Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Her music incorporates elements of pop, rock, folk, country and blues. She has released eight studio albums, two compilations, a live album and has contributed to a number of film soundtracks. She has sold more than 17 million albums in the U.S. and over 50 million albums worldwide.[3] Crow has garnered nine Grammy Awards (out of 32 nominations) from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
In addition to her own work, Crow has performed with the Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, Michael Jackson, Steve Earle, Prince, Eric Clapton, Luciano Pavarotti, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, B.B. King, George Strait, Tony Bennett, Kid Rock and Sting, among others.[4] She has also performed backing vocals for Tina Turner, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Belinda Carlisle and Bob Dylan.
As an actress, Crow has appeared on various television shows including 30 Rock, GCB, Cougar Town, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert‘s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, as well as One Tree Hill.[5]
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Real Effect of Citizens United on the GOP (updated)
Regular readers might have already figured out that I am extremely skeptical of the conventional wisdom that is currently embraced by many people about the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision on Citizens United. It has certainly changed things. But not always in the way we’ve been led to believe. Here are some of the things I’m paying attention to in terms of how it’s impacting the 2016 presidential race.
Insurgent Candidates
What we saw happen in the 2012 Republican presidential primary is that several insurgent candidates were able to hang on longer than they would have otherwise because of funding from their big superpac donors (i.e., Newt Gingrich). This is at least one of the reasons why 17 candidates threw their hat in the ring this time around.
A Weakened RNC
RNC Chair Reince Priebus has tried his best to reign in the extremism currently gripping the Republican Party. But because candidates no longer need the Party establishment to survive (see above), he’s pretty much been neutered. The Koch brothers are even threatening to set up their own “shadow party” when it comes to some of the functions normally carried out by the RNC.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-real-effect-of-citizens-united-on.html?spref=tw
Friday, October 16, 2015
Democrats and Wall Street
I’ve criticized Paul Krugman before. But it’s usually been when he gets out of his lane and starts commenting on politics instead of economics. On the latter, he’s someone I always pay attention to. And so, given the differences we’ve seen between Clinton and Sanders on Wall Street reform, I was interested in Krugman’s take. Here’s what he wrote about it today.
For what it’s worth, Mrs. Clinton had the better case. Mr. Sanders has been focused on restoring Glass-Steagall, the rule that separated deposit-taking banks from riskier wheeling and dealing. And repealing Glass-Steagall was indeed a mistake. But it’s not what caused the financial crisis, which arose instead from “shadow banks” like Lehman Brothers, which don’t take deposits but can nonetheless wreak havoc when they fail. Mrs. Clinton has laid out a plan to rein in shadow banks; so far, Mr. Sanders hasn’t.
Krugman then goes on to address the one question some liberals have about Clinton: can we trust her to actually follow through? To answer that one, he provides some history about where Wall Street donors have placed their bets when it comes of campaign contributions. He recounts that there was a time that financiers split their money pretty evenly between Democrats and Republicans.
But then came the financial crisis of 2008, and everything changed.
Many liberals feel that the Obama administration was far too lenient on the financial industry in the aftermath of the crisis…
But the financiers didn’t feel grateful for getting off so lightly. On the contrary, they were and remain consumed with “Obama rage.”
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/10/democrats-and-wall-street.html?spref=tw
https://twitter.com/aquazzura/status/654956255933550592/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/BALLY_SWISS/status/655042334783090688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/TheWanjiru/status/654477864205611009
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/655104400571125762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Hoooorayyyy!
We have real issues about the Black family. If they wanted to discuss that, then use a REAL Black family on the cover.
If they want to talk about Black men and sexual assault, then use a picture of Bill Cosby by himself along with other Black men, in their REAL lives, accused of sexual assault.
Not here for the cover at all.
We just agree to disagree.
………………..
