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Top 10 Conservative Idiots #9-11: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Presidential Fantasy Edition
Last edited Wed Sep 16, 2020, 08:17 PM - Edit history (1)
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #9-11: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Presidential Fantasy Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! How’s everybody doing? Are you guys doing fucking good? I know, right? We are back but we’re still broadcasting from this empty white void because we can’t be in a studio right now thanks to COVID. I really do miss all of the tomfoolery that we used to have before COVID. So why did we take two weeks off? Well for one thing it’s a chance to rest – I kind of needed a break from the extremely horrible 24/7 news cycle that we’re living in, for mental health reasons. The other thing is that we have 6 editions left before Election 2020 and I wanted to make sure that we get ready. Because the last time, we took a break from the news before the election and what happened? Bam, we got four years of this douchebag. So yeah that’s about it. There’s no thing this week because I want to address what’s going to happen for the Top 10 between now and the election. Between now and November 3rd we literally have 6 editions left. That means that we’ve covered the entirety of the Trump presidential administration here. Since he slimed his way down that gold escalator in Trump tower to holding indoor rallies during a major global pandemic and everything in between. To be honest, I want it to stop. But assuming that we get four more years of Trump I will be watching and waiting out his every move. Just like COVID, conservative idiocy will exist until we eradicate it. So let’s start by voting out Trump on November 3rd. Mr. Trump, you’re fired. OK enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first Bill Maher is back and he pleads America to side with teachers instead of using them as a political prop:
Well another week, another Top 10 under the virus. So where do we start this week? Well in the first slot whenever the Top 10 is on an extended break, we like to catch up on stuff we missed (1) which includes Nancy Pelosi’s hair cut incident, Trump’s bizarre rant about protest weaponry, and a gender reveal party gone horribly, horribly wrong! Taking the second slot this week is Donald Trump (2). Yes, the guy who we currently call president is somehow inexplicably still president, and he got caught lying his ass off about how dangerous COVID was because he wanted to be a “cheerleader for America”. So what could go wrong? Taking the third slot this week is Donald Trump supporters, otherwise known as the MAGAs (3). So not one, but two boat parades were held – one in my state of California and the other in Texas, and not only one, but both boat parades featured sinking vessels! Was it Das Boot? In the fourth slot this week is Kanye West (4). Yes, his presidential ambitions are still a thing, but his sham campaign is getting the boot in more places than one. Taking the fifth slot this week is our weekly investigative piece Top 10 Investigates (5) and this week while schools are attempting to get back to normal in the age of COVID, so is the virus and it’s getting scary. If you do go back to school, do so with extreme caution! Taking the sixth slot this week is of course our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and this week our resident pastor is going to investigate the phenomenon of Satanic Witchcraft in the 2020 election! But the real Satanist is sitting in the Oval Office! In the seventh slot this week is a new “This Fucking Guy” (7) and this week we’re going to profile the head of Trump’s United States Post Office, and guy who will be overseeing mail-in voting in the 2020 election, Louis De Joy, and whew. This fucking guy. Taking the 8th slot this week is a new edition of Beating A Dead Horse (8) and this week we’re going to talk about Trump’s use of the CCR classic song “Fortunate Son” and some other misused songs. In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week of course is a new People Are Dumb because stupid doesn’t take a holiday! Finally this week in “Road To The White House”, Joe Biden’s got some special guests in store for some campaign fundraising events, but find out why they may or may not be controversial! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
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[font size="8"]Catch Up On Stuff We Missed
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We took a rare break last week. As usual whenever the Top 10 takes an extended break, we always like to play a game of catch up on stuff we missed. Because in this 24/7 news cycle you never know what’s going to happen. And since two weeks are way too long to cover something like Nancy Pelosi’s hair salon incident, which is STILL GETTING COVERAGE!!! Damn right I'm pissed off about this, because this should be the least of our worries right now! Meanwhile the guy who killed 200,000 people because he wanted to be a “cheerleader” for America? Buptkiss! Yes that’s right, also it’s rare that I get to use the word “buptkiss” in context like that! But still this is fucking infuriating and it still outlays the belief that conservatives are infallible. And here’s the thing, conservatives, we all hate this pandemic and we all want to get back to some sort of normalcy. But these things take time. And we don’t need your nonsense.
Pelosi visited eSalon in San Francisco, where she says she has gone for hair appointments many times, on Monday afternoon. According to the salon's owner, Pelosi's assistants had set up the appointment with an independent stylist in advance.
A security camera shows Pelosi walking through part of the salon with wet hair and what appears to be her face mask around her neck rather than covering her face.
The footage was released by Fox News on Tuesday, along with a scathing interview with the salon's owner calling it a "slap in the face" for Pelosi to get her hair done at the salon when others could not.
According to the owner, Erica Kious, an independent stylist took the appointment with Pelosi. That stylist, who has been identified by his lawyer as Jonathan DeNardo, texted Kious on Sunday night informing her that he had made an appointment with Pelosi's team for Monday afternoon.
Pelosi's team was told by the salon that they could have one person in the salon at a time under the current coronavirus guidelines, Pelosi's spokesperson Drew Hammill said in a statement.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/03/what-we-know-nancy-pelosis-hair-salon-trip-amid-coronavirus/5708541002/
A security camera shows Pelosi walking through part of the salon with wet hair and what appears to be her face mask around her neck rather than covering her face.
The footage was released by Fox News on Tuesday, along with a scathing interview with the salon's owner calling it a "slap in the face" for Pelosi to get her hair done at the salon when others could not.
According to the owner, Erica Kious, an independent stylist took the appointment with Pelosi. That stylist, who has been identified by his lawyer as Jonathan DeNardo, texted Kious on Sunday night informing her that he had made an appointment with Pelosi's team for Monday afternoon.
Pelosi's team was told by the salon that they could have one person in the salon at a time under the current coronavirus guidelines, Pelosi's spokesperson Drew Hammill said in a statement.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/03/what-we-know-nancy-pelosis-hair-salon-trip-amid-coronavirus/5708541002/
Oh and by the way in case you’re wondering what the actual COVID guidelines for hair salons are, this doesn’t happen anywhere, and the actual guidelines for California [/link state that they can’t hold indoor services anywhere and that services must be performed outside if necessary. Also in case you’re wondering if actions have consequences or not, well…
A San Francisco hair salon visited by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is officially shutting down.
“I am actually done in San Francisco and closing my doors, unfortunately,” Erica Kious told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night.
The e-Salon first made headlines after Pelosi's visit last week.
Kious released surveillance video to Fox News showing Pelosi inside the salon, when in San Francisco, salons are only allowed to operate outdoors. Pelosi was also seen on the clip without her mask for a brief time.
Pelosi said she made the appointment, trusting what the salon told her over the phone: That they could accept once client at a time.
https://www.ktvu.com/news/i-am-actually-done-in-san-francisco-hair-salon-visited-by-nancy-pelosi-shuts-down
“I am actually done in San Francisco and closing my doors, unfortunately,” Erica Kious told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night.
The e-Salon first made headlines after Pelosi's visit last week.
Kious released surveillance video to Fox News showing Pelosi inside the salon, when in San Francisco, salons are only allowed to operate outdoors. Pelosi was also seen on the clip without her mask for a brief time.
Pelosi said she made the appointment, trusting what the salon told her over the phone: That they could accept once client at a time.
https://www.ktvu.com/news/i-am-actually-done-in-san-francisco-hair-salon-visited-by-nancy-pelosi-shuts-down
Yup that is a definite fail for you! The next thing I want to catch up on is Trump’s absolutely batshit comment about protest weaponry. Yes, the protests and unrest in this country are absolutely unreal right now. But before we get into this story we got to roll the tape on this one. Because it is certifiably batshit insane.
Whew. That guy is the president of the United States. I will repeat – that guy is the president of the United States! Just… why do people allow this man to continue to be president? It boggles the mind!!
PRESIDENT Donald Trump says rioters are purchasing canned soup to launch towards police officers in cities across the country and when apprehended, the violent vigilantes claim the soup is for their family.
Those are the claims made by the president moments ago in the White House during an event in the Cabinet Room.
“In cities all across the situation weve also seen police officers assaulted,” President Trump said.
The president listed various weapons he said the protesters have used on police molotov cocktails including frozen water that he said was the “size of a football.”
He claimed protesters use “cans of soup” to throw at officers and then claim it’s just “soup from my family” when they are caught.
https://www.yc.news/2020/07/31/president-trump-says-media-supports-rioters-that-bought-canned-soup-to-throw-at-cops/
Those are the claims made by the president moments ago in the White House during an event in the Cabinet Room.
“In cities all across the situation weve also seen police officers assaulted,” President Trump said.
The president listed various weapons he said the protesters have used on police molotov cocktails including frozen water that he said was the “size of a football.”
He claimed protesters use “cans of soup” to throw at officers and then claim it’s just “soup from my family” when they are caught.
https://www.yc.news/2020/07/31/president-trump-says-media-supports-rioters-that-bought-canned-soup-to-throw-at-cops/
The other thing I wanted to catch up on that we missed – Trump is fucking broke! Yes, the campaign is hemorrhaging money! In fact they are so broke that they’re resorting to some really drastic measures to keep the campaign running. And yet, the jackass president will somehow blame Democrats for his shortcomings, because that’s all he does. Ah, president loser can go eat shit.
Money was supposed to have been one of the great advantages of incumbency for President Trump, much as it was for President Barack Obama in 2012 and George W. Bush in 2004. After getting outspent in 2016, Mr. Trump filed for re-election on the day of his inauguration — earlier than any other modern president — betting that the head start would deliver him a decisive financial advantage this year.
It seemed to have worked. His rival, Joseph R. Biden Jr., was relatively broke when he emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee this spring, and Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee had a nearly $200 million cash advantage.
Five months later, Mr. Trump’s financial supremacy has evaporated. Of the $1.1 billon his campaign and the party raised from the beginning of 2019 through July, more than $800 million has already been spent. Now some people inside the campaign are forecasting what was once unthinkable: a cash crunch with less than 60 days until the election, according to Republican officials briefed on the matter.
Brad Parscale, the former campaign manager, liked to call Mr. Trump’s re-election war machine an “unstoppable juggernaut.” But interviews with more than a dozen current and former campaign aides and Trump allies, and a review of thousands of items in federal campaign filings, show that the president’s campaign and the R.N.C. developed some profligate habits as they burned through hundreds of millions of dollars. Since Bill Stepien replaced Mr. Parscale in July, the campaign has imposed a series of belt-tightening measures that have reshaped initiatives, including hiring practices, travel and the advertising budget.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/us/politics/trump-election-campaign-fundraising.html
It seemed to have worked. His rival, Joseph R. Biden Jr., was relatively broke when he emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee this spring, and Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee had a nearly $200 million cash advantage.
Five months later, Mr. Trump’s financial supremacy has evaporated. Of the $1.1 billon his campaign and the party raised from the beginning of 2019 through July, more than $800 million has already been spent. Now some people inside the campaign are forecasting what was once unthinkable: a cash crunch with less than 60 days until the election, according to Republican officials briefed on the matter.
Brad Parscale, the former campaign manager, liked to call Mr. Trump’s re-election war machine an “unstoppable juggernaut.” But interviews with more than a dozen current and former campaign aides and Trump allies, and a review of thousands of items in federal campaign filings, show that the president’s campaign and the R.N.C. developed some profligate habits as they burned through hundreds of millions of dollars. Since Bill Stepien replaced Mr. Parscale in July, the campaign has imposed a series of belt-tightening measures that have reshaped initiatives, including hiring practices, travel and the advertising budget.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/us/politics/trump-election-campaign-fundraising.html
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[font size="8"]Donald Trump
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In case you haven’t forgot, we’re still in the middle of a raging pandemic that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. And Trump, the guy who we still inexplicably call president, is presidenting by example – and holding mass gatherings and indoor rallies when CDC and WHO guidelines suggest otherwise. But that said, we have to talk about the recent allegations that have surfaced suggesting that Trump lied (shocker) about the horrifying dangers of COVID while downplaying it because he wanted to be a “cheerleader” for America. Well, Mr. President, we don’t need a cheerleader. We need a real fucking leader. Someone who, I don’t know, listens to facts and logic and reason, and also listens to real experts. We don’t need your nonsense.
