Oh Boy It Never Ends: April 2023

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Need a reason why movies so often suck?

Why do so many movies suck? I think the answer can be found in a report by Eve Crosbie (INSIDER):

Russell Crowe has said that the studio behind "L.A. Confidential" stopped paying for his hotel and rental car to get him to drop out of the movie.

In the 1997 movie, which was released by Warner Bros., the "Pope's Exorcist" actor portrayed Wendell "Bud" White, a violent LAPD officer out for revenge against corrupt officers in the force.

"A few days into the rehearsals, the studio stopped paying the bill at the hotel and they stopped paying for my rental car," Crowe said in a video interview for Vanity Fair released on Saturday.

"The studio didn't want me to be in that role. They wanted, I think, Sean Penn and Robert De Niro in the film, or something."

Dustin Hoffman is sometimes wrongly mocked. He's called neurotic or other things -- the characters he plays. Dustin is relatable. That's why he was so good in THE GRADUATE. Sean Penn and Robert DeNiro are not relatable. They're the neurotic sick ones. Since playing grandfathers, people are acting like DeNiro can act and like it's funny that he can't relate to children. That's not an acting choice, it's an acting defect. Look at STANLEY & IRIS and how DeNiro hams it up and turns a discussion of dead fathers into a competition with a young boy. It's disgusting and he comes off like a freak. Sean Penn has been awful in pretty much everything. And whether he's shrieking in I AM SAM or whatever, he's not relatable.

For LA CONFIDENTIAL to work, you have to relate to Bud -- even with his flaws. And you put a neurotic like DeNiro or Penn in the role of Bud and the film will not work.

"Stereotype" comes from "type." And studios used to grasp an actor's type and cast accordingly.

They have no idea these days and think that X just starred in Y which made 250 million domestically so people will pay to see him. And then their film bombs. The reason Chris Evans was in a hit film, for example, was that he played CAPTAIN AMERICA. When he's put in a drama or a romantic film or a comedy, he's not box office. You can put him in an action film but otherwise you're wasting money. And wasted money is the bulk of Sean Penn's career.

Nicholas Cage has made some bad movies. But Nicholas Cage can perform and we can relate to him onscreen which is why he's made so many films that have made big money.

To think that a Russell Crowe could be replaced with either Sean Penn or Robert DeNiro just shows how out of touch the studio heads are.

Okay, Helen e-mailed about "CAROL BURNETT: 90 YEARS OF LAUGHTER + LOVE" and she wondered what I thought of the end of the special? If you missed my post last night, I really enjoyed the special; however, the end hadn't aired when I posted.

Did I like the end?

I've never been a Katy Perry fan. Not even back before 2017 when she still had a music career. The career's been dead for six years. Back before it died, I saw the 20/20 segment on her about how they 'punched' her vocals -- to make it appear she could sing. But I was not prepared for how bad she was. And was she trying to do a funny voice? What was that weird manner she sang the first verse in?

Anyway, before she showed up for the finale, it was a pretty great special.

Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, April 27, 2023. In his eager and desperate push to be the next Republican nominee for president Ron DeSantis takes a dump on Ronald Reagan, DEMOCRACY NOW! remembers Harry Belafonte, Tulis Gabbard lies again (a letter is not a research paper, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER is not a medical journal and if you cite an actual study you need to cite it, not 'create' things it does not say), and much more.

Instead of working for the people of Florida, Ron DeSantis, having finished his book tour through the US, is now globe trotting and, sadly, that means he's opening his stupid mouth. He did so in Israel where he listed off 'accomplishments' as he tried to pass himself off as the nation's long-lost brother in Christ (yes, I know, but that's what he did). And he felt the need to bond with them -- War Criminal to War Criminal? -- by noting the 'sacrifices:'

We saw a war of attrition waged by Egypt and other Arab states in the ensuing years.

We saw a war on Yom Kippur.

We saw Israel eliminate Iraq's nuclear reactor.

We’ve seen Intifadas and the increase in rise of Palestinian Arab terrorism.

Wait -- what was that the nuclear reactor?

Israel was the aggressor, of course, but that's not even my point.

Dunce wants the nomination of which political party for president?

I was on the phone with a board member at George Washington University and we were talking, naturally, about what an embarrassment transphobe and FOX "NEWS" whore Jonathan Turley is (Jonathan disgraces GWU daily with his blog and his ravings) when we talked about Ron's hideous speech and I was informed I could utilize GWU to note how stupid Ron is -- I could do that because heaven knows that Jonathan Turley won't do a damn thing to make the university look better.

So from GWU's National Security Archive:

International bodies were quick to respond. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors condemned the attack in mid-June 1981, and in September the IAEA Conference both condemned the strike and suspended all technical assistance to Israel. On June 19, the United Nations Security Council condemned the attack as a violation of the United Nations charter, stating that Iraq should be compensated and calling for Israel to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and place its own nuclear program under IAEA safeguards. In November, the United Nations General Assembly followed suit, condemning Israel for a premeditated act of aggression.

Condemning the attack, the United States suspended the shipment of F-16s to Israel because the strike raised questions whether they had been used for legitimate self-defense purposes as required by law. Nevertheless, the Reagan administration was not about to re-evaluate policy toward Israel and the deliveries resumed in a few months.

