Third Estate Sunday Review

The Third Estate Sunday Review focuses on politics and culture. We're an online magazine. We don't play nice and we don't kiss butt. In the words of Tuesday Weld: "I do not ever want to be a huge star. Do you think I want a success? I refused "Bonnie and Clyde" because I was nursing at the time but also because deep down I knew that it was going to be a huge success. The same was true of "Bob and Carol and Fred and Sue" or whatever it was called. It reeked of success."

Tuesday, April 07, 2020

Truest statement of the week

On Monday there seemed to be two different worlds: one based on reality and the other on fiction.
In the real world, the Covid-19 pandemic continued its deadly rampage within the United States and around the globe. The news was dominated by reports of overcrowded hospitals, exhausted doctors, nurses and support staff, and sick and dying patients.
But in the fictional world of global stock exchanges and finance, a mood of uncontrollable euphoria prevailed among investors, who, as if staging an orgy at a funeral, poured billions into equities and drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by nearly 7.5 percent. Substantial gains were also recorded by the German DAX (up 6 percent) and the British FTSE (up over 3 percent).
What motivated this shameful and shameless celebration?
On Monday, the US death toll surpassed the 10,000 mark. Despite a very slight decline in the daily total of new deaths in New York City on Sunday, there is no clear evidence that the virulence of the pandemic has peaked in this critical urban center.

-- Joseph Kishore and David North, "Fiction, reality and the global crisis of capitalism" (WSWS).

Truest statement of the week II

While an economic contraction as a result of the pandemic was probably inevitable, mass layoffs and the misery that they bring with them are not. As Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman recently pointed out, in Europe, the crisis isn’t taking the form of mass layoffs. Instead, states are paying companies to keep workers on payroll by subsidizing their salaries. This ensures that the workforce is ready to go back to work as soon as it is safe to do so.
Unfortunately, the United States stands out among advanced capitalist countries for possessing a welfare state that is uniquely unsuited to aiding workers in this crisis. The state is institutionally hostile to the kind of payroll replacement policies European states are adopting. With no kind of corporatist infrastructure that gives both labor and capital a place at the table in determining economic policy, the United States has little administrative capacity to enact solutions that both preserve firms institutionally and ensure that workers aren’t completely immiserated.

The welfare state that does exist is manifestly unequal to the challenge confronting it. The country’s largest antipoverty program is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which supplements the incomes of poor workers. However, the EITC is explicitly geared towards rewarding labor-force participation, so its benefits are tied to wages. It’s useless to people who are laid off.
Direct cash assistance, or welfare, has been missing in action since Bill Clinton’s 1996 Welfare Reform bill. Before then, about 70 percent of poor families with children received cash assistance. Today, the number is 22 percent.

-- Paul Heidemen, "10 Million US Workers Have Lost Their Jobs. And the System Has No Answers" (JACOBIN).

A note to our readers

Hey --

Monday still on the west coast, Tuesday morning on the east. But we're finally done.

Let's thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's K itchen,

Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.

And what did we come up with?

Peace,

-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.

Editorial: Anyone But Biden

Joe Biden is the choice of . . . no one. Karishma Meta Tweets:

Does everyone know how to use Google? Ok then I encourage the following searches: Joe Biden segregationist Joe Biden social security Joe Biden Iraq War Joe Biden sexual assault Joe Biden plagiarism Joe Biden Nelson Mandela Joe Biden voter attacks Joe Biden teleprompter

Joe has a rap sheet that isn't pretty and that's even before Tara Reade detailed Joe's alleged assault of her. Paul Mulshine (NEW JERSEY STAR-LEDGER) offers:

Murphy suggested that the party’s leaders, including Barack Obama, might want to sit down with Biden and urge him to yield to a stronger candidate such as Cuomo.

The polls back him up. At this point on the last cycle, Hillary Clinton was holding a 10-point lead over Trump in the polls. But she went on to lose in the Electoral College.

As for Biden, he’s got a slight lead in most polls, but barely over the margin of error.

Biden’s real weakness is in the area of voter enthusiasm. The ABC News/Washington Post poll stated, that “strong enthusiasm for Biden among his supporters – at just 24 percent – is the lowest on record for a Democratic presidential candidate in 20 years of ABC/Post polls. More than twice as many of Trump’s supporters are highly enthusiastic about supporting him, 53 percent.”

