#jon duckworth

[titleknown]

So, while I've talked about this in other posts, I figured I may as well compile it in one post with this nifty propaganda poster (more on that later)

Long story short, they're bringing back KOSA/the Kids Online Safety Act in the US Senate, and they're going to mark it up next Thursday as of the time of this post (4/23/2023).

If you don’t know, long story short KOSA is a bill that’s ostensibly one of those “Protect the Children” bills, but what it’s actually going to do is more or less require you to scan your fucking face every time you want to go on a website; or give away similarly privacy-violating information like your drivers’ license or credit card info. 

Either that or force them to censor anything that could even remotely be considered not “kid friendly.” Not to mention fundies are openly saying they’re gonna use this to hurt trans kids. Which is, uh, real fucking bad. 

As per usual, I urge you to contact your congresscritters, and especially those on the Commerce Committee, who'll likely be the ones marking it up.

Those senators are:

Maria Cantwell, Washington, Chair

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota

Brian Schatz, Hawaii

Ed Markey, Massachusetts

Gary Peters, Michigan

Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin

Tammy Duckworth, Illinois

Jon Tester, Montana

Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona

Jacky Rosen, Nevada

Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico

John Hickenlooper, Colorado

Raphael Warnock, Georgia

Peter Welch, Vermont

Ted Cruz, Texas, Ranking Member

John Thune, South Dakota

Roger Wicker, Mississippi

Deb Fischer, Nebraska

Jerry Moran, Kansas

Dan Sullivan, Alaska

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Todd Young, Indiana

Ted Budd, North Carolina

Eric Schmitt, Missouri

J.D. Vance, Ohio

Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

Again, it doesn't work unless you do it en-masse, so make sure to call ASAP and tell them to kill this bill, and if they actually want a bill to allow/get sites to protect kids, the Federal Fair Access To Banking Act would be far better.

Also, this poster is officially, for the sake of spreading it, under a CC0 license. Feel free to spread it, remix it, add links to the bottom, edit it to be about the other bad internet bills they're pushing, use it as a meme format, do what you will but for gods' sake get the word out!

Also, shoutout to @o-hybridity for coming up with the slogan for the poster, couldn't have done it without 'em!

[ironworked]

Let's look at that list from Geeks for Harris:

Starring (in alphabetical order):

Andy 'Brak' Merrill, Anthony Rapp, Bill Nye, Bill Prady, Chace Crawford, Corey Booker, Curtis Armstrong, Danneel Ackles, Dave Foley, Dave Hill, Dru Levasseur, Elie Mystal, Eric Kripke, Erin Moriary, Felicia Day, Frank Conniff, Gail Simone, Garrett Reisman, George Takei, Gloria Steinem, Hal Sparks, Jack Quaid, Jacqueline Emerson, Jamia Wilson, Jennifer Taub, Jensen Ackles, Jeri Ryan, Jessica Carter Altman, Jim Beaver, Jody Hamilton, John Fugelsang, John Grunsfeld, Jon Cryer, Jonathan Frakes, Kaela Joseph, Karen Fukuhara, Kevin Woo, Kim Rhodes, Laz Alonso, LeVar Burton, Lindy Li, Lynda Carter, Mae Jemison, Mark Hamill, Mark Sheppard, Mary Trump, Matthew Modine, Megan Smith, Misha Collins, Mona Sinha, Nancy Altman, Nia Bentall, Patty Jenkins, Paul Booth, Rachel Miner, Rep. Robert Garcia, Rep. Andy Kim, Rep. Wiley Nickel, Richard Speight, Rob Benedict, Robert Picardo, Ruth Connell, Sean Astin, Sian Proctor, Stacey Abrams, Tammy Duckworth, Tanya Cook, Tim Russ, Valorie Curry, Wajahat Ali, Waseem Daher Wheatus, Wil Wheaton, Yvette Nicole Brown, Zakiya Thomas.

[saydams]

the usa senate passed the budget that banned all aid to UNRWA and Biden signed it.

the senators who voted for this budget (preventing usa from funding UNRWA) are under the readmore. if your senator is on this list, call (202) 224-3121 and demand they find another way of funding relief to palestine.

Tammy Baldwin Wis.

Richard Blumenthal Conn.

Cory Booker N.J.

John Boozman Ark.

Katie Britt Ala.

Sherrod Brown Ohio

Laphonza Butler Calif.

Maria Cantwell Wash.

S. Capito W.Va.

Benjamin L. Cardin Md.

Tom Carper Del.

Bob Casey Pa.

Bill Cassidy La.

Susan Collins Maine

Chris Coons Del.

John Cornyn Tex.

C. Cortez Masto Nev.

Tom Cotton Ark.

Kevin Cramer N.D.

Tammy Duckworth Ill.

Dick Durbin Ill.

Joni Ernst Iowa

John Fetterman Pa.

Deb Fischer Neb.

Kirsten Gillibrand N.Y.

Lindsey Graham S.C.

Chuck Grassley Iowa

M. Hassan N.H.

Martin Heinrich N.M.

John Hickenlooper Colo.

Mazie Hirono Hawaii

John Hoeven N.D.

Cindy Hyde-Smith Miss.

Tim Kaine Va.

Mark Kelly Ariz.

Angus King Maine

Amy Klobuchar Minn.

Ben Ray Luján N.M.

Joe Manchin III W.Va.

Edward J. Markey Mass.

Mitch McConnell Ky.

Robert Menendez N.J.

Jeff Merkley Ore.

Jerry Moran Kan.

Markwayne Mullin Okla.

