We shall see but I think that Agent Orange saw defeat in the House coming, called for release of the "files" (extent and nature of them to be determined by the Bondi Department of "Justice"), and that months of obfuscation, delay, deletions, redactions, and disappearances will follow until Marge and the rest are bought to heel and public interest fades
I think the idea that the Agent cares about anybody else's name being dragged into the slime is risible.
I also think his (via Bondi) launching a new "investigation" into Epstein's connection to Democrats will provide him with any cover he might need - any released files will be redacted or withheld with the excuse that they are related to an ongoing investigation, which will continue indefinitely.
It amuses me up that trump thinks that threatening to expose Democrats will make Democratic voters upset. Expose every single one of the predators in those files. I don't care if it's the new Pope, Bill Clinton, or my dad.
Perhaps I am way off here, but I wonder if Trump's fear of what's in the Epstein files has less to do with his sexual activities and more about his involvement in the trafficking of victims.
Mike Johnson expresses concern that requiring the Epstein files to come out "could ruin the reputations of completely innocent people, such as those who may just have known Epstein but knew nothing of his crimes or whose names he exploited and used to try to get close to his intended victims."
I think tha Trump supporters are being conditioned to lie even if the truth would be more beneficial. Ummmm, Mike- completely innocent people would have avoided Epsten like the plague, not hung out with him or visited his property. If people hung out with Capone, what do you think others thought even if they themselves committed no crimes?
Now we see the Republic party members in the House give up any semblance of being lawmakers. All but four of them adamantly against release of the "files" until late last week, now all are in favor--just because their Orange Dear Leader tells them to be. Pathetic bunch of jobsworths.
Last night Seth Meyers responded to demented, deranged, fat, moronic, fascist traitor's idiotic attack on him, mainly by saying, maybe it was the demented, deranged, fat, moronic, fascist traitor that was in a rage, not Seth. Seth was correct!
As for the Democrats that stupidly caved, the House Rethug Licons were maybe two weeks from caving in. Once the air traffic control system had collapsed & it was definitely close to it, the airlines & the numerous companies that ship products by air would've forced them to cave in & they would've overwhelmingly voted to reopen the government with full SNAP benefits & all the ACA subsidies restored.
This was an outright failure by that stupid schande Schumer, who has the leadership qualities of the leaders of the Donner Party!
And of course Illinois's truly useless Senator Durbin was one of those caving in, just like he always does. He makes Schumer look brilliant by comparison! I think Durbin learned how to cave from long gone & good riddance to Senator Alan, Al the Pal, Dixon who was exactly the same!
I went to two movies this last week at my local multiplex and I think it'll be awhile before I go again. There was hardly any staff in the complex and next to no one in the theaters. If I were a criminal then I would think that these movie theaters would be a great place to mug people since it would probably be hours before anyone noticed that there was anything wrong. Sigh.
Lat movie I saw in a theater was Raiders Of The Lost Ark, at the now gone Nortown on Western Ave. south of Devon. It was even free, my sister's work, Kraft Foods bought all the tickets & there were extras, so I went.
That was 1981, I got a VCR soon after that & never again!
Similarly, when Johanna and I went to see the Springsteen movie with two friends recently it was a Saturday early evening show so we bought tickets in advance online just to guard against it being sold out. But when we got to the show, there were about 12 people in the audience. Kinda sad, really.
This past weekend, I went to see Nuremberg. I recommend it. It is a psychological thriller even if you already knew the true story. I will simply warn you in advance in case you have a weak stomach. There is footage during the trial of the opening of the camps and it is graphic. At the end you will see much of a hanging of one of the remaining Nazi leaders. Assuming thai it is reasonably historically accurate, you will witness the conundrum faced by the prosecution. There was no legal precedent for trying world leaders for criminality in losing a war. Maybe Joanie has a view on this. Goering actually wanted his day in court. He was convinced he could defeat the charges legally. You know a lot of people like to point out that winning and losing elections has consequences. So does winning and losing wars.