So the action Ron's invoking is one the US government publicly condemned -- when Ronald Reagan -- Republican Party hero -- was president. It was so bad that there was even a suspension on F-16s.

But, hey, that's just public history.

When a dumb ass like Ron has to suck up, he'll lie and whore anyway he can.

It'll be interesting to see how many more heroes of his own party the miniscule Ron throws under the bus as he tries to win the Republican Party's nomination.

By the way, on Jonathan Turley, good work Marcia. The board is aware that he's ignoring the case of Montana legislator Zooey Zephyr (see Marcia here and here) despite it being something he would cover and someone he would defend . . . if she were right-wing. He ignores all violence aimed against the trans community but if AnTIFA or anyone else defends the trans community, enter right-wing Jonathan to attack their defenders. He's not fooling anyone anymore. He's a disgrace and most of the GWU faculty are not trying to avoid him. Whores are never popular in academia.

Truth tellers are popular and are important mentors and leaders. We lost one on Tuesday, "Harry Belafonte." DEMOCRACY NOW! noted his passing in the segment below:

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, as we continue our coverage of the life and legacy of Harry Belafonte. He died Tuesday at the age of 96 here in New York of congestive heart failure.

In 2003, on February 15th, he spoke before hundreds of thousands of people in New York City. It was a freezing cold day. It was a massive rally calling on the United States and President Bush not to invade Iraq.

HARRY BELAFONTE: Today is a historic and a proud day in the name of America. The world has sat by with tremendous anxiety and with a great fear that we did not exist. They had been told and they had felt that what our country, with its press and the leaders in the administration have said, we, today, invalidate all that. We stand for peace. We stand for the truth of what is at the heart of the American people.

This is not the first time that we as a people have been misled by the leadership. We were misled by those who created the falseness of the Bay of Tonkin, which falsely led us into a war with Vietnam, a war that we could not and did not win. We lied to the American people about Grenada and what was going on in that tiny island. We lied to the American people about Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cuba and many places in the world. And we stand here today to let those people and others know that America is a vast and diverse country, and we are part of the greater truth of what makes our nation. Dr. King once said that if there is — if mankind does not put an end to war, war will put an end to mankind.

AMY GOODMAN: On that day, February 15th, 2003, Harry Belafonte also spoke to Democracy Now! during our live broadcast right behind the stage of the global antiwar protest. Harry detailed his criticism of George W. Bush’s Secretary of State Colin Powell for his role for pushing for the invasion of Iraq.

HARRY BELAFONTE: My comments about General Colin Powell is really not a personal confrontation. Black Americans and many peoples of color have always taken great pride in what those of us who have come from a history of oppression have achieved. And when an individual breaks through and comes into the place where decisions are made that can make a difference, we then have high expectations. Once that is rejected by those who have acquired this position, we may sit in quiet disappointment. But when the person who achieves that distinction then puts him or herself in the service of our oppression and those who create new ways in which to oppress us, that is morally unacceptable. And that is my argument with General Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. I expect, as do others, that their history should have prepared them for a much better articulation about how to treat people globally.

Most of the people in the world who suffer from tyranny, most of the people who suffer from the tyranny of oppression, the tyranny of hunger, the tyranny of ignorance, the tyranny of HIV/AIDS, there sits terror. And when you look very carefully at what it is that has caused this constant oppression, you will see that somewhere in there, America plays the game. And this gathering here today helps us understand that there is another America that is strong, that is resolute and is made of millions and millions of people. As a matter of fact, we do make the majority voice in this nation, and that we have let the world know that we are in solidarity with those who seek to have other ways than war to settle our grievances.

AMY GOODMAN: In 2006, Harry Belafonte traveled to Venezuela, where he met with President Hugo Chávez. Belafonte’s trip made international headlines when he described President George W. Bush as the “world’s greatest terrorist.”

HARRY BELAFONTE: No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush, says, we’re here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people — millions — support your revolution, support your ideas, and, yes, expressing our solidarity with you.

AMY GOODMAN: President Chávez was standing right next to Harry Belafonte. Shortly after Harry returned from Venezuela, he came into our firehouse studio to talk about why he called President George W. Bush a terrorist.

HARRY BELAFONTE: When Katrina took place, there was a great sense of tragic loss for many Americans who saw that terrible tragedy. What we had not anticipated was that our government would have been so negligent and so unresponsive to the plight of hundreds of thousands of people in the region. And in a dilemma that we all face as to what we could do as private citizens to help the folks that were caught in that tragedy, we began to listen to voices that were outside the boundaries of government, the United States government. We listened to voices that came from as far away as Denmark, who offered to send goods and services in emergency, and we also heard the voices of people from Venezuela through their leader, Hugo Chávez, who said that “In this moment of your great tragedy, we, the Venezuelan people, extend all the resources we can summon up to help the plight of those people caught in the Gulf region.”

The United States very abruptly and very arrogantly rejected that offer, while in its stead, we did nothing to bring immediate relief. And as a matter of fact, I must tell you, we’re still quite delinquent in what the peoples of that region need, because we still failed to fully mobilize and meet the needs of the people, particularly in New Orleans, but other places within that region.

