The Senate gives disproportionate power to small states and the GOP

New political science research in @TheEconomist finds that U.S. Senate malapportionment has the largest right-wing bias of any chamber among many democracies https://t.co/XkwXnKaoBC

We previously noted ⬇️ how the GOP has long won power with fewer voters & constituents than Dems https://t.co/T2bIwiBpgN pic.twitter.com/FIKAoPupyA
— Stephen Wolf (@PoliticsWolf) March 16, 2023

Today 41 Senate Republicans representing just 69M Americans will block the For the People Act that 225M Americans support. A system in which 69M people overrule the will of 225M people is not a functioning democracy.#AbolishTheFilibuster
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) June 22, 2021

12% of the country is represented by 41 senators – the U.S.'s (incredible outlier) system of governance empowers that 12% to block what 88% of the country wants to do. McConnell's dismissal of the legitimacy of huge swaths of voters is just the natural end result of that system https://t.co/U1GKK75xUX
— Steve Morris (@stevemorris__) June 14, 2021

15 states with 41 million people elect 30 GOP senators

California with 39 million people elects 2 Dems

Wyoming has 67x power of CA in Senate and 4x power in Electoral College

Listen to my new @reveal @motherjones episode on danger of minority rule https://t.co/Ty9rjVYEIG pic.twitter.com/GFE3MO9vUL
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) May 28, 2024

How long will a super-majority agree to the rule of a super-minority? “By 2040, ~70% of Americans are expected to live in the 15 largest states. They will have only 30 senators representing them, while the remaining 30% of Americans will have 70 senators.” https://t.co/JjMpkhScBc
— Omar Wasow | @owasow@bsky.social (@owasow) August 25, 2021

Climate update 7/8/21

“It was by far the largest jump in the records,” an author of the report said. ”We have seen quite big increases, but never that big.” ⁦@henryfountain⁩ has the story on a new attribution study on the Western heat wave. https://t.co/ITgywk1O18
— John Schwartz (@jswatz) July 8, 2021

From @NYTOpinion: Many climate scientists warn that vehicles must be nearly emissions free by 2050. With many vehicles on the road for at least 20 years, the phase-out of sales of new gas-burning cars and S.U.V.s and other light trucks by 2030 is critical. https://t.co/jukFKZptId
— NYT Climate (@nytclimate) July 7, 2021

Manufacturing decline and climate change both threaten Philadelphia | Opinion https://t.co/nMjqalK1ms
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) July 7, 2021

Climate change has gotten deadly. It will get worse.

“The suffering that is here and now is because we have not heeded the warnings sufficiently,” said Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy. https://t.co/z99yNTctyr
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 4, 2021

I cover a lot of climate disasters. To an extent, I’ve learned to compartmentalize.

But hearing about people who collapsed in the street as they tried to walk to cooling shelters this week, the little box labeled “outrage and grief” broke open for me.https://t.co/BoGa1STarz
— Sarah Kaplan (@sarahkaplan48) July 3, 2021

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>> @dwallacewells will join me on Sunday's @ReliableSources 👀 https://t.co/yi0uOn9iQu
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 3, 2021

Paste Magazine ratings of werewolf films

In honor of Werewolves Within, we've updated @JimVorel's ranking of the 25 best werewolf movies of all time #horror #horrormovies https://t.co/PWRJ35lSb9
— Paste Magazine (@PasteMagazine) July 7, 2021

Criterion has released Bringing Up Baby

Bringing Up Baby is an excellent comedy from 1938 starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. It was directed by Howard Hawks.

The booklet essay I wrote for @Criterion 's release of BRINGING UP BABY – entitled “Bringing Up Baby: Bones, Balls, and Butterflies” – (lol) – is now online. This was a really fun one, and I'm proud to be part of the release! https://t.co/adsW7j4S4r
— Sheila O'Malley (@sheilakathleen) July 8, 2021

Screwball sparks fly when Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn let loose in one of the fastest and funniest films ever made! ❤️ 🐆 💿 Preorder our new Blu-ray and DVD editions of Howard Hawks's BRINGING UP BABY (1938) for 50% off at @BNBuzz! https://t.co/HXrLhuYB0k pic.twitter.com/TL011dCcDf
— Criterion Collection (@Criterion) July 3, 2021