Thank you for recommending this movie. Laurence. I’ll watch it, and let you know if I have any ideas. One thing I’ve read recently is the idea that, post President Trump, the United States should become a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which founded the International Criminal Court in 2002. What if Trump was charged in that Court with crimes, say for murdering people on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific? While the Supreme Court has held that the President has immunity for official acts within his core Article 2 powers, would the International Criminal Court recognize that immunity? I doubt it. But I know very little about this stuff. Trump’s post-Presidential travel plans might be limited somewhat. Thanks again for the recommendation!
I used to love going to the movies and when my caregiving life began, with its strict schedule and lack of a lot of free time I was really missing the experience. After a couple of years, as a birthday treat to myself I finally went back to see a much hyped Sci Fi spectacle ("The Creator" from 2023, if anyone even remembers that one) and it was a major let down, for the reasons your friend lists in point 3 - interminable trailers and commercials, freezing theater, deafening sound, annoying patrons on phones and rustling with snacks. Most of all, the movie itself was underwhelming, not close to worth the $20 I shelled out for the IMAX showing, just one ticket. I tried it again a year later with Alien: Romulus, with exactly the same result. I don't know when I might feel like going back again.
I used to go to many movies a year. COVID kind of broke my string. But all those years taught me to do this: Have a warm scarf to put around your neck (because EVERY blower in the theater is located over my head), Use earplugs for at least the trailers, Close your eyes during the trailers for a movie you might wish to see later. Order your seats online so you can avoid sitting near the numbnuts on their phones. I'm now retired so I can pick and choose my showtimes.
One reason I like going to the theater to see movies is so that I can see them without interruption. At home, my wife often interrupts with questions about what is happening. At the theater I can better ignore those questions. (Watching a movie for the first time I shouldn’t have any answers she doesn’t have. It’s just that she’s scrolling on her phone during the movie at home).
I occasionally do both movies and concerts. I am a regular observer of rude behavior. I think that faux pa's in this case means that if I make you uncomfortable, screw you and mind your own business.
I just love going to the movie theater. I was shocked by your poll. I hope the results reflect the demographic of your readers and not the general public. No way my home screen and sound system can compete with the big screen. And there are also certain films whose viewing is enhanced by seeing them with an audience. There are many theaters that are clean and comfortable. My favorite is the Lake Theater in Oak Park which also has seats that recline with a footrest.
A thought on us needing the special visa because we don’t have enough specialized workers. I got out of college with a Computer Science degree in 1982. I was part of the first recruitment class of CS grads at Kraft. Prior to that year, Kraft, and many other companies would hire grads with any degree (weren’t enough CS) and had internal training programs to teach the required skills needed. This country does not have a shortage of college degrees. We can go back to the old way if needed if people really want to get rid of those work visas. Lots of training companies would pop up to do the training required. We assume that people with 4 year degrees are trainable.
Kraft replaced all of its IT people with Indians they brought in to this country, trained them in Glenview, then sent them back to India to be Kraft's help desk.
That was where my sister worked on the second floor, she called them the helpless desk & usually called me to fix her computer! Usually a simple Google search found the problem.
She was also in charge of taking back all the laptops from everyone & they would ship the old ones back from India in a cardboard box with no padding of any kind, so Kraft could return them to the company they leased them from. But they threw all the power supplies & mice into the garbage, so I now have a ton of HP, Dell & IBM power supplies from years ago. I even have some Dell docking stations that originally cost $1500 each they dumped. There were three huge boxes in the lobby marked either "KEEP AS TREASURE" or "TAKE", which meant you could take it home. They threw out expensive never used extra batteries for the Dells & when they told her she could work from home a couple of days a week, I found all the extra cables necessary for that in the "TAKE" box.
What was in that "TAKE" box was amazing, as were the dumpsters that were filled up with stuff someone who left the company threw out & that dumpster was what we looked through on Saturdays or even Sundays! Kraft loved to give out all sorts of clocks to employees & I have several from them. The Herman Miller ones are the best, but she also got one with three clocks, for three time zones from the garbage.
