#credit to the official american dad twitter-

[rogers-attic]

WE’RE SO BACK OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG !!!!! THIS LOOKS SO COOL IM SO EXCITED TO SEE THE NEW EPISODES !!!!

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Vickie Moseley

Vickie Moseley has 252 stories at Gossamer, some of which have also made their way to AO3. She has obviously contributed a ton to the fandom over the years! I’ve recced some of my favorites of her stories here before, including Giving Thanks, Stunned, and a bunch of post-eps for particular episodes, including “Firewalker” and “Pine Bluff Variant.” Big thanks to Vickie for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

Not really. Well, actually, it has always surprised me that anyone would read my stories even during the heyday of the series, but that’s my self-consciousness talking. That people are discovering The X-Files is not at all surprising and that they are stumbling on fan fic is a natural extension and I find that wonderful. My husband and I never watched Grimm when it was on network TV and we’re currently going through that series, so it’s the streaming-on-demand-there-isn’t-anything-new-on-TV times we find ourselves.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

Friendships. I have a group of women that I’ve been friends with for over 20 years. Until this year we gathered in person every year. We are in contact on Facebook messenger all the time and a conversation will start up just out of thin air when we haven’t conversed for months! It’s been wonderful knowing these women from all parts of the country (and the world for that matter).

And strangely enough, medical research. My writing tended to focus on ‘injured Mulder’ (or Mulder Torture as we termed it) and I also liked reading that in fan fic. Two years ago this managed to help me in real life. My husband experienced a bilateral pneumothorax (both lungs collapsed spontaneously). One of my favorite stories that I have read and reread is “Short of Breath” by the incomparable dee_ayy. She did some serious research while writing that story and it’s all in that fan fiction. I’m not saying it’s the same as a medical degree, but I knew what was happening, why the doctors where performing certain procedures and it really eased my mind as we went through the whole experience. I never would have known what was going on if I hadn’t read that story so many times.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

Email was the ‘social media’ for the day. That, and newsfeeds. There were two newsfeeds in the beginning: the official FOX website had a message board, and there was one on ‘alt.tv’ which was an internet newsfeed where fans posted spoilers and discussed episodes. The alt.tv newsfeed got tired of the fan fic writers posting stories so a separate newsfeed was formed just for fan fic. EMXC, which was an AOL mailing list, was invite only and somewhat exclusive at first, but opened up to everyone. When the old OSU (Ohio State University) mailing list turned into Gossamer and Ephemeral, the fandom, and fan fic just skyrocketed.

But what you lived for the most, as a writer, was actual feedback. Emails from people all over who read your story. It was nice to get a quick ‘Hey, read this and really like it!’ but the wonderful emails, the ones you kept in folders on your inbox, were the ones that went into detail, sometimes critical, sometimes grammar related, but always showing where you could improve, or where you touched someone. Every friend I have from the fandom started as feedback, either to me or from me. I’m on AO3 and I appreciate ‘kudos’ but I really love getting comments.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Confidence in my writing. I learned a lot from other writers. Constructive feedback was a gift! I may never write the great American novel but I don’t think I’m afraid to give it a shot after all my years in fan fic.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

They had me at ‘aliens’. I’m a sucker for UFO shows. Was front row center at Close Encounters of the Third Kind, read many of the UFO standards, still watch Ancient Aliens on History Channel. I was waiting for The X-Files based on the tiny blurb in the 1993 Fall Preview Guide from TV Guide.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I kinda got fired from a job I loved and couldn’t go back into that arena for a long time. I was so depressed I was cleaning out my kitchen cabinets. My husband ‘gave’ me the internet for my birthday just to get me out of the dumps. I went straight to ‘yahoo’ and typed in X Files. After reading all the character bios I saw a ‘hyperlink’ (yes, that’s what we called them in 1995) to something called ‘fan fiction’. It was the OSU tree directory of about 100 fan fiction stories. I was instantly hooked.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

I still love the show and all the fans I run across. I was not happy with S8 or S9 but I did watch The Truth. I was on Haven for a while during the reboots (S10 and S11) but it wasn’t the same. I’ve got all the seasons on DVD or blu ray and both movies. When I hear from fans, I’m so happy to connect but I don’t go out and look for new stories anymore.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

None. My heart belongs to Mulder ;)

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Captain Kirk, Spock, Captain Picard, Will Riker, Luke, Han, Leia, Poe, Rae, Kylo at the end. I like strong characters but it’s OK if they have flaws. I’d like to see more strong female leads in science fiction (Gammora and Nebula are favs of mine, too). I love Brea Larson’s portrayal of Captain Marvel!  

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

Sure. When the Pandemic hit we started going through the series for maybe the 20th time. It’s nice to watch them on a larger TV screen. Kim Manners was a genius with lighting and showing just enough of the ‘monster’. I suspect he will be better appreciated in the future than he was at the time he was alive.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I still go back and read my favorites from XF. I read Blood Ties by Dawn about once a year, the whole series. I go back and read the Virtual Season X seasons. We had some really good stories in those years.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

Too many to list! Dawn, of course. Susan Proto (I co-wrote with her), Sally Bahnsen, dee_ayy, Suzanne Bickerstaff’s Magician Series was the first (and only) fantasy I ever truly liked! I loved all my co-writers and there are plenty of writers that I wish we’d gotten around to collaborating.

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I’m proud of Out of the Cold because it’s Mulder before Scully. I’m partial to the Flight Into Egypt series because I like ‘righting’ what I thought Carter got wrong in the end.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I keep trying! I’m working (have been working for almost a decade now) on a Flight Into Egypt story set at Christmas. Each fall I drag it out of mothballs, write a paragraph or two and get busy doing Christmas stuff. Funny, but it was easier to find time to write when I was a working mom of 6 than as a retired grandma of 3.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I’m putting together a cookbook for my kids and grandkids of all our family recipes. It’s not just the recipes, but the stories behind them. It’s a WIP (work in progress).

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I had a book, just a cheap paperback of unexplained events—all true stories, supposedly—that I got a lot of ideas from. Or, like Carter, I would see something in the news and it would turn into a story. One time I had a dream about our Pur water filter and it turned into a fan fic.

What's the story behind your pen name?

My older sister named me because my Mom and Dad let her. I never used a pen name. That’s my real name, you can google me and find out all about me. I used to have a wiki page or so my kids told me.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

My kids used to tell their friends that ‘Mom is famous on the internet’ as a joke. Most of my friends know. My other life is in politics and the two lives usually don’t cross but once on a campaign I was asked by a reporter if I was the ‘same’ Vickie Moseley who writes fan fiction. If I had lied, that would have been the story—that I lied about this hobby of mine. Like it was something to be ashamed of or I was ashamed of my writing. So instead of ducking the question I said ‘yeah, have you read any of my stuff?’ Fan fiction was not mentioned in the finished article.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

I’m on AO3 but only a partial list. My website is still up thanks to Mimic.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

Back when I started writing (1995) it was a sort of commune. We all loved reading fan fiction, we didn’t want the story to end with the credits. So if you wanted to read, you were encouraged to write, too, so that others had stories to read and share. It was a cooperative arrangement very much like the old Literary Societies back in the 19th Century.  I really miss that, so I hope that on some level that is still going on.

(Posted by Lilydale on November 10, 2020)

[jlf23tumble]

Four Hangout: Recap

Oh, man, I know I “owe” this one, so I’m doing it, but I hate it for about 15 different reasons, 14 of those being Ben Winston, which means I’m gonna keep this fairly short. The Four Hangout (lmao, I will never stop laughing at the attempts to team up with Google’s shitty tech) predates my entry into this fandom, so I’m not as on top of every little thing that happened around it (and my god, there were some doozies). I’ve found other posts that do a better job of transcribing some key moments), but I’m sure lots of others are out there, and as ever, I recommend taking 35 minutes to stare at this work of art for yourself.

Whenever I’ve seen gifs from this, the read is that at least two people are coming off a coke bender as we all focus on Ben’s rather ham-fisted attempt to get Louis to admit that he hates people thinking he’s gay. But in rewatching it in full now and knowing more about the context around it, the true vibe is exhaustion mixed with some very real anger/mulishness aimed at management in general and Ben in particular. Because the point of the Four Hangout isn’t to promote Four, the album, but to exonerate the D’s management team, blow smoke up Ben’s ass, and “clear the air” about whatever rumors have been going around that the D’s team doesn’t like, all posed as questions theoretically from the fans, yet weirdly management focused.

I’ve found lots of good blog posts that summarize these 35 or so minutes, but here’s an executive summary of my comments coupled with others I’ve found:

Ben Winston is an insufferable dick

The D is so fucking TIRED at this point, everyone’s low energy, but Louis’s voice is the softest, raspiest, most enchanting thing

They regularly creep on social media and are up on pretty much everything fandom related

There are no rumors they need to dismiss except that they’re currently alive, go on, ask them twice!

Liam is great at delivering the corporate spiel

Harry really did get them sneezes out

The Louis/Ben feud is one thing; the Harry/Ben feud is a whole other

Louis reads fanfic (and has some faves!)

Narry are ride or die WMYB, except for when Harry needs to have a go at Ben

Zayn has somehow made himself look even more godlike

Louis has super cute socks

With that in mind, let’s jump into some key moments, but I’m paraphrasing a lot because it’s so hard to hear over all the cross-talk, asides, and inside jokes. More under the cut!

Shout out to Louis's collarbones and quiff combo...his voice is about to give out, but he’s so OPEN and present for this total shitshow, even when he defiantly refuses to take the path he’s being guided down. Also, please @ god let me play some poker while we enjoy a bacon butty over brunch, his face as Niall introduces Ben as a “very, very good friend of ours” (me as both Ziam and Harry):

One of the most subversive things this band does is effusive praise when they’re pissed off, and never is it clearer than here, when Niall gushes on about all the wonderful work Ben has done for them, and the other boys pick up on it and start whistling and clapping (Louis: “My hero”; Harry: “LOOK AT THOSE TEETH!”) until Ben gets extremely uncomfortable.

We’re off to a good start, with Ben being sure to preface that all of these questions are from the fans, and then Harry asking Ben if he’s wearing makeup (Ben, mildly affronted, “No, I’m not wearing any makeup, but you guys do, you wear a lot of makeup, don't you, Harry” [Harry: “Tons”; Ben: “Well, you need to”]).

The first question is about the difference between this album and their first one, and it’s such a stupid, easy question that I want to answer it for Niall because I can do it in my sleep. Ben then asks Louis if he likes visiting the X Factor, if it reminds him of the old days (you know, four years ago), and AGAIN, this is a dumb-ass question, and Louis’s a pro, so what do you think he’s gonna say? (Of course he likes visiting, it’s lovely to go down and relive it). Is Harry nervous about playing there again tonight? Nope, it’s fun!! He can enjoy it this time around! Simon Cowell doesn’t give him ANY anxiety!!

The next question is about the simplicity of the old days, and my god, does my heart break for Liam saying that they had to work really hard back then, so it’s nice that four years later, they get a few more vacation days. Louis agrees, adding that the first American promo trip was a grind where they did 10 things a day (multiple interviews, signings, radio appearances, rehearsals, and shows)

Ben asks if they ever go back and watch clips of themselves from their early days (this genuinely does seem like a fan ask), and wouldn’t you know, Niall was just chillin’ out last week, rewatching all the video diaries again. Louis admits that his red trousers and braces were loud, but they worked for the time, “Or do you disagree, Ben?” (Ben: “No, I loved it.” Louis: “Thank you.”) And I wish I could travel back in time both so I could kill Hitler AND witness Ben showing up somewhere in a pair of Toms, only to be faced by Louis Tomlinson telling him that he wore that style two years ago, and he wouldn’t anymore, which Ben says cut him down to size (I highly doubt that, but I would have love to see it).

All of this fashion talk is side-winding into a question about who tells them what to wear and whether they have control over their image now. They all note that they wouldn’t have dared to push back in year one, presumably because “experts” were telling them what to do, plus it was all free (which makes all the dragging on their old looks extra fun to watch). Then Ben asks whether they make their own decisions now, and Liam says yeah as Louis smirks, lmaooooo, which morphs into, well, we have much more input than we used to have. I’m here for Harry giving a slow, long-winded answer as a construction project starts up somewhere in the studio, and Louis yells, “Keep it down” into his mic.

Ben, I mean, the fans want to know what piece of advice they’d give the fetus versions of themselves, if they could go back in time, and Louis advises his younger self to have a second glance in the mirror and see if he’s really sure about that particular outfit. (Ben: “Is that…really?” Louis: “No, Ben, I’m just trying to make a joke.”). Liam would fight the haircuts, and Harry would burn the supras (I’m assuming; Louis: “They were outrageous”). Zayn would tell his younger self to have a bit more fun, to try and take it all in and enjoy it more. :(

“The fans” are curious about the negative side of social media, how the D just exploded on YouTube and Twitter after X Factor, and does it ever go too far? Liam channels my inbox and says that people forget there’s a person on the other side of an anon message, that these guys see all the things that are said about them, and they’re self-conscious with cameras and comments, but it’s okay, they put up with it. Louis’s addicted to Twitter, and says that there are negative people there, but you’ll find negative people on every social media platform and in real life, too, it is what it is.

Of course, “the fans” are curious about how all this social media shit affects their girlfriends, and I would kill to hear more about what Narry, the two singles on this couch, keep giggling about in this ridick convo that I’m not even gonna bother to sum up.

Ben’s curious how the fans always manage to leak everything the band does, and yes, Louis, tell us more! How does it make you feel? Liam thinks it’s anticlimactic, Niall’s only beef is when something is leaked a week before it’s out, and everyone else just gets annoyed if it breaks the structure of a rollout, but nobody talks about songs that are leaked that were never meant for official release (cough cough, "Home”), and Harry’s just happy people get a sneak peek and then still buy the album, so all is good. Me as this exchange: Ben, incredulously, “It’s amazing they’re able to constantly do it”; Liam: “Lots of high-tech people out there.”

Probably my favorite part of this is the fanfic discussion, which kicks off with Ben’s “I've noticed, not that I’ve read it, but there's been a lot of fanfiction published about you boys, books published, have you any read it?”