Are you picking up the new @Criterion edition of 'Bringing Up Baby' and want to figure out how to get your kids to appreciate the screwball classic? Here's a movie marathon including cartoons and comedy shorts that will lead them to Howard Hawks’ film: https://t.co/BlGjve5hft pic.twitter.com/AyC4ecbm8x
— Film School Rejects (@rejectnation) July 7, 2021

'Bringing Up Baby' is out on @Criterion Blu-ray today! For its 80th anniversary a few years ago, @emilykub_ took a look at the literary work at play behind its most famous lines. Read the essay on the riddled dialogue and innuendo comedy of the film here: https://t.co/HZRSvmerEj pic.twitter.com/sj7sbWQhxr
— Film School Rejects (@rejectnation) July 6, 2021

Blobfest is this weekend

This is a great event. Unfortunately, it will be virtual for the second consecutive year. Make sure to look at the merchandise for shirts and posters.

I hope that next year it’s an in person event. I think they would be smart to offer an online version too and sell merchandise on the Internet which they didn’t do before the pandemic.

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EPISODE 42: BLOBFEST https://t.co/GuYOogb4kp @TheBlobfest is an annual 3-day festival that celebrates the film in which McQueen made his star billing debut, THE BLOB. Dash Daring joins me to discuss all things Blobfest + this year’s programming @colonialtheatre #SteveMcQueen pic.twitter.com/qIj94QYXjb
— Speeding Bullitt (@SteveMcQueenPod) July 1, 2021

Marvin "Merty" Merch has arrived and explains the cool repercussions of becoming a #Blobfest 2021 VIP. Plus why that will matter for #Blobfest2022. Details on becoming a VIP linked to our profile. pic.twitter.com/eFPf49t4dX
— Blobfest (@TheBlobfest) June 26, 2021

Though it remains virtual this year, that doesn't mean 2021's @blobfest won't be as action-packed as ever!

All intrigued Blob-heads would be highly advised to check it out from July 9th-11th!https://t.co/q65eqjhMn3
— Trailers From Hell (@TrailersFromHel) June 1, 2021

We are pleased to reveal our #Blobfest2021: House of Harris poster by @QFSChris. This is Quiltface's follow-up design to our #Blobfest2020: The Home Edition poster.
.
Available now for pre-order here: https://t.co/fAprAGSjEf pic.twitter.com/5ilLUyUv0E
— Blobfest (@TheBlobfest) May 28, 2021

I remember the ad campaign for Putney Swope

Robert Downey, Sr. who made Putney Swope passed away yesterday. I remember the ad campaign for the film – examples are in the tweet below. Some papers censored the middle finger. I lived in Philadelphia then and I know I saw examples with the finger and without.

I even brought them into my high school English class and the teacher didn’t know what the middle finger meant! I think she even hung the ads up in the classroom.

Vinegar Syndrome has released the film on Blu-ray.

“Putney Swope” had one of the greatest ad campaigns ever. But some newspapers were afraid of the woman standing in as the middle finger. https://t.co/oJeTcxyvuH pic.twitter.com/uqEtKQ3OIt
— Larry Karaszewski (@Karaszewski) July 7, 2021

If you've never seen #PutneySwope then you are in for a treat, since it hits many moving targets including advertising, black nationalism, capitalism and liberalism with a brutal wit. #RIPRobertDowneySr https://t.co/fQmcFI05aA
— Nelson George (@nelsongeorge) July 7, 2021

One of the fake commercials in the film:

Conservatives don’t want to help IRS collect taxes from evaders

New: Leading conservative groups are telling Mitch McConnell not to sign onto a bill that increases *any* funding for IRS, per letter obtained by WaPo ahead of release. IRS budget cut ~20% amid tax evasion by wealthy@TonyRomm @yjtorbati https://t.co/3NMHZeMB6n
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) July 8, 2021

How much money could President Biden raise for infrastructure through tougher IRS enforcement? It's not clear https://t.co/1UFF6HPVD6
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 5, 2021

New w @alaynatreene: Republican senators are rallying against one of the main pay-fors in the bipartisan infrastructure deal — a $40 billion infusion to help the Internal Revenue Service collect $100 billion more in taxes. https://t.co/dl16lg7UAs
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) July 1, 2021

2. The @WSJEditorial board disagrees, and shockingly argues that *increasing deficits* is preferable to cracking down on tax cheats.