Small world. I’ve heard from many that Kraft changed a lot from what I experienced in the 1980s. I know from my next job that (at least in 2003) it cost 1/3 less to replace an American worker with an Indian on shore; and it cost 2/3 less to replace an American worker with someone physically in India.
Not to address the offshoring, but the expense and the waste --
No doubt Kraft was able to deduct all of that on their taxes as a business expense, thus reducing their corporate tax burden to virtually zero, like so many other huge corporations. I'm aghast at the stories I hear of how much companies blow on fluff and crap that does nothing for their employees or their business model but they do it because it can be written off. I think all federal budget issues could be resolved by tightening up the IRS code on corporations.
I can't tell you how many boat rides I got from my sister from Kraft, the dinner cruises, river cruises, plus a few dinners at hotel restaurants.. Lots of sweaters, shirts & jackets also. The shirts are 100% cotton with the Kraft logo on one sleeve cuff. Very expensive shirts. They gave that stuff out instead of pay raises.
I’ve said for years that companies demanding college for even entry-level jobs is a terrible mistake (why do you need a bachelors degree to answer the phone?). The primary driver for this insanity (I think) has been the hostility towards unions, preferring to force individuals to take on enormous debt just to have a chance at a career over having to deal with skilled workers’ collective bargaining.
The headline "U.S. Border Patrol flies south for the winter" is perfect! Last night I said to my husband, "It starts to get a little cold and - poof! - Bovino and company head south. Babies."
I think public relations might have something to do with it. The orange stain has been bragging about the inroads he has been making with back and Latino voters, not to mention city residents. I wonder how that's going.
Yes, and from recent polls I've seen Latino support for Trump and his Republicans is dropping, in Texas alone it's 50% less than a year ago. This will have a significant effect on next year's elections if it continues, even if they avoid deployment in red states.
You made this statement when commenting on your preference for watching movies at home, “ Let’s not judge one another on our indifferences.” I’m not indifferent about going to the theater—I love it! Did you mean differences?
Eric was making the point that he was “indifferent” about attending movies theatrically. Certain doctrinaire theater chauvinists (like Owen Gleiberman, I prusume) are critical of this indifference, as they insist that the theaterical experience is always the superior medium for viewing movies. Hence, Eric was being judged on his “indifference”.
I still like to see "big" action movies on the big screen but am happy to wait to stream most movies. When we do go to the movie theater, we tend to go to beautifully restored movie palaces (La Grange Theatre and Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove) because it just feels more special than a big, bland multi-plex. These Classic Cinemas theaters don't end up costing as much overall (tickets, popcorn, sodas) as the big guys like AMC. The heated recliners at La Grange and Tivoli are fabulous as well.
Watched Wicked at home this weekend and I think I would have liked even more on the big screen because of all the beautiful colors. Rare non-action movie that I think would have been great on the big screen, especially Tivoli's main theatre's ENORMOUS screen. If you go on certain nights, they bring up the organ (from the theatre's silent movies in the 20s) and have an organ show before the movie - no extra charge!
I rarely go to a movie theater - the sound is cranked up so loud it hurts my ears - but I saw Wicked in a little theater in Michigan and the final 5 minutes took my breath away. Literally gasping for breath.
I don't think it would have been the same at home.
When I saw the play in Chicago years ago it was an amazing experience. I think the movie version was even more impressive, especially Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. I'm sure part 2 won't disappoint.
I used to go to the movies and dinner with friends nearly every weekend before the “quarantimes” (as one of my friends calls it). But now we only go for big movies that we don’t want to wait to see (such as part 2 of Wicked this coming weekend). The latest Avatar movie (also coming out this weekend) may be a bellwether for the industry - if it bombs it might spell the end of even big blockbuster budgets going forward.
EZ: "...if Epstein and/or Maxwell had truly incriminating evidence or testimony to give about Trump, they would have used that information to barter for their freedom or extreme leniency. Particularly Maxwell..."