Zayn avoids it at all costs, but Louis’s aware of a fic writer’s book deal (who????) and says that he’s come across some of it on twitter (!!!). He finds some of it utterly bizarre (looking at you, self-inserts), but he’s read some nice little stories, and he’s seen some that go very deep and very, very weird. Liam acknowledges that it’s a whole different world, that he gets the idea of it, of fans putting themselves in situations with them (and Jesus Christ, it kills me that they’ve had to read self-insert wattpad fics), but some of it blows his mind. Niall doesn’t know where to go looking for it, but don’t worry friend, Ben’s gonna hook you up with his favorites! Harry is noticeably quiet during ALL of this.

With a horrible segue, Ben says, “Speaking of things that are made up, what’s the biggest rumor you’ve heard about yourself, this is a question lots of fans are asking” (SURE THING), and Harry never gets enough credit for his dry delivery, such as the way he says, “We’ve all been dead a couple of times.” But Ben can’t let it go, and that’s when Louis does his whole, “No”….dramatic pause (he might be saying “Go,” but the point is, he lets this bit drop where it lands). Zayn jumps in with the rumor that Niall used to be a jockey, and god bless him, honestly.

Ben realizes he’s not getting anywhere with this, so it’s time to move on to the actual album, why is it called Four, etc. It’s not really all that interesting, tbh, nor is the name they didn’t go with as a band (Liam’s dad’s suggestion, which was USP, if you’re curious). Liam figures USP will flourish one day, and this whole section proves how funny Liam actually is. I’m curious about all the One Direction tribute bands they’re mentioning, and I’m totally down to check one out if they’re ever in my area, just fwiw.

Anyway, moving on! What song are they most proud of? Zayn loves “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” and Louis is WAY into “Fireproof,” which Liam’s down with, too. The part that’s interesting gets glossed over because Ben’s an idiot, but they talk about how many songs they’ve written that don’t make it to the album, like, Liam has a tattoo that says “somewhere is a place that nobody knows” from a song we’ll never hear called “Man on a Mission,” and how many others are stored in this vault (23 or 24 were in the final running for this album, where are they)? Harry suggests those songs will be on USP’s first album, and I will absolutely buy it. His story about the Norway bus trip makes me want to dig deep (he was on a party bus in Norway and heard one of their songs, sung by them, that had never been released anywhere, and he was the only one who knew it).

Zayn hints a bit at what happens (voting), and Liam hints at all the meetings, but I would love to know so much more about this process, especially since Niall says that lots of people are in these meetings, with lots of opinions (Simon, label, other managers).

Ben says that another recurring question is about what “Stockholm Syndrome” means, and I love the Alex Turner-esque dodge we get on Harry literally describing what Stockholm Syndrome means, without any real insight into what the song’s about. Still, I live in the awkward that happens right after this drops, with Ben still somehow trying to get them to admit they don’t feel trapped, lmao:

Ben asks about which songs are about specific people, and god, I don’t care because all of this section is lies. Then he tries to get them to talk about songs they don’t like, and they aren’t here for that, like, Liam will say he can’t casually listen to WMYB, but he loves performing it, and the best part of this is Harry saying he’ll crank that song and mouth along, pretending that he’s Niall.

For their favorite songs, Liam goes with “Fireproof,” Louis goes with “Midnight Memories,” Niall goes with “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” Zayn can’t pick one, and Harry says “Best Song Ever.” Ben likes “Through the Dark” because of course he does, and that’s when the needling from Harry starts about “Gotta Be You,” and I don’t understand, but I live for him on the attack, so geddit, son (also, Niall, with his “your boyfriend’s back, and you’re gonna be in trouble,” etc., YES).

Another question Ben kept getting from fans (got it!) is what would be the one thing they’d change in the past four years, and Louis starts with, “Why would you want to? It’s been great, there’s no point.” Liam agrees, and that’s that. Ben’s next question is what moment they’d relive in the past four years, and Niall says he was really nervous at MSG, although Zayn thinks it was a great gig BECAUSE they were nervous. Nothing’s really happening here, so Ben asks Harry what’s going on with his hair (I guess “the fans” want to know?), and Harry just says it tends to grow, that’s what hair does, and he’s letting it all hang out.

Another “fan” question that makes me laugh from Ben: “Who makes the decisions in One Direction? Is it always your call?” And they all say NO, but Liam jumps in with, “It’s totally us, people ask us now, ultimately we call the shots,” and there’s a LOT of back-chatter here, so draw what you see.

Ben tries to push how much they love the “Night Changes,” video, and AGAIN, Harry gets on his case about “Gotta Be You,” and someone else covers it better than I ever could, but this goading by Harry is wonderful. Ben’s creative process for video concepts is fascinating because he basically admits that it’s easy or it’s really hard (read: he steals it or just throws a shitty idea to a wall to see if it sticks).

Ben asks if they get nervous about people liking the album, and Louis says they care if critics like the album or not, but really, he’s out there on twitter searching different song titles to see the fan reaction. This is also when we learn they aren’t on ye olde social meeds that much anymore, but they all enjoy a good old-fashioned creep session (Zayn especially). Harry’s comment about feeling vulnerable when you release something you’ve been working on for a year feels especially poignant—he gets excited and nervous all at once—and I really don’t get this whole controlled leak promo thing they did for Four, but who am I to question Modest or Syco?? All I want to know is what Niall’s talking about on the side.

[orbemnews]

She Beat Cancer at 10. Now She’s Set to Be the Youngest American in Space. Hayley Arceneaux, 29, had hoped this would be the year that she would complete her aim of visiting all seven continents before she turned 30. She will not have time to do that, though. She is going to space. Ms. Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, will be one of four people on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Florida. Scheduled to launch late this year, it is to be the first crewed mission to circle Earth in which no one on board is a professional astronaut. “I did ask, ‘Am I going to get a passport stamp for going to space?’” Ms. Arceneaux said. “But I don’t think I’m going to. So I’m just going to draw a star and the moon in one of my passports.” This adventure is spearheaded by Jared Isaacman, a 38-year-old billionaire who announced in January that he had bought the rocket launch from SpaceX, the space company started by Elon Musk. Mr. Isaacman said at the time that he wanted the mission to be more than a jaunt for the superwealthy, and that he had given two of the four available seats to St. Jude. One of them will go to a random winner in a sweepstakes contest to raise money for the hospital, which treats children at no charge and develops cures for childhood cancers and other diseases. The other seat, Mr. Isaacman said, will be filled by a frontline health care worker at St. Jude, someone who symbolizes hope. On Monday, St. Jude officials and Mr. Isaacman revealed that Ms. Arceneaux was the person they had chosen. Ms. Arceneaux could become the youngest American ever to travel to orbit. She will also be the first person with a prosthetic body part to go to space. She was a patient at St. Jude nearly 20 years ago, and as part of her treatment for bone cancer, metal rods replaced parts of the bones in her left leg. In the past, that would have kept her firmly on the ground, unable to meet NASA’s stringent medical standards for astronauts. But the advent of privately financed space travel has opened the final frontier to some people who were previously excluded. Dr. Michael D. Neel, the orthopedic surgeon who installed Ms. Arceneaux’s prosthesis, says that although having artificial leg bones means that she can’t play contact sports on Earth, they should not limit her on this SpaceX trek. “It shows us that the sky is not the limit,” Dr. Neel said. “It’s the sky and beyond. I think that’s the real point of all this, that she has very little limitations as far as what you can do. Unless you’re going to play football up there.” Ms. Arceneaux said she hoped to offer inspiration to patients at St. Jude. “They’ll be able to see a cancer survivor in space, especially one that has gone through the same thing that they have,” she said. “It’s going to help them visualize their future.” Richard C. Shadyac Jr., the president of ALSAC, the fund-raising organization for St. Jude, said of Ms. Arceneaux, “If anybody was emblematic of the notion of hope, it was Hayley.” Ms. Arceneaux herself did not find out she would have a seat on the rocket until early January. Officials at the hospital had vaguely told her that there was an opportunity they wanted to talk to her about. She said she had thought that “maybe it would be a commercial or maybe giving a speech somewhere.” Instead, it was an opportunity to be an astronaut. “I even kind of laughed,” Ms. Arceneaux said. “I was like, “What? Yes. Yes, please, that would be amazing.” She then added, “Let me talk to my mom.” Her mom did not object. Ms. Arceneaux walked into St. Jude for the first time in 2002. She was 10. Not long before, she had earned her black belt in taekwondo, but she was complaining of pain in her leg. Her mother saw a bump protruding over the left knee. The pediatrician in the small town of St. Francisville, La., where they lived, not far from Baton Rouge, told them that it looked like a cancerous tumor. “We all fell apart,” Ms. Arceneaux said. “I remember just being so scared because at age 10, everyone I had known with cancer had died.” At St. Jude, doctors provided the good news that the cancer had not spread to other parts of her body. Ms. Arceneaux went through chemotherapy, an operation to install the prosthetic leg bones and long sessions of physical therapy. Even at that young age, bald from chemotherapy, Ms. Arceneaux was helping at fund-raisers for St. Jude. The next year, Louisiana Public Broadcasting honored her with one of its Young Heroes awards. “When I grow up, I want to be a nurse at St. Jude,” she said in a video shown at the ceremony in 2003. “I want to be a mentor to patients. When they come in, I’ll say, ‘I had that when I was little, and I’m doing good.’” Last year, Ms. Arceneaux was hired by St. Jude. She works with children with leukemia and lymphoma, such as a teenage boy she talked with recently. “I shared with him that I also lost my hair,” Ms. Arceneaux said. “I told him: ‘You can ask me anything. I’m a former patient. I’ll tell you the truth, anything you want to know.’ And he said, ‘Will you really tell me the truth?’ And I said yes.” His burning question: “Are you the one going to space?” Ms. Arceneaux had to dodge. “I said, ‘Well, we’ll see who gets announced.’” she said. “But I think he knew because then he and his dad were like “Yeah!” and high-fived.” Ms. Arceneaux and Mr. Isaacman have visited SpaceX’s headquarters in California three times to meet with engineers and to start planning the trip. Unlike the missions that SpaceX flies for NASA, this one will not go to the International Space Station but will instead orbit Earth for three or four days before splashing down off the Florida coast. “She’s got an adventurous spirit,” Mr. Isaacman said of Ms. Arceneaux. “And now she gets to travel to the stars, which is pretty cool.” It will still be a few more weeks before they know who their companions will be. The St. Jude sweepstakes, publicized in a television commercial that was broadcast during the Super Bowl two weeks ago, will run through the end of the month. It has so far raised about $9.5 million. That seems to fall far short of the $100 million Mr. Isaacman has himself committed to St. Jude, or the overall goal of $200 million. But Mr. Isaacman and Mr. Shadyac said that the fund-raising effort would go beyond the sweepstakes and that they were pleased with the progress. “This is going to be a campaign that’s going to extend all the way until the launch,” Mr. Shadyac said. The sweepstakes is structured in a way that effectively limits the size of donations. One entry is free. A minimum donation of $10 buys 100 entries, and each additional dollar donated buys 10 more entries, up to $1,000 for 10,000 entries. There were some pricier options available that are now sold out. For example, Mr. Isaacman will give a donor who contributed $100,000 a ride in the Russian-built MiG-29 jet fighter that he owns. The donor will also get a trip to watch the launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But that donor still has just 10,000 entries in the sweepstakes, the same as someone who donated $1,000. Mr. Isaacman said this was a deliberate choice to prevent a wealthy person from trying to snap up the grand prize of a trip to space by buying millions of entries. “Is it going to represent all of the people of Earth and not just rich white guys?” Mr. Isaacman said. The fourth SpaceX seat will go to the winner of a contest sponsored by Mr. Isaacman’s company, Shift4, which sells credit-card-processing terminals and point-of-sale systems to restaurants and other businesses. The “Shark Tank”-like competition calls for entrepreneurs to design an online store using Shift4’s software and then post a video on Twitter describing their business. As of last week, fewer than 100 people had submitted complete entries. “It means if you had made a Shift4 shop and entered it, you’ve got pretty amazing odds,” Mr. Isaacman said. Source link Orbem News #American #beat #cancer #Set #Shes #Space #youngest

[hollywoodages-blog]

Danneel Ackles Height Weight Measurements

New Post has been published on http://hollywoodages.com/danneel-ackles-height-weight-measurements/

Danneel Ackles Height Weight Measurements

Danneel Ackles Biography

Danneel Harris Elta Danneel Graul March 18, 1979, credited professionally since 2012 by her wedded name Danneel Ackles, is an American performer and model. She is referred to for her parts as Shannon McBain on the American daytime cleanser musical show One Life to Live and as Rachel Gatina on the WB/CW TV dramatization arrangement One Tree Hill. Elta Danneel Graul was conceived in Lafayette, Louisiana, and was brought up in the residential area of Eunice in St. Landry Parish. Her dad, Edward E. Graul Jr. is a honing ophthalmologist and her mom, Deborah Graul fills in as an inside architect. She was named after her extraordinary grandma. Her first name is Elta, yet she passes by her center name, Danneel, professionally. The name “Danneel” was motivated by Danneel Street in New Orleans. She moved to Los Angeles to seek after a demonstrating profession. Following three years of dating, Harris ended up connected with to Supernatural performing artist Jensen Ackles in November 2009. The couple wedded on May 15, 2010, in Dallas, Texas. It was declared on January 7, 2013, that the couple were expecting their first kid together. Their girl was conceived in May 2013. On August 10, 2016, the couple reported that they were expecting twins together, later in the year. Their twins, a child and a little girl, were conceived in December 2016. See Danneel Ackles Height Weight, Family Members and Filmography Below.

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Danneel Ackles Personal Info.

Full Name: Elta Danneel Graul

Nick Name: Danneel Harris

Family Members: Edward E.Graul Jr. (Father) Deborah Graul (Mother) Gino Graul (Brother)

Education: Danneel Ackles Education Not Known.

Date of Birth: 18th March, 1979

Birthplace: Lafayette, Louisiana

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Religion: Christian

Ethnicity: Multiracial

Nationality: American

Profession: Actress, Model, Gymnast

Measurements: 34-24-34 in or 86-61-86 cm

Bra Size: 34C

Height: 5′ 7″ (170 cm)

Weight: 128lbs (58 kg)

Eye Color: Brown – Light

Hair Color: Brown – Dark

Dress Size: 6

Shoe Size: 8

Boyfriend/Dating History: Danneel Ackles wound up drew in to Supernatural performing artist Jensen Ackles in November 2009. The couple wedded on May 15, 2010, in Dallas, Texas. It was reported on January 7, 2013, that the couple were expecting their first tyke together.

