Truest statement of the week

"We, as Iraqis, know the pain of having an occupier on our land," said protester Alaa al-Arabyia, referring to the US and British invasion of Iraq.

 -- "Pro-Palestine protests sweep the Middle East, and scare Arab regimes," UK SOCIALIST WORKER.

Truest statement of the week II

When you declare total war against Gaza, which has been under perpetual siege since 1967 after being seized by Israel during the Six Day War, what is it you’re going to war against? There are no airbases, no army bases, no tank battalions, no air defense systems, no naval ports, no oil refineries, no rail system, no troop barracks, no armored personnel carriers, no howitzers, no satellite systems, no attack helicopters, no fighter jets, no anti-tank batteries,  no submarines,  no command-and-control centers. Just people, most of them women and kids. It’s why the entire population must be dehumanized, turned into “human animals” whose lives don’t matter.

 

-- Jeffrey St. Clair, "Roaming Charges: Gaza Without Mercy" (COUNTERPUNCH).

 

 

A note to our readers

Hey --

Tuesday night.


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 Kitchen, 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? 

 

• Truest statement of the week

An Iraqi activist gets a truest.

• Truest statement of the week II

Jeffrey St. Clair gets another truest.

• Iraq

Our noting Iraq for the edition.

• Media: Toxic elements in a fragile world

Ava and C.I. take on the assault of Gaza, RFK Junior and Jada.

 

• Roundtable

We did a quick roundtable on the Gaza assault.

• Online scary (Dona)

Dona does a solo piece.

• Books (Elaine, Ava and C.I.)

Ava and C.I. talk to Elaine about the book she read last week.

• Mailbag

We dip into the mailbag.

• Tweet of the Week

Jacqueline Luqman gets another Tweet of the Week.

• Passings

Notable passings so far this year.

• Books

What the community is reading and reviewing. 

• Rashida Tlaib on Gaza

Press release from US House Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

• This edition's playlist

What we listened to while writing this edition.

• Highlights

 Mike and the gang wrote this and we thank them for it.

Peace.

 

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

 

 

 

 

Iraq

 

Oct 13, 2023

A massive pro-Palestinian rally is held in Tahir Square in Baghdad, Iraq.

 

 

 

Media: Toxic elements in a fragile world

No one saw the attack coming.  People feel it was an assault.  And they can't stop talking about it.  That's right, the blitz -- the media blitz for Jada Pinkett's book WORTHY.

 

Back in 2020, Jada was humiliating Will Smith -- her alleged husband -- on her toxic FACEBOOK show RED TABLE TALK.  Seated with her  alleged husband, Jada admitted that she had been having sex with her son's friend August Alsina -- an affair she'd initially denied.  But she copped to it one month later.  She claimed this was about healing and clearing the air and living in her truth.  That was some 'truth.'

Turns out, the marriage ended in 2016 Jada writes in WORTHY and repeated in every interview promoting the book.

She's not leaving -- why would she?  She can't make millions on her own.  Her money making days never led to millions and they are far, far behind her now.  At 52, she had to face the facts, she carried no blockbuster film (she was sixth billed in 2017's GIRL TRIP) and the only memorable performance she ever delivered in film was in 1996's SET IT OFF.  

Even her attempts at acting the role of the woman Tupac allegedly proposed to was met with pushback.

As she continues her attention-seeking book tour, she continues to celebrate her common law divorce and humiliate Will Smith to the point that he may never work again.  It's hard, after all, to get an audience to cheer for a cuck onscreen even if it is the 40th version of BAD BOYS or INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Jada's not the only one carrying out a wave of destruction these days -- look at the Israeli government.  

Claiming to respond to an attack by Hamas -- apparently the ongoing occupation that started in 1948 should not be considered part of the chain of events - the Israeli government is carrying out an assault on Gaza.  The government of Israel is not only using White Phosphorus (banned substance), it's also utilizing collective punishment which, as the International Red Cross notes, is a War Crime.

 

Last Wednesday, Alex Lantier (WSWS) reported:

On Sunday, three days after Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip launched an offensive against Israeli occupation forces blockading the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s regime announced a siege of the Gaza Strip. After Netanyahu pledged to extract an “unprecedented price” in lives from Palestinians in Gaza, the Zionist regime is preparing bloody mass repression.

The fascistic outlook of top Israeli officials was bluntly expressed by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. After of a meeting Monday morning of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Southern Command in Beersheba, which is currently carrying out large-scale bombings of Gaza, Gallant declared: “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed.”

To justify his decision to target Gaza’s entire population of 2 million, Gallant compared them to animals, saying: “We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.”