I'm going to put on my conspiracy nut tin foil hat on here:
- Epstein died under suspicious circumstances that are not being seriously investigated
- Maxwell spoke with deputy AG Todd Blanche and got transferred to a minimum security luxury camp in Texas, where she is reportedly pretty happy with the conditions, and with a pardon not out of the question
- Roy Black, lawyer representing Epstein who got him an exceptionally lenient deal in 2008 dies in July
- Ivana Trump dies from blunt impact injuries after a fall, buried on Trump private property
Would it really be outlandish to suggest the victims that could directly implicate Trump are either missing already or are being threatened into silence on his involvement specifically?
Yes, I understand this is all just speculation and nothing concrete, but with all the denials and obfuscations from the world's most prolific liar with clear connections to Epstein, who is also simultaneously the most powerful and most immoral person in the world, I think it's fair to harbor suspicions.
In a world where people take right wing conspiracy theories seriously and Kim Kardashian thinks the moon landing was faked, go for it dude. The other side needs to know how it feels. Anyway, I believe a guy who got his rocks off watching teenage beauty pageants get dressed, was directly involved in exploiting young girls.
A man who not only bragged about walking in on underage pageant contestants as they were changing clothes, but was also accused (credibly, IMO) of raping a 13-year-old girl and held liable for raping E Jean Carroll.
(And lest anyone wants to push back on that, the judge even admitted that had the case been in just about any other state Trump's actions would have been called rape.)
I don't know why the Biden administration didn't make a case - maybe they were trying to protect someone like Bill Clinton, or maybe they didn't want to be accused of politicizing it, or who knows? But we've already heard that Bondi told Trump his name was ALL OVER the Epstein files, and ever since they've been stonewalling. If he's not guilty he sure is acting like he is.
For the go to the theatre poll I chose #4 because I only go once in a while, usually when it's something my kids want to see and don't want to wait for it to stream. In the Before Times, I would have selected #2.
Some fancier theatre let you reserve a seat so I recall "gaming the system" and getting to the theatre late to see one of the Avenger movies and skipped the majority of the previews.
I think that Trump saying that all of the files will be released means that his lapdog DOJ has gone over them with a fine toothed comb and that there's not enough there to hurt him. Was he on the island or on the jet or that he partied with or was a pal of JE? Yes. Is there proof that he took part in the abuse or rape of minor aged girls? Most likely no or the files would remain hidden. I'm guessing that there isn't anything there that's worse than what's been released already, things that would disgust anyone who doesn't worship the orange dictator or make his sycophants turn on him. If there was and as someone else here has said, Ghislane would be walking free today.
"Real people/Americans" used to dehumanize people and justified atrocities against them. It's from an old playbook. Stringing along to NBA All Star game - I guess "the World" would be the version of Jesse Owens.
Mamdani is not a communist. He's self described democratic socialist whic could be worse.
Let's not forget that even with Border Patrol retreating, there are still people suffering in the ICE detention center in Broadview. That fight is no where near over. They're arresting clergy with (if the videos are to be believed) no cause. What BP/local police claim the clergy did just doesn't happen in the published videos. If anything, officers instigated violence
We shall see but I think that Agent Orange saw defeat in the House coming, called for release of the "files" (extent and nature of them to be determined by the Bondi Department of "Justice"), and that months of obfuscation, delay, deletions, redactions, and disappearances will follow until Marge and the rest are bought to heel and public interest fades
I think the idea that the Agent cares about anybody else's name being dragged into the slime is risible.
I also think his (via Bondi) launching a new "investigation" into Epstein's connection to Democrats will provide him with any cover he might need - any released files will be redacted or withheld with the excuse that they are related to an ongoing investigation, which will continue indefinitely.
I would have expected them to be redacted for the victims privacy, but so many victims have come forward publicly I would think they would wave that.
It amuses me up that trump thinks that threatening to expose Democrats will make Democratic voters upset. Expose every single one of the predators in those files. I don't care if it's the new Pope, Bill Clinton, or my dad.