Lisa Murkowski Alaska

Chris Murphy Conn.

Patty Murray Wash.

Jon Ossoff Ga.

Alex Padilla Calif.

Gary Peters Mich.

Jack Reed R.I.

Mitt Romney Utah

Jacky Rosen Nev.

Mike Rounds S.D.

Brian Schatz Hawaii

Charles E. Schumer N.Y.

Jeanne Shaheen N.H.

Kyrsten Sinema Ariz.

Tina Smith Minn.

Debbie Stabenow Mich.

Dan Sullivan Alaska

Jon Tester Mont.

John Thune S.D.

Thom Tillis N.C.

Chris Van Hollen Md.

Mark R. Warner Va.

Raphael G. Warnock Ga

Elizabeth Warren Mass.

Peter Welch Vt.

Sheldon Whitehouse R.I.

Roger Wicker Miss.

Ron Wyden Ore.

Todd Young Ind.

[adultswim2021]

Duckworth: “Pilot” | February 18, 2010 (online) | Pilot Aired on television January 18, 2011 @ 4:15AM

Eli Duckworth is a Huell Howser type of investigative journalist. At the not-that-old age of 71, he’s gone completely demented, and forced out by the network. They chose Turk Cinnamon to be his replacement, played by Matt Berry. He has a Kosovan cameraman played by Jason Mantzoukas. Berry flees Kosovo and takes the cameraman with him (also Mantzoukas blackmails Berry with embarrassing footage of him stealing garbage can lids from orphans to protect himself during an air raid). 

Meanwhile, the network throws a bogus retirement party for Duckworth, who is not voluntarily retiring. Duckworth and a newly-arrived Berry clash and have a heated exchange which ends with Duckworth pulling a switchblade. Duckworth is eventually subdued and officially ousted. The show ends with Eli Duckworth watching his own show, now being hosted by the brash Matt Berry, and screaming.

This one’s not so bad, and could easily pass as the “just okay” first episode for a show that’s “actually, pretty good”. There are some pretty decent jokes, and the characters show promise, but I’m not sure they’re written particularly well here. It’s more “adequate” than it is “good”. 

This is maybe notable for the restraint it shows; Adult Swim wouldn’t be one to shy away from dark, violent humor. Here the incriminating tape we see COULD HAVE shown the displaced orphans of war being blown to bits, giving a weightier albatross to hang around Matt Berry’s neck. Here it’s not confirmed they perished, they were just further placed in harm’s way by a selfish dick. I sorta feel like they were trying to make something that could pass as a mainstream product. 

Again, the NBC Thursday Night line-up of Community, Parks and Rec, The Office and 30 Rock really did have influence on Adult Swim. Those shows, to varying degrees, demonstrated an ability to be smarter-than-most, a tad biting, but still acceptable to a prime-time major-network viewing audience for still resembling user-friendly sitcom humor. It also showed in their importing the UK version of The Office. Adult Swim seemed to shoot for their own versions of this sensibility, just a notch darker and weirder, but not as wild as something like Superjail or Metalocalypse. I think Dave Willis and Matt Harrigan wanted their own Delocated.

Plenty of this falls a little flat, even though I admire the production value. I always remembered the gag where they show the pre-mortem memorial video they have prepared for Eli Duckworth, which is hastily edited to be a send-off for his retirement. A lot of it does feel a little bit like they’re spinning their wheels. I’m not sad this didn’t get picked up, but I could see this show working. I can also see it failing. I’m honestly not even sure where they’d take this in episode 2, to be honest.

More names: Jon Wurster contributed to the writing of this episode! Greg Hollimon, whom I know as Principal Blackman from Comedy Central’s Strangers With Candy, plays a (the?) network head. Dana Snyder plays Duckworth’s caretaker. Duckworth himself is character actor Bill Raymond, who I’m sure I’ve seen before but I’m not sure where. And for those of you who want to put faces to your favorite little guys from ATHF: We got Carey “Frylock” Means as the briefly-shown break-dancer and Mike “Emory” Schatz as the security guard who keeps being distracted by cake.

You can find this one on adultswim.com.

I forgot to keep doing this: 

Snake ‘n’ Bacon > Duckworth > Southies > Cheyenne Cinnamon

[alledherlu-q-pereon]

