More from The Beatles.
A Hard Day’s Night
Capitol Records’ lack of interest throughout 1963 had not gone unnoticed, and a competitor, United Artists Records, encouraged their film division to offer the group a three-motion-picture deal, primarily for the commercial potential of the soundtracks.[83] Directed by Richard Lester, A Hard Day’s Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a mock-documentary.[84] The film premiered in London and New York in July and August, respectively, and was an international success, with some critics drawing comparison with the Marx Brothers.[85] According to Erlewine, the accompanying soundtrack album, A Hard Day’s Night, saw them “truly coming into their own as a band. All of the disparate influences on their first two albums had coalesced into a bright, joyous, original sound, filled with ringing guitars and irresistible melodies.”[86] That “ringing guitar” sound was primarily the product of Harrison’s 12-string electric Rickenbacker, a prototype given him by the manufacturer, which made its debut on the record.[87][nb 8]
During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held twelve positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five.[88][nb 9] Their popularity generated unprecedented interest in British music, and a number of other UK acts subsequently made their own American debuts, successfully touring over the next three years in what was termed the British Invasion.[90] Their hairstyle, unusually long for the era and mocked by many adults, became an emblem of rebellion to the burgeoning youth culture.[91]
Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged thirty-seven shows over twenty-seven days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.[92][nb 10] In August they returned to the US, with a thirty-concert tour of twenty-three cities.[94] Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between ten and twenty thousand fans to each thirty-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York.[94]
In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan.[95] Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis.[96] Gould points out the musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians’ respective fanbases were “perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds”: Dylan’s audience of “college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style” contrasted with their fans, “veritable ‘teenyboppers’—kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in the commercialized popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. They were seen as idolaters, not idealists.”[97] Within six months of the meeting, “Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan’s nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona”, wrote Gould.[97] Within a year, Dylan would “proceed, with the help of a five-piece group and a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, to shake the monkey of folk authenticity permanently off his back … the distinctions between the folk and rock audiences would have nearly evaporated [and the group’s] audience … [was] showing signs of growing up.”[97][nb 11]
The Complete Album
Beatles for Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul
The band’s fourth studio LP, Beatles for Sale, evidenced a growing conflict between the commercial pressures of the band’s global success and their creative ambitions, according to Gould.[99] They had intended the album, recorded between August and October 1964,[100] to continue the format established by A Hard Day’s Night which, unlike the band’s first two LPs, contained only original songs.[101] The band, however, had nearly exhausted their backlog of songs on the previous album, and given the challenges constant international touring posed to the band’s songwriting efforts, Lennon admitted, “Material’s becoming a hell of a problem”.[102] As a result, six covers from their extensive repertoire were chosen to complete the album. Released in early December, its eight original compositions stood out, demonstrating the growing maturity of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership.[101]
In early 1965, while they were his guests for dinner, Lennon and Harrison’s dentist secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described the experience: “It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two.”[103] He and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966.[104] He became the first Beatle to discuss LSD publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that “it opened my eyes” and “made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society.”[105]
Controversy erupted in June 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after Prime Minister Harold Wilson nominated them for the award.[106] In protest—the honour was at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders—some conservative MBE recipients returned their own insignia.[107]
The Beatles performing music in a field. In the foreground, the drums are played by Starr (only the top of his head is visible). Beyond him, the other three stand in a column with their guitars. In the rear, Harrison, head down, strikes a chord. In the front, Lennon smiles and gives a little wave toward camera, holding his pick. Between them, McCartney is jocularly about to choke Lennon.