I trust it’s not your dad.
It's definitely not my dad. I was being dramatic for effect... haha
Perhaps I am way off here, but I wonder if Trump's fear of what's in the Epstein files has less to do with his sexual activities and more about his involvement in the trafficking of victims.
Interesting...just posted on social media.
Mike Johnson expresses concern that requiring the Epstein files to come out "could ruin the reputations of completely innocent people, such as those who may just have known Epstein but knew nothing of his crimes or whose names he exploited and used to try to get close to his intended victims."
I'm reminded of an old saying, Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.
I think tha Trump supporters are being conditioned to lie even if the truth would be more beneficial. Ummmm, Mike- completely innocent people would have avoided Epsten like the plague, not hung out with him or visited his property. If people hung out with Capone, what do you think others thought even if they themselves committed no crimes?
Now we see the Republic party members in the House give up any semblance of being lawmakers. All but four of them adamantly against release of the "files" until late last week, now all are in favor--just because their Orange Dear Leader tells them to be. Pathetic bunch of jobsworths.
Last night Seth Meyers responded to demented, deranged, fat, moronic, fascist traitor's idiotic attack on him, mainly by saying, maybe it was the demented, deranged, fat, moronic, fascist traitor that was in a rage, not Seth. Seth was correct!
As for the Democrats that stupidly caved, the House Rethug Licons were maybe two weeks from caving in. Once the air traffic control system had collapsed & it was definitely close to it, the airlines & the numerous companies that ship products by air would've forced them to cave in & they would've overwhelmingly voted to reopen the government with full SNAP benefits & all the ACA subsidies restored.
This was an outright failure by that stupid schande Schumer, who has the leadership qualities of the leaders of the Donner Party!
And of course Illinois's truly useless Senator Durbin was one of those caving in, just like he always does. He makes Schumer look brilliant by comparison! I think Durbin learned how to cave from long gone & good riddance to Senator Alan, Al the Pal, Dixon who was exactly the same!
I went to two movies this last week at my local multiplex and I think it'll be awhile before I go again. There was hardly any staff in the complex and next to no one in the theaters. If I were a criminal then I would think that these movie theaters would be a great place to mug people since it would probably be hours before anyone noticed that there was anything wrong. Sigh.
Lat movie I saw in a theater was Raiders Of The Lost Ark, at the now gone Nortown on Western Ave. south of Devon. It was even free, my sister's work, Kraft Foods bought all the tickets & there were extras, so I went.
That was 1981, I got a VCR soon after that & never again!
Similarly, when Johanna and I went to see the Springsteen movie with two friends recently it was a Saturday early evening show so we bought tickets in advance online just to guard against it being sold out. But when we got to the show, there were about 12 people in the audience. Kinda sad, really.
This past weekend, I went to see Nuremberg. I recommend it. It is a psychological thriller even if you already knew the true story. I will simply warn you in advance in case you have a weak stomach. There is footage during the trial of the opening of the camps and it is graphic. At the end you will see much of a hanging of one of the remaining Nazi leaders. Assuming thai it is reasonably historically accurate, you will witness the conundrum faced by the prosecution. There was no legal precedent for trying world leaders for criminality in losing a war. Maybe Joanie has a view on this. Goering actually wanted his day in court. He was convinced he could defeat the charges legally. You know a lot of people like to point out that winning and losing elections has consequences. So does winning and losing wars.
I want very much to see Nuremburg. It feels like something about such an important case requires the big screen.
Thank you for recommending this movie. Laurence. I’ll watch it, and let you know if I have any ideas. One thing I’ve read recently is the idea that, post President Trump, the United States should become a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which founded the International Criminal Court in 2002. What if Trump was charged in that Court with crimes, say for murdering people on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific? While the Supreme Court has held that the President has immunity for official acts within his core Article 2 powers, would the International Criminal Court recognize that immunity? I doubt it. But I know very little about this stuff. Trump’s post-Presidential travel plans might be limited somewhat. Thanks again for the recommendation!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_and_the_International_Criminal_Court
No, the International Court would never recognize that bogus SCOTUS decision.
