Republican spreads rumor that kids are being encouraged to identify as cats

This is extreme even by Republican standards

You know all those stories that keep popping up about schools putting litterboxes in restrooms?

You do know that the Libs of TikTok account is the person who first got that rumor to spread as far and wide as it has, right?

And… well… pic.twitter.com/2VCA7aAChJ
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 12, 2022

Minnesota GOP nominee for governor claimed kids are using litter boxes in schools — it's an internet hoax https://t.co/CJfOogR5CZ
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) October 3, 2022

So this hoax has long been debunked. Republicans are now clearly spreading it with full knowledge that it's a hoax. https://t.co/mH7GYkXDU0
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) April 28, 2022

The "kid who identifies as a cat and wants to use a litter box" rumor has bubbled up in Michigan, Iowa, and now Nebraska – he attributes it to a "person" but doesn't say what school it allegedly happened at. https://t.co/O7xH78tMf5
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) March 29, 2022

A Nebraska state lawmaker has apologized after he publicly cited a persistent but debunked rumor alleging that schools are placing litter boxes in school bathrooms to accommodate children who self-identify as cats. https://t.co/abIldrgj3a
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 29, 2022

Why are there multiple blue leaning but in reach of Republicans states this year with gubernatorial candidates claiming children are peeing in litter boxes at schools?
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) October 5, 2022

The Isley Brothers 1959-1969

The Isley Brothers have been around since the 1950s. They have had hit records in a variety of styles since then.

“Shout” was recorded in 1959. It has been covered numerous times.

They had a 1962 hit with “Twist and Shout” which is also known for the version by the Beatles from 1963 with John Lennon on lead vocals.

“This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)” was recorded for Motown’s Tamla label in 1966. The Isley Brothers were on Motown until 1968 and their records sound more like Motown records than their own original records. They also recorded “I Guess I’ll Always Love You” in 1966. Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote the first one with Sylvia Moy and the second by themselves.

The 1969 record on their own label “It’s Your Thing” was their biggest hit at that time. They wrote and produced it.

Summer of Soul is excellent

Summer of Soul won a well-deserved Academy Award last night. Questlove did an outstanding job on this film.

There’s lots of great music. The film includes gospel, jazz, and Latin music as well as R&B. The performances are great. You see Stevie Wonder on the verge of greatness. Sly and the Family Stone were dynamic. As far as I know, they were the only musicians to perform in Harlem and Woodstock in 1969. I saw them in Philadelphia that year and they were great. Nina Simone’s performance was one of the highlights.

Questlove has incorporated interviews with performers and people who worked on the concerts. Some of them are seeing the footage for the first time. One great move was his inclusion of interviews with people who attended the concerts.

The best thing Questlove did was place the concerts in the context of the larger world in 1969. He rightly focuses on the fight for racial equality and even includes the moon landing (which is an indelible memory for those of us old enough to remember it).

I watched it on DVD. Now that it won an Oscar, I hope it is released on Blu-ray. The old film is in surprisingly good shape.

“This is not about me. This is about marginalized people in Harlem that need to heal from pain.” @questlove accepts the Best Documentary Feature Oscar for 'Summer of Soul': https://t.co/DYxg12anbB pic.twitter.com/bYQW5Ptyv5
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) March 28, 2022

Questlove on ‘Summer of Soul’ Secrets, The Roots’ Future, His Sly Stone Documentary

AIA Baltimore & Baltimore Architecture Foundation: Baltimore Deco: Architectural Optimism in the Interwar Years

Top issues for voters

This nugget in the @NBCNews poll jumps off the page: 62% of Americans believe they’re “falling behind” and can’t keep up with the cost of living.

Most of what goes on in DC doesn’t register with marginal or swing voters but this cuts through the noise and affects people daily. pic.twitter.com/H8ZnmVo22w
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 27, 2022

Sign of the times: New Pew Research Center poll finds coronavirus the *15th* most important issue for voters (33% call it very important), lagging well behind issues ranging from the economy, voting policies, education and crime.
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) March 24, 2022

NEW Top voting issues for Republicans:
Economy
Immigration
Violent crime
Foreign policy

Democrats:
Health care
Economy
Voting policies
Education pic.twitter.com/q1ODJtYfnQ
— Carroll Doherty (@CarrollDoherty) March 25, 2022

The latest release from our new NBC News poll…

We tested 15 different candidate issues/qualities for the 2022 midterms.

Here are the most popular issue/qualities and the least popular ones: pic.twitter.com/oBbKsCdz4z
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) March 30, 2022

Monkeys threw batting practice for the Orioles in 2012

Buck Showalter said today one reason Ryan Flaherty made the Orioles as a Rule 5 pick in 2012 was because he brought two monkeys to a camp talent show that spring. The monkeys threw batting practice, and the Orioles were later fined by the health department, Showalter said.
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) March 18, 2022

Buck Showalter tells a story of Ryan Flaherty bringing in monkeys to throw batting practice with the Orioles 😂 pic.twitter.com/Sw9F80wfMw
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 18, 2022

This was back in 2013, I think. Tillman and Davis dressed up as Buck and Pressly with a skit and then finishing by dancing to Harlem Shake. That was determined to have beat out Flaherty's monkeys. https://t.co/AzNtYlJEf9
— Jon Shepherd (@jsbearr) March 18, 2022