The US trailer for Help! with (from the rear) Harrison, McCartney, Lennon and (largely obscured) StarrReleased in July, the Beatles’ second film, Help!, was directed by Lester. Described as “mainly a relentless spoof of Bond”,[108] it inspired a mixed response among both reviewers and the band. McCartney said, “Help! was great but it wasn’t our film—we were sort of guest stars. It was fun, but basically, as an idea for a film, it was a bit wrong.”[109] The soundtrack was dominated by Lennon, who wrote and sang lead on most of its songs, including the two singles: “Help!” and “Ticket to Ride”.[110] The accompanying album, the group’s fifth studio LP, contained all original material save for two covers, “Act Naturally” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy”; they were the last covers the band would include on an album, with the exception of Let It Be’s brief rendition of the traditional Liverpool folk song “Maggie Mae”.[111] The band expanded their use of vocal overdubs on Help! and incorporated classical instruments into some arrangements, notably the string quartet on the pop ballad “Yesterday”.[112] Composed by McCartney, “Yesterday” would inspire the most recorded cover versions of any song ever written.[113]
The group’s third US tour opened with a performance before a world-record crowd of 55,600 at New York’s Shea Stadium on 15 August 1965—”perhaps the most famous of all Beatles’ concerts”, in Lewisohn’s description.[114] A further nine successful concerts followed in other American cities. At a show in Atlanta, the Beatles gave one of the first live performances ever to make use of a foldback system of on-stage monitor speakers.[115] Towards the end of the tour they were granted an audience with Elvis Presley, a foundational musical influence on the band, who invited them to his home in Beverly Hills.[116][117][nb 12]
In mid-October 1965, the Beatles entered the recording studio; for the first time in making an album, they had an extended period without other major commitments.[120] Released in December, Rubber Soul has been hailed by critics as a major step forward in the maturity and complexity of the band’s music.[119] Their thematic reach was beginning to expand as they embraced deeper aspects of romance and philosophy.[121] Biographers Peter Brown and Steven Gaines attribute the new musical direction to “the Beatles’ now habitual use of marijuana”,[122] an assertion confirmed by the band—Lennon referred to it as “the pot album”,[123] and Starr said, “Grass was really influential in a lot of our changes, especially with the writers. And because they were writing different material, we were playing differently.”[123] After Help!’s foray into the world of classical music with flutes and strings, Harrison’s introduction of a sitar on “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” marked a further progression outside the traditional boundaries of popular music. As their lyrics grew more artful, fans began to study them for deeper meaning. Of “Norwegian Wood” Lennon commented: “I was trying to be sophisticated in writing about an affair … but in such a smokescreen way that you couldn’t tell.”[124]
While many of Rubber Soul’s more notable songs were the product of Lennon and McCartney’s collaborative songwriting,[125] it also featured distinct compositions from each,[126] though they continued to share official credit. The song “In My Life”, of which each later claimed lead authorship, is considered a highlight of the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue.[127] Harrison called Rubber Soul his “favorite album”[123] and Starr referred to it as “the departure record”.[128] McCartney said, “We’d had our cute period, and now it was time to expand.”[129] However, recording engineer Norman Smith later stated that the studio sessions revealed signs of growing conflict within the group—”the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious”, he wrote, and “as far as Paul was concerned, George could do no right”.[130] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Rubber Soul fifth among “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”,[131] and Allmusic’s Richie Unterberger describes it as “one of the classic folk-rock records.”[1]
Luvvie has a post with some of the best tweets about Paula Deen:
PaulasBestDishes: The Best Twitter Hashtag in a Long Time
[ 42 ] June 19, 2013 | Luvvie
#PaulasBestDishes is now a Worldwide Trending topic and I am getting my LIFE from it. So I took to Storify to save these tweets because they are too good and you all need to read them and cackle.
So below are some of the best ones (if it doesn’t load immediately, give it time. It’s because of the amount of tweets I included).
http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/2013/06/paulasbestdishes-best-twitter-hashtag.html
@adept2u:
I would be happy to play the slave at an Antebellum themed wedding as long as I get to be Nat Turner
And I’d glady be Harriet Tubman, at the ready to take that bitch down into the UNDERGROUND…
James Gandolfini, Who Portrayed Tony Soprano, Dies at 51
By MICHAEL S. JAMES and LESLEY MESSER (@lesleymesser)
June 19, 2013
James Gandolfini, the actor who most famously portrayed Tony Soprano on the series “The Sopranos,” has died in Italy at age 51, according to his managers and HBO, which broadcast “The Sopranos.”
“It is with immense sorrow that we report our client James Gandolfini passed away today while on holiday in Rome, Italy,” said his managers, Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders. “Our hearts are shattered and we will miss him deeply. He and his family were part of our family for many years and we are all grieving.”
‘Not Fade Away’ Director David Chase’s Departure From Crime Genre Watch Video
Buscemi on Improvising With Carrell on ‘Burt Wonderstone’ Watch Video
‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Screenwriter Responds to Film’s Controversy Watch Video
HBO said in a prepared statement, “We’re all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. He was special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us.”