Remember, the Nazis were tried at Nuremberg by an Allied Court & that court ignored the Nazi laws that gave them immunity!
I used to love going to the movies and when my caregiving life began, with its strict schedule and lack of a lot of free time I was really missing the experience. After a couple of years, as a birthday treat to myself I finally went back to see a much hyped Sci Fi spectacle ("The Creator" from 2023, if anyone even remembers that one) and it was a major let down, for the reasons your friend lists in point 3 - interminable trailers and commercials, freezing theater, deafening sound, annoying patrons on phones and rustling with snacks. Most of all, the movie itself was underwhelming, not close to worth the $20 I shelled out for the IMAX showing, just one ticket. I tried it again a year later with Alien: Romulus, with exactly the same result. I don't know when I might feel like going back again.
I used to go to many movies a year. COVID kind of broke my string. But all those years taught me to do this: Have a warm scarf to put around your neck (because EVERY blower in the theater is located over my head), Use earplugs for at least the trailers, Close your eyes during the trailers for a movie you might wish to see later. Order your seats online so you can avoid sitting near the numbnuts on their phones. I'm now retired so I can pick and choose my showtimes.
Good luck to us all.
One reason I like going to the theater to see movies is so that I can see them without interruption. At home, my wife often interrupts with questions about what is happening. At the theater I can better ignore those questions. (Watching a movie for the first time I shouldn’t have any answers she doesn’t have. It’s just that she’s scrolling on her phone during the movie at home).
Yeah I like that at the theater, there's no way you can stop the film, and it's a faux pas to take out your phone. The setting helps me pay attention.
I occasionally do both movies and concerts. I am a regular observer of rude behavior. I think that faux pa's in this case means that if I make you uncomfortable, screw you and mind your own business.
I just love going to the movie theater. I was shocked by your poll. I hope the results reflect the demographic of your readers and not the general public. No way my home screen and sound system can compete with the big screen. And there are also certain films whose viewing is enhanced by seeing them with an audience. There are many theaters that are clean and comfortable. My favorite is the Lake Theater in Oak Park which also has seats that recline with a footrest.
A thought on us needing the special visa because we don’t have enough specialized workers. I got out of college with a Computer Science degree in 1982. I was part of the first recruitment class of CS grads at Kraft. Prior to that year, Kraft, and many other companies would hire grads with any degree (weren’t enough CS) and had internal training programs to teach the required skills needed. This country does not have a shortage of college degrees. We can go back to the old way if needed if people really want to get rid of those work visas. Lots of training companies would pop up to do the training required. We assume that people with 4 year degrees are trainable.
Kraft replaced all of its IT people with Indians they brought in to this country, trained them in Glenview, then sent them back to India to be Kraft's help desk.
That was where my sister worked on the second floor, she called them the helpless desk & usually called me to fix her computer! Usually a simple Google search found the problem.
She was also in charge of taking back all the laptops from everyone & they would ship the old ones back from India in a cardboard box with no padding of any kind, so Kraft could return them to the company they leased them from. But they threw all the power supplies & mice into the garbage, so I now have a ton of HP, Dell & IBM power supplies from years ago. I even have some Dell docking stations that originally cost $1500 each they dumped. There were three huge boxes in the lobby marked either "KEEP AS TREASURE" or "TAKE", which meant you could take it home. They threw out expensive never used extra batteries for the Dells & when they told her she could work from home a couple of days a week, I found all the extra cables necessary for that in the "TAKE" box.
What was in that "TAKE" box was amazing, as were the dumpsters that were filled up with stuff someone who left the company threw out & that dumpster was what we looked through on Saturdays or even Sundays! Kraft loved to give out all sorts of clocks to employees & I have several from them. The Herman Miller ones are the best, but she also got one with three clocks, for three time zones from the garbage.