About that EBONY Magazine Cover and the Cosby Conundrum
Awesomely Luvvie — October 16, 2015
Yesterday, EBONY dropped the mic on everyone when they released the cover of their November 2015 issue. It is a cover made to look like a cracked picture, featuring the Huxtables. The crack starts on the face of Heathcliff, which is mostly covered because of it, and it spreads throughout, but everyone else’s face is still visible. And then you look and realize that Cliff is covering Rudy’s ears.
http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/2015/10/ebony-magazine-cover-the-cosby.html
Claire Huxtable’s combination of smarts and no-nonsense was the closest representation to my mother, my Aunts and the women I grew up with in Church. No, I had never seen that Black woman on tv before Claire.
I notice too that they also chose to mention the Obamas on this same dubious cover – Strange, because since Desiree Rogers moved to Ebony, the magazine has not done anything with the Obamas.
Essence has. been covering and working with the First Lady and the Administration.
Mentioning The Obamas on this particular issue is Desiree Rogers being shady.
https://twitter.com/Newsarama/status/655048195991580672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/njdotcom/status/655054478526255104/photo/1
https://twitter.com/LincolnCenter/status/655058253471203328/photo/1
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA
https://twitter.com/PragObots/status/655092799403139072/photo/1
Rosewood has been picked up for an entire season.
Fresh Off the Boat got a full season order too.
This is an amazing piece:
The Choice
Trevor LaFauci October 16, 2015
[Author’s note: This post is inspired by a viral Facebook meme which has been circulating the past week. Most experts believe the meme is a summation of a 2013 Examiner.com article by William Hamby. A link to the article can be found here]
My partner put his hands on mine.
“Are you absolutely certain this is what you want?”
I nodded and gently wiped away the last few tears that had been streaming through my tear ducts for the past hour.
“I’m sure.”
My partner nodded. “And you’ll be okay with everything that…comes…with this decision?”I managed a half-hearted smile. “I know it won’t be easy, but if others can find the strength to do it then so can I.”
My partner kissed my forehead. “You’re sure you don’t want me to come with you today?”
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/main/2015/10/15/the-choice
the great boehner deflation
By Liberal Librarian
Politico reported yesterday that House Speaker John Boehner is laying the groundwork for that most elusive of all chimeras, the “grand bargain” with President Obama before he steps down. Barring that, he’ll push through a clean debt ceiling hike. Either way, this ends four years of constant hostage taking of the nation’s—and the world’s—economy for short term political gain.
It didn’t have to be like this. At his heart, I don’t believe Mr. Boehner is a bomb-throwing nihilist as are the members of the “Freedom Caucus”. He’s been in Congress since the 1990s, and has a concern for the institution. He could have easily followed in the time-honored tradition of seeking to build coalitions with those across the aisle and sideline the radicals in his own party. He wouldn’t have gotten everything he wanted, but he would have gotten some of it, and the country would have worked much more efficiently.
But the fever unleashed with Pres. Obama’s election was too far gone to combat. No drug could cure it. A rump of GOP radicals, abetted by fellow-travelers, demanded nothing less than all-out war against the White House. Compromise wasn’t the way things were supposed to be done; it was defeatism and near-treason. And Mr. Boehner, either from weakness or calculation (or a bit of both), couldn’t stand against the tide. Thus we had shutdowns, and credit downgrades, and slower than expected growth because Republicans in Congress were more concerned with neutering the president than upholding their constitutional duties.
Mr. Boehner made the calculation that his political life depended upon placating the radicals. But nothing he could do would be enough for them. Anything other than bringing down the temple as did Samson would be betrayal. And thus, they took his political life.
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/10/16/the-great-boehner-deflation/
https://twitter.com/shadowandact/status/655056123360321536/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/deray/status/655033540057284610
flashed the lights on a car?
I trust my former Mayor
Top Party Official Accuses Democratic National Chairwoman of Lying and Questions Her Leadership
R.T. Rybak, the former mayor of Minneapolis and a vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, on Thursday accused the party’s leader, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of making “flat-out not true” statements about another top party officer, questioned her political skills and said he had “serious questions” about her suitability for the job.