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/james-gandolfini-portrayed-tony-soprano-dies-51/story?id=19441746#.UcJJ35wnUSl
Edit: Twitter just spent the last 3 hours going IN on Paula Deen with the #PaulasBestDishes hashtag. I created a post that collected some of the best gems. You will cry laughing!
http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/2013/06/paulasbestdishes-best-twitter-hashtag.html
————————————FLATLINES_______________________________
http://youtu.be/Elczv0ghqw0
From Camille about Ride-or-Die-Joe
CamilleCamille
Joe Biden has earned the right to first dibs as the next Democratic candidate for president;
Until Joe Biden voluntarily opts out — voluntarily, not strong-armed or drowned out —
Until I hear and feel that Joe Biden absolutely doesn’t want to run – and I’ve seen and heard absolutely nothing that even remotely suggests that in spite of the Clinton effort to drown him out and push him aside–
Until then, I stand with Joe Biden as rightfully the next in line for the presidency—
And if Joe passes due to all the Clinton strong-arming and shenanigans, I’ll back any body else but Hillary Clinton–
I’d like to take Hillary at her word — she said herself a while back that America would have a female president someday but it won’t be her—couldn’t agree more!
It won’t be Gilibrand either –ha!
I’m not interested in a “female” president–I want a great president.
I feel absolutely no solidarity with many of these women and I do not feel like they speak for me, represent me — or have my best interests at heart–
It’s as simple as that–
COSIGN!
Why Democrats increasingly can’t stand progressives
This may be the worst time in American history to be a person of conscience employed in the machinery of government. -Truthdig 2013
Perhaps when President Wilson was segregating the civil service and forcing out black employees a person of conscience might have been a little bothered. Maybe when the US government was rounding up Japanese-Americans and imprisoning them while their neighbors stole their property or enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act for that matter, there may have been a slight twinge. It’s not impossible that when Andrew Jackson was slaughtering the Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee nations and forcing them out on the Trail of Tears, some oversensitive types in the government might have wrestled with their consciences for a few seconds. One might imagine that the state department contained one or two employees of delicate sensibility who were upset by our client torture state in Argentina, the Contras, the destruction of Indochina, or mass bombardment of civilian neighborhoods in Iraq and torture. I don’t know, but apparently they had less cause for moral anguish than those working under the first African-American President. After all -get this –
Our decade sees the president select and order the death of people in other countries with impunity
Knock me over with a straw! The President of the United States – selecting and ordering the deaths of people in other countries! What a world, what a world! I thought America was the Pacifist Empire. And then:
http://krebscycle.tumblr.com/post/53387490384/why-democrats-increasingly-cant-stand-progressives
Ethan Peretz @MperiousRex36m
I wonder when Reince Preibus will ask Paula Deen to be the RNC’s Chair of Minority Outreach.
Ametia, SG2:
A Paula Deen gif
http://i6.minus.com/iSjZSQaiynlwA.png
BWA HA HA HA Who really followed this hussy anyway? I’ve neverheard of her until today. So she was making money off her cooking and plugging diabetes meds, mixed with bigotry and racism.
http://youtu.be/k9HaFMULyxM
☻ʃɑ̃.paɲ (michael) @emptychampagne
Three-Fifths Compromise Cheesecake #PaulasBestDishes
Retweeted 90 times –Oooooowwweee[HISTORICAL] LOL
– – -☻ -adept2u@adept2u
#PaulasBestDishes Whites only Southern Omelette LOL
—–☻ -SheriffFruitfly@sherifffruitfly
Refried reconstruction beans #PaulasBestDishes—ANOTHER HISTORICAL –LOL
—-☻- -Brokey McPoverty@brokeymcpoverty
Kale and Kabbage Kasserole (KKK for short) #PaulasBestDishes –
—BRUTAL!! LOL
These tweets are KILLA!
Mariah Carey July 23 @Let_Go_July_23 2m
Harpo Told You to Beat Meat #PaulasBestDishes
Mike White @THEmikewhite 3m
Omelete-stad
#PaulasBestDishes
Jazzy J @JazzTheSpazz_4m
LMFAOOO WHY“@iyaaye: #PaulasBestDishes Malcom Xtra crispy fried chicken stored in Harriet Tubmanware for a nice picnic on the plantation!”