Alaska - Lisa Murkowski / Dan Sullivan

Hawaii - Brian Schatz / Mazie Hirono

Washington - Patty Murray / Maria Cantwell

Oregon - Ron Wyden / Jeff Merkley

California - Alex Padilla / Laphonza Butler

Arizona - Kirsten Sinema / Mark Kelly

Nevada - Catherine Cortez Masto / Jackie Rosen

New Mexico - / Ben Ray Lujan

Colorado - Michael Bennet / John Hickenlooper

Utah - Mike Lee / Mitt Romney

Wyoming - Jon Barasso / Cynthia Lummis

Idaho - / Jim Risch

Montana - Jon Tester / Steve Daines

North Dakota - John Hoeven / Kevin Cramer

South Dakota - John Thune / Mike Rounds

Nebraska - Deb Fischer / Pete Ricketts

Kansas - / Roger Marshall

Oklahoma - James Lankford /Markwayne Mullin

Texas - Jon Cornyn / Ted Cruz

Minnesota - Amy Klobuchar / Tina Smith

Iowa - Chuck Grassley / Joni Ernst

Missouri - Josh Hawley / Eric Schmitt

Arakansas - / Tom Cotton

Louisiana - / John Neely Kennedy

Tennessee - Marsha Blackburn / Ben Haggerty

North Carolina - Tom Tillis / Ted Budd

South Carolina - Lindsey Graham / Tim Scott

Kentucky - Mitch McConnell / Rand Paul

Alabama - Tommy Tubberville / Katie Britt

Mississippi - / Cynthia Hyde-Smith

Georgia - Jon Ossoff / Raphael Warnock

Florida - Marco Rubio / Rick Scott

Illinois - Dick Durbin / Taamy Duckworth

Michigan - Debbie Stabenow / Gary Peters

Wisconsin - Ron Johnson / Taamy Baldwin

Indiana - Todd Young / Mike Braun

Ohio - Sherrod Brown / J. D. Vance

Pennsylvania - Bob Casey, Jr. / John Fetterman

New York - Chuck Schumer / Kirsten Gillibrand

New Jersey - Bob Menendez / Cory Booker

Maryland - Ben Cardin / Chris van Hollen

Delaware - Tom Carper / Chris Coons

Virginia - Mark Warner / Tim Kaine

West Virginia - Joe Manchin / Shelly Moore Capito

Connecticut - / Chris Murphy

Rhode Island - Jack Reed / Sheldon Whitehouse

Massachusetts - Elizabeth Warren /

Vermont - Bernie Sanders / Peter Welch

New Hampshire - Jeanne Shaheen / Maggie Hassan

Maine - Susan Collins / Angus King

i have genuinely one of the weirdest skills to be able to brag about

[lssac1993]

Tennessee Senator: 'American people have the right to know who flew on Epstein's plane'

WASHINGTON (WZTV) — Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has issued a release touting her bipartisan efforts to reveal those who took part in the alleged sex trafficking ring conducted by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell while also calling for a full release of names in the duo's contact list.

In a media release on the matter, Sen. Blackburn says the recent decision by a judge to release documents revealing part of Epstein's client list is a step "in the right direction" but is "just the first step."

Sen. Blackburn says she has repeatedly requested a subpoena for the flight logs and an unredacted version of the "little black book" of contacts and addresses related to the allegations against Epstein and Maxwell. "The American people have the right to know who flew on Epstein’s plane, who witnessed these crimes, and who potentially participated in his international sex trafficking ring," Sen. Blackburn writes.

RELATED: 5th batch of Jeffrey Epstein docs further detail allegations against prominent figures

The veteran senator also shares bipartisan legislation she is co-sponsoring, such as the SAVE Girls Act with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn), SALONS Stories Act with Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill), and the REPORT Act with Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

Sen. Blackburn also pointed to trafficking in her state, noting Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) data showing sex trafficking of minors in the state grew from 66 in 2016 to nearly 700 as of November 2023.

[msclaritea]

33 Senate Democrats join Republicans to block DC crime bill | The Hill

Senators on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to block the District of Columbia’s updated criminal code from becoming law, marking the first time in more than three decades that a D.C.-passed bill has been nixed by Congress and the White House. 

The Senate advanced the resolution, 81-14, with 33 Democrats voting alongside every Republican and Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.). 

Senate Democrats of all stripes joined with the GOP, including some of the party’s leadership. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) both backed the resolution.

Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in the upper chamber, however, split with Schumer to vote “no.”

Unsurprisingly, the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2024, headlined by Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio), all supported the resolution.

Fourteen senators who caucus with the Democrats voted against the measure: Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Durbin. 

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) voted present. Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tom Carper (D-Del.) and James Risch (R-Idaho) were absent.

The Senate Democrats had political cover to vote “yes” after President Biden told them last week he would not veto the resolution if it reached his desk — reversing a statement of administration policy backing Washington, D.C., home rule prior to the House vote last month.

The House passed the resolution to block the crime bill on a 250 to 173 vote, with 31 Democrats voting with all Republicans.

The D.C. City Council passed its crime bill unanimously in January and overrode a veto by Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) in February, 12-1. 

It has been the subject of intense criticism from Republicans and some Democrats for some provisions, such as the lower penalties for a number of violent crimes, including robberies and carjackings. 

“Carjackings and car thefts have become a daily routine. Homicides are racking up at a rate of four per week,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said during a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “This is our capital city. But local politicians have let its streets become a danger and an embarrassment.”

In his tweet last week announcing his decision, Biden specifically mentioned sentences for carjackings as a reason. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, there have been 101 carjackings across the District this year alone, roughly the same as the 106 reported by this point last year. Half have involved juveniles. Twenty-two of this calendar year’s cases have been closed, and 14 people have been arrested on related charges. 

“I just think it needs more work,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) told reporters of the D.C. bill, citing the mayor’s veto of the bill earlier this year. 

But the 180-degree turn by the administration has infuriated some House Democrats who have complained that the White House put them in a bad spot. 

It also handed House Republicans a gift on the messaging side, as the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) launched an ad campaign against 15 Democrats who voted against doing away with the crime bill. 

“Forget safe streets and neighborhoods — House Democrats remain more concerned with promoting policies that appease violent criminals,” Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the NRCC’s chairman, said in a statement. “This is just a preview of how these extremist House Democrats will be held accountable for coddling criminals all cycle long.”

The crime bill has also been criticized for other reasons, including that it would increase the number of jury trials for misdemeanor offenses. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine.) who voted for the resolution blocking the bill, told The Hill earlier in the week that there’s not “enough jurors in the world to do that.”

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson on Monday attempted to withdraw the bill and keep it from being brought up for a vote. However, the Home Rule Act, which governs the District, does not allow for the withdrawal of legislation. 

A number of Senate Democrats, however, stood by the District and opposed the resolution. Cardin told reporters earlier in the week that the matter is “a D.C. issue.”