Cuomo is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and though he insists he doesn't want the nomination, people are floating his name. They're also floating California's Governor Gavin Newsom's name. Anyone but Biden appears to be the mood today.

Joe's not fit for the nomination. We support Bernie Sanders. Joe is a nightmare. Joe is not a functioning adult, he's someone who needs to be steered to assisted living, not leading the country. The Democratic Party leaders need to address this problem.

Craig Snyder (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) suggests:

At the Democratic National Convention, whether it happens conventionally or virtually, Vice President Biden could, and perhaps should, step aside, and ask his delegates to vote to nominate Governor Andrew Cuomo. This, despite the Governor’s declarations of non-candidacy.

And David Bossie (FOX NEWS) notes:

And as Cuomo and Newsom receive free earned media coverage as they deal with the unfolding coronavirus situations in their respective states, Biden is desperately trying to hang on to the rapidly sunsetting narrative that he’s a capable enough leader for these deadly serious times. Many would say this ship has already sailed. Think for a moment about the stamina and vigor of Trump in these trying times and then think about Biden’s inability to string together a coherent sentence during an interview with his political supporters on MSNBC. 
The Biden team is so eager to try and stay relevant in today’s COVID-19 dominated media cycle that they’re willing to allow their candidate to get on a phone call with Trump to discuss the pandemic simply for the media attention it will garner. Their apparent willingness to ignore the enormous pitfall this proposed call represents is telling. The American people will witness a laser-focused and intense wartime president of the United States contrasted with a flailing, consultant-driven career politician floating around the periphery of things that matter. 

Joe needs to go before he sinks the party and delivers four more years in the White House to Donald Trump. Anyone But Biden is the only way to victory.

TV: Tracking the progress of women in TV

Friends, TV watchers, country-persons, we come not to bury Marlo Thomas' accomplishments but to clarify them. Marlo, because of the sitcom THAT GIRL (1966 to 1971). Claims are made that THAT GIRL changed everything for women on TV. WIKIPEDIA adds a qualifier ("That Girl was one of the first sitcoms to focus on a single woman who was not a domestic or living with her parents."); however, that's really a weasel way of doing it.

We'd argue that history is told better -- TV history -- via Sally Field. But this notion that THAT Girl provided the first single woman who wasn't a maid or living with her parents? We're glad "sitcom" is in there because Anna Mae Wong's THE GALLERY OF MADAME LIU-TSONG (1961) is only one of many drama shows that is overlooked when you don't include "sitcom" in the claim. And "domestic" is added so that BEULAH (1950-1953) gets ignored (first played by Ethel Waters, then by Hattie McDaniels and finally by Louise Beavers).

However, even with those stipulations ("sitcom" and "not a domestic"), many shows are still overlooked. On MY LITTLE MARGIE, true, Gale Storm was living with her father. However, THE GALE STORM SHOW (1956-1960) found Gale working on a cruise ship and no father or mother around. Ann Southern betters Gale in that Ann did it twice -- in PRIVATE SECRETARY (1953 to1957) she was a single working woman who didn't live with her parents and in THE ANN SOURTHERN SHOW (1958 to 1961) she was again a single working woman who wasn't living with her family. There's Eve Arden in OUR MISS BROOKS (radio 1948 to 1957, TV 1952 to 1956; theatrical film in 1956) as well.

Then there's Sally Field who followed up the teenage GIDGET with THE FLYING NUN (1967 to 1970). Sally's Sister Bertrille lived with no husband or parent so no one was showing up for embarrassing moments of why-are-these-pants-here-these-man's-pants to which a woman responds,"Oh, Daddy" before adding she was washing, ironing or mending them.

Equally true, THAT GIRL was a variation on Deanna Durbin's 100 MEN AND A GIRL. Marlo was pretty much on her own episode after episode when it came to women. A female friend shows up on an episode but by the time you blinked she was gone. If you're not getting how little screen time women not named Marlo got on THAT GIRL, the show ran for 136 episodes and her mother, played by Rosemary DeCamp, only appeared in 20 of those with Penny Santon adding one more episode to that total (Santon played the mother in the televised pilot). Her father? Harold Gould played him in the televised pilot and then Lew Parker took over the role. Parker plays him in 63 episodes, add Gould's one episode and the father appears in 64 episodes while the mother only appears in 21.

By contrast, Sally's nun worked with Reverend Mother Placido (Madeleine Sherwood), Sister Jacqueline (Marge Redmond), Shelley Morrison (Sixter Sixto) and Linda Dangcil (Sister Ana).