Known For: Rachel Gattina on One Tree Hill

Active Year: 1996 (present)

Friends: Christopher Stringini, Hillarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Bethany Joy Lenz

  Twitter

FaceBook

Instagram Film

Year Title 2004 The Plight of Clownana 2005 Rule Number One 2007 Ten Inch Hero 2008 Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay 2008 Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam 2008 Extreme Movie 2009 Still Waiting… 2009 Fired Up! 2010 The Back-up Plan 2011 The Roommate 2011 A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas 2012 Mardi Gras: Spring Break

Television

Year Title 2003 One Life to Live 2004 What I Like About You 2004 Joey 2005 Charmed 2005 JAG 2005–2010 One Tree Hill 2007 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 2008 Free Radio 2008 How I Met Your Mother 2009 NCIS 2009 Trust Me 2009 CSI: Miami 2011 Friends with Benefits 2012 Retired at 35 2012 Naughty or Nice 2013 How to Live with Your Parents… 2014 Baby Boot Camp 2018 Supernatural

See Also: Michaela McManus Body Measurements

Search Terms: Danneel Ackles Height Weight

Danneel Ackles Age. Danneel Ackles Acting. Danneel Ackles And Husband. Danneel Ackles Brother. Danneel Ackles Height Weight. Danneel Ackles Birth Chart. Danneel Ackles Eye Color. Danneel Ackles Facebook. Danneel Ackles Family. Danneel Ackles Full Name. Danneel Ackles Height Weight. Danneel Ackles Fashion. Danneel Ackles Hair. Danneel Ackles Husband. Danneel Ackles Hair Color. Danneel Ackles Harris. Danneel Ackles Model. Danneel Ackles Movie. Danneel Ackles Movies And Tv Shows. Danneel Ackles Married. Danneel Ackles Height Weight. Danneel Ackles Maiden Name. Danneel Ackles Natural Hair Color. Danneel Ackles Official Twitter. Danneel Ackles Official Instagram. Danneel Ackles Profession. Danneel Ackles Height Weight. Danneel Ackles Parents. Danneel Ackles Shows. Danneel Ackles Twitter. Danneel Ackles Tv Shows. Danneel Ackles Wiki.

[ggungabyfish]

Ralph Bakshi

I have a confession to make.

There's a certain animator I love more than I do Disney (uh, well, maybe I love them both equally).

His name is Ralph Bakshi.

The name might sound familiar to some of you, especially those of you in the Tolkien fandom.

https://youtu.be/AT18OJEPU9Q

Yep. That Ralph Bakshi.

------------

Let's rewind back to 2001. The world was in the grips of LOTR fever. The first of Peter Jackson's trilogy had come out, and everyone was trying to get their hands on every bit of Tolkien media they could. My sibling Chris and I were of the same mind.

So Mom decided to buy us the animated versions of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Return of the King. The VHS tapes are still in our possession.

I found that I enjoyed the second one because it was much more different than the Rankin & Bass animated versions. I suppose it was because the images seemed to stand out more. At the time I first watched this, I was reading Fellowship, so I was able to follow along with the first half of the film. I found that while not as gripping as the Peter Jackson trilogy, I enjoyed it.

Fast forward to  2006. I was in college and taking classes for credits. One of those classes was Animation for Beginners and was taught by a lovely guy named Eddie. Our main objective in that class was to create our own animated film.

One day, Eddie brought in a large storyboard to give us an example. "This is the storyboard my dad used to map out the scene when Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard", he said, pointing to the images.

I thought for a moment. 'Hang on...did he say Treebeard?'

After we were done for the day, I went up to Eddie. "Hey, Eddie," I asked, "when you said 'when Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard'...by any chance did your dad animate that one movie---"

"Yep." He said, grinning. "My dad is Ralph Bakshi."

My jaw dropped. "He is?"

He chuckled. "You bet. A lot of people are surprised when they find out I'm his son."

"Has he animated anything else?"

He took a piece of paper off his desk, wrote down some things, and handed it to me. "Here. These are some of Dad's movies. Let me know what you think."

That night, thanks to my growing knowledge of Google-fu, I found out that Mr. Bakshi had done more than LOTR. He had quite the resume of animated films.

And I was hooked.

-------

Ralph Bakshi is considered by many to be one of the greatest adult animators that ever lived. In one video I found while getting ready to write this article calls him the "forerunner of adult animation, before The Simpsons, Family Guy, and others."

https://youtu.be/KiBx19b26f0

And that's certainly true. I mean, if you look at what the majority of his films contain, there's so much X-rated/R-rated stuff that it makes your head spin. In fact, Fritz the Cat is the first x-rated animated film.

https://youtu.be/Jq5xAuZjsZM

But Ralph isn't just known for animation like this.

In fact, there's one scene in the animated LOTR that directly inspired Peter Jackson. Remember the Proudfoot/Proudfeet scene? Peter Jackson later said in an interview that he felt he had to include that scene in his live-action adaption, so he did! He also said that the first copy of LOTR he had featured a cover that showed a scene from Bakshi's films--specifically the Nazghul chasing down Frodo.

-------

Why does he inspire me?

Well, it's how he tells a story.

Let's take, for example, a scene in Fritz the Cat (based on the comic book by Robert Crumb), not too long after Fritz has an epiphany and burns his papers.

We come upon a scene in a bar in Harlem and in the world of Fritz, African-Americans are portrayed as crows. An older crow, a middle-aged crow, and a female crow sit at a table and talk. They chat about how expensive the bus was, growing up in Oakland, California, and Army training. This scene makes us feel at ease as we prepare for what will be an intense climax later on.

When Ralph was looking on how to do the dialog for this scene, he actually took a tape recorder and went to bars in Harlem. There he'd chat with bar patrons buying them drinks, lighting their cigarettes/marijuana joints, and recording their conversations. He'd later play the recordings to the animators so that they could animate based on those recordings. He would use this technique in other films, but here in Fritz, it's very prevalent. 

He also did this at the beginning of the film where Fritz takes refuge in a synagogue while running from the police. The three lions talking in the scene are Ralph's father, grandfather, and uncle; his father passed away after Fritz was released, so Ralph later said in an interview that it was nice because he had his father's voice preserved. 

But he uses these techniques to create scenes to help tell the story.

And the story sucks us in until the very end. And he keeps us going with the characters as they go through whatever zany thing they do.

One of my dreams is to meet Ralph in person and tell him what a great inspiration he is. I hope it will be a reality one day. 

--------

What's the best way to start your Ralph Bakshi experience? Here's my list.

Fritz the Cat (1972)--considered to be the first x-rated animated film. It's a great introduction

Heavy Traffic  (1973)--this is another one of his great films.

Coonskin (1975)--Ralph's darkly comic and racy take on the tales of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear. Copies are hard to find but Xenon has released it officially on DVD.

Wizards (1977)---An animated sci-fi fantasy. This actually features Mark Hamil is his first voice-over role; he filmed this before he began filming Star Wars.

The Lord of the Rings (1978)--What started my Bakshi addiction. As of this moment it's available on DVD/Blu-ray along with the Rankin and Bass specials.

Check them out, and let me know what you think.

You can follow Ralph on Twitter.

------------

Gabriella Brillante is a freelance writer and lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico. To find out more about her work, visit her blog at gabriellabrillante.wordpress.com.

[brokegirlrich]

Calling All Those With White Privilege | brokeGIRLrich

Hi. That includes me.

I haven’t said a lot on what’s been happening in the world, but I have been thinking a lot.

And reading.

And donating.

Many, many things have stuck with me, but the one that spurred me to finally write down some of my thoughts was this post by J.D. Roth, who I actually respect quite a lot, on the FinCon group – which has pretty much self-imploded over the last few days in way quite reflective of society right now.

It’s pretty long. Feel free to skip over it, if you want. I’ll sum it up underneath.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

  Essentially, it’s what are the white folks to do? How can we help?

And a lot of my black friends seem to be saying, stop freaking asking us, it’s not our job to explain.

Which feels about right and probably incredibly tiresome to have to tell people how to fix a problem they didn’t create.

I don’t fully understand the point of social media. I often think it does more harm than good and I don’t use mine for much other than promoting these posts on Twitter and the occasional weird theater meme on Facebook.

I don’t know if a bunch of black squares on everything for Blackout Tuesday was effective or not.

I do know I can spend way too much time thinking over whether or not something is effective and before I know it, the moment has passed and I’ve done nothing.

I don’t think this moment is going to pass quickly though. I don’t think it came on quickly either. It’s been a ready to boil over pot the entire time this nation has existed.

But I am a do-er. That’s why J.D.’s post spurred me into action.

That and I do believe the old quote “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (Edmund Burke).

Not only am I do-er, but I also write about freaking personal finance, and let’s be real, massive parts of the racial divide here revolve around finance and poverty. I don’t know much about poverty.

But I am financially stable.

I can give money to people who do know about poverty.

I can give money to the legal groups and bail fund groups for the protesters.

I can give money to education groups that serve underfunded schools < – – which is massive, friends, because education is fundamental to the whole bootstrap idea we cling so desperately to as Americans and especially as privileged folks who may have done some bootstrapping of our own.

It seems like everyone can get ahead if they just work hard enough. America tells us we can get ahead if we just work hard enough – it is literally the American dream.

But that assumes you are educated enough to comprehend the opportunities available to you. That you know where to look. That you have examples in your life of ways you can make things better. That super basic opportunities are as available to you as they are to everyone else.

And a lot of that inequality starts on day one of school where a massive quantity of colored kids start getting a substandard education and substandard teachers and substandard living conditions.

Money is a tangible thing you can do to start help even the playing field. It might feel like shoveling sand against the tide, but it can make a difference.

I also think this can feel wildly, wildly overwhelming. Where to even start?

Well. I am a stage manager. And a lot of theater companies talk about trying to diversify, but statistically, we’re not getting far – stage management is still a hugely white field.

Statistic courtesy of the SM2030 Survey – the new survey by David J. McGraw following recent graduates for the first 10 years of their career. In this sampling, 80% of new stage managers are white.

So back to the money. If minorities are more likely to struggle financially, how can they ever be expected to join a playing field skewed so heavily towards early career stage managers who have family who can help pay their bills while they take underpaying jobs/free internships in incredibly expensive cities?

It seems like a step in the right direction here, if the goal is to encourage minorities into the stage management field, would be grants that pay rent and living expenses for a year or two post-grad, reflective of the same way so many parents/spouses/family seem to for white early career stage managers from middle and upper class backgrounds.

That financial barrier into professional stage management is no joke.

And if you think I’m making up this idea of outside help, let’s go back to the survey again which shows recent graduates on that top line and the results from the main stage manager survey of all career stage managers on the second line.

I would even offer white stage managers this very specific financial challenge – did you have help starting out?

I have no doubt that some of you managed to make it work on your own against some impressive odds – and kudos to you – but I also personally know plenty of stage manager’s where mom and dad footed the rent (and sometimes more) bills for the first year or two in a big city.

Do the math.

How much did this help you received save you?

Now you know your number.

Make it your career goal to contribute that much to funds for people in the arts who don’t have the same privilege.

I’m not saying pay back $15,000 tomorrow – more power to you if that’s even an option now – but $15,000 over the course of your career. Call it your own personal private privilege tax.

Nobody needs to know your number but you. And now you have a very tangible goal and way to help.

And until there’s a fund specifically for POC stage managers to give back to, check out NEW Black Mutual Aid, which gives to black theater artists in need right now.

I’m sure there are thousands of other ideas people have, and maybe rather than overthinking them or trying to find all the ways they’ll fail or critique how they aren’t optimal (though do use good, common sense and take a hot second to evaluate the ideas), just start moving and see what works.

I have to hope that if we try our best with the best of intentions, it’s the right direction.

Which is a really ugly way to say what Maya Angelou said much more elegantly:

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

Things You Can Do:

Read everything you can find about racism. I have absolutely sucked at this, so it’s time to get better.

Listen better.

Anti-racism Resources

Antiracist Research and Policy Center

Scaffolded Anti-Racism Resources

DONATE (here are a list of organizations that support black causes):

Official George Floyd Memorial Fund

I Run With Maud

Justice for Kenneth Walker

The Bail Project

The Minnesota Freedom Fund

NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Communities United Against Police Brutality

The American Civil Liberties Union

Albany Bail Fund for Black Lives

The Audre Lorde Project

Bail Out Funds by City

Black Excellent Community

BlackLine

Black Visions Collective

Campaign Zero

Color of Change

The Okra Project

Rise Up Kingston

Black Stories Matter

Equal Justice Initiative

What are you doing to make a change?

Calling All Those With White Privilege Hi. That includes me. I haven’t said a lot on what’s been happening in the world, but I have been thinking a lot.

[thisdaynews]

Hunter Biden offers combative defense of his foreign dealings in new TV interview

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/hunter-biden-offers-combative-defense-of-his-foreign-dealings-in-new-tv-interview/

Hunter Biden offers combative defense of his foreign dealings in new TV interview

Biden’s interview comes at a pivotal time for his father’s candidacy, which was stalling even before news broke Sept. 20 that the president may have improperly tried to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens in return for military assistance, an effort that has led to an impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Trump responded to the pressure by harshly lashing out at both Bidens, insisting he did nothing wrong and then intensifying his efforts by publicly asking China to investigate them as well. China declined.

Joe Biden’s campaign has responded by slowly ratcheting up his condemnations of the president and calling directly for his impeachment. Over the weekend, father and son separately made moves intended to settle any issues about their conduct past and future while highlighting questions about conflicts of interest between Trump and three of his grown children.

Even before Joe Biden announced his candidacy for president in late April, fellow Democrats in rival presidential campaign privately acknowledged that Hunter Biden was a liability for him.

Indeed, questions about Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings in Ukraine — specifically his decision to join a Ukrainian natural gas company — and how they overlapped with his father’s official business there on behalf of the U.S. government as far back as 2015.