President Trump deliberately downplayed the severity of the coronavirus despite knowing in early February that the virus was “deadly.” according to a new book from Bob Woodward.
“I wanted to always play it down,” he told Woodward on March 19th, according to audio obtained by CNN. “I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic.”
Trump also expressed concern that “it’s not just old people” who are impacted by Covid-19, and that “some startling facts came out” about how “plenty of young people” were prone to the virus. In public, however, the president has repeatedly insisted that Covid-19 does not pose any significant risk to young people, especially as he’s advocated for schools to resume in-person instruction this fall. In August, Trump falsely said children are “virtually immune” to the virus, while claiming “it will go away like things go away.”
Trump knew about the danger the virus posed as early as February 7th, as he was publicly minimizing the risk of the disease spreading in the United States and bungling action to stop it. “It’s a very tricky situation,” the president told Woodward before explaining that the virus can be transmitted through the air. “It’s more deadly than … even your strenuous flus. … This is more deadly. This is five percent [mortality rate] versus one percent and less than one percent. You know? So, this is deadly stuff.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-knew-coronavirus-deadly-bob-woodward-book-1057051/
“I wanted to always play it down,” he told Woodward on March 19th, according to audio obtained by CNN. “I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic.”
Trump also expressed concern that “it’s not just old people” who are impacted by Covid-19, and that “some startling facts came out” about how “plenty of young people” were prone to the virus. In public, however, the president has repeatedly insisted that Covid-19 does not pose any significant risk to young people, especially as he’s advocated for schools to resume in-person instruction this fall. In August, Trump falsely said children are “virtually immune” to the virus, while claiming “it will go away like things go away.”
Trump knew about the danger the virus posed as early as February 7th, as he was publicly minimizing the risk of the disease spreading in the United States and bungling action to stop it. “It’s a very tricky situation,” the president told Woodward before explaining that the virus can be transmitted through the air. “It’s more deadly than … even your strenuous flus. … This is more deadly. This is five percent [mortality rate] versus one percent and less than one percent. You know? So, this is deadly stuff.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-knew-coronavirus-deadly-bob-woodward-book-1057051/
That said, the president of the United States basically is going to let us all die to save his sorry ass. Oh yeah, this is so much better isn’t it? And if you want any further proof that Trump simply doesn’t care about us or that there’s a killer virus out there ravaging the landscape, well, he held an indoor rally in Nevada and the governor of Nevada wasn’t exactly, let’s say, thrilled with that. But that didn’t stop Trump from going full asshole.
President Donald Trump told the Review-Journal in an exclusive interview Sunday that he did not believe he was subject to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s order limiting gatherings to 50 people when he addressed a crowd of thousands at an indoor rally in Henderson.
The president blamed the Democratic governor for forcing his campaign to abandon plans to hold an outdoor rally Sunday at Cirrus Aviation near McCarran International Airport and a Saturday rally in Reno, which was moved to an outdoor venue in Minden.
The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority told the tenants of a private hangar where the president was originally supposed to hold a rally that doing so would violate coronavirus rules and their lease agreement. McCarran officials said no one from the Trump campaign or Cirrus Aviation ever asked them about holding a rally.
After failing to arrange alternative venues in the Las Vegas area, the campaign decided to hold the rally indoors at the Xtreme Manufacturing facility, owned by his friend Don Ahern, Trump said.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/in-exclusive-interview-trump-slams-sisolak-defends-indoor-rally-2121257/
The president blamed the Democratic governor for forcing his campaign to abandon plans to hold an outdoor rally Sunday at Cirrus Aviation near McCarran International Airport and a Saturday rally in Reno, which was moved to an outdoor venue in Minden.
The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority told the tenants of a private hangar where the president was originally supposed to hold a rally that doing so would violate coronavirus rules and their lease agreement. McCarran officials said no one from the Trump campaign or Cirrus Aviation ever asked them about holding a rally.
After failing to arrange alternative venues in the Las Vegas area, the campaign decided to hold the rally indoors at the Xtreme Manufacturing facility, owned by his friend Don Ahern, Trump said.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/in-exclusive-interview-trump-slams-sisolak-defends-indoor-rally-2121257/
Well unfortunately as of right now COVID is one thing that definitely isn’t staying in Vegas. In fact the virus doesn’t care. And you know I remember way back in the early days of the Trump presidency, I predicted that he’d be going full Howard Hughes by the end of his first term. And there’s still time for him to do that! Especially when he’s apparently terrified of the virus behind the scenes, made even more mystifying that he’s been long-rumored to be a germophobe.
The clip was aired Monday evening by Stephen Colbert, the host of CBS’s Late Show, with Woodward appearing virtually as a guest. He called the tape, which was recorded during an April 13 phone call at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, “quite revealing.”
“Bob, it’s so easily transmissible, you wouldn’t even believe it,” Trump said about COVID-19.
“I mean, you could be in the room — I was in the White House a couple of days ago, meeting with 10 people in the Oval Office and a guy sneezed — innocently, not a horrible — you know, just a sneeze,” the president recounted. “The entire room bailed out, OK? Including me, by the way.”
Woodward smiled upon hearing the tape being played and Colbert said he knew Trump was “making light there at the end," adding that at the heart of the recording is “something extraordinarily shocking.”
“Yes,” Woodward replied to the TV host.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/so-easily-transmissible-trump-recounts-room-clearing-sneeze-in-woodward-tape/ar-BB192DYD
“Bob, it’s so easily transmissible, you wouldn’t even believe it,” Trump said about COVID-19.
“I mean, you could be in the room — I was in the White House a couple of days ago, meeting with 10 people in the Oval Office and a guy sneezed — innocently, not a horrible — you know, just a sneeze,” the president recounted. “The entire room bailed out, OK? Including me, by the way.”
Woodward smiled upon hearing the tape being played and Colbert said he knew Trump was “making light there at the end," adding that at the heart of the recording is “something extraordinarily shocking.”
“Yes,” Woodward replied to the TV host.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/so-easily-transmissible-trump-recounts-room-clearing-sneeze-in-woodward-tape/ar-BB192DYD
Yeah that’s one way to *NOT* kill the virus and you might kill someone else in the process. But that said, you can talk all the shit you want about black lives matter, or blue lives matter, or all lives matter. Under the Donald J. Trump administration, we’re in the COVID pandemic, and that means that no lives matter, and this president deliberately put lives in jeopardy for the sake of his massive ego. In case you were wondering, no, it’s not a good thing that Trump did this. Shocker.
Days after Dr. Anthony Fauci said he “didn’t get any sense” that President Donald Trump had willfully distorted information on coronavirus, the top infectious disease expert said it was “not a good thing” that Trump admitted to intentionally downplaying the threat of the virus.
Shortly after audio recordings and excerpts from Bob Woodward’s upcoming Trump book were released, featuring Trump telling the investigative journalist that he knew the virus was airborne and deadly in early February, Fauci told Fox News he didn’t “recall” some quotes attributed to him. Woodward reported that Fauci, as a White House coronavirus task force member, called Trump’s leadership “rudderless” and said the president’s attention span is a “minus number.”
Appearing on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports on Friday, Fauci was pressed by host Andrea Mitchell on the president’s lengthy public stance against social distancing and masks despite acknowledging to Woodward this past winter that the virus was dangerous and contagious.
“Doesn’t that help cause widespread resistance to wearing face coverings?” Mitchell added.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dr-fauci-reacts-to-trumps-woodward-tapes-says-not-a-good-thing-to-downplay-coronavirus-threat
Shortly after audio recordings and excerpts from Bob Woodward’s upcoming Trump book were released, featuring Trump telling the investigative journalist that he knew the virus was airborne and deadly in early February, Fauci told Fox News he didn’t “recall” some quotes attributed to him. Woodward reported that Fauci, as a White House coronavirus task force member, called Trump’s leadership “rudderless” and said the president’s attention span is a “minus number.”
Appearing on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports on Friday, Fauci was pressed by host Andrea Mitchell on the president’s lengthy public stance against social distancing and masks despite acknowledging to Woodward this past winter that the virus was dangerous and contagious.
“Doesn’t that help cause widespread resistance to wearing face coverings?” Mitchell added.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dr-fauci-reacts-to-trumps-woodward-tapes-says-not-a-good-thing-to-downplay-coronavirus-threat
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[font size="8"]The Trump Campaign
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I don’t know about you guys, but I had big plans for this year that got upended by COVID, and I’m sure that you did too. However, just like in 1918 there were fucking idiots abound. But as long as they keep holding events like this, who knows how long the pandemic is going to go on? Well last week, I had to engage in a bit of schadenfreude as it looks like Mother Nature took out her sweet, sweet revenge on the MAGAs. And that MAGA boaters took their support for Dear Leader to new heights in Texas and, my home state of California, to new heights. Unfortunately their attempts are more in line with Das Boot or Titanic than they are Party Boat or Captain Ron. So just how bad was their idea? Well, pretty bad.
Multiple boats have sank and several made distress calls during a "Trump Boat Parade” in Texas, according to law enforcement.
Boats reportedly ran into trouble around 1:20pm (CDT) with several 911 calls made about vessels in distress. Other boats were reportedly sinking while sailing the parade route on Lake Travis.
A spokesperson with the Travis County Sheriff’s department confirmed to CBS Austin that multiple boats have been sinking on the lake.
There was no details about the precise number of boats in distress.
A Facebook page for the event showed that more than 2,000 people were scheduled to attend the parade. An additional 5,000 people said they were interested.
The event encouraged boat owners to bring “boats of all shapes and sizes” to participate in the parade.
Trump memorabilia, such as Make America Great Again flags and Trump/Pence signs, as well as American flags were pictured on many boats in attendance.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-maga-parade-boaters-flotilla-texas-sinking-b404399.html
Boats reportedly ran into trouble around 1:20pm (CDT) with several 911 calls made about vessels in distress. Other boats were reportedly sinking while sailing the parade route on Lake Travis.
A spokesperson with the Travis County Sheriff’s department confirmed to CBS Austin that multiple boats have been sinking on the lake.
There was no details about the precise number of boats in distress.
A Facebook page for the event showed that more than 2,000 people were scheduled to attend the parade. An additional 5,000 people said they were interested.
The event encouraged boat owners to bring “boats of all shapes and sizes” to participate in the parade.
Trump memorabilia, such as Make America Great Again flags and Trump/Pence signs, as well as American flags were pictured on many boats in attendance.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-maga-parade-boaters-flotilla-texas-sinking-b404399.html
I can see Trump as the captain of the Titanic – “Come try our buffets, we have the best buffets. Don’t forget to try your hand at the shuffleboard court, it’s safe to go out there. Don’t panic!”. If this is Das Boot, then maybe this is the MAGA version of Das Boot. DAS BOOT MAGA. And this might be my favorite part of the whole thing – they wanted to break the record for the largest boat parade ever. Well, maybe don’t cover your boat in Trump flags. And if you do, don’t be surprised if your boat tips over. It’s simple physics.
Supporters of President Donald Trump took to their boats, kayaks, and jet skis on Saturday to break a world record.
The rally, which was held in Clearwater, Florida, aimed to break the Guinness World Record for the largest boat parade. The current record-holder is from a 2014 boat parade that took place in Malaysia.
The potentially record-breaking flotilla in Florida was organized by the coffee shop Conservative Grounds.
The organization called it the "MOAB," or "Mother of all Boat Parades," and claimed that 1,600 boats registered for the event.
If every registered boat participated, this would beat the 1,180 boats needed to break the record. According to Gehart, supporters traveled from across Florida and from neighboring states to participate.
Guinness officials are reviewing the footage from the event to determine the exact number of boats, Fox13 reported. In order for a boat to be counted, it needed to pass through Belleair Causeway to the Welch Causey in Clearwater, Florida, according to the organizer's website.
https://www.insider.com/trump-supporters-attempt-break-guinness-world-record-largest-boat-parade-2020-8
The rally, which was held in Clearwater, Florida, aimed to break the Guinness World Record for the largest boat parade. The current record-holder is from a 2014 boat parade that took place in Malaysia.
The potentially record-breaking flotilla in Florida was organized by the coffee shop Conservative Grounds.