We were reminded of that as we watched FREE FORM's new series MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM. We weren't eager to watch it because it had received some bad reviews, some really bad reviews. Watching the first three episodes, we realized the series was being judged by something other than its own quality.

The concept is that witches have been helping the US government for over 300 years. Today, they help the government battle terrorists around the world. Fort Salem is where new female witches can train for battle and the person in charge is General Sarah Alder (Lyne Renee). Raelle (Taylor Hickson) is a young witch whose mother recently died in battle, Ashley Nicole Williams is a young witch who comes from a legendary line of enlisted witches and Tally Craven (Jessica Sutton) is a young witch who grew up around women only while Sgt Anacostia Quartermaine (Demetria McKinney) is the one training the young witches.

The show has a fast pace and there's always a lot going on in every episode and it's always entertaining. So we were confused about the hatred aimed at the show.

Then we remembered the ingrained sexism of The Water Cooler Set.

Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE is a great book. It made a fine film. But a television series?

A four season (possibly more, the fourth season will be ten episodes) TV show?

That's creepy. Especially when season one covered the book.

Remember CONFEDERATE? Maybe not. It was an HBO series. Or was supposed to be. It was going to an HBO series from two White men who worked on GAME OF THRONES. It was going to be a show where slavery never ended in the United States. The proposal resulted in widespread condemnation, as it should have.

But note that only a handful of people (we were among them) ever objected to an ongoing HANDMAID'S TALE.

The subjection of women is of no concern to The Water Cooler Set. In fact, they rather enjoy it.

That's why they promote a show like THAT GIRL as a first, for example. Daddy shows up in nearly half the episodes (47.06%) to reign everyone in. THE FLYING NUN? Like MOTHERLAND, you've got women in charge.

It threatens them. The same way you'll find some who are threatened by BEWITCHED -- but they love I DREAM OF JEANNIE.

Sally Field, not just with THE FLYING NUN, better represents the arc of TV than Marlo or THAT GIRL. Sally followed up GIDGET and THE FLYING NUN with TV guest appearances and TV movies. There was traditional fair like HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS which (impossibly) found her playing Eleanor Parker's sister. Eleanor's killed their mother and now kills their father and the other sisters. Sally manages to survive and expose, with the help of two men (John Fink's Dr. Lindsay and Med Flory's Sheriff Nolan), that step-mom Julie Harris is being framed by Eleanor. But Sally also did TV movies like MAYBE I'LL COME HOME IN THE SPRING.

That 1971 ABC TV movie featured two songs by Linda Ronstadt on the soundtrack and teamed Sally again with Eleanor Parker, this time as her mother. In her memoir IN PIECES, Sally notes:

It attempted to look at the runaways of my generation, the young people who needed to escape the confinements of their families by vanishing into the world of hippies, only to find that coming home again -- if they ever did -- was not easy. Obviously, this wasn't something I had experienced in my own life, but I did understand inarticulate, dysfunctional families and, saints be praised, I wasn't playing a nun.
Happily, Land Bradbury -- who had helped me with my homemade test [for I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN] -- played my younger sister, and since she'd been a member of the Studio much longer than I, we could confide in each other about the work. Playing my troublesome mother was the beautiful Eleanor Parker, who was at the tail end of a wonderful career and to me, she was fascinating. Never in my short time as an actor had I worked with anyone so frantic for control. Every time a scene required us to hug -- which for some reason, happened a lot -- she would automatically turn my face away from the camera, making sure the only things on display were her glowing, tear-rimmed eyes and the back of my head. But Lee [Strasberg] had always said, "The best acting is no acting at all," and since the mother and daughter had a contentious relationship in the text and I didn't feel exactly bonded with Eleanor. I "used it." As I watched this actress -- who had been extremely successful by anyone's defintion -- I realized that she was a cautionary tale for me, a blinking hazard sign. True, she came from a different era of acting, and that was part of it, but as I sat quietly in a corner, observing how she worked, I realized that I never wanted to get to the point where showing my face on camera at just the right angle was more important than the work itself. This work that I was just now trying to understand.

