Real Time With Bill Maher: 'Monologue: Time's Up for Governor Cuomo'

Source:Real Time With Bill Maher- talking about the downfall of Governor Andrew Cuomo (Democrat, New York)

"Bill recaps the top issues of the week, including Barack Obama's birthday plans and the growing pressure on NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign." 

From Real Time With Bill Maher  

At risk of stating the obvious, which I can assure you this is not the first time I've taken this risk: Governor Andrew Cuomo had to resign. He literally had no choice, because it was either that or he gets impeached convicted his own party in the New York Legislature (Assembly and Senate) and he would be like the Richard Nixon of New York (for anyone who was born in the 20th Century, or remembers hearing about it) where his own party leadership tells him: "Dude, we don't even want you as Governor anymore. Leave now and we won't kick your ass out." 

Now having said all that: if you look at the politics of this, now the new Governor Kathy Hochul will have a clean slate and be able to run for Governor herself next year and not with a thousands pounds of baggage that New York Democrats would have to carry around with them every time, including when they try to catch a flight or even go to the bathroom. 

New York Republicans will have to try to run on their own records and perhaps even away from Donald Trump (like the Japanese tried to run from Godzilla) if they're running statewide. And have to try to convince New York voters, even upstate voters of why they're better qualified to run the New York Government, than the Democrats. So the Cuomo resignation could become a political boomerang.  

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Jack Bauer: Falling Down (1993) Park Beggar Scene

Source:Jack Bauer- Michael Douglas at his best.

"Falling Down - Park Beggar Scene (1080p) Pretty funny scene." 

From Jack Bauer 

The title of this scene could've been "how to spot a phony" because that's exactly what William (played by Michael Douglas) does in this scene. 

The beggar (played by John Fleck) sees William as his next target and thinks the guy must have money because he has a briefcase, is wearing a white shirt and tie. He must also think that William is a dipshit (to be frank) because his gives him this bullshit (to be frank) story about a guy down from Santa Barbara whose just run into some bad luck and would like William to help him out. 

But William who has just been fired and isn't doing so well himself wants nothing to do with the bum in the park and calls bullshit on him and puts the bum in his place, which is this park where he belongs. 

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Emma Lover: Julia Roberts & Billy Crystal- America's Sweethearts (2001)

Source:Emma Lover- Billy Crystal and Julia Roberts in America's Sweethearts (2001)

"Emma Roberts in America's Sweethearts 2001. Emma is the girl with a purple shirt in the back." 

From Emma Lover 

Just to give you a little background about the Kiki character (played by Julia Roberts) in this movie, hopefully before you watch the video: Kiki is a recovering food addict (or whatever the obese term is for alcoholic) a woman who lost 100 plus pounds and now looks like Julia Roberts. (I wonder why) Who tells Lee (played by Billy Crystal) "This is what falling off the wagon looks like" meaning her eating a tone of food in one sitting. 

Kiki's is the personal assistant of her sister (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones) who is a very popular actress in Hollywood. I mean if you are familiar with any of the Real Housewives shows, you have a very good idea of what Gwen (played by CZ Jones) is like: very attractive, but very narcissistic and when she can't get her way exactly the way she wants it, she goes out of her way to make others feel as badly as she does. 

So in this scene the latest argument between the two sisters is about Eddie (played by John Cusack) who just happens to be Gwen's husband, but they're separated. And now Kiki and Eddie are falling in love with each other and Gwen can't seem to handle that and takes it out on her sister Kiki and that's why Kiki falls off the wagon (as she said) because of her sister Gwen.  

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CNN: Chris Cillizza: 'Why Wokeness Is The Biggest Threat to Democrats in 2022'

Source:CNN- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat, New York) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) the two Democratic leaders of Congress.

"As Democrats gear up for the 2022 midterms, they know their biggest challenge likely comes from within their own party: the rise of “woke culture” on the far left. In the latest episode of The Point, CNN’s Chris Cillizza explains how Democrats need to navigate this self-made minefield and push back on Republicans’ anti-woke messaging if they want to score big wins in the upcoming election." 

From CNN 

Just on a personal note: doesn't Chris Cillizza look like the comedian or comedic actor Jeremy Piven? They're only about 5-10 years apart in real life and I think they have similar sense of humors.

As far as what Chris Cillizza and James Carville are arguing here: I agree with almost everything that they are arguing here, except for two points. Replace the word liberal with just about anything else, except for progressive, like I don’t know, hippie, bedwetter, children, and my two favorites, Socialist and Communist and I would jump on that train blindfolded to get on board with Chis Cillizza here.