I and many other private citizens decided that we would listen very carefully to what people outside of the government were saying, because there was no immediate sense of relief and response to what we were experiencing, the people in Katrina. And so, like others, I went with a delegation of 15 people, at the invitation of the Venezuelan government, to come and to meet with President Chávez and members of his Cabinet to talk about what we could do to help American people caught in this tragedy. …

It is quite curious that we can find billions and billions of dollars to sustain an illegal and immoral war in the Middle East, invading a country that did not provoke us and moving into this this conflict unconstitutionally, even though it had the approval of the Congress. Even the Congress violated the statutes of the Constitution. We were not invaded. There was no threat of an enemy. We unilaterally walked into a country that had no threat to this country, and we invaded it. That’s against the Constitution.

AMY GOODMAN: You call President Bush a terrorist?

HARRY BELAFONTE: I call President Bush a terrorist. I call those around him terrorists, as well: Condoleezza Rice, Rumsfeld, Gonzales in the Justice Department, and certainly Cheney. I think all of these men sit — and women — sit in the midst of an enormous conspiracy that has been unraveling America for the last eight years — six years. It is tragic that the dubious way in which this president acquired power should have begun to unravel the Constitution and the peoples of this country.

Yes, I say that there are people in this country who live in terror. Poverty is terror. Having your Social Security threatened is terror. Having your livelihood as an elderly person slowly disappearing with no replenishment is terror. Students who are dropping out of school because there are no resources to keep us in school is terror. You find people in the streets, watching drugs permeate our communities and destroy our young, it’s a life of terror. And men who sit in charge of that distribution mechanism, which can help the American people overcome these problems and refuse to do so, while giving the rich more money than they’ve ever dreamt of having, while turning around our institutions and redirecting resources from those who are truly in need to those who are already generously endowed, if not hedonistically so, it’s a great tragedy.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Harry Belafonte on Democracy Now! January 30th, 2006. After that interview, we learned Coretta Scott King had died. A dear friend of Coretta Scott King, Harry Belafonte was invited to speak at her funeral. But the invitation to speak was rescinded after George W. Bush announced he was attending Coretta Scott King’s funeral.

They did three other segments on his as well this week -- here, here and here.

A new documentary, BLIX NOT BOMBS, covers the efforts to keep prevent madman Bully Boy Bush from starting his illegal war of choice. Addie Morfoot (VARIETY) reports:

Czech-Swedish filmmaker Greta Stocklassa was only eight when the War on Terror began in 2001. In the years that followed, fellow Swede and former UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, became a central figure in the investigation into weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In her documentary “Blix Not Bombs,” Stocklassa interviews Blix, now 94 years old, about the period running up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq 20 years ago.

In the docu, Blix describes his meetings with George W. Bush and Tony Blair, his frustration when Colin Powell gave his pivotal speech in the UN Security Council, and his feeling of emptiness when the U.S. started the invasion, despite his reports that his team had found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Greta Stocklassa tells VARIETY:

I would like (audiences) to get acquainted with Hans Blix and his values, because I think peace makers should get more spotlight than war heroes. Regardless of if they agree with Hans or not, I hope audiences think about what their personal role is in making the world a better place or maybe (the film) just incites a love for birds and nature like Hans has… Hopefully it can do both.

The world needs truth tellers. Sadly, they're in short supply while, on every corner and YOUTUBE page, you can find con artists and whores.

Tulsi Gabbard? Is she lying? She's also crazy so we never know if it's a lie or a mental episode with her. (See Trina's "Crazy Tulsi Gabbard" from last night.) Tulsi has transitioned to the hate monger she really was. These days, she'll tell any false statement to attack transgender persons. Her latest broadcast found her lying some more unless she was gripped by some sort of grand mal delusion.

She cites "a research paper that was recently published to the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION PEDIATRICS." And there's the visual behind her cottage cheese face -- did her face battle with a weed wacker and lose? -- "Children’s sex-change chest reconstructions up nearly 400% in US: Study" to . . . prove her point?

That's not JAMA PEDIATRICS. Nor is anything "published to" -- Tulsi was home schooled, remember that. Not very smart. Not even smart for her cult. Periodicals publish -- so it's "published by."

But, again, Tulsi, that's not JAMA PEDIATRICS on the screen behind you.

No, you silly transphobic loon, that's THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER.

And it's not "recently published" -- not the article in THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER nor the JAMA PEDIATRICS article.

How stupid are you, Tulsi? I can't imagine being so stupid. And if you're going to talk about a study, you talk about the study. You use the primary source. Not some skewed reading by a right-wing publication.

Smart people -- that doesn't include Tulsi -- catch on to her con.

It's not a research paper (as Tulsi claims) and it's not a "study" (as THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER lies). It's a letter dubbed "Research Letter" -- one that notes there was no peer review of the letter -- that appears in the letter section -- Das, R., Perdikis, G., Al Kassis, S., & Drolet, B. (2022). Gender-Affirming Chest Reconstruction Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adolescents in the US From 2016 to 2019. JAMA Pediatrics, 177(1), 89-90.

She can't even cite correctly. Did they not do research papers in her home school? Oh, I see now. Community college drop out. Then she went to a private institution and, since hotel management was filled up, she majored in 'business administration.' Say no more. Got it.

