politics
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Pennsylvania is in its Taylor Swift era — legally! On the multi-Grammy winner’s birthday (Dec. 13), a resolution from the state’s House of Representatives voted 103-100 to name 2023 as the Taylor Swift era in the singer’s home state, according to Associated Press. The resolution noted Swift as a person who “transcended the role of […]
Megyn Kelly spoke out against Taylor Swift in a recent episode of the conservative commentator’s eponymous show this week, after the pop superstar attended a comedy show that provided “humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Swift addended stand-up comedian Ramy […]
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Van Jones saw himself trending on X this Thursday (December 7) after an appearance on CNN in the wake of the fourth Republican Party presidential debate. Vivek Ramaswamy made mention of a fringe right-wing conspiracy angle known as “the great replacement theory” which Van Jones said left. him “shaking.”
Van Jones, 55, appeared last night on CNN as the network analyzed the GOP debate featuring Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Chris Christie. The presidential hopefuls all trail Donald Trump by a wide distance but that hasn’t stopped the quartet from doing their best to angle for the Republican Party’s nomination to take on President Joe Biden in 2024.
Ramaswamy, 38, said during his time at the podium that, “great replacement theory is not some grand right-wing conspiracy theory, but a basic statement of the Democratic Party’s platform.”
For those unaware, the great replacement theory has captured the feeble minds within the political sphere, which explains a plot to replace white people via illegal immigration and other related nonsense.
Naturally, Ramaswamy’s comment caught the eye of several right-wing pundits and media figures who embrace some of the zanier theories as they relate to politics in the post-Trump era. Ramaswamy is also an election denier and was openly critical of former Vice President Mike Pence for not certifying the election results in Trump’s favor and said he would have done so.
Jones said the following of Ramaswamy’s comments, courtesy of Mediaite:
[T]he smug, condescending way that [Ramaswamy] just spews his poison out is very, very dangerous, because he won’t stop Trump, but he’s gonna outlive Trump by about 50 years, and you’re watching the rise of an American demagogue that is a very, very despicable person.
Literally, I was shaking listening to him talk because a lot of people don’t know that is one step away from Nazi propaganda coming out of his mouth.
Naturally, the MAGA nuts are celebrating this as Ramaswamy “PWNING THE LIBS” and that the reaction from Jones should be a point of celebration.
We decided not to platform any of that chatter because while Van Jones has often played himself when it comes to political opinions, it isn’t hard to see where he’s going with this thought.
Check out the clip on Mediaite.
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Photo: Pacific Press / Getty
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Rep. Lauren Boebert is back in the news but this time, she seemingly dragged Dave Chappelle into a moment he probably didn’t expect or ask for. In a now-deleted X reply, the Colorado congresswoman took a cheap shot at the trans community.
Dave Chappelle was in Washington this week to perform and ahead of his set, he took a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday (November 30) according to Punchbowl News.
Boebert was heard on a video shared to X asking for a photo as he was appearing heading out to leave. Boebert and Florida congresswoman Rep. Anna Paulina Luna are seen in the photo with the caption reading, “Just three people who know there are only two genders” — a clear attempt to push a transphobic agenda on the heels of Chappelle’s older material many deemed harmful.
In a video from reporter Kyle Stewart, Chappelle explained his visit to Capitol Hill as catching up with some old friends of his. Chappelle is a native of the Washington Metropolitan Area and has deep ties in the community despite residing in Ohio.
It isn’t known why Rep. Lauren Boebert deleted the tweet but we’re guessing the transphobia had a least a little to do with it.
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Photo: Getty
Like Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the assassination of President Kennedy was one of those stunning events where, if you were alive at the time, you will always remember where you were when you heard the news. Many pop songs have referenced President Kennedy, and more than a few have dealt with the circumstances of his […]
As Americans gear up for the next year of election madness, Cardi B got a head start on endorsing a candidate for president on Sunday (Nov. 19) when she revealed who she’s planning to back in the expected second smackdown between Pres. Biden and former one-term president Donald Trump.
“I don’t give a f–k… I’m not endorsing no f–king presidents no more,” Cardi said in a heated 10-minute-long Instagram livestream rant in which she stridently expressed her views on New York Mayor Eric Adams’ announced budget cuts while slamming Biden’s support for funding the wars in Ukraine and Israel. “Joe Biden’s talking about, ‘Yeah, we can fund two wars. We can fund two wars.’ Motherf–kers talkin’ about ‘we don’t got it, but we got it. We’re the greatest nation.’ No the f–k we’re not! We’re going through some s–t right now.”
