I Didn't Say It ...

Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected Democrat mayor of New York City, in his acceptance speech:

“Here we believe in standing up for those we love, whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many Black women that [Cankles] has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall. No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election. So, if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop [Cankles], it’s how we stop the next one. So, [Cankles] since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up. New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So hear me [Cankles] when I say this: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”

He has his work cut out for him but he ran a fantastic campaign and got younger people out to vote and riled the party into action.

In a world of Schiff’s and Shumer’s et al, be a Mamdani!

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Michael Che,  actor, writer, and stand-up comic from SNL’s Weekend Update, speaking out against the GOP attacks on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP]:

“This SNAP freeze is really fucked up. And I keep seeing a lotta racist videos celebrating [mostly Black] families not being able to buy groceries … there’s this weird idea that since some people have taken advantage of welfare benefits in the hood, nobody should receive help, at all? This country is built on greedy motherfuckers taking shortcuts and gaming the system to their benefits, but for some reason, when poor people find a way to turn a nickel into a dime, they’re judges more severey, especially Blacks. I know the whole hustle is to hate each other here so we can fight in the comments and up our engagements … but let’s draw thew line at feeding the poor.. I grew up on free cheese and powdered milk and waiting for your friends to leave the store so they [wouldn’t] see me pay with stamps … that shit ain’t as glamorous as it sounds. I promise.”

Bam! The GOP wants y’all to believe that folks on welfare and using SNAP benefits are buying lobster and champagne—though, so what if they are—because the right wants to control and keep down those less fortuante, those in need of assistance, those of color.

Welfare isn’t glamorous but it’s necessary even if some folks abuse the system like, oh I don’t know, those Congressman still collecting a paycheck when they haven’t worked in weeks and weeks … talk about welfare, the House is vacationing on our dime.

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JB Pritzker, Democrat governor of Illinois, speaking at the Illinois Federation of Teachers’ convention:

“[Cankles] and his bootlickers have torn down the US Department of Education from the inside. Books are being banned. History is being erased. Republicans want to take billions away from public schools and pump it into private institutions. They want to punish teachers for telling the truth. I’m sorry to be vulgar, but [Cankles] and his cronies can fuck all the way off.”

I truly believe the GOP would like to keep the rich getting rich, and everyone else, poor and uneducated. I mean, how else can they guarantee themselves a win unless they create an electorate that believes their lies?

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Ruben Gallego, Arizona Democratic Senator, floating the idea to name the new White House ballroom after former President Barack Obama once Cankles is dead, gone, or in prison:

"I think to really mess with him, just name it the Barack Obama Ballroom, and that will take care of half the problem. This is a distraction. First of all, he should not have done that. This is the People's House. Two, where is the president? He's focusing on the ballroom, he's focusing on everything [else], but he's not focused on what's happening right now: inflation's still high, people can't buy what they need to buy, energy's still high ... This is a Marie Antoinette talking about 'Let them eat cake' while Americans are struggling right now. What I would like him to do is focus on this to make sure we can actually get costs down, people can actually make a good standard of living right now and pay what they need to survive instead of focusing on all these little projects."

I think we should keep calling it The Jeffrey Epstein Ballroom while Cankles is in office, but as soon as we take that house back, perhaps the Barack and Michelle Obama Ballroom for The People?

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Billie Eilish, singer, calling out billionaires at the  WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards directly to their faces:

“We're in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark and people need empathy and help more than kind of ever, especially in our country. And I'd say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things and maybe give it to some people that need it. Love you all, but there's a few people in here that have a lot more money than me and if you're a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties.”

Eilish—who has an estimated net worth of $50 million—put her money where her mouth is by donating$11.5 million, or 23% of her wealth, of the proceeds from her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour to support organizations fighting for food equity, climate justice, reducing carbon pollution, and combatting the climate crisis.

On the flip side, in 2015, Mark and Priscilla Zuckerberg pledged to give away 99% of their shares in Meta to philanthropy over their lifetimes, and they've given away more than $7B to date; the Zuckerberg’s net worth is $232.1 billion, so they have given away ).03% of their wealth.

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Gio Benitez, ABC correspondent,  on coming out at 24 and healing his inner child:

“You think about all the worries you have growing up. You spend so much time in your head thinking about that. For me, I think it was obviously growing up gay and keeping that a secret. And that was something that I didn’t talk to anyone about really till I was 24 years old. And so I think that you worry, ‘Will that hold me back’? And at the time, the message from society kind of was, ‘yeah it would.’ And there was nobody, I thought, like me at the time on television, so I didn’t have an example to point to. And so this is something of a dream that I always had, but could being myself prevent me from having that dream? And that was a worry that I always had. And so that’s why today I would say chill out. It’s all going to be OK. That person is still inside all of us. We constantly have to talk to that little kid inside because they’re there. They are a part of us. They were there through the most monumental parts of our lives. And they’re still there.”