Small world. I’ve heard from many that Kraft changed a lot from what I experienced in the 1980s. I know from my next job that (at least in 2003) it cost 1/3 less to replace an American worker with an Indian on shore; and it cost 2/3 less to replace an American worker with someone physically in India.
Not to address the offshoring, but the expense and the waste --
No doubt Kraft was able to deduct all of that on their taxes as a business expense, thus reducing their corporate tax burden to virtually zero, like so many other huge corporations. I'm aghast at the stories I hear of how much companies blow on fluff and crap that does nothing for their employees or their business model but they do it because it can be written off. I think all federal budget issues could be resolved by tightening up the IRS code on corporations.
I can't tell you how many boat rides I got from my sister from Kraft, the dinner cruises, river cruises, plus a few dinners at hotel restaurants.. Lots of sweaters, shirts & jackets also. The shirts are 100% cotton with the Kraft logo on one sleeve cuff. Very expensive shirts. They gave that stuff out instead of pay raises.
When I worked for T-Mobile in the late 2000s, the official budget line item for TMO-branded merchandise for a dept was "Trash & Trinkets".
I’ve said for years that companies demanding college for even entry-level jobs is a terrible mistake (why do you need a bachelors degree to answer the phone?). The primary driver for this insanity (I think) has been the hostility towards unions, preferring to force individuals to take on enormous debt just to have a chance at a career over having to deal with skilled workers’ collective bargaining.
The headline "U.S. Border Patrol flies south for the winter" is perfect! Last night I said to my husband, "It starts to get a little cold and - poof! - Bovino and company head south. Babies."
I also believe the recent aggressive actions by federal judges had a part in the decision to move on to easier prey.
I think public relations might have something to do with it. The orange stain has been bragging about the inroads he has been making with back and Latino voters, not to mention city residents. I wonder how that's going.
Yes, and from recent polls I've seen Latino support for Trump and his Republicans is dropping, in Texas alone it's 50% less than a year ago. This will have a significant effect on next year's elections if it continues, even if they avoid deployment in red states.
You made this statement when commenting on your preference for watching movies at home, “ Let’s not judge one another on our indifferences.” I’m not indifferent about going to the theater—I love it! Did you mean differences?
No, it was a play on words, and clever.
Hmm. Can you explain it to me? My thick brain doesn’t get the pun.
Eric was making the point that he was “indifferent” about attending movies theatrically. Certain doctrinaire theater chauvinists (like Owen Gleiberman, I prusume) are critical of this indifference, as they insist that the theaterical experience is always the superior medium for viewing movies. Hence, Eric was being judged on his “indifference”.
I still like to see "big" action movies on the big screen but am happy to wait to stream most movies. When we do go to the movie theater, we tend to go to beautifully restored movie palaces (La Grange Theatre and Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove) because it just feels more special than a big, bland multi-plex. These Classic Cinemas theaters don't end up costing as much overall (tickets, popcorn, sodas) as the big guys like AMC. The heated recliners at La Grange and Tivoli are fabulous as well.
Watched Wicked at home this weekend and I think I would have liked even more on the big screen because of all the beautiful colors. Rare non-action movie that I think would have been great on the big screen, especially Tivoli's main theatre's ENORMOUS screen. If you go on certain nights, they bring up the organ (from the theatre's silent movies in the 20s) and have an organ show before the movie - no extra charge!
I rarely go to a movie theater - the sound is cranked up so loud it hurts my ears - but I saw Wicked in a little theater in Michigan and the final 5 minutes took my breath away. Literally gasping for breath.
I don't think it would have been the same at home.
One of my adult children with autism wears earplugs to movies. Only way they can tolerate the sound. They still hear everything.
My husband takes his hearing aids out!
When I saw the play in Chicago years ago it was an amazing experience. I think the movie version was even more impressive, especially Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. I'm sure part 2 won't disappoint.
Yes! Looking forward to it.