Here is why they are wrong….https://t.co/3nwfw5L3ag via @WSJOpinion
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) June 28, 2021

Instead of raising gas taxes, we will pay for infrastructure by making tax cheats pay what they owe!https://t.co/jdZtERK38O
— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) June 26, 2021

Can anyone explain why elected leaders would oppose funding the IRS so it can collect the money owed by people who have been evading taxes? Seems like a good idea to us.https://t.co/736MWG7ek1
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 24, 2021

Pennsylvania Republicans are initiating a baseless audit like Arizona is doing

Trump-allied lawmaker floats a Pennsylvania audit plan that Democrats slam as a political ploy https://t.co/7jwqW8wrjG
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 7, 2021

"I'm absolutely confident," Pennsylvania AG Shapiro says on preventing a 2020 election audit in the state. "Every time they've tried to push the Big Lie in the courts, they've lost and we've won and we've defended the will of the people." https://t.co/sno0FnkxrG
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 7, 2021

"No county election board, prosecutor or state official has raised a concern over any sort of widespread election fraud in November’s election in Pennsylvania, a crucial state that Democrat Joe Biden won by more than 80,000 votes…"https://t.co/XGPL57OwzT
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) July 3, 2021

Doug Mastriano, a state senator and likely candidate for governor, is asking "several counties" in Pennsylvania to turn over records by the end of Julyhttps://t.co/Y4qMOP7gED
— POLITICO (@politico) July 7, 2021

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — GOP-led Pennsylvania Senate considers Arizona-style probe into 2020 election, inspired by Trump's baseless fraud claims.
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 2, 2021

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoes GOP-backed election overhaul bill https://t.co/fRhiuZXQ2M
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 30, 2021

Trump and his cult are trying to make Ashli Babbitt into a martyr

She participated in an insurrection. She’s not a hero. The Trump cult is trying to make the insurrection into a good thing instead of sedition. They show no concern for the police that died or were injured.

“[Trump] venerated Babbitt as ‘an innocent, wonderful, incredible woman,’ adding, ‘if that were on the other side, the person that did the shooting would be strung up and hung.’” Now it all makes sense. https://t.co/ArNipFwQUU
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) July 14, 2021

Fmr. Pres. Trump suggested the U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol was the "head of security" for a "high-ranking" Democratic member of Congress.

That is false, senior law enforcement official says. https://t.co/pyMm1D7ubv
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 12, 2021

3 weeks ago, I wrote about the very slow-building, Trumpian effort to turn Ashli Babbitt into a martyr.

We had the video instantly. But it took time to land on this narrative — just like lots of the Jan. 6 revisionism.https://t.co/u0QC4QX9b6
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) July 7, 2021

“The far right’s highlighting of Babbitt’s death sends a different message: The insurrection was good.

“By throwing himself behind this message, Trump is endorsing the most radical interpretation of his presidency” https://t.co/Pke3UR0pEK
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 7, 2021

.@Sears (https://t.co/VTWoZlm95W) and @Kmart (https://t.co/lZolqc38ga) are selling Ashli Babbitt "American Patriot" shirts pic.twitter.com/CYx3dVINfB
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 6, 2021

Trump says ‘there was no reason’ for officer to shoot rioter Ashli Babbitt who stormed Capitol Jan. 6 – The Washington Post https://t.co/7lJ0rSUrSV
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) July 7, 2021

"If the base believes they are being prosecuted and even 'assassinated,' they will justify anything to reject Democratic rule and future elections that deprive them of power" —@WajahatAli https://t.co/e3sovO8x0u
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 8, 2021

It’s a long way from the spin that he was claiming they looked like Democrats and he was embarrassed by the way they looked https://t.co/3qJaHXtuRa
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 7, 2021

https://t.co/vmNsmI1Isg pic.twitter.com/NGDxNiJ1SL
— Share the Facts (@sharethefact) July 8, 2021

I saw the 1988 USA Olympic baseball team

I saw the 1988 USA Olympic baseball team play against the Taiwan national team in Hagerstown. Maryland’s minor league baseball stadium on July 16, 1988. The main thing I remember was that it was 102 degrees. I don’t remember anything about the game. The Taiwan team huddled before the game like a football huddle.

The team won the gold medal and full of future major league players such as Jim Abbott, Ben McDonald., Tino Martinez, Andy Benes, Charles Nagy and Ed Sprague.

The photo is of a collage I assembled with pins, patches, a poster with facsimile autographs and Gateway envelope with real autographs.

It also has my ticket, a flag we were given and a roster sheet I collected autographs on. I remember Ed Sprague spent a lot of time signing autographs.