Talk to that little kid, yes, but talk to real people, too, coming out everywhere you can. It makes the march easier and paves the way for others to follow ….

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Bobservations

Earlier this week Carlos looked lovingly at me and asked:

“Are you ever gonna change out of your pajamas?”

“When I go to bed.”

Didn’t happen. Wore them to bed and, yeah, still wearing ‘em. Sometimes I like the lazy.

Under lockdown, I grow bored, so I have been making a series of ‘Tuxedo Says’ posts for Facebook. He is gathering quite the following and so I thought I’d share some here.

Last week Saturday Night Live comedian Michael Che announced that his grandmother had died of COVID-19. The following week, to honor her memory, Che said he would pay the rent for the month for all 160 units in the public housing complex his grandmother used to live in in New York, saying:

“Obviously I can't offer much help by myself. But in the spirit and memory of my late grandmother, I'm paying one month's rent for all 160 apartments in the NYCHA building she lived in. I know that's just a drop in the bucket, so I really hope the city has a better plan for debt forgiveness for all the people in public housing. AT THE VERY LEAST."

Word.

I’ve always thought CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond was hot and this week he became even hotter. At _____’s coronavirus briefing propaganda campaign, Diamond called out IMPOTUS for congratulating himself on his response to the pandemic:

“More than 22 million Americans are unemployed … Today we hit the grim milestone of more than 40,000 Americans now having died from the coronavirus. Can you explain then why you come out here … showing clips of praise for you and for your administration? Is this really the time for self-congratulation?”

And then _____lied:

“[What] I’m doing is I’m standing up for the men and women that have done such an incredible job. Not for me, for the men and women, admirals, vice president … I’m sticking up for those people. Those people have been incredible. I’m also sticking up for doctors and nurses and military doctors and nurses.”

And Diamond pushed:

“But the clips that you played and what you read earlier was praising you and your administration. Why is now the moment to do that? On the day more than 40,000 Americans have now died?”

And _____ snapped:

“You’re CNN. You’re fake news. And let me just tell you, they were excoriated by people like you that don’t know any better because you don’t have the brains you were born with. You should be praising the people that have done a good job, not doing what you do.”

What he’s doing, you ignorant fuckwit, is pointing out that you are standing on the backs of dead Americans and proclaiming your greatness. What he’s doing, is showing the world, and people in this country with brains, that your days are numbered.

And he’s looking hot, while doing it.

Oops, sorry not sorry IMPOTUS, but it appears that most Michigan residents favor Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s handling of the coronavirus over your response.

Even after protestors terrorists descended upon Lansing with their Swastikas and Confederate flags and _____ signs.

Reminiscent of the protestor in Tiananmen Square who stomped a tank while blocking the road, two nurses in Denver, Colorado stood in the street in masks and scrubs and blocked anti-quarantine protesters.

A woman can be seen brandishing a ‘Land of the Free’ poster at the worker while screaming at him and raising her fists from inside her car. The woman yells at the nurse, asking him why she wasn’t allowed to go to work while he could.

Um, he’s a nurse, and you probably sell swatches at Hobby lobby, Freedumber.

Good on the nurses. Stand strong. Stand back.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was mocked as “Nancy Antoinette” last week for showing off her freezer filled with boutique ice cream that goes for $13 a pint.

Republicans went apeshit, though they say nothing about _____ and his gold toilet.

More sorry, not sorry … the _____ Family of Con Artist and Grifters who old one of his cheesy hotels there in DC has inquired about changing its lease payments to the federal government; the rent is approximately $268,000 per month.

The _____ Organization owns and operates the luxury hotel, but it is in a federally owned building and as part of its deal to open the hotel, the company signed a 60-year lease in 2013 that requires the monthly payments to the General Services Administration.

Oops, sounds like another bad investment to a family of thieves and liars. Sorry, not sorry.

And finally, a Lockdown Hottie … Gil Soares, international model and now … realtor!

After moving from his home in Portugal to the US, Gil spent 7 years traveling the world as a model, living in New York and Los Angeles before settling down in West Hollywood.

And loving life there, he chose to become a realtor, selling homes in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I wonder if he has open houses in his undies.

Or less.

Just sayin’.

I Didn't Say It ...

Ronan Farrow, on Harvey Weinstein’s move to smear his alleged victimns before the story, er, stories, broke:

“He began to hire private security agencies to collect information on the women and the journalists trying to expose the allegations. According to dozens of pages of documents, and seven people directly involved in the effort, the firms that Weinstein hired included Kroll, which is one of the world’s largest corporate-intelligence companies, and Black Cube, an enterprise run largely by former officers of Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies.”

All that to cover-up the fact that he is a sexual predator.

And one wonders why victims, especially victims of powerful men, don’t come forward? Maybe it’s because the arsenal people like Weinstein collect to victim blame.