In his television interview, Hunter Biden didn’t mention those contemporaneous questions about the appearance of a conflict.He said he has no regrets about joining Burisma, the Ukrainian natural gas company, except that he hadn’t had the foresight to recognize the potential political fallout of the move.

“I regret not taking into account that there would be a Rudy Giuliani and a president of the United States that would be listening to this ridiculous conspiracy idea, which has again been completely debunked by everyone,” he said.

Pressed by Robach about whether he should have anticipated theblowback, Biden got more defensive.

“You know what, I’m a human, and you know what, did I make a mistake?” he said. “Well, maybe, in the grand scheme of things. But did I make a mistake based upon some ethical lapse? Absolutely not.”

But he acknowledged that, “in retrospect, look, I think that it was poor judgment on my part. Is that I think that it was poor judgment because I don’t believe now, when I look back on it — I know that there was — did nothing wrong at all.

Biden repeated his father’s assertions that the two never discussed Hunter’s foreign business interests, even as he sat on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company while the then-vice president was a U.S. point person on Ukraine policy. He also defended his seat on the board of a China-based investment firm from which he resigned over the weekend.

Biden appeared exasperated at points while defending himself against claims that have beendebunkedby fact-checkers but that have been oft-repeated by the president and his surrogates.

The interview won’t mark the last time his name is brought up by the president or his campaign.

Trump himself critiqued the interview not long after it aired. “Hunter Biden was really bad on @GMA. Now Sleepy Joe has real problems! Reminds me of Crooked Hillary and her 33,000 deleted Emails, not recoverable!“ he tweeted.

And the president’s “war room” Twitter account blasted out yet another story, from 2008, about another confluence of interests between Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, when the father was a senator carrying legislation sought by the credit card industry and the son had been hired to lobby for the bill by the firm MBNA.

“The Bidens have been cashing in for decades!” the campaign wrote on Twitter, attaching a snippet of a Meet The Press interview about the topic in which Tom Brokaw asked the then-senator, “wasn’t it inappropriate for someone like you in the middle of all this to have your son collecting money from this big credit card company while you were on the floor protecting its interests?”

Joe Biden responded it was “absolutely not” problematic and that his son, a Yale Law School graduate, could have been paid more had he joined a law firm instead of going to work for the bank.

ABC did not ask about that prior arrangement and instead focused on Hunter’s more recent overseas work.

While Hunter Biden acknowledged that it was highly likely his last name played some role in his getting both jobs, he rejected criticism that he was unqualified to fill the posts, listing off a number of other boards he’d sat on. He argued that, despite a lack of Ukraine or natural gas industry experience, “I think I had as much knowledge as anybody else on the board, if not more.”

Asked to respond to the president’sfalse claimsthat he received $1.5 billion from the Chinese government as part of his work for that firm, Biden buried his face in his hands.

“Look, this is — literally has no basis in fact. In any way,” he said, later adding: “No one ever paid me $1.5 billion, and if they had, I would not be doing this interview right now.”

He also bristled at a question from Robach about his $50,000-a-month salary at Burisma, which critics have pointed to as evidence he was unfairly profiting from his father’s position.

“Look, I’m a private citizen,” he said. “What I don’t have to do is sit here and open my kimono as to how it relates to how much money I make … or didn’t, but it’s all been reported.”

Still, Biden reaffirmed a pledge to not work for any foreign entities if his father wins the White House next year.

He declined to say whether he thinks such a promise should be a standard for presidents’ children, struggling with a response to those who say his overseas business was yet another instance of self-dealing within the government.

“I don’t know what to tell you. I made a mistake in retrospect as it related to creating any perception that it was wrong, and so, therefore, I’m taking it off the table, Amy,” he said. “I’m making that commitment. We’ll see if anybody else makes that commitment, but that’s the commitment I’m making.”

Despite coming under relentless attack from Trump and his allies over the past several months, Biden asserted he wasn’t letting the bombardment get to him. “I know where I stand with my dad and my family. Being the subject of Donald Trump’s ire is a feather in my cap. It’s not something that I go to bed nervous about at night at all.”

He also dismissed criticism from the president’s adult sons — who took to a campaign rally last week to call for Biden’s jailing — asserting that he and his father were above using the perch of a political-rally podium to bash a rival’s children.

“My dad has a job, but that does not mean that I had any plans to go do rallies and, you know, talk about Donald Trump’s kids, and I never will. You know, that’s not what Bidens do,” he said. “My dad doesn’t go after other people’s kids. He just doesn’t. Never has.”

Asked whether he thinks it is fair to accuse Trump’s sons, who now oversee their father’s business empire, of the same sort of self-dealing Biden stands accused of, he demurred.

“Unlike them, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them,” he said, calling their allegations “noise” and complaining that “I have to, then, answer questions about accusations made by probably the most unethical group of people that we’ve ever seen in this republic.”

But he asserted the current political firestorm is trivial compared to other hurdles he’s faced. Apparently alluding to his struggles with substance abuse and the death of his brother four years ago, Biden told Robach: “I’ve been through some stuff in my life. I’ve been through some real, real stuff. This isn’t real stuff. It isn’t. It truly isn’t.”

Asked whether he had anything to say directly to the president, Biden laughed.

“No. I mean, really, no. It’s really hard for me to say anything snarky right now or combative because I was raised to respect that office. I don’t know,” he said, breaking off as tears welled up.

“I’m really proud to be an American,” he continued. “I have to admit I take no pleasure in this as watching this death spiral of this administration, this president and the people that surround him.”

Read More

[hviral]

The contradictory, scandal-ridden life of NRA

In the aftermath of the back-to-back shooting massacres in Texas and Ohio, the debate over gun control has returned to the National Rifle Association and its immense power to stymie any significant legislation on the issue.

The man largely responsible for the NRA’s uncompromising stance is its decades-long CEO, Wayne LaPierre, who has been engulfed in turmoil and legal issues as he orchestrates the group’s latest effort to push back against gun control measures.

Law enforcement authorities are investigating the NRA’s finances and the gun group has ousted top officials and traded lawsuits with the longtime marketing firm credited with helping to shape LaPierre’s and the NRA’s image.

LaPierre’s seven-figure salary, penchant for luxury clothing shopping sprees and reports that he sought to have the NRA buy him a $6 million mansion at an exclusive golf community have drawn considerable scrutiny amid allegations of rampant misspending.

Ardent gun rights supporters have turned on LaPierre in recent months, taking to Twitter and Facebook with the hashtags #changethenra and #savethe2a. Some are calling for his resignation and questioning how he can turn the tide against the push for more robust gun control measures after the Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, rampages, given all the scandals.

“They’ve done so much damage to their reputation that the effectiveness of any NRA statements in really swaying opinion has to be considered diminished,” said Rob Pincus, a longtime NRA member and firearms instructor who is among the leaders of a group formed to change the NRA that has called for LaPierre’s resignation.

“Anything that gets said by Wayne LaPierre is going to be followed by ‘amidst turmoil over $300,000 in suits and a $6 million mansion they were going to buy him,’ and all these other allegations that are out there.”

The NRA has abided by its usual reaction after mass shootings — initially saying nothing followed by a muted response. In this case, its lead spokesman said it would not “participate in politicizing these tragedies” and remained committed to the “safe and lawful use of firearms by those exercising their Second Amendment freedoms.”

Behind the scenes, however, there’s evidence of LaPierre’s pull. The Washington Post reported that LaPierre warned President Donald Trump after he expressed support for a background check bill that such a move would be unpopular among Trump’s supporters, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the talks. The NRA would neither confirm nor deny the report.

LaPierre, who rarely speaks to mainstream media outlets, declined requests to be interviewed. In a written statement issued Thursday, he said none of the gun control proposals being discussed would have prevented the most recent attacks.

“Worse, they would make millions of law-abiding Americans less safe and less able to defend themselves and their loved ones,” the statement said. He described many of the proposals as “soundbite solutions” that “fail to address the root of the problem, confront criminal behavior or make our communities safer.”

To learn how LaPierre accumulated such vast power in both the NRA and American politics while remaining an enigma outside the closed-off world of the gun-rights organization, The Associated Press interviewed dozens of current and former staffers and members who have worked with him. LaPierre’s public persona is as the hard-fisted leader of the NRA, the public face of the Second Amendment with his bombastic defense of guns, freedom and country.

Behind the scenes, however, the 69-year-old CEO’s current and former associates see a different man.

The LaPierre they know is an introvert who rarely roams the halls of NRA headquarters to interact with staffers. He’s not even considered a serious “gunner.”

In fact, LaPierre’s early career included working for Democratic lawmakers in Virginia, where he spent most of his childhood. He’s said to have been in line to work for liberal icon and then-Democratic House leader Tip O’Neill until the NRA came calling in 1977.

Pro-gun activist Jeff Knox tells a story about how his father, Neal Knox, a former top lobbyist at the NRA, brought LaPierre to a gun range outside Washington early in his NRA career. LaPierre pulled out a rusty shotgun and the elder Knox, appalled by its condition, removed the dipstick from his Cadillac and used the oil to wipe off the rust.

“Wayne was like ‘What? What’s the big deal?’” said Knox, whose father, now deceased, lost a battle with LaPierre for control of the NRA. LaPierre became the group’s CEO in 1991.

“He’s gotten some nice guns since then, but I wouldn’t call him a gun guy,” Knox said. “I think he’s a true believer, but I don’t think he quite gets it. … It’s always been business and political to him, where to Dad it was almost a religion. It was a calling.”

Richard Feldman, a former NRA lobbyist and author of “Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist,” recalls that during congressional hearings, he and other NRA lobbyists would sit together to observe the proceedings while LaPierre, carrying big yellow legal pads, would sit in the back and wave people away.

“He was really like the professor. His office was just chock-full of papers and books all over the place,” Feldman said. “He never looked like the kind of guy who would end up” CEO of the NRA.

LaPierre went on to become a powerful leader, surviving several internal NRA political skirmishes that lately have been worthy of a “Game of Thrones” subplot.

He also successfully navigated the Washington political landscape and helped create a culture in which Republicans don’t dare touch gun-control measures, even after massacres of children.

He’s credited with working to end the decade-long ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004. More recently, the NRA spent $30 million helping to elect Trump.

Yet, it’s been a rough road since Trump’s election. It’s been more difficult rallying contributions to the NRA with a president in the White House who’s viewed as friendly toward gun rights. The NRA’s power has been questioned, especially after the 2018 midterm elections where it was outspent by gun-control groups.

Since then, the legal issues have mounted almost by the week. The group’s non-profit status has been threatened by an investigation by the attorney general in New York, where the NRA’s charter was established in the 1800s.

There are allegations that LaPierre expensed hundreds of thousands of dollars in luxury clothing purchased in Beverly Hills and that the NRA has made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to a handful of influential board members. The Washington Post reported this week that the NRA considered buying a $6 million mansion at LaPierre’s request last year before deciding against the purchase.

The NRA’s president, Oliver North, stepped down in the midst of a rancorous annual meeting last spring. More recently, Chris Cox, its top lobbyist and widely viewed as a successor to LaPierre, resigned after LaPierre accused him of being in cahoots with North in a failed attempt to oust him as CEO.

The rare airing of the group’s dirty laundry has exposed a divide within the NRA among those who believe members’ dues are being misspent to enrich a small cadre of NRA elite.

Even some board members have openly criticized the NRA. Among them is Allen West, who described the organization as a “cabal of cronyism.” After he and other critical board members were stripped of their committee assignments, West said the NRA stands for “National Retaliation Association.”

The ire has also come from hardcore gun rights supporters. Some felt betrayed when the NRA didn’t push back on Trump’s ban on bump stocks after the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. Others are unhappy that the Trump administration hasn’t translated into an easing of gun laws.

Now LaPierre and the NRA are facing new backlash from Americans outraged over the violence in El Paso and Dayton carried out by gunmen armed with AK-47 and AR-15-style rifles.

“Everyone pays attention to Wayne LaPierre as the face of the NRA, but really everything under him has been washed away,” said Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law and an expert on gun rights and politics.

Longtime watchers of the NRA say it would be a mistake to count out LaPierre, who has earned the firearms community’s trust with the successful fights against gun control he’s led for decades.

Some acknowledge the allegations of financial improprieties are a problem, but they are happy with the NRA’s legislative record under LaPierre.

“Wayne’s got a lot of equity,” said Rick Manning, a former NRA lobbyist. “When you win, people give you a lot of rope. … And he’s won.”

Tom King, a longtime NRA board member, said LaPierre deserves that loyalty. The criticisms lodged against LaPierre, he said, have been fueled by anti-gun advocates and taken out of context.

“He’s not going to give up. He’s going to fight to the bitter end. And anybody who says differently doesn’t know the man,” King said.

The post The contradictory, scandal-ridden life of NRA appeared first on HviRAL.

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I’ve known I had another blog post “due” before the election, if you know how I think, but too much on my mind and so much going on – personally and in the news – to actually do it.

After this morning’s attack in a Pittsburgh neighborhood where I have family and have been to several times, I did some reading and a lot of soul-searching before starting to write. I’m hoping others who I trust and posted thoughts will unknowingly help a lot.

Like many similar to me, I pretty much grew up supporting Democrats. Jews coming from overseas had no money and learned all about sacrificing for their children. That became a tradition. However, I give my mother a lot of credit for saying she never voted for Jimmy Carter.

I started my last planned post (the latest was only because some other news came up and I started thinking, and creating a section about teaching) by saying,

“The ‘game’ of politics is no fun anymore. Discussing anything having to do with it used to be educating and entertaining, and sometimes enlightening, among friends and on social media. Not anymore. These days, it’s all for the kill.”

I ended it with two famous old sayings:

“If you are not a liberal at 25, you have no heart. If you are not a conservative at 35 you have no brain.”

and

“Jews earn like Episcopalians, and vote like Puerto Ricans.”

So let’s start this with someone who was able to sum up the past two days.

https://twitter.com/edokeefe/status/1056315368317300746

I dare any of you to try to be much more succinct than that.

I’ve considered myself a moderate for a long time, but may have been a bit more to the right lately. The reason is Democrats moving further to the left. It’s because they’re nominating young people who don’t know the history of this country and can’t explain international events. Then, there are those with experience who don’t have the guts to educate primary winners, but go ahead and pose in pictures like these.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)

I mean, with all the people Elizabeth Warren could’ve rallied with against now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh? And Sen. Booker should learn to read.

