairs

Derek Chollet, former assistant defense secretary for international security affairs

Dan Christman, retired lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and former assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

James Clapper, former under secretary of defense for intelligence and director of national intelligence

Eliot A. Cohen, former member of planning staff for the defense department and former member of the Defense Policy Board

Erin Conaton, former under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness

John Conger, former principal deputy under secretary of defense

Peter S. Cooke, retired major general of the U.S. Army Reserve

Richard Danzig, former secretary of the U.S. Navy

Janine Davidson, former under secretary of the U.S. Navy

Robert L. Deitz, former general counsel at the National Security Agency

Abraham M. Denmark, former deputy assistant defense secretary for East Asia

Michael B. Donley, former secretary of the U.S. Air Force

John W. Douglass, retired brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force and former assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy

Raymond F. DuBois, former acting under secretary of the U.S. Army

Eric Edelman, former under secretary of defense for policy

Eric Fanning, former secretary of the U.S. Army

Evelyn N. Farkas, former deputy assistant defense secretary for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia

Michèle A. Flournoy, former under secretary of defense for policy

Nelson M. Ford, former under secretary of the U.S. Army

Alice Friend, former principal director for African affairs in the office of the under defense secretary for policy

John A. Gans Jr., former speechwriter for the defense secretary

Sherri Goodman, former deputy under secretary of defense for environmental security

André Gudger, former deputy assistant defense secretary for manufacturing and industrial base policy

Robert Hale, former under secretary of defense and Defense Department comptroller

Michael V. Hayden, retired general in the U.S. Air Force and former director of the National Security Agency and CIA

Mark Hertling, retired lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe

Kathleen H. Hicks, former principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy

Deborah Lee James, former secretary of the U.S. Air Force

John P. Jumper, retired general of the U.S. Air Force and former chief of staff of the Air Force

Colin H. Kahl, former deputy assistant defense secretary for Middle East policy

Mara E. Karlin, former deputy assistant defense secretary for strategy and force development

Frank Kendall, former under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics

Susan Koch, former deputy assistant defense secretary for threat-reduction policy

Ken Krieg, former under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics

J. William Leonard, former deputy assistant defense secretary for security and information operations

Steven J. Lepper, retired major general of the U.S. Air Force

George Little, former Pentagon press secretary

William J. Lynn III, former deputy defense secretary

Ray Mabus, former secretary of the U.S. Navy and former governor of Mississippi

Kelly Magsamen, former principal deputy assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs

Carlos E. Martinez, retired brigadier general of the U.S. Air Force Reserve

Michael McCord, former under secretary of defense and Defense Department comptroller

Chris Mellon, former deputy assistant defense secretary for intelligence

James N. Miller, former under secretary of defense for policy

Edward T. Morehouse Jr., former principal deputy assistant defense secretary and former acting assistant defense secretary for operational energy plans and programs

Jamie Morin, former director of cost assessment and program evaluation at the Defense Department and former acting under secretary of the U.S. Air Force

Jennifer M. O’Connor, former general counsel of the Defense Department

Sean O’Keefe, former secretary of the U.S. Navy

Dave Oliver, former principal deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics

Robert B. Pirie, former under secretary of the U.S. Navy

John Plumb, former acting deputy assistant defense secretary for space policy

Eric Rosenbach, former assistant defense secretary for homeland defense and global security

Deborah Rosenblum, former acting deputy assistant defense secretary for counternarcotics

Todd Rosenblum, acting assistant defense secretary for homeland defense and Americas’ security affairs

Tommy Ross, former deputy assistant defense secretary for security cooperation

Henry J. Schweiter, former deputy assistant defense secretary

David B. Shear, former assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs

Amy E. Searight, former deputy assistant defense secretary for South and Southeast Asia

Vikram J. Singh, former deputy assistant defense secretary for South and Southeast Asia

Julianne Smith, former deputy national security adviser to the vice president and former principal director for Europe and NATO policy

Paula Thornhill, retired brigadier general of the Air Force and former principal director for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs

Jim Townsend, former deputy assistant defense secretary for Europe and NATO policy

Sandy Vershbow, former assistant defense secretary for international security affairs

Michael Vickers, former under secretary of defense for intelligence

Celeste Wallander, former deputy assistant defense secretary for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia

Andrew Weber, former assistant defense secretary for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs

William F. Wechsler, former deputy assistant defense secretary for special operations and combating terrorism