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Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, urging Texans to bring more guns into churches:

“All I can say is, you know, in Texas at least we have the opportunity to have concealed-carry, And so if it’s a place where somebody has the ability to carry, there’s always the opportunity that gunman will be taken out before he has the opportunity to kill very many people.”

Yes, more people with guns firing them in a tiny, crowded church is the solution.

Oh, Texas, this is what you want? This is what you believe?

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Michael Che, SNL’s Weekend Update co-anchor, coming for _____:

“I’m tired of watching the president of the United States have an emotional breakdown on Twitter like he’s Tyrese. If you want to live-Tweet ‘Morning Joe’ or ‘Cupcake Wars’ or whatever you watch, fine, but indictments are important and you work for us. So go put on your baggy suit, fold your hair nice, and answer all of our questions face-to-face like the public servant that you are.”

Demand answers.

That Fat Bastard works for us.

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Brian Stelter, CNN, calling out Kellyanne Conway for her misinformation—and that means lies, y’all—about the Steele Dossier being completely unverified:

“Parts of it have been verified. That is misinformation that you’re spreading on my program Kellyanne, and I don’t appreciate it. Much of the dossier, you just said the entire dossier is unverified. That is inaccurate…Pieces of the dossier have been verified, and when you say it’s unverified, you actually mislead the American people.”

Lie. She lies. They all lie. And then they try to spin the lie. But it’s still lies.

I wanna see more people calling this b*tch out, and the entire _____ team, when they lie.

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Tim Cook,  Apple CEO talks about the dangers of social media:

“I don’t believe the big issue are ads from foreign governments. I believe that’s like .1 percent of the issue. The bigger issue is that some of these tools are used to divide people, to manipulate people, to get fake news to people in broad numbers so as to influence their thinking. This to me is the No. 1 through 10 issue.”

So says the man who has helped create devices that allow this sort of thing to happen. Sure, people need to be more diligent and realize that a meme isn’t news, and to investigate what they read on social media, but I still find it odd that Tim Cook is warning of the dangers of social media when that’s what pads his bank accounts.

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Jenny Hagel, Late Night writer, on Kevin Spacey’s offensive decision to come out as gay in response to allegations of sexual assault:

“I’m gay, and as a gay woman, I have a lot of problems with Kevin Spacey’s statement. It is inappropriate to respond to an accusation of pedophilia by saying ‘I’m gay’. Those things are totally unrelated. The only appropriate response to ‘you tried to have sex with a 14-year old’ is ‘I am also a 14-year old.’ [And to blame it on being drunk] makes it sound like every gay person is two beers away from molesting a kid. I’m not. I’m two beers away from singing ‘Come to My Window’ at karaoke. And three beers away from singing it from my window. [And] now you choose to live as a gay man, after you threw us all under the bus? That’s like  saying ‘I told everyone you’re an asshole. Now I choose to come to your dinner party.’ Too late you’re not invited anymore. The gay community has been made up of brave, brilliant people like Alan Turing and Audre Lorde and Billie Jean King. You’re not in the gay community, you’re in the creep community. Go celebrate creep pride, and throw a little creep parade, and leave us out of it.”

Bravo.

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Joanna Krupa, a former “real housewife” on the canceled Real Housewives of Miami, coming to the defense of Jeremy Piven over allegations that he sexually assaulted several women:

“I love Jeremy Piven, like I’ve known Jeremy Piven for a very long time. He’s like the nicest f—king guy I’ve ever met. Jeremy never did anything wrong to me. He’s always been an amazing friend to me, so I support him. I knew about Harvey Weinstein over 10 years ago. Do I have any issues with him? No. I hope this whole situation gets better and people in Hollywood actually get hired for their talent. So I think people are taking advantage of the whole situation with Weinstein, and they’re trying to make a living or they’re trying to get famous.”

Indeed, cuz nothing says ‘Hire me’ like Harvey Weinstein tried to rape me. Nothing says I wanna be famous like ‘Jeremy Piven groped me.’

Way to victim blame you dim bulb.

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Ezra Miller, openly gay actor, on the reaction to his “coming out”:

“I was told, when I gave that interview ... This is an interesting thing to talk about. I was told by a lot of people I’d made a mistake. Folks in the industry, folks outside the industry. People I’ve never spoken to. They said there’s a reason so many gay, queer, gender-fluid people in Hollywood conceal their sexual identity, or their gender identity in their public image. I was told I had done a ‘silly’ thing in ... thwarting my own potential to be a leading man. ‘You’ve made a mistake’ is such a hard thing to hear. Maybe if I’d actually made a serious mistake? But not for this. I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, though there have been moments of doubt as a result of those conversations. But…what they said was, in fact, ‘rubbish’, as you might say. We are the ones. It’s up to us to manifest the world we want to exist in. But we’re ready. Humans are ready.”

And the ones who aren’t ready need to step out of the way and keep their mouths closed.

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