The broadside from Mr. Rybak, which came in an interview late Thursday afternoon, followed weeks of internal party dissension over the number and timing of the presidential debates it has scheduled, capped by an acrimonious public dispute over whether Ms. Wasserman Schultz had punitively barred a Democratic vice chairwoman, Tulsi Gabbard, from the first debate, held on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The comments from Mr. Rybak, who was interested in replacing Ms. Wasserman Schultz in 2013 and who was the favored choice of some of President Obama’s aides, were notable in part because he is not known as a public complainer. But by the evening’s end, most of the other party officers issued statements strongly supporting Ms. Wasserman Schultz and calling for an end to the public rancor.
In early September, Ms. Gabbard, an Iraq veteran and a congresswoman from Hawaii, and Mr. Rybak jointly called on the party to hold more than the six primary debates it has planned. Ms. Gabbard has said the party’s officers were not consulted before the debate schedule was set in early August.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/10/15/top-party-official-accuses-democratic-national-chairwoman-of-lying-questions-her-leadership/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202&_r=0
She has to go. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has done more harm – and really nothing good for the party. Time’s up Debbie.
John Kasich’s missed opportunity
10/16/15 09:23 AM
By Steve Benen
When a presidential candidate is down in the polls and looking like a long shot, he or she has to find a way to stand out in a crowd. Acting like the other candidates, and offering exactly what they’re offering, positions a struggling candidate as more of the same.
With this in mind, yesterday was a missed opportunity for Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R). The AP reported:
Republican presidential candidate John Kasich on Thursday pledged to balance the budget within eight years, cut taxes and pour more money into the military, while holding the line on all other government spending. […]
Kasich advocated tax cuts that would increase the budget deficit over the early years of his presidency, according to projections his campaign shared with The Associated Press.
It’s difficult to take a plan like this seriously. Kasich intends to slash tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, and then follow that up with another massive tax break for the rich by eliminating the estate tax. The Ohio governor would then add a sharp reduction in the corporate tax rate.
If this sounds familiar, it’s probably because the GOP presidential candidates want to do the same thing.
Kasich, who also intends to increase defense spending, believes he can do all of this while eliminating the deficit in eight years. How in the world could these numbers add up? They don’t, though Kasich believes it’ll work out if he can also cut Medicare and public investments in areas like transportation and education.
Remember, in contemporary Republican politics, Kasich is occasionally – and inexplicably – considered a “moderate,” at least as compared to his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/john-kasichs-missed-opportunity
Kasich never had an ‘opportunity’ missed or otherwise – except that created by his fans in the media. The man should never have won that governorship to begin with, and certainly should not be let anywhere near the White House.
Cruz plays dangerous game with ‘jackboot’ rhetoric
10/16/15 08:00 AM—UPDATED 10/16/15 08:14 AM
By Steve Benen
At a campaign stop in Iowa this week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) didn’t hold back when condemning the Black Lives Matter movement. The far-right senator chastised BLM activists for embracing “rabid rhetoric,” which he described as “disgraceful.”
Whether or not one agrees with the assessment is a matter of perspective – I tend to think this criticism is ridiculous – but if the Republican presidential hopeful wants to initiate a conversation about whether “rabid rhetoric” really is “disgraceful,” it’s a discussion well worth having.
We can start the dialog by taking a look at what else Cruz had to say during his campaign swing through Iowa. Consider his takeaway from the debate this week for the Democratic presidential candidates.
“It was more socialism, more pacifism, more weakness and less Constitution,” he told about 100 people crammed into a motel lobby in Kalona, a small town in southeastern Iowa. “It was a recipe to destroy a country.” […]
“We’re seeing our freedoms taken away every day and last night was an audition for who would wear the jackboot most vigorously.”
The Texas senator acknowledged that he didn’t actually see the debate, but Cruz didn’t let a little thing like ignorance stand in the way of a borderline-hysterical condemnation. Democrats presented an agenda that might “destroy” the United States, even if Cruz didn’t hear a word of what that agenda might be.
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and their rivals are eager to wear a tyrannical “jackboot,” he said. Cruz doesn’t need to listen to the candidate to be convinced of his own righteousness.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/cruz-plays-dangerous-game-jackboot-rhetoric
https://twitter.com/TheBaxterBean/status/654664927685160960
If only these people realize that what is done in the dark will eventually come to light. Especially where there is a second person involved. Big man or small man, important, famous or not, the truth will eventually come out..