Doug Wilson, former assistant defense secretary for public affairs

Anne A. Witkowsky, former deputy assistant defense secretary for stability and humanitarian affairs

Douglas Wise, former deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency

Daniel P. Woodward, retired brigadier general of the U.S. Air Force

Margaret H. Woodward, retired major general of the U.S. Air Force

Carl Woog, former deputy assistant to the defense secretary for communications

Robert O. Work, former deputy defense secretary

Dov S. Zakheim, former under secretary of defense and Defense Department comptroller

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/05/89-former-defense-officials-military-must-never-be-used-violate-constitutional-rights/

[storiescrafted-a]

MUSE INFO   —   MELODY ‘MELLIE’ MARGARET GRANT.

formerly found at: politicalgenius.

triggers that may apply:  death,  loss,  grief,  child death,  depression,  alcoholism,  overdose,  attempted suicide,  sexual assault,  infidelity,  abuse.   to be expanded upon as i think of more but hi she deserves hugs and a break.  

all information outlined below is based in the latest possible information   (   though some still has to be updated as i rewatch   ),   and can vary by verse.  a lot of it is headcanon based,  and has developed over my time writing mellie,  because she deserves the world and this garbage show really only gave her pain and zero (0) friends / people she could trust.

NOTE:  mellie has views that not all will agree with or like.  these don’t reflect my own feelings,  thoughts,  or opinions,  and anything that may come up will simply be me attempting to stay true to who my girl is!

BORN:  melody margaret eaves*. PLACE OF BIRTH:  asheville,  north carolina. DATE OF BIRTH:  december 5th, 1966;  age  —  53. EYE COLOR:  blue. HAIR COLOR:  brown. PARENTS:  beau eaves  (father,  estranged)*.   evelyn baker eaves  (mother, deceased)*.   SIBLINGS:  harmony eaves  (half-sister,  somewhat estranged). SPOUSE:  fitzgerald ‘fitz’ thomas grant iii  (divorced). CHILDREN:  fitzgerald ‘jerry’ thomas grant iv  (deceased,  2014),   karen grant,   theodore wallace grant. EDUCATION:  harvard undergrad,  yale law. PAST OCCUPATIONS:  attorney,  first lady of california,  first lady of the united states,  junior senator from virginia. CURRENT OCCUPATION:  45th president of the united states. POLITICAL PARTY:  republican. SECRET SERVICE CODENAME:  foxtail. SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  she’s a lesbian, harold.

QUICK FACTS THAT MOST WOULD KNOW!

graduated top of her class from both harvard for her undergrad,  and from yale law.

former partner at a prestigious california law firm,  a job she gave up to help fitz get elected governor.

while mellie is a republican,  it’s been noted that she’s the most progressive republican president in over 100 years,  and is pro-lqbt+,  pro-immigration,  pro-choice,  and has notably pushed through legislation for stricter gun control,  and worked toward middle eastern peace.

tbh she’s only a republican bc fitz is and she for political and image reasons she had to match him.

wrote a ‘tell all’ book about her time as first lady,  though only bits of it were published in a ‘leak’ in an attempt to get her better footing as a presidential candidate.

was the first person to air information about fitz’s affair with olivia pope   (   though she didn’t leak olivia’s name   ).

ex-wife of 44th president of the united states,  fitzgerald ‘fitz’ grant iii.

once she filibustered for 16 hours on the eve of the christmas holidays to save planned parenthood bc a man told her not to / bc her convictions are so good and i love her.

her son,  jerry,  died during fitz’s second campaign and she spent three months in a deep depression,  where she was regularly attacked by the press for regularly visiting his grave in her pajamas.   *   this led to a stalwart fight both as a senator and as president to support mental health and discussions and destigmatization of as many aspects of mental illness as she’s able,  particularly as depression is something she’s dealt with her whole life.

she didn’t win the presidential election,  she lost to frankie vargas,  who was assassinated almost immediately after being announced as the winner.  mellie was elected by the electoral college over cyrus beene.

her chief of staff was initially olivia pope,  until mellie forced her to resign.

her original pick for vp was jake ballard,  who was blackmailed out of the position and replaced by frankie vargas’ widow,  luna.  luna died the evening of mellie’s inauguration and was replaced by cyrus beene.

olivia was replaced as chief of staff by jake ballard,  who tried to push mellie out of office with the aid of cyrus beene.

jake was later arrested and sent to a maximum security prison,  and cyrus was forced by olivia to resign as vp.