The organization called it the "MOAB," or "Mother of all Boat Parades," and claimed that 1,600 boats registered for the event.
If every registered boat participated, this would beat the 1,180 boats needed to break the record. According to Gehart, supporters traveled from across Florida and from neighboring states to participate.
Guinness officials are reviewing the footage from the event to determine the exact number of boats, Fox13 reported. In order for a boat to be counted, it needed to pass through Belleair Causeway to the Welch Causey in Clearwater, Florida, according to the organizer's website.
https://www.insider.com/trump-supporters-attempt-break-guinness-world-record-largest-boat-parade-2020-8
Oh and here’s where it gets weird. Because it’s Trump, you knew it was going to. Not only did boats sink in Texas, they also sank in Oregon and Wisconsin, and they keep sinking because once again MAGA boat owners don’t understand things like physics and science. Because if you overload your boat with a bunch of MAGA flags, you’re gonna have a bad time. It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?
The president loves his “beautiful boaters,” his well-off, pleasure-craft-owning supporters who, since early May, have held nautical parades in his honor. Throughout the summer, Trump has cited his popularity among small boat owners as proof that he is actually ahead in the presidential race. “Are we polling the boaters yet?” he reportedly asked during one June campaign meeting, fixated on a show of support that affirms his popularity among his most ardent backers: wealthy, suburban weekenders who already own several flags with his name on them.
Encouraged by the president’s zeal, boaters have been taking to the nation’s waterways and no-wake zones throughout the summer as a show of pride in their candidate and other related political interests. But some of his supporters have done so with a little too much speed. To date, at least seven boats have capsized or sunk due to the intensity of the wakes at the maritime rallies, as detailed below:
August 17 in Portland, Oregon: One boat sunk.
On the Willamette River just north of the Burnside Bridge in Portland, a small motorboat that was not involved with the August 17 boater parade capsized due to the many rocking wakes
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/boats-keep-sinking-and-capsizing-at-the-trump-boat-parades.html
Encouraged by the president’s zeal, boaters have been taking to the nation’s waterways and no-wake zones throughout the summer as a show of pride in their candidate and other related political interests. But some of his supporters have done so with a little too much speed. To date, at least seven boats have capsized or sunk due to the intensity of the wakes at the maritime rallies, as detailed below:
August 17 in Portland, Oregon: One boat sunk.
On the Willamette River just north of the Burnside Bridge in Portland, a small motorboat that was not involved with the August 17 boater parade capsized due to the many rocking wakes
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/boats-keep-sinking-and-capsizing-at-the-trump-boat-parades.html
Ah I miss that show. But my favorite thing about this is that there are some creative people out there, and that when the word got out about this on social media, they started spinning it. The best part of this whole thing? Instead of calling it “Dunkirk” after the Christopher Nolan WWII movie, they called it “Dumbkirk”. Yes, there are still a lot of very funny people on social media!
When choppy waters swamped five boats in Saturday’s Lake Travis boat parade in support of President Donald Trump, the internet heard the distress call and responded with a boatload of memes and quips.
The trending hashtag #Dumbkirk became a safe harbor for those not necessarily on board with the president’s re-election campaign. Many incorporated a photo by freelance photographer Bob Daemmerich, who was covering the event for the Austin American-Statesman. The image was featured on the newspaper’s front page Sunday and was among 30 photos documenting the event, which featured hundreds of boats on the lake west of Austin.
Before things turned bad on Lake Travis, Trump himself tweeted a GIF from one of many boat parades this weekend. (It was unclear which parade the video was from, and Trump did not mention the Lake Travis parade or problems directly.)
By Saturday night, after news of the problems on Lake Travis went worldwide, the meme-makers and photoshoppers took the helm.
https://www.statesman.com/news/20200906/lsquowersquore-gonna-need-bigger-votersquo-how-dumbkirk-swamped-internet
The trending hashtag #Dumbkirk became a safe harbor for those not necessarily on board with the president’s re-election campaign. Many incorporated a photo by freelance photographer Bob Daemmerich, who was covering the event for the Austin American-Statesman. The image was featured on the newspaper’s front page Sunday and was among 30 photos documenting the event, which featured hundreds of boats on the lake west of Austin.
Before things turned bad on Lake Travis, Trump himself tweeted a GIF from one of many boat parades this weekend. (It was unclear which parade the video was from, and Trump did not mention the Lake Travis parade or problems directly.)
By Saturday night, after news of the problems on Lake Travis went worldwide, the meme-makers and photoshoppers took the helm.
https://www.statesman.com/news/20200906/lsquowersquore-gonna-need-bigger-votersquo-how-dumbkirk-swamped-internet
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[font size="8"]Kanye For President
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While our presidential choices are once again down to old white guy vs old white guy, the one guy who isn’t one of those isn’t really exactly going anywhere. I’m talking about Kanye West and his extremely ill-advised plan to help Trump and hurt Biden in the 2020 election. Hey Kanye, we’re onto you. And we are not going to let you derail this election the way countless Jill Steins, Ralph Naders, and Ross Perots have done in the past. But here’s the thing – many people want to know the answer to the most pressing question of 2020 – is Yeezy for real? Well, he is the most real person you might ever know to actually exist. And for the other? He’s a super genius just like his hero Trump is! Yeah put the two of them in the same room and you have an ego capable of crushing the planet.
The last 48 hours have presented a series of new challenges for Kanye West’s haphazard campaign for president.
In a span of two days, West was booted from the ballot in five states: Illinois, Montana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In Illinois, Montana, and West Virginia, it was because he filed an insufficient number of valid signatures. In Wisconsin, it was because West did not file on time. In Ohio, the information and signature on West’s nominating petition and his statement of candidacy did not match those on petitions circulated to be signed.
West has filed in several other states in this week: Louisiana, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Virginia, but it is unclear if he will ultimately qualify to appear on the ballot in all of them.
West may face particular issues in Virginia, where seven of the 13 electors that West submitted told Intelligencer they were either unaware that they signed up to cast electoral votes on his behalf, or that they had signed notarized paperwork connected to the rapper’s presidential bid at all.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/kanye-wests-campaign-is-both-proceeding-and-unraveling.html
In a span of two days, West was booted from the ballot in five states: Illinois, Montana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In Illinois, Montana, and West Virginia, it was because he filed an insufficient number of valid signatures. In Wisconsin, it was because West did not file on time. In Ohio, the information and signature on West’s nominating petition and his statement of candidacy did not match those on petitions circulated to be signed.
West has filed in several other states in this week: Louisiana, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Virginia, but it is unclear if he will ultimately qualify to appear on the ballot in all of them.
West may face particular issues in Virginia, where seven of the 13 electors that West submitted told Intelligencer they were either unaware that they signed up to cast electoral votes on his behalf, or that they had signed notarized paperwork connected to the rapper’s presidential bid at all.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/kanye-wests-campaign-is-both-proceeding-and-unraveling.html
Really why is he so obsessed with that? But that brings me to my next point – he will be lucky if he snags any votes away from Biden because this is his My Beautiful Dark Presidential Twisted Fantasy. And yes I added the “president” part of it because like Trump he thinks he can play president and get away with it too! Well, I think we’ve had enough of vanity candidates because he’s still getting kicked off the ballot in many states.
Two Virginia residents are suing to keep rapper and producer Kanye West's name off the state's ballot in November, saying they were duped into signing on as electors for West.
The lawsuit, brought this week by a prominent Democratic firm, is the latest legal fight involving West's unorthodox candidacy for the White House. The music and fashion mogul has not mounted a traditional campaign, and GOP figures around the country have emerged to assist him in gaining access to state ballots. That has fueled speculation among Democrats that Republicans are promoting West's candidacy in an effort to siphon Black votes from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in key states.
In recent days, West's campaign has sued to get on the ballot in two presidential battlegrounds -- Wisconsin and Ohio -- where local authorities have rejected his petitions. This week, the West campaign also sought a preliminary injunction against officials in West Virginia, who invalidated more than 7,000 signatures of the more than 14,000 collected by his campaign.
Those actions have left West 761 signatures shy of the 7,144 needed for inclusion on the ballot, his lawsuit argues.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/02/politics/kanye-west-presidential-bid-legal-challenges/index.html
The lawsuit, brought this week by a prominent Democratic firm, is the latest legal fight involving West's unorthodox candidacy for the White House. The music and fashion mogul has not mounted a traditional campaign, and GOP figures around the country have emerged to assist him in gaining access to state ballots. That has fueled speculation among Democrats that Republicans are promoting West's candidacy in an effort to siphon Black votes from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in key states.
In recent days, West's campaign has sued to get on the ballot in two presidential battlegrounds -- Wisconsin and Ohio -- where local authorities have rejected his petitions. This week, the West campaign also sought a preliminary injunction against officials in West Virginia, who invalidated more than 7,000 signatures of the more than 14,000 collected by his campaign.
Those actions have left West 761 signatures shy of the 7,144 needed for inclusion on the ballot, his lawsuit argues.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/02/politics/kanye-west-presidential-bid-legal-challenges/index.html
Holy crap he’s even taken over our candy canes! But we will tell you a couple of states where Yeezy is on the ballot and where he is not. And where he is on the ballot? Well he’s shockingly on the ballot in Mississippi and North Carolina but he’s not on the ballot in states like California. Yeah we are onto his game here. But one thing – his presidential aspirations are falling just a bit short.
So far, Kanye West has spent nearly $7 million of his own money on what continues to be one of the most befuddling presidential bids in the history of American politics.
An overdue campaign-finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission on the Friday of the holiday weekend provided new insight into what, exactly, the rapper is doing. So far, those millions have made West likely to appear on the ballot in at least 12 states — including swing states like Minnesota and Iowa.
There is also ongoing litigation in five other states where he still hopes to make the cut. The most remarkable case is in Virginia, where a number of electors for West were unaware that they had signed paperwork to be his electors. In what was almost certainly a first in American history, two electors for West successfully sued to have the candidate removed from the ballot in the state on Thursday. In a statement to Intelligencer, Gregg Keller, the top strategist for the West campaign, described the decision as “a typical, tired political show trial” and insisted the campaign would appeal.
The issues were slightly more pedestrian in the swing state of Arizona, where West was also thrown off the ballot Thursday after a local judge ruled that the rapper’s Republican voter registration in Wyoming disqualified him from running as an independent presidential candidate in the Grand Canyon State as a matter of state law. The West campaign’s lawyer in Arizona, Tim LaSota, has since appealed the decision to the state supreme court.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/kanye-wests-nearly-7-million-dollar-campaign-hits-legal-snags.html
An overdue campaign-finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission on the Friday of the holiday weekend provided new insight into what, exactly, the rapper is doing. So far, those millions have made West likely to appear on the ballot in at least 12 states — including swing states like Minnesota and Iowa.
There is also ongoing litigation in five other states where he still hopes to make the cut. The most remarkable case is in Virginia, where a number of electors for West were unaware that they had signed paperwork to be his electors. In what was almost certainly a first in American history, two electors for West successfully sued to have the candidate removed from the ballot in the state on Thursday. In a statement to Intelligencer, Gregg Keller, the top strategist for the West campaign, described the decision as “a typical, tired political show trial” and insisted the campaign would appeal.
The issues were slightly more pedestrian in the swing state of Arizona, where West was also thrown off the ballot Thursday after a local judge ruled that the rapper’s Republican voter registration in Wyoming disqualified him from running as an independent presidential candidate in the Grand Canyon State as a matter of state law. The West campaign’s lawyer in Arizona, Tim LaSota, has since appealed the decision to the state supreme court.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/kanye-wests-nearly-7-million-dollar-campaign-hits-legal-snags.html
I could totally see that working in real life. But Kanye is still one of the craziest mofos out there and he will not rest! That’s right, he’s one of the hardest working guys out there and I can imagine if he’s president that one of his first actions would be to take down Universal Records. Yeah after Trump, do we really need a guy who thinks that he’s the next Moses as the president? No, we need the adults back in charge, and we need it now!
Kanye West claimed he’s “not putting no more music out till I’m done with my contract with Sony and Universal” on Twitter Monday night.
“Vivendi family I’m in Calabassas,” he then tweeted, apparently trying to reach the French conglomerate that owns Universal. West’s GOOD label, as well as Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam, which put out the bulk of his records before the GOOD imprint was established, are all owned by Universal.