Update on gerrymandering in Maryland

An aside to this @baseballot piece: Judged by efficiency gap or extra partisan seats, Maryland has one of the **fairest** congressional maps in the nation. https://t.co/ln9GxYq6rk
— Bryn Stole (@brynstole) April 22, 2022

New: a Maryland court has struck down Democrats' 7D-1C-0R map as an illegal partisan gerrymander, the first such state-level victory in the GOP's direction. If replaced w/ a neutral map, this could end up costing Dems 1-2 seats. pic.twitter.com/ceMsDlJfzB
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) March 25, 2022

Judge throws out Maryland congressional map over ‘extreme’ gerrymandering https://t.co/SzmEKN1LXC
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 25, 2022

A redistricting loss was just handed to us in Maryland. A federal judge ruled that the congressional map unfairly favored dems.

It was gerrymandered, however Republicans voted against anti-gerrymandering laws. It apparently only seems to matter when it’s against them. #DemVoice1 pic.twitter.com/VPMnwkYYDj
— ✨🌻ᗅᗫᒪᗅᓿ🌻✨ (@AdlaisWorld) March 25, 2022

Last night, Maryland Democrats released a new congressional map to replace the one that was thrown out in court last week. Up and analyzed on @FiveThirtyEight: https://t.co/19BjzOSshR pic.twitter.com/whx6mGHB0P
— Nathaniel Rakich (@baseballot) March 29, 2022

Update on gerrymandering in Ohio

The federal court here imposes a map that the state supreme court ruled is unlawful under the state constitution. It's literally an illegal map that this court ruled the state must use anyway.

Up is down. https://t.co/cIRLL5BirO
— Josh Douglas (@JoshuaADouglas) April 21, 2022

OH! IO!

A district-by-district breakdown of Ohio’s latest congressional map, which will likely be used in 2022, might be used in 2024, but won’t be used in 2026.

GOP advantage could go from 12-4 to 13-2.

No paywall: https://t.co/y6MLeThXvK
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) April 22, 2022

🚨BREAKING: Ohio Supreme Court STRIKES DOWN Republican dominated commission's THIRD remedial plan. Orders a new plan that meets the partisan fairness requirements by May 6.https://t.co/jGMvDuA1EY
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) April 14, 2022

New: In the final months of a decades-long political career, Ohio's GOP chief justice is standing firm as the last wall blocking her party from gerrymandering. Republicans are furious. Some want her impeached, even though she's set to leave the court soon https://t.co/1tK24M55gp
— Sam Levine (@srl) April 12, 2022

Missed this yesterday: The panel of three federal judges considering taking over Ohio's redistricting process has some more questions they want state officials, Democrats, Republicans and everyone else involved in the case, to answer. pic.twitter.com/YJacz38YVB
— Andrew Tobias (@AndrewJTobias) April 8, 2022

This schedule would seem to preclude a legal challenge to Ohio’s GOP map before the May primary, paving the way for a map as lopsided as 13R-2D to be used for the 2022 elections – unless a federal court intervenes. https://t.co/0n4OOUgRTP
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) March 29, 2022

THREAD on the extreme lawlessness taking place in Ohio

I'm on a flight, which gives me an opportunity to do something I've wanted to do for a while: review just how lawless the Ohio GOP behavior has become, and the risk it poses to the rule of law in Ohio long-term.

1/
— David Pepper (@DavidPepper) March 26, 2022

I'm seeing a lot of news outlets depict Ohio's GOP-enacted map as giving Rs an advantage in at least 10 of 15 seats, but that understates the gerrymander.

There are 10 solid R seats, two solid D seats and three competitive seats. There's a real chance of a 13R-2D rout in 2022.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) March 29, 2022

"Republicans have a few tactics they use to defend illegal maps…But in Georgia and Ohio, Republicans are employing a new procedural strategy — creating delays in the legal process until it’s too late to overturn illegal maps before an election." https://t.co/lzNDn3jUak
— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) March 27, 2022

Our state is at the heart of a nationwide discussion about the fairness and justness of our political boundaries and the systems that dictate them. https://t.co/GaTF2HJAP9
— Aharon Brown (@aharon_brown) March 25, 2022

Ohio redistricting standoff causing logistical nightmare for election workers https://t.co/0SAySeZJZl
— Ion V. Sancho (@Ionsancho1) March 21, 2022

Covers: Another Night with the Boys

“Another Night with the Boys” was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The version I know is the 1971 cover by The Persuasions. The first released version was by The Drifters. King also recorded it in 1962 but her version wasn’t released until much later.

Fox Sports MLB graphs

These are excellent

Here are the current values of every MLB team, according to @Forbes 💰 pic.twitter.com/F2HsVA1Woe
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 25, 2022

The Orioles were the only MLB team to decline in value in 2021. According to Forbes, they’re down 4 percent. pic.twitter.com/bFU0wElNG7
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) March 28, 2022

Here the top 5 & bottom 5 spenders in free agency this offseason 👀💰 pic.twitter.com/xNSXx3zdJT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 23, 2022

As we get closer to Opening Day, here are the current payrolls of every MLB team in 2022 👀💰

(h/t @spotrac) pic.twitter.com/AQsVV2fwKP
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 23, 2022