More on dangerous right-wing book banning

The accelerating effort in GOP-controlled states to censor what students learn about race and to ban (or burn!) books reinforces the red state drive to restrict voting: one wants to limit today's electorate, the other to shape the attitudes of tomorrow's. https://t.co/fkHERTj3zZ https://t.co/4hSqlPfpY3
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) February 4, 2022

Hundreds of books have been pulled from Texas libraries for review, sometimes over the objections of school librarians, several of whom told @NBCNews they face mounting pressure to pre-emptively pull books that might draw complaints. https://t.co/IXWSxiL7o3
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 4, 2022

A Missouri man, who sought to ban LGBTQ books from schools for depicting sexual content, is facing charges for second-degree child molestation and, in a separate case, a misdemeanor of furnishing or attempting to furnish pornographic material to a minor. https://t.co/CeUxvL8IpS
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 3, 2022

Book burnings happen in many kinds of authoritarian states, and they are part of every *right-wing counterrevolution*: from Hitler to Pinochet to the one we are living through in the US today. https://t.co/h6cHE0CmUb
— Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) February 3, 2022

Getting rid of books in public libraries – books that no one is required to read and that most ppl don’t even know are on the shelves – is the purest expression of the authoritarian, censorious mindset. https://t.co/pJJtqCRndy
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) February 2, 2022

SPECIAL REPORT: Hundreds of books have been pulled from Texas libraries for review, sometimes over the objections of school librarians, several of whom told @NBCNews they face mounting pressure to pre-emptively pull books that might draw complaints. https://t.co/SLYfAl29OO
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 1, 2022

Key question: is there anyone in Biden world or Congress raising alarms about the interlocked trends of red state curriculum censorship and book banning? The only Congressional proposals are from Rs seeking to back the censorship. Biden Ed Dept is silent https://t.co/fkHERTj3zZ https://t.co/73vqCJx2tX
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) February 1, 2022

This is a drive by mostly conservative White parents to limit what students learn re racism at a time when 55% of K-12 students nationwide are now kids of color & the class that enters in September will be last ever in which most HS grads are White. TX students=75% kids of color https://t.co/koFBPyThLM
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) February 1, 2022

Especially across Sunbelt, the red state GOP drive to censor what students learn about race grows from the same root as the drive to restrict voting: the imperative of maintaining control in states growing more racially diverse, particularly among young https://t.co/fkHERTj3zZ https://t.co/FRE4iu3L26
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) February 1, 2022

More Republicans taking credit for the Infrastructure bill they didn’t support

Shameless

The fact that Republicans can boast about infrastructure spending *that they voted against* and not pay any political price is a clear symptom of a sick US political system in which politicians can brazenly lie and wildly mislead without any risk of real accountability.
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) February 4, 2022

I realize that rank hypocrisy is just par for the course in our current political culture, but there’s something about elected officials taking credit for the benefits of legislation that they loudly and aggressively opposed (and voted against) that really takes it up a notch. https://t.co/xjqWpuYxGD
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 4, 2022

"I am proud that Senator Rubio and I were able to help secure an unprecedented $1 billion for Everglades restoration …"
– Rick Scott

"But Scott didn’t vote for the law that’s funding the Everglades project. Neither did Sen. Marco Rubio…"
– Politifacthttps://t.co/wxTIfwxMZ0
— Scott Maxwell (@Scott_Maxwell) February 3, 2022

You weren’t so delighted when you voted against it! https://t.co/YPeHgwTtKj
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) February 6, 2022

This falls into the "vote no and take the dough" category. The local matching funds match millions from part of the the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which Rep. Boebert called "wasteful" and "garbage." https://t.co/8AsLhWocdf https://t.co/uIhotaXrbO
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) June 15, 2022

Valley Forge photos 5/9/09

Stage Fright (Hitchcock film)

I was pleasantly surprised by Stage Fright (1950) which is not considered one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films. The recent Warner Archive+ Blu-ray looks great. The film is not that suspenseful and begins with a controversial fake flashback.

