A rightwing protester has been charged with trespassing after interrupting a New York production of Julius Caesar during the assassination scene and shouting: “This is violence against Donald Trump.”
The protester, who later identified herself as Laura Loomer, interrupted the Shakespeare in the Park production on Friday night and shouted “this is political violence against the right” while audience members booed and told her to get off the stage.
Jon Stewart does a Trump take-down
He’s back….at least temporarily!!!!
God, I have missed that man. I needed a Jon Stewart laugh, especially after that convention.
Speaking of which, I think Hillary should recruit Ivanka for her introduction. Ivanka is the most closeted Democrat I have ever hear….or rather not-so-closeted.
What will become of Faux News without Roger Ailes? Hats off to Gretchen Carlson for delivering the death-blow. Now I know why a smart woman, Valedictorian of her class, Stanford graduate, acted like such a bimbo.
Perhaps the biggest take-away from the skit:
“I saw a lot of people on the convention floor with their ‘Blue Lives Matter’ rhetoric who either remained silent or actively fought against the 9/11 first responders’ bill reauthorization,” he continued. “So I see you, and I see your bullshit,” (triggering CBS’s censors.)
Earl Hamner Jr.– A Virginia gentleman of great talent
Earl Hamner Jr., the versatile and prolific writer who drew upon his Depression-era upbringing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to create one of television’s most beloved family shows, “The Waltons,” has died. He was 92.
Hamner died in Los Angeles and had recently been battling pneumonia, said Ray Castro Jr., a friend of Hamner’s who produced a documentary, “Earl Hamner Storyteller,” about the writer. Castro said he learned about Hamner’s death from the writer’s daughter, Caroline. A Facebook post by Hamner’s son, Scott, stated his father died surrounded by family at Cedars Sinai Hospital while John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” was playing.
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Colbert “Trumps up” Jon Stewart over Zadroga Act
Stewart made an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and continued to push Congress to do the right thing, and pass a permanent extension of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
Colbert opened his show by having a bit of fun at Donald Trump’s expense and treating his audience to some footage of Trump having a some trouble with a bald eagle in a photo shoot (which we discussed here) and was interrupted by Stewart who explained he was there to draw attention to the cause of the 9-11 first responders and to get Congress to vote yes to extend their health benefits.
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Freedom: what if…
What if WWII had not been won by the allies? Amazon prime tickles our imagination in a great series called “The Man in the High Castle.” Season one is on Amazon prime now and I am addicted to the show. I can’t come up for air. I am watching the Tech game and watching and listening to “The Man in the High Castle.” I am on episode 7.
What really comes to mind is freedom and how fragile freedom really is. I can’t possibly not think about the sacrifices my parents’ generation made to guarantee our freedom.
This series really gives a good picture of how it all could have been. What if America were divided into 2 nations? What if Japan and Germany ruled? How would our lives be different today, especially under the WWII regimes?
Addendum: I am finished the series. What a scary show. Please note, the flag is from the series, not from me.
The point of the post, which obviously is not being picked up, is that our freedom is very fragile and often taken for granted by Americans–those of us who have it. Were it not for the sacrifices of many, especially from the Greatest Generation, we would not have our freedom. “The Man in the High Castle” is just one story of what our lives might be like were it not for those from the Greatest Generation.
War of the Worlds: Are people just smarter now?
Shortly after 8 p.m. on the Halloween Eve, 1938, the voice of a panicked radio announcer broke in with a news bulletin reporting strange explosions taking place on the planet Mars, followed minutes later by a report that Martians had landed in the tiny town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey. Although most listeners understood that the program was a radio drama, the next day’s headlines reported that thousands of others plunged into panic, convinced that America was under a deadly Martian attack. It turned out to be H.G. Wells’ classic The War of the Worlds, performed by 23-year-old Orson Welles.
77 years ago today, at around 8 pm, thousands of Americans pushed the proverbial panic button, loaded up their cars and drove off in a panic, convinced that they had moments to live because of an invasion. It’s hard to believe, nowadays, that people were that naïve–or is it?
A Vulcan salute good-bye to Leonard Nimoy
A Vulcan salute to Leonary Nimoy who died Friday at the age of 83. Nimoy played half-Vulcan, half human Mr. Spock on Star Trek. According to his obituary in the Washinton Post:
“Someday,” producer Gene Roddenberry said many decades ago, “I’m going to make a science-fiction series and put pointed ears on that guy.”
The series was “Star Trek,” and the guy was Leonard Nimoy, who died Feb. 27 at 83. A tall, taut-faced actor, he had been laboring in obscurity for 15 years before Roddenberry hired him in 1966 to play the half-human, half-alien space explorer Spock.
Those pointy ears — along with the upswept eyebrows and “five-point” Vidal Sassoon bob — brought Mr. Nimoy enduring stardom in an entertainment and merchandising empire equaled perhaps only by the James Bond, “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” franchises.