Sally plays Denise who returns home after splitting with David Carradine. As the movie progresses, she reflects on her life with David. They lived via begging and rushing to eat someone's leftovers before the table got bused. They had fun from time to time, swinging in trees, kissing, etc. But she wanted exclusive and he didn't. So she returns home and her mother wants her to go to the doctor's and wants her to shower and the mother throws away the clothes she returned in. Sally cuts her hair back the way she wore it as a child and plays with her dolls. That's where her sister Susie (Lane Bradbury, who Sally mentioned above) shows up. Is she high? That's what Susie wants to know. Susie thinks Sally's life was wonderful. Susie's a pill head (downers) who calls Sally a "fink" when she thinks Sally was going to tell their parents. As Sally adjusts to returning home, David Carradine is stealing every vehicle he can (including, in a comic bit of lunacy, an ice cream truck) in an attempt to reach her.

It's a delicate film, a moving one, the sort you rarely see on TV. But in 1971, influenced probably by what was going on in theatrical films (Alan J. Pakula's KLUTE, Francis Ford Coppola's THE CONVERSATION, etc), a character study could be done.

TV would continue to evolve and, in 1976, Sally would co-star with Joanne Woodward in the groundbreaking mini-series SYBIL. A groundbreaking film by any means, yes, but a TV movie also made at a time when women were largely absent in films featuring two strong roles for women was novel all by itself. 1977 would be a ground breaking year for theatrical films as Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave teamed up in JULIA and Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft teamed up in THE TURNING POINT. Hard to believe today but the late sixties through mid-seventies found few women onscreen -- 'buddy' movies were all the rage -- and an actress acting opposite another actress rarely took place -- not among leading roles.

The power of a strong actress with an established name further changed TV and Sally was there in 1981 demonstrating. ALL THE WAY HOME was her project. She did it for NBC and she did the play live. Jane Fonda in THE DOLLMAKER would follow but Sally got to the airwaves first. In 1995, she'd follow with the mini-series A WOMAN OF INDEPENDENT MEANS.

A decade later, the move for strong, established named actresses would be guest spots on TV shows and Sally would go on ER to play Abby's mother for 12 episodes and win an Emmy in the process. She would go on to win another Emmy while starring in the series BROTHERS & SISTERS.

With each major TV role (and that includes the much maligned FLYING NUN), Sally Field charts the growth of women on TV -- more so than any other actress. Marlo's place in TV history is cemented but the reality is that Sally Field came of age during the birth of TV and it is Sally's CV that best tracks the progress for women in TV.

20 best films of 1990

1990, a significant year in film. Here are picks for the year's 20 best.

1) IN THE SPIRIT

The film, written by Jeannie Berlin and Laurie Jones and directed by Sandra Seacat, stars Marlo Thomas and Elaine May. as Reva and Marianne. Hilarious and outstanding performances from Marlo, Elaine, Jeannie, Laurie, Melanie Griffith, Olympia Dukakis and Peter Falk.

2) GOODFELLAS

The film that makes you believe that film can be art and and entertainment.

3) GRIFTERS

Stephen Frears created an instant classic and Anjelica Houston, Annette Bening and John Cusak are at the top of their game.

4) JOE VERSUS VOLCANO

This comedy classic comes in at number four? "I have no response to that."

5) BIRD ON A WIRE

Goldie Hawn teams up with Mel Gibson for one of the liveliest action films of this or any other year.

6) GHOST

Demi Moore makes you believe. A classic performance that, even all these years later, is still underrated.

7) AFTER DARK, MY SWEET

Rachel Ward's the femme fatal, Bruce Dern's the epitome of corruption and Jason Patric is the mark begging to be taken for a ride in this film noir classic directed by James Foley.

8) ALICE

Mia Farrow's last great performance. In this Woody Allen film, she interacts with Alec Baldwin, Cybill Shepherd, Joe Mantegna, Judy Davis, Bernadette Peters, Gwen Verdon, Holland Taylor, Keye Luke, William Hurt, Blythe Danner and Patrick O'Neal -- among others.

9) THE GODFATHER PART III

Al Pacino is haunting and Diane Keaton breaks your heart in this film filled with memorable moments and due for a reappraisal.

10) PRETTY WOMAN

For us, it's Viv (Julia Roberts) and Kit (Laura San Giacoma) that make the film and if you don't agree with us, go rest up by Monty Hall or Esther Wilson -- Esther Williams, where you belong.

11) HOUSE PARTY

Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell and George Clinton? Damn, what on earth would make you call his mother a gardening tool?