“The Senate shouldn’t be voting on that,” Cardin said. “To me, it’s a fundamental issue of home rule.”

So-called Progressives at it again. This is the same action that's keeping San Francisco filled with crime; Socialists deliberately letting crime go wild to hurt Democrats. It's not just random juveniles committing these carjackings. It's just one of the easiest crimes to pull. Everyone should remember the ones who voted against protecting citizens and all of them, Booker and Dick Durbin should be challenged for their seats. Booker plays the Righteous Brother well but he's not with Dems and Durbin tried to pull a sleazy move months ago, by throwing Senator Fienstein under the bus, causing the drama on the judicial committee. I'm guessing the D.C. Council are a bunch who got in on a sympathetic wave post George Floyd. To vote against the Mayor is huge red flag.

[titleknown]

Do you think Section 230 is pretty much going to be passed? I've been thinking about leaving the internet completely over this.

...Well, like many things, the answer is "It's Complicated,"

Firstly, for the most part, efforts to screw up Section 230 aren't direct repealing all of it so much as carve-outs that majorly weaken it, in ways that could still deeply screw up free speech.

The recent Kids Online Safety Act/EARN IT Act is being pushed for, and while it's not in committee, given the former was sent to the Commerce Committee last time and the latter to the Judiciary Committee, they're probably gonna send it next time, and you're probably going to want to call your senators if they're in said committee to tell them to kill those bills.

The membership of the Commerce Committee:

Maria Cantwell, Washington, Chair

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota

Brian Schatz, Hawaii

Ed Markey, Massachusetts

Gary Peters, Michigan

Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin

Tammy Duckworth, Illinois

Jon Tester, Montana

Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona[a]

Jacky Rosen, Nevada

Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico

John Hickenlooper, Colorado

Raphael Warnock, Georgia

Peter Welch, Vermont

Ted Cruz, Texas, Ranking Member

John Thune, South Dakota

Roger Wicker, Mississippi

Deb Fischer, Nebraska

Jerry Moran, Kansas

Dan Sullivan, Alaska

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Todd Young, Indiana

Ted Budd, North Carolina

Eric Schmitt, Missouri

J.D. Vance, Ohio

Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

The membership of the Judiciary Committee:

Dick Durbin, Illinois, Chairman

Dianne Feinstein, California

Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota

Chris Coons, Delaware

Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut

Mazie Hirono, Hawaii

Cory Booker, New Jersey

Alex Padilla, California

Jon Ossoff, Georgia

Peter Welch, Vermont

Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, Ranking Member

Chuck Grassley, Iowa

John Cornyn, Texas

Mike Lee, Utah

Ted Cruz, Texas

Josh Hawley, Missouri

Tom Cotton, Arkansas

John Kennedy, Louisiana

Thom Tillis, North Carolina

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

So yeah.

I may as well add, If you've got the misfortune to be calling a Republican, be sure to bring up how KOSA will be used as a way for Big Government to spy on people via mandated age verification, and how EARN IT will be used to censor conservative speech.

That'll get the bastards attention. And no matter what you do, don't shut up about it, because silence means the fuckers win, just look at FOSTA/SESTA...

...Tho, in better news, the questioning in those Supreme Court suits tackling Section 230 seem to show that the justices are at least reluctant to try and do much to 230, very specifically because of how much it could fuck up.

Which begs the question, if even these fucking demons know why fucking with Section 230 is a godawful idea, what excuse do these senators have?

Point is, the efforts to undermine it aren't all at once so much as gradual and insidious. Call your senators folks, and stay vigilant.

[ms-cellanies]

Here is the list of The Senate Commerce Committee:

Majority Members

Maria Cantwell, Washington (Chair) Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Brian Schatz, Hawaii Ed Markey, Massachusetts Gary Peters, Michigan Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Jon Tester, Montana Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Jacky Rosen, Nevada Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico John Hickenlooper, Colorado Raphael Warnock, Georgia Peter Welch, Vermont

Minority Members

Ted Cruz, Texas (Ranking Member) John Thune, South Dakota Roger Wicker, Mississippi Deb Fischer, Nebraska Jerry Moran, Kansas Dan Sullivan, Alaska Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Todd Young, Indiana Ted Budd, North Carolina Eric Schmitt, Missouri J. D. Vance, Ohio Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

Seriously, call your Senators now. This needs to be stopped before it goes any further. They want to drive LGBTQIA+ off the internet entirely, and Democrats are going along with this.

[subtlesolitude-tailoredtaste]

Art21 proudly presents an artist segment, featuring Theaster Gates, from the "Chicago" episode in the ninth season of the "Art in the Twenty-First Century" series.

"Chicago " premiered in September 2016 on PBS. Watch now on PBS and the PBS Video app: https://www.pbs.org/video/art-21-chic...

Theaster Gates first encountered creativity in the music of Black churches on his journey to becoming an urban planner, potter, and artist. Gates creates sculptures out of clay, tar, and renovated buildings, transforming the raw material of the South Side into radically reimagined vessels of opportunity for the community.

Establishing a virtuous circle between fine art and social progress, Gates strips dilapidated buildings of their components, transforming those elements into sculptures that act as bonds or investments, the proceeds of which are used to finance the rehabilitation of entire city blocks. Many of the artist’s works evoke his African-American identity and the broader struggle for civil rights, from sculptures incorporating fire hoses, to events organized around soul food, and choral performances by the experimental musical ensemble Black Monks of Mississippi, led by Gates himself.