“I need a [public] apology from J Cole and Drake to start with immediately,” he continued in a separate tweet, adding, “I’m Nat Turner … I’m fighting for us.”
“I’m the 2nd richest black man in America,” another tweet added, though West eventually deleted that one. “I need all my people with me for us to get free.”
“I’m waiting to meet with [Shawn] Carter also,” West then tweeted, referring to Jay-Z.
https://pagesix.com/2020/09/14/kanye-west-says-he-wont-release-any-new-music-on-sony-universal/
“Vivendi family I’m in Calabassas,” he then tweeted, apparently trying to reach the French conglomerate that owns Universal. West’s GOOD label, as well as Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam, which put out the bulk of his records before the GOOD imprint was established, are all owned by Universal.
“I need a [public] apology from J Cole and Drake to start with immediately,” he continued in a separate tweet, adding, “I’m Nat Turner … I’m fighting for us.”
“I’m the 2nd richest black man in America,” another tweet added, though West eventually deleted that one. “I need all my people with me for us to get free.”
“I’m waiting to meet with [Shawn] Carter also,” West then tweeted, referring to Jay-Z.
https://pagesix.com/2020/09/14/kanye-west-says-he-wont-release-any-new-music-on-sony-universal/
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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: COVID on Campus
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It’s time to investigate beyond the headlines! This is Top 10 Investigates!
It’s back to school time, but this year it’s different. The Coronavirus Disease of 2019, or COVID-19, is still raging through the populace. Which begs the question – is it safe to go back to school in the middle of a raging pandemic? The answers are ranging from a “no” to “hell no”. Which conflicts with the president’s message of things being OK enough to go back to school. But where are the problems going to lie? Well the biggest mystery so far surrounds student housing. How do you control the pandemic with students going from the dorms to campus and where community showers and sinks make containing the virus impossible? The president wants all schools open because that’s what he thinks we should be doing, and we should be doing that. But we are in the worst pandemic in 100 years and it’s a growing challenge for school deans everywhere.
Cases of coronavirus are spiking on university campuses, leaving administrators with two unappealing options: Quarantine students in dorms, or send them home.
The University of Alabama said it had recently posted university police officers at its quarantine dorms while Notre Dame said it had hired guards to monitor students in quarantine in hotels and off-campus apartments. And perhaps unsurprisingly, many schools are having trouble running what are essentially disease containment units.
At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Brianna Hayes was assigned to a quarantine dorm after developing a fever. Two days later, the university informed her that she had tested positive and would need to move again, to a Covid-19 isolation dorm.
There was no university staff in the dorm to help sick students, Ms. Hayes said, and no elevator. Feverish and exhausted from the virus, she made four trips up and down staircases to move her bedding and other belongings to her isolation room. During her week in isolation, she said, no one from the university came to check on her.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/us/schools-reopening-coronavirus.html
The University of Alabama said it had recently posted university police officers at its quarantine dorms while Notre Dame said it had hired guards to monitor students in quarantine in hotels and off-campus apartments. And perhaps unsurprisingly, many schools are having trouble running what are essentially disease containment units.
At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Brianna Hayes was assigned to a quarantine dorm after developing a fever. Two days later, the university informed her that she had tested positive and would need to move again, to a Covid-19 isolation dorm.
There was no university staff in the dorm to help sick students, Ms. Hayes said, and no elevator. Feverish and exhausted from the virus, she made four trips up and down staircases to move her bedding and other belongings to her isolation room. During her week in isolation, she said, no one from the university came to check on her.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/us/schools-reopening-coronavirus.html
That’s probably the safest way to live in the age of COVID right now. But as of right now there. But in reality there are no good options for reopening schools right now. Putting kids back in the classroom puts both kids and teachers at risk. Making everyone go online makes it hard to track students. And everyone is at risk whether they are a student or not because of the very real possibility of the virus being harder to contain.
Although the risk is lower, it is not nonexistent. The AAP report, which includes data from 44 states, notes that a small percentage of this age group—between 0.2 and 8.8 percent of child COVID-19 cases—did require hospitalization. The same report indicates that 19 of the states reported no deaths among children, and the highest rate of pediatric deaths was 0.6 percent of cases. But if the total number of infections in this age group rises, the number of those that develop a severe case would likely increase as well.
Children also might pass the coronavirus to adults, who tend to have much more severe symptoms. Teachers, janitors, bus drivers and others must all spend significant amounts of time with students in enclosed spaces, where they are at a relatively high risk of contracting COVID-19 from children (as well as one another). Before students even entered public school buildings in Gwinnett County in Georgia, 260 employees who attended planning meetings either tested positive for COVID-19 or had had contact with someone else who had. In Santa Clara, Calif., 40 school officials took part in an indoor meeting. Days later, one of the officials received a positive COVID-19 test—and as a result of that person’s exposure, the other attendees had to go into quarantine. Many school employees fear that returning to the classroom will put their life, and the lives of their loved ones, at very real risk.
“The issue we need to worry about is whether or not [children are] vectors,” says Helen Jenkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University School of Public Health. The science on how much children transmit the coronavirus is not settled. Some data suggest, Jenkins says, that “those infected are half as likely as adults to transmit to others.” Dooley notes that “we also are seeing increasing data that [children] don’t tend to be spreaders, so they’re not necessarily passing it to other children or other adults in their household or their community—from the data that we have so far.” But other data indicate children older than 10 can act as vectors. A study in Emerging Infectious Diseases, published online in July, analyzed contact-tracing reports for nearly 6,000 coronavirus patients in South Korea and found those aged 10 to 19 spread the virus as much as adults did.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/schools-have-no-good-options-for-reopening-during-covid-19/
Children also might pass the coronavirus to adults, who tend to have much more severe symptoms. Teachers, janitors, bus drivers and others must all spend significant amounts of time with students in enclosed spaces, where they are at a relatively high risk of contracting COVID-19 from children (as well as one another). Before students even entered public school buildings in Gwinnett County in Georgia, 260 employees who attended planning meetings either tested positive for COVID-19 or had had contact with someone else who had. In Santa Clara, Calif., 40 school officials took part in an indoor meeting. Days later, one of the officials received a positive COVID-19 test—and as a result of that person’s exposure, the other attendees had to go into quarantine. Many school employees fear that returning to the classroom will put their life, and the lives of their loved ones, at very real risk.
“The issue we need to worry about is whether or not [children are] vectors,” says Helen Jenkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University School of Public Health. The science on how much children transmit the coronavirus is not settled. Some data suggest, Jenkins says, that “those infected are half as likely as adults to transmit to others.” Dooley notes that “we also are seeing increasing data that [children] don’t tend to be spreaders, so they’re not necessarily passing it to other children or other adults in their household or their community—from the data that we have so far.” But other data indicate children older than 10 can act as vectors. A study in Emerging Infectious Diseases, published online in July, analyzed contact-tracing reports for nearly 6,000 coronavirus patients in South Korea and found those aged 10 to 19 spread the virus as much as adults did.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/schools-have-no-good-options-for-reopening-during-covid-19/
Again that’s not how you contain the virus! And contrary to the growing argument that it only affects senior citizens and those who have immune deficiencies, those more likely to get the most serious COVID cases are children, and that means that if children can get it literally anyone can get it. Because it’s a novel virus and that means that we’re all immune until we come up with cures and vaccines, which probably wont be until next year.
With millions of American children soon returning to school, a new study shows that at least 97,000 kids were infected with COVID-19 during the last two weeks of July.
According to the new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association, at least 338,000 U.S. children had tested positive through July 30, The New York Times reported. That means that more than a quarter of those cases had come up positive in the second half of July alone.
Already, some schools have tried to reopen and then had to order quarantines or close after COVID-19 cases were reported among students and staff, the Times reported. North Paulding High School in Georgia, which gained national attention last week after videos of crowded hallways made their way onto social media, announced Sunday it would switch to online instruction for Monday and Tuesday after at least nine coronavirus cases were reported there.
In the new report, states in the South and West accounted for more than 7 of 10 infections. The count could be higher because the report did not include complete data from Texas and parts of New York State outside of New York City.
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-08-10/as-schools-reopen-report-shows-97-000-us-kids-infected-with-covid-in-late-july
According to the new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association, at least 338,000 U.S. children had tested positive through July 30, The New York Times reported. That means that more than a quarter of those cases had come up positive in the second half of July alone.
Already, some schools have tried to reopen and then had to order quarantines or close after COVID-19 cases were reported among students and staff, the Times reported. North Paulding High School in Georgia, which gained national attention last week after videos of crowded hallways made their way onto social media, announced Sunday it would switch to online instruction for Monday and Tuesday after at least nine coronavirus cases were reported there.
In the new report, states in the South and West accounted for more than 7 of 10 infections. The count could be higher because the report did not include complete data from Texas and parts of New York State outside of New York City.
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-08-10/as-schools-reopen-report-shows-97-000-us-kids-infected-with-covid-in-late-july
So your campus has the potential to be a super spreader event. *CUE HORROR MUSIC* And by the way if you’re thinking of holding that party or planning that backyard barbecue, just remember that this could have a stemming effect on your community. Because they can trace it back to YOU. And your party, and there goes your school’s plans being canceled. So think that every action you have during COVID will have a reaction.
Colleges aren't the only schools that have had to close their doors soon after reopening.
And in some cases, school officials are laying the blame for their changing plans on families in their communities, where graduation and end-of-summer parties prompted spikes in positive COVID-19 cases.
That's what happened in the Carle Place School District in Long Island, New York, where Superintendent Christine A. Finn announced school would start with remote learning last Wednesday rather than in person.
"We have no choice but to put the safety of our staff and students first," she said in a letter that connected many of the new positive COVID-19 cases in the community to attendance at parties where some who tested positive had close contact with students.
"As we are learning the hard way, the actions of a few can impact the many," she said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/09/13/covid-cases-schools-back-to-school-fall-semester/5694385002/
And in some cases, school officials are laying the blame for their changing plans on families in their communities, where graduation and end-of-summer parties prompted spikes in positive COVID-19 cases.
That's what happened in the Carle Place School District in Long Island, New York, where Superintendent Christine A. Finn announced school would start with remote learning last Wednesday rather than in person.
"We have no choice but to put the safety of our staff and students first," she said in a letter that connected many of the new positive COVID-19 cases in the community to attendance at parties where some who tested positive had close contact with students.
"As we are learning the hard way, the actions of a few can impact the many," she said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/09/13/covid-cases-schools-back-to-school-fall-semester/5694385002/
That’s it this week for Top 10 Investigates. Good day!
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[font size="8"]Holy Shit
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Gather around my fair brothers and sisters! It’s time to take a seat in the virtual pew make an online donation in the LAWRD’s VENMO collection plate, for the Holy Church Of The Top 10 has convened and it’s time to remind you that the holiest among us are the most full of:
My fair virtual congregation! Unfortunately we are still unable to bring you the full and proper Holy Shit that you know and love and we are still broadcasting from this white void. So that means no gospel choir and no Blues Brothers style theatrics. But what we can bring you is our commentary on all things religious and man they are just growing batshit insane. Well you know there are DAYMONS among us in the Deep State! Yes, we’re allowed to talk politics here in my church, because why not? Well there’s a movement in the GOP called “Q Anon” and they are out to get witches! Yes, they are convinced by GAWD that witches walk among us! What year is this? 1687?
Are demons active forces in American life and politics? That is what a large number of evangelicals in the US believe and are increasingly vocal about.
Since the 1980s, growing numbers of evangelicals have given the fight against demons a key role in their spirituality and their politics. Known as “spiritual warfare”, this views demons as central actors in world politics and everyday life. While often seen as fringe, belief in spiritual warfare is common across denominational lines, including among evangelicals close to Donald Trump such as Robert Jeffress and the president’s spiritual advisor, Paula White.
A key idea in spiritual warfare is that demons don’t only attack people, as in depictions of demonic possession, but also take control of places and institutions, such as journalism, academia, and both municipal and federal bureaucracies. By doing so, demons are framed as advancing social projects that spiritual warriors see as opposing God’s plans. These include advances in reproductive and LGBTQ rights and tolerance for non-Christian religions (especially Islam).