I’m not sure the Far-Left of the party (unless they can’t escape their favorite coffee house and Apple Store long enough to vote in 2022) is the biggest threat to Congressional Democrats in 2022.

A lot of other factors could hurt Democrats more like another dip in the economy with inflation and higher interest rates becoming factors. Or rising crime with Democrats looking like they don’t want to adequately fund law enforcement, could be even bigger weights for Democratic incumbents and candidates to have to carry around, than the Far-Left that might represent 20% of the country at this point.

If the Far-Left only represents 20% of the country that might be 33% of the Democratic Party, (Bernie Sanders entire coalition) so Democrats need these folks on board to be successful in 2022. But 67% always beats 33% (at least according to my calculations) and the 67 is the mainstream, establishment, progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

If Far-Left Democrats want a major role in the Democratic Party, especially at the leadership level and not been seen as 5 year olds who are always stuck at the kiddy table, they need to get on board and do their part to help the Democratic Party in 2022. And then have their ideological and cultural battles in 2023. 

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CBS Sports: NFL 1986- Super Bowl 21- New York Giants vs Denver Broncos

Source:CBS Sports- Rose Bowl Stadium welcomes you to Super Bowl 21, between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos. No one else actually said that, other than me, that I'm aware of anyway.

"Super Bowl XXI - Broncos vs Giants. January 25, 1987, Super Bowl XXI, Denver Broncos vs. New York Giants" 

From 80s Football Cards 

I know this is going to sound weird, but just hear me out and you might agree with me: I think Super Bowl 21 was actually an interesting game and a lot more competitive than a lot of classic NFL fans and historians believe it was. I know right, 39-20 with the Giants completely taking apart the Broncos. But they did that in the 2nd half. The Broncos were ahead after the 1st quarter and 1st half and Broncos QB John Elway actually played fairly well in the first half. 

It was 26-10 after 3 with the Giants leading and they added 3 more points to their lead in the 4th. So the Giants gradually pulled way leaving the Broncos with opportunities to get back in the game, but the Giants defense almost completely shutting down Elway and company in the 2nd half. 

On paper, Super Bowl 21 was a very competitive football game. The difference being that the Giants were a big, strong football team on both sides of the ball. With the Broncos being a very quick and mobile team on both sides of the ball, but not physically strong enough to stop a big, strong, good offensive team that the Giants had in the mid and late 1980s. But their type of team served the Broncos very well in the AFC in the 1980s. So yeah, 39-20, but the Giants wore down the Broncos over 4 quarters with their big, strong offense and defense. 

Super Bowl 21 wasn't like the Giants were simply 19 points better as far as personal. They were just that much bigger and stronger than the Broncos. Similar to a great heavyweight who wears down his opponents over time with a lot of deadly body shorts, before he eventually knocks him out.  

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Afro Marxist: 'Angela Davis on Cuba, Fidel Castro and the U.S Embargo'

Source:Afro Marxist- Professor and New-Left political activist Angela Davis, talking about Cuba.

"Angela Davis talks about her experiences in Cuba and her feelings about Fidel Castro. She discusses Cuban Americans and her opposition to the US embargo."

From Afro Marxist 

Just to give you a little background on Professor Angela Davis: she was one of the first early victims of political correctness in America. Not coming from the Far-Left, where of course Professor Davis was a self-described Communist up until the late 1970s or 80s, but coming from the Far-Right that literally wanted to put her in prison for being a Communist and someone who was a professor at the University of California Los Angeles in the late 1960s and 70s. California law enforcement tried to tie her to bank robberies that were going on back then, but had no real evidence against her. 

Professor Davis is essentially making the argument here that the problems with Cuba are America's fault, and not, gee I don't know, the Marxist-Communist regime in Cuba that's held back the Cuban people freedom for the last sixty years. 

I'm against the embargo against Cuba as well, but to argue that the embargo is what's holding back Cuba, when the rest of the developed world trades with Communist Cuba and has relations with Communist Cuba, is ludicrous. Besides, if the Communist system is a progressive as it's supposed to be (which of course it isn't) you think Cuba could overcome one embargo from one country.  

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Goldfinger: James Bond Meets Pussy Galore (1964)

Source:James Bond 007- Scottish Stud Sean Connery: the one and only James Bond.

“I must be dreaming…” On this day in 1964 Honor Blackman filmed her scene where the no-nonsense Pussy Galore wakes up Bond on board Goldfinger’s jet in GOLDFINGER. Blackman said: “It was actually my first day of shooting on the film and I was highly nervous.”