Rafi @RafiDAngelo 5m
#PaulasBestDishes Shoestring Up A Darkie Potatoes
queen louie @TeeLiciouss 7m
#PaulasBestDishes Mastah potatoes.
Secretary of Twerk @Danez_Smif 8m
Duck Confederate #PaulasBestDishes
Jamaican Hello Kitty @BrinaJ_MUA 8m
Drag that nigga through the Mud-Slide #PaulasBestDishes
Brad Smith @BradS_80 9m
We now know the reason Paula Deen has diabetes, she only counted 3/5 of her calories. #paulasbestdishes
amk4obama @amk4obama
@donnabrazile – 25% of states with 10% of population. So, President Obama visited states with 90% of the population. I see why al gore lost.
12:11 PM – 19 Jun 2013
OUCH! That’s gotta leave a mark. LOL
@Fedup_Mom
@donnabrazile You want to know what FAILED red state outreach looks like? Al Gore LOSING his HOME state of TN!
…………………….
@Fedup_Mom
@donnabrazile What successful red state outreach looks like? Being the FIRST democrat in 4 DECADES to turn VA blue TWICE!
Watching Boehner shift with the winds
By Steve Benen
–
Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:42 AM EDT.
Here’s what House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said about immigration reform immediately after the 2012 elections:
And here’s what Boehner told his caucus members this week:
So I guess he was for “comprehensive” immigration reform before he was against it?
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/06/19/19041012-watching-boehner-shift-with-the-winds?lite
@CHILLShrammy:
Twitter is a destroyer of worlds…BLACK TWITTER is all 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse…ALL 4.
BWA HA HA HA HA Keep telling my peeps, don’t fuck with BLACK FOLKS & TWITTER.
TWITTER= 21ST WEAPON OF CHOICE
President Obama responds to the “Bush light” crowd
One of the things I’ve been doing for over 5 years is watching President Obama closely – trying to get a feel for who he is and how he approaches his job. In other words, I listen carefully to what he says and does.
I’d suggest that a lot of people on both the left and right don’t do that and – as I said the other day – simply project onto him their own expectation of politicians. Doing so means that many on the left would have missed what he said when Charlie Rose asked him how he responds to those who say he is simply “Bush light” on national security issues.
Frankly, given how hard many of us have worked to challenge those critics (albeit mostly for their distortions), this response came as a bit of a surprise to me. But it shouldn’t have.
What he’s doing here is offering the very same outstretched hand to his critics on the left that they have so vilified him for offering to the right. The question is whether or not they are any more prepared to take it. Is their aim simply to find the proof that he is a liar? Or do they want to have a discussion about these issues? If its the latter, President Obama is saying he welcomes that conversation.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.ie/2013/06/president-obama-responds-to-bush-light.html
Report: White House seeking help from the NBA to enroll people in ObamaCare
By Elise Viebeck – 06/19/13 09:20 AM ET
The Obama administration has reportedly contacted the National Basketball Association (NBA) about a role in promoting healthcare reform around the country.
Efforts to sell ObamaCare are ramping up ahead of October, when people can begin signing up for the new insurance exchanges, and January, when the exchange coverage kicks in.
Many have speculated that the enrollment campaigns would benefit from a celebrity endorsement or partnership with a major sports league.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/306465-report-white-house-seeking-nba-help-with-obamacare#ixzz2WgnhlVua
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook
zizi2 @zizii2
BRILLIANT out-of-box thinking!! “White House seeks NBA help to enroll people in #Obamacare. Fantastic http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/306465-report-white-house-seeking-nba-help-with-obamacare …
10:23 AM – 19 Jun 2013
Celebrity chef Paula Deen has admitted to using the N-word and telling insensitive racial jokes during a May 17 deposition that was videotaped — and also confessed to her brother’s cocaine, pornography and alcohol addictions!
Paula, 66, admitted to using the N-word and wanting black waiters to play the role of slaves at a wedding party she was putting together, a new bombshell report from the National Enquirer claims.
“The personal disclosures uncovered have stunned Paula’s family and could mark the collapse of her entire empire,” a source told the tabloid.