was under suspicion of plotting to kill cyrus beene while he was her vice president,  though this was found to be a plot by cyrus to unseat her and get his shot at the oval.

underwent impeachment hearings during her first year in office,  though they were later found to be under false pretenses presented by jake ballard.

i headcanon that she convinces susan ross,  who ran against her for president,  to come on as vp;  and abby whelan,  who worked previously as fitz’s chief of staff,  to come on as her chief of staff,  as cyrus resigned,  jake was imprisoned,  and olivia refused to come back on.   *   this all depends on plotting bc depending on who i’m writing with,  things here could easily change

also this isn’t necessarily crucial to mellie,  but david rosen definitely didn’t die and is helping mellie to restore her public image post impeachment-hearings thank u.

near the end of her presidency,  mellie does a press conference where comes out as a lesbian and announces proposed initiatives to improve lgbtq+ support nationwide,  and she works hard to implement them before her last term is up.

in her main verse,  post-presidency she moves to new york city to live with her best friend and fellow lesbian,  minerva allory  (@crimscnmalice),  and her friendship with min in general is included heavily in mellie’s main default verse and it’s not something that’s at all secret so people Know they’re best friends and it’s soft and cute and Fine.

FACTS THAT PRIVILEGED PEOPLE MIGHT KNOW!

her marriage to fitz was arranged for political benefit,  as mellie’s father came from old money so her name was ‘good’.

had an affair with former vice president andrew nichols.

was a part of the team that conspired to rig voting machines in defiance county, ohio in order to get fitz elected,  along with olivia pope,  verna thorton,  hollis doyle,  and cyrus beene   (   commonly referred to as ‘defiance’   ).

her son was murdered by a secret service agent under orders from olivia’s father,  rowan pope.

was in a flirtatious relationship with president farid rashad of bashran before he was killed by olivia pope via her b613   (   an underground spy organization,  now dismantled   )   resources.

she legitimately has mason jars of moonshine made by her family stashed around the white house and she’s a barely-functional alcoholic and needs hugs.

[cecilspeaks]

153 - The Heist, part 1

Constellations are fan art depicting ancient gods.   Welcome to Night Vale.

I’ve said many times that science is neat. But sometimes it is also messy. Carlos converted one of our guest rooms into a laboratory so he can spend more time at home and get some needed renovations done on his laboratory downtown. Which seemed like a great idea, until I realized that it’s impossible to contain chemical odors and stains from getting all over the rest of the house. Not only did acid eat through our new Egyptian-tiled backsplash, but also a petri dish grew feet and walked outside, only to walk back inside tracking mud all over my new handwoven Svitzian rug. The last straw was when Carlos stained all of his shirt sleeves, not to mention his hands and, somehow, even the (cords) countertops a dull green, which completely threw off my kitchen color palette. I told Carlos he had to stop, but he insisted he had made a major breakthrough in his doorless fridge invention. “Cecil, this is so exciting,” he said, bouncing up and down like a child who wants a toy or needs to pee. “The problem with refrigerators is the door. In order to put food in or take food out, you have to open the door, and that’s totally  bad because it lets all the cool air out, raising the temperature of the other food inside. I told him that’s not that big of a problem, but his face darkened and he said, “Baking is an exact science, Cecil. If the butter is off my a couple of degrees, my croissants are ruined.”

I understood, but I asked that he find another place to conduct that particular experiment. He’s turning everything in our home a dull green, including his own skin. Fortunately, my sister Abby and her husband Steve Carlsberg just bought a new house. Ever since his promotion to vice president of the Last Bank of Night Vale, Steve has been saving up to buy a larger home for his family, one with a yard for dogs, no stairs and wider doors for his daughter Janice’s wheelchair, and even his own man cave, where he can raise bats and cultivate rare crystals. And they finally closed on their dream home this summer. They bought Janice a car too, complete with accessible hand controls, a state of the art sound system, and a moon roof that closes automatically at night so you never have to see that awful moon. Anyway, there is also a giant empty storage shed out back of their new home, and Steve and Abby told Carlos he can work in the shed until his laboratory downtown is ready to use again. So far, it sounds like everything is working out fine for Carlos, although he did accidentally leave a large green handprint on Janice’s new car. The good news is, she thought it looked really cool, so she decided to leave it.