That is the definition of collective punishment.   Olivia Roseane (COMMON DREAMS) explains, "Gaza is a 141-square mile stretch of territory where 2.3 million people reside. Around half of its population are children, and at least 140 of them have been killed in the bombardment so far, according to CBS. Israel has blocked all entrances and exits to Gaza except for the border crossing into Egypt at Rafah, which was shuttered Tuesday due to nearby bombing, according to AP." And everyone of the 2.3 million people were now targets for the Israeli government.  At TRUTHOUT, Rabbi Brant Rosen noted, "I am filled with horror hearing the cries for vengeance voiced by the Israeli government and media, and witnessing the shattering military response that Israel has unleashed on the people of Gaza. Israel has now shut off all electricity and water for over 2 million Palestinians as the military wreaks complete and total devastation across that tiny strip, attacking hospitals, schools, mosques, marketplaces and apartment buildings. As of this writing, the death toll has risen to more than 1,500, with 5,600 wounded. More than 350,000 people have been rendered homeless -- and these numbers will almost certainly rise significantly in the coming days and weeks."

   

Marwan Bishara (ALJAZEERA via COMMON DREAMS) pointed out:

 

In the eyes of the West, it seems, Israel has a “duty” to defend its people, but the Palestinians don’t have the right to protect themselves as if they are people of a lesser god! Israel seemingly also has a right to defend and even expand its occupation and apartheid regime, but the Palestinians have no right to express their frustration or struggle for freedom and justice after seven decades of dispossession, oppression, and siege.

Jeff Schuhrke and Sarah Lazare (IN THESE TIMES) observed, "A growing chorus of human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Israeli group B’Tselem, have said the Israeli government has embedded the conditions of apartheid and many have been sounding the alarm about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza --  which has been under a land, air and sea blockade enforced by the Israeli military since 2007."

 

 

You can't do a piece on toxic without noting the pathetic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  He's the son of Robert F. Kennedy and, as Junior never tires of letting you know, the nephew of John F. Kennedy.

What is the idiot doing?

He's running now as an independent after his failure to make inroads in his pursuit of the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.  As an independent, he'll need to get signatures and pay fees to be on the ballot in any state.  He's not going to win and his campaign is a failure.

How so?  Former US House Rep Dennis Kucinich was his campaign manager.

Was.  

Dennis reportedly tried to talk some sense into Junior.  This resulted in Junior replacing him with Amaryllis Kennedy.  Yes, that last name does mean she's related to Junior -- by marriage.  Previously married to Dean Fox, she's currently married to Junior's son Robert III.  He is her third husband. From 2002 through 2010, she served in the CIA.  Nothing says pathetic like having your daughter-in-law -- with no campaign experience at all -- manage your campaign.

Nothing says pathetic like Robert F. Kennedy Jr, in fact.

Junior appears to be incapable of learning.  For example, to shut then-Senator John F. Kerry up about Iran-Contra, the media's CIA-outlet (NEWSWEEK) branded him "a randy conspiracy buff."  Junior keeps insisting that he does not believe the alleged events documented by the Warren Commission in the death of his uncle.

Okay.  No problem there.  Most Americans have rejected the conclusions of the Warren Commission.

But here's where there's a problem, Junior questions everything and sees a conspiracy everywhere.  Sara Dorn (FORBES) noted last week:

 

 

 

Covid-19 targets certain races and gives others immunity: Kennedy Jr. was caught on camera telling fellow diners that “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” and “the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” according to a video made public in the New York Post, which also shows him saying the U.S. “put hundreds of millions of dollars into ethnically targeted microbes” and labs in Ukraine collected Russian and Chinese DNA “so we can target people by race.”

Mass shootings are linked to prescription drugs: Kennedy Jr. blamed school shootings on drugs like the antidepressant Prozac in a recent Twitter Spaces discussion, telling owner Elon Musk, “Prior to the introduction of Prozac, we had almost none of these events" (there's no scientifically established correlation between psychiatric drugs and mass violence, according to experts cited by PolitiFact).

 

The 2004 presidential election was stolen: Kennedy Jr. said in a 2006 Rolling Stone article he was “convinced” that voter fraud in the 2004 presidential election allowed former Republican President George W. Bush to steal the victory from Democrat John Kerry, but while a 2005 postmortem by the Democratic Party found a breakdown of the election system in Ohio, it found no evidence of fraud.

The CIA was involved in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy: Reprising the unfounded claim he has made for years, Kennedy Jr. recently made the suggestion to Fox News’ Sean Hannity (though the federal government’s Warren Commission convened to study the killing found that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone when he shot JFK in 1963).

The wrong person may have been convicted of killing his father: Kennedy Jr. cast doubt on the conviction of Sirhan Sirhan in the 1968 assassination of his father, former U.S. Attorney General and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, to which gunman Sirhan Sirhan confessed days later, though his lawyers have claimed in recent years that he was hypnotized and coerced to kill Kennedy.

The pharmaceutical industry is throwing money at Democrats: After the Affordable Care Act of 2010, “Democrats were getting more money from pharma than Republicans,” Kennedy Jr. claimed on Twitter Spaces, though an analysis by STAT News found 23 of the country’s biggest drug companies and 2 pharmaceutical trade organizations have favored Republicans in 14 of the past 16 elections from 1990-2020, the most recent year STAT studied.