Cardi made news during the 2020 election when she interviewed then-candidate Joe Biden for Elle magazine, telling him “I just want Trump out” and endorsing the former two-time veep for president over the twice-impeached real estate mogul currently facing four indictments on 91 felony charges in cases tied to his alleged alleged election interference, retention of classified documents and financial misdeeds by his titular company.
But now as Biden tries to convince recalcitrant Republicans in the House to support his call for robust military aid for the wars in Ukraine and Israel, Cardi sounds like she’s basically done with politics and politicians.
“I’m an angry b–ch… I need y’all to spread this video, and if something happens to me, it’s because I’m speaking truth. So God forbid something happens to me, or my family or some s–t, it’s because n—as is after me because I’m speaking the truth,” Cardi said in the new clip in which she’s dressed down in a fluffy grey robe and purple hair bonnet.
“In New York, there is a $120 million budget cut that’s going to affect schools, public libraries, and the police department — y’all know I don’t give a f–k about the cops, but it is what it is,” she added. “There’s gonna be a $120 million budget cuts, with schools, with libraries and the cops… And a $5 million budget cut in sanitation. B–ch, we are gonna be drowning in f–king rats,” the Bronx-bred MC said.
Last week, embattled mayor Adams unveiled harsh budget cuts for the city’s police department and schools, with CBS News reporting that 653 schools — or 43% of the school system — will be impacted by mid-year budget cuts totaling more than $120 million. The announcement from Adams came after the mayor’s budget director said that the belt-tightening was necessary due to a $7 billion budget gap caused in part by the need to shelter asylum seekers and a reduction in federal COVID-19 relief funds.
“Where these kids gonna go. Like, I’m lucky. I’m blessed,” Cardi said. “I’m whatever the f–k, but what’s going to happen to my nieces? What’s going to happen to nephews? What’s going to happen to my cousins, my aunts, my friends that’s livin’ in the hood?… B–ch New York is already f–king super dirty.”
In addition to being incensed about the sanitation, safety and school cuts, Cardi seemed especially upset about Biden’s financial support of Israel’s retaliatory war against the terrorist Hamas group, which invaded the country and killed more than 1,200 and kidnapped over 240 citizens in its murderous Oct. 7 attack. She’s also seemingly mad about the administration’s continued financial and military aid to Ukraine’s war against invading forces from Russia.
“Y’all need to sit the f–k down with these people and find agreement. No we cannot fund these f–king wars!” Cardi said. “The world is in f–king shambles… we can’t fund these wars. We can barely f–king fund this country. Finish it! Y’all need to finish it! Stop frontin’ like you got the f–kin’ money! You don’t got no money. You don’t got no sugar for your honeys.”
Cardi warned that these kind of extreme cuts are coming to everyone’s states and that crimes will go up “through the roof,” kids won’t have places to read and streets will be filled with “rats and squirrels and raccoons” if the budget reductions go through.
Though the message from Cardi was full of dark foreboding about the future, it ended with something that sounded positive. “I’m gonna finish recording this motherf–in’ song… and I’m gonna go to bed. We don’t sleep over here, b–ch… I’m on a very tight schedule with this album. I’m almost finished, it’s almost there,” she said of her eagerly anticipated follow-up to full-length studio debut, 2018’s Invasion of Privacy.
Check out a capture of Cardi’s video below.
Cardi B goes off on the US government about the $120 Million Dollar budget cut in New York that’ll effect Schools, Libraries, The Police Department, & Sanitation while funding wars. pic.twitter.com/WwCrbFbvGS— Cardi B | Updates (@updatesofcardi) November 19, 2023
Nicki Minaj faced quite a bit of backlash in 2021 for sharing her stance against the coronavirus vaccine. Now, more than two years later, she’s still not walking back. In one of the rapper’s biggest controversies to date, Minaj was accused of spreading misinformation back when the government first started rolling out preventative shots about […]
Jack Harlow has earned a lot of flowers in his career, but on Tuesday night (Nov. 7) the “Churchill Downs” MC got a surprise shout-out from an unexpected collaborator. “Tonight Kentucky made a choice. A choice not to move to the right or to the left, but a choice to move forward for every single […]
Don’t shake it off on Election Day. No, Taylor Swift wants fans to head to the polls instead on Tuesday (Nov. 7).
Playing off a lyric from her 2014 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Shake It Off,” the pop superstar shared a message on her Instagram Stories to remind Swifties of their civic duty. “Voters gonna vote!” she began her message to her 275 million followers. “If you are registered to vote in Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas or Virginia, it’s time to use your voice.”