Learn more about the artists at:

https://art21.org/artist/theaster-gates/

CREDITS | Executive Producer: Eve Moros Ortega. Host: Claire Danes. Director: Stanley Nelson. Producer & Production Manager: Nick Ravich. Editor: Aljernon Tunsil. Art21 Executive Director: Tina Kukielski. Curator: Wesley Miller. Associate Producer: Ian Forster. Structure Consultant: Véronique Bernard. Director of Photography: Keith Walker. Additional Photography: Don Argott, Brian Ashby, Steve Delahoyde, Jeremy Dulac, Damon Hennessey, Sam Henriques, Ben Kolak, Christoph Lerch, Stephan Mazurek, Andrew Miller, Christopher Morrison, Leslie Morrison, Murat Ötünç, Logan Siegel, Stephen Smith, & Jamin Townsley. Assistant Camera: Kyle Adcock, Joe Buhnerkempe, Alex Klein, Ian McAvoy, Sean Prange, & Liz Sung. Sound: Sean Demers, Alex Inglizian, Hayden Jackson, İlkin Kitapçı, Joe Leo, Matt Mayer, John Murphy, Richard K. Pooler, & Grant Tye. Production Assistant: Hamid Bendaas, Emmanuel Camacho, Chad Fisher, Elliot Rosen, Stanley Sievers, Chris Thurston, & Steven Walsh.

Title/Motion Design: Afternoon Inc. Composer: Joel Pickard. Online Editor: Don Wyllie. Re-Recording Mix: Tony Pipitone. Sound Edit: Neil Cedar & Jay Fisher. Artwork Animation: Anita H.M. Yu. Assistant Editor: Maria Habib, Leana Siochi, Christina Stiles, & Bahron Thomas.

Host Introduction | Creative Consultant: Tucker Gates. Director of Photography: Pete Konczal. Second Camera: Jon Cooper. Key Grip: Chris Wiesehahn. Gaffer: Jesse Newton. First Assistant Camera: Sara Boardman & Shane Duckworth. Sound: James Tate. Set Dresser: Jess Coles. Hair: Peter Butler. Makeup: Matin. Production Assistant: Agatha Lewandowski & Melanie McLean. Editor: Ilya Chaiken.

Artworks Courtesy of: Nick Cave; Theaster Gates; Barbara Kasten; Chris Ware; BAM Hamm Archives; Bortolami Gallery; Cranbrook Art Museum; Margaret Jenkins Dance Company; The New Yorker magazine and Condé Nast; James Prinz Photography; Jack Shainman Gallery; Sara Linnie Slocum; Chris Strong Photography; & White Cube. Acquired Photography: Sara Pooley; The Art Channel/Bobbin Productions; & University Art Museum, California State University Long Beach.

Special Thanks: The Art21 Board of Trustees; 900/910 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Association; Michael Aglion; Ellen Hartwell Alderman; Adam Baumgold Gallery; Naomi Beckwith; Biba Bell; Stefania Bortolami; Kate Bowen; Pat Casteel; Chicago Embassy Church; Coachman Antique Mall; Maria J. Coltharp; John Corbett; Department of Theatre & Dance, Wayne State University; Detroit School of Arts; Christina Faist; Bob Faust; Martina Feurstein; Julie Fracker; William Gill; Graham Foundation; Jen Grygiel; Sarah Herda; Jennon Bell Hoffmann; Sheree Hovsepian; Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania; Istanbul Biennial; Nicola Jeffs; Jenette Kahn; Jill Katz; Alex Klein; Kunsthaus Bregenz; Jon Lowe; Sheila Lynch; Mana Contemporary Chicago; Christine Messineo; Laura Mott; Deborah Payne; Bishop Ed Peecher; Lisa Pooler; Rebuild Foundation; Diana Salier; Tim Samuelson; Amy Schachman; Zeynep Seyhun; Keith Shapiro; Alexandra Small; Jacqueline Stewart; Hamza Walker; Clara Ware; Marnie Ware; & Steve Wylie.

Additional Art21 Staff: Maggie Albert; Lindsey Davis; Joe Fusaro; Jessica Hamlin; Jonathan Munar; Bruno Nouril; Pauline Noyes; Kerri Schlottman; & Diane Vivona.

Public Relations: Cultural Counsel. Station Relations: De Shields Associates, Inc. Legal Counsel: Albert Gottesman.

Dedicated To: Susan Sollins, Art21 Founder.

Major support for Season 8 is provided by National Endowment for the Arts, PBS, Lambent Foundation, Agnes Gund, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

©2016 Art21, Inc.

[hello-from-the-night-archives]

If I had a nickel for every podcast character named Jonah with glowing green eyes, powers related to knowing things, and who more or less came back from the dead, I’d have two nickels. It’s not a lot but it’s kinda weird that it happened twice.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Do Westerosi have swimming as a pastime? Are there garments used as bathing suits, or do they swim naked? With so many bodies of water around I doubt they wouldn't.

Yes, people swim as a pastime in Westeros. Sometimes they wear clothes, but more often they don’t.