Gun ownership in Switzerland is similar to the United States: While vowing not to “take away anyone’s guns,” if elected president, Kennedy Jr. made the debunked claim, despite data that shows U.S. civilians possess an average of 120.5 firearms per 100 people, the highest per-capita rate in the world, compared to 27.6 in Switzerland, according to the Small Arms Survey by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Covid-19 virus was genetically engineered: “Covid was clearly a bioweapons problem,” he said on Twitter Spaces, repeating a claim promoted by some hard-right lawmakers—U.S. intelligence agencies have said it’s possible the virus originated from a lab accident, but have found no evidence to support the claim that it was deliberately leaked.

Former White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates sought to exaggerate the pandemic, in part, to promote vaccines: Kennedy Jr. accused the pair in his 2021 book, The Real Anthony Fauci of launching "a historic coup d'état against Western democracy" by exercising outsize influence over the media and public health realm, while Kennedy also promoted use of unapproved treatments for Covid-19, such as ivermectin.

Vaccines can cause autism: For years, Kennedy Jr. has promoted the theory that the preservative, thimerosal, which has largely been phased out of modern vaccine formulas, appears to be responsible for a rise in autism diagnoses and that the government knew but “knowingly allowed the pharmaceutical industry to poison an entire generation of American children,” he wrote in Rolling Stone and Salon in 2006, despite consensus among a number of certified health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and more that have found no credible link between vaccines and autism.

 

 

10 breaks with reality?  Some will argue that's nine too many to travel along with him.  Some will just claim he's nuts.  You have to be selective and Junior doesn't look selective, he looks crazed.  He's done real damage for those who wanted the truth about John F. Kennedy.  He's turned legitimate questions into a mockery as he's pulled everyone to the place where his crazy runs free:

As per a recent article by The New York Post, RFK Jr. claimed that perhaps the Central Intelligence Agency, well known as the CIA, was responsible for the death of the 35th President of the United States. He’d also appeared on Hannity, a series hosted by Fox News, which is where he made the claim in the first place. RFK Jr. was in a conversation with host Sean Hannity involving the tragic death of JFK in 1963. “There are millions of pages of documents—of, uh, CIA documents, uh, documents of, uh, the Cuban Embassy, in, in Mexico City, from..." he trailed off and further mentioned that it was all a little difficult to “summarize.”

He then continued to note that there was allegedly a "60-year" cover-up in the murder of the famous fallen President. “There are confessions of people who are directly involved in the plot [of John Kennedy’s death], who were involved in the plot, uh who were peripherals to this plot,” emphasizes the Democrat candidate. He further offers a detailed explanation of possibly how the whole ordeal was staged and the participants allegedly involved in it.

He also revealed a shocking personal revelation about the big wig involved. As per his belief, it was perhaps JFK’s successor, Lyndon Johnson, who was involved in the whole cover-up operation. A fact to note is that he was also assigned by the Warren Commission to investigate the said assassination.

Why chip away at one aspect when you can try to blow the whole house down?  So Junior huffs.  And he puffs.  And he looks like an idiot.

He's not going to be president.  But his actions and statements also ensure that he's pushing away people who support a full and factual investigation into the murder of President Kennedy.  

He's toxic and, as Britney Spears sings in the song of that name, "A guy like you should wear a warning."

Instead, he just gets more and more toxic each day. 

Will Smith admits he was "caught off guard" by Jada.  We think the victims of other examples of toxic last week could all say the same.

 

 

 

Roundtable

Jim:  Roundtable time and we're focusing on the assault on Gaza.  Participating our roundtable are  The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava, and me, Jim; 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); Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix; Mike of Mikey Likes It!; Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz); Ruth of Ruth's Report; Trina of Trina's Kitchen; Wally of The Daily Jot; Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ; Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends; Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub. Betty's kids did the illustration. You are reading a rush transcript.






  

Jim (Con't): So any observations.

Ruth: I find it telling that Tara Reade is suddenly dropping all of her online friends.  I was not aware she could make it through a day without, for example, reTweeting Marjorie Taylor Greene.  Ms. Greene being a hate merchant didn't bother Tara but MTG attacking the Palestinians did become the straw that brought Ms. Reade's back fat.  And then some.  Maybe she will learn from it?  I doubt it.

Rebecca: Another crackpot who used to pretend he was left, Jackson Hinkle, also had to stop reTweeting his right wing buddies.  They really should have checked them out before hopping into bed with them especially since assaults on Palestinians are rather common.  It's a rare year that the Israeli government isn't doing some form of assault.  Some of the reluctance to call out the assault of Gaza may be related to that in that it has to be huge before a lot of people get outraged.

Ty: There's a lot to be outraged over.

Elaine: There sure is but, sadly, nothing can restart Naomi Wolf's brain.  And she's thrilled that her husband is reTweeting a man who repeatedly insults "White liberal women."  She's not a feminist.  Most likely, she never was.  She just wanted attention, heard Judith N Shklar's lectures, knew she could rip off Judith and did so.  She was one of the big con artists of the 20th century but people have caught on.

Marcia: "Facing The Beast."  "The Beast."  That's what she titles her book.  She's so Old Testament she should turn into a pillar of salt.

Jim: Anyone been a big disappointment during the assault on Gaza?