The strengths of the film are the acting and dialogue. Marlene Dietrich plays an actress and captures your full attention whenever she’s on the screen. I read that she also told the crew how to light her scenes and they are reminiscent of her von Sternberg films. The mostly English cast is fine especially supporting actors Alistair Sim and Sybil Thorndike. Jane Wyman is understated as the lead and Richard Todd does not make a strong villain. Michael Wilding exudes competence as the detective.

One of my favorite lines: Dietrich asks Wyman how she is but says ” You needn’t go into detail, darling. I hope you’re not going to turn into one of those explicit people who always tell you exactly how they feel when you ask them.”

Covers: Puttin’ On the Ritz

I was watching Young Frankenstein today and it has a great scene with “Puttin’ On the Ritz“. The song was written by Irving Berlin in 1927. Check out the Russian flash mob version.

There are two sets of lyrics for 'Putting On The Ritz' from two very different cultural periods. Dig them and their story (and a clip of the first time the song was performed on film). #musical #Broadway #nightclub #TCM #FilmTwt https://t.co/0ZcukEGHhZ
— raymond de felitta (@ReelRDEF) February 13, 2024

Brawl at a Golden Corral

There are so many videos of this kind of stuff, I think they could make a TV show of them. It’s a violent country.

Brawl breaks out at a Golden Corral over alleged beef in the buffet line https://t.co/6WVbCInz9F
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 1, 2022

Video shows punches being thrown and chairs flying as a massive brawl broke out inside the Bensalem Golden Corral. A former employee says the fight may have happened after a customer became enraged when the buffet ran out of steak. @MattPetrillo reportshttps://t.co/d0KzKtDKeM
— CBS Philly (@CBSPhilly) January 31, 2022

Video shows over 40 people in massive brawl at Golden Corral that allegedly started because restaurant ran out of steak.

Video/More: https://t.co/BUCvoBG5Hf pic.twitter.com/Fgqjb5jjAE
— Complex (@Complex) February 1, 2022

Bad Times at the Golden Corral
— Anya Stanley (@BookishPlinko) February 2, 2022

National Tater Tot Day

February 2nd is National Tater Tot Day.

The Bud Bowl and the Puppy Bowl

There’s more than just the Super Bowl.

The Bud Bowl was an animated ad campaign for Budweiser beer that ran sometimes from 1989 to 1997.

The Puppy Bowl is still broadcast on the day of the Super Bowl.

Book banning is terrible

It’s far beyond Maus.

Book banning efforts are spreading around American schools at an “unprecedented” pace, shocking educators and free speech advocates. https://t.co/BtWXkreWDH
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 31, 2022

SPECIAL REPORT: Hundreds of books have been pulled from Texas libraries for review, sometimes over the objections of school librarians, several of whom told @NBCNews they face mounting pressure to pre-emptively pull books that might draw complaints. https://t.co/GL1A164QtU
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 1, 2022

A small group of parents should not be allowed to censor controversial books by tossing them out of school libraries, @EJDionne writes: https://t.co/SdqD6lY2Ap
— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) January 31, 2022

why do all these articles say that "parents" are implementing book bans or trying to ban CRT? It is not parents…….. it is white parents. Exclusively.
— josie duffy rice (@jduffyrice) February 1, 2022

Congratulations to the 50 books Texas decided to ban from schools. They will now get added interest, sales & popularity in progressive, non racist & non homophobic states. #BookBanning Texas continues to suck!https://t.co/OCIxnSEPN1
— Fox E. Cellars (@FoxECellars) February 1, 2022

Records requests to nearly 100 school districts in Texas revealed 75 formal requests by parents or community members to ban books from libraries during the first four months of this school year.

For comparison, one challenge was filed during the same time period a year earlier.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 1, 2022

A lot going on in this idiotic complaint from Moms for Liberty* but I think the charge that The Story of Ruby Bridges “further creates oppression for people of color” might be the worst.

(* Offer of Liberty not applicable to all subjects) https://t.co/dx7ZG6FbbC
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) February 2, 2022

Fart machine on Mythbusters

This old episode was on the Science Channel last night. When I was in college, one of the kids said he lit a fart for his mother. I never tried that.