“And the girls, Ned!” he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. “I swear, women lose all modesty in the heat. They swim naked in the river, right beneath the castle.” –Robert, AGOT, Eddard I

She found herself standing at the mouth of a sewer where it emptied into the river. She stank so badly that she stripped right there, dropping her soiled clothing on the riverbank as she dove into the deep black waters. She swam until she felt clean, and crawled out shivering. Some riders went past along the river road as Arya was washing her clothes, but if they saw the scrawny naked girl scrubbing her rags in the moonlight, they took no notice. –AGOT, Arya III

Lommy and Tarber stripped naked and went wading, and Lommy scooped up handfuls of slimy mud and threw them at Hot Pie, shouting, “Mud Pie! Mud Pie!” –ACOK, Arya IV

Hodor knew Bran’s favorite place, so he took him to the edge of the pool beneath the great spread of the heart tree, where Lord Eddard used to kneel to pray. Ripples were running across the surface of the water when they arrived, making the reflection of the weirwood shimmer and dance. There was no wind, though. For an instant Bran was baffled.And then Osha exploded up out of the pool with a great splash, so sudden that even Summer leapt back, snarling. Hodor jumped away, wailing “Hodor, Hodor” in dismay until Bran patted his shoulder to soothe his fears. “How can you swim in there?” he asked Osha. “Isn’t it cold?”“As a babe I suckled on icicles, boy. I like the cold.” Osha swam to the rocks and rose dripping. She was naked, her skin bumpy with gooseprickles. Summer crept close and sniffed at her. “I wanted to touch the bottom.”“I never knew there was a bottom.”“Might be there isn’t.” She grinned. “What are you staring at, boy? Never seen a woman before?”“I have so.” Bran had bathed with his sisters hundreds of times and he’d seen serving women in the hot pools too.

–ACOK, Bran II

To the east, Gods Eye was a sheet of sun-hammered blue that filled half the world. Some days, as they made their slow way up the muddy shore (Gendry wanted no part of any roads, and even Hot Pie and Lommy saw the sense in that), Arya felt as though the lake were calling her. She wanted to leap into those placid blue waters, to feel clean again, to swim and splash and bask in the sun. But she dare not take off her clothes where the others could see, not even to wash them. –ACOK, Arya V

“The gods will take me when they see fit,” Septon Chayle said quietly, “though I scarcely think it likely that I’ll drown, Bran. I grew up on the banks of the White Knife, you know. I’m quite the strong swimmer.” –ACOK, Bran V

I’m being swept out into the bay. It wouldn’t be as bad there; he ought to be able to make shore, he was a strong swimmer. –ACOK, Davos III

When Jaime looked up, Brienne was lumbering along the clifftop well ahead of them, having cut across a finger of land while they were following the bend in the river. She threw herself off the rock, and looked almost graceful as she folded into a dive. It would have been ungracious to hope that she would smash her head on a stone. Ser Cleos turned the skiff toward her. Thankfully, Jaime still had his oar. One good swing when she comes paddling up and I’ll be free of her.Instead he found himself stretching the oar out over the water. Brienne grabbed hold, and Jaime pulled her in. As he helped her into the skiff, water ran from her hair and dripped from her sodden clothing to pool on the deck.

–ASOS, Jaime I

Ser Desmond Grell had served House Tully all his life. He had been a squire when Catelyn was born, a knight when she learned to walk and ride and swim, master-at-arms by the day that she was wed. –ASOS, Catelyn I

The holdfast did have a grim haunted look, standing there black against the storm on its rocky island with the rain lashing at the lake all around it. “We could go out and take a look,” he suggested. “I doubt we could get much wetter than we are.”“Swimming? In the storm?” She laughed at the notion. “Is this a trick t’ get the clothes off me, Jon Snow?”“Do I need a trick for that now?” he teased. “Or is that you can’t swim a stroke?” Jon was a strong swimmer himself, having learned the art as a boy in Winterfell’s great moat.Ygritte punched his arm. “You know nothing, Jon Snow. I’m half a fish, I’ll have you know.“

–ASOS, Jon V

Jon used to say that she swam like a fish, but even a fish might have trouble in this river. –ASOS, Arya IX

As they rode past the stakes and pits that surrounded the eunuch encampment, Dany could hear Grey Worm and his sergeants running one company through a series of drills with shield, shortsword, and heavy spear. Another company was bathing in the sea, clad only in white linen breechclouts. –ASOS, Daenerys V

A few of the older children lay facedown upon the smooth pink marble, browning in the sun. Others paddled in the sea beyond. Three were building a sand castle with a great spike that resembled the Spear Tower of the Old Palace. A score or more had gathered in the big pool, to watch the battles as smaller children rode through the waist-deep shallows on the shoulders of the larger and tried to shove each other into the water. Every time a pair went down, the splash was followed by a roar of laughter. They watched a nut-brown girl yank a towheaded boy off his brother’s shoulders to tumble him headfirst into the pool. –AFFC, The Captain of Guards

Looking at the water only made him think of drowning. When he was small his lord father had tried to teach him how to swim by throwing him into the pond beneath Horn Hill. The water had gotten in his nose and in his mouth and in his lungs, and he coughed and wheezed for hours after Ser Hyle pulled him out. After that he never dared go in any deeper than his waist. –AFFC, Samwell II

“How did he get out?”“Fish swim. Even black ones.” Edmure smiled. […] “We raised the portcullis on the Water Gate. Not all the way, just three feet or so. Enough to leave a gap under the water, though the gate still appeared to be closed. My uncle is a strong swimmer. After dark, he pulled himself beneath the spikes.”And he slipped under our boom the same way, no doubt. A moonless night, bored guards, a black fish in a black river floating quietly downstream.

–AFFC, Jaime VII

Laughing, the septa walked to the prow of the boat. It was her custom to bathe in the river every morning. “Plainly, this boat was not named for you,” Tyrion called as she disrobed.“The Mother and the Father made us in their image, Hugor. We should glory in our bodies, for they are the work of gods.”