12) SIBLING RIVALRIES

Kirstie Alley and Jami Gertz are wonderful in this comedy. Kirstie feels she fails at everything and her sister Jami tries to lift her spirits by pointing out all those great short stories she used to write. Kirstie responds, "Those weren't short stories. Those were novels. I just never finished them." Cast also includes Ed O'Neill, Sam Elliott, Bill Pullman, Frances Sternhagen, Scott Bakula and John Randolph.

13) WHITE PALACE

A steamy love story featuring excellent performances from Susan Sarandon and James Spader.

14) I LOVE YOU TO DEATH

Lawrence Kasdan directs this comedy classic where Tracey Ullman's had it with her cheating husband Kevin Kline. River Phoenix is in love with her and he and her mother (Joan Plowright) attempt to help her kill him so they hire two stoners (Keanu Reeves and William Hurt) to kill him.

15)EVERYBODY WINS

Debra Winger. That's all -- Debra Winger. Yes, Nick Notle is very good in this film but Debra is excellent and probably delivered the best performance of the year -- by an actor or actress -- in this film.

16) MEN DON'T LEAVE

Jessica Lange's husband dies leaving her to raise their two sons (one of which is Chris O'Donnell). She sells the home and ends up working for a hideous boss (Kathy Bates) but at least she's got a neighbor (Joan Cusack) who understands the power of balloons.

17) TWO JAKES

A much maligned classic. It's not CHINATOWN!!!! And it's not supposed to be. We wish Nicholson would come out of retirement to complete the planned third film in the trilogy.

18) Q & A

Another strong performance from Nick Nolte in this Sidney Lumet classic.

19) WILD AT HEART

Laura Dern, Nicholas Cage, Harry Dean Stanton and Crispin Glover are great in this David Lynch film, yes, but we really think the film belongs to Diane Ladd.

20) TEXASVILLE

Peter Bogdanovich paints a water color this go round. People were expecting something else and missed what was offered.

Honorable mention: METROPOLITAN

Bernie needs to stay in the race -- the only facts that matter

To win the nomination outright, a candidate needs 1991 delegates.

Bernie has 914 and Joe has 1217 -- per NPR.

No one has reached 1991.

There are 27 primaries still to be held. There are 1619 delegates still to be awarded.

Those are facts.

From The TESR Test Kitchen

Heaven. Perfection.

What are we talking about?

KFC. Kentucky Fried Chicken. Specifically, we're talking about a new sandwich -- Lil Buddies, Chicken Littles.

We strongly recommend that, if you like chicken, you immediately go to KFC or order from it to get a Chicken Little Nashville Hot. It is delicious. The spice is just right. It's on a breaded chicken tender and it's on a bun with pickles and mayo -- a sesame-seed bun.

It is delicious. We don't usually go out of our way to recommend fast food. But this is incredible. We strongly recommend you try one.

“It Shattered My Life”: Former Joe Biden Staffer Tara Reade Says He Sexually Assaulted Her in 1993

Tweet of the week

Carmine Sperto Tweets:

Replying to 

@Alyssa_Milano

Tara Reade, Me Too.
She doesn’t qualify as a victim in your warped mind. Why because your Grandpa Biden did it to her.
You’re some friggin hypocrite Milano. Just like the Dems and Media. You’re a joke.

Media Refuses To Talk About Joe Biden’s Sexual Assault Allegations

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF TARA READE

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

We, a group of Students for Bernie chapters across the country (independent from the Bernie Sanders campaign), are releasing this statement to increase awareness surrounding Joe Biden and his history of sexual assault accusations. We are demanding that attention is brought to this history and that it not be ignored -- as it has been for decades. He must be held accountable for his actions.

Tara Reade came forward last week with an allegation of sexual assault, which occurred in 1993 when she worked as a staff assistant for then-Senator Biden. Reade first went to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund for help, but they told her that because Biden is a candidate for federal office, that helping her would jeopardize their non-profit status. It is worth noting that Anita Dunn, the managing director of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund's public relations firm, is a top adviser on Biden's campaign. Despite the extremely serious nature of these allegations, Democrats and the mainstream media have been silent.

There was no hesitation within the Democratic party to believe or support Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Democrats fought Republicans with claims that partisanship should never override morality, and that we should believe women who bravely come forward with allegations. Unfortunately, it seems as though this support for survivors was only shown in the name of political convenience. When an allegation is brought against the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic party, suddenly there is radio silence from the establishment. No calls for an investigation, no questions from the media, nothing. None of the major cable news outlets have even reported the story.