I don't have the current issue of JAMA PEDIATRICS. However, the current edition of JAMA (proper) arrived in yesterday's mail. I need to point this out, you don't even have to open the cover to know what is research and what is a letter. It's right there on the cover. "Research"? Under that it lists papers like "VE303, a Defined Bacterial Consortium, for Prevention of Recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection: A Randomized Clinical Trial" -- right there on the cover, Tulis. To the right, "Opinion," to the right "Clinical Review & Education." Moving to the second half of the cover?

"Letters" first listed is "Quantity of Melatonin and CBD in Melatonin Gummies Sold in the US."

It seems fairly straightforward to me but then (a) I know how to read, (b) I enjoy reading and (c) I never stupidly thought my education ended when I got my masters.

I read constantly and not just 'fun' stuff. I think when you're a non-reader and you try, like Tulsi, to do a podcast, you not only embarrass yourself with one mistake after another, you also really don't have anything to say because, while you've been on output for years, you haven't added any input. You have to refill the well.

At any rate, this is why AOC says FTC and not FCC. This is fraud. The FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION protects consumers and that includes from fraud.

It's a two-page letter -- appearing on pages 89 and 90, even Tulsi should be able to grasp that.

She refers to mastectomies which is another give away that Tulsi doesn't actually read. The two page letter -- maybe someone could read it to her -- and with puppets so she might be able to pay attention? -- explains these are both "masculinizing" chest procedure and "feminizing" chest procedures.

Do you get it?

If not, you may be named Tulsi. That means that this wasn't all mastectomies. Feminizing, for instance would be 'feminizing' a chest. That's additions, not subtractions. Is that too hard for Tulsi to understand?

It must be because she emphasizes that (wrong) point repeatedly, "I wanna say that again, children receiving mastectomies."

It must really be hard to be both stupid and ugly. Few could carry it off, Tulsi certainly can't.

She then mangles UCLA's Williams Institute findings. Your red flag there? They're not a transphobic institution so if Tulsi's going to cite them, she's going to be dishonest.

She refers to the fact that they "published a study that found the number of transgender youth has doubled in just the past five years. You got to realize this is not an accident. This didn't just happen. This is very intentional, and it's the consequence of this radical agenda that is being pushed on our kids. They're rejecting the existence of objective reality by rejecting this most fundamental truth of the difference between a biological male and female."

Oh, Tulsi, (stealing from a friend), what a treat you must be for all the other gals on your bowling league.

It's a good thing Tulsi doesn't have kids. If she did, I fear she'd molest them the same way she molests facts.

Before we get to that, can I just point out that 20 years ago, Tulsi's right-wing pals would have told her she was "rejecting the existence of objective reality by rejecting this most fundamental truth of the difference between a biological male and female." How so? They would have been talking about her interest in the military and combat and suggesting that she must be a lesbian for those interests. Sorry, I was at the Congressional hearings where US House Rep John Hall and others had to fight for female service members and veterans to be treated with respect and for it to be recognized that they were operating in a war zone.

Tulsi's a disgrace.

But back to her stupidity.

This is not an accident, the increase in numbers. In fact, UCLA's Williams Institute's findings (which have been distorted by the right-wing repeatedly -- I contribute money to UCLA's Williams Institute, disclosure) addressed this. It's just two paragraphs, Tulsi, I think even you can manage. You can put your finger on the screen and read along word by word:

This report updates previous Williams Institute estimates of the transgender population released in 2016 and 2017. Results show that the percentage and number of adults who identify as transgender in the U.S. has remained steady over time. With the availability of better data, our estimate of the number of youth who identify as transgender has doubled from our previous estimate.

“Advances in gender identity data collection over the past five years have provided a more accurate picture of youth in the U.S. who identify as transgender. Previously, we could only estimate that based on adult data,” said lead author Jody L. Herman, Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute. “These new estimates show us that current policy debates regarding access to gender-affirming care and the ability to participate in team sports likely impact more youth than we previously thought.”

"Advances in gender identity data collection over the past five years . . ."

Get it, you stupid fool?

I really am appalled that this fool pretends she reads when she clearly doesn't read anything. She's a subliterate fool. America rightly realized she didn't belong in Congress. Someone needs to realize that she doesn't belong in front of the camera -- seriously, have they not seen her skin?

She's an idiot. I know her type and you probably do as well. She has one fact and a series of half-facts that she's mangled and she uses them to waste the entire class' time -- usually to extoll the 'greatness' of Ayn Rand in a philosophy class focused on Plato's LADDER OF LOVE. You watch the professor indulge her in one class and only roll your eyes but when it gets to be the fourth class of the semester that she's commandeered not to discuss Plato or respond to his views but to instead promote a hack writer she's enthralled with, you speak up and state that if she can't stay on topic, she needs to be silent.

People believe this idiot. And she's 'citing' all these things so she must know, right?

Wrong.

She's a fraud, she's a con artist. She has no education to speak of and that's no one's fault but her own. You can educate yourself even if you can't afford college. Yes, I went to college, but I also had a trauma early in life and lost all memory. I had to reeducate myself. The good news there, I didn't absorb the bias that many teachers taught as a result. But I am not the smartest in the room and never claim to be. If I'm smarter than you, I don't see that as a brag, I see it as a shock. I enter any gathering with the assumption that I'm the least intelligent and the least informed in the room. I do not tolerate those who have no curiosity or interest in the world around them. I don't have time for people like that. And what makes those Tulsis even sadder is that they don't understand how stupid they are.