Also see 1. “Minnesota Congresswoman Slammed for Calling Israel ‘Apartheid’.” 2. “Israel endangered by Democrat D.C. takeover, foreign ministry official warns.” 3. “Please, pro-Israel Democrats: Rescue your party.” And don’t miss how political polarization is driven by small, loud, hyper-active groups of white voters.

It makes me very angry they’ve made fools of themselves posing with people who hijacked causes, and I honestly wish didn’t exist. Forgive me. I felt their stupidity would cause moderates to vote for Republicans in the upcoming midterms. That’s still to be seen, but maybe today changed that.

COMING UP: Much more of my thoughts on this sad, historic day.

I got up late and turned on the TV. I saw what was going on, made sure the family was OK, and posted these messages. I looked for the first graphic based on what I saw on TV.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1056200966809288704

The second was after hearing the quote attributed to the suspect.

https://www.jta.org/2018/10/27/top-headlines/least-4-reported-dead-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting

You see my thoughts on both. Later, I compared the rest of the president’s day to an event from 46 years ago that too few people either knew or remembered. It has to do with caring and honoring victims.

Honestly, it seems the world doesn’t care when it comes to Jewish victims. The president didn’t go to Pittsburgh. Instead, he went to political rallies and got people all riled up.

This is what a CNN producer reported tonight.

https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1056312907842179073

And this is what that type of rhetoric can do in the middle of an average weekday, this week, when a reporter was about to go live on the air about the mail bombs.

https://twitter.com/ABC7NY/status/1055494392428015616

https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/wabc-reporter-reacts-to-woman-yelling-fake-news-during-live-shot/209351

Also: “Media Decries, Eric Trump Applauds Dad’s ‘Fun’ Praise of Congressman’s Assault On Reporter.”

Verified at https://famguardian.org/Subjects/Politics/ThomasJefferson/jeff1600.htm

Yes, the mail bomb suspect went to my high school, several years before me.

https://twitter.com/feedbaylenny/status/1055893563039453188

But back to the main story, this is what a staff editor and writer with The New York Times opinion department wrote about her hometown.

https://twitter.com/bariweiss/status/1056327132819861505

Apparently Mr. Fred Rogers, who preached to children about being a good neighbor, lived just three blocks away.

The president said armed security would’ve helped today. I don’t know how many American congregations of any faith have that, except possibly synagogues during the High Holidays. Maybe the president was just bringing up a political talking point.

(There’s also a new article, “Pittsburgh shooting may be ‘turning point’ for US Jewish security, says European leader.” It quotes a former president of a group of Belgian Jewish communities as saying relatively lax security at American synagogues “simultaneously impressed and worried me,” and “In Europe, the prospect of deadly expressions of anti-Semitism is a part of life that we grow up with.”)

We are “chosen” when it comes to extra security expenses, even at cemeteries, all over the world. Just do a search if you don’t believe that. Unfortunately, you’ll often find somebody did something within a week.

https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/1056238987336171520

Of course, Ivanka Trump became Jewish. She and husband Jared Kushner have two sons and a daughter. Does her synagogue have armed security (and I’m talking about before they moved down to Washington, and when nobody from the family is there, nor anyone else requiring special protection)? By the way, I don’t think Mr. Trump went to either of his grandsons’ brises.

Here is another take on armed security, plus the video.

https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1056248422548815872

I’d never heard of writer Judd Legum before doing research tonight, but he’d already done his research – posting several tweets, today alone, about President Trump and Jewish people. This should all be hard to believe, especially since the president has a Jewish daughter and grandchildren, and has been part of the New York real estate market for most of his life.

You’ll find his Twitter posts at @JuddLegum. I suggest you click and read, and predict you probably knew about several of these incidents and forgot several others. Also, I just subscribed to his new website, Popular Information. He calls it “News and perspective for people who give a damn” and I think it’s worth a look. (I’ve always believed in hearing both sides from believers, even if I disagree. Helps me understand the issue better.)

I will point out this one tweet out of many, and it happened this past week.

https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1055170806949523458

Notice, in it, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy goes after three people, and all are Jewish. (OK, one is half.) Coincidence?

According to JTA,

“The Republican congressman from California tweeted a video of himself making the comments on Tuesday and temporarily pinned it to the top of his feed before deleting the Twitter post entirely.”

Then, there’s the Pennsylvania governor’s race coming up. This is from the incumbent, who is running for reelection.

https://twitter.com/GovernorTomWolf/status/1056345509940596737

His opponent put out two tweets since the tragedy. This one was posted at 1209pm…

https://twitter.com/realScottWagner/status/1056216398349959168

and this one came one minute later.

https://twitter.com/realScottWagner/status/1056216591690547200

Not once did he mention the victims were Jews, or that the victims were targeted for that reason. He didn’t call it what it was. Think it’s an important part of the story that a politician should mention?

https://twitter.com/JohnJHarwood/status/1056213498794008578

But CNBC’s John Harwood reminds us not to forget Scott Wagner’s judgment and thoughts of violence when it came to this TV ad, earlier this month. Like we would, since we already posted it! Wagner can’t blame anybody but himself, since nobody else appeared.

“Well, Governor Wolf. Let me tell you what. Between now and Nov. 6, you better put a catcher’s mask on your face, because I’m going to stomp all over your face with golf spikes.”

And this is Wagner responding to his comments without apologizing (“I shouldn’t have said what I said”).

Another gem you can watch in that post is White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders making the claim,

“The president in no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence.”

PolitiFact gave her a ‘false’ for her June 29, 2017 remarks.

And speaking of remarks:

https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1056265774044725248

You see what Louis Farrakhan posted on Oct. 16. It’s even a subject in my own congressional district’s race. (Pennsylvania just redistricted because of a gerrymandering lawsuit. The Democratic incumbent has represented a lot of suburbanites, but the district has become more urban and his support for Israel has diminished.)

https://twitter.com/LeibforPA/status/1056289327133741056

These are also clips from recent Farrakhan speeches.

https://twitter.com/LouisFarrakhan/status/1047642736399142912

https://twitter.com/LouisFarrakhan/status/1042059115223293953

They and many more of the minister’s comments are up on Twitter, which just admitted it didn’t follow its own safety guidelines when the mail bomb suspect’s tweets were reported to the company, weeks ago!

And less than two months ago, I showed how Mark Zuckerberg, himself Jewish, would allow Holocaust-denial on Facebook.

https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/1019619640996171776

Zuckerberg apparently doesn’t realize hate groups start their anti-Semitic talking points by saying the Holocaust never happened.

He clarified with,

“I personally find Holocaust denial deeply offensive, and I absolutely didn’t intend to defend the intent of people who deny that.” Then, he “reiterated a distinction he tried to draw in the interview: Posts that advocate violence will be taken down, but those that peddle misinformation will stay but ‘would lose the vast majority of its distribution in News Feed.’”

Thanks a lot! But who knows how many times the Facebook algorithm changed since then?

And I would’ve hoped Sheryl Sandberg, who grew up in North Miami Beach, whose brother David was my high school class valedictorian, would’ve set him straight.

https://twitter.com/feedbaylenny/status/1053750488997478401

Maybe Facebook will do better here: “Facebook Election ‘War Room’ Targets Fake Info.”

So after today, what do I think and who am who am I going to vote for? The voting part is easy where I live. I’m happy I don’t have to make a decision in the Florida governor’s race.

As for my thoughts, we’ll have to see. I don’t like either political party, nor how candidates have to choose between the two, or switch to have a better shot at winning or getting a leadership position. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switched twice! People say they’ll never vote for a Democrat, or never vote for a Republican. They’re short-sighted because there are good and bad in both.

I stopped supporting HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, but you won’t find that name on its homepage!) when it started trying to help everyone in the world, including many I believe have alternatives to coming to the U.S. (I mean, there are other countries, several good ones besides the others.)

I think every country has the right to defensible borders and can decide who gets in. Threat to life or threat of extreme persecution are two good reasons. I know a group practically nobody let in, 80 years ago, and we know how that ended.

But I wonder why so many Jewish groups feel the need to help when there are so many other issues going on here and in Israel. Why don’t they concentrate on feeding the hungry? It’s the conflict between liberalism (political correctness) and Judaism. Even Conservative synagogues (not politically conservative, but with a capital C) are adopting families new to the U.S. You can be a good neighbor without going overboard and probably alienating others.

https://twitter.com/feedbaylenny/status/1054440278919208967

Other groups that raise money to help elderly Jews in Russia should be trying to get them to Israel instead.

https://twitter.com/biannagolodryga/status/1056227592825700352

I don’t know Bianna Golodryga’s circumstances, but her website doesn’t seem to have been updated in more than two years (except her current jobs in a logo at the top), and CBS’ says she’s fluent in Russian but her hometown is Houston.

Today was a real eye-opener.

Here are some articles I skimmed through and found interesting, and personally think are worth another look: “Will Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Be A Wakeup Call For Jews Who Enable Trump?” From earlier this year, “White Nationalism Is Spreading In The Orthodox Community” “The Real Rift: How the Left Is Driving Liberal Jews Away From Israel” Feel free to comment in the section below.

Perhaps I should watch less cable news, even though I don’t watch a lot. Maybe even loosen my ties to social media. I’ve found myself reading interesting articles, some even sent to me by friends who knew I’d be interested. But I’ve also had success calling out some people commenting on friends’ sites, occasionally just for the fun!

Just like in the upcoming election, it’s about acting on something and changing behavior, rather than just waiting and seeing.

P.S. Speaking of changing behavior, why this Dallas sportscaster and commentator is voting for the first time in 46 years!

Please leave your comments in the section below, and don’t miss out. If you like what you read here, subscribe to CohenConnect.com with either your email address or WordPress account, and get a notice whenever I publish. Don’t rely on social media with its hacking issues and censoring like this, this and this. I’m also available for writing/web contract work. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennycohen

Not a good day for political thoughts, the USA as a whole I’ve known I had another blog post “due” before the election, if you know how I think, but too much on my mind and so much going on – personally and in the news – to actually do it.

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Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? http://www.nature-business.com/nature-can-a-g-o-p-candidate-who-supported-trump-and-democrats-be-new-yorks-next-attorney-general/

Nature

Image

Keith H. Wofford, center, is the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York.CreditCreditGabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

Growing up on Buffalo’s rough and often neglected East Side, Keith H. Wofford recalled many crisp autumn Sundays spent with his father bonding over the Bills, following the team’s losses and wins on the radio.

Tickets to football games were not in the family’s budget: His father, John Wofford, worked at the nearby Chevrolet factory for 32 years, and his mother, Ruby, picked up odd jobs in retail to bring in extra income. But what the Woffords lacked in money, they made up for in expectations for their two sons.

“They always had an incredible amount of confidence in us,” Mr. Wofford, 49, said in an interview. “They made very clear that they didn’t see any limitations.”

Mr. Wofford held tight to that ideal as he left high school as a 17-year-old junior to attend Harvard University on a scholarship. Seven years later, he graduated from Harvard Law School. Last year, Mr. Wofford earned at least $4.3 million as a partner overseeing 300 lawyers and 700 employees at the New York office of international law firm Ropes & Gray, LLP, according to financial disclosure forms.

Now he’s the Republican nominee for state attorney general in New York, vying to become one of the most powerful law enforcement officials in the country.

“How many guys who work at a white shoe law firm had dads who had a union job?” asked C. Teo Balbach, 50, the chief executive of a software firm who grew up in Buffalo, and played intramural rugby at Harvard with Mr. Wofford.

“He’s a real hard worker and grinder, and that comes from that upbringing where you come from a middle-class family in a difficult neighborhood and you don’t take anything for granted,” Mr. Balbach added.

In many ways, Mr. Wofford, who, with his wife Marla, has a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, is somewhat of a study in contradictions.

He’s the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York, yet his parents were lifelong Democrats. Mr. Wofford is the only statewide Republican candidate who would admit to voting for President Trump but he has also donated money to Democrats, including Kenneth P. Thompson, the former Brooklyn district attorney, and Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Mr. Wofford now says that he regrets making the donation to the mayor.)

Image

Letitia James, the New York City public advocate and Democratic nominee for attorney general of New York, portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter.CreditHolly Pickett for The New York Times

His campaign staff is stocked with well-known Republican operatives, and wealthy donors have filled his campaign’s coffers with enough money to fund a $3 million statewide television and digital ad buy. Despite the publicity push, Mr. Wofford was unknown to 86 percent of voters in a recent Siena College poll.

With a quick shove of his glasses above the ridge of his nose, Mr. Wofford, who described himself as a nerd while growing up, dismisses it all. “I don’t want to be limited by whatever someone else’s preconception is about what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said.

If he expects to defeat the heavily favored Democratic nominee, Letitia James, the New York City public advocate, Mr. Wofford must ignore the presumption that he’s likely to lose on Election Day. Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York by a more than two-to-one margin, and a Republican has not won statewide office since Gov. George E. Pataki was elected to a third term in 2002. Ms. James has a 14-point lead, according to the Siena poll.

Adding to those difficulties is Mr. Wofford’s lack of a political identity.

Bijoy Datta, chairman of the Broome County Republican Committee, heard Mr. Wofford’s name floated as a potential candidate just weeks before the Republican convention in May. They didn’t meet in person until the night before the convention — a fact that does not deter Mr. Datta from supporting Mr. Wofford.

“We live in a time when not being a politician is a good thing,” Mr. Datta said.

Opponents of Ms. James accused her of being too close to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, criticism that Republican strategists say will hurt her. All three of Ms. James’s primary opponents have since endorsed her, but some Democrats and independent voters may be looking for a different option, Mr. Datta said.

Mr. Wofford is neck and neck with Ms. James in terms of fund-raising, especially after she spent heavily to win the primary. And Mr. Wofford’s upstate roots and his experience working and living in the city give him statewide appeal, Republican strategists say.

Ms. James portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter in a state where the president and his policies are deeply unpopular. As in the Democratic primary, Ms. James has made standing up to President Trump a central campaign plank. Mr. Wofford has taken a different tack, focusing on efforts to root out corruption at the state level so that taxpayer money can be spent more effectively.