How can the Democratic party claim to be the party that is fighting Donald Trump, a serial sexual abuser, while propping up Joe Biden? How can the Democratic party be the party that claims to protect women, but fails to do so when the predator is on their own side? How can media outlets claim to educate the public and provide crucial information, but fail to report this disturbing allegation against a presidential candidate? This goes beyond partisanship, beyond Biden vs. Bernie. This is about what kind of country we want to be, and what we are willing to accept in our leadership. How many times are we going to watch a predator ascend to the highest ranks of power while stifling the women who speak out against them? Every time we elect, nominate, or promote an abuser, we tell survivors that their experience don't matter. We are sending a clear message that assault will not stop men from gaining more and more power and that power makes men immune from consequence.

When Dr. Blasey Ford came forward with her story, Biden himself stated the importance of believing women. It is time to ask Biden if he believes the women who have made sexual assault and harassment allegations against him. It is time for the media to cover this story, and time for Democrats to stop sweeping it under the rug. Tara Reade, we are with you. To all survivors, we see you, we hear you, and we stand in solidarity with you. We will never stop fighting for you.

Signed,

Penn State Students for Bernie
Students for Bernie at UNCC
Grinnell Students for Bernie
William & Mary for Bernie
Harvard College Students for Bernie
Penn for Bernie
UIC for Bernie
UCLA Bruins for Bernie
Northeastern Huskies for Bernie

If You Can’t Support Medicare For All by Now, Become a Republican | Joe Biden’s Problematic Response to Coronavirus

4 April 2020

This edition's playlist

1) Dionne Warwick's SHE'S BACK.

2) The Beatles' ABBEY ROAD.

3) The Mamas and the Papas' THE PAPAS AND THE MAMAS.

4) Janet Jackson's UNBREAKABLE.

5) Stevie Nicks' THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR.

6) Harry Style's FINE LINE.

7) Ben Harper's BOTH SIDES OF THE GUN.

8) Sam Smith's IN THE LONELY HOUR DROWNING SHADOW EDITION.

9) Carly Simon's ANTICIPATION.

10) Stevie Wonder's SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE.

Highlights

This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends, Ann of Ann's Mega Dub, Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.

"Protect your local rapist -- says Hollywood" -- most requested highlight by the readers of this site.

"THIS JUST IN! ALYSSA SPEAKS!," "Confessions of Alyssa Milano,""Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot," "Tara Reade?," "Support builds for Tara Reade," "Trina's right, the Congress has betrayed us," "If anyone needs to drop out, it's rapist Joe Biden," "Bernie tells the truth (also MODERN FAMILY can't stop sucking)," "Look at the ones who lie to attack Bernie," "Nancy Pelosi better get her s**t together," "Bernie," "Howie Hawkins and the Green Party," "Tweet of the week?," "Another science post," "Whoopi Fetchit Goldberg," "Science post," "It's a disgrace," "What do we need?," "Denying the American people is what Congress does," "What we need is clear," "There's a reason that US Socialist Worker dying wasn't a bad thing," "Stories from the past," "RING OF FIRE addresses the rape allegations against Joe Biden," "Alyssa Milano says Bernie Sanders needs to drop out of the primary," "The return of Susan Rice," "Seth Rich," "hey, whoopi, why you still on tv?" and "the silencing of tara reade" -- news coverage in the community.

"Sauteed Yellow Squash in the Kitchen" and "Toss out Trappys lima beans and switch to Del Monte" -- food coverage in the community.

"5 great Jess Glynne tracks," "Sam Smith," "10 songs that soothe on even the worst of days," "Safe in my garden," "10 favorite piano-based songs of the rock era," "The Mamas and the Papas, Michelle Phillips, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Carly Simon, Ben Folds Five, Cher" and "John Prine, Joe Diffie, Alan Merrill" -- music coverage in the community.

"First Slut" -- Isaiah dips into the archives.

"David Schramm and Wings," "INDEBTED," "Batwoman," "'dynasty' - adam tries to save jeff," "judge judy, devs. little fires everywhere," "How To Get Away With Murder and Charmed," "Streaming thoughts," "A show worse than Empire? They're planning it," "CONTAGIOUS," "Streaming," "Another episode of EMPIRE," "DVD sales?," "the only reason to watch 'little fires everywhere'," "What I like to stream" and "HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER returns" -- entertainment coverage in the community.