Mike: Yeah.  THE PROGRESSIVE.  I believe they filed one report and it was more of a both-sides report.  That's really sad.  I'll applaud the work done by COMMON DREAMS, COUNTERPUNCH, THE NATION and IN THESE TIMES.  I do not, however, understand why THE PROGRESSIVE even exists anymore.

Jim: They really are disappointing.  They have no strong online presence at this point and haven't since Matthew Rothschild left many, many years ago.  Okay, who's the most disgusting American online these days?

Rebecca: Tie between Glenneth Greenwald and John Stauber.  They're both nuts and hate merchants. 

Jess: Since Stauber will soon be dead from old age, that just leaves Glenneth.

Jim: Who is someone who really deserves applause for their work last week?

Betty: I'll go with Nora Barrows Friedman.  She's a familiar voice to KPFA listeners and she and her program ELECTRONIC INTIFADA have really done a great job.

Jim: Anyone else?

Isaiah: I'd give Amy Goodman and DEMOCRACY NOW! credit.  They've been hitting hard like they used to in 2003, 2004 and 2005.  It's been a tremendous resource.

Jim: So that's Nora Barrows Friedman and Amy Goodman, anyone else?

Isaiah: I'd also give credit to Jeffrey St. Clair of COUNTERPUNCH.

Elaine: Agreed.  Let's also note BLACK POWER MEDIA and their REMIX MORNING SHOW.

Ann: What's Rania Khalek's show because I'd praise the work they did.

C.I.: BREAKTHROUGH NEWS.  

Jim: Okay so we've got Nora Barrows Friedman, Amy Goodman, COUNTERPUNCH, BLACK POWER MEDIA, COMMON DREAMS, THE NATION, IN THESE TIMES and BREAKTHROUGH NEWS.  Anyone else?

C.I.: THE MAJORITY REPORT and Kyle Kulinski's program both hit hard on the topic from the start.  

Jim: I was surprised by that too -- pleasantly surprised.  I'd see you'd reposted their videos at THE COMMON ILLS and I'd stream and think, "This is first-rate work."  So, yes, praise for them as well.

Stan: I'd praise C.I. at THE COMMON ILLS where she picked up the topic and ran with it with no equivocation or both-sides nonsense.  And, as Trina pointed out in one post, C.I. was where others would be a day or so later.

Trina: She got the generational split before anyone noticed it.  She also got what that split meant.  The knee-jerk apologists for the Israeli government are dying out and a thing of the past.  We're a better educated people than we were 20 years ago.  

Rebecca: Well -- and I'm participating by telephone and assuming C.I. is shooting daggers at all participating face-to-face --

Jim: She is.

Rebecca (Con't): -- but it needs to be noted -- and I've noted it many times at my site, that what the US did to Iraq really woke Americans up.  There has been so much work -- even before that -- but we are more educated as a people and the knee-jerk response days are over -- whether elderly members of our government grasp that or not.

Cedric: I think this took a lot of US politicians by surprise.  They thought that they could go after Rashida Tlaib or whomever. I think they were very surprised to learn that demonization was not going to work.  

Wally: We didn't talk about politicians.  The most disappointing one for me would be US House Rep Barbara Lee who, as usual, could not be counted on to defend the Palestinians.

Stan: Well she's old.  She's ancient. 

Wally: She kept Tweeting about Israel's rights and how, if you were an Israeli and needed help getting to safety to contact her office.

Betty: What I found so hilarious was she was also Tweeting about Indigenous Day.  I know her face is cracked, but is her mind as well?  The Indigenous people right now are the Palestinians.  They are akin to the Native Americans.  It's their land that was stolen.  Barbara Lee and her tired old ass need to leave Congress.

Kat: And shame on the people who keep pimping her for the Senate.  She's too old.  She's not that left and how dare you, as Gaza is under assault, push for this War Crimes denier to be put in the Senate.

Jess: On that idiot, I want it noted that she Tweeted "It is overdue for Congress to put a spotlight on human rights abuses in Egypt and question our military assistance" but never Tweeted anything suggesting that the Congress do the same with regards to Israel.  She's a fake ass.

Betty: I'm blogging tonight about a ridiculous idiot gas bag who is saying that Katie Porter and Adam Schiff owe it -- OWE IT -- to Barbara Less to drop out of the race.  Hell.  No.

Jim: Good points.  And with that, we're going to wrap up.  This is a rush transcript.  

 

Online scary (Dona)

What's the scariest thing I saw online?  Probably RFK Junior's camel toe video where he plays harmonica.  

"What terrifies the elites about my candidacy is not me. It is what I represent — a populist movement that defies the left-right division," is one of Junior's more recent Tweets.  Don't know about the elites but what terrifies me most about your candidacy is that your bat s**t crazy.

Junior also reTweeted this, "The purpose of the CIA was to create a constant pipeline of new wars."  Of course, he reTweeted that before he put his daughter-in-law -- an eight year veteran of the CIA -- in charge of his campaign.

He also recently Tweeted, "Big Oil funds the Republicans. Big Tech funds the Democrats. Big Pharma and the military contractors make sure to donate to both."  He left out "And Big Crazy funds me."