From James Bond 007 

"CLIP DESCRIPTION: Bond (Sean Connery) wakes up on Goldfinger's personal plane being flown by the one and only Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman)" 

Source:Movie Clips- English Goddess Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore. Too cute to be so bad.

From Movie Clips 

On the surface, you might think that Pussy Galore (played by Honor Blackman) is simply too damn cute to be hooked up with terrorists and criminals and to be flying them around, as well as their hostages. But Honor Blackman was a terrific actress and made it work because perhaps people thought she was too damn cute to be a bad girl. Too cute to scare a mouse and therefor could fool a lot of people. Perhaps even master spy and ass-kicker James Bond. 

These two had great chemistry from the beginning of this scene and you see it right away with them exchanging humor the way that they did with Pussy saying: "You can turn off the charm, I'm immune." With Bond if anything just being more charming and humorist.  

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Michael Smerconish: 'Cuba Libre'

Source:Michael Smerconish- talking about Cuba.

"In response to recent mass protests in Cuba, Biden called the nation a "failed state" and communism a "failed system." 

Christopher P. Baker, a travel journalist, tour guide, and Cuba expert, joins me to discuss. What do the protests mean for US foreign policy? Plus, I reminisce on my 2016 trip to Cuba with Baker." 

From Michael Smerconish  

To answer Michael Smerconish's question myself about what should if anything be done about Cuba, at least coming from America: President Joe Biden and his administration need to stand with the Cuban people and speak out against any possible crackdowns and new oppressions that come from the Communist Regime there. Speak out against the failures of Communists and communism in Cuba and stand with people there who speaking out in favor of freedom and the failures of the Cuban Government. 

I believe you have Cubans speaking out in favor of their own freedom and against communism, but these large protests there are about the latest Communist failures having to do with the shortages of food and medicine. I believe without those shortages, you don't have Cubans in the capital of Havana speaking out in favor of their freedom right now, because we weren't seeing that at least pre-Covid. I think with Cuba unable to deal with these current shortages as it has to do with food and medicine, is the reason why they're speaking out against the Communist Regime there. 

What America shouldn't do is increase sanctions on Cuba and if anything it's time for President Biden to risk taking on the Cuban-American community in Florida and try to reach out with the Communist Regime and tell them if they leave their own people alone and let them live at least somewhat freely, their country could expand economically, which would benefit the Cuban people. Even if it also benefits the Communists there, the benefits that would have on the Cuban people would outweigh anything that the Communists could gain from that, because the money and business would be going to the people.  

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CNN: Rosemary Church- 'Thousands Demand Freedom in Cuba's Largest Demonstration in Decades'

Source:CNN- Cubans protesting against their Communist Regime.

"Thousands have gathered in Cuba to protest a lack of freedom and the country's worsening economic situation in the largest mass demonstration in decades. CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports from Havana." 

From CNN

This post is really about Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria O. Cortez, and other so-called Democratic Socialists in Congress (House and Senate) and their lack of any response about Cubans protesting against their Communist Regime. 

If you really are a Democratic Socialist, then protesting not just against Communists and communism should be very easy for you. Perhaps not politically, especially with your Far-Left, but objectively and philosophically if you are what's called a Democratic Socialist, you should even want to speak out against Communist regimes and their failures, as well as oppression, because you are supposed to believe in democratic socialism or social democracy, but not Marxist or Leninist-Communism. 

The reason why so-called Democratic Socialists get lumped in with Communists, is because when Americans tend to think of Socialists, they tend to think of Cuba and Venezuela in the West, and the People's Republic of China in the East and the Soviet Union of Russia during the Cold War. They don't think of the social democracies like in Britain or in Scandinavia.  

But what you get from Senator Sanders and Representative Cortez (the two leading Socialists in Congress) is that they rather talk about anything else other than the failures of communism in Cuba or in Senator Sanders case, he blames the failures and shortages in Cuba on anything and anyone else than the Communist Castro Regime in Cuba. Even though they call themselves Democratic Socialists. 

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MLB: 'Sarah Shahi Excitedly Leaps Into Tim Federowicz's Arms After First Pitch'

Source:MLB- Hollywood Goddess Sarah Shahi at a Dodgers game, giving Dodgers catcher Tim Federwicz a ride of his life.

"6/24/13: Actress Sarah Shahi throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Dodgers' game against the Giants and then leaps into Tim Federowicz's arms to celebrate. 

Check out:MLB for our full archive of videos, and subscribe on YouTube for the best, exclusive MLB content:MLB." 

From MLB 

"Actress Sarah Shahi throws out the 1st pitch at the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants game at Dodger Stadium Featuring: Sarah Shahi Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 25 Jun 2013." 