“You have people who are intent on suing the president from the moment he took office,” Mr. Wofford said. “We’ve had 12 years of people being led off in jumpsuits and the people of the state government have not lifted a finger.”

Mr. Wofford said he would need to see the underlying evidence before deciding whether attorney general Barbara D. Underwood’s lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump of using his charitable foundation for political and business purposes is worth pursuing. He “doesn’t have a view” on The New York Times’s investigative piece showing that Mr. Trump engaged in “dubious tax schemes” and “instances of outright fraud” in the transfer of his father’s wealth, but “you have to look,” Mr. Wofford said, because of the millions of dollars in taxpayer money at stake.

Democratic candidates criticized Ms. James for saying that she did not want to be known as the “Sheriff on Wall Street,” a sobriquet earned by Eliot I. Spitzer, the former attorney general and former governor of New York, for using the Martin Act, an expansive state law, to prosecute financial fraud.

Mr. Wofford said he believes that overzealous prosecutors are using the Martin Act to drive businesses out of New York. An attorney general in Texas should not be “hostile” to the energy industry, Mr. Wofford said by way of example.

“You enforce the law against the banking and investment management industry but you also have to be cognizant that they’re paying huge taxes in this state,” Mr. Wofford said.

Earlier this month, top Republican donors, including Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of the American International Group, held a fund-raiser for Mr. Wofford. Mr. Greenberg, who paid a $9 million civil settlement for accounting fraud last year, is actively seeking to curtail the Martin Act.

“Just like Trump and congressional Republicans,” Mr. Wofford wants to let “Wall Street off scot-free,” said Jack Sterne, a spokesman for Ms. James.

Other issues facing Mr. Wofford should he win are potential conflicts of interest from his law practice. His firm has represented Purdue Pharma, a maker of opioids. Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood and Mr. Cuomo announced a lawsuit against the company in May over its marketing of the pain drug.

Mr. Wofford was also the lawyer for Knighthead Capital Management, LLC, a hedge fund that was criticized for its handling of Puerto Rico’s debt after Hurricane Maria. Mr. Cuomo has also threatened to sue the federal government over its response to the hurricane.

Mr. Wofford said that he has never personally represented Purdue Pharma, and said he will sever all ties with his firm if elected. He has announced a plan that would use money from any opioids lawsuit settlements to fund addiction treatment.

Mr. Wofford said the criticism about him is indicative of Ms. James’s “hyperpartisan” attitude, and he sought to distinguish himself from her by characterizing himself as an outsider.

“Being on the wrong side of the tracks in Buffalo,” Mr. Wofford said, “is about as far from insider as you can get.”

His success as a lawyer, however, did allow him one heartfelt opportunity: In his father’s last years, Mr. Wofford returned to Buffalo, and during football season, they would bond again over Bills games — but in person, at the stadium, as a season-ticket holder.

Follow Jeffery C. Mays on Twitter: @JeffCMays

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Can an Unknown G.O.P. Candidate Become Attorney General?

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Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?, in 2018-10-14 13:51:33

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Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? http://www.nature-business.com/nature-can-a-g-o-p-candidate-who-supported-trump-and-democrats-be-new-yorks-next-attorney-general/

Nature

Image

Keith H. Wofford, center, is the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York.CreditCreditGabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

Growing up on Buffalo’s rough and often neglected East Side, Keith H. Wofford recalled many crisp autumn Sundays spent with his father bonding over the Bills, following the team’s losses and wins on the radio.

Tickets to football games were not in the family’s budget: His father, John Wofford, worked at the nearby Chevrolet factory for 32 years, and his mother, Ruby, picked up odd jobs in retail to bring in extra income. But what the Woffords lacked in money, they made up for in expectations for their two sons.

“They always had an incredible amount of confidence in us,” Mr. Wofford, 49, said in an interview. “They made very clear that they didn’t see any limitations.”

Mr. Wofford held tight to that ideal as he left high school as a 17-year-old junior to attend Harvard University on a scholarship. Seven years later, he graduated from Harvard Law School. Last year, Mr. Wofford earned at least $4.3 million as a partner overseeing 300 lawyers and 700 employees at the New York office of international law firm Ropes & Gray, LLP, according to financial disclosure forms.

Now he’s the Republican nominee for state attorney general in New York, vying to become one of the most powerful law enforcement officials in the country.

“How many guys who work at a white shoe law firm had dads who had a union job?” asked C. Teo Balbach, 50, the chief executive of a software firm who grew up in Buffalo, and played intramural rugby at Harvard with Mr. Wofford.

“He’s a real hard worker and grinder, and that comes from that upbringing where you come from a middle-class family in a difficult neighborhood and you don’t take anything for granted,” Mr. Balbach added.

In many ways, Mr. Wofford, who, with his wife Marla, has a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, is somewhat of a study in contradictions.

He’s the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York, yet his parents were lifelong Democrats. Mr. Wofford is the only statewide Republican candidate who would admit to voting for President Trump but he has also donated money to Democrats, including Kenneth P. Thompson, the former Brooklyn district attorney, and Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Mr. Wofford now says that he regrets making the donation to the mayor.)

Image

Letitia James, the New York City public advocate and Democratic nominee for attorney general of New York, portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter.CreditHolly Pickett for The New York Times

His campaign staff is stocked with well-known Republican operatives, and wealthy donors have filled his campaign’s coffers with enough money to fund a $3 million statewide television and digital ad buy. Despite the publicity push, Mr. Wofford was unknown to 86 percent of voters in a recent Siena College poll.

With a quick shove of his glasses above the ridge of his nose, Mr. Wofford, who described himself as a nerd while growing up, dismisses it all. “I don’t want to be limited by whatever someone else’s preconception is about what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said.

If he expects to defeat the heavily favored Democratic nominee, Letitia James, the New York City public advocate, Mr. Wofford must ignore the presumption that he’s likely to lose on Election Day. Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York by a more than two-to-one margin, and a Republican has not won statewide office since Gov. George E. Pataki was elected to a third term in 2002. Ms. James has a 14-point lead, according to the Siena poll.

Adding to those difficulties is Mr. Wofford’s lack of a political identity.

Bijoy Datta, chairman of the Broome County Republican Committee, heard Mr. Wofford’s name floated as a potential candidate just weeks before the Republican convention in May. They didn’t meet in person until the night before the convention — a fact that does not deter Mr. Datta from supporting Mr. Wofford.

“We live in a time when not being a politician is a good thing,” Mr. Datta said.

Opponents of Ms. James accused her of being too close to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, criticism that Republican strategists say will hurt her. All three of Ms. James’s primary opponents have since endorsed her, but some Democrats and independent voters may be looking for a different option, Mr. Datta said.

Mr. Wofford is neck and neck with Ms. James in terms of fund-raising, especially after she spent heavily to win the primary. And Mr. Wofford’s upstate roots and his experience working and living in the city give him statewide appeal, Republican strategists say.

Ms. James portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter in a state where the president and his policies are deeply unpopular. As in the Democratic primary, Ms. James has made standing up to President Trump a central campaign plank. Mr. Wofford has taken a different tack, focusing on efforts to root out corruption at the state level so that taxpayer money can be spent more effectively.

“You have people who are intent on suing the president from the moment he took office,” Mr. Wofford said. “We’ve had 12 years of people being led off in jumpsuits and the people of the state government have not lifted a finger.”

Mr. Wofford said he would need to see the underlying evidence before deciding whether attorney general Barbara D. Underwood’s lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump of using his charitable foundation for political and business purposes is worth pursuing. He “doesn’t have a view” on The New York Times’s investigative piece showing that Mr. Trump engaged in “dubious tax schemes” and “instances of outright fraud” in the transfer of his father’s wealth, but “you have to look,” Mr. Wofford said, because of the millions of dollars in taxpayer money at stake.

Democratic candidates criticized Ms. James for saying that she did not want to be known as the “Sheriff on Wall Street,” a sobriquet earned by Eliot I. Spitzer, the former attorney general and former governor of New York, for using the Martin Act, an expansive state law, to prosecute financial fraud.

Mr. Wofford said he believes that overzealous prosecutors are using the Martin Act to drive businesses out of New York. An attorney general in Texas should not be “hostile” to the energy industry, Mr. Wofford said by way of example.

“You enforce the law against the banking and investment management industry but you also have to be cognizant that they’re paying huge taxes in this state,” Mr. Wofford said.

Earlier this month, top Republican donors, including Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of the American International Group, held a fund-raiser for Mr. Wofford. Mr. Greenberg, who paid a $9 million civil settlement for accounting fraud last year, is actively seeking to curtail the Martin Act.

“Just like Trump and congressional Republicans,” Mr. Wofford wants to let “Wall Street off scot-free,” said Jack Sterne, a spokesman for Ms. James.

Other issues facing Mr. Wofford should he win are potential conflicts of interest from his law practice. His firm has represented Purdue Pharma, a maker of opioids. Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood and Mr. Cuomo announced a lawsuit against the company in May over its marketing of the pain drug.

Mr. Wofford was also the lawyer for Knighthead Capital Management, LLC, a hedge fund that was criticized for its handling of Puerto Rico’s debt after Hurricane Maria. Mr. Cuomo has also threatened to sue the federal government over its response to the hurricane.

Mr. Wofford said that he has never personally represented Purdue Pharma, and said he will sever all ties with his firm if elected. He has announced a plan that would use money from any opioids lawsuit settlements to fund addiction treatment.

Mr. Wofford said the criticism about him is indicative of Ms. James’s “hyperpartisan” attitude, and he sought to distinguish himself from her by characterizing himself as an outsider.

“Being on the wrong side of the tracks in Buffalo,” Mr. Wofford said, “is about as far from insider as you can get.”

His success as a lawyer, however, did allow him one heartfelt opportunity: In his father’s last years, Mr. Wofford returned to Buffalo, and during football season, they would bond again over Bills games — but in person, at the stadium, as a season-ticket holder.

Follow Jeffery C. Mays on Twitter: @JeffCMays

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

19

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Can an Unknown G.O.P. Candidate Become Attorney General?

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/nyregion/keith-wofford-attorney-general-ny.html |

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?, in 2018-10-14 13:51:33

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Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? http://www.nature-business.com/nature-can-a-g-o-p-candidate-who-supported-trump-and-democrats-be-new-yorks-next-attorney-general/

Nature

Image

Keith H. Wofford, center, is the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York.CreditCreditGabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

Growing up on Buffalo’s rough and often neglected East Side, Keith H. Wofford recalled many crisp autumn Sundays spent with his father bonding over the Bills, following the team’s losses and wins on the radio.

Tickets to football games were not in the family’s budget: His father, John Wofford, worked at the nearby Chevrolet factory for 32 years, and his mother, Ruby, picked up odd jobs in retail to bring in extra income. But what the Woffords lacked in money, they made up for in expectations for their two sons.

“They always had an incredible amount of confidence in us,” Mr. Wofford, 49, said in an interview. “They made very clear that they didn’t see any limitations.”

Mr. Wofford held tight to that ideal as he left high school as a 17-year-old junior to attend Harvard University on a scholarship. Seven years later, he graduated from Harvard Law School. Last year, Mr. Wofford earned at least $4.3 million as a partner overseeing 300 lawyers and 700 employees at the New York office of international law firm Ropes & Gray, LLP, according to financial disclosure forms.

Now he’s the Republican nominee for state attorney general in New York, vying to become one of the most powerful law enforcement officials in the country.

“How many guys who work at a white shoe law firm had dads who had a union job?” asked C. Teo Balbach, 50, the chief executive of a software firm who grew up in Buffalo, and played intramural rugby at Harvard with Mr. Wofford.

“He’s a real hard worker and grinder, and that comes from that upbringing where you come from a middle-class family in a difficult neighborhood and you don’t take anything for granted,” Mr. Balbach added.

In many ways, Mr. Wofford, who, with his wife Marla, has a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, is somewhat of a study in contradictions.

He’s the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York, yet his parents were lifelong Democrats. Mr. Wofford is the only statewide Republican candidate who would admit to voting for President Trump but he has also donated money to Democrats, including Kenneth P. Thompson, the former Brooklyn district attorney, and Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Mr. Wofford now says that he regrets making the donation to the mayor.)

Image

Letitia James, the New York City public advocate and Democratic nominee for attorney general of New York, portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter.CreditHolly Pickett for The New York Times

His campaign staff is stocked with well-known Republican operatives, and wealthy donors have filled his campaign’s coffers with enough money to fund a $3 million statewide television and digital ad buy. Despite the publicity push, Mr. Wofford was unknown to 86 percent of voters in a recent Siena College poll.

With a quick shove of his glasses above the ridge of his nose, Mr. Wofford, who described himself as a nerd while growing up, dismisses it all. “I don’t want to be limited by whatever someone else’s preconception is about what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said.

If he expects to defeat the heavily favored Democratic nominee, Letitia James, the New York City public advocate, Mr. Wofford must ignore the presumption that he’s likely to lose on Election Day. Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York by a more than two-to-one margin, and a Republican has not won statewide office since Gov. George E. Pataki was elected to a third term in 2002. Ms. James has a 14-point lead, according to the Siena poll.

Adding to those difficulties is Mr. Wofford’s lack of a political identity.

Bijoy Datta, chairman of the Broome County Republican Committee, heard Mr. Wofford’s name floated as a potential candidate just weeks before the Republican convention in May. They didn’t meet in person until the night before the convention — a fact that does not deter Mr. Datta from supporting Mr. Wofford.

“We live in a time when not being a politician is a good thing,” Mr. Datta said.

Opponents of Ms. James accused her of being too close to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, criticism that Republican strategists say will hurt her. All three of Ms. James’s primary opponents have since endorsed her, but some Democrats and independent voters may be looking for a different option, Mr. Datta said.

Mr. Wofford is neck and neck with Ms. James in terms of fund-raising, especially after she spent heavily to win the primary. And Mr. Wofford’s upstate roots and his experience working and living in the city give him statewide appeal, Republican strategists say.

Ms. James portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter in a state where the president and his policies are deeply unpopular. As in the Democratic primary, Ms. James has made standing up to President Trump a central campaign plank. Mr. Wofford has taken a different tack, focusing on efforts to root out corruption at the state level so that taxpayer money can be spent more effectively.