And I've got to agree with C.I., the day Junior made his announcement that he was running as an independent, he did wear so much make up that he looked like Joan Crawford in TORCH SONG:

 

 

 

Speaking of those with nothing to offer . . . 

Is he wearing Blackface?  Is he trying to out Trump Donald Trump?  And it's a screen shot, I'm not interested in posting his video.  

Philadelphia has survived so much including  the Moyamensing Killers and the Blood Tubs war in the 19th century, 1844's Nativist Riots . . .  Yesterday, they had to endure political gadfly Robert F. Kennedy Jr delivering his salute to Joan Crawford.

 

 

#TorchSong In the number "Two-Faced Woman" (music Arthur Schwartz, lyrics Howard Dietz), Joan Crawford performed in #blackface & body makeup. Crawford's singing was dubbed by India Adams, whose pre-recording was originally intended for Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon. #TCMParty pic.twitter.com/5fWZd1xrqP

— Lorraine Hickman (@shortyblueyes5) November 25, 2020

Books (Elaine, Ava and C.I.)

 

As we did in 2021, we're attempting to again increase book coverage in the community. After a review posts, we try to do a discussion with the reviewer.  This go round, we're talking to Elaine about her "Howard Zinn's A PEOPLE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES." So tell us about the book.  So you read A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES?

Elaine: Right.  I saw it on KINDLE UNLIMITED and thought, "Let me put it out there that it's available."  

You've read it before.

Elaine: Many times.  But this was the first time since Howard Zinn died back in 2010.  

And it holds up?

Elaine: It really does.  Especially with the assault on Gaza taking place right now.  It's not unlike his coverage of the way the Native Americans were targeted, their land stolen and them hunted down.  There are many parallels and that's because Howard focused on the patterns and the facts.  I think the book's empowering and that most readers will love it.

How are you loving KINDLE UNLIMITED?

Elaine: Our daughter loves it so we'll keep it.  I don't use it unless it's my time to review which I honestly thought it was.  My apologies to Rebecca who'll review a book next week.  I thought it was my turn.

But you'd just done one last week?

Elaine: And that's how little my website matters to me, I didn't even remember that I'd done a review last week.  Or maybe I forgot because I was excited to see that KINDLE UNLIMITED had Howard's book.

You've loved that book for years.

Elaine: Yes and I think it should be taught in history classes across the country because it connects you to the history -- it's not just tales from the past, it's stories and facts that have impacted your life as Howard makes clear in his writing.

---------------

Previous book discussions this year.

 

 

"Books (Elaine, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Isaiah, Ava and C.I.),"  "Books (Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Trina, Isaiah, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Rebecca, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Ann, Mike, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Stan, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Mike, Ava and C.I.),"  "Books (Ann, Elaine, Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Isaiah, Stan, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Trina, Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ann and C.I.)," "Books (Ruth, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Isaiah, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Mike, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Trina, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Rebecca, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Isaiah, Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Stan, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Ann, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Trina, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ava and C.I.)" and "Books (Ava and C.I.)."

 

 

 

 

Mailbag

 

Dipping into the mailbag. 

Constance M e-mails that we have a regular feature entitled "Passings" and we don't note everyone who dies.  

What?  The horror! You mean to say that there are 7.888 billion people on the planet and we're not noting every death?  You mean there are an estimated 60 million deaths each year and we're not noting everyone?  Shocking!

Reality, we don't generally write about any passing at THIRD.  Members with community sites write about deaths and we provide a role call under the heading "Passings."  

Constance is upset that no one wrote about the passing of Mark Goddard who she "fell in love with as a little girl watching LOST IN SPACE on NICKELODEON."  He was 87 years old and had been married three times -- the second time (1970 to 1978) to actress Susan Anspach.  He played Major Don West on LOST IN SPACE from1965 to 1968.  He did numerous guest spots in TV including JAKE AND THE FAT MAN, THE MASTER, THE FALL GUY, BARNABY JONES, BJ AND THE BEAR, BENSON, DOG AND CAT, QUINCY, SWITCH, THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, THE MOD SQUAD, ADAM-12, PERRY MASON, THE FUGITIVE, THE RIFLEMAN, THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, etc.  He made his TV debut in 1959 in THE JOAN CRAWFORD SHOW: WOMAN ON THE RUN. His film credits included a small part in Woody Allen's PLAY IT AGAIN SAM, a lead in the Linda Blair cult classic ROLLER BOOGIE, 4th billed in THE LOVE-INS and third billed in BLUE SUNSHINE.  He was also directed by Martin Scorsese in the original Broadway cast of THE ACT starring Liza Minnelli."

 

So there you go, Constance, your obit for Mark Goddard.

Leon wonders when Ava and C.I. will go back to covering entertainment TV?  When that actors strike ends.  (Only the writers strike has ended)

Bailey e-mails that he's "sick of Ron DeSantis" and wishes he'd "drop out already."