Source:Alamy- Hollywood Goddess Sarah Shahi at a Dodgers game.

From Alamy

"Actress Sarah Shahi throws out the 1st pitch at the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants game at Dodger Stadium Featuring: Sarah Shahi Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 25 Jun 2013." 

Source:Alamy- Hollywood Goddess Sarah Shahi at a Dodgers game

From Alamy 

Until a few months ago when I heard about NBC's crime drama Life that was on in the late 2000s, I had no idea who the hell Sarah Shahi was. And then I searched that show online where she played a police detective on it. And then I saw this YouTube video of her at a Dodgers game several years ago not just throwing out the first pitch in that game, but acting like she was a janitor who just one a million dollar lottery or something and leaps into the arms of the catcher that she just threw the pitch. 

So I'm thinking Sarah Shahi is not just a beautiful, sexy cop (on TV) but a beautiful, sexy Los Angeles Dodgers fan as well, who I'm sure the Dodgers players and perhaps fans as well look forward to seeing her at all of their home games.  

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CNN: Anderson Cooper- George Conway: 'Amid All The Lies, Donald Trump Told One Fundamental Truth'

Source:CNN- anchor Anderson Cooper, interviewing Washington Conservative attorney George Conway, about former President Donald J. Trump.

"Conservative attorney George Conway discusses President Trump's lies about the January 6th insurrection during an interview with Fox News." 

From CNN

The way I would argue what I believe George Conway was saying here, is that former President Donald Trump is proud of what his supporters did for him on January 6. I don't think it's so much democracy as President Trump hates, but the fact that he lost and has become what he hates the most and what his father always told him never to be, which is a big loser. 

If President Trump won last November, The Donald wouldn't be criticizing democracy and free elections, but instead would be saying that this proves that democracy works and the people have spoken. But the fact that The Donald not only lost, but lost two states that Republicans haven't lost since 1992 which is Georgia and Arizona and that The Donald is a one-term President because he lost reelection is something that The Donald can't live with without being very loud about has angry he is because he lost last November.  

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CNN: 'See What CPAC Attendees Told Donie O'Sullivan About Donald Trump

Source:CNN- what CNN is paying Donnie O'Sullivan to talk to Trump supporters, he's getting underpaid.

"CNN's Donie O'Sullivan talks to attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas as former President Donald Trump's shadow looms over the gathering. Later, conservative analyst Bill Kristol talks to CNN's John Berman about how the conference has become the true refection of the Republican party." 

From CNN 

Last time I looked, CPAC stands for Conservative Political Action Conference, but someone should explain to me what is conservative about not believing in and accepting reality. Apparently the most conservative people in America are people who are least in touch with reality. And have weakest feet on the ground on Planet Earth. 

This is not CPAC, but Donald Trump's National Reality Show and an everyday look in the life and look at what Donald Trump is thinking about and looking into, where election results don't matter, where violence is OK if it comes from your side and is targeted at the other side. Where are Barry Goldwater and Bill Buckley Republicans (the real Conservatives) when we need them? 

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CNN: Upfront- Republican Strategist Mike Shields Stuns Poppy Harlow

Source:CNN- Poppy Harlow trying to have a discussion with House Minority Leader strategist Mike Shields, but Shields just being there to deliver his talking points.

"Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) threatened to remove Republicans from their committee assignments if they joined the select committee to investigate the January 6th insurrection, according to multiple Republican sources." 

From CNN 

I get the political problems that face House Republicans here. If January 6 is investigated and we learn about all the Trump supporters that were part of the insurrection, that could hurt House Republicans with Independents and even with Center-Right Republicans as they are running for election and reelection in 2022. 

But the flip side of this political coin for Minority Leader McCarthy and House Republicans is the longer we don't know what happened on January 6, the longer this story is going to be in the news, because the longer the national media, Congressional Democrats, (House and Senate) and the U.S. Justice Department is going to want to investigate this national news story which was the attack on our U.S. Congress simply for doing their jobs on January 6. 

It's that old cliche when you are in a hole, stop digging. What smart lawyers do when they know there is some really bad evidence out there against their client and they have access to that evidence, they release that information themselves and then try to put the best spin on it. Because the longer you hold out on it, the worst you look later on, especially if it looks like you were trying to cover it up. 

What Mike Shields was doing is the opposite of disclosure. House Republicans are trapped in a hole here and instead of trying to climb out of it and put this story to bed as soon as possible (like at midnight, instead of 5AM) they bring in whole new crew of hole diggers and new shovels and try to trap themselves in the hole instead. Which is a really bad political play on their part. The longer they try to cover up January 6. the more it will hurt them in 2022.  