“You have people who are intent on suing the president from the moment he took office,” Mr. Wofford said. “We’ve had 12 years of people being led off in jumpsuits and the people of the state government have not lifted a finger.”

Mr. Wofford said he would need to see the underlying evidence before deciding whether attorney general Barbara D. Underwood’s lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump of using his charitable foundation for political and business purposes is worth pursuing. He “doesn’t have a view” on The New York Times’s investigative piece showing that Mr. Trump engaged in “dubious tax schemes” and “instances of outright fraud” in the transfer of his father’s wealth, but “you have to look,” Mr. Wofford said, because of the millions of dollars in taxpayer money at stake.

Democratic candidates criticized Ms. James for saying that she did not want to be known as the “Sheriff on Wall Street,” a sobriquet earned by Eliot I. Spitzer, the former attorney general and former governor of New York, for using the Martin Act, an expansive state law, to prosecute financial fraud.

Mr. Wofford said he believes that overzealous prosecutors are using the Martin Act to drive businesses out of New York. An attorney general in Texas should not be “hostile” to the energy industry, Mr. Wofford said by way of example.

“You enforce the law against the banking and investment management industry but you also have to be cognizant that they’re paying huge taxes in this state,” Mr. Wofford said.

Earlier this month, top Republican donors, including Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of the American International Group, held a fund-raiser for Mr. Wofford. Mr. Greenberg, who paid a $9 million civil settlement for accounting fraud last year, is actively seeking to curtail the Martin Act.

“Just like Trump and congressional Republicans,” Mr. Wofford wants to let “Wall Street off scot-free,” said Jack Sterne, a spokesman for Ms. James.

Other issues facing Mr. Wofford should he win are potential conflicts of interest from his law practice. His firm has represented Purdue Pharma, a maker of opioids. Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood and Mr. Cuomo announced a lawsuit against the company in May over its marketing of the pain drug.

Mr. Wofford was also the lawyer for Knighthead Capital Management, LLC, a hedge fund that was criticized for its handling of Puerto Rico’s debt after Hurricane Maria. Mr. Cuomo has also threatened to sue the federal government over its response to the hurricane.

Mr. Wofford said that he has never personally represented Purdue Pharma, and said he will sever all ties with his firm if elected. He has announced a plan that would use money from any opioids lawsuit settlements to fund addiction treatment.

Mr. Wofford said the criticism about him is indicative of Ms. James’s “hyperpartisan” attitude, and he sought to distinguish himself from her by characterizing himself as an outsider.

“Being on the wrong side of the tracks in Buffalo,” Mr. Wofford said, “is about as far from insider as you can get.”

His success as a lawyer, however, did allow him one heartfelt opportunity: In his father’s last years, Mr. Wofford returned to Buffalo, and during football season, they would bond again over Bills games — but in person, at the stadium, as a season-ticket holder.

Follow Jeffery C. Mays on Twitter: @JeffCMays

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

19

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Can an Unknown G.O.P. Candidate Become Attorney General?

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/nyregion/keith-wofford-attorney-general-ny.html |

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?, in 2018-10-14 13:51:33

[blogparadiseisland]

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? http://www.nature-business.com/nature-can-a-g-o-p-candidate-who-supported-trump-and-democrats-be-new-yorks-next-attorney-general/

Nature

Image

Keith H. Wofford, center, is the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York.CreditCreditGabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

Growing up on Buffalo’s rough and often neglected East Side, Keith H. Wofford recalled many crisp autumn Sundays spent with his father bonding over the Bills, following the team’s losses and wins on the radio.

Tickets to football games were not in the family’s budget: His father, John Wofford, worked at the nearby Chevrolet factory for 32 years, and his mother, Ruby, picked up odd jobs in retail to bring in extra income. But what the Woffords lacked in money, they made up for in expectations for their two sons.

“They always had an incredible amount of confidence in us,” Mr. Wofford, 49, said in an interview. “They made very clear that they didn’t see any limitations.”

Mr. Wofford held tight to that ideal as he left high school as a 17-year-old junior to attend Harvard University on a scholarship. Seven years later, he graduated from Harvard Law School. Last year, Mr. Wofford earned at least $4.3 million as a partner overseeing 300 lawyers and 700 employees at the New York office of international law firm Ropes & Gray, LLP, according to financial disclosure forms.

Now he’s the Republican nominee for state attorney general in New York, vying to become one of the most powerful law enforcement officials in the country.

“How many guys who work at a white shoe law firm had dads who had a union job?” asked C. Teo Balbach, 50, the chief executive of a software firm who grew up in Buffalo, and played intramural rugby at Harvard with Mr. Wofford.

“He’s a real hard worker and grinder, and that comes from that upbringing where you come from a middle-class family in a difficult neighborhood and you don’t take anything for granted,” Mr. Balbach added.

In many ways, Mr. Wofford, who, with his wife Marla, has a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, is somewhat of a study in contradictions.

He’s the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York, yet his parents were lifelong Democrats. Mr. Wofford is the only statewide Republican candidate who would admit to voting for President Trump but he has also donated money to Democrats, including Kenneth P. Thompson, the former Brooklyn district attorney, and Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Mr. Wofford now says that he regrets making the donation to the mayor.)

Image

Letitia James, the New York City public advocate and Democratic nominee for attorney general of New York, portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter.CreditHolly Pickett for The New York Times

His campaign staff is stocked with well-known Republican operatives, and wealthy donors have filled his campaign’s coffers with enough money to fund a $3 million statewide television and digital ad buy. Despite the publicity push, Mr. Wofford was unknown to 86 percent of voters in a recent Siena College poll.

With a quick shove of his glasses above the ridge of his nose, Mr. Wofford, who described himself as a nerd while growing up, dismisses it all. “I don’t want to be limited by whatever someone else’s preconception is about what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said.

If he expects to defeat the heavily favored Democratic nominee, Letitia James, the New York City public advocate, Mr. Wofford must ignore the presumption that he’s likely to lose on Election Day. Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York by a more than two-to-one margin, and a Republican has not won statewide office since Gov. George E. Pataki was elected to a third term in 2002. Ms. James has a 14-point lead, according to the Siena poll.

Adding to those difficulties is Mr. Wofford’s lack of a political identity.

Bijoy Datta, chairman of the Broome County Republican Committee, heard Mr. Wofford’s name floated as a potential candidate just weeks before the Republican convention in May. They didn’t meet in person until the night before the convention — a fact that does not deter Mr. Datta from supporting Mr. Wofford.

“We live in a time when not being a politician is a good thing,” Mr. Datta said.

Opponents of Ms. James accused her of being too close to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, criticism that Republican strategists say will hurt her. All three of Ms. James’s primary opponents have since endorsed her, but some Democrats and independent voters may be looking for a different option, Mr. Datta said.

Mr. Wofford is neck and neck with Ms. James in terms of fund-raising, especially after she spent heavily to win the primary. And Mr. Wofford’s upstate roots and his experience working and living in the city give him statewide appeal, Republican strategists say.

Ms. James portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter in a state where the president and his policies are deeply unpopular. As in the Democratic primary, Ms. James has made standing up to President Trump a central campaign plank. Mr. Wofford has taken a different tack, focusing on efforts to root out corruption at the state level so that taxpayer money can be spent more effectively.

“You have people who are intent on suing the president from the moment he took office,” Mr. Wofford said. “We’ve had 12 years of people being led off in jumpsuits and the people of the state government have not lifted a finger.”

Mr. Wofford said he would need to see the underlying evidence before deciding whether attorney general Barbara D. Underwood’s lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump of using his charitable foundation for political and business purposes is worth pursuing. He “doesn’t have a view” on The New York Times’s investigative piece showing that Mr. Trump engaged in “dubious tax schemes” and “instances of outright fraud” in the transfer of his father’s wealth, but “you have to look,” Mr. Wofford said, because of the millions of dollars in taxpayer money at stake.

Democratic candidates criticized Ms. James for saying that she did not want to be known as the “Sheriff on Wall Street,” a sobriquet earned by Eliot I. Spitzer, the former attorney general and former governor of New York, for using the Martin Act, an expansive state law, to prosecute financial fraud.

Mr. Wofford said he believes that overzealous prosecutors are using the Martin Act to drive businesses out of New York. An attorney general in Texas should not be “hostile” to the energy industry, Mr. Wofford said by way of example.

“You enforce the law against the banking and investment management industry but you also have to be cognizant that they’re paying huge taxes in this state,” Mr. Wofford said.

Earlier this month, top Republican donors, including Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of the American International Group, held a fund-raiser for Mr. Wofford. Mr. Greenberg, who paid a $9 million civil settlement for accounting fraud last year, is actively seeking to curtail the Martin Act.

“Just like Trump and congressional Republicans,” Mr. Wofford wants to let “Wall Street off scot-free,” said Jack Sterne, a spokesman for Ms. James.

Other issues facing Mr. Wofford should he win are potential conflicts of interest from his law practice. His firm has represented Purdue Pharma, a maker of opioids. Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood and Mr. Cuomo announced a lawsuit against the company in May over its marketing of the pain drug.

Mr. Wofford was also the lawyer for Knighthead Capital Management, LLC, a hedge fund that was criticized for its handling of Puerto Rico’s debt after Hurricane Maria. Mr. Cuomo has also threatened to sue the federal government over its response to the hurricane.

Mr. Wofford said that he has never personally represented Purdue Pharma, and said he will sever all ties with his firm if elected. He has announced a plan that would use money from any opioids lawsuit settlements to fund addiction treatment.

Mr. Wofford said the criticism about him is indicative of Ms. James’s “hyperpartisan” attitude, and he sought to distinguish himself from her by characterizing himself as an outsider.

“Being on the wrong side of the tracks in Buffalo,” Mr. Wofford said, “is about as far from insider as you can get.”

His success as a lawyer, however, did allow him one heartfelt opportunity: In his father’s last years, Mr. Wofford returned to Buffalo, and during football season, they would bond again over Bills games — but in person, at the stadium, as a season-ticket holder.

Follow Jeffery C. Mays on Twitter: @JeffCMays

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

19

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Can an Unknown G.O.P. Candidate Become Attorney General?

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/nyregion/keith-wofford-attorney-general-ny.html |

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?, in 2018-10-14 13:51:33

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Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?

Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General? http://www.nature-business.com/nature-can-a-g-o-p-candidate-who-supported-trump-and-democrats-be-new-yorks-next-attorney-general/

Nature

Image

Keith H. Wofford, center, is the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York.CreditCreditGabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

Growing up on Buffalo’s rough and often neglected East Side, Keith H. Wofford recalled many crisp autumn Sundays spent with his father bonding over the Bills, following the team’s losses and wins on the radio.

Tickets to football games were not in the family’s budget: His father, John Wofford, worked at the nearby Chevrolet factory for 32 years, and his mother, Ruby, picked up odd jobs in retail to bring in extra income. But what the Woffords lacked in money, they made up for in expectations for their two sons.

“They always had an incredible amount of confidence in us,” Mr. Wofford, 49, said in an interview. “They made very clear that they didn’t see any limitations.”

Mr. Wofford held tight to that ideal as he left high school as a 17-year-old junior to attend Harvard University on a scholarship. Seven years later, he graduated from Harvard Law School. Last year, Mr. Wofford earned at least $4.3 million as a partner overseeing 300 lawyers and 700 employees at the New York office of international law firm Ropes & Gray, LLP, according to financial disclosure forms.

Now he’s the Republican nominee for state attorney general in New York, vying to become one of the most powerful law enforcement officials in the country.

“How many guys who work at a white shoe law firm had dads who had a union job?” asked C. Teo Balbach, 50, the chief executive of a software firm who grew up in Buffalo, and played intramural rugby at Harvard with Mr. Wofford.

“He’s a real hard worker and grinder, and that comes from that upbringing where you come from a middle-class family in a difficult neighborhood and you don’t take anything for granted,” Mr. Balbach added.

In many ways, Mr. Wofford, who, with his wife Marla, has a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, is somewhat of a study in contradictions.

He’s the first black candidate to receive the Republican nomination for attorney general in New York, yet his parents were lifelong Democrats. Mr. Wofford is the only statewide Republican candidate who would admit to voting for President Trump but he has also donated money to Democrats, including Kenneth P. Thompson, the former Brooklyn district attorney, and Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Mr. Wofford now says that he regrets making the donation to the mayor.)

Image

Letitia James, the New York City public advocate and Democratic nominee for attorney general of New York, portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter.CreditHolly Pickett for The New York Times

His campaign staff is stocked with well-known Republican operatives, and wealthy donors have filled his campaign’s coffers with enough money to fund a $3 million statewide television and digital ad buy. Despite the publicity push, Mr. Wofford was unknown to 86 percent of voters in a recent Siena College poll.

With a quick shove of his glasses above the ridge of his nose, Mr. Wofford, who described himself as a nerd while growing up, dismisses it all. “I don’t want to be limited by whatever someone else’s preconception is about what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said.

If he expects to defeat the heavily favored Democratic nominee, Letitia James, the New York City public advocate, Mr. Wofford must ignore the presumption that he’s likely to lose on Election Day. Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York by a more than two-to-one margin, and a Republican has not won statewide office since Gov. George E. Pataki was elected to a third term in 2002. Ms. James has a 14-point lead, according to the Siena poll.

Adding to those difficulties is Mr. Wofford’s lack of a political identity.

Bijoy Datta, chairman of the Broome County Republican Committee, heard Mr. Wofford’s name floated as a potential candidate just weeks before the Republican convention in May. They didn’t meet in person until the night before the convention — a fact that does not deter Mr. Datta from supporting Mr. Wofford.

“We live in a time when not being a politician is a good thing,” Mr. Datta said.

Opponents of Ms. James accused her of being too close to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, criticism that Republican strategists say will hurt her. All three of Ms. James’s primary opponents have since endorsed her, but some Democrats and independent voters may be looking for a different option, Mr. Datta said.

Mr. Wofford is neck and neck with Ms. James in terms of fund-raising, especially after she spent heavily to win the primary. And Mr. Wofford’s upstate roots and his experience working and living in the city give him statewide appeal, Republican strategists say.