Listeners, I’m getting word that there’s a robbery taking place in downtown Night Vale. Three people have entered the Last Bank of Night Vale and are demanding money from the tellers. The robbers are wearing masks of former US presidents Richard Nixon, William Henry Harrison, and Emma Goldman. The Sheriff’s Secret Police, as well as the Sheriff’s Overt Police, are on the scene but the perpetrators have begun to take hostages and the police are trying to negotiate. The robbers have not stated any demands yet, so the police are left to guess what they want. One officer suggested giving them a million dollars, which was (-) [0:05:52] accepted by the fellow officers as a great idea. Because, while human lives cannot be distilled down to a monetary value, a million dollars is pretty cool. But this idea was shot down by Sheriff Sam, who pointed out that the department does not have a million dollars. “What if we got them a puppy?” another officer offered up. “My basset just had a litter and I thought we’d be able to sell them, but it’s definitely a buyer’s market out there for hounds,” the officer continued. “Anyway I’ve got a brown one with white spots and two white ones with brown stops. I’ve named the Chutney, Footstool and Bob Ross. Footstool is the runt, let’s give them Footstool.” “We’re not giving them puppies,” Sheriff Sam shouted. “Oo, what about an Applebee’s gift card?” another officer said. “Worth a million dollars.” “Or a coupon book for free favors,” another said, “like repainting the guest room or raking leaves or – oh, wait, we’re the police right? A free crime day! They, they could use that coupon today, and we don’t have to arrest them and file all the paperwork, and the hostages get to go free. We could even have a coupon for a 15 minute backrub.”

All of the officers clapped for this idea, not just a win-win but a win-win-win, for the hostages, the robbers and the police. All except Sheriff Sam, who silenced them all with a loud whistle. More like a pan flute, really. It’s an enchanted whistle that causes vocal cords to stop working. “We are police,” the Sheriff scolded. “It is clearly stated in our oath of office to never give backrubs to bank robbers.” They then set to work trying to devise a plan to stop the robbery and free the hostages in the bank. Oh dear. Uh, listeners, I was just talking about my brother-in-law Steve, and here comes this terrible news. Um, I have no further information about Steve’s condition right now, nor the other citizens who are being held at gunpoint inside the bank. I will update you as events progress.

In the meantime, let’s go to sports. The Night Vale high school Scorpions opened their season this Friday against the Whispering Forest Wood Dogs. Scorpion’s head coach Latrice Beaumont said this will be a tough match up. The Wood Dogs, a team entirely comprised of trees, are roundly regarded as one of the toughest defenses in the state, with their tactic of whispering compliments to opposing players, until those players themselves turn into trees. Last season, Whispering Forest dealt to Night Vale its only loss, as nine of the Scorpions starting offensive players, including quarterback Junius Duncan, were won over by the Wood Dogs’ pleasant cooing. By the end of the game, the field was covered in trees, many of them former Night Vale high school student athletes. And Whispering Forest snuck out with a 3-to nothing win on the late field goal, that was somehow kicked by a tree. Coach Beaumont says she plans to give her players ear plugs to help dampen the whispers from the Wood Dogs’ defense. She also has uglied up the Scorpions’ uniforms adding mustard yellow and hot pink argyle atop the dark purple jerseys, hoping that the arborial defenders will find little good to say. The Scorpions are starting a new quarterback this season, sophomore (phenome) [0:09:20] Julie Dobbs, who won the job because of her prophetic dreams. Her slumbering subconscious is able to see the future, most notably other teams’ defensive strategies. She also uses her dream journals to develop a nearly unstoppable offensive game plan. She also owns her own football, which was a huge plus for the coaches. Good luck this weekend, Scorpions! We’re pulling for you.

I now have the names of the hostages being hold at the Last Bank of Night Vale. Jesse McNeil, a security guard who has worked at the bank for nearly 50 years, oh Jesse. What a sweet old man. He says hi to me every time I go there, always has a smile and a compliment. Why, just the other day he said to me, “Heard you on the radio, Cecil, and I was beaming with pride.” Another hostage, bank teller Genevieve Daly, who started at the bank this week. Oh Genevieve, what a tough break. Just now that we’re pulling for you. Bank customer and dinosaur expert Joel Isenberg. Oh Joel, I know Joel! He’s such a smart guy. And the last of the hostages: staff supervisor of the bank, Susan Willman. OK well, tough.

Unfortunately, after several grueling minutes, negotiations between the sheriff and the robbers have broken down. So the police have decided that the only way to break the stalemate is with physical force. While this makes sense in chess, I don’t know if this is such a good idea for hostage negotiations, listeners. But the police have advanced into the building to engage the thieves directly.