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Last Week Tonight: John Oliver: 'The National Debt'

Source:Last Week Tonight- with John Oliver on America's national debt.

"The national debt has long been portrayed as a burden we’re placing on future generations. John Oliver discusses how national debt works, why people are so concerned about it, and why it might be more helpful that you think." 

From The Last Week Tonight 

For anyone who is truly interested in the national debt (which is all of our national budget deficits that are piled on in total) you should first be looking at who you are voting for every two years, first. And if you are not voting at all, you probably couldn't give a damn about the national debt, but if you do vote on a regular basis, look at the people you are electing and reelecting first and then go from there. 

If you are voting for people who truly believe in fiscal responsibility (Democrat or Republican) and you are voting for people who generally vote against deficit spending, simply because it's deficit spending and refuse to vote against legislation in Congress that raises the deficit and debt, then fine, because you are doing your part to keep the debt and deficits down. 

But if you say that you care about the national debt and deficit, but vote for people who could care less about the debt and deficit and only say that they do because they think you are an idiot who would vote for a blind man to land their plane for them (because who needs vision anyway) and then you reelect the asshole that knows you are an asshole for electing them, then whose fault is it for the deficit and debt? How about the person that you see in the mirror everyday? (Just throwing a thought out there) 

To paraphrase the great political satirist George Carlin: we get the politicians that we vote for. If you don't like the politicians that we have and you are voting for them anyway, you are shooting yourself in the foot, while staring at your feet as you are shooting yourself in the feet. 

I'm not a fan of either Republicans or Democrats when it comes to fiscal responsibility, but I dislike Republicans, especially in Congress more on this issue, because at least the Democrats are honest in the sense that they don't care about the national debt and deficit and are fairly honest about it. (As honest as politicians go) But Republicans act like fiscal conservatives, but only when there is a Democratic President, especially a Democratic President with a Democratic Congress. 

But when Republicans are in power, especially with The White House, they spend other people's money like drunken sailors celebrating their last night in the service on New Years Eve who have access to all the free alcohol that they can drink before it kills them. And if you don't believe me, just look at the four years of President Donald Trump where the national debt went up 10 trillion in just four years. Or look at the presidency of George W. Bush where the national debt went up 7 trillion-dollars in his eight years as President. 

Just to respond to what John Oliver what he's saying here: if the national debt and deficit doesn't matter (which is what he seems to be arguing here) then we can scrap the tax code right now, because Uncle Sam no longer needs our money to pay for his government. And we can just borrow all of our money to pay for all of our government. But the good news is that no serious economist actually believes that. 

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CNN: Barbara Starr- 'Donald Rumsfeld's Legacy: The Iraq war & September 11th'

Source:CNN- Donald Rumsfeld: President George W. Bush's Secretary of Defense (2001-06)

"CNN's Barbara Starr looks at the life and legacy of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who died at the age of 88, according to a statement from his family.

No cause of death was immediately provided.

"It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. At 88, he was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico," the Rumsfeld family said in a statement.

"History may remember him for his extraordinary accomplishments over six decades of public service, but for those who knew him best and whose lives were forever changed as a result, we will remember his unwavering love for his wife Joyce, his family and friends, and the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to country." 

From CNN 

Before I get into my main point about Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, I just want to say first that I believe he was a very good man and a man who served his country with a lot of courage and served a lot of people very well. His actions post-9/11 are perfect examples of that. As well as his service to President Gerald R. Ford in the mid 1970s. 

My main point about Donald Rumsfeld is that if he's not the face of Neoconservatives and neoconservatism in America, it's because maybe they can only have one face and that face belongs to Vice President Dick Cheney. 

And on a lighter note: when I think of Neoconservatives today, I think of 20 trillion-dollar debts and trillion-dollar deficits, because that's what it's taken the last 20 years to fund their foreign and national security policies. 

The economic and foreign policy of George W. Bush Administration was essentially guns and butter, financed by a national debt card. They told everyone that we can occupy two foreign, Middle Eastern countries that don't want us there in the first place, all by ourselves and at home we're going to double the size of Medicare, (an entitlement program) expand Uncle Sam's role in public education, cut taxes for everyone, and it's not going to cost anyone everything, because we have this national debt car and as long as the printer at the Federal Reserve keeps working and prints all of that money, we can do this indefinitely. 

That's what I think of Neoconservatives today and there's obviously more to neoconservatism than that, but guns and butter and their national card is what they're most famous for.  

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Last Week Tonight: John Oliver: 'Health Care Sharing Ministries'

Source:Last Week Tonight- John Oliver talking about health care sharing ministries.