We need to touch on the idiot John Stauber now. Tulsi's doing code in her remarks that some may not pick up on. It's the Jew, that's what Tulsi's saying, and she means George Soros. John Stauber promotes the lie that George Soros is creating and multiplying transgender people and that's why he contributes to the Human Rights Campaign.

This nonsense -- by Tulsi and by John -- needs to be called out.

As I have noted, I don't care for George Soros. I think he has blood money. By that, I mean he made his money through speculation, profiting off the losses of others. I see that as cruel and I see that as tacky. I do not want to be associated with him due to how he made his money. That is nothing new. As I've noted before, Ava and I were accused of being on George Soros payroll about 20 years ago after a piece we wrote about PBS was posted (by Danny Schechter) without our knowledge to MEDIA CENTER -- which received some money from Soros. We did not know it had been posted there (our stuff gets posted everywhere -- we're all over the UK's AMAZON in customer reviews) we don't usually know about it until Ty read the sixth or seventh e-mail about it. We've never said, "Pull it down!" Not to anyone. But we're not paid for that and we haven't sought payment for that. The implication that we would profit from someone else's misery made us go public with the issue of Soros.

We agree with some of his politics and disagree with others. But that is our problem with him. Unlike Tulsi and John, we aren't obsessed with him. And we're not accusing him of attempting to dominate the world or to create a population of transgendered persons nor do we have a problem with him (or anyone) being Jewish.

The point is that as bad as Tulsi's remarks read, you really have to know the context that her audience is putting them into.

She only gets more grotesque and outrageous once you grasp how her con feeds into an even larger con taking place. Hate merchants, you better learn who they are.

The following sites updated:

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

CAROL BURNETT: 90 YEARS OF LAUGHTER + LOVE

CAROL BURNETT: 90 YEARS OF LAUGHTER + LOVE is airing as I type this.

Complaints? I love Dolly Parton but I don't need a pre-taped segment from her or anyone -- that includes Oprah Winfrey. I'm sorry, there's enough to do and salute. I'm not a Kristin Chenoweth fan but I did enjoy her singing with Bernadette Peters and they're noting the friendship between Carole and Julie Andrews.

That's the sort of reason that I'm watching. I didn't like taped salutes when Nick and Jessica Simpson did their awful special in the '00s. I don't like it on this. From Ava and C.I.'s "TV: Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey Reporting for Two Hours of Self-Love" in 2005:

Intercut between segments were "messages." Now you might think people watching would have enjoyed seeing their loved ones? You might think that some friends and families gathered around the TV would expect that these moments would allow those serving to send a message to them? You might think that but the "creative geniuses" in front of the cameras and behind them thought differently.

Instead you got the likes of Jennifer Garner and Ashton Kutcher uttering banal greetings into a camera. We find it really hard to believe that most troops were saying, "Did Ashton Kutcher just congratulate us! Man, that is awesome!" We also doubt that anyone watching from their living rooms was overly impressed with the generic comments from the likes of Garner and Kutcher.

They wasted time by doing something similar on Carol's special.

Celebrate Carol with skits and music. Amy Poehler failed in her bit. But that's okay and I applaud her for it -- she took questions (or tried to). I appreciated it even though it wasn't as funny as they thought it would be.

Sorry, during a commercial break, I was reading Ava and C.I.'s piece on Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson and it is still so hilarious:

It takes tremendous vanity or stupidity to dub an "entertainment special" a "Tour of Duty." We're guessing it took equal parts stupidity and vanity on the part of of the couple front and center. Both continue to push themselves as "stars" when the reality is that Krista and Ryan qualify for that honor far more than Simpson and Lachey. Having achieved little but magazine covers fretting over the state of their business merger, er, marriage, we're guessing that the star system has so imploded that soon Kathie Lee Gifford will be spoken of with the sort of awe usually reserved for Meryl Streep.

Coming out of a third rate boy band that never really made it even when boy bands were all the rage, coming off a failed solo album and really bad TV guest spots, someone's decided that this basic cable reject (MTV's Newlyweds -- already cancelled) is a star. A reader once wrote that we were too mean about Lachey because he's trying to grow up, as he closes in on thirty-two, we think he should have had to stop "trying" a long time ago. He is the John Davidson of this decade with all that entails.

Jessica Simpson, we can't figure out. There have been plenty of big boobed starlets over the years. But they usually didn't suffer from short legs, knobby knees, eyes set too close together and a nonexistent ass. Or at least not all four. If you're wondering why we're appraising her physical appearance, it's because what else is there? She's not a singer in the sense that she moves people with her voice and she's not racked up a lot of hit singles unless you use the term "hit single" very, very loosely. She wants to be an actress and, with her voice, pursuing other avenues is strongly advised.

One person told us she was Ann-Margaret. That's simply not true. Margaret had (and has) talent. She also had an endearing personality that wasn't village idiot of the entertainment world. Another person told us she was the new Raquel Welch. While it took time for Welch to warm up and demonstrate that there was a brain and soul inside, there's no arguing that, from the start, she was beautiful. Unless the camera catches her at exactly the most flattering angle (3/4 face, shot from above), Simpson doesn't even qualify for pretty.

We feel she's a newly discovered species, the non-star star famous because a magazine cover tells you that she is. The ultimate sign of how non-reality based our nation has gotten. A possible argument for some new creationist "theory" of non-intelligent design.

