2020 election turnout is expected to be high

Signs are growing that voter turnout in 2020 could reach levels unmatched in over 100 years. Which side will that help most? I take a closer look. https://t.co/oYMBXfljCm
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) June 13, 2019

Covers: Route 66

“Route 66” was composed in 1946. Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby had hit versions in that year. It has been recorded by many artists in a wide variety of styles since then.

Bobby Troup wrote the song

The Rolling Stones had never been to any of these places when they recorded the song.

Covers: Needles and Pins

“Needles and Pins” is best known from the Searchers version in 1964. The original version was released by Jacke DeShannon in 1963. See the Instagram post at the bottom for more about her.

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Fire Kellyanne Conway

Kellyanne Conway should be fired for her Hatch Act violations. I don’t expect Trump to do anything. Democrats will push for her firing but Republicans obviously will let the Trump administration get away with anything.

The presumptive penalty for violation of the Hatch Act is dismissal. When I was a federal employee, I received extensive training on this point.

Why should Kellyanne Conway be treated differently from any other federal employee? She has violated the Hatch Act multiple times. https://t.co/IotIDH4pLQ
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) June 13, 2019

Elijah Cummings on Kellyanne Conway: “Complying with the law is not optional. President Trump should terminate Ms. Conway’s employment immediately in light of these dozens of violations of federal law.“
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 13, 2019

This statement is just wrong.

1) #SCOTUS has repeatedly held that government employees have very limited First Amendment rights _as_ employees.

2) No one has deprived @KellyannePolls of anything; this is a recommendation to terminate her (wholly discretionary) gov't employment. https://t.co/f59m2nCBB3
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) June 13, 2019

"The office, which is not affiliated with Robert Mueller, has never before made such a recommendation for a White House official." https://t.co/lDMKaBa11f
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) June 13, 2019

Note to the White House: The Supreme Court has upheld the Hatch Act. Twice.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 13, 2019

I was just standing in an office in the WH press office when Kellyanne Conway came in. I asked for her reaction to this. She pointed to the door and said “can you leave, please?” Later, I asked her again, and she said: “I have no reaction. Why would I give you a reaction?“ https://t.co/DZWKJsQLQb
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) June 13, 2019

This legal conclusion comes as no surprise. The surprise — shock, actually — would come if Trump were to act on this recommendation and fire Ms. Conway. He obviously won’t. https://t.co/RtlyOzby8F
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 13, 2019

Note to TV bookers: Kellyanne Conway is now credibly accused of being a lawbreaker. How about we don’t book her for a while??
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) June 13, 2019

So if you can't get fired over repeatedly violating the Hatch Act, does the Hatch Act exist?
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) June 13, 2019

Kellyanne Conway will not be fired over this Hatch Act business.

Continued violations of the law are a feature, not a bug, and will be rewarded, not punished.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 13, 2019

"It’s the people who advocate for Trump, justify him, excuse him, and imitate him — people like Kellyanne Conway — who make the real damage possible."@paulwaldman1 on how Kellyanne Conway exemplifies the administration's moral rot:https://t.co/80E4Eqaa7R
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 13, 2019

MUST READ. An important test for the #RuleofLaw https://t.co/nbehsL2QCN
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) June 13, 2019

Analysis: "Blah, blah, blah." This 2-week-old Kellyanne Conway clip looks exceedingly painful today https://t.co/vPwY9TnKml
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 13, 2019

The Office of Special Counsel ruled that Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act on several occasions, following complaints filed by CREW. We join OSC in calling for Conway to be removed from federal service.https://t.co/BRPKgWoPhN
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) June 13, 2019

More on Trump’s lies

Opinion: Trump lies all the time.

And yet the toadies keep covering for him. https://t.co/6A7lEAvC0A
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 11, 2019

Facing serious backlash from the senior ranks of his own party over his plan to add a tariff to all Mexican goods, President Trump employed a new strategy this week: he put words in the mouth of one of his top allies https://t.co/T8TiqGe60L
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 9, 2019

.@Lawrence's Last Word: Donald Trump's lies about why he didn't serve in Vietnam. https://t.co/EREAJdNlES
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 9, 2019

.@cnn ⁦@ReliableSources⁩ not mincing words in its chyron. pic.twitter.com/k9NlRrjEXM
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) June 9, 2019

This is the crux of it, really. More than anything else, it's the lies. The bromide that "all politicians lie" won't cut it. This is a very special case. Come on. https://t.co/3y53FHk9Cv
— Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) June 18, 2019

This is false https://t.co/ovh9ZMcmAG
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) June 12, 2019

Trump with this flat-out lie about his campaign's internal polling: "We are winning in every single state that we've polled."
— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) June 12, 2019

In Iowa this week, Trump told a story about how homebuilders, farmers and ranchers were crying as they stood behind him when he signed his executive order on the Waters of the United States rule.