In a recent article published in the journal Religion, I explore how these ideas about demons combine with the wider Christian nationalism shown to be prevalent among Trump’s support base. Through a survey of conservative evangelical literature, articles, and television and radio broadcasts released between 2016 and 2018, I analyse how their authors used discourses of spiritual warfare to navigate the changing political reality, and Trump’s victory and presidency in particular.
https://www.themandarin.com.au/139744-demons-of-the-deep-state-how-evangelicals-and-conspiracy-theories-combine-in-trumps-america/
Since the 1980s, growing numbers of evangelicals have given the fight against demons a key role in their spirituality and their politics. Known as “spiritual warfare”, this views demons as central actors in world politics and everyday life. While often seen as fringe, belief in spiritual warfare is common across denominational lines, including among evangelicals close to Donald Trump such as Robert Jeffress and the president’s spiritual advisor, Paula White.
A key idea in spiritual warfare is that demons don’t only attack people, as in depictions of demonic possession, but also take control of places and institutions, such as journalism, academia, and both municipal and federal bureaucracies. By doing so, demons are framed as advancing social projects that spiritual warriors see as opposing God’s plans. These include advances in reproductive and LGBTQ rights and tolerance for non-Christian religions (especially Islam).
In a recent article published in the journal Religion, I explore how these ideas about demons combine with the wider Christian nationalism shown to be prevalent among Trump’s support base. Through a survey of conservative evangelical literature, articles, and television and radio broadcasts released between 2016 and 2018, I analyse how their authors used discourses of spiritual warfare to navigate the changing political reality, and Trump’s victory and presidency in particular.
https://www.themandarin.com.au/139744-demons-of-the-deep-state-how-evangelicals-and-conspiracy-theories-combine-in-trumps-america/
Yes! Because only witches and DAYMONS would light their cigarettes on fire after being burned at the stake! But since we are on the subject of Satanic Witchcraft, we have an actual cult in the making and it’s a cult without central leadership. Their meeting place is online and their leader is only known as Q, and they spout such mindless slogans as “Where We Go One We Go All!”.
QAnon has been making headlines in recent weeks. It's going to make more.
QAnon is, among many things, an expansive conspiracy theory built around the idea that a "deep state," or cabal of elite leftists, is clandestinely working against President Donald Trump. A person (or small group) known as "Q" drops revelations in various forms online. At the core of the appeal is its ability to generate fear. Suggesting that there is a powerful figure or group subverting the country and empowering all manner of evil is frightening.
Some of the headlines about QAnon in recent days have connected it with evangelical Christians. In addition, many proponents describe their mission in religious and quasi-religious terms.
Legitimizing a new religion?
Some talk about QAnon as if some messianic figure is at work. Similar to the ancient heresy of Gnosticism in the early church, it lures people with promises of secret knowledge. It provides a sense of identity and belonging with code phrases like, "Where we go one, where we go all." Many people, including active church members, are being drawn in.
QAnon is starting to shift things in ways that will particularly impact churches. According to a recent NPR article, many pastors believe it already has.
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinion/2020/09/05/qanon-and-evangelicals-its-time-address-qanoners-column/5717300002/
QAnon is, among many things, an expansive conspiracy theory built around the idea that a "deep state," or cabal of elite leftists, is clandestinely working against President Donald Trump. A person (or small group) known as "Q" drops revelations in various forms online. At the core of the appeal is its ability to generate fear. Suggesting that there is a powerful figure or group subverting the country and empowering all manner of evil is frightening.
Some of the headlines about QAnon in recent days have connected it with evangelical Christians. In addition, many proponents describe their mission in religious and quasi-religious terms.
Legitimizing a new religion?
Some talk about QAnon as if some messianic figure is at work. Similar to the ancient heresy of Gnosticism in the early church, it lures people with promises of secret knowledge. It provides a sense of identity and belonging with code phrases like, "Where we go one, where we go all." Many people, including active church members, are being drawn in.
QAnon is starting to shift things in ways that will particularly impact churches. According to a recent NPR article, many pastors believe it already has.
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinion/2020/09/05/qanon-and-evangelicals-its-time-address-qanoners-column/5717300002/
But how do you cast out something unwanted? We can’t congregate in public right now, so dark minds are going to become even darker. They worship the unholy, ungodly Dark One, whose name shall not be spoken in my virtual church! And since we can talk politics in my church, actual priests are talking politics, and they don’t have kind words to say about us who are fighting every day for truth and injustice! Dare I say this is a bit… demonic?
Two renegade priests: one calls COVID sham, one says Dems face hell
The Rev. James Altman, a priest in La Crosse, Wis., appeared in a video posted on YouTube, calling Catholic Democrats "Godless" hypocrites doomed to hell — a video, produced by a Minnesota conservative media news outlet, that now has received 655,000 clicks.
The Rev. Robert Altier delivered a fiery sermon earlier this month, labeling COVID-19 an evil, man-made conspiracy and telling his Catholic congregation in Crystal that “we’ve been lied to.”
That came just days after the Rev. James Altman, a priest in La Crosse, Wis., appeared in a video posted on YouTube, calling Catholic Democrats “Godless” hypocrites doomed to hell — a video, produced by a Minnesota conservative media news outlet, that now has received 655,000 clicks.
Catholic priests — as with all faith leaders — are supposed to steer clear of endorsing political leaders, at minimum, from the pulpit. But the two incendiary speeches reveal that the country’s polarized political climate is drifting through some church doors.
Read more: https://www.startribune.com/two-renegade-priests-one-calls-covid-sham-one-says-dems-face-hell/572411762/?om_rid=103169417673&om_mid=1283603913
The Rev. James Altman, a priest in La Crosse, Wis., appeared in a video posted on YouTube, calling Catholic Democrats "Godless" hypocrites doomed to hell — a video, produced by a Minnesota conservative media news outlet, that now has received 655,000 clicks.
The Rev. Robert Altier delivered a fiery sermon earlier this month, labeling COVID-19 an evil, man-made conspiracy and telling his Catholic congregation in Crystal that “we’ve been lied to.”
That came just days after the Rev. James Altman, a priest in La Crosse, Wis., appeared in a video posted on YouTube, calling Catholic Democrats “Godless” hypocrites doomed to hell — a video, produced by a Minnesota conservative media news outlet, that now has received 655,000 clicks.
Catholic priests — as with all faith leaders — are supposed to steer clear of endorsing political leaders, at minimum, from the pulpit. But the two incendiary speeches reveal that the country’s polarized political climate is drifting through some church doors.
Read more: https://www.startribune.com/two-renegade-priests-one-calls-covid-sham-one-says-dems-face-hell/572411762/?om_rid=103169417673&om_mid=1283603913
Seriously where is that woman when you need her? But really if online is replacing reality, what would it take to stop a fake religion from replacing a real one? Q Anon has no tenants. It has no central leadership. It has no weekly sermons. It has no pastors or preachers. But what it does have is a bunch of batshit insanity. And it’s going to take a lot to deprogram these cult members!
Remember the “Left Behind” series, about how the Rapture would whisk away all devout right-wing Christians before Jesus Christ unleashed the apocalypse on the unbelievers? Purity rings? Jesus Camp? Breathless stories about “girls gone mild,” giving up sex and tank tops for the Lord? A federal health official who believed that women who had premarital sex couldn’t feel love? Jerry Falwell Sr. and Pat Robertson blaming 9/11 on the “pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way”?
There can be no doubt that the heyday of Christian fundamentalism in America was the George W. Bush administration. Conservatives craved reassurance that they were defenders of “morality”, despite supporting an indefensible invasion of Iraq that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. These claims to moral superiority over liberals mainly came in the form of policing hymen status, harassing women at abortion clinics and claiming a right to Christian forgiveness (for yourself) when caught with prostitutes or soliciting gay sex in public bathrooms.
White evangelicals still hold considerable political power, which is why Donald Trump occasionally tries to get photographed fondling a Bible in ways he vainly hopes are convincing. Abortion and LGBTQ rights are still under serious threat, as the Christian right has made major inroads into the federal judiciary.
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/white-evangelicalism-is-in-decline-and-qanon-could-take-its-place/
There can be no doubt that the heyday of Christian fundamentalism in America was the George W. Bush administration. Conservatives craved reassurance that they were defenders of “morality”, despite supporting an indefensible invasion of Iraq that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. These claims to moral superiority over liberals mainly came in the form of policing hymen status, harassing women at abortion clinics and claiming a right to Christian forgiveness (for yourself) when caught with prostitutes or soliciting gay sex in public bathrooms.
White evangelicals still hold considerable political power, which is why Donald Trump occasionally tries to get photographed fondling a Bible in ways he vainly hopes are convincing. Abortion and LGBTQ rights are still under serious threat, as the Christian right has made major inroads into the federal judiciary.
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/white-evangelicalism-is-in-decline-and-qanon-could-take-its-place/
Yes, we’re dealing with some absolutely crazy people here and we need to deprogram them as soon as possible! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]This Fucking Guy: Louis De Joy
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This week’s This Fucking Guy is the self-appointed and self-proclaimed Postmaster General of the United States, Louis De Joy. Oh wait, he’s the actual Postmaster? Yeah. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of a raging pandemic that has ravaged this country. We’re also in the middle of the presidential election that could and should unseat Donald J. Trump. Now what should normally be a no-brainer in the middle of the raging pandemic is to allow people to vote by mail. But nope, President “Voter Fraud” is screaming that voter fraud is a very real possibility but in reality it’s not exactly what you might think, but is a fraud is how Louis De Joy actually got the Postmaster General job.
Louis DeJoy boosted his giving to Republican political campaigns as the job of U.S. Postmaster General became available, a researcher told Congress.
DeJoy, who now holds the position, gave President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee more than $600,000 over eight weeks after the opening was announced, Lisa Graves, executive director of True North Research, which investigates the influence of money on public policy, said in written testimony submitted to a panel of the House Oversight Committee in advance of a hearing Monday.
In the 2019-2020 cycle, DeJoy has given more than $1.5 million to GOP candidates and campaigns, the bulk of which has gone to aid Trump’s 2020 election strategy, Graves said. The sum includes nearly $80,000 to aid GOP Senate races since last December, when the former Postmaster General announced she would resign.
“This level of partisanship,” Graves said in written testimony, “undermines public trust in the Postal Service as an institution.”
Representative Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat who is chairman of the panel, said the hearing would help fill out a portrait of DeJoy. “We have a crony at the helm of our nation’s Postal Service, a man rife with conflicts of interest and potential violations of law,” Connolly said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-14/dejoy-gave-600-000-to-gop-after-postmaster-job-opened-up
DeJoy, who now holds the position, gave President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee more than $600,000 over eight weeks after the opening was announced, Lisa Graves, executive director of True North Research, which investigates the influence of money on public policy, said in written testimony submitted to a panel of the House Oversight Committee in advance of a hearing Monday.
In the 2019-2020 cycle, DeJoy has given more than $1.5 million to GOP candidates and campaigns, the bulk of which has gone to aid Trump’s 2020 election strategy, Graves said. The sum includes nearly $80,000 to aid GOP Senate races since last December, when the former Postmaster General announced she would resign.
“This level of partisanship,” Graves said in written testimony, “undermines public trust in the Postal Service as an institution.”
Representative Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat who is chairman of the panel, said the hearing would help fill out a portrait of DeJoy. “We have a crony at the helm of our nation’s Postal Service, a man rife with conflicts of interest and potential violations of law,” Connolly said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-14/dejoy-gave-600-000-to-gop-after-postmaster-job-opened-up
Newman!!! Actually, Louis DeJoy could be just like Newman in that Newman is a character with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. You see, hiring a Postmaster General to destroy the Post Office is like your alcoholic friend hiring a guy named Jack Daniels to do his dry cleaning. You know he did it just for the thrill and it’s a very obvious sign that he has a fucking problem! But the problems that DeJoy is facing continue to mount and it’s the stuff of impending doom.
Scrutiny of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy intensified on Monday amid new reports alleging improper business dealings and persistent charges that the longtime Republican donor is subverting postal operations in order to make mail-in voting difficult in November’s presidential election.