Witnesses reported hearing several gunshots, but they said the noises could also be fireworks, part of the day long celebration of Lee Marvin’s 31st birthday, which was back in June. Oh. Happy late birthday, Mr. Marvin. You don’t look a day over 30.

We cannot see inside the bank and no one has emerged yet. I will have to report back later as soon as I have – oh no wait, wait. I’ve been told that the bank is on fire now. The west wall of the bank is engulfed in flames and the Night Vale fire department is already on the scene. They are shouting at the fire to stop being such a nuisance, but the fire does not appear to be listening.

Oh, this isn’t good. And even more frightening for me, I did not see Steve Carlsber’s name on the list of hostages. Abby told me he was at work today, but why was he not taken hostage? I can only hope he had gone to lunch when the robbery began. Steve, if you hear this and you’re at lunch, don’t go back to work, it’s on fire. I feel so powerless. All I can do is hope And bring you the weather.

[My Friend” by Dominique Chantel Worthing with Barrett Ward, https://soundcloud.com/dominique-worthing ]

First, the good news. The hostages have been freed. Inside the bank, the police drew their weapons on the robbers, but could not get off a clean shot because of the hostages blocking their line of fire. The robbers fired back, forcing the police to retreat behind a Coinstar machine and a full sized promotional cardboard cutout featuring a hooded man, his jagged smile just barely visible in shadow, holding a raw slab of red meat with the bold tex below him reading: “Great mortgage rates are inside of you”. But the second wave of officers blocked the thieves’ escape from the front entrance. Then, and Sheriff Sam did not see how this happened, but a fire began in the bank lobby. It spread quickly and the room filled with smoke. In the confusion, the hostages broke free from their captors and the robbers ran from the police. Fire engines sprayed water and broadcasted loud admonishments at the fire to knock it off already.

Susan, Joel, Genevieve and Jesse ran out into the street covering their faces, choking on the black air. As Jesse emerged, his 75-year-old body was knocked backwards by one of he fire engines’ hoses. Jesse was soak head to foot. The firefighters apologized, but Jesse merely brushed himself off and then generously complimented their work by saying, “I see you’re fighting a fire.” What a gentleman. The three perpetrators of the bank robbery also fled through the front of the building, but the police quickly halted and arrested them. As the fire finally subsided, amidst the damp charred masonry and broken glass, came another figure. Steve Carlsberg emerged from the bank, sweating and limping, but safe. An ambulance arrived to take the survivors to the hospital, but they all declined, except Steve who had a broken foot and gladly took the EMTs up on their offer. The bank robbers were transported to the abandoned mine shaft outside of town for questioning. It’s an open and shut case. The bad people lose and the good people win, and every single person, even the people who own Applebee’s, is glad no one had to purchase a one million dollar Applebee’s gift card. My brother-in-law is safe, as are his employees and customers. No one died and not a single dollar was taken from the bank registers at the front counter, nor the ATMs, nor the Coinstar. Even the fire didn’t damage those bills.

That was the good news. The bad news: as the police did a final sweep of the bank, searching for anyone else inside, whether they be customers or criminals, they reached the bank’s vault in the back of the building. Before he left the hospital, the police asked Steve Carlsberg to open the vault for them. “We’re sure everything’s fine, “they said. “It’s routine in a bank robbery,” they said. “I understand,” Steve said. He opened the vault, they looked inside, and they saw nothing. Millions of dollars in bills and gold were gone. Sheriff Sam said there’s a conspiracy here, and they’re going to really put the screws to the people they arrested. “No HBO until they explain where the money from the vault,” the Sheriff declared. And that’s a big deal, because a black lady’s sketch show just premiered last month and is crazy good. The Sheriff said they have no clues yet as to where the money in the vault went, but they did discover the robbers’ names are Richard, William, and Emma. Which is interesting because those are the names of the presidents whose masks they wore. “I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” the Sheriff said confidently. The bank lost a great deal of money today and some innocent people lost their sense of comfort, but we are all still alive. At least those in this story are, and I’m so happy to know my brother-in-law is safe, as are Jesse and Joel and Genevieve, whom I’ve never even met. I’m glad those specific people are OK as well as anyone else who was taken hostage today.

Stay tuned next for an unedited recording from two years ago of you talking to a kitten. You sound ridiculous.

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Don’t go writing metaphors. Please stick to the similes and literal descriptions that you’re used to.