Maybe the talk about the disappointment of Dukes of Hazzard is premature? But we're told she's laughable (not in the good way and supposedly her nose didn't film well), that females complained about the hairdos on Sean Williams Scott and Johnny Knoxville (they do look like dorks). People are saying the film will be lucky to do as well at the box office as the film version of Beverly Hillbillies.

We're sort of hoping the talk is wrong. Someone willing to do a "special" for the troops that highlights themselves and equates their "service" to a "Tour of Duty" knows no bounds. If Dukes of Hazzard flops, we're frightened to imagine what Simpson has planned next. She's like Pia Zadora with more desperation and stamina. The only thing worse than picturing what new harm she can inflict upon the nation is realizing that there's a good chance Nick Lachey will be at her side to assist.

The one exception in the pre-taped bits? Michelle Obama. You know I'm not a Michelle freak. But her bit had to do with Carol and it felt from the heart and I will give her credit for that.

Vicki Lawrence took the stage to talk about how Carol hired her and why. It was really nice -- as was the clip she chose to highlight -- her and Carol singing lullabyes.

Melissa Raunch was great -- and showed a photo from her childhood when she met Carol Burnett.

But the best was Cher. I liked the clip of her and Cher singing on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW. And then Cher came on stage and spoke about how Carol helped her.

Cher told her, "You were a great mentor and a great example for many women in the United States."

And then we got a look at some of the musical guests who appeared on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW. The Carpenters, Pearl Bailey, the Jackson Five, Cass Elliot, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, etc.

It's not over yet but let me get this posted. I will be watching it again on PEACOCK (it'll stream there tomorrow).

It was a strong use of two hours of prime time -- but I would leave out all the segments that were taped outside of the auditorium with people not present except for Michelle Obama's. I don't think I've ever said a nice thing about Michelle here. So I hope you grasp that I really was impressed by Michelle who offered something more than "Congratulations! Wish I was there!"

Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Threats again of attacks on US service members in Iraq, a US general uses a narrow time frame to try to claim victory (when it's probably weather related), Joe Biden declares he's running for re-election, and much more.

TASNIM NEWS AGENCY types:

Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, an Iraqi resistance group, has announced that it is prepared to expel American forces from Iraq if the United States decides to keep them in the country.

"If Washington insists on not withdrawing its military forces from Iraq, the resistance groups are at the peak of their readiness to expel them from this country's soil," said Kadhim al-Fartousi, the group's spokesperson, in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

You can check the timeline, it's today. It just seems like a rerun because it is. Over and over that threat is made. It's as old as the Iraq War.

Still on Iraq, IRAQI NEWS reports:

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, confirmed that his country’s forces will not withdraw from northern Iraq and Syria at present, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

In an interview, Cavusoglu said that the withdrawal from northern Iraq and northern Syria means the cessation of the Turkish military operations against terrorism and allowing terrorists to get closer to the borders, and this poses a threat to Turkey’s national security.

The Turkish Foreign Minister explained that the Turkish forces will leave a security vacuum if they withdrew from northern Syria, and that national security and border security are very important for Ankara.

A security vacuum? They're violating Iraq's national sovereignty by putting troops on the ground in Iraq and setting up military bases in Iraq. But they think they're the ones in the right? Weeks ago, they attacked a convoy in northern Iraq that included US military personnel. Why? Well as Cavusoglu makes clear later in his remarks, they don't trust the US. Interesting.

Monday, the US State Dept held a press briefing with Major General Matthew McFarlane ("the commanding general of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve") that's resulted in a lot of stenography but no reporting and certainly no analysis.

"If you walk away with one thing tonight, I want it to be the progress we have made, our partners have made, and the coalition in support of them, in the campaign against [. . .] ISIS," the general declared and like good stews in the secretarial pool, they all did just that.

He wanted people to know that ISIS holds "no territory." Terrorist groups rarely do. That's not their real motive. Disruption is their motive. The US government -- and lying generals -- still want to play like ISIS taking over Mosul was normal.

He then wanted to lie that ISIS "remains military defeated." What does that even mean, you liar? They're a terrorist organization. As such, they're active or they're inactive. You'd have to be a complete idiot not to grasp that.

There's been a reduction in activity!!!! And everyone ran with that.

He insisted, "Since the beginning of this year in Iraq -- so that's January 1st through the first week of April -- we've seen a -- recorded a 68 percent reduction in attacks when compared to the same period last year."

That's so impressive . . . if you believe any lie you're told.

Ramadan just concluded. Do you know what his narrow period saw with regards to Ramadan?

Fewer pilgrimages.

Why?

The flooding.

What marks the end of fasting (from sunrise to sunset) of Ramadan? Eid al-Fitr.

RUDAW reported on Saturday:

Compared to previous religious and national holidays, the number of tourists visiting the main attraction spots in Erbil province has dropped due to the most recent flash floods and cold weather, according to local authorities.

Heavy rainfall and floods over the past weekend caused serious damage to resorts at Erbil’s tourist attractions and brought traffic to a standstill. As Muslims in the Kurdistan Region celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the number of tourists was lower than expected.