Agreed, Bailey.  Although, having lasted this long, he could make it as a parody on SNL.  C.I. suggests that they should have him entering as though he was doing ballet, tip toeing through in those ridiculous boots he wears to look taller.

 

Maybe that's why he's refused to drop out so far?  He wants his SNL parody first.

On candidates, Nathan e-mails, "Cornel West was the biggest fake ass of the year.  Ava and C.I. called it long ago and they were right.  I wanted them to be wrong because I thought he was a cool candidate but turns out that he's not even willing to do the basic campaigning required.  He's a fake ass and we need to do something to outlaw vanity campaigns."

Maybe Nathan can hook up with Gracie?  She e-mailed that RFK Jr. "needs to drop out.  I can't stand him or the way he caters to the right-wing.  He is the definition of a wolf in sheep's clothing.  Every word out of his mouth is a lie."

Lastly, Calvin asks what browser do we use?  We use a variety.  Rebecca, for instance, has sworn by OPERA since it became available.  Others like GOOGLE CHROME, YANDEX, BRAVE, TOR, AVAST, VIVALDI, SEAMONKEY, PALE MOON, ALOHA, FIREFOX AND Elaine likes MAXTHON.

 

Tweet of the Week

 

I am under no obligation to condemn resistance to apartheid & colonization. https://t.co/Rq9sfQfoFL

— Luqman Nation Media (@luqmannation1) October 15, 2023

Passings

These are the deaths community members found worth noting this year.

 

Lisa Presley -- Elaine noted her passing.

Christine McVie -- Kat covered her passing.

 

Adam Rich -- Marcia noted his passing.

 

Jeff Beck -- Kat noted his passing.

 

Lance Kerwin -- Rebecca noted his passing.

Barrett Strong -- Ruth noted his passing.

 

Lisa Loring -- Rebecca noted her passing.

 

Burt Bacharach -- Rebecca noted his passing.

 

Raquel Welch -- Elaine noted her passing.

 

Stella Stevens  -- Rebecca noted her passing.

 

Richard Belzer -- Ruth noted his passing.  

 

Kevin Alexander Gray -- C.I. notes his passing.

 

Pat Schroeder -- Kat noted her passing.

 

Lance Reddick -- Mike notes his passing.  

 

Darcelle XV -- Elaine notes his passing.

 

"Mark Russell" -- Ruth notes his passing 

 

"Elizabeth Hubbard" -- Trina notes her passing.

 

"Mary Quant and more Peabody nominations" -- Elaine notes a passing.

 

"Harry Belafonte" -- Kat notes a passing.

"Gordon Lightfoot" -- Kat notes a passing.

 

"jacklyn zeman, rose schlossberg, john travolta and..." -- Rebecca notes the passing of Jacklyn Zeman.

 

"Iraq snapshot," "Tina Turner (1939 to 2023)," "The groundbreaker Tina Turner," "Tina Turner," "Lauren Boebert gets burned by AOC," "MAX and NETFLIX, Eva Longoria," "Tina Turner, Eric Swalwell, John Roberts," "They've ruined their reputation," "Hate merchant Tulsi Gabbard," "tina turner passed but the hideous gop lingers," "Tina " and "The wrong people are dying" -- The community notes the passing of Tina Turner.

 

 "Gay actor George Maharis has died" -- Stan notes the passing. 

"10 great songs that Cynthia Weil co-wrote" and "Cynthia Weil" -- Marcia and Kat note Cynthia Weil's passing.

"Hate merchant Pat Robertson has passed away" -- Kat notes the end of Pat Robertson.

"Glenda Jackson" -- Ruth notes the actress's passing.

 

 

"Iraq snapshot" -- C.I. notes the passing of Daniel Ellsberg.

 

"Andrea Evans" -- Kat notes the passing of a soap opera icon. 

 

"Tony Bennett" -- Kat notes the passing of a great singer.

 

"Paul Reubens," "Pee-Wee's Big Holiday" and "One more time on Pee-Wee Herman" -- Betty and Marcia note the passing of Paul Reubens.

"Robbie Robertson" -- Kat covers the passing.

 "David Jacobs" -- Kat notes the passing of a TV creator. 

 

"Arleen Sorkin" -- Marcia notes the passing of a voice, sitcom and daytime TV actress.

 

"billy miller has passed away" -- Rebecca notes a passing. 

"DiFi dies" -- Betty notes the passing of an elderly fool.

"David McCallum led a long life" -- Stan notes the passing of an actor who starred in two huge TV shows. 

 

"rudolph isley " -- Rebecca notes the passing of a music legend.

 

"Phyllis Coats -- TV's original Lois Lane" -- TV's first Lois Lane remembered by Kat.

 

"Piper Laurie" -- Marcia remembers the late actress.

"Suzanne Somers" -- Isaiah notes the significance of Suzanne Somers.

 

 "Mailbag" -- noting the passing of Mark Goddard.

 

 

 

 

 

Books

 

"Mafia Wives (Susan Williams' WHITE MALICE)" -- C.I. reviews this book.

 

 "The Sewing Circle" -- Marcia reads Axel Madsen's THE SEWING CIRCLE.