–ADWD, Tyrion IV

[Rolly] came up sputtering and cursing, bellowing for someone to fish him out before a ‘snapper ate his privates. Tyrion tossed a line to him. “Ducks should swim better than that,” he said as he and Yandry were hauling the knight back aboard the Shy Maid.Ser Rolly grabbed Tyrion by the collar. “Let us see how dwarfs swim,” he said, chucking him headlong into the Rhoyne.The dwarf laughed last; he could paddle passably well, and did… until his legs began to cramp. Young Griff extended him a pole.

–ADWD, Tyrion IV

Sweetfoot had an easier gait than old Chestnut, but Dunk was still sore and tired when he spied the inn ahead, a tall daub-and-timber building beside a stream. […] As he dismounted, a naked boy emerged dripping from the stream and began to dry himself on a roughspun brown cloak. "Are you the stableboy?” Dunk asked him. The lad looked to be no more than eight or nine, a pasty-faced skinny thing, his bare feet caked in mud up to the ankle. His hair was the queerest thing about him. He had none. –The Hedge Knight

“Another word about your bloody boot, and I’ll clout you in the ear so hard you’ll fly across the lake.”“I’d sooner swim, ser.” Egg swam well, and Dunk did not.

–The Mystery Knight

[c-erudio]

Your "goodreads" lists, or similar, please!

Thank you!

Law / Politics:

We See It All - Jon Fasman

In Deep - David Rohde

The Great Political Theories vol. I & II - Michael Curtis

Doing Justice - Preet Bharara

Until Justice Be Done - Kate Masur

Strategy / Defense:

La Mesure de la Force - Martin Motte

Les Guerres de l'Ombre de la DGSI - Alex Jordanov

Diriger la CIA - John O. Brennan

Why Spy - Brian Stewart

The Spymasters - Chris Whipple

KGB & DGSE - Serguei Jirnov & François Waroux

Geopolitics:

Dictionnaire Amoureux de la Géopolitique - Hubert Védrine

L'Affolement du Monde - Thomas Gomart

L'année Stratégique - Pascal Boniface

La Géopolitique - Pascal Boniface

Economics:

Money - Jacob Golstein

La Valse Économique - Éric Cohen & Richard Robert

Money and Power - Vince Cable

Freakeconomics - Steven D. Lewitt

Tech:

Amusing Ourselves To Death - Neil Postman

Science:

Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker

Learning How To Learn - Barbara Oakley & Terrance Sejnowski

Seven Briefs Lessons of Physics - Carlo Rovelli

Psy / Neurology:

Think Again - Walter Sinnott-Amstrong

The Power of Habits - Charles Duhigg

Grit - Angela Duckworth

Non-Fiction:

Factfulness - Hans Rosling

A Promised Land - Barack Obama

Madam Secretary - Madeleine Albright

Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow

My Beloved World - Sonia Sotomayor

Bullet Journal - Ryder Carroll

Simone Veil - Une Vie

War On Peace - Ronan Farrow

21 Lessons - Yuval Noah Harari

Numbers Don't Lie - Vaclav Smil

Compter Sur Soi - Ralph Waldon

Educated - Tara Westover

The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

Atomic Habits - James Clear

Settle For More - Megyn Kelly

A Higher Loyalty - James Comey

How To Win Friends & Influence People - Dane Carnegie

Becoming - Michelle Obama

On Violence and Violence Against Women - Jacqueline Rose

Dedicated - Pete Davis

L'Ange Exterminateur (on Bernard Arnault) - Airy Routier

Fiction:

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

The Firm - John Grisham

Vis-à-Vis - Peter Swanson

The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

[omaenanimonoda]

Senate commerce committee list from that link-

Majority Members

Maria Cantwell, Washington (Chair)

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota

Brian Schatz, Hawaii

Ed Markey, Massachusetts

Gary Peters, Michigan

Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin

Tammy Duckworth, Illinois

Jon Tester, Montana

Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona

Jacky Rosen, Nevada

Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico

John Hickenlooper, Colorado

Raphael Warnock, Georgia

Peter Welch, Vermont

Minority Members

Ted Cruz, Texas (Ranking Member)

John Thune, South Dakota

Roger Wicker, Mississippi

Deb Fischer, Nebraska

Jerry Moran, Kansas

Dan Sullivan, Alaska

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Todd Young, Indiana

Ted Budd, North Carolina

Eric Schmitt, Missouri

J. D. Vance, Ohio

Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

So, the NDA signed by producers of The Apprentice just expired, and one of them has published a tell-all article. Most of the article is about how they used standard reality-TV tricks to portray Trump as being wealthy and intelligent, when in reality he was, and is, a deeply indebted buffoon.

The money shot, however, comes when Trump and the producers are preparing for climax of the final episode, when the winner will be decided.

Per the FCC's rules for game shows, producers could not be involved in deciding who would be fired each week, or who would ultimately win: it had to be Trump's decision alone, like contestants and viewers were told it was. The producers could, and did, give him a presentation about the strengths and weaknesses of the contestants each time he had to make a decision. These were recorded, in case questions ever arose about whether the producers had crossed the line.

So, for the final episode, there were two contestants remaining. Both were men, one white, the other Black. They'd both done well in the final challenge of the competition. As the producers were summarizing the points for an against each candidate, this happened:

“Yeah,” he says to no one in particular, “but, I mean, would America buy a n— winning?” Kepcher’s pale skin goes bright red. I turn my gaze toward Trump. He continues to wince. He is serious, and he is adamant about not hiring Jackson.

In the finished program, Trump chose the white contestant as the winner.