The Emmy-winning kitchen queen was questioned for three hours because of the $1.2 million 2012 lawsuit in which the former General Manager of their Savannah, Georgia, restaurant, Lisa Jackson, claimed use of the N-word by Paula and sexual harassment and infliction of distress and assault by her brother Bubba Hiers.
—
In terms of telling racist jokes, Paula said, “It’s just what they are — they’re jokes…most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks…I can’t determine what offends another person.”
And when asked if she wanted black men to play the role of slaves at a wedding she explained she got the idea from a restaurant her husband and her had dined at saying, “The whole entire waiter staff was middle-aged black men, and they had on beautiful whitejackets with a black bow tie.
“I mean, it was really impressive. That restaurant represented a certain era in America…after the Civil War, during the Civil War, before the Civil War…It was not only black men, it was black women…I would say they were slaves.”
http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2013/06/paula-deen-racist-jokes-deposition/
Black Canseco @BlackCanseco24m
Mud People Pies #PaulasBestDishes
ʃɑ̃.paɲ (michael) @emptychampagne27m
Jim Crow Johnny Cakes #PaulasBestDishes
Brokey McPoverty @brokeymcpoverty28m
Nigra-Eyed Peas #PaulasBestDishes
rootless @root_e30m
Crackers (with butter) #PaulasBestDishes
@msLAS
Nigs in a blanket. #paulasbestdishes
OMG I’m in tears!!! @ these “Your name is Toby truffles” “Kunta split foot soup”
@EnSabahNurr
#PaulasBestDishes Jim Crow’s Slaw
@ArrogantDemon
Whipped Negro Chocolate Pie #PaulasBestDishes
@brokeymcpoverty
Cotton Pickin’ Peach Tea #PaulasBestDishes
Arrogant Demon @ArrogantDemon4m
Whiskey & Slave Tears chilled with ice #PaulasBestDishes
The Toast @TheToast20137m
GOP Chick’s Struggle Fried Chicken. #PaulasBestDishes
problem with whack @problemwthat7m
Juneteenth Surprise Salad #PaulasBestDishes
adept2u @adept2u8m
#PaulasBestDishes Hot buttered Jigaboo Jam Cakes
ʃɑ̃.paɲ (michael) @emptychampagne9m
Colored on the Cob #PaulasBestDishes
LMBAO Awesomely Luvvie’s crackin that AZZ too!
Butter and Bigotry: Paula Deen is Racist and Terrible
[ 38 ] June 19, 2013 | Luvvie
Another day, another celebrity being dropkicked off their pedestal. I woke up to find out that Paula Deen, the Matron Saint of Butter and Diabeetus Diet is a grade A racist. This is like finding out that Santa Claus killed the Tooth Fairy. Because she looks like Mrs. Claus and seems like she likes to give the kind of hugs where you get crushed by her bosom in love.
To find out she’s racist and basically an awful person disappoints me much. Well, actually I knew she was a mess when we found out she had THE DIABEETUS all these years and started hawking the medication she takes while creating recipes that clogged our hearts and messed up our sugars.
SHAME ON YOU, PAULA!
I already came up with a name and cover for her biography though (and a cover, because I’m helpful like that):
http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/2013/06/paula-deen-is-racist.html
awweeee shyt!!!
Luvvie’s on it!!!
BWA HA HA She NAILED that southern cracka!
Full Transcript Reveals That Darrell Issa Lied About Obama Involvement In IRS Scandal
By: Jason EasleyJun. 18th, 2013more from Jason Easley
By releasing the full transcript of interview with the IRS Screening Group manager, Rep. Elijah Cummings has proven that Rep. Darrell Issa lied about Obama’s involvement in the IRS scandal.
Rep. Cummings absolutely destroyed Issa’s conspiratorial claims that Obama was masterminding the IRS scandal:
This interview transcript provides a detailed first-hand account of how these practices first originated, and it debunks conspiracy theories about how the IRS first started reviewing these cases. Answering questions from Committee staff for more than five hours, this official—who identified himself as a “conservative Republican”—denied that he or anyone on his team was directed by the White House to take these actions or that they were politically motivated.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/06/18/full-transcript-reveals-darrell-issa-lied-obama-involvement-irs-scandal.html
John Harwood wants to know why PBO won’t make the racists like him and engage them with inordinate amounts of time and energy.