“I am calling on Mr. DeJoy to be fired or resign,” government watchdog Lisa Graves told lawmakers on Monday morning, during a briefing on postal operations before the House Oversight Committee. True North Research, the organization Graves heads, found that DeJoy — who runs a North Carolina shipping firm — had been sued by his brother Dominick for allegedly siphoning money from the trucking company founded by their father.
Unknown nationally until this summer, DeJoy has become a key figure in the debate over how people should vote in November’s presidential election. Although that decision is ultimately up to individual states, voting by mail is impossible without a properly functioning postal service. That is the purview of the federal government.
President Trump has insisted, incorrectly, that voting by mail is subject to widespread fraud. Critics say the charges amount to a national voter suppression effort — one that, those critics say, DeJoy is abetting. Installed to run the U.S. Postal Service in June, DeJoy donated $1.2 million to the Trump Victory Fund. He has also been a consistent supporter of GOP in North Carolina, where he lives. The state’s Republican Party has been accused of being on the leading edge of efforts to suppress voters, particularly African-Americans in particular.
https://news.yahoo.com/scrutiny-of-postmaster-general-louis-de-joy-intensifies-230112268.html
“I am calling on Mr. DeJoy to be fired or resign,” government watchdog Lisa Graves told lawmakers on Monday morning, during a briefing on postal operations before the House Oversight Committee. True North Research, the organization Graves heads, found that DeJoy — who runs a North Carolina shipping firm — had been sued by his brother Dominick for allegedly siphoning money from the trucking company founded by their father.
Unknown nationally until this summer, DeJoy has become a key figure in the debate over how people should vote in November’s presidential election. Although that decision is ultimately up to individual states, voting by mail is impossible without a properly functioning postal service. That is the purview of the federal government.
President Trump has insisted, incorrectly, that voting by mail is subject to widespread fraud. Critics say the charges amount to a national voter suppression effort — one that, those critics say, DeJoy is abetting. Installed to run the U.S. Postal Service in June, DeJoy donated $1.2 million to the Trump Victory Fund. He has also been a consistent supporter of GOP in North Carolina, where he lives. The state’s Republican Party has been accused of being on the leading edge of efforts to suppress voters, particularly African-Americans in particular.
https://news.yahoo.com/scrutiny-of-postmaster-general-louis-de-joy-intensifies-230112268.html
Mail on Sunday? Oops!! And you know what? While we’re on the subject of DeJoy and the USPS let’s do that thing that Trump fans and Red Pill Truthers do and go down the rabbit hole shall we? So if you were to do a deep dive on this DeJoy character, let’s keep in mind that he is one shady mofo. And he’s just the type of guy that Trump attracts. Because business grifters are going to be business grifters! Hold your boos.
A two-decade-old audit of mail equipment transport contracts by the U.S. Postal Service's inspector general found that a company previously run by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was awarded multiple noncompetitive contracts by the Postal Service that may have cost consumers as much as $53 million more than if they'd been competitively bid.
The 2001 audit found that New Breed Logistics, a supply chain services provider based in North Carolina, was awarded more than $300 million in Postal Service mail equipment transport contracts that could have come in at a much lower price had they been shopped competitively to a range of vendors.
The audit, reviewed by NBC News, made it clear that the premise for awarding any noncompetitive contracts to a single vendor, such as New Breed, "did not fully meet Postal Service requirements" and "potentially exposed the Postal Service to cost and performance risks."
The contracts awarded to New Breed, beginning in 1992, were to operate a pilot mail transport equipment service center in Greensboro, North Carolina. DeJoy was chief executive of New Breed from 1983 to 2014.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/postal-contracts-awarded-dejoy-run-company-were-questioned-2001-postal-n1239990
The 2001 audit found that New Breed Logistics, a supply chain services provider based in North Carolina, was awarded more than $300 million in Postal Service mail equipment transport contracts that could have come in at a much lower price had they been shopped competitively to a range of vendors.
The audit, reviewed by NBC News, made it clear that the premise for awarding any noncompetitive contracts to a single vendor, such as New Breed, "did not fully meet Postal Service requirements" and "potentially exposed the Postal Service to cost and performance risks."
The contracts awarded to New Breed, beginning in 1992, were to operate a pilot mail transport equipment service center in Greensboro, North Carolina. DeJoy was chief executive of New Breed from 1983 to 2014.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/postal-contracts-awarded-dejoy-run-company-were-questioned-2001-postal-n1239990
No, don’t cancel your mail just yet. Because we are going to need it there, Kramer! But Louis DeJoy is one shady character. He’s so shady that even expert witnesses are telling the house that this guy is grossly unqualified to be the Postmaster General. In fact I’m not an expert (shocker) but even I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy has never worked a day in his life at the Post Office. Let’s just ask Newman!
United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy should not have been chosen for his post due to apparent conflicts of interest that made him ineligible, expert witnesses told Congress on Monday.
That is what Richard Painter, a former top ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, and David Fineman, former chairman of the U.S.P.S. Board of Governors under the Bill Clinton and Bush administrations, said before the House Overisight Committee.
DeJoy's $30 million stake in his former logistics company, XPO Logistics, which is a major contractor for the Postal Service and has received $14 million from the agency since DeJoy was appointed in June, should have posed far too great a risk for a criminal financial conflict of interest, the men testified to the House Oversight Committee.
In addition, the witnesses said that if DeJoy had been properly vetted before being appointed by the board of governors, they could have uncovered allegations of potential campaign violations reported by The Washington Post earlier this month.
"You do not get that job if you keep stock in a contractor with your agency," Painter said. "That is a deal breaker because you could go into public office and commit a felony. It would have been a deal breaker in the Bush administration. We would not have nominated, appointed or approved—in any way—a senior Executive Branch official having that conflict of interest."
https://www.newsweek.com/dejoy-never-should-have-been-approved-postmaster-general-expert-witnesses-tell-house-oversight-1531829
That is what Richard Painter, a former top ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, and David Fineman, former chairman of the U.S.P.S. Board of Governors under the Bill Clinton and Bush administrations, said before the House Overisight Committee.
DeJoy's $30 million stake in his former logistics company, XPO Logistics, which is a major contractor for the Postal Service and has received $14 million from the agency since DeJoy was appointed in June, should have posed far too great a risk for a criminal financial conflict of interest, the men testified to the House Oversight Committee.
In addition, the witnesses said that if DeJoy had been properly vetted before being appointed by the board of governors, they could have uncovered allegations of potential campaign violations reported by The Washington Post earlier this month.
"You do not get that job if you keep stock in a contractor with your agency," Painter said. "That is a deal breaker because you could go into public office and commit a felony. It would have been a deal breaker in the Bush administration. We would not have nominated, appointed or approved—in any way—a senior Executive Branch official having that conflict of interest."
https://www.newsweek.com/dejoy-never-should-have-been-approved-postmaster-general-expert-witnesses-tell-house-oversight-1531829
He’s the Postmaster General who should have never been appointed in the first place! That’s Louis DeJoy, this week’s:
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[font size="8"]Beating A Dead Horse
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So the Oscars wants to be less inclusive and more racist? No, they want to be less racist and more inclusive. That’s right, the Academy of Motion Pictures is going full steam with embracing divserity which is going to look great for the 2021 Best Picture nominees since we’re in a pandemic and no movies are getting made or released! How is that going to work? Well, moving onto best pictures when full movie production resumes, you can bet that there’s going to be a lot more people being included in the Best Picture nominations. Where in recent years the Best Picture has been won by… let’s see… white guy, white guy, white guy, a bunch of white guys, and oh yeah white guy. Except for Moonlight and whatever the hell the Shape Of Water is. But enough of my rambling.
The diversity and inclusion initiative has been a heavy focus for the Oscars the past few years, shown by the expansive membership initiative. As part of the Academy Aperture 2025 initiative, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday new representation and inclusion standards in order to be eligible in the best picture category.
For the 94th and 95th Oscars ceremonies, scheduled for 2022 and 2023, a film will submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form to be considered for best picture. Beginning in 2024, for the 96th Oscars, a film submitting for best picture will need to meet the inclusion thresholds by meeting two of the four standards.
All other Academy categories will keep their current eligibility requirements. For categories such as animated feature, documentary feature and international feature, that submit for best picture consideration, they will be addressed separately.
For a number of years, the Academy has struggled to nominate films that are diverse in its cast, directors, and technical craftspeople. In 2016, after they failed to nominate any person of color among their 20 acting nominees, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who was Academy President at the time, took historic action by committing to doubling the number of women and diverse members by 2020, which they have achieved.
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/oscars-inclusion-standards-best-picture-diversity-1234762727/
For the 94th and 95th Oscars ceremonies, scheduled for 2022 and 2023, a film will submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form to be considered for best picture. Beginning in 2024, for the 96th Oscars, a film submitting for best picture will need to meet the inclusion thresholds by meeting two of the four standards.
All other Academy categories will keep their current eligibility requirements. For categories such as animated feature, documentary feature and international feature, that submit for best picture consideration, they will be addressed separately.
For a number of years, the Academy has struggled to nominate films that are diverse in its cast, directors, and technical craftspeople. In 2016, after they failed to nominate any person of color among their 20 acting nominees, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who was Academy President at the time, took historic action by committing to doubling the number of women and diverse members by 2020, which they have achieved.
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/oscars-inclusion-standards-best-picture-diversity-1234762727/
Now you might be asking – “how is this going to work?” and I answer you – I’m pretty sure even the Academy doesn’t know. But the other question is why the hell are we waiting until 2024 to fully implement this criteria? Well that’s probably when we’re going to resume film production. Well I’m hoping that it’s not that long. But the bad thing is this won’t change who wins best picture.
Hollywood has always straddled the line between authenticity and artifice, both onscreen and off. In the old-school studio system, it wasn't unusual for an actor's "real" identity to be as much a work of fiction as the movies he starred in. Backstories were fabricated; facts were massaged; private lives were obscured. Gay stars pretended to be heterosexual playboys, recognizably ethnic surnames were traded for anglicized ones, and mixed-race actors who could pass as white often took pains to do so.
In the next few years, the Hollywood game-playing surrounding identity may well take a new turn, with actors scrambling to classify themselves outside the white, cis, and heterosexual norms that their predecessors hewed to. This week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) handed down a brand new set of diversity and inclusion requirements, which films must start meeting in 2022 (with full rollout in 2024) to be eligible for Best Picture consideration. Those who want a shot at the Oscar will need to make sure their production meets those standards in at least two of the following four categories: "Onscreen Representation, Themes and Narratives," "Creative Leadership and Project Team," "Industry Access and Opportunities," and "Audience Development."
Although this announcement came at a moment when diversity commitments are particularly trendy, anyone who's followed the Oscars and its attendant controversies over the past few years will know that it's been brewing for much longer. It was 2015 when an all-white slate of acting nominees first prompted a viral backlash against the Academy and its yearly awards ceremony, a P.R. nightmare that Hollywood has been clumsily trying to overcome ever since. Prior to now, the biggest initiative was a 2018 mass recruitment of new members, which nudged the Academy's makeup ever so slightly in a more diverse direction while making no real impact on its overall hegemony of white males. Unlike the Academy's other efforts, this latest move carries a whiff of control, not just over Oscars consideration, but over the art itself.
https://reason.com/2020/09/11/the-oscars-new-diversity-rules-wont-change-who-wins-best-picture/
In the next few years, the Hollywood game-playing surrounding identity may well take a new turn, with actors scrambling to classify themselves outside the white, cis, and heterosexual norms that their predecessors hewed to. This week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) handed down a brand new set of diversity and inclusion requirements, which films must start meeting in 2022 (with full rollout in 2024) to be eligible for Best Picture consideration. Those who want a shot at the Oscar will need to make sure their production meets those standards in at least two of the following four categories: "Onscreen Representation, Themes and Narratives," "Creative Leadership and Project Team," "Industry Access and Opportunities," and "Audience Development."