"Health Care Sharing Ministries, or HCSMs, advertise themselves as a more affordable, faith-based alternative to health insurance. But John Oliver explains some of the massive limitations these plans can have." 

From Last Week Tonight 

From what I've heard about health care sharing ministries, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with them either. But at the same time I don't smoke anything, but I'm not in favor of outlawing tobacco and I would even legalize marijuana for personal use for adults. I don't drink alcohol, but I'm not for alcohol prohibition. 

I believe in an individualistic free society like America (unlike a collectivist welfare state like Britain, where John Oliver is from) that Americans need to be make their own decisions, short of hurting any innocent person with what they are doing,  even if those decisions offends the Far-Left or Far-Right, who believe that Uncle Sam is better qualified to make their own decisions, because Americans are just too damn dumb or immoral to make their own decisions for themselves. 

If you don't want health care sharing ministries, stay the hell away from it and find another way to pay for your own health care. 

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Theodore Roosevelt Center: "Before Stonewall: Ariston Bath Raid (1903)'

Source:Theodore Roosevelt Center- Theodore Roosevelt's connection with the Ariston Bath Raid.

"While the #Stonewall riots are often seen as the impetus to the gay rights movement, the fight for equality and acceptance began far earlier. In today's blog post, Karen digs into the Ariston Bath Raid of 1903, and Theodore Roosevelt's connection." 

From Theodore Roosevelt Center 

"Unlike other cultural groups, the LGBT community has a less visible history, resulting in the assumption that their oppression and fight for equal civil rights has not been long fought. If students learn anything about gay history, they learn about the Stonewall Riots, a demonstration by members of the queer community in response to a violent raid against patrons of the Stonewall Inn 52 years ago on this day. The event is often seen as the impetus for the larger LGBT rights and gay pride movement in the United States, which is why Pride Month is celebrated annually in June. Most Americans’ awareness of gay history beyond Stonewall is minimal though, despite the fact that evidence of gay culture has been recorded since America was a British colony. For this week’s short blog post to close out Pride Month, I wanted to explore a lesser-known moment in the gay rights movement from Theodore Roosevelt’s first term as president — the Ariston Baths Raid of 1903. 

Hundreds of sex-segregated bath houses operated in NYC at the turn of the century, spurred by the poor sanitary conditions and limited in-apartment toilets and baths in an increasingly populated city. Turkish baths’ popularity quickly spread from poor immigrants to local ethnic, fraternal and religious organizations, and later hotels and spas, that added steam rooms and massages." 

Source:Theodore Roosevelt Center- New York City in 1969.

From Theodore Roosevelt Center 

I think a big problem with American politics in how people operate in it and try to understand it, has to do with political stereotypes. A lot of political junkies like to stereotype racial and ethnic groups as being part of this party or that ideological faction. African-Americans and Jews tend to get stereotyped as leftists because they tend to vote Democrat. And the same thing with Irish-Americans, especially Irish-Catholics. Anglo-Saxons (especially Southern Anglo-Saxons) tend to get stereotyped as Republicans and right-wing, because they tend to be Protestant. When the fact is none of these voting blocks are monolithic when it comes to their political persuasions.

Cities, especially big cities, and even big Northeastern cities like New York City is the same way. New York gets stereotyped as left-wing, because you have Greenwich Village there and you have a lot of left-wing professors, hipsters, writers, and cultural leftist leaders, etc. But people tend to forget the Manhattan is the capital of Corporate America. NYC is also the home of Wall Street, it’s one of the wealthiest cities (not just big cities) in America, at least when it comes to per-capita income. It also has a lot of blue-collar communities, Italians, Irish, Latino, and other ethnic groups there that tend to vote Republican, because they like Republican economic and even cultural policies.

So when NYPD cracked down on gay bars in 1903 and later in 1968, simply because the people there are gay, you shouldn’t be surprised by that. New York has never been a utopia for gays in America or any other minority group. And neither has San Francisco (speaking of big cities) because even though SF is perhaps the most left-wing of any big city in America, gays have been harassed there as well simply because they are gay. 

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Michael Smerconish: 'What is the Appropriate Sentence For Derek Chauvin?'

Source:Michael Smerconish- you be the judge?

"COMMENT what you think the appropriate sentence is!

"It is a given he will do a minimum of 15 years": NBC News National Reporter Janelle Griffith joins the show to discuss her predictions for today's sentencing of Derek Chauvin, using Judge Peter Cahill's track record of rulings as the basis of her analysis." 