He signed the order on camera. Nobody cried at any point. https://t.co/Ku7uCiVJpi pic.twitter.com/MLCMV0DSdI
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 13, 2019

Trump claims farmers wept behind him when he signed an executive order. Video shows otherwise. https://t.co/ZHYdqW8rjr
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 14, 2019

Trump falsely claimed again yesterday that "our remains are coming back" and "we're getting the remains back" from North Korea. The military announced in May that the effort has been suspended for this fiscal year because North Korea stopped communicating after the failed summit. pic.twitter.com/ugRrOaMl8L
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 13, 2019

Reminder: Our Trump database shows that before today, Trump has claimed 48 times without evidence that Iran had scaled back its terror activities since he pulled out the nuclear deal https://t.co/R8vgRxRebb
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) June 14, 2019

this never happened. literally, i have NO idea what he's talking about https://t.co/9OGOb8bpQA
— rcohen (@rcohen) June 13, 2019

Trump wants Poland to be friendly with Russia

This quote is unbelievable. What side is Trump on?

Asked if Russia is friend or foe, Duda says Russia has been "showing its very unkind, imperial face" and declares of Poland, "we are part of the west."

Then Trump chimes in with this: "I hope that Poland is going to have a great relationship with Russia."
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) June 12, 2019

Two Kickstarter film projects

Here are two Kickstarter film projects I recommend. I have backed them and backed prior projects from the same people.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3-dspace/3-d-digital-film-restoration-el-corazon-y-la-espada1953

The 3-D Space specializes in 3-D films.

Ben Model specializes in silent films.

Covers: Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu

Slim Harpo’s original version was issued in 1968. The cover version I know is Alex Chilton’s version from 1985.

This track also includes Chilton’s cover of “Tip On In”

Two films by Paul Leni

Flicker Alley has released two new Blu-rays of silent films by Paul Leni, a German director who also worked in the United States. They are The Man Who Laughs and The Last Warning. DVDs are also included.

I recently watched The Last Warning and Flicker Alley has done a great job. The film has been restored as much as possible and the disc has excellent supplements. I haven’t watched The Man Who Laughs but I have seen the old Kino Lorber release. I don’t think The Last Warning has been available on any form of home video in the US before.

The Man Who Laughs is watched by characters in Brian dePalma’s The Black Dahlia.

Great thanks to our friends over at @NitrateVille for their wonderful discussion of Paul Leni with film historian (and contributor to the booklet for our Blu-ray/DVD release of Leni's THE MAN WHO LAUGHS) John Soister. Be sure to check it out! https://t.co/OIYqHMY0ZF
— Flicker Alley (@flickeralley) June 11, 2019

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

Dir: Paul Leni pic.twitter.com/QErpqOm0xH
— zak0 🎬 (@zak83618289) November 16, 2022

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Polls on Trump vs. potential 2020 opponents

Too early to read too much into these polls.

Stop hyperventilating over polls of Trump vs Biden, etc. – too early to be predictive:
-June 1983: Mondale 49%, Reagan 39%
-June 1991: George H.W. Bush 51%, Democrat 28%, Don't know 21%
-June 1995: Dole 48%, Clinton 44%
-June 2011: Republican 44%, Obama 39%
(all Gallup data)
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) June 11, 2019

This is not the only poll like this, and they all kill the “electability” argument. There are people who would have voters believe that only a white man can win this election. The hopes of some candidates rely heavily upon that notion. Don’t buy it, folks. Choose who you like. https://t.co/XKBapUncmS
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) June 11, 2019

Trump 41% is trending nationwide. So feel free to keep saying it.

Like this:

Americans who want pre-existing conditions to be covered 98%
Trump 41%

Or:

Support for universal background checks on guns 85%
Trump 41%

Or:@Browns win Super Bowl 51% (Sorry I'm a fan)
Trump 41% https://t.co/NhWYa5z3wh
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) June 12, 2019

There are some… differences by age in new Quinnipiac poll of the 2020 Democratic primary:

Under 50 years old:
Sanders 32%
Biden 18%
Warren 16%
Buttigieg 7%
Harris 6%

50 years old and over:
Biden 41%
Warren 15%
Buttigieg 10%
Harris 9%
Sanders 5%
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) June 11, 2019