Although this announcement came at a moment when diversity commitments are particularly trendy, anyone who's followed the Oscars and its attendant controversies over the past few years will know that it's been brewing for much longer. It was 2015 when an all-white slate of acting nominees first prompted a viral backlash against the Academy and its yearly awards ceremony, a P.R. nightmare that Hollywood has been clumsily trying to overcome ever since. Prior to now, the biggest initiative was a 2018 mass recruitment of new members, which nudged the Academy's makeup ever so slightly in a more diverse direction while making no real impact on its overall hegemony of white males. Unlike the Academy's other efforts, this latest move carries a whiff of control, not just over Oscars consideration, but over the art itself.
https://reason.com/2020/09/11/the-oscars-new-diversity-rules-wont-change-who-wins-best-picture/
That’s of course assuming there’s going to be a next year there, Homer! I kid I kid, there’s going to be life after COVID. I hope. Anyways before I start rambling again, just how far did the Academy step in it in regards to their diversity requirements? Well let’s just say think of it like stepping in a pool of giraffe diarrhea. That’s a horrible and disgusting image that will do little to help the overall landscape, and let’s face it, you feel bad for the giraffe! So just how much did they step in it?
On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced new guidelines for film eligibility.
These new guidelines emphasize diversity, but in more complicated ways than you might assume. Before considering the effects of the new rules, it is worth contemplating the old rules, both explicit and implicit.
Previously, the only formal requirements for eligibility were that a movie had to have been screened and advertised for a week for paid admission in Los Angeles County in the preceding calendar year. Hence Oscar eligibility lists published by the academy includes movies that nobody expects to get Oscars — such as Pokémon Detective Pikachu and the remake of Charlie’s Angels. Of course, those are the official rules for eligibility, but as everyone intuitively knows — and Oliver Schilke and I showed in a 2014 article for the American Sociological Review — there are implicit criteria for getting an Oscar. Notably, Oscar bait is typically released in November or December; has IMDb genres of drama, war, biography, and/or history; has plot elements such as disability, scandal, investigative reporting, human-rights abuses, or show business; has a director with a track record of nominations; and is released by the specialty division of a major studio. The new rules would add that the film must substantially reflect diversity on the screen or behind it.
The new rules emphasize diversity in a level of detail that is unprecedented for the mainstream Oscar categories. (Categories such as foreign and documentary have long had complicated rules.) The new rules require Oscar-eligible films to meet any two of four “standards.” Standard “A” requires that the film has a non-white lead actor or much of the supporting cast are intersectionally diverse or the story centers on women, non-white people, LGBTQ+, or disabled people.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/the-new-oscars-diversity-rules-will-have-little-impact/
These new guidelines emphasize diversity, but in more complicated ways than you might assume. Before considering the effects of the new rules, it is worth contemplating the old rules, both explicit and implicit.
Previously, the only formal requirements for eligibility were that a movie had to have been screened and advertised for a week for paid admission in Los Angeles County in the preceding calendar year. Hence Oscar eligibility lists published by the academy includes movies that nobody expects to get Oscars — such as Pokémon Detective Pikachu and the remake of Charlie’s Angels. Of course, those are the official rules for eligibility, but as everyone intuitively knows — and Oliver Schilke and I showed in a 2014 article for the American Sociological Review — there are implicit criteria for getting an Oscar. Notably, Oscar bait is typically released in November or December; has IMDb genres of drama, war, biography, and/or history; has plot elements such as disability, scandal, investigative reporting, human-rights abuses, or show business; has a director with a track record of nominations; and is released by the specialty division of a major studio. The new rules would add that the film must substantially reflect diversity on the screen or behind it.
The new rules emphasize diversity in a level of detail that is unprecedented for the mainstream Oscar categories. (Categories such as foreign and documentary have long had complicated rules.) The new rules require Oscar-eligible films to meet any two of four “standards.” Standard “A” requires that the film has a non-white lead actor or much of the supporting cast are intersectionally diverse or the story centers on women, non-white people, LGBTQ+, or disabled people.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/the-new-oscars-diversity-rules-will-have-little-impact/
So where do actual movie stars stand on the Oscar’s new inclusion rules? Well they’re about as divided as we are on the subject. It’s going to be a while before Hollywood gets back to its’ pre-COVID self but while that happens, we’re waiting to see what the stars actually think. And well it’s generally a mixed bag of opinions.
Ever since the #OscarsSoWhite campaign began four years ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been searching for innovative ways to champion inclusivity across the white- and male-dominated film industry, including by diversifying its ranks. On Tuesday, they released their newest initiative: new inclusion standards for films seeking a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards.
Starting in 2024, Best Picture hopefuls will have to meet the standards of two out of four broad groups of criteria laid out in a 1,000-word memo: representation onscreen (addressed in Standard A), behind the camera (B) and in audience development (D); and pipelines for young, marginalized talent (C). The guidelines, which the Academy says were created following a far-reaching consultation process throughout the industry, specifically draw attention to the underrepresentation of people of color, women, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities.
DeVon Franklin, a film producer who co-led the initiative, said in an interview that while the guidelines had been in the works for over a year, they were successfully voted through by the Academy’s board of governors in June, in the wake of the global protests following the death of George Floyd. “It was a moment when the board said, ‘We, as the representatives of our constituents and the Academy, want to be a lighthouse for the future,’” he said.
https://time.com/5887344/oscars-diversity-rules-movies/
Starting in 2024, Best Picture hopefuls will have to meet the standards of two out of four broad groups of criteria laid out in a 1,000-word memo: representation onscreen (addressed in Standard A), behind the camera (B) and in audience development (D); and pipelines for young, marginalized talent (C). The guidelines, which the Academy says were created following a far-reaching consultation process throughout the industry, specifically draw attention to the underrepresentation of people of color, women, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities.
DeVon Franklin, a film producer who co-led the initiative, said in an interview that while the guidelines had been in the works for over a year, they were successfully voted through by the Academy’s board of governors in June, in the wake of the global protests following the death of George Floyd. “It was a moment when the board said, ‘We, as the representatives of our constituents and the Academy, want to be a lighthouse for the future,’” he said.
https://time.com/5887344/oscars-diversity-rules-movies/
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[font size="8"]People Are Dumb
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Hit it!
Of course you know by now that people are people and people are dumb. While we were off for the Labor Day holiday, stupid obviously never takes a holiday! So who is dumb this week? Well first, Dr. Phil is dumb. Yes, the fake TV psychiatrist that Oprah unwittingly leashed upon the masses continues to prove why he should not be practicing any medicine. Hell, he doesn’t understand the unwritten rules of social media! And one of those rules is that you don’t tell people what to do! No! if you tell someone to do something, they’re only going to want to do more of this. Especially when we’re in a pandemic and everyone is bored out of their skulls!
Dr. Phil McGraw popped up on TikTok on Thursday to pop off to his followers who keep calling him “Daddy.”
It seems that a lot of people who follow his posts refer to him as “Daddy” in the comments and he’s apparently annoyed.
So as part of the app’s popular “you have to stop” posts, McGraw asked his TikTok fans to cease the patriarchal nicknames when commenting on his posts.
“I hate to break it to you, but I ain’t your daddy, and your real daddy is probably getting his feelings hurt,” McGraw said. “I appreciate the support — it’s a little weird, but I appreciate the support.”
@drphil
#YouHaveTo stop calling me “daddy.” I ain’t ya daddy.
♬ you have to stop supporting trump - hannah_harpist
And because this is the internet, everyone immediately respected his wishes ― not!
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1103&pid=18286
It seems that a lot of people who follow his posts refer to him as “Daddy” in the comments and he’s apparently annoyed.
So as part of the app’s popular “you have to stop” posts, McGraw asked his TikTok fans to cease the patriarchal nicknames when commenting on his posts.
“I hate to break it to you, but I ain’t your daddy, and your real daddy is probably getting his feelings hurt,” McGraw said. “I appreciate the support — it’s a little weird, but I appreciate the support.”
@drphil
#YouHaveTo stop calling me “daddy.” I ain’t ya daddy.
♬ you have to stop supporting trump - hannah_harpist
And because this is the internet, everyone immediately respected his wishes ― not!
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1103&pid=18286
Damn right!! You don’t tell the internet what to do, Dr. Phil! No, no, no, no, no, no. Next up – let’s go across the pond to France! As we have proven on this program time and time again, there’s stupid people no matter what country you go to. But in this particular case, we all get annoyed with bugs and insects. But this might not be the best way to go about doing things. In fact, you could put a “DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME” warning on this next story.
The man, who is in his 80s, was about to tuck into his dinner when he became irritated by a fly buzzing around him.
He picked up an electric racket designed to kill bugs and start swatting at it - but a gas canister was leaking in his Dordogne home.
A reaction between the racket and the gas caused an explosion, destroying the kitchen and partly damaging the roof of the home in Parcoul-Chenaud village.
According to local media, the unnamed man had a lucky escape, sustaining just a burn to the hand.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54051423
He picked up an electric racket designed to kill bugs and start swatting at it - but a gas canister was leaking in his Dordogne home.
A reaction between the racket and the gas caused an explosion, destroying the kitchen and partly damaging the roof of the home in Parcoul-Chenaud village.
According to local media, the unnamed man had a lucky escape, sustaining just a burn to the hand.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54051423
Yeah something like that. Next up – you know much of the country is experiencing devastating wildfires, and I swear that it’s Mother Nature’s way of saying she’s bound and determined to get rid of us once and for all. And you can spout your conspiracy theories, believe me. But one thing you should never ever do? How about don’t set off fucking explosives in a dry climate on the hottest day of the year? What could go wrong?
At the time of writing there are 7,718 fires raging across California, 20 people have lost their lives, and nearly 5,000 buildings have been destroyed. The ignition of one of these fires caught the attention of the press, and the internet, more than others.
On September 5, an explosion of coloured smoke revealed the gender of a Californian couple’s soon to be born child, and simultaneously set light to over 10,000 acres of the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yuaipa.
Gender-reveal parties, relatively unheard of just a few years ago, have now become an important rite of passage for expectant parents in the US. Seen by some as an unhelpful reinforcement of binary gender stereotypes, these parties have long been the source of mockery by the internet. Years of one-upmanship have seen ever more extravagant reveals posted to social media – cake cutting, mass dance performances, balloons dropped from planes, and, increasingly, pyrotechnics.
So, when a gender-reveal party started the El Dorado fire, it was bound to draw attention. Memes and spoof articles soon appeared, and the mainstream media latched on to the story. The idea that the fires were started by human stupidity is one we actually find appealing, and almost comforting. But this narrative hides a very uncomfortable truth.
https://theconversation.com/california-wildfires-why-a-gender-reveal-party-got-the-blame-but-shouldnt-have-146033
On September 5, an explosion of coloured smoke revealed the gender of a Californian couple’s soon to be born child, and simultaneously set light to over 10,000 acres of the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yuaipa.
Gender-reveal parties, relatively unheard of just a few years ago, have now become an important rite of passage for expectant parents in the US. Seen by some as an unhelpful reinforcement of binary gender stereotypes, these parties have long been the source of mockery by the internet. Years of one-upmanship have seen ever more extravagant reveals posted to social media – cake cutting, mass dance performances, balloons dropped from planes, and, increasingly, pyrotechnics.
So, when a gender-reveal party started the El Dorado fire, it was bound to draw attention. Memes and spoof articles soon appeared, and the mainstream media latched on to the story. The idea that the fires were started by human stupidity is one we actually find appealing, and almost comforting. But this narrative hides a very uncomfortable truth.
https://theconversation.com/california-wildfires-why-a-gender-reveal-party-got-the-blame-but-shouldnt-have-146033
Yeah seriously don’t do anything that dumb. There are limits people! Next up – the state of Florida always brings the crazy! We make fun of America’s most penis-shaped state but it does have some of the craziest people alive! For instance this particular story out of Port St. Lucie, Florida. Now I love me some bacon, but don’t get your bacon and your cocaine mixed up, that’s mistake number one. Mistake number two? Don’t keep either one in the backseat of your car for an extended period of time.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A Florida man was arrested Wednesday after deputies found more than a pound of cocaine in his truck and even more at his home, including some on top of a stack of bacon.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said Clifford Eugene Tindall was pulled over around 7 p.m. and deputies found a bag filled with nearly a pound of cocaine in the back seat, TC Palm reported.
Deputies found more cocaine during a search of his home around 9 p.m. Some cocaine was found “directly on top of a stack of bacon,” investigators said.
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Tindall, 62, was arrested and charged with two counts of cocaine trafficking, according to jail records. He was released on $70,000 bond.