She also encouraged voters to be informed before arriving. “Find out what’s on your ballot before you arrive to the polls by visiting Vote.org.” Her link takes followers to Vote.org’s See What’s on Your Ballot tool, which gives voters a preview of what will be on their ballots.
The 12-time Grammy winner’s latest Instagram Story is part of an ongoing partnership she has with Vote.org, a non-profit, non-partisan voter registration organization that aims to increase voting behavior and reach underserved and underrepresented voters.
“Taylor Swift is one of the busiest people in the world, but she always has time to stand up for democracy, use her own voice and encourage her fans and followers to use theirs. We’re so grateful for her continued partnership with Vote.org,” said Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org in a statement. “Her posts have created huge spikes in traffic to our website, resulting in tens of thousands of new registrations — and that’s just this year. … We’re thrilled that Taylor consistently uses her massive platform to encourage voting as an ongoing practice, not just something that people should do once every four years.”
According to Vote.org, after Swift urged fans to register to vote on National Voter Registration Day in another September post, the site received close to 40,000 new voter registrations.
The “Anti-Hero” singer, whose “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version) currently sits atop the Hot 100, is the lead finalist for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards with 20 nods. The BBMAs will stream Nov. 19 via BBMAs.watch, as well as on Billboard and the BBMAs social media accounts.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is planning to roll out new legislation to beef up the BOTS ACT and combat the growing use of automated software to attack high-demand online ticket sales for major concert tours.
In November 2022, unknown individuals attacked Taylor Swift’s ticket sale for her Eras tour, using automated software to overwhelm the Ticketmaster platform and prevent some fans from accessing tickets.
The BOTS ACT, co-authored by Blackburn at the end of 2016 and signed into law by then-president Barack Obama, outlawed the use of bots to attack ticket sales and jump the line to buy tickets ahead of consumers, but the law has only been enforced once in the seven years it’s been on the books. Blackburn is hoping to change that with the adoption of the Mitigating Automated Internet Networks for (MAIN) Event Ticketing Act, a bill she co-authored with Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) that would create new reporting requirements for online ticket sellers attacked by Bots and enact new security requirements for sites like Ticketmaster.
“A fan should be able to buy tickets to live events without bots stealing them and hiking the price,” said Sen. Blackburn in a press release provided to Billboard.
Under the BOTS Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has exclusive power to file suit against bot users and work with FBI and DOJ officials to bring criminal charges. Individuals caught intentionally breaking the law can face civil fines of $10,000 per violation.
“We have given the FTC the tools they need to help reduce ticket costs and protect consumers and artists from scammers,” Blackburn adds. “Now we must ensure they are enforcing it. This bipartisan legislation builds upon my work to safeguard artists and their fans in the online ticket marketplace.”
The new legislation would create a new forum for online ticket sellers have to report successful bot attacks to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and create a complaint database so consumers can also share their experiences with the FTC, and various state attorneys general. The bill also includes evolving data security requirements for online ticket sellers and requires the sharing of information between the FTC and law enforcement; as well as an annual report from the FTC to Congress on BOTS enforcement.
“Live entertainment is one of America’s greatest pastimes, and all Americans should be able to enjoy it without the fear of being scammed,” said Senator Luján. “I’m proud to join Senator Blackburn in introducing legislation to expand the BOTS Act. This bill will allow the FTC to enforce safeguards and set requirements to protect consumers from online ticketing schemes.”
Officials from Live Nation-owned Ticketmaster told Billboard they supported the legislation, saying in a statement: “We commend Senators Blackburn and Lujan for introducing this update to the BOTS Act. Ticketmaster leads the industry in fighting bots, and we see first-hand that scalper bot armies are only getting larger and more sophisticated. Scalpers make billions each year, and until there are real consequences, they will continue to rob fans of tickets at the onsale which is why we’ve long supported much stronger enforcement.”
The bill has also received the support of the National Independent Venue Association which issued a statement applauding Blackburn and Luján for “introducing the MAIN Event Ticketing Act to further crackdown on ticket-buying bots that rob fans of the opportunity to see their favorite artists. The Act builds on the BOTS Act of 2016, which put in place foundational guidelines to prevent ticket resellers from engaging in predatory ticketing practices. We believe in restoring trust in the ticketing experience for fans, and we stand ready to work with Senators Blackburn and Luján to ensure this legislation advances as part of critical comprehensive ticketing reform.”