politics
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The Rev. Al Sharpton led a protest in Florida on Wednesday (Feb. 15) aimed at criticizing the state’s racist erasure of Black history from its educational system, led by the efforts of Gov. Ron DeSantis. As noted during a speech delivered by Sharpton, DeSantis ordered the removal of a high school Black history course, which sparked concerns among several Black leaders nationwide.
The Miami Herald published a pair of reports regarding the march, centering on Rev. Al Sharpton and his efforts to bring attention to Gov. DeSantis’ decision to have the course removed and hopefully staving off a national movement among conservative elected officials who wish to do away with the looming specter of Black history subjects many on that side incorrectly view as negative in nature.
From the Miami Herald:
“Our children need to know the whole story. Not to not only know how bad you were, but to know how strong they are,” Sharpton told the crowd, adding, “If you would study history, governor, you would have known to mess with us and education always ends in your defeat.”
At the root of the protest was DeSantis striking down an Advanced Placement Black studies course aimed at high schoolers and the reason for the removal of the course was that the state believed it wouldn’t add “educational value” among other points.
DeSantis joins a growing list of GOP representatives who have an irrational fear of Critical Race Theory, using it as some manner of dog whistle among the base to stoke fears of some massive “woke” agenda sweeping the nation. When challenged, those against this so-called agenda can never fully explain what they are fighting against and it simply comes across as “don’t let the Blacks learn too much or else.”
We’ll share some videos of the protest led by Rev. Al Sharpton below. A scan of his Twitter feed goes even more into detail regarding this latest effort.
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Photo: The Washington Post / Getty
Former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley launched an atypical bid for the White House in a pretty typical fashion on Wednesday (Feb. 15). The Republican taking on her former boss, one-term president Donald Trump, revved up the crowd at her Charleston, South Carolina announcement this morning by walking on to one of the most beloved underdog fight anthems of all-time: Survivor‘s 1982 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Eye of the Tiger.”
“Stop using my f—ing song!,” the hit’s co-writer, Survivor keyboardist Frankie Sullivan, tells Billboard about his reaction to finding out about the latest politician’s attempt to co-opt the track he wrote for Sylvester Stallone’s classic underdog film, Rocky III. “This morning I get up and I’m doing my thing, writing and i turn on my phone and it explodes and I’m like, ‘What happened is my mom okay?’ That song belongs with the Rocky franchise and they don’t ask because they’d get a no. Absolutely.”
Haley, 51, who has leaned into her story of being a woman and person of color — she is the child of Indian immigrants — and who rose to the highest office in the South is the first member of the GOP to officially announce a bid to take on twice-impeached Trump, whose third bid for the White House has so far failed to catch fire. At press time, a spokesperson for Haley had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.
Back in 2016, Republican Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign had to pay a $25,000 settlement over claims they used “Eye of the Tiger” at a rally with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who made headlines for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Sullivan says he is really protective of the song, but unlike the suit he filed against the former Arkansas Governor, he’s not currently planning to launch a legal fight with Haley.
“I don’t care who it is, I don’t think it’s appropriate, especially with ‘Tiger,’ since it’s such a special song,” he says of the track that he notes hit No. 1 in 39 countries and has become shorthand for a hard workout or, to quote the indelible lyrics, “rising up to the challenge.”
“I have no idea why any politician would play that as a walk on,” he adds, laughing, “I would say you have to have balls… but in this situation that doesn’t apply.” Teetotaler Sullivan says he doesn’t know much about Haley — and tries not to mix politics and entertainment because that would be “the dirtiest martini anyone ever drank” — but thinks her use of “Tiger” is a “sick way to promote the song. I wish they would just stop this nonsense!”
He recalled that when Trump played “Tiger” at campaign rallies he had his lawyer call the Apprentice star’s team and the usage stopped without incident. But, to be honest, he’s tired of playing this game and though he isn’t on the phone with his lawyer, it’s enough already. “I’m amused, but is this s–t really still going on?” he wonders.
Though Haley is expected to distance herself from the disgraced president facing a raft of lawsuits for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election — as well as his alleged corrupt business practices and allegations of sexual assault — by choosing the beloved theme song from the Rocky threequel she definitely tore a page from Trump’s populist soundtrack playbook.
During his first White House run, Trump fell afoul of more than a dozen major rock and pop acts by using their music during his rallies to pump up the crowd. In November, the estate of Isaac Hayes threatened legal action against the former reality star within an hour of Trump’s third announcement to stop him from using “Hold On I’m Coming” at his events; Hayes, who died in 2008 at age 65, co-wrote the 1966 Sam & Dave hit with David Porter.
On his way out of office after being defeated by Pres. Joe Biden, the Village People also called out “bully” ex-president Trump for playing their gay anthem “Y.M.C.A.” one more time against their wishes at his sparsely attended farewell event on Jan. 20, 2021.
For years Trump ignored pleas from a long list of famous acts to cease and desist from using their music during his rallies and political events and in addition to the costumed disco act, the legacy manager for Laura Branigan took issue with Trump playing her hit “Gloria” at his final official appearance as well. Over the five years of his campaigns and presidency, artists ranging from Adele to Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, R.E.M., Aerosmith, Panic! at the Disco, Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, Rihanna and the estates of Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty and Prince have vociferously objected to Trump playing their music at his rallies.
Check out a tweet with footage of the Survivor walk-on below.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned her Republican colleagues in a fiery speech on the House of Representatives floor over their hypocrisy and racism.
On Thursday (February 2nd), the Republican majority prepared to vote to remove Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Their reasoning was tied to claims that Ms. Omar was over comments that she made in the past that they deemed antisemitic.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez took to the House floor to call out the GOP members’ hypocrisy as she defended her Democratic colleague. “Now as also as a fellow New Yorker, I think one of the things we should talk about here is also one of the disgusting legacies of 9/11 has been the targeting and racism against Muslim Americans throughout the United States of America. And this is an extension of that legacy,” she began.
Her voice rising, Ocasio-Cortez referenced her treatment by far-right Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who had previously attacked her with an offensive tweet. “I had a member of the Republican caucus threaten my life,” she said. “And the Republican caucus rewarded him with one of the most prestigious committee assignments. Don’t tell me this is about consistency.”
She would go on to attack Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for her racism & conspiracy theories including “Jewish space lasers”, remarking that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has already rewarded her with plum committee assignments for her support of his speakership. Ocasio-Cortez finished her speech, punctuating it by slapping her book on the podium: “This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America. Don’t tell me, because I didn’t get a single apology when my life was threatened. Thank you.”
Rep. Omar, who is one of two women Muslim representatives elected to the House along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in 2018, has been a constant target of right-wingers. Before the 218-211 vote to remove her, she spoke on the floor, saying: “I am Muslim. I am an immigrant. And interestingly, from Africa,” Ms. Omar said. “Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted?” She concluded amid the applause of her Democratic colleagues: “Take your vote or not — I am here to stay.”
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The deposition video of former President Donald Trump was released, showing him repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment before New York Attorney General Letitia James – an action he previously belittled as something for “the mob”.
The video, released on Tuesday (January 31st) by CBS News, is from his appearance before New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office last August. James is heard introducing herself at the outset of the video before Trump delivers a rambling opening statement lasting seven minutes. “Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool – an absolute fool,” he began.
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Trump continued: “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’” – a reference to his infamous 2016 presidential campaign speech where he bashed attorneys for opponent Hilary Clinton. “Now I know the answer to that question. When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded politically motivated witch hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and even the fake news media, you really have no choice.” He’d go on to trash the attorney general repeatedly as well.
Afterward, he stated: “Under the advice of my counsel and for all of the above reasons, I respectfully decline to answer the questions under the rights afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.” Kevin Wallace, the senior enforcement counsel in James’ office asked if that included the Fifth Amendment. “Yes,” Trump answered.
Trump would go on to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights more than 400 times during the four hours of questioning in the deposition. Journalist Shawn Peirce highlighted a montage created by BBC News which compiled the multiple times that the former president invoked the Fifth Amendment.
The release of the video adds more trouble to Trump’s plate. It coincided with attorneys for James’ office requesting the judge overseeing the $250 million lawsuit filed against Trump, his children, and his business for committing “staggering” financial fraud last September to place sanctions on them for making frivolous arguments in their written responses to the suit.
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Maxine Waters, a battle-tested member of Congress, has long been a fierce champion for the American people while representing California and other members of the Democratic Party. During a House Rules Committee hearing, Waters handled the false accusations from Republican Party opponents that she embraces socialism, doing so with expert ease.
Rep. Maxine Waters of California was present at the Tuesday (Jan. 31) hearing for a debate to sign a resolution against socialism, a long-running crusade for conservative members of Congress still worshipping at the feet of McCarthyism and threats of the “Red Scare.”
Waters, who sits as a ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, pushed back at the charges of socialism levied against her by Rep. Nick Langworthy of New York, after the congressman asked Waters to address a 2019 declaration issued by former President Doandl Trump that America will never fall under socialist rule.
“One of the problems I have with this resolution is, I don’t know everything that you’re talking about when you talk about socialism,” Water fired back. “There are things that you embrace that fall within that so-called socialism definition.”
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania then went on a half-baked attack against Waters in demanding she condemns socialism, but it failed spectacularly.
“The American public is going to wonder why Republicans are wasting our time today with this divisive resolution instead of focusing on the real threats to our economy and democracy,” Waters said. “What is this all about? Is it about saying you want to cut Social Security? You want to cut Medicare? You don’t care about the debt ceiling? Please.”
Rep. Reschenthaler then stepped in a steaming pile of horse puckey of his party’s own doing.
“You can’t condemn socialism?” Reschenthaler asked. “In your opening remarks, you were talking about Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi. You know what they all have in common, right?”
Waters simply fired back, “Trump.”
Classic Auntie Maxine.
Check out some of the reactions of Rep. Maxine Waters expertly PWNING the GOP MAGA Cultist Crew below from Twitter.
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Photo: Tom Williams / Getty
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A newly disclosed financial statement from the 2020 presidential campaign of Ye aka Kanye West shows a hefty sum paid out to white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
According to reports, the committee for the rapper’s 2020 presidential campaign submitted end-of-year financial documents that were required by the Federal Election Commission on Monday (Jan. 30). The filing revealed that the committee paid Fuentes $14,719. The payments were classified as reimbursement for travel expenses.
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When contacted by reporters, the 24-year-old confirmed that it was “incurred by myself and the team when I relocated to LA in November to do work for Kanye 2020.” The first payment, which was $9,000, was given on the same date as his trip to Mar-A-Lago with Ye to see former President Donald Trump.
The filing also showed that Ye paid a large amount to Milo Yiannopoulous, the former Breitbart writer and far-right personality. According to the records from the campaign committee, Yiannopoulous was paid $50,000 in total. Almost $10,000 of that amount ($9,955) was for what is described as a “Domain Transfer.” The remainder – $40,000 – was for “Campaign Wrap Up Services” which was paid out to Yiannopoulous in the middle of December before he was fired.
Another noteworthy finding from the documents from the committee reports that Ye received no donations at all in 2022. This contrasts with their disclosure that they still had $228,000 in their funds as last year came to a close.
The news comes as Ye has been relatively quiet on the political front. He detached himself from Fuentes after a media run with shocking moments such as delivering antisemitic comments and defending Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler while appearing with Fuentes on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show.
His proclivity to run with members of the far-right is still intact, as Ali Alexander is now on the team for his 2024 presidential campaign. Alexander is a rabid election denier and has been implicated for his role in the events leading up to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.
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Photo: Ricky Vigil M / Getty
The library is officially open! Congressman George Santos found himself in a war of words with none other than Trixie Mattel on Monday (Jan. 23).
The Twitter feud began when the embattled junior Congressman (and alleged Brazilian drag queen) took to social media to complain about being skewered on late-night TV by everyone from Jon Lovitz on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to Bowen Yang on Saturday Night Live.
“I have now been enshrined in late night TV history with all these impersonations, but they are all TERRIBLE so far,” he tweeted. “Jon Lovitz is supposed to be one of the greatest comedians of all time and that was embarrassing— for him not me! These comedians need to step their game up.”
The RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars 3 winner couldn’t resist hopping into the fray by replying, “Maybe the source material was weak.” Santos didn’t take kindly to the read, and decided to respond with some shade about Mattel’s Snatch Game impression of Mama Ru, writing, “Clearly you know all about weak acting skills” next to a gif of the moment.
“I am not an actor! I was young and I had fun at a festival!” Mattel responded, but Santos insisted on getting the last word by adding, “It’s all good! I won my race against the fan favorite too,” in reference to his 2022 campaign against Democrat Robert Zimmerman.
Santos’ knowledge of Drag Race culture seems worth raising at least one well-manicured eyebrow over, considering he’s been up in arms as of late denying allegations he used to perform under the drag name Kitara in Brazil. (As an openly gay Republican, he’s also been a vocal proponent of Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was signed into law by Ron DeSantis last year and inspired a rash of similar anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the country.)
Check out Mattel’s Twitter feud with Santos below.
I have now been enshrined in late night TV history with all these impersonations, but they are all TERRIBLE so far. Jon Lovitz is supposed to be one of the greatest comedians of all time and that was embarrassing— for him not me! These comedians need to step their game up.— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) January 23, 2023
It’s all good! I won my race against the fan favorite too. 💪🏼🇺🇸— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) January 24, 2023
It’s been over two weeks since Kevin McCarthy was (finally) elected speaker of the house after the longest contest to a speaker election in more than 150 years — and Internet sensation Randy Rainbow isn’t quite ready to move on from that bit of news.
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On Monday (Jan. 23), Rainbow posted his latest parody video “Speaker of the House,” in which the star lampoons the embattled GOP leader for his repeated failures to get elected — and the concessions he had to make to finally get the job done.
Starting off as many of Rainbow’s parodies do, the video opens with Rainbow conducting a fake interview with the leader, introducing him as “barely elected Speaker of the House, Kevin McF—head.” As the comedian begins to simultaneously question and roast McCarthy (including drinking from a mug with a piece of paper reading “you’re a dumba–” taped to it), the music begins to kick in, leading us to another song from the viral star.
Performing to the tune of “Master of the House” from the seminal Broadway musical Les Miserables, Rainbow holds nothing back when referring to McCarthy as a “slimy, climby man-boy” and a “power-hungry whore,” while making sure to rub the politician’s nose in his recent pyrrhic victory. “Speaker of the house/ Cunning little chap/ Covetous, conservative and full of crap,” he sings. “Thirsty as a fish/ Quick to compromise/ Only took the motherf—er 15 tries.”
But Rainbow’s barbs are not only reserved for McCarthy — the singer also takes time to go after some of McCarthy’s opponents, his allies and other much-discussed members of the GOP. “[Lauren] Boebert doesn’t even know what state she’s from/ Marjorie [Taylor Green]’s a mess/ Matt [Gaetz]’s a ticking bomb/ [George] Santos says he’s Ariana Grande’s mom,” he sings.
Finally bringing the song to its exacerbated conclusion, Rainbow delivers a final “toast” to McCarthy: “Girl, I give you one more week/ Everybody lift a cheek to the speaker of the house.”
The video comes just ahead of the 2023 Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, where Rainbow’s debut studio album A Little Brains, A Little Talent is nominated for best comedy album against huge competitors like Dave Chappelle, Patton Oswalt, Jim Gaffigan and Louis C.K.
Check out Randy Rainbow’s full video for “Speaker of the House” above.
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Congressman Ruben Gallego has officially announced that he will run for Senator in Arizona, challenging current Senator Kyrsten Sinema.
On Monday (Jan. 23rd), the Democratic member of the House of Representatives announced that he intends to run for Senator in the state of Arizona in 2024. Gallego released a video of himself addressing a group of veterans in the town of Guadalupe, saying: “You’re the first group of people that are hearing this besides my family. I will be challenging Kyrsten Sinema for the United States Senate, and I need all of your support.”
Gallego, who is of Colombian and Mexican descent, released an announcement video in English and Spanish afterward. “As a Marine, I never back down from a fight and in the Senate, I’ll fight to make sure every Arizonan has the same chance that I had at the American Dream,” he said. He was first elected to the House from his Phoenix-area district in 2014 and has been a fierce critic of Sinema over the past few months which led many to anticipate his announcement.
The announcement adds more drama to a Senate race that is gaining national attention due to Sinema’s surprising exit from the Democratic Party in December, declaring herself as an independent. Gallego and others have criticized her for her centrist approach which led her to support Republicans on issues concerning voting and blocking legislation last year. Sinema has been tied to Democratic Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia. “The problem isn’t that Senator Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party — it’s that she’s abandoned Arizona. She’s repeatedly broken her promises and fought for the interests of big pharma and Wall Street at our expense,” Gallego said in his statement.
While there is some uncertainty if other Arizona Democrats will join Gallego in challenging Sinema for her seat, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson has stated that she’s considering a run. Blake Masters, who lost his Senate challenge to Mark Kelly last November and was an election denier in support of former President Donald Trump, has also expressed interest in running. The most prominent & controversial GOP candidate, Kari Lake, reportedly is “very invested in the legal battle” she has against Katie Hobbs, who defeated her for governor in the midterms. Lake, a serial election denier, has refused to concede her loss.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. EST examining the ticketing industry and Ticketmaster’s handling of the Taylor Swift ticket sale, Senator Amy Klobuchar‘s (D-MN) office announced.
Titled “That’s The Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment,” the hearing will look at accusations of anti-competitive behavior in the ticketing space and examine the history of the 2010 Department of Justice consent decree governing the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
The merger has long been criticized by members of both parties with Klobuchar recently identifying the Swift crash as an example of how “Ticketmaster’s power in the primary ticket market insulates it from the competitive pressures that typically push companies to innovate and improve their services.”
The Nov. 15 sale crash, which affected both Ticketmaster and its competitor SeakGeek, was the result of massive demand from Taylor Swift fans and an illegal bot attack, Ticketmaster wrote in a Nov. 15 blog post.
Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, will be joined at the hearing by ranking member Mike Lee (R-UT) for the hearing before the full Senate Judiciary Committee with Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) and incoming ranking member Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
“The issues within America’s ticketing industry were made painfully obvious when Ticketmaster’s website failed hundreds of thousands of fans hoping to purchase tickets for Taylor Swift’s new tour, but these problems are not new. For too long, consumers have faced high fees, long waits, and website failures, and Ticketmaster’s dominant market position means the company faces inadequate pressure to innovate and improve,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “At next week’s hearing, we will examine how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industries harms customers and artists alike. Without competition to incentivize better services and fair prices, we all suffer the consequences.”
“American consumers deserve the benefit of competition in every market, from grocery chains to concert venues,” Lee added. “I look forward to exercising our subcommittee’s oversight authority to ensure that anticompetitive mergers and exclusionary conduct are not crippling an entertainment industry already struggling to recover from pandemic lockdowns.”
“It’s been more than a decade since Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation, and competition in the ticketing and live entertainment industries has only gotten worse. Too often, consumers are the ones who pay the price for this market failure,” said Durbin. “I look forward to this hearing to explore what led to this environment, as well as steps we can take to bring competition back to these industries in a way that puts fans and artists first.”
“I’m glad to see the committee will look into the Ticketmaster debacle,” said Graham. “I look forward to hearing more about how we got here, and identifying solutions.”
A witness list has not been released for the Jan. 24 hearing. A spokesperson for Ticketmaster did not comment when asked about the upcoming hearing.