I used to go to the movies and dinner with friends nearly every weekend before the “quarantimes” (as one of my friends calls it). But now we only go for big movies that we don’t want to wait to see (such as part 2 of Wicked this coming weekend). The latest Avatar movie (also coming out this weekend) may be a bellwether for the industry - if it bombs it might spell the end of even big blockbuster budgets going forward.
EZ: "...if Epstein and/or Maxwell had truly incriminating evidence or testimony to give about Trump, they would have used that information to barter for their freedom or extreme leniency. Particularly Maxwell..."
I'm going to put on my conspiracy nut tin foil hat on here:
- Epstein died under suspicious circumstances that are not being seriously investigated
- Maxwell spoke with deputy AG Todd Blanche and got transferred to a minimum security luxury camp in Texas, where she is reportedly pretty happy with the conditions, and with a pardon not out of the question
- Roy Black, lawyer representing Epstein who got him an exceptionally lenient deal in 2008 dies in July
- Ivana Trump dies from blunt impact injuries after a fall, buried on Trump private property
Would it really be outlandish to suggest the victims that could directly implicate Trump are either missing already or are being threatened into silence on his involvement specifically?
Yes, I understand this is all just speculation and nothing concrete, but with all the denials and obfuscations from the world's most prolific liar with clear connections to Epstein, who is also simultaneously the most powerful and most immoral person in the world, I think it's fair to harbor suspicions.
In a world where people take right wing conspiracy theories seriously and Kim Kardashian thinks the moon landing was faked, go for it dude. The other side needs to know how it feels. Anyway, I believe a guy who got his rocks off watching teenage beauty pageants get dressed, was directly involved in exploiting young girls.
A man who not only bragged about walking in on underage pageant contestants as they were changing clothes, but was also accused (credibly, IMO) of raping a 13-year-old girl and held liable for raping E Jean Carroll.
(And lest anyone wants to push back on that, the judge even admitted that had the case been in just about any other state Trump's actions would have been called rape.)
I don't know why the Biden administration didn't make a case - maybe they were trying to protect someone like Bill Clinton, or maybe they didn't want to be accused of politicizing it, or who knows? But we've already heard that Bondi told Trump his name was ALL OVER the Epstein files, and ever since they've been stonewalling. If he's not guilty he sure is acting like he is.
Except Clinton only used Epstein's jet to go to world conferences. Zero evidence he ever went to the island.
For the go to the theatre poll I chose #4 because I only go once in a while, usually when it's something my kids want to see and don't want to wait for it to stream. In the Before Times, I would have selected #2.
Some fancier theatre let you reserve a seat so I recall "gaming the system" and getting to the theatre late to see one of the Avenger movies and skipped the majority of the previews.
I think that Trump saying that all of the files will be released means that his lapdog DOJ has gone over them with a fine toothed comb and that there's not enough there to hurt him. Was he on the island or on the jet or that he partied with or was a pal of JE? Yes. Is there proof that he took part in the abuse or rape of minor aged girls? Most likely no or the files would remain hidden. I'm guessing that there isn't anything there that's worse than what's been released already, things that would disgust anyone who doesn't worship the orange dictator or make his sycophants turn on him. If there was and as someone else here has said, Ghislane would be walking free today.
"Real people/Americans" used to dehumanize people and justified atrocities against them. It's from an old playbook. Stringing along to NBA All Star game - I guess "the World" would be the version of Jesse Owens.
Mamdani is not a communist. He's self described democratic socialist whic could be worse.
Unpopular - I love seeing movies at theaters.
I prefer going to the theater for a few reasons
- better sound (unless you go to Logan Theater haha)
- fewer distractions
- a great audience really does enhance the film
Having said that, I only go to the movies 10 times a year. If I were watching films all the time, I'd probably stay home, where it's cheaper.
Let's not forget that even with Border Patrol retreating, there are still people suffering in the ICE detention center in Broadview. That fight is no where near over. They're arresting clergy with (if the videos are to be believed) no cause. What BP/local police claim the clergy did just doesn't happen in the published videos. If anything, officers instigated violence