From Michael Smerconish 

I'm not a lawyer let alone someone who is familiar with Minnesota law, but just looking at what Derek Chauvin was convicted of which was second degree unintentional murder, third degree murder, and second degree manslaughter, you would think that Chauvin would be eligible for 20 years in prison for the second degree murder conviction alone. But Chauvin got 22 years total for unintentional murder, third degree murder, and manslaughter. I wasn't a math major either, but I know that 22 years for three crimes is a little more than seven years for each crime. 

The State of Minnesota is not Scandinavia, it's not Vermont, it's not Greenwich, New York, it's not Seattle, it's not San Francisco. This is not some radical hippie, Far-Left type of state. Minnesota is a middle of the road, middle of the country, Center-Left state, but not a Far-Left state. You would think they would be serious when it came to murderers and not slap people on the wrist and ask them not to kill anymore innocent people in the future. Which is what seven years for a third degree and second degree murder  and manslaughter essentially is. 

I don't know who Judge Cahill is (the man who sentenced Derek Chauvin) but I believe if the same jury who convicted Chauvin of these horrible crimes were also sentencing Chauvin, the former officer is probably looking at 30 years if not 40 years. (Unless it was a jury of radical hippie leftists) Because it's hard to imagine a jury who believes a police officer is who guilty of three different types of killings, should probably do real time for it. Not seven years for each crime, which is what Chauvin got.  

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CNN: 'Ted Cruz Accused of 'Mansplaining' As Hearing Goes Off The Rails'

Source:CNN- Ted Cruz vs Mazie Hirono on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"A Senate Judiciary Hearing considering the nomination of Judge Gustavo Gelpí to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals got heated as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) lashed out at chair Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), who accused Cruz of misrepresenting her line of questioning." 

From CNN 

"Mansplaining (a blend word of man and the informal form splaining of the gerund explaining) is a pejorative term meaning "(of a man) to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner".[1][2][3][4] Author Rebecca Solnit ascribed the phenomenon to a combination of "overconfidence and cluelessness".[5] Lily Rothman, of The Atlantic, defined it as "explaining without regard to the fact that the explainee knows more than the explainer, often done by a man to a woman." 

From Wikipedia 

  So according to Senator Mazie Hirono (Democrat, Hawaii) who I’m sure I tend to agree with her more often that I disagree with her (or at least more often than Flyin Ted Cruz, which ain’t saying anything) Senator Cruz was mansplaining her because he disagreed with her on originalism?

If this mansplaining claim is true, this is just one case, one example of why Congress has fewer fans than skunks at weddings. Apparently according to militant feminists, you’re not allowed to contradict a woman in public without someone throwing an insult at you. And oh by the way: I’m not sticking up for Senator Cruz. I don’t call him Flying Ted because I think he’s a great pilot. I’m just pointing out that political bullshit is nonpartisan.

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Michael Smerconish: 'Democracy or Security?: The Question That Will Re-Elect Donald Trump'

Source:Michael Smerconish- arguing that if Democrats turn against law enforcement, Donald Trump will come back to power.

"(YT EXCLUSIVE) What's more important to you and your family? Democracy, or security? Are we instinctively inclined to protect our own safety and family first?

Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman argues in today’s New York Times that dismantling the police could sink Democrats and lead “way too many” to choose Donald Trump." 

From Michael Smerconish 

Michael Smerconish is right in the sense that too many Americans get their news from the people and organizations that they trust politically. But that’s American political world of reality TV where it’s not the truth which is what matters in America for perhaps 40% of the country (Democrats and Republicans) but what’s believable for the hyper-partisans in America, (the Far-Right and Far-Left) and what sounds good to them politically, that they can use as their talking points on social media and perhaps their own personal blogs.

According to Michael Smerconish, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman argued that if the Democratic Party (the current party in power) turns against law enforcement and crime continues to rise in America, that Donald Trump will be elected President again in 2024.

Rising crime will hurt the Democrats, especially if they’re seen as against law enforcement. But I believe a better question will be whether The Donald will even be eligible to run for President or not in 2024. Not just the criminal investigations, but the personal bankruptcies, he may decide to leave the country, perhaps even give up his American citizenship to avoid being prosecuted and facing prison time before 2024 rolls around. Maybe he”ll find his own deserted country and create the State of Donald J. Trump and be put into power there. Hard to lose elections when only your voters are allowed to vote.

Yes, rising crime and attitude that seems anti-law enforcement will hurt Democrats especially in the Midwest in 2022 and 2024. But whether The Donald will even be eligible to run for President, let alone, be physically up to in in 3 years, are questions that are going to have to be answered first well more than half of the country has to worry about another national nightmare known as the Donald Trump Presidency happening again. 