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/trending/florida-man-arrested-with-pound-cocaine-some-kept-stack-bacon-deputies-say/DTHZQL5X5RERZJ2JO6ZCG2D62Y/
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said Clifford Eugene Tindall was pulled over around 7 p.m. and deputies found a bag filled with nearly a pound of cocaine in the back seat, TC Palm reported.
Deputies found more cocaine during a search of his home around 9 p.m. Some cocaine was found “directly on top of a stack of bacon,” investigators said.
Content Continues Below
Tindall, 62, was arrested and charged with two counts of cocaine trafficking, according to jail records. He was released on $70,000 bond.
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/trending/florida-man-arrested-with-pound-cocaine-some-kept-stack-bacon-deputies-say/DTHZQL5X5RERZJ2JO6ZCG2D62Y/
Of course! Finally this week, we go to that most senior of all Florida cities, The Villages! And yes many times during the course of this horrible administration I’ve been there, and we have all been there. But if Trump drives you to drink, maybe don’t tell this as your excuse to the cops. Me personally? I’m going to go have a few cold ones after this because well, Trump and the COVID pandemic are really driving me to drink.
A man who crashed his golf cart while driving it drunk through The Villages said he was driven to drink after watching President Donald Trump on TV, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said they were called to a single-vehicle golf cart crash the evening of July 30 on Rainey Trail and Buena Vista Boulevard and when they questioned the driver, 82-year-old Cary De Van, he said he hit a wall inside the golf cart tunnel while driving home.
De Van’s red golf cart had what appeared to be a broken axle, leading deputies to believe he ran over a concrete curb, records show.
The report said De Van was slurring his words and smelled of alcohol as deputies were questioning him about the crash. De Van was not injured and no property was damaged during the crash.
He claimed that about two hours prior, he saw Trump speaking on TV and “then got really mad at what he said” so he started drinking vodka, according to authorities.
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/08/19/florida-man-involved-in-dui-golf-cart-crash-claims-president-trump-drove-him-to-drink-deputies-say/
Deputies said they were called to a single-vehicle golf cart crash the evening of July 30 on Rainey Trail and Buena Vista Boulevard and when they questioned the driver, 82-year-old Cary De Van, he said he hit a wall inside the golf cart tunnel while driving home.
De Van’s red golf cart had what appeared to be a broken axle, leading deputies to believe he ran over a concrete curb, records show.
The report said De Van was slurring his words and smelled of alcohol as deputies were questioning him about the crash. De Van was not injured and no property was damaged during the crash.
He claimed that about two hours prior, he saw Trump speaking on TV and “then got really mad at what he said” so he started drinking vodka, according to authorities.
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/08/19/florida-man-involved-in-dui-golf-cart-crash-claims-president-trump-drove-him-to-drink-deputies-say/
That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]Road To The White House: Biden’s Special Guests
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Welcome back to the… *cue reverb* ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE!!!! Oh that was some damn fine reverb there! So when we last met, we talked about the differences in celebrity endorsements between Biden and Trump. And basically Biden has the endorsement of all the cool celebrities, while Trump is full of has-beens and dipshits who have been banned from social media. This week, since we can’t campaign in person, we have to resort to campaigning virtually. Yeah it blows but while COVID is still a thing we can’t do things the way we normally do. But Biden’s got a whole lot of special guests lined up for his virtual campaign events. Like for instance, one of my favorite rappers, our good friend Ice Cube, who is riding with Biden!
Ice Cube has been promoting his Contract with Black America ahead of the upcoming presidential election, and it looks like both major party candidates have taken notice. Speaking with TMZ earlier this week, the rap veteran revealed that the camps of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have contacted him about his proposed agenda.
“The end game is to get a candidate to adopt this plan because it’s needed for Black America,” Cube told the outlet. “We all got our favorite candidate that we want to win, but the thing is — we need this done.”
In a previous op-ed The Hill article, Cube outlined his Contact with Black America and called for politicians to present a plan for reparations and address racial inequalities within the banking and financial industries, criminal justice system, policing, education and Hollywood.
Cube added that the Biden campaign is already “moving full-speed” ahead on social justice issues, but he wants to see an equal amount of attention go to economic equality initiatives.
https://www.revolt.tv/2020/9/10/21430574/ice-cube-trump-biden-contract-black-america
“The end game is to get a candidate to adopt this plan because it’s needed for Black America,” Cube told the outlet. “We all got our favorite candidate that we want to win, but the thing is — we need this done.”
In a previous op-ed The Hill article, Cube outlined his Contact with Black America and called for politicians to present a plan for reparations and address racial inequalities within the banking and financial industries, criminal justice system, policing, education and Hollywood.
Cube added that the Biden campaign is already “moving full-speed” ahead on social justice issues, but he wants to see an equal amount of attention go to economic equality initiatives.
https://www.revolt.tv/2020/9/10/21430574/ice-cube-trump-biden-contract-black-america
Really Ice, you’d expect Trump to be a leader on social issues? Have you been following the last 4 years of this horrible administration like we have? But here’s the thing – Ice Cube is such a hot guest to have that both teams – Team Biden and Team Trump – are vying to get his take on America in 2020 before the election. So why are they focusing on earning his opinion? Well because… celebrity. And black.
Ice Cube has been promoting his Contract With Black America ahead of the upcoming Presidential election.
The contract serves as a “blueprint to achieve racial economic justice.” The Hip Hop legend revealed during a conversation with TMZ Live that both candidates have been in contact with him to outline his demands.
“The end game is to get a candidate to adopt this plan because it’s needed for Black America,” said Cube as he discussed his contract. Cube says he washed his hands of identity politics. In other words, he’s will to vote Trump back into office if he meets his demands before his Presidency is up.
“[Me and Biden’s team] talked about a few things,” said Cube. “Making sure that a fair amount of government contracts go to Black businesses, and I say Black specifically because the word ‘minority’ has actually hurt us because every minority usually gets something but us. I really wanna focus on economics. I think economics could fix a lot of these other social problems. They’re moving full-speed on dealing with social issues. The same amount of energy needs to go into getting us out of this economic hole that Black people have found themselves in generation after generation. We have to close this wealth gap.”
Ice Cube assures that both parties “understand that something big needs to be done.”
https://thesource.com/2020/09/10/ice-cube-reveals-joe-biden-and-donald-trump-reached-out-to-him-about-his-contract-with-black-america/
The contract serves as a “blueprint to achieve racial economic justice.” The Hip Hop legend revealed during a conversation with TMZ Live that both candidates have been in contact with him to outline his demands.
“The end game is to get a candidate to adopt this plan because it’s needed for Black America,” said Cube as he discussed his contract. Cube says he washed his hands of identity politics. In other words, he’s will to vote Trump back into office if he meets his demands before his Presidency is up.
“[Me and Biden’s team] talked about a few things,” said Cube. “Making sure that a fair amount of government contracts go to Black businesses, and I say Black specifically because the word ‘minority’ has actually hurt us because every minority usually gets something but us. I really wanna focus on economics. I think economics could fix a lot of these other social problems. They’re moving full-speed on dealing with social issues. The same amount of energy needs to go into getting us out of this economic hole that Black people have found themselves in generation after generation. We have to close this wealth gap.”
Ice Cube assures that both parties “understand that something big needs to be done.”
https://thesource.com/2020/09/10/ice-cube-reveals-joe-biden-and-donald-trump-reached-out-to-him-about-his-contract-with-black-america/
Now here’s where Ice Cube’s endorsement is considered shocking. Because while he’s a black celebrity, he’s also very, very rich. And something (we’re guessing Kanye maybe?) might be turning wealthy black Americans against the Democratic party. So because of that, we have to present both sides of the issue and here’s where Team Trump could see some input from Mr. Cube.
On May 24, Ice Cube tweeted, “Hold the Black vote hostage until one of ’em comes with A Black Agenda that we’re satisfied with. It’s not our job to fix the country’s mess until we fix our mess…#fuckyoupayme.”
The hip-hop icon’s tweet falls in line with a sentiment Sean “Diddy” Combs recently shared during an interview with Naomi Campbell when he called for Black people to hold off giving Joe Biden and the Democrats support until the Black community’s issues and needs are addressed.
“We want to know very clearly. Just like Trump made it clear that he wanted to build a wall, Biden needs to make it clear that he’s gonna change the lives and quality of life of Black and Brown people,” Diddy said. “Or else he can’t get the vote. I will hold the vote hostage if I have to.”
In the interview on Campbell’s web series, “No Filter with Naomi,” Diddy declared the “Black vote ain’t free.” More people seem to be following this belief especially after the presumptive presidential Democrat’s interview on The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God.
Nina Turner, national co-chair of the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, tweeted, “The @DNC must stop playing games with our votes. And to my Beloved Black Community: Now is the time! We owe it to our ancestors, ourselves and to our future to seize this moment for the uplift of our people. This assignment is forever!#Iaintblack“
https://www.blackenterprise.com/ice-cube-joins-charlamagne-diddy-against-biden-democrats-lets-hold-the-black-vote-hostage-until-theres-a-black-agenda-were-satisfied-with/
The hip-hop icon’s tweet falls in line with a sentiment Sean “Diddy” Combs recently shared during an interview with Naomi Campbell when he called for Black people to hold off giving Joe Biden and the Democrats support until the Black community’s issues and needs are addressed.
“We want to know very clearly. Just like Trump made it clear that he wanted to build a wall, Biden needs to make it clear that he’s gonna change the lives and quality of life of Black and Brown people,” Diddy said. “Or else he can’t get the vote. I will hold the vote hostage if I have to.”
In the interview on Campbell’s web series, “No Filter with Naomi,” Diddy declared the “Black vote ain’t free.” More people seem to be following this belief especially after the presumptive presidential Democrat’s interview on The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God.
Nina Turner, national co-chair of the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, tweeted, “The @DNC must stop playing games with our votes. And to my Beloved Black Community: Now is the time! We owe it to our ancestors, ourselves and to our future to seize this moment for the uplift of our people. This assignment is forever!#Iaintblack“
https://www.blackenterprise.com/ice-cube-joins-charlamagne-diddy-against-biden-democrats-lets-hold-the-black-vote-hostage-until-theres-a-black-agenda-were-satisfied-with/
Let’s not go that far! But yeah that’s where Mr. Cube could do some damage, because he’s an actor and a hip hop star and creator of some of some of the best hip hop songs of all time. And he holds sway with the younger generation of rappers like Charlemagne The God, Lil Wayne, and Lil Uzi Vert. So you can see why his opinion is actually important.
Ice Cube has been promoting his Contract with Black America ahead of the upcoming presidential election, and it looks like both major party candidates have taken notice. Speaking with TMZ earlier this week, the rap veteran revealed that the camps of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have contacted him about his proposed agenda.
“The end game is to get a candidate to adopt this plan because it’s needed for Black America,” Cube told the outlet. “We all got our favorite candidate that we want to win, but the thing is — we need this done.”
In a previous op-ed The Hill article, Cube outlined his Contact with Black America and called for politicians to present a plan for reparations and address racial inequalities within the banking and financial industries, criminal justice system, policing, education and Hollywood.
Speaking with TMZ, the multi-hyphenate said that he and the Biden campaign team talked “about a few things,” namely economic support for Black Americans.
“Making sure that a fair amount of government contracts go to Black businesses,” he named as one talking point. “... I really want to focus on economics. I think economics could fix a lot of these other social problems.”
https://www.revolt.tv/2020/9/10/21430574/ice-cube-trump-biden-contract-black-america
“The end game is to get a candidate to adopt this plan because it’s needed for Black America,” Cube told the outlet. “We all got our favorite candidate that we want to win, but the thing is — we need this done.”
In a previous op-ed The Hill article, Cube outlined his Contact with Black America and called for politicians to present a plan for reparations and address racial inequalities within the banking and financial industries, criminal justice system, policing, education and Hollywood.
Speaking with TMZ, the multi-hyphenate said that he and the Biden campaign team talked “about a few things,” namely economic support for Black Americans.
“Making sure that a fair amount of government contracts go to Black businesses,” he named as one talking point. “... I really want to focus on economics. I think economics could fix a lot of these other social problems.”
https://www.revolt.tv/2020/9/10/21430574/ice-cube-trump-biden-contract-black-america
See you next week!
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