Dissent Festers in States That Obama Forgot
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/us/politics/dissent-festers-in-states-that-obama-forgot.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&
ETA: Oh this is the article Sepia posted below, with Donna Brazile (of all the fucking people) stating she wouldn’t give PBO high marks for trying to bridge a divide with people who think he was born in Kenya and killed his own grandmother.
……………………………………………………
from the article:
……………………………..
I love this comment:
jds09
This right here is the bullshit that makes my head explode. I can’t, I just can’t. The expectation that Obama should take care of them as they attempt to punch him in the face and knee him in the groin is beyond words. They truly expect to feel no consequences for their actions…none..none…These people are truly unable to function in a world without privilege. I’m most taken aback that the NYT would consider this a story. Their Yankee white supremacy is showing.
Fuck John Harwood And the CaC states that give him the finger, why holding out their hands for gubment goods
and I thought that negro Donna Brazille wasn’t going to the back-o-da-bus. but, then we all know she’s Clintonista’s BOO.
Black twitter is fierce!!
adept2u @adept2u
After what Donna Brazzille did with the Al Gore campaign she should have gone to a nunnery and changed her name to Sister Shut the Fuck Up
10:12 AM – 19 Jun 2013
OUCH! Now that’s a SCORCHER! LOL Negroes aren’t NOT playin with these fools.
Brand shows up the utter STUPIDITY of Mika & Co.
Mika is an IDIOT.
Thank you for your “causual objectification
Happy Juneteenth, everyone!
Happy Juneteenth back at YOU!
The Barber in the Park: A Man Called Joe Helps the Homeless and Inspires a Community
To most people, they are down on their luck, homeless and destitute. But to Anthony Cymerys, they are simply people in his community who need a trim. Known as Joe the Barber, the 82-year-old retired businessman has been cutting hair for a quarter-century, charging nothing more than a thank you, and maybe a hug. Every Wednesday, Cymerys sets up at Bushnell Park in Hartford, Conn., toting a folding lawn chair and a car battery to power his clippers. And then the line forms.[….]
Cymerys began cutting hair when the YMCA across the park let him use its facilities. But the building has since closed to make way for luxury condominiums, and that’s when Cymerys started setting up shop on the grass. A few years ago, he was nearly driven out of park grounds when a security guard from the adjacent Connecticut State Capitol building threatened to call the police. The incident ended when the community rallied around him, and he was allowed to continue his work.[….]
http://abcnews.go.com/US/barber-park-man-called-joe-helps-homeless-inspires/story?id=19250731#.UcHfzeMo673
Gun-loving heckler Tasered after harassing shooting survivor
By Stephen C. Webster
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 9:50 EDT
A gun enthusiast was tackled, Tasered and arrested by police at a Concord, New Hampshire gun control rally on Tuesday night after he repeatedly harassed a speaker who was calling for all gun buyers to undergo background checks.
The man that Daniel Musso, 52, was interrupting is John Cantin, a survivor of gun violence who was shot while attempting to save his daughter before her estranged husband murdered her in 2009. He became an anti-domestic violence activist who promotes gun safety measures, and on Tuesday Cantin hand-delivered a list to Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) bearing the names of more than 6,000 people who have been killed by gun violence since the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut last December.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/19/gun-loving-heckler-tasered-after-harassing-shooting-survivor/
Hearing POTUS speak was a nice way to cleanse the palate from having to endure the inanity of Ms. Brazille being a good house Negro.
— Blackarya Stark (@EbonyStarr5) June 19, 2013
@PragObots
I think white majority led movements like OWS & Manning used Angela Davis to give them legitimacy and…
…admonish Blacks who refuse to join their movement. (ie “Well Angela Davis approves, why don’t you?”)
SSDD. These fools are desperate to remain relevant and uphold the status quo, that benefits them, first and foremost. NEXT!