(Four years later, Trump would propagate the baseless conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not a native-born US citizen and therefore had not legitimately won the presidency.)

The article also describes how women working on the production faced discrimination based on whether or not Trump wanted to look at them while they did their jobs:

While leering at a female camera assistant or assessing the physical attributes of a female contestant for whoever is listening, he orders a female camera operator off an elevator on which she is about to film him. “She’s too heavy,” I hear him say. Another female camera operator, who happens to have blond hair and blue eyes, draws from Trump comparisons to his own Ivanka Trump. “There’s a beautiful woman behind that camera,” he says toward a line of 10 different operators set up in the foyer of Trump Tower one day. “That’s all I want to look at.”

And there's a third anecdote where he pressures a woman producer to break the FCC rules, while being casually misogynistic toward a contestant:

Trump corners a female producer and asks her whom he should fire. She demurs, saying something about how one of the contestants blamed another for their team losing. Trump then raises his hands, cupping them to his chest: “You mean the one with the …?” He doesn’t know the contestant’s name. Trump eventually fires her.

This information is pretty unlikely to persuade anyone who wasn't already persuaded by any of the other things Trump has done and said, which would for anyone else be a career-defining scandal. But it is a useful reminder of who we're dealing with.

(Link is to Slate, an x-number-of-free-articles-a-month site, but the incognito window trick works.)

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) led a bipartisan majority of Senators in calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to continue to use America’s influence to push back against the International Criminal Courts’ recent politically motivated decision to illegally and unfairly pursue alleged war crimes investigations against the State of Israel.

The letter states in part:

“The ICC does not have legitimate territorial jurisdiction in this case. As articulated by State Department Spokesman Ned Price in response to this ICC decision, ‘the United States has always taken the position that the court’s jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it, or that are referred by the U.N. Security Council.’ Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, and therefore has not consented to the ICC’s jurisdiction. Furthermore, ICC rules prohibit it from prosecuting cases against the citizens of a country with a robust judicial system willing and able to prosecute atrocity crimes committed by its personnel and officials. The ICC’s mandate should not supersede Israel’s robust judicial system, including its military justice system.”  

After sending the letter, Senators Portman and Cardin released the following statement: “We are again pleased that so many of our Senate colleagues joined us on this important effort to push back against the politically motivated persecution of Israel. We commend Secretary Blinken’s statements condemning the ICC’s decision and we urge the Biden Administration to partner with Congress to work together in this effort. The ICC has no jurisdiction over disputed territories and this decision creates a dangerous precedent that undermines the purposes for which the court was founded. This effort is discriminatory against Israel and will serve to make a lasting solution, based on direct negotiations between the two parties, more difficult to achieve.”

Joining Portman and Cardin in the letter to Blinken are: Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Mike Braun (R-IN), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jerry Moran (R-KS), James Lankford (R-OK), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), James E. Risch (R-ID), Joe Manchin III (D-WV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Thune (R-SD), Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA), Michael S. Lee (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tina Smith (D-MN), Roger F. Wicker (R-MS), Mark Warner (D-VA), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Boozman (R-AR), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), John Hoven (R-ND), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Todd Young (R-IN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Kennedy (R-LA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Charles E. Grassley (R-IA).

The full text is available below and here.  

[librarycomic]

Duckworth, the Difficult Child by Michael Sussman, illustrated by Júlia Sarda. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019. 9781534405127. http://www.powells.com/book/-9781534405127?partnerid=34778&p_bt

When a giant snake comes out of his closet, Duckworth's parents, who are trying to deal with him, tell him he's too old to be imagining things like that. After he takes a nap, the snake eats him. His parents continue to ignore it.

How To Be A T. Rex by Ryan North, illustrated by Mike Lowery. Dial, 2018. 9780399186240. http://www.powells.com/book/-9780399186240?partnerid=34778&p_bt

When Sal grows up he wants to be a T. Rex. His brother says that's impossible. His brother is wrong. It's fun being a dinosaur, but there are downsides, too. (This is another great, short comic disguised as a picture book.)

Everything Awesome about Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Beasts by Mike Lowery. Orchard Books, 2019. 9781338566291. 128pp (not a picture book!) http://www.powells.com/book/-9781338566291?partnerid=34778&p_bt

I'm obviously a huge fan of Lowery's picture books, and of pretty much everything he draws. This is maybe my favorite dinosaur book ever, probably because it has lots of other animals, too.  Lowery's lettering is as fun as his drawings.

This fall there's another book like this coming from Lowery, about sharks and other underwater creatures.

The Two Mutch Sisters by Carol Brendler, art by Lisa Brown. Clarion Books, 2018. 9780544430747. http://www.powells.com/book/-9780544430747?partnerid=34778&p_bt

"The Mutch Sisters were collectors." They still are, and their house is full of crap -- two of everything. There's no space! Ruby tells Violet she's moving out. And she does. Then Violet feels like something is missing, and takes drastic steps. (Is this a warning about two collectors getting used to living together? That's how I'm taking it.)

Worth noting: Brown draws everything from cats to glockenspiels to bear skins with tons of panache. She's one of my five favorite picture book illustrators, right up there with Jon Agee!

The Lost Book by Margarita Surnaite. Margarget K. McElderry Books, 2019. 9781534438187. http://www.powells.com/book/-9781534438187?partnerid=34778&p_bt

Books are everywhere in Rabbit Town, and everyone loves them except Henry. Then he finds a lost book, and sets off to find its owner in the human city. Touching and surprising plus (spoiler alert) Henry doesn't fall in love with books at the end!