 

 "Ellen Sander's The Lifestyle That Classic Rock Unleashed" -- Trina reviews this book.

"Phyllis Diller 1917 – 2012: News, Quotes, Interview" -- Ann reviews this book.

"Call Her Heroic (Ava and C.I.)" -- Ava and C.I. review this book.

"Boze Hadleigh's Hollywood Gays" -- Marcia reviews this book.

 

"Robert Sellers wrote a book of garbage" -- Kat reviews HOLLYWOOD HELLRAISERS.   

 

 

"SCREAM VI and THE BOYS" -- Stan reviews Ron and Clint Howard's THE BOYS.

 

 

"the world according to joan" -- Rebecca reviews this book.

 

 "Elton John and Whitney Houston" -- Kat reviews Elton John's autobiography and a biography on Whitney Houston.

"DON RICKLES: THE MERCHANT OF VENOM" -- Isaiah reviews this book.

 

"Crispy Calamari in the Kitchen" -- Trina reviews  AIR FRYER COOKBOOK FOR BEGINNERS: EFFORTLESSLY GRILL, ROAST AND BAKE HOMEMADE MEALS: YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS WITH QUICK, TASTY & HEALTHY RECIPES.

 

 "Vincent Price and Universal" -- Marcia reviews John L. Flynn's 75 YEARS OF UNIVERSAL MONSTERS and Vincent Price's I LIKE WHAT I KNOW: A VISUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

 

"3 books to skip" -- Kat reviews  Bertill Nordahl's CAT SEVENS, CARLY SIMON AND LEONARD COHEN AND ALL THE OTHERS, David Redford's NEIL& JONI: 2 LIVES, 21 ALBUMS and Ellen Sanders' ROCK AND ROLL WOMENHOOD: CASS ELLIOT, GRACE SLICK, LINDA RONSTADT, FANNY AND MORE.

 

"THE SIXTH EXTINCTION: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY" -- Mike reviews Elizabeth Kolbert's THE SIXTH EXTINCTION: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY.

"Paul Kupperberg's DIRECT CONVERSTIONS: TALKS WITH FELLOW DC COMICS BRONZE AGE CREATORS" -- Isaiah reviews this book.

 

"JOAN BAEZ: THE LAST LEAF" -- Ruth reviews  this book by Elizabeth Thomas.

 

 "A JOYOUS TRANSFORMATION: THE UNEXPURZGATED DIARY OF ANAIS NIN, 1966 -1977" -- Ruth reviews a book by Anais Nin.

 

"An aging queen writes a bitter book about The Way We Were" -- Marcia reviews a bad book about THE WAY WE WERE.

 

 

"Travis Stewart's bad book supposedly on Stevie Nicks" -- Kat reviews a bad book supposedly about Stevie Nicks.

 

"Austin Breakfast Tacos: The Story of the Most Important Taco of the Day"-- Trina strongly recommends this cookbook.

"GET LOST" -- Isaiah looks at this comic magazine

"Lucille Ball and HERE'S LUCY" -- Stan reads up on the second half of Lucille Ball's life.

"Melody Thomas Scott's Always Young and Restless: M..." -- Ann reviews this autobiography.

"ROCK AND ROLL NIGHTMARES" -- Elaine reviews this book about crime in the music world. 

"ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN" -- Kat reviews this book about the Mamas & the Papas.

"SAPIENS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMANKIND" -- Mike reviews a science book.

"Stephen Rebello's DOLLS! DOLLS! DOLLS: DEEP INSIDE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, THE MOST BELOVED BAD BOOK AND MOVIE OF ALL TIME" -- Stan reviews a book about the making of VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.

 "Elizabeth Taylor -- two books" -- Ruth covers Katy Holborn's ELIZABETH TAYLOR: AN ELIZABETH TAYLOR BIOGRAPHY and Gian-Luca di Rocco's WOMEN IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: CHARTING SOCIETAL PROGRESS THROUGH THE FILMS OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND JANE FONDA 1944-1981.

 

"Split Image: The Life of Anthony Perkins" -- Ann reviews a biography about Anthony Perkins.

 

 "Andrea Warner's BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY" -- Mike wonders why he bothered to read this book?

"Worst summer read ever is by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince" and "'the fondas: henry, jane and peter' is a very bad book" -- Marcia and Rebecca review Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince's THE FONDAS: HENRY, JANE AND PETER.

 

"Cookbooks and Air Fryer Cauliflower in the Kitchen" -- Trina reviews two cookbooks.

 

"Do not read ENDLESS HIGHWAY at AMAZON" -- Isaiah lays it out for AMAZON's KINDLE. 

 

 "Naomi Klein's DOPPELGANGER" -- C.I. reviews Naomi Klein's latest book.

 

 "Demetrius Sherman's BLACK COMIC BOOK HISTORY" -- Isaiah reviews a book about the history of comic books.

"Stefan Kanfer's Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball" -- Marcia reads up on one of her favorite entertainers. 

"Anne Edwards is a waste of time and a killer of trees" -- Elaine reviews Anne Edwards' A REMARKABLE WOMAN: A BIOGRAPHY OF KATHARINE HEPBURN.  