June 19, 2013
Obama’s Job Approval Easily Outpaces U.S. Satisfaction
His 50% average job approval thus far in 2013 compares with 26% for satisfaction
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama’s job approval rating thus far in 2013 has averaged 24 percentage points higher than Americans’ satisfaction with the direction in which the country is going. This gap is typical for the Obama presidency, but represents a much greater presidential job approval premium than most other presidents since Ronald Reagan have enjoyed.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/163139/obama-job-approval-easily-outpaces-satisfaction.aspx?utm_source=add_this&utm_medium=addthis.com&utm_campaign=sharing#.UcG6w3Tcbzo.twitter
adept2u thinks we should turn Juneteenth into a holiday akin to a Jewish Seder—use it to ritualistically educate ourselves about our history:
@adept2u
Lets learn from our Jewish brothers, they performed that ceremony for 1000s of years with boots on their necks #blackseder #juneteenth
@root_e
When you live in a meritocracy, you get highly talented people like Ted Cruz and Ed Snowden.
@lawscribe
me 9 days ago: “the pending Swiss legislation to end bank secrecy: http://rt.com/business/swiss-d… … I know Swiss pride. Consider the deal now dead.”
@lawscribe
“@BlanksSlate: .@lawscribe called it. RT @BloombergTV: BREAKING: Swiss Parliament rejects U.S. bank account deal in final vote”
Capitol’s Frederick Douglass statue to be unveiled
Wednesday – 6/19/2013, 10:26am ET
VALERIE BONK
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 19th-century orator and writer Frederick Douglass will once again stand tall in the U.S. Capitol.
A 7-foot bronze likeness of Douglass is being unveiled Wednesday in a ceremony led by House Speaker John Boehner.
The statue joins sculpted tributes to fellow black Americans Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth on permanent display in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall.
Douglass was born a slave in 1818 in Talbot County, Md. He advised President Abraham Lincoln and was a voice for women’s rights as well as those of black Americans.
Boehner is calling the statue “a fitting tribute to one of the greatest Americans and voices for freedom who ever lived.”
The statue by Maryland artist Steve Weitzman portrays Douglass in his 50s
http://www.wtop.com/109/3362958/Capitols-Frederick-Douglass-statue-to-be-unveiled
What are the folks in Ohio smoking?! This is some kind of FILTHY Fuckery here.
Feds: 3 in Ohio held woman, child in ‘subhuman’ conditions By Matt Smith. Chandler Friedman and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
June 19, 2013 — Updated 1055 GMT (1855 HKT)
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/us/ohio-captive-woman/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
It’s been a Hard Day’s Night; I should be SLEEPING like LOG… Loving Beatles week, Rikyrah. Thank you!
The immigration price tag the right didn’t want to see
By Steve Benen
–
Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:00 AM EDT
When the Heritage Foundation launched an offensive against comprehensive immigration reform in early May, it focused its attention almost exclusively on one area: the legislation’s price tag. After all, one of the first questions lawmakers ask in response to any proposal is, “What does it cost?” and if the bipartisan reform bill is too pricey, Congress will have a good excuse to reject it.
With that in mind, Heritage, relying on numbers that no one could take seriously, said immigration reform would cost taxpayers over $6 trillion. Yesterday, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office — the official score-keepers for federal lawmakers — published a very different figure.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/06/19/19038694-the-immigration-price-tag-the-right-didnt-want-to-see?lite
http://thedailybanter.com/2013/06/the-nsa-story-has-exacerbated-a-growing-schism-on-the-left/
The NSA Story Exposed a Deepening Schism on the Left
By Bob Cesca · June 19,2013
The other day, an elected
member of the U.S Congress, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) was discussing the anti-choice bill that careened through the lower chamber and said this: “Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful… They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to believe that they could feel pain?”
Yes, Congressman Burgess said male fetuses masturbate. The only thing more bizarre than actually saying this in public is the fact that he looked at a blurry, pixelated sonogram, observed a fetus doing something with its arm and then took the super-colossal leap to the conclusion that the fetus was masturbating. Put another way, someone who connects fetuses and masturbation so easily has, you know, issues. Perhaps the authorities should check his crawlspace for a soiled clown suit.
Now, to my knowledge there really isn’t a liberal equivalent to what Burgess said, at least coming from a Democratic member of Congress. But what’s become glaringly obvious over the last couple of weeks is that a popular, highly visible faction of the left has grown increasingly divorced from reality and reason. Not Burgess crazy, but disturbingly unhinged, kneejerk and highly susceptible to groupthink. And this schism has been exacerbated by the NSA story, leaving two very distinct left-wing factions. On one side, pragmatic liberals with a skeptical eye on these events, and a well-known clique of Utopians who refuse to acknowledge the realities of politics.