“Star Trek,” a drama about the adventures of the starship Enterprise as it explored “the final frontier” of space, was not a critical or popular hit during its initial run on NBC from 1966 to 1969.
In syndication, however, it became a phenomenon.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” I feel confident the spirit of Leonard Nimoy continues.
Live long and prosper, Leonard Nimoy. Live long and prosper, wherever your journey takes you, even if it is where no man has gone before.
He’ll huff and he’ll puff and he’ll blow the House down
Sesame Street, it seems, is just as excited for this Friday’s release of Season 3 of “House of Cards” as all of Washington.
The storied children’s show released a parody Monday called “House of Bricks” modeled after Netflix’s hit series. The video takes David Fincher’s theme music and anti-hero Frank Underwood’s Charleston-inflected accent in a version of the “Three Little Pigs” fairy tale adapted to Washington.
Frank Underwolf, a muppet version of the “House of Cards” protagonist, aims to huff and puff and blow down the straw and stick houses on the block so he can get to the White (Brick) House.
It’s almost here! House of Cards! Frank Underwood! Don’t mess with me or talk to me on Friday. I will be very busy–binge-watching. I have waited all year. Settle your own blog issues. I will check in, once, half-heartedly. If the blog blows up, settle it yourselves.
The Roosevelts: stark reminder of better times?
Excerpt from Ken Burns’ ‘The Roosevelts’ Reveals Everything Wrong With Our Current Political Class’ by Joseph Palermo
Ken Burns’ seven-part PBS series on the lives of Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, is a remarkable achievement. Burns sheds a poignant new light on the personal and public lives of three monumental figures in 20th Century American history. And in doing so, he illustrates the relative rottenness of the hacks, partisans, and plutocrats who make up the political class that rules America today.
By exploring the lives and times of TR, FDR, and ER Burns shows that in our not-so-distant past the governing institutions of this country were actually responsive to the needs and desires of working-class Americans. This superb and moving portrait is a perfect fit for our times. The utter failure of our current “leaders” is glaring by comparison.
Yes, TR was a warmonger, and FDR signed the order that imprisoned innocent Japanese Americans. There are long lists of both presidents’ failures. But we shouldn’t let those flaws bury the fact that both TR and FDR were not afraid to stand up to big corporations and Wall Street if they viewed their actions as damaging to the country. That alone is probably the biggest difference between those leaders of the early decades of the 20th Century and today.
Me-news-a-trois on Faux News: starting a ###kstorm
Let’s begin with guns: In your face in the lone star state
And there is more…..
Some things just need no further explanation. My favorite part? “You’re a dumb-ass.”
Stephen Colbert to replace Letterman
CBS put a swift end to speculation and announced Thursday that Stephen Colbert will take over as host of the network’s “Late Show” sometime next year when longtime host David Letterman retires. It’s a five-year contract. It’s also a welcome and possibly daring choice in the late-night genre, which could use the inventive, concertina-wire wit and mastery of tone that Colbert possesses.
Nation, I can tell you’re mildly alarmed. Don’t be.
Federally funded Birth Control pills or penis pumps?
Shut off the sound if you are at work.
I guess I should rethink my what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander remark. I have become tongue-tied and speechless over this entire subject. There is simply nothing left to say. I am now convinced it really is a male world.
Totally bad taste: Perverts with Principle
Bill Maher does not disappoint. He lets both liberals and conservatives have it! Totally bad taste. I laughed like hell, all to myself. Relax! It’s Super Bowl Sunday.
should Little Duck have been removed from the State of the Union Address? He wasn’t properly attired. Was he making a political statement? In 2006, Congressman Bill Young’s wife was removed for wearing a Support our Troops t-shirt during the Bush Administration. Cindy Sheehan was arrested at the same time and removed. (As an aside, I would not describe Mrs. Young as “pro-war” as suggested CNN. She cared a great deal about young people being sent off to war.)
Pete Seeger: 1919–2014 RIP, Pete
What a life! Pete Seeger has made more contributions to American folk music than just about any other individual. Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan probably rival his sheer volume but I don’t think they passed it.
Msn.com reports:
With his lanky frame, use-worn banjo and full white beard, Seeger was an iconic figure in folk music who outlived his peers. He performed with the great minstrel Woody Guthrie in his younger days and wrote or co-wrote “If I Had a Hammer,” ”Turn, Turn, Turn,” ”Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine.” He lent his voice against Hitler and nuclear power. A cheerful warrior, he typically delivered his broadsides with an affable air and his fingers poised over the strings of his banjo.
Seeger was a political activist and a folk singer. He was married to the same woman for 70 years. His wife died just last year. Pete Seeger’s career was significantly damaged by McCarthyism.