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Real Time With Bill Maher: 'About Young People in Communism'

Source:Clowns In My Coffee- S.E. Cupp must work real hard to look adorable wearing thick glasses. And that work has paid off. 

"Young people’s respect for elders, poll results on communism and defunding the police." 

From Clowns In My Coffee 

"The Lost Generation was the social generational cohort that came of age during World War I. "Lost" in this context refers to the "disoriented, wandering, directionless" spirit of many of the war's survivors in the early postwar period.[1] The term is also particularly used to refer to a group of American expatriate writers living in Paris during the 1920s.[2][3][4] Gertrude Stein is credited with coining the term, and it was subsequently popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it in the epigraph for his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises: "You are all a lost generation".[5][6]

In a more general sense, the Lost Generation is considered to be made up of individuals born between 1883 and 1900.[7] The last surviving person that was known to have been born in the 19th century, Nabi Tajima, died in 2018... 

From Wikipedia 

The Wikipedia link I believe could easily be transferred over to the Millennial Generation, because I believe we're talking about a generation of Americans that don't seem to know what they want (other than being cool and popular) and don't seem to know where they are going. 

I mean we're talking about a generation of Americans that thinks socialism is cool and claim to hate capitalism (even as they are the biggest subsidizers and customers of American capitalism in American history) while they're staking out electronics stores to get whatever the latest gadgets are. Millennials seem to live in coffee houses, (perhaps because they can't afford their own place to live) who claim the they can't get though the day without their Starbucks, (or whatever their coffee house of choice is) get into car accidents because they can't put their I-phones downs. I mean at risking of sounding old (which to a Millennial is anyone 40 or over) if this isn't a lost generation, that term has no meaning. 

I believe every large generation (at least in my lifetime) has a period like this and I believe new technology makes it more obvious. Baby Boomers thought socialism and communism were cool in the 1960s. But then parents kicked them out, because they were stinking up their basements and it suddenly occurred to them that they need real jobs and that maybe communism isn't so cool or groovy anymore and that capitalism and liberal democracy is still way to go. 

The Boomers finally mentally grew up in the 1970s and 80s and turned out to be one of, if not the most productive generations that we've ever had. Hopefully the light will go on with Millennials as well as they get smarter with more experience.  

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Real Time With Bill Maher: 'New Rule: Progressophobia'

Source:Real Time With Bill Maher- on left-wing bedwetters and doom and gloomers.

"Where progress has been made, it’s not a sin – and it’s certainly not inaccurate – to say we’ve come a long way, baby. Not mission accomplished. Just a long way. " 

From Real Time With Bill Maher 

 The only thing that I disagree with Bill Maher’s editorial here is the word Liberal. Replace Liberal with leftist, hippie, hipster, left-wing propagandist, faddist, and of course the usual suspects, Socialist and Communist and I believe his editorial is perfect and damn right.

Back in the 1980s, there was a term for Far-Left Democrats who viewed the perfect as the enemy of the good and could never accept real progress in America, because whatever the situation was, it wasn’t perfect in their view. I believe Democratic political strategist Bob Beckel (speaking of lefties) coined the term Doom and Gloom Democrats as the term for hyper-partisan, Far-Left Democrats who could never admit to real progress, because the situation wasn’t perfect in their view.

The more modern term for Doom and Gloom Democrats is bedwetting liberals. I call them bedwetting leftists, but you’re talking about folks who always find that one cloud in the sky on a gorgeous, warm day.

If leftists liked sports (other than soccer and figure skating) and were head coaches, their team could win a game 28-0 and instead talking about that, they would mention the 5 penalties that their team made or the fact that their opponent almost scored on the last possession of the game. And not the mention that their team won 28-0 and played a great game on both sides of the ball.

As far as Kevin Hart: I rarely talk about entertainers at all when it comes to current affairs and politics, but only because they are entertainers. Except when these so-called Hollywood leftists or rightists are being hypocritical.

Entertainers whether it’s Kevin Hart or anyone else, are in the business of popularity and when they’re successful, they have large followings generally of young hipsters, who tend to be pretty left-wing (at least publicly) and for entertainers to keep their followers, they always have to bee seen as cool with those folks. Even if that means saying ridiculous things (to be overly generous on a good day) and risk giving up their credibility to keep or add to their popularity. So I don’t tend to take Kevin Hart or any other entertainer seriously when it comes to current affairs.

But other than the word Liberal, I believe that Bill Maher make a great point here and delivers a great editorial. And some might say he’s an entertainer and I would give them an A for being obvious on that one, but he has a long track record of consistency when it comes to his own politics and uses humor very well to make his serious points.

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