There’s a tea party emerging on the left, slowly and without the actual tea party’s major party support, but a lefty tea party nonetheless. It’s already underway — minus the tea bags. (Instead of tea bags, the left has long acronyms and puppet-effigies.)
For now, today, it’s orbiting around the binary Greenwald-Snowden system, armed with invective, quaint idealism and “Obamabot” keyboard macros ready to hurl in the direction of anyone who dares to examine the veracity and wisdom of Edward Snowden’s leakage and so-called heroism. (Side note: Rick Perlstein wrote a post for The Nation in which he examined the cult of Greenwald fanboys. In response, Greenwald tweeted, “If you find yourself writing an entire article whining about mean things said to you on Twitter: really, just don’t bother.” So says the man who blocks everyone on Twitter who challenges his reporting.)
What’s astonishing and disturbing is the recklessness and ignorance of this subgroup; its willingness to embrace the actions of a random IT hacker character who only emerged 10 days ago, and who remains curiously vague on key areas of his story. No, this isn’t about Snowden or Greenwald, but they happen to be the ringleaders this week.
Remember when the Republican Party and the broader conservative movement embraced a nobody named James O’Keefe when he purported to have evidence of systemic abuses and wrongdoing within ACORN and Planned Parenthood? It turned out he was a fraud who selectively edited his videos.
While it’s entirely possible that Snowden’s story is 100 percent true, it’s also possible he’s a smarter, better-spoken James O’Keefe whose only goal is to instigate. O’Keefe certainly spurred the right into action, and so has Snowden on the left. But at what cost? Just as soon as the ship has begun to turn slowly leftward following years of right-wing political domination, the left is in danger of running face-first into a credibility trap, latched to the wagons of two men who haven’t been entirely forthcoming.
The only schism is on the left is with white entitled punks and Miss Annes. BYE NOW!
House GOP approves sweeping anti-abortion bill
By Steve Benen
Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:32 PM EDT
Congress’ most restrictive anti-abortion bill in a decade easily passed the Republican-led House of Representatives late this afternoon, with a 228-196 vote. The outcome, which was not a surprise, largely fell along party lines — all but six Republicans voted for it, all but six Democrats voted against it.
Rachel will have plenty more on this on tonight’s show.
In the meantime, it’s worth noting that the bill, a legally-dubious proposal to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, led to a lively debate on the House floor.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/06/18/19026748-house-gop-approves-sweeping-anti-abortion-bill?lite
Costco Pays Well and Soars, While Walmart and Others Pay Peanuts and Sink (VIDEO)
It’s official, paying decent wages and treating your employees properly
makes better business sense and leads to higher profits. While their
second biggest competitor, Walmart, only saw a 1.2% rise in year on
sales, Costco’s most recent quarterly earnings report showed an 8% rate of growth in year on sales, a 5% rise in same-store sales, and an almost $70 million rise in membership fees.[….]
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/18/costco-pays-well-and-soars-while-wal-mart-and-others-pay-peanuts-and-sink/
How Corporate Greed Is Starving Our Public School System
We hear a lot about corporations avoiding federal taxes. Less well known is their non-payment of state taxes, which along with local taxes make up 90% of U.S. education funding.
Pay Up Now just completed a review of 2011–12 tax data from the SEC filings of 155 of the largest U.S. corporations. The results show that the total cost of K-12 educational cutbacks in recent years is approximately equal to the amount of state taxes left unpaid by these companies.[….] How much money is this?
The 2011–12 underpayment, for just 155 top-earning companies, is about $14 billion per year. In the 2008–10 study, CTJ noted that “these 265 companies avoided a total of $42.7 billion in state corporate income taxes over the three years.” That’s also about $14 billion per year.[….]
http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/how-corporate-greed-starving-our-public-school-system
Camille has a fabulous comment about the disrespect shown our First Family.
………………………….
LOL And the HATERS have 4 more years to seethe and burn with envy. The Obamas will keep on KEEING IT REAL.
The First Family in Germany post has been updated with more pics
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good Morning, Rikyrah & Everyone! happy HUMP day. :-)