"Howard Zinn's A PEOPLE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES" -- Elaine reviews Howard Zinn's book.

Rashida Tlaib on Gaza

US House Rep Rashida Tlaib released the following on Friday:

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Representative Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) released the following statement:

“I am calling for immediate de-escalation and ceasefire to save countless civilian lives, no matter their faith or ethnicity. Our government must lead with compassion for all civilians. I believe in my heart that the majority of Americans want the killing and violence to stop. War crimes cannot be answered with war crimes.

“Millions of people in Gaza—half of them children—have been given an impossible 24 hour evacuation order, but they have nowhere to go. They have been cut off from electricity, food, and water for days. Hospitals are running out of electricity to keep babies and the injured alive. The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians is a war crime, the confirmed use of white phosphorus bombs in Gaza is a war crime, yet there are no statements demanding these violations stop from the American political establishment. It is heartbreaking to witness the blanket disregard for saving civilians—including Americans—in Gaza. President Biden has not expressed one bit of empathy for the millions of Palestinian civilians facing brutal airstrikes and the threat of a ground invasion of Gaza that would intensify this humanitarian crisis.

“American Muslims and Arab Americans do not feel represented by our government right now. Many families in the U.S. seeking help to get their loved ones out of Gaza feel that Secretary Blinken is not making their safety a priority. The Biden Administration is failing in its duty to protect all civilian and American lives in Gaza. I cannot believe I have to beg our country to value every human life, no matter their faith or ethnicity. We cannot lose sight of the humanity in each other.”

###

This edition's playlist

 

1) Joni Mitchell's JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES -- VOL. 3: THE ASYLUM YEARS (1972 - 1975).

 

 

2) Diana Ross' THANK YOU. 

 

3) The Pointer Sisters' CONTACT.

 

4) Tyler Childers' RUSTIN' IN THE RAIN.

 

 

5) Pretenders' RESTLESS.

 

4) The Pointer Sisters' BREAK OUT.

 

5) Tyler Childers' RUSTIN' IN THE RAIN.

 

6) kd lang's HYMNS OF THE 49TH PARALLEL.

7) Sam Smith's GLORIA.

 

8) Joni Mitchell's JONI MITCHELL AT NEWPORT.

 

9) Chase Rice's I HATE COWBOYS & ALL DOGS GO TO HELL.

 

10) Aretha Franklin's SPARKLE. 

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.

 

 "Gaza," "Iraq snapshot," "Suzanne Somers," "Piper Laurie," "The crazies," "Hate merchants and fools," "Jim Jordan is who they offer?," "Amy Schumer's an idiot," "Is Trump losing it?," "Donald Trump legally?," "The eternal disappointment that is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.," "Howard Zinn's A PEOPLE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES," "MTG the crazy nut," "Liar Monica Osborn has a public freakout," "Lauren Boebert is legally back on the prowl," "That crazy hick Marjorie Taylor Greene," "gaza," "rudolph isley," "grab bag," "chaya raichik is so ugly," "sharon stone lies again," "Idiot of the Week," "It's time for Doo-Doo DeSantis' "Don't Say Straight" program," "Dumb Doo-Doo DeSantis (and I weigh in on Palestine)," "We all laugh at Doo-Doo DeSantis," "When a piece of crap craps on Florida," "Jared whines just like a blood-Trump," "More charges against George Santos," "Shady puts Shady first," "Fake ass Cornel West" "Jared misheard," "Dr Jared Ball, your attention please," "The illegitimate Supreme Court," "Science post: same-sex attraction in the animal kingdom, blue legged tarantulas, chestnuts,"  "Chuck called it,"  "THIS JUST IN! HE SAID 'HELL!'," "Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot,"  "Iraq snapshot,"  "Iraq snapshot," "Trouble in the US, trouble in Iraq," "Kat's Korner: Put away 'the hammers and the boards..," "Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Sitting Behind...,"   "But they had so much in common!," "2 racists split up," "Denny K and RFK Jr. -- a couple that couldn't make it" and "THIS JUST IN! ONE LESS MEMBER OF TEAM KENNEDY!" -- news coverage in the community.

 

 "John Carpenter," "MAGNUM P.I.,"  "HOCUS POCUS,"  "THE DAILY SHOW, Julia Ormond,"  "Jada Pinkett can't stop destroying Will,"  "I LOVE LUCY, AQUAMAN, THE COLOR PURPLE," "Weekend Box Office," "My favorite show on PBS," and "Mary Poppins" -- TV and movie coverage in the community.

 

 

"Crockpot Cowboy Casserole in the Kitchen,"  "Thai Cashew Chicken Recipe in the Kitchen,"  "Instant Pot Split Pea Soup in the Kitchen,"  "Creamy Lentil Vegetable Soup in the Kitchen" and "Sweet Potato Chili Casserole in the Kitchen" -- Trina serves up some recipes. 

"Leo Sayer, Carole King" and "John Lennon, Christina Aguilera" -- music coverage in the community.