"The number of tourists that have come was not what we predicted due to two key reasons; first, final examinations, second, most recent floods... However, we believe, from after [Eid al-Fitr] the number of tourists will go back to normal as the temperature degrees increase," Laween Jabar, owner of a resort in Soran told Rudaw’s Andam Jabbar.

Hey, here's an idea for the US government: The next time Iraq's hit by a bad sand storm and government offices have to close down, put Major General Matthew McFarlane back before the press the next day so he can claim victory again for a day where ISIS was inactive, take credit for that too.

The press may be that stupid -- or that whorish -- the rest of us aren't.

Yesterday, US President Joe Biden became the third candidate to declare that they were running for the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nomination. Immediately, Marianne Williamson had comments. Ryan King (WASHINGTON EXAMINER) reports:

Bestselling author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson blasted President Joe Biden's 2024 launch video and warned he can't energize younger voters.

"I think that video was very out of touch, and that's what people are feeling," Williamson told the Hill's Rising. "I think an entire younger generation would stay home in droves in response to what that video is advancing as the administration's pitch to the American people."

Hey, Marianne, what voice in your head told you that? I don't know that I'd be calling anyone else out of touch if I were the candidate whose support evaporated the moment Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared he was also running for the nomination. Disclosure -- and I'm not doing this every day -- I know all three. I know Joe, I know Marianne, I know Robert. If you talk crazy, I'll call you out. I'm not afraid to smack you around. Marianne got off easy in 2019 and got off rough. Easy in that, she was part of a group of women running so we focused on that and, except for psychotic cult member Tulsi Gabbard, the women all got along. Rough in that, when she called for everyone to send positive energy to defeat something (COVID, I don't remember), I thought about whether or not I wanted to write a piece on how positive thinking can be a form of prayer before deciding, "No, I really don't feel like writing something I don't believe in just because she's made a fool of herself."

With a smaller field, Marianne will have even more opportunities to make a fool out of herself. She'll also have more opportunities to shine.

But that would require Marianne learning to speak for Marianne. RFK Jr. will face his own obstacles. But he's speaking for himself. His remarks are authentic to who he is.

Marianne? "I think an entire younger generation . . ."

Are you a younger generation, Marianne? Why don't you speak for yourself or are you not able to? You've got Peter Daou handling your campaign but are you listening to him? You're not making statements that appeal to people. If you want to be a critic, go for it. We can use more. But if you're a candidate, you need to learn to craft those soundbytes better. This one is so bad, it's laughable.

Joe was actually the reason I was going to cover the campaigns today.

Some people just can't turn the offense meter off. I don't like Donald Trump but go back and you will see that when I thought he was being misunderstood over a remark -- willfully or not -- I would weigh in. I did not cover his Tweets. I felt the media was obsessed with his Tweets and ignoring his harmful policies.

But Joe Biden made comments about children. And the offense industry got butt hurt over his comments: "Our nation's children are all our children."

This is nothing controversial but when you're one of those Jonathan Turleys paid to create outrage every fifteen minutes . . .

Joe grew up in a different time when the neighborhood children were everyone's children. The adults watched out for all of them. Equally true, only the most rabid would disagree with Hillary Clinton that it takes a village. Joe's remark was not about stripping anyone of their rights as parents. They were noting that children are our resources, our most treasured resources.

There are many things going on to take actual offense over. As I've said in other election cycles, if we're going to be this stupid, it's going to be a long election cycle.

To drop back to Gen Z Marianne Williamson, I think this is a strategy that will appeal to many. Here's Joe's announcement.

Why do you need to vote for Joe again? The ad makes the argument that there are too many crazies out there (no, Marianne, he doesn't mean you) who are destroying our way of life and our democracy. They think they can overturn established law. They think they can destroy women's reproductive rights -- first with abortion and now with pills. They think they can deny trans care to adults -- or, for that matter, to children whose parents have made the decision that trans care is needed. They think they can attack LGBTQ+ members. They think they can tell us what we can read. They think they can tell us -- grown adults -- how to dress -- don't dress in the opposite gender or they'll arrest you.

And you think, on that last one, that I'm talking about drag queens and kings? I am but I'm talking about more than that as well.

Daniel Villarreal (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

The head of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has issued a memorandum telling all employees to dress “in a manner consistent with their biological gender.” The revised dress code would not only force transgender people to present in a way that feels inauthentic, it could also be used to punish cisgender people who wear gender-neutral clothing.

The memo, which experts say violates federal free speech and non-discrimination protections, is just the latest move by Texas Republicans to erase trans identities from the state.

The April 13 memorandum, signed by Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R), was entitled “Texas Department of Agriculture Dress Code and Grooming Policy.”

Miller’s two-page memo said that in order to “reflect the culture, dignity, and professionalism of the TDA… All employees are expected to comply with this dress code in a manner consistent with their biological gender.” The memo effectively revises the department’s former dress code, which didn’t mention “biological gender,” The Texas Observer noted.

The new dress code requires employees to wear “traditional business wear, including Western business attire.” This includes button-down shirts for men and skirts or pants for women. The code applies to all work settings that don’t require uniforms or protective gear for agricultural fieldwork.

Ladies, they don't just want to control our reproductive rights, they also want to control what we wear. This is the American Taliban.

If Marianne can't grasp that, she has no business running for office.

Joe's a known quantity. He can't change his brand. He can't pretend to be something he's not. So what he can he do? He can present himself as a voice of sanity who is going to stand with Americans and tell the bullies to back off.