Ms. James portrays Mr. Wofford as a wealthy, out-of-touch and ardent Trump supporter in a state where the president and his policies are deeply unpopular. As in the Democratic primary, Ms. James has made standing up to President Trump a central campaign plank. Mr. Wofford has taken a different tack, focusing on efforts to root out corruption at the state level so that taxpayer money can be spent more effectively.

“You have people who are intent on suing the president from the moment he took office,” Mr. Wofford said. “We’ve had 12 years of people being led off in jumpsuits and the people of the state government have not lifted a finger.”

Mr. Wofford said he would need to see the underlying evidence before deciding whether attorney general Barbara D. Underwood’s lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump of using his charitable foundation for political and business purposes is worth pursuing. He “doesn’t have a view” on The New York Times’s investigative piece showing that Mr. Trump engaged in “dubious tax schemes” and “instances of outright fraud” in the transfer of his father’s wealth, but “you have to look,” Mr. Wofford said, because of the millions of dollars in taxpayer money at stake.

Democratic candidates criticized Ms. James for saying that she did not want to be known as the “Sheriff on Wall Street,” a sobriquet earned by Eliot I. Spitzer, the former attorney general and former governor of New York, for using the Martin Act, an expansive state law, to prosecute financial fraud.

Mr. Wofford said he believes that overzealous prosecutors are using the Martin Act to drive businesses out of New York. An attorney general in Texas should not be “hostile” to the energy industry, Mr. Wofford said by way of example.

“You enforce the law against the banking and investment management industry but you also have to be cognizant that they’re paying huge taxes in this state,” Mr. Wofford said.

Earlier this month, top Republican donors, including Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of the American International Group, held a fund-raiser for Mr. Wofford. Mr. Greenberg, who paid a $9 million civil settlement for accounting fraud last year, is actively seeking to curtail the Martin Act.

“Just like Trump and congressional Republicans,” Mr. Wofford wants to let “Wall Street off scot-free,” said Jack Sterne, a spokesman for Ms. James.

Other issues facing Mr. Wofford should he win are potential conflicts of interest from his law practice. His firm has represented Purdue Pharma, a maker of opioids. Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood and Mr. Cuomo announced a lawsuit against the company in May over its marketing of the pain drug.

Mr. Wofford was also the lawyer for Knighthead Capital Management, LLC, a hedge fund that was criticized for its handling of Puerto Rico’s debt after Hurricane Maria. Mr. Cuomo has also threatened to sue the federal government over its response to the hurricane.

Mr. Wofford said that he has never personally represented Purdue Pharma, and said he will sever all ties with his firm if elected. He has announced a plan that would use money from any opioids lawsuit settlements to fund addiction treatment.

Mr. Wofford said the criticism about him is indicative of Ms. James’s “hyperpartisan” attitude, and he sought to distinguish himself from her by characterizing himself as an outsider.

“Being on the wrong side of the tracks in Buffalo,” Mr. Wofford said, “is about as far from insider as you can get.”

His success as a lawyer, however, did allow him one heartfelt opportunity: In his father’s last years, Mr. Wofford returned to Buffalo, and during football season, they would bond again over Bills games — but in person, at the stadium, as a season-ticket holder.

Follow Jeffery C. Mays on Twitter: @JeffCMays

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Can an Unknown G.O.P. Candidate Become Attorney General?

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Nature Can a G.O.P. Candidate, Who Supported Trump and Democrats, Be New York’s Next Attorney General?, in 2018-10-14 13:51:33

[lindyhunt]

17 Inspiring Instagram Video Examples From Oreo, GoPro, BuzzFeed & More

Remember when Instagram first started allowing users to post videos back in 2013?

The first Instagram videos had to be recorded on your phone and could only be up to 15 seconds long. Those were the days that people compared Instagram video to its Twitter-owned counterpart, Vine.

Instagram has come a long way since then, and it's blown Vine out of the water. Like most of the other popular social networks, the folks at Instagram have made changes to its platform that make it easier for people to post and share videos.

In late March 2016, Instagram announced they'd start rolling out the ability for Instagram users to upload 60-second videos. For iOS users, they added that users will soon be able to make videos out of multiple clips from your camera roll.

Thanks to these changes, marketers can use the Instagram app to relate with their fans and customers, to communicate their business' personalities and brand stories, and to express artistic creativity.

There are a lot of brands who are posting great photos on social media. But what about videos? While brands have been slower to adapt to Instagram's video platform, many of the ones that are experimenting with it are doing it really well. Check out the examples below.

17 of the Best Instagram Video Examples

Click anywhere on the videos to play them, and click again to pause them.

1. Oreo

Oreo is known for its simple, creative social media content -- and its Instagram videos don't disappoint. The video below is a great example of a fun, creative video that works perfectly for the platform.

While we love the sound quality in this video -- how satisfying is the sound of pen on paper? -- it doesn't require sound to make sense. This is a really smart move because when you're viewing any video on Instagram, you'll hear sound only if your device's volume is turned on. If your phone is set to silent or vibrate -- which is the case for many people, especially when they're perusing Instagram in public -- then the video will play with the sound off.

Keep this in mind when you're planning your next Instagram video: It should either be eye-catching enough to draw people to turn on the sound within the first few seconds, or it should be able to play without sound.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by OREO (@oreo)

2. Burger King

Here's another Instagram video that doesn't require sound. In fact, it's completely silent -- and the reasoning is very clever. The Burger King (yes, that's the name of their mascot) is famously silent.

But on the 199th anniversary of National American Sign Language (ASL) Day, he broke his silence both on Instagram with the video below, and on YouTube with a longer video -- a great example of paring down a longer YouTube video to fit Instagram's platform.

In the video, the Burger King calls on their deaf fans to ask what the official sign for their famous burger, the "Whopper," should be. The video encourages fans to submit ideas via social media using the #WhopperSign hashtag.

When a winning hand sign was picked, here's how they changed their logo to celebrate:

Image Credit: AdAge

3. GoPro

If you know anything about GoPro, you're probably picturing the company's Instagram account accurately: extreme sports shot from GoPro's classic fish-eye lens. The video below is one of the few longer Instagram videos out there that you're happy to watch all the way through. Right from the still image before you press play, you know what's waiting for you.

The video's first-person point of view gives you an intensely intimate experience that any business page desires to give to its followers.

  4. Reebok

Inspiring content tends to do very well on social media, especially Instagram. This video is clearly the work of professionals, which not every brand has the resources for. But the message, which is part of a larger campaign shared across their website and other social networks, is both beautiful and shareable: You have 25,915 days: What will you do with them?

5. BuzzFeed Tasty

The videos BuzzFeed Tasty puts out on Instagram and Facebook are simply perfect for those two platforms: They're visual, helpful, shareable, light-hearted ... and, best of all, they're simple. When I watch these videos, I want to save them somewhere so I can refer back to them when I want to make the recipe myself. (Plus, I love the music they use.)

"We want people to be able to watch the video and feel like they can pull it off at home," Andrew Gauthier, creative director of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, told CBS.

The folks at BuzzFeed have published more than 500 "Tasty" videos since last July, and they've been viewed 14 billion times, mostly on Facebook. But these videos are perfect for Instagram's visual platform, too. Thanks to Instagram's decision to extend video length to 60 seconds, BuzzFeed is able to post full recipe videos along with a caption explaining exactly how it's done.

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A post shared by Tasty (@buzzfeedtasty)

6. Livia Sala

Here's another food- and recipe-related Instagram video that took a different approach than BuzzFeed Tasty. In this video, Milan-based food stylist Livia Sala captured the process of making ravioli on video, complete with cute "commentary" from some of the ingredients on the list.

Instead of using fluid video, Sala uses a series of still shots, one after another. This is called a "stop action video" from still photos, which you can create by taking still photos and uploading them to iMovie on your computer or phone. This is a great video because it's delightful and fun -- are you seeing the trend here? The post was a Shorty Award finalist for Best Instagram Video in 2013.

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A post shared by liviasala (@liviasala)

7. Allstate

Think insurance companies are limited to boring content? Allstate has always set themselves apart from the crowd with their entertaining commercials and social media presence.

But they don't just put out the same videos on every one of their social outlets. Instead, they carefully cater their content to the platform they're publishing on. (For example, this YouTube video of theirs looks like a normal commercial, but turns into a "choose your own adventure" type game.)

On Instagram, some of the videos they post are video memes -- this is a meme format we haven't seen many brands use. People love memes on Instagram because they're funny and shareable, and folks tend to tag their friends in the comments, thereby expanding the post's reach. That's exactly what happens with Allstate's video memes, like the one below.

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A post shared by Allstate (@allstate)

8. Ikea

Here's an example of a short, snackable video that showcases a product in a funny way. In this case, Ikea's showing off its anti-slip mat with a scene of a dad chasing his son (who happens to be wearing a hilarious monster costume).

This video is great because it doesn't just show what the product looks like. In fact, you barely see the product itself. Instead, it shows the product's benefits -- and in a way that lets viewers see the brand's personality. Instagram users love seeing personality behind Instagram content, which is why it does so well for engagement. So the next time you want to showcase a new product, consider showing it off in a humorous way.

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A post shared by IKEA UK (@ikeauk)

9. Camp Brand Goods

This Canadian outdoor adventure apparel company consistently posts great content on Instagram. Not only is their Instagram content always high quality, but they use it to showcase the lifestyle they build around their products, not just the products themselves.

"[On Instagram,] it’s less about the product than it is about sharing good times," said Camp Brand Goods' Leslie McNeilly. "We tend to post an even mix of scenery shots and product shots. We created our own hashtag [#keepitwild], and we award a T-shirt weekly to an Instagram user who is caught keeping it wild."

While they haven't done many videos, the one below is a great one. It has the same look and feel as their photos on Instagram, especially with that vintage, faded look, with perfectly matching music.

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A post shared by Camp Brand Goods (@campbrandgoods)

10. Ben & Jerry's

Here's an example of a great product announcement video on Instagram from Ben & Jerry's. We love that the video shows a fictional way the product was made -- as if it were as easy as putting cookie dough and Oreos in an empty pint and shaking it up. It's another great way for a brand to show its personality using short videos.

The video's playful tone is perfect for Instagram -- and so is the length. Although Instagram is starting to allow longer videos, it's important to remember that users are often scrolling through their feeds when they come upon a video, and many may not want to watch for more than ten or twenty seconds. This would've been a great video to share on Facebook, too, because of that playful tone and short length.

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A post shared by Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys)

11. Wistia

How-to videos are a popular video format for many brands -- but the key is making these videos interesting enough for the Instagram platform. The folks at Wistia did a great job of using cool angles along with text to capture viewers' attention right away -- without them needing to turn the sound on. (In fact, this video doesn't have sound at all.)

Then, they used the caption to point viewers to the link in their bio for the full instructional video. (Note: When you ask people to follow a link in your Instagram bio, make sure you make that link trackable.)

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A post shared by Wistia (@wistia)

12. CBRE

Nothing like a breathtaking time lapse to mesmerize your followers on Instagram. You might not think a commercial real estate and investment services firm like CBRE would have beautiful content to post, but it's videos like this that have the ability to showcase the more visually pleasing sides of the industry.

Even if you work for a "boring" industry, you can come up with creative ideas that cater to what type of content your audience wants. One key thing to keep in mind -- especially on Instagram's platform -- is to make your content relatable and approachable. In other words, make it human. No one who's scrolling through their Instagram feed wants to see a cut-and-dry product update. They'll scroll right past it and on to their friend's video of his cat.

Instead, produce videos that help you form an emotional connection with your fans, as CBRE did with this stunning video, the beauty of which anyone can appreciate.

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A post shared by CBRE (@cbre)

13. Califia Farms

Califia Farms is another brand that consistently creates awesome Instagram content. They tend to post a solid mix of photos and video content, including fun, playful videos and GIFs like the one below. Here, they're announcing a new product with a sort of "slow reveal" -- but one that's visually compelling enough for users to stick around.

If you like the idea of posting animated videos to your own Instagram account, they aren't actually all that difficult and expensive to create. Here's a list of 10 easy-to-use tools for creating animated photos and videos to get you started.

14. Flixel Photos

Here's a stunning image from Flixel Photos. ... Or is it a video? It's actually something called a "cinemagraph," which is kind of a combination of the two. A cinemagraph is a file format used to create short, infinitely-looping animations for the web that look like images with a moving component. The effect is really cool: It's like experiencing a living moment.

Creating a cinemagraph isn't as hard as it looks. Here are seven tips from Flixel photos on making your cinemagraphs remarkable.

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A post shared by Flixel Cinemagraph® Pro (@flixelphotos)

15. Dunkin' Donuts

A video doesn't have to be long to be successful. In fact, the video below from Dunkin' Donuts is literally three still images put together into a video. This is another example of a "stop action video" from still photos, which you can create by taking still photos and uploading them to iMovie on your computer or phone.

While this video is super simple, what makes it great is its timeliness (in celebration of Mother's Day) and that it's funny, unexpected, and therefore shareable. Donuts given like flowers? Yes, please.

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A post shared by Dunkin’ (@dunkin)

16. WeWork

Another great use case for Instagram? Showcasing your company culture. Instagram's a great platform for positioning your brand as a friendly face and building a voice and personality to build a relationship with followers. It doesn't hurt for recruitment, either.

Here's a wonderful and whimsical video that cuts together short clips from WeWork's company party. Kids breakdancing, someone dressed up as a snowman, employees talking and laughing ... they did a great job of showcasing the employees' personalities and making the party look really fun.

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A post shared by WeWork (@wework)

17. Saturday Night Live

The American TV show Saturday Night Live produces great video content by its very nature -- but that's not the only reason why their Instagram videos are so good. They have their Instagram promotion down to a science.

"It's found a successful formula for extending each show way past the broadcast date, and for re-purposing TV content for the online generation, with micro-video playing a huge part of that," writes Carla Marshall for ReelSEO.com. "Take the 2nd April show, which featured Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, and singer Gwen Stefani. Both appeared in a very odd little sketch called 'Space Shorts/Pants' which SNL then uploaded to Facebook, and YouTube, and to Instagram, where it generated over 70K views. By using its social media presence, the brand was able to extend the buzz around the sketch for days, even weeks, after."

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A post shared by Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl)

Struggling to create short but sweet Instagram content that drives engagement with your business? Download some inspiring Instagram post and story templates below to improve your game.