Sad all around.
ok Diddy, let’s see what you can do.
……………
Sean Combs Is Developing an ABC TV Series Based on the Life of His Assistant
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
October 15, 2015 at 2:56PM
Sean – “Puff Daddy” “Puffy” “Diddy” “P. Diddy” – Combs is developing a comedy series for ABC which will be based on the life of Sarah Snedeker, his long-time assistant.
Tentatively-titled “The Hustle,” the series will follow a character like Snedeker, who is described as “a small-town girl” who “lands a job working as an assistant to a street-educated billionaire business mogul where she is instantly thrown into a foreign world of extravagance, debauchery and adventure.”
Jeremy Garelick (“The Wedding Ringer”) will direct the project, while also writing along with Stacey Harman (“The Goldbergs”).
Combs will executive produce with Garelick and Harman. Snedeker will also get a credit as a consultant and producer.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/sean-combs-is-developing-an-abc-tv-series-based-on-the-life-of-his-assistant-20151015
When they first announced this, I was skeptical. I didn’t think I’d want to see it. But, my anticipation has been building since it seems they took serious care with the casting. I actually can’t wait!
…………………………
‘The Wiz Live!’ Poster Art Debuts + Watch Behind-the-Scenes Footage
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
October 15, 2015 at 7:10PM
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/the-wiz-live-poster-art-20151015
https://twitter.com/mmfa/status/654763182595010561
Issa Rae’s ‘Insecure’ Gets a Series Order at HBO
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
October 15, 2015 at 7:42PM
On the heels of news that the FX network has given a series order to Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” dramedy comes another awesome announcement – HBO has ordered to series Issa Rae’s comedy pilot “Insecure.”
Apparently, they loved the pilot!
The series will focus on “the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern day African American woman.”
Of course, Issa Rae is starring, with Jay Ellis and Yvonne Orji joining her in front of the camera, playing Lawrence, Issa’s depressed and unemployed boyfriend, struggling to get his act together; and Orji as Molly, best friend to Issa, a successful career woman who isn’t as successful in her love life.
The series is created by Rae and funnyman (and now late night host) Larry Wilmore.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/issa-raes-insecure-gets-a-series-order-at-hbo-20151015
UMMMM….I don’t think I’m going to be watching these.
………………………………..
New Scripted TV Projects on Maya Angelou & Michael Jackson’s Last Days in the Works via Tavis Smiley
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
October 15, 2015 at 1:36PM
Warner Bros. Television Group has signed an exclusive multi-year development and production deal with Tavis Smiley, it was announced today by Warner Bros. Television Group President and Chief Content Officer Peter Roth. Under terms of the agreement, WBTVG and Smiley will develop new scripted television series projects for the broadcast networks and cable.
The first projects to be developed under the new deal will be television series adaptations of two of Smiley’s books: “My Journey with Maya,” a memoir of the author’s nearly 30-year friendship with Maya Angelou, and the upcoming “Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days,” an account of the final 16 weeks in the life of superstar Michael Jackson, to be published in June 2016.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/new-scripted-tv-projects-on-maya-angelou-michael-jacksons-last-days-in-the-works-via-tavis-smiley-20151015
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Virginia
Former Cable News Commentator Arrested and Charged with Fraud
http://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-cable-news-commentator-arrested-and-charged-fraud
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Wayne Shelby Simmons, 62, of Annapolis, Maryland, a former occasional on-air commentator who appeared on a cable news network, was arrested today after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of major fraud against the United States, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government.
According to the indictment, Simmons falsely claimed he worked as an “Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Officer” for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1973 to 2000, and used that false claim in an attempt to obtain government security clearances and work as a defense contractor, including at one point successfully getting deployed overseas as an intelligence advisor to senior military personnel. According to the indictment, Simmons also falsely claimed on national security forms that his prior arrests and criminal convictions were directly related to his supposed intelligence work for the CIA, and that he had previously held a top secret security clearance. The indictment also alleges that Simmons defrauded an individual victim out of approximately $125,000 in connection with a bogus real estate investment.