That's what the campaign's going to run on and it's a smart move.

I believe former Senator Claire McCaskill was on Andrea Mitchell's show just yesterday talking about how the "Republican Party is worshiping at the alter of extremism." She is correct.

Now for those who believe I'm trying to steer people away from Marianne to Robert, let's do Robert.

Robert, the American people want to stand behind you. They'll accept your stands on vaccines.

They will not accept you standing with crazy.

There's a reason I'm not endorsing RFK Jr.

I thought I would. Then I saw him too tight with someone.

Tucker?

Mother Tucker was media, I could care less.

But Robert, if you're going to stand with a registered sex offender, a convicted pedophile, you're going to watch your own campaign burn down into flames.

You cannot survive that.

I'm sure some of the wack jobs are lying and telling you that you can.

These same pieces of trash insisted that Scott Ritter -- the registered sex offender and convicted pedophile -- was not going to hurt their DC rally for 'peace.'

But what happened there?

Even the crazies had to back down and disinvite Scott Ritter.

The media's not really paying attention to you, Robert, because they think "anti-vax" is going to take you out. It's not. It's who you are and it's not a surprise to anyone supporting you.

You're standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a registered sex offender?

Robert, that's not a dream of Camelot.

Basic rule of politics, don't stand next to a child molester for a photo op.

You're going to need to stop associating with crazies or you're going to hand your current lead over to Marianne. I'm not joking on this. Scott Ritter is going to run off support and if the media picks up on this relationship and runs with it, it could kill your campaign in a matter of weeks. That's your warning.

Marianne? She doesn't suffer fools who harm what needs to be done. Just the Scott Ritter relationship may be enough for some RFK Jr. supporters to go elsewhere. If so, if Marianne will listen to Peter Daou, she can run a solid campaign.

That's Marianne talking about issues which is what she needs to do if her campaign's going to have any real chance.

Can we talk about John Stauber for a moment. The hate merchant felt the need to reTweet Sean Ono Lennon. Hmm. He loves Sean but he hates Cher.

I'm sorry who actually did something with their life? Right, that would be Cher. Sean Ono Lennon is a 47-year-old man child who never learned self-grooming and he's the definition of a nepo-baby. How many hits did he have? Zero. Cher, by contrast, charted 63 songs in the US. Sean's had zero gold albums and zero platinum albums in the US. Cher? 8 gold albums and 6 platinum (and multi-platinum) albums. Sean has had two albums make it on to BILLBOARD's Top 200 albums (both made it to 153) while Cher's carried 44 albums onto BILLBOARD's Top 200. Both also pursued acting careers. I don't know if you'd consider the episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER or the episode of the original MELROSE PLACE Sean's 'acting high.' But Cher carried three variety series. She made films with Robert Altman, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jack Nicholson, Mike Nichols, Meryl Streep, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson, Norman Jewison, Nicholas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Sandy Dennis, Karen Black, Kathy Bates, Lily Tomlin, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Chazz Palminteri, Stanley Tucci, William Friedkin, Peter Yates, Anne Heche, Rita Wilson, Sam Elliott, Laura Dern and Eric Stoltz -- among others. She's been nominated for two BAFTA awards, she's been nominated for six Golden Globes (and won three), won Best Actress at The Cannes Film Festival and been nominated for two Academy Awards (winning Best Actress for MOONSTRUCK). Oh, and she's performed on Broadway.

Cher worked for what she has. Sean? Nepo-baby who will be handed billions when Yoko passes away. He's wasted his life. If that seems harsh, let's compare him to his half-brother Julian. Julian has a million selling album in the US to his credit and a gold one. In all, he took 3 albums onto BILLBOARD's top 200. And he charted six songs in the US. Unlike Sean, Julian didn't grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. Even so, he leaves behind a musical history. Sean was handed everything -- he even had sleep overs with Michael Jackson -- but now, at the age of 47, he has nothing to show for it.

Naturally, that's who John Stauber elects to celebrate. Why? Because they both hold the same vapid opinion.

I'll celebrate the people who work and not the idle rich who've had everything handed to them and gone on to do nothing with their lives. John Stauber will just go on being pathetic. It's the only card he has left to play. And when -- and if -- Sean ever does anything with his lazy life, I might care what he thinks about Tucker Carlson but right now he's just a spoiled brat who has wasted his life.

Harry Belafonte has passed away. Activist, actor, singer, friend to the world. His life mattered and he gave so much. While fools and liars like Tucker Carlson cheered on the Iraq War, Harry called it out. We'll wind down with this from David Bacon:

HARRY BELAFONTE, PRESENTE!

Harry Belafonte was a true people's hero. He opposed war and racism, and was a friend of revolutionary movements in Cuba and Venezuela. He was a radical activist, in the tradition of Paul Robeson, in whose footsteps he said he walked. In these photographs he came to Oakland on April 15, 2003, for a march and rally against the war in Afghanistan right after it started. He was unafraid to oppose U.S. wars and intervention, a true man of peace.

Harry Belafonte, presente!

WHEN WE SPOKE OUT AGAINST WAR -
Unearthing the history of protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
Photographs © by David Bacon
https://www.flickr.com/photos/56646659@N05/52759801492/in/album-72177720306862427/

The following sites updated: