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PEMDAS - 12•3•20

Open below for PEMDAS!

POLITICS/NEWS

Coronavirus

Case numbers this past week in the U.S.

New cases: 948,177 people

Hospitalizations: 98,691 people (on Dec. 1st)

Deaths: 8,476 people (almost three times the number of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001)

Case numbers this past week in the world

New cases: 3,449,295 people

Deaths: 59,579 people (in one week, the death toll is a number within the estimated range of deaths from the War in Afghanistan, a war that has been going on since 2001)

Vaccines

Genetic vaccines -- Vaccines that deliver one or more of the coronavirus’s own genes into our cells to provoke an immune response.

Pfizer - to distribute 6.4 million doses in U.S. by mid-December; found to be 95% effective in trials, but still needs final authorization in the U.S. before widespread usage; has been authorized for emergency use in the U.K.

Moderna - applied to FDA for emergency use authorization; could begin distribution as early as Dec. 21st

Biden’s Cabinet - New York Times

I’ll do my best to speak to the political actions for each cabinet nominee that I find favorable and those which I find questionable, but for now I’m leaning towards the side of questionable because most news sources are printing the favorable stuff already. You can basically Google each name, find a headline that names them as the Biden pick, and it will list their credentials.

Vice President: Kamala Harris 👩🏽

“Kamala is a cop” - Devyn Spring, in The Independent

Secretary of State: Antony J. Blinken 👨🏻

Former Deputy National Security Adviser (2013-2015) and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State (2015-2017) under Barack Obama

Co-founder of WestExec Advisors (see below)

Summary of his views with key U.S. global relationships - Newsweek

Russia: tough on them; believes in isolation and undermining of Putin/Russia to reduce their global power; sees a couple avenues of cooperation with Russia (such as extending New START)

China: wants to find opportunities to cooperate with China on things like arms control and climate change; won’t shy away from criticizing Chinese Communist Party’s abuses

North Korea: does not see possibility with denuclearization, so will focus instead on arms control

Iran: rejoin and strengthen the Iran nuclear deal (which he helped establish under Obama), which he believes will put us in a good position to push back against Iran’s other destabilizing activities

Afghanistan, Syria: “large-scale, open-ended deployment of large, standing U.S. forces in conflict zones with no clear strategy should end and will end under his watch,” but not quickly; believes some troops should remain

Palestine, Israel: supports the U.S. financial and military relationship with Israel; “Israel has never been—until now, unfortunately—a partisan political issue," he said in August. "And I think it's very bad for the United States and for Israel that someone tries to turn it into one.” He would restore U.S. assistance to Palestinian authorities but said it would not condition Israeli aid on its honoring international agreements and the two-state solution.

Secretary of the Treasury: Janet L. Yellen 🧑🏻‍🦳

First female Treasury Secretary

Former Federal Reserve Chair (the Federal Reserve is the central banking system of the U.S., responsible for many economic objectives, such as maximizing employment, stabilizing prices, and moderating long-term interest rates)

She is considered a “dove” to Wall Street (as opposed to a “hawk”) because she prioritizes unemployment over inflation. She also aligns mostly with Keynesian economic philosophy, which “seeks to preserve the system rather than overthrow it.” -- New Yorker, 2013 -- this New Yorker description of Yellen’s work pre-federal government work has solid info about her various economic beliefs, such as how Yellen supports higher minimum wages to reduce unemployment.

I couldn’t find much about how her ideology aligns with Leftist thought. She seems decent enough to me, but... idk economics. Here’s something in the Wall Street Journal about the challenges she’ll face entering the arena of politics.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro N. Mayorkas 🧑🏼‍🦲

First Cuban (and Latinx) Secretary of Homeland Security

Helped develop and implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows children brought to the U.S. through “unlawful” means to have two-years safe from deportation in attempt to obtain a work permit

“In 2013, the DHS inspector general investigated Mayorkas for allegedly improperly granting visas under pressure from former DNC chair Terry McAullife and Tony Rodham, Hillary Clinton’s brother. While a report from the inspector general’s office said Mayorkas’s actions created “an appearance of favoritism and special access,” he was not sanctioned by the department.” -- Daily Beast

TBA: Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing & Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Veterans Affairs

WestExec Advisors

Washington consulting firm founded by Antony J. Blinken and Michèle Flournoy.

Avril D. Haines (see below) was one of its former principals.

“By not directly advocating for federal dollars on behalf of their clients, they don't have to publicly divulge who is paying them and for what activities, such as the connections they make with government agencies, she said. But it is also impossible to assess the influence they have on federal expenditures.“ -Politico

Basically, we don’t know which companies fund this consulting firm, so the people coming out of it could have corporate interests or foreign government interests that we do not know about. There should be a demand that the people who worked here and/or the firm itself disclose this information!

Cabinet noms’ relationships to corporate interests - Democracy Now

Biden’s Cabinet-Rank Status and White House Staff

Chief of Staff: Ron Klain 👨🏻

a veteran political and policy operative well-known in Washington

has worked with Biden off and on since the late 1980s, when he served as a top aide to the then-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee

previously served as Biden’s chief of staff when he was vice president

took point on the Obama administration’s handling of Ebola

has been outspoken about President Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

was Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Revolution LLC, an investment firm launched by AOL Co-Founder Steve Case in 2005

buzz words like “big corporate law firm” and “worked as a venture capitalist” got me to this fact, but it’s pretty hard to Google... hmm!!

I’m going to keep my eye on this...

Office of Management & Budget Director: Neera Tanden 👩🏽

President of the Center for American Progress

apparently, she changed her Twitter bio, removing “progressive” from her bio and replacing it with “liberal”

she “hates the left” - Hasan Piker (a hot leftist who I like a lot, but I’m still gonna try to look up his claims)

Director of National Intelligence: Avril D. Haines 👩🏻

First female Director of National Intelligence

Played a key role in Obama’s “drone wars” as former Deputy Director of the CIA

“She approved an “accountability board” that spared CIA personnel reprisal for spying on the Senate’s torture investigators, and was part of the team that redacted their landmark report. After the administration ended, Haines supported Gina Haspel for CIA director, someone directly implicated in CIA torture, a decision that remains raw amongst progressive activists. Until late June, she consulted for the Trump-favorite data firm Palantir, which emerged from the CIA.” -- Daily Beast

National Security Adviser: Jake Sullivan 👱🏻‍♂️

Youngest person to serve as National Security Adviser

Held top positions at the State Department and in the Obama White House, playing a key role in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal

U.N. Ambassador: Linda Thomas-Greenfield 🧑🏿‍🦳

an American diplomat who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the United States Department of State's Bureau of African Affairs from 2013 to 2017

following her work as a diplomat, Thomas-Greenfield became a senior vice president at Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, D.C.

strong supporter of multilateralism (or, cooperation among several nations)

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate: John F. Kerry 👨🏼‍🦳

Worked in a top position at Bank of America, one of the largest financiers of fossil fuel development in the world. So like... can he not have this role?

Communications Director: Kate Bedingfield 👩🏼

in November 2011, Bedingfield started working at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

in May 2013, Bedingfield was named spokesperson and vice president of corporate communications at the MPAA

in 2015, Bedingfield was named communications director for then Vice President Joe Biden; she also held two additional roles in the Obama administration: director of response and deputy director of media affairs

after working in the Obama administration, Bedingfield returned briefly to sports and entertainment communications

Press Secretary: Jen Psaki 👩🏻‍🦰

Jan. 2009 - Dec. 2009: White House Deputy Press Secretary

2009 - 2011: White House Deputy Communications Director

2013 - 2015: Spokesperson for the United States Department of State

2015 - 2017: White House Communications Director

TBA: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, U.S. Trade Representative, Small Business Administrator, CIA Director

EDUCATION - Topic suggestion from Justin Myhre: The Tuskegee Experiments

CDC Title: “The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male”

The CDC page for the Experiments

offers a timeline of the events from 1895 to 2009

1895: at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Booker T. Washington describes his vision for Black economic development and gets “philanthropists” to come on board

this speech is known as the “Atlanta compromise” speech, with the compromise being “an agreement between African-American leaders and Southern white leaders in which Southern blacks would work meekly and submit to white political rule, while Southern whites guaranteed that blacks would receive basic education and due process of law” -- Wikipedia

the Expo was “designed to promote the American South to the world and showcase products and new technologies, as well as to encourage trade with Latin America” -- Wikipedia

2009: the last widow receiving Tuskegee Health Benefit Program benefits dies on January 27th

contains write-ups for how the study began, what went wrong, and how the study ended and reparations began

How the study began: the Public Health Service (a division of the executive branch’s Department of Health and Human Services that began in 1798 as a system of marine hospitals and grew into a larger system that was given its official title in 1912) along with the Tuskegee Institute (an HBCU in Alabama, established on July 4, 1881) “began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for blacks”

in 1932, 399 Black men with syphilis and 201 Black men who did not have it (Wikipedia says that these men were “impoverished, African-American sharecroppers”) were told that they were being tested (without consent) for “bad blood” and were promised a form of health care

they were also told it would last 6 months but it ended up lasting 40 fucking years

this CDC page fails to mention that “the victims of the study included numerous men who died of syphilis, 40 wives who contracted the disease and 19 children born with congenital syphilis,” a fact from Oliver J. Kim and Lois N. Magner’s book A History of Medicine

What went wrong: in 1971, a panel was assembled and they “found that the men had agreed freely to be examined and treated. However, there was no evidence that researchers had informed them of the study or its real purpose. In fact, the men had been misled and had not been given all the facts required to provide informed consent”

1947: it is discovered that penicillin can treat syphilis, but none of the men are offered it

the men were never given the option to quit the study

How the study ended and reparations began: in October 1972, the panel stops the study; in 1973, the study “participants” and their families file a class-action lawsuit; in 1974, a $10 million settlement is reached in which the U.S. government agrees to paying for health care and funeral services of the “participants” (called the Tuskegee Health Benefit Program, or THBP); in 1975, wives, widows, and offspring received these benefits as well

“Study clinicians could have chosen to treat all syphilitic subjects and close the study, or split off a control group for testing with penicillin. Instead, they continued the study without treating any participants; they withheld treatment and information about penicillin from the subjects. In addition, scientists prevented participants from accessing syphilis treatment programs available to other residents in the area. The researchers reasoned that the knowledge gained would benefit humankind; however, it was determined afterward that the doctors did harm their subjects by depriving them of appropriate treatment once it had been discovered. The study was characterized as ‘the longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history.’” - Wikipedia

on May 16, 1997, President Bill Clinton formally apologized to the study “participants” and their families

this study about the Legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study makes the point that “Blacks are more reluctant than Whites to participate in biomedical research studies because of the infamous study of syphilis in men run by the U.S. Public Health Service from 1932-72″ -- there are very valid reasons to distrust the U.S. government with biomedical advancements, particularly for Black people

here is an article that connects the legacy of Tuskegee to fears around Coronavirus

now, does this mean we shouldn’t take the vaccine? no! but don’t shame people, particularly Black folks, for very reasonable distrust of the U.S. government!!!!!

this is also an interesting case of reparations given in modern times!

MEDIA (Other)

BOOKS - Tues. 12/8

Layla •• Colleen Hoover

A Universe of Wishes •• edited by Dhonielle Clayton

Mozart •• Jan Swafford

An Inventory of Losses •• Judith Schalansky, translated by Jackie Smith

The Book of Moods: How I Turned My Worst Emotions Into My Best Life •• Lauren Martin

Mercy: The Fair Lady, the Frost, and the Fiend (Vol. 1) •• Mirka Andolfo

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle #2) •• Nghi Vo

Bag-Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House •• Rachel Maddow & Michael Yarvitz

The Invention of Medicine: From Homer to Hippocrates •• Robin Lane Fox

The Mermaid from Jeju •• Sumi Hahn

MOVIES

Friday 12/4

76 Days •• limited theatrical & virtual cinema release

Directors: Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous

Writer: Hao Wu

Premise: Set in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, this documentary captures the struggles and human resilience in the battle to survive the pandemic in Wuhan.

Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (46 reviews)

Metacritic: 83 (14 reviews)

Oscar buzz?

Best Documentary Feature: long-shot

All My Life •• theatrical release

Director: Marc Meyers

Writer: Todd Rosenberg

Starring: Jessica Rothe, Harry Shum Jr., Chrissie Fit, Jay Pharoah, Keala Settle

Music by: Lisbeth Scott

Premise: A couple's wedding plans are thrown off course when the groom is diagnosed with liver cancer.

Run time: 1 hour 31 minutes

Oscar buzz?

Best Picture: long-shot

Best Actor: long-shot (Harry Shum Jr.)

Best Actress: long-shot (Jessica Rothe)

Best Original Screenplay: long-shot (Todd Rosenberg)

Best Original Score: long-shot (Lisbeth Scott)

Ammonite •• premium on-demand

Director: Francis Lee

Writer: Francis Lee

Starring: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, James McArdle, Alec Secăreanu, Fiona Shaw

Music by: Dustin O'Halloran, Volker Bertelmann

Premise: Acclaimed paleontologist Mary Anning works alone selling common fossils to tourists to support her ailing mother, but a chance job offer changes her life when a visitor hires her to care for his wife.

Run time: 2 hours

Rotten Tomatoes: 68% (152 reviews)

Metacritic: 72 (34 reviews)

Oscar buzz?

Best Picture: good chance

Best Director: decent chance (Francis Lee)

Best Actress: great chance (Kate Winslet)

Best Supporting Actress: good chance (Saoirse Ronan), decent chance (Fiona Shaw)

Best Original Screenplay: decent chance (Francis Lee)

Best Production Design: good chance (Sarah Finlay, Sophie Hervieu)

Best Cinematography: good chance (Stéphane Fontaine)

Best Costume Design: good chance (Michael O’Connor)

Best Editing: decent chance (Chris Wyatt)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling: good chance

Best Sound: decent chance

Best Original Score: good chance (Dustin O’Halloran, Volker Bertelmann)

Another Round •• limited theatrical release

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

Writers: Thomas Vinterberg, Tobias Lindholm

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe

Music by: Janus Billeskov Jansen

Premise: Four friends, all high school teachers, test a theory that they will improve their lives by maintaining a constant level of alcohol in their blood.

Run time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (59 reviews)

Metacritic: 72 (9 reviews)

Oscar buzz?

Best International Feature Film: submitted for Denmark

Black Bear •• theatrical release & premium on-demand

Director: Lawrence Michael Levine

Writer: Lawrence Michael Levine

Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon, Paolo Lázaro, Grantham Coleman

Music by: Giulio Carmassi, Bryan Scary

Premise: A filmmaker plays a calculated game of desire and jealousy in pursuit of a work of art that blurs the boundaries between autobiography and invention.

Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (52 reviews)

Metacritic: 81 (14 reviews)

Godmothered •• Disney+

Director: Sharon Maguire

Writers: Kari Granlund, Melissa Stack

Starring: Isla Fisher, Jillian Bell, June Squibb, Jane Curtin

Music by: Rachel Portman

Premise: An inexperienced fairy godmother-in-training tries to prove that people still need fairy godmothers.

Run time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 67% (24 reviews)

Metacritic: 49 (6 reviews)

Half Brothers •• theatrical release

Director: Luke Greenfield

Writers: Eduardo Cisneros, Jason Shuman, Ali LeRoi

Starring: Luis Gerardo Méndez, Connor Del Rio

Music by: Jordan Seigel

Premise: Renato, a successful Mexican aviation executive, is shocked to discover he has an American half brother he never knew about -- the free-spirited Asher. The two very different half brothers are forced on a road trip together. masterminded by their ailing father, tracing the path he took as an immigrant from Mexico to America.

Run time: 1 hour 36 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 36% (11 reviews)

Mank •• Netflix

Director: David Fincher

Writer: Jack Fincher

Starring: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, Joseph Cross, Jamie McShane,

Music by: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Premise: 1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish "Citizen Kane."

Run time: 2 hours 11 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (139 reviews)

Metacritic: 80 (38 reviews)

Oscar buzz?

Best Picture: top contender

Best Director: top contender (David Fincher)

Best Actor: top contender (Gary Oldman)

Best Supporting Actor: great chance (Charles Dance), good chance (Arliss Howard), decent chance (Tom Pelphrey), long-shot (Tom Burke)

Best Supporting Actress: favorite to win** (Amanda Seyfried), decent chance (Lily Collins)

Best Original Screenplay: top contender (Jack Fincher)

Best Production Design: favorite to win** (Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale)

Best Cinematography: favorite to win** (Erik Messerschmidt)

Best Costume Design: top contender (Trish Summerville)

Best Editing: top contender (Kirk Baxter)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling: great chance

Best Sound: favorite to win**

Best Visual Effects: great chance

Best Original Score: favorite to win** (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)

Mayor •• limited theatrical & virtual cinema release

Director: David Osit

Starring: Musa Hadid

Premise: This documentary follows Musa Hadid, the mayor of Ramallah, the de facto capital of Palestine, for two years.

Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (17 reviews)

Metacritic: 77 (8 reviews)

Minor Premise •• on-demand

Director: Eric Schultz

Writers: Justin Moretto, Eric Schultz, Thomas Torrey

Starring: Sathya Sridharan, Paton Ashbrook, Dana Ashbrook

Music by: Gavin Brivik

Premise: Attempting to surpass his father's legacy, a reclusive neuroscientist becomes entangled in his experiment, pitting 10 fragments of his consciousness against each other.

Run time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (17 reviews)

Nomadland •• theatrical release

Director: Chloé Zhao

Writer: Chloé Zhao

Starring: Frances McDormand, Jason Strathairn, Linda May, Charlene Swankie, Bob Wells

Music by: Ludovico Einaudi

Premise: A woman embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything during the recession.

Based on: Nomadland •• Jessica Bruder

Run time: 1 hour 48 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% (140 reviews)

Metacritic: 97 (25 reviews)

Oscar buzz?

Best Picture: favorite to win**

Best Director: favorite to win** (Chloé Zhao)

Best Actress: top contender (Frances McDormand)

Best Supporting Actor: great chance (David Strathairn), long-shot (Bob Wells)

Best Supporting Actress: great chance (Charlene Swankie), decent chance (Linda May)

Best Adapted Screenplay: favorite to win** (Chloé Zhao)

Best Cinematography: top contender (Joshua James Richards)

Best Editing: great chance (Chloé Zhao)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling: decent chance

Best Sound: top contender

Small Axe: Red, White and Blue •• Amazon Prime Video

Director: Steve McQueen

Writers: Steve McQueen, Courttia Newland

Starring: John Boyega, Steve Toussaint, Joy Richardson, Neil Maskell, Stephen Boxer

Music by: Mica Levi

Premise: Spotlights the true story of Leroy Logan, who at a young age saw his father assaulted by two policemen, motivating him to join the Metropolitan Police and change their racist attitudes from within.

Run time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% (48 reviews)

Metacritic: 85 (13 reviews)

Sound of Metal •• Amazon Prime Video

Director: Darius Marder

Writers: Darius Marder, Abraham Marder, Derek Cianfrance

Starring: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, Mathieu Amalric

Music by: Nicholas Becker, Abraham Marder

Premise: A heavy-metal drummer's life is thrown into freefall when he begins to lose his hearing.

Run time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% (118 reviews)

Metacritic: 82 (25 reviews)

Oscar buzz?

Best Picture: great chance

Best Director: good chance (Darius Marder)

Best Actor: great chance (Riz Ahmed)

Best Supporting Actor: decent chance (Paul Raci)

Best Supporting Actress: good chance (Olivia Cooke)

Best Original Screenplay: good chance (Darius Marder, Abraham Marder, Derek Cianfrance)

Best Cinematography: long-shot (Daniël Bouqet)

Best Editing: good chance (Mikkel E.G. Nielsen)

Best Makeup & Hairstlying: decent chance

Best Sound: great chance

Best Original Score: good chance (Nicholas Becker, Abraham Marder)

Tuesday 12/8

The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone •• limited theatrical release

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Writer: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, Bridget Fonda, George Hamilton, Sofia Coppola

Music by: Carmine Coppola

Premise: Coppola tweaks the little-loved final part of his Godfather trilogy as Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone tries to go into respectable business.

Run time: 2 hours 42 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (11 reviews)

Metacritic: 74 (7 reviews)

Thursday 12/10

Funny Boy •• Netflix

Director: Deepa Mehta

Writers: Deepa Mehta, Shyam Selvadurai

Starring: Rehan Mudannayake, Arush Nand, Brandon Ingram, Nimmi Harasgama, Ali Kazmi, Agam Darshi, Seema Biswas, Shivantha Wijesinha

Music by: Howard Shore

Premise: Explores Arjie's sexual awakening from a young boy to a teenager who falls in love with a male classmate, just as political tensions escalate between the Sinhalese and Tamils in the years leading up to the 1983 uprisings.

Run time: 1 hour 49 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (6 reviews)

Oscar buzz?

Best International Feature Film: submitted for Canada

Let Them All Talk •• HBO Max

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Writer: Deborah Eisenberg

Starring: Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, Gemma Chan, Lucas Hedges, Dianne Wiest

Music by: Thomas Newman

Premise: A young man finds romance with a literary agent while taking a trip with the woman's famous aunt and her friends.

Oscar buzz?

Best Director: long-shot (Steven Soderbergh)

Best Actress: some chance (Meryl Streep)

Best Supporting Actress: some chance (Candice Bergen), long-shot (Dianne Wiest)

Best Original Screenplay: some chance (Deborah Eisenberg)

Best Cinematography: long-shot (Steven Soderbergh)

Best Editing: long-shot (Steven Soderbergh)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling: long-shot

Best Original Score: good chance (Thomas Newman)

TV SHOWS

Friday 12/4

Big Mouth •• Season 4 •• Netflix

Earth at Night in Color •• Season 1 •• Apple TV+

The Hardy Boys •• Season 1 •• Hulu

MacGyver •• Season 5, Episode 1: “Resort + Desi + Riley + Window Cleaner + Witness” •• CBS

Magnum P.I. •• Season 3, Episode 1: “Double Jeopardy” •• CBS

The Mandalorian •• Season 2, Episode 6: “Chapter 14: [tba]” •• Disney+

Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special •• Apple TV+

Synopsis: Faced with a holiday cheer crisis, the North Pole knows there's only one person who can save the day: Santa Claus's great friend, Mariah Carey. Combining musical performances, dynamic dancing and groundbreaking animation, the undisputed Queen of Christmas jumps into action to create a holiday spectacular to make the whole world merry.

Appearances: Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Tiffany Haddish, Billy Eichner, Snoop Dogg, Jermaine Dupri, Misty Copeland, Mykal-Michelle Harris, The Peanuts Characters

Pokémon Journeys: The Series •• Part 3 •• Netflix

Selena: The Series •• Season 1 •• Netflix

Sunday 12/6

Euphoria •• special episode part 1: rue •• HBO

A Holly Dolly Christmas •• CBS

Synopsis: Performing from an intimate, candlelit set, Dolly will bring both powerful, faith-ﬁlled hymns and light-hearted holiday classics to help viewers celebrate her favorite time of year, as well as tracks from her new holiday album, A Holly Dolly Christmas. The beloved entertainer will share personal Christmas stories and faith-based recollections of the season to spread some much-needed joy and holiday cheer at the end of this challenging year.

MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time •• MTV

Host: Vanessa Hudgens

Performers: Sia, Steve Aoki, Travis Barker

Presenters: Neve Campbell, Sofia Carson, Lily Collins, Derek Hough, Jacob Bertrand, Peyton List, Xolo Maridueña, David Spade, Maddie Ziegler

The Real Housewives of Atlanta •• Season 13, Episode 1 •• Bravo

Shameless •• Season 11, Episode 1: “This Is Chicago!” •• Showtime

Your Honor •• Season 1, Episode 1: “Part One” •• Showtime

Monday 12/7

His Dark Materials •• Season 2, Episode 4: “Tower of the Angels” •• HBO

Nurses •• Season 1, Episode 1: “Incoming” •• Global TV

A Suitable Boy •• Season 1 •• Netflix

Wednesday 12/9

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical! •• NBC

Thursday 12/10

One Night Only: The Best of Broadway •• NBC

Host: Tina Fey

Performers: the casts of Ain’t Too Proud, Chicago, Jagged Little Pill, Diana, Jersey Boys, Mean Girls, Rent; Kelly Clarkson, Brett Eldredge, Patti LaBelle

Appearances: the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Annaleigh Ashford, Lance Bass, Kristen Bell, Ron Cephas Jones, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Peter Gallagher, Josh Groban, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sean Hayes, Nathan Lane, Camryn Manheim, Alanis Morissette, Jerry O’Connell, Leslie Odom Jr., Billy Porter, John Stamos, Aaron Tveit, Blair Underwood, Vanessa Williams, Susan Kelechi Watson

TIME Person of the Year •• NBC

VIDEO GAMES

Friday 12/4

Commandos 2: HD Remaster (Switch)

DARQ: Complete Edition (PC, PS4, XBO)

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)

FIFA 21 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light (Switch)

Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise (Switch)

John Wick Hex (Xbox One, Switch)

Madden NFL 21 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)

Suzerain (PC)

Tuesday 12/8

Call of the Sea (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC)

Destiny 2 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)

Destiny 2: Beyond Light (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S) – December 8

Doom Eternal (Switch)

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch)

Ryte: The Eye of Atlantis (PSVR)

Shakes on a Plane (PC, Switch)

Swords of Gargantua (PSVR)

Temtem (PlayStation 5)

Wednesday 12/9

Woodsalt (Switch, PC)

Thursday 12/10

Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia (PlayStation 4)

Cyberpunk 2077 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC)

Haven (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC)

Orwell's Animal Farm (PC)

Sword of the Necromancer (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

DIRECT ACTIONS / DONATIONS

Donate to...

houseless encampments in Minneapolis

order a book through a Black-owned progressive independent bookstore

list for various cities

Minneapolis: order from Black Garnet Books

enjoyed a queer artist’s music this year? purchase their album on Bandcamp (even if you won’t listen to it on Bandcamp, who cares, just buy their music!!!)... aaaand Friday 12/4 is Bandcamp Friday, in which ALL of your money goes DIRECTLY to the artist... here are some recommendations from moi of who to support and listen to their music, is güd

BLACK SAILOR MOON •• Backxwash

Peaceful as Hell •• Black Dresses

ROSETTA •• Dua Saleh

“A Dead Cop Is A Good Cop” •• GOYACONNECT

BRAT •• NNAMDÏ

Beauty •• Patricia Taxxon

Read up!

abolitionist manifesto (MPD150)

Political witness

attend your city’s city council meeting -- i did this the other day virtually on this site... maybe your city has something similar!

ALBUMS - Fri. 12/4

Limbo (Deluxe) •• Aminé

Mrs. Clean

Zack & Cody (feat. Valee)

Gelato

Talk (feat. Saba)

Chicken (feat. Toosii)

Buzzin (feat. Unknown Mortal Orchestra)

Solid

Burden

Woodlawn

Kobe

Roots (feat. J.I.D & Charlie Wilson)

Can’t Decide

Compensating (feat. Young Thug)

Shimmy

P.I.M.P. (feat. Vince Staples & slowthai)

Riri

Easy (feat. Summer Walker)

Mama

Becky

Fetus (feat. Injury Reserve)

My Reality

Goosebumps [EP] •• Bastille

Goosebumps (ft. Kenny Beats)

survivin’

WHAT YOU GONNA DO??? (ft. Graham Coxon)

survivin’ (One Eyed Jack’s Sessions)

Goosebumps (One Eyed Jack’s Sessions)

Real Bad Boldy •• Boldy James & Real Bad Man

Real Bad Boldy

Light Bill Master (feat. Meyhem Lauren)

Thousand Pills (feat. Stove God Cooks)

Failed Attempt

Lil Vicious (feat. Eto)

On 10

Held Me Down

Street Shit

Good Food (feat. Mooch & Rigz)

Champion

We Know the Truth •• Drakeo the Ruler

We Know the Truth (feat. Icewear Vezzo & ALLBLACK)

20 Pieces

Too Famous

Fullys for Bullies (feat. Lil Mosey & Ralfy the Plug)

Punk Rock Bitch

Fights Don’t Matter

Energy (feat. Tee Grizzly)

Lil Boosie (feat. Stupid Young)

Hundiddy

In My Rear (feat. Da Boii)

Big Dogg (feat. Ralfy the Plug & Ketchy the Great)

Who Am I (feat. Desto Dubb & Rich the Kid)

Captions

Friday

Mardi Gras

Mr. Mosely Claps Back

John Madden (feat. RMC Mike, Rio Da Yung OG, Lil Yachty & Ralfy the Plug)

Polar Bear

Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special •• Mariah Carey

[tracklist TBA]

Fresh Tapes 2 •• Patricia Taxxon

APJGHPLRKGH

THE WITCH IS DEAD

CHECKC

BAPBAP

SLAPJUG

WICKEDTRACK

THECREATURE

BATTLESHIP

A Very Poppy Christmas [EP] •• Poppy

I Like Presents

I Won’t Be Home for Christmas

Kiss in the Snow

Silver Bells

Nightmare Vacation •• Rico Nasty

Candy

Don’t Like Me (feat. Gucci Mane & Don Toliver)

Check Me Out

IPHONE

STFU

Back & Forth (feat. Aminé)

Girl Scouts

Let It Out

Loser (feat. Trippie Redd)

No Debate

Pussy Poppin

OHFR?

10Fo

Own It

Smack A Bitch (feat. ppcocaine, Sukihana, & Rubi Rose)

Smack A Bitch (Bonus)

SAWAYAMA (Deluxe) •• Rina Sawayama

Disc 1

Dynasty

STFU!

Comme des Garçons (Like the Boys)

Akasaka Sad

Paradisin’

Love Me 4 Me

Bad Friend

Fuck This World (Interlude)

Who’s Gonna Save U Now?

Tokyo Love Hotel

Chosen Family

Snakeskin

Disc 2

LUCID

We Out Here

Bees & Honey

Love It If We Made It (The 1975 cover)

XS (Live)

STFU! (Acoustic)

Bad Friend (Acoustic)

Chosen Family (Acoustic)

Comme des Garçons (Like the Boys) [Brabo Remix] ((feat. Pabllo Vittar))

XS (Remix) [feat. Bree Runway]

Bad Friend (Dream Wife Remix)

Wonder •• Shawn Mendes

Intro

Wonder

Higher

24 Hours

Teach Me How to Love

Call My Friends

Dream

Song for No One

Monster (with Justin Bieber)

305

Always Been You

Piece Of You

Look Up at the Stars

Can’t Imagine

Odin’s Raven Magic •• Sigur Rós

Prologus

Alföður orkar

Dvergmál

Stendur æva

Áss hinn hvíti

Hvert stefnir

Spár eõa spakmál

Dagrenning

Christmastide [EP] •• Tori Amos

Christmastide

Circle of Seasons

Holly

Better Angels

The White Stripes Greatest Hits •• The White Stripes

Let’s Shake Hands

The Big Three Killed My Baby

Fell in Love With a Girl

Hello Operator

I’m Slowing Turning Into You

The Hardest Button to Button

The Nurse

Screwdriver

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground

Death Letter

We’re Going to Be Friends

The Denial Twist

I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself

Astro

Conquest

Jolene

Hotel Yorba

Apple Blossom

Blue Orchid

Ball and Biscuit

I Fought Piranhas

I Think I Smell a Rat

Icky Thump

My Doorbell

You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)

Seven Nation Army

SINGLES

New Tracks

“Coco” •• 24kGoldn feat. DaBaby

“Better Days” •• Ant Clemons feat. Justin Timberlake

“Grove Elation” •• Bernice

“Swimming in the Stars” •• Britney Spears

“Matches” •• Britney Spears feat. Backstreet Boys

“Blame It On the Mistletoe” •• Ella Henderson & AJ Mitchell

“No Flag (en Français)” •• Elvis Costello avec Iggy Pop

“Keeps Me Running” •• Esther Rose

“Family Farm” •• The Hold Steady

“Real Shit” •• Juice WRLD & benny blanco

“Oh Santa! (Remix)” •• Mariah Carey feat. Ariana Grande & Jennifer Hudson

“Dark Side of the Party” •• Miss Grit

“Snow Day” •• shame

“Her Revolution” •• Thom Yorke, Burial, & Four Tet

“His Rope” •• Thom Yorke, Burial, & Four Tet

“Greener Pools” •• Witch Egg

“Santa Stay Home” •• U.S. Girls feat. Rich Morel

Covers

“Stay Home” (American Football cover) •• Anamanaguchi

“Our Anniversary” (Smog cover) •• Bill Callahan & Bonnie “Prince” Billy feat. Dead Rider

“Boris” (Melvins cover) •• BORIS with MERZBOW

“In the Bleak Midwinter” (Traditional English Christmas Carol cover) •• James Blake

“River” (Joni Mitchell cover) •• Margo Price

“Nobody Wants a Lonely Heart” (Arthur Russell cover) •• Muzz

Remixes

“Teenager (Robert Smith Remix)” •• Deftones

“The Ground Below (Royal Jewels Remix)” •• Run the Jewels feat. Royal Blood

New Tracks + New Music Videos

“Diazepam” •• Buke and Gase / So Percussion

“Paper Fog” •• Cory Hanson

“Unblu” •• Jenny Lewis & Serengeti

“Reason” •• Jordana

“Hindsight” •• Madison McFerrin

“Foxes” •• Midnight Sister

“Shortcummings” •• Sleaford Mods

youtube

“The Crack” •• Goat Girl

youtube

“Satisfied” •• The Staves

youtube

“Lemon Mouth” •• Tigers Jaw

youtube

“Creatures” •• Viagra Boys

Old Tracks + New Music Videos

“Savior Complex” •• Phoebe Bridgers •• directed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

New Music Films

youtube

The Road to Miss Columbia: A Documentary •• Lido Pimienta

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gabbykaufman · 7 years

Text

A year in the life of Donald Trump, and the country

(Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

When Donald Trump became the president-elect one year ago, his elated supporters and his crestfallen detractors had two very different ideas of the president he would become.

Those aboard the Trump Train had elected a president who declared, “I alone can fix it,” and they took him at his word.

He would provide “great health care at a fraction of the cost.” He would be “the greatest jobs president that God ever created,” by bringing back dying industries like coal mining and manufacturing. He would “rebuild” the U.S. military and “take care” of veterans. His “big, beautiful” wall along the border would halt illegal immigration, and Syrian refugees would no longer be allowed to enter the country.

Those who had opposed Trump the candidate were horrified at the prospect of him taking office. To them, Trump had campaigned on a dystopian vision of America, and his promises — to crack down on immigration, reverse Obama-era policies and pursue an isolated “America First” agenda — were more like threats. They predicted the possibility of nuclear war, a prospect Trump has done little to ward off by provoking the volatile leader of North Korea.

Of the two opposing visions of Trump’s presidency, neither has been fully borne out by events. It was probably unrealistic to expect him to repeal and replace Obamacare on “Day One” of his administration, but we’re now up to Day 291 and counting. His promise to push for a constitutional amendment setting term limits for members of Congress seems to have fallen through the cracks, along with getting rid of gun-free zones near schools. Tax cuts and infrastructure spending, signature initiatives during the campaign, are, respectively, a work in progress and a can in the process of being kicked down the road.

Nevertheless, Trump has been busy in the White House, when he’s not golfing. Here’s a partial list of his accomplishments and disappointments:

President Donald Trump applauds new Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch during a public swearing-in ceremony for Gorsuch in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Monday, April 10, 2017. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

Judicial appointments One of the Trump administration’s earliest concrete victories, and one the White House still cites as proof of his effectiveness, was the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. When Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, Senate Republicans refused to even hold a hearing for President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. During the campaign, Trump released a list of potential nominees, promising conservatives he would replace Scalia with someone from the pool. Within weeks of his inauguration, he picked Gorsuch, who was confirmed in April.

In addition to the Supreme Court, Trump has stacked the federal benches with his picks. Last week, after four confirmations, Trump thanked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for helping to confirm federal judges “at a record clip,” which he said amounted to the courts “rapidly changing for the better!”

Failure to repeal and replace Obamacare One of Trump’s signature campaign promises was quality health care for every citizen at a reduced cost. This, he claimed repeatedly, would be accomplished by repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature healthcare legislation. Although Trump and many congressional Republicans campaigned at least in part on a repeal-and-replace platform, the effort has been shelved after a series of defeats.

A House bill was pulled by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., in March because it lacked support. In May, the House passed a bill, and Trump hosted a premature celebration in the White House Rose Garden. However, the Senate rejected it and opted to write their own version instead. In July, Republican Sens. Susan Collins, John McCain, and Lisa Murkowski sank the latest effort, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was “time to move on” to other parts of the GOP agenda. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, sensing one last opportunity, introduced their repeal bill in September, but a vote was never held after it failed to garner the necessary support.

Former FBI Director James Comey is sworn in during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Washington. (Photo: Alex Brandon, Pool/AP)

Comey’s firing and Mueller’s appointment In May, Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, who had become a bogeyman for the Democrats for his public updates on the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.

Trump originally cited a Justice Department memo criticizing Comey’s handling of the investigation as the reason for his dismissal, but he later admitted he had already decided to fire Comey and hinted in an interview with NBC News “this Russia thing with Trump and Russia” influenced his decision.

Meanwhile, Comey had been keeping notes of his interactions with the president, including one conversation where Trump allegedly said, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.” More damningly, Comey contended Trump asked him to ease off former national security adviser Mike Flynn. After his dismissal, Comey testified he gave the memos to a friend to leak to reporters, in hope that it would trigger the appointment of a special counsel. Shortly after Comey was fired and the New York Times published the contents of the memos, Robert Mueller was tapped to lead the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election.

Mueller has brought federal charges against Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign chairman, and Rick Gates, Manafort’s deputy and business partner. A former campaign foreign policy aide, George Papadopoulos, has already pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.

Continued pressure on ISIS and bombing of Syria Trump vowed to “bomb the s*** out of” ISIS during the campaign, and he has made gains in taking down the terrorist organization. In October, U.S.-backed forces declared the end of “major military operations” in the retaking of Raqqa, Syria, the putative capital of the “Islamic state” declared by ISIS.

Trump said capturing Raqqa meant “the end of the ISIS caliphate is in sight,” and claimed credit for the victory. However, former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter denied the Trump administration had radically changed the U.S. military’s tactics in fighting ISIS. He said the capture of Raqqa was the result of a plan that “was laid out two years ago, and has been executed pretty much in the manner and the schedule that was foreseen then.”

In a departure from Obama-era policy, however, Trump authorized a missile strike on a Syrian airbase, in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that killed at least 80 and produced horrifying footage of civilians struggling to breathe and move and foaming at the mouth. The action against the air base from where the attack was launched constituted an escalation of American involvement, as no direct military action had been taken against the Syrian government until then.

(Photos: Getty Images)

West Wing and Cabinet exits The team around Trump in the White House today is markedly different than the one with which he began his term in January. National Security Adviser Mike Flynn resigned after just three weeks, following reports that he had discussed U.S. sanctions with the Russian ambassador and lied about those interactions to the vice president. Other high-profile White House exits included the departures of deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh, communications director Mike Dubke, press secretary Sean Spicer, assistant press secretary Michael Short, chief of staff Reince Priebus, communications director Anthony Scaramucci, chief strategist Steve Bannon, and deputy assistant to the president Sebastian Gorka. Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price resigned under fire after reporting by Politico revealed he had spent over $1 million in taxpayer money on chartered planes.

EPA turmoil Trump appointees have dramatically overhauled and shrunk several Cabinet agencies. Scott Pruitt, in his former job as attorney general of Oklahoma, had sued the Environmental Protection Agency 13 times before he was tapped to lead it. He has attempted to transform the EPA by scaling back its regulatory footprint and shutting out environmental groups from policy-making in favor of industry executives and lobbyists. A report on his daily schedule by the New York Times found Pruitt “has held back-to-back meetings, briefing sessions and speaking engagements almost daily with top corporate executives and lobbyists from all the major economic sectors that he regulates — and almost no meetings with environmental groups or consumer or public health advocates.”

Pulling out of Paris climate agreement and Trans-Pacific Partnership As a candidate, Trump denounced the previous administration’s approach to international affairs as weak and promised to make better “deals” for the country. He put his money where his mouth is on two: the Paris climate accord and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Days after inauguration, Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from TPP, a trade deal negotiated under Obama. Technically, though, the agreement hadn’t yet taken effect and still had to be approved by congress.

Trump also pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement, a 2015 deal that established voluntarily goals for countries to curb harmful emissions. When Trump announced the U.S.’s withdrawal, Nicaragua and Syria were the only countries in the world not part of the agreement. Both have since signed on, leaving the United States the only non-member.

Tangles with courts The Trump agenda has been largely stalled in Congress, with no health care, infrastructure, or tax reform bills passed, and he has turned to executive action to realize some of his other priorities.

Most notably, Trump has attempted to implement three versions of his travel ban, which barred Syrian refugees and citizens from several majority Muslim countries from entering the U.S. After a court ruling struck down the first iteration, Trump signed what he called a “watered down, politically correct version” that would last 90 days. After that second version expired, another guidance was set to take its place that would have banned travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. A federal district court judge in Hawaii largely stayed the order, leaving in place the restrictions on travel from North Korea and Venezuela.

Trump announced on Twitter that the U.S. military would not accommodate transgender soldiers, but a federal judge ruled the current policy should stand. The Trump administration position, the judge said, signaled the “disapproval of transgender people generally,” adding that banning and discharging transgender troops would be have more of a negative effect on the military than allowing them to serve.

Stock market rally and falling unemployment Trump ran in part on his business acumen and his understanding of the financial world, and indeed the stock market has risen and the unemployment rate has fallen since he took office.

The 20 percent rally in the S&P 500 and the 30 percent rise in the Dow have sent markets to record highs, and the president plainly said recently “the reason [the U.S.] stock market has been so successful is because of me.”

Similarly, unemployment is down to 4.1 percent, although Trump previously preached skepticism of jobs numbers — before they could be credited to him.

Escalation in tensions with North Korea Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have repeatedly provoked each other, with the latter ordering numerous missile tests, including some that have flown over Japan. They’ve traded verbal insults too: Trump branded Kim “Little Rocket Man,” and Kim lobbed back with the archaic slur “dotard.” Moreover, Trump has undermined Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s diplomatic efforts toward North Korea, tweeting that Tillerson is “wasting his time trying to negotiate” with Kim. One day before the anniversary of his election, Trump was in South Korea, warning Pyongyang that aggression toward the South would be a “fatal miscalculation,” while putting in a plug for the golf course at his New Jersey resort.

#_revsp:Yahoo! News #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_uuid:c039ce2d-44a0-3d68-934d-6d3bc355e97e #_author:Gabby Kaufman

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