Simmons will make his initial appearance at 2 p.m. today in front of Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson at the federal courthouse in Alexandria.
If convicted, Simmons faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud counts, 10 years in prison on the major fraud against the U.S. counts, and 5 years in prison on the false statements count. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Simmons will have his initial appearance later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson is prosecuting the case.
When evil gets to rockin, Karma comes a knockin!
Most of these loudmouths, particularly the evil racists to be found on FOX news, are some of the most corrupt and shady people around. They’re mostly trying to deflect attention from themselves and their criminal activities…
ONLY word I’m waiting for is from JoeyB
……………..
Biden backers to naysayers: Not so fast
By Dan Balz and Paul Kane October 16 at 2:23 AM
Democrats loyal to Vice President Biden have a three-word response to the politicians and pundits who say Hillary Clinton’s performance in Tuesday’s Democratic debate makes a Biden campaign less likely: Not so fast.
Appearing eager to tamp down talk that the window of opportunity for the vice president to launch a campaign nearly closed after the debate, loyalists are taking steps to assure potential supporters that there is still a path to the nomination, however competitive and challenging, if Biden decides to run.
The clearest evidence came in a letter e-mailed Thursday to Biden’s political support network by former Delaware senator Ted Kaufman, who said a Biden campaign would be “optimistic,” “from the heart” and “unscripted.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-backers-to-naysayers-not-so-fast/2015/10/16/2aeb26be-73c3-11e5-9cbb-790369643cf9_story.html?tid=pm_politics_pop_b
Did these folks praising Hillary’s performance see the same debate that I did? What was so great about her performance?
She tried to talk longer than other candidates. That’s it!
It’s akin to having little LilyBeth from 6th grade, compete with 3rd tier debate boys from the 4th grade for a place on the 6th grade debate team – after all of LiliyBeth’s fellow 6th graders have been forbidden to audition. The 4th grade boys are also warned to be nice to LilyBeth because she’s a girl.
UH HUH
UH HUH
…………………
No more ‘shock and awe’: Jeb Bush now just another presidential aspirant
By Philip Rucker and Matea Gold
October 15 at 10:08 PM
Jeb Bush entered the presidential race as the “shock and awe” candidate whose fundraising dominance was poised to make his campaign an unstoppable juggernaut.
He is not that candidate anymore.
After reporting Thursday that he has less cash in the bank than three other Republican candidates, Bush effectively cemented his status as just another aspirant in a presidential race where the surest predictions have been proven wrong time and again.
Bush — a former Florida governor who relied heavily on his family’s network to amass a $103 million war chest at his allied super PAC earlier this year — announced Thursday that he collected contributions for his actual campaign at a drastically slower pace during a difficult summer.
Bush raised $13.4 million from July to September, and started October with just $10.3 million on hand after spending about $11.5 million — or 86 percent of the total over the quarter. This leaves Bush with less cash in the bank than three opponents, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whom Bush allies see as his chief rival for GOP establishment support.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jeb-bushs-fundraising-pace-dropped-sharply-in-third-quarter/2015/10/15/b7eeaae8-7352-11e5-8d93-0af317ed58c9_story.html
But, BLACK PEOPLE are the ones that want FREE STUFF, JEB?!
G-T-F-O-H
…………………………..
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13— After Jeb Bush, a son of the President, and a partner bought a Miami office building using money an associate had borrowed from a local savings and loan, the Federal Government wound up repaying most of the loan.
The savings institution became insolvent, and the Government paid more than $4 million to make good the loan as part of the bailout of the savings industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/14/us/a-savings-and-loan-bailout-and-bush-s-son-jeb.html?pagewanted=all
Good Morning, Everyone :)
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/654781364139503617
are you phucking kidding me!!!
Good morning! Happy Friday, everyone.
I’ve been thinking ’bout catching a train
Leave my phone machine by the radar range
Hello it’s me, I’m not at home
If you’d like to reach me, leave me alone…
Good Morning, SG2 & Everyone.
I see you’ve got your dancing BOOTS on this morning, SG2. :-)
I love your dancing graphics