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demmiblue

demmiblue's Journal
demmiblue's Journal
September 19, 2021

Scoop - Manchin: Delay Biden plan to '22

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is privately saying he thinks Congress should take a “strategic pause” until 2022 before voting on President Biden’s $3.5 trillion social-spending package, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Why it matters: Manchin’s new timeline — if he insists on it — would disrupt the plans by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to vote on the budget reconciliation package this month.

Driving the news: Back home in West Virginia last week, Manchin told a group of employees at a Procter & Gamble facility in Martinsburg he wanted to pause all the talk about the $3.5 trillion bill until 2022, Axios was told.

Those semi-public comments track with some of his private conversations about how long he wants to impose the "strategic pause" he floated in a Wall Street Journal op-ed this month.

Manchin didn't give a specific timeline in his op-ed.

https://www.axios.com/scoop-manchin-delay-biden-plan-to-22-8116a0e8-ed10-4662-8ebb-6922f073a8e8.html
September 17, 2021

Proposed congressional districts call for big changes in mid-Michigan, Metro Detroit

Michigan’s independent redistricting commission finished its first full set of political district draft maps this week, drawing initial line proposals for the state’s 13 congressional districts.

The drafted map, which is subject to change, will eventually determine Michigan’s congressional districts which elect 13 lawmakers to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The commission’s initial goal was to get drafts on paper for state Senate, state House and Congressional districts by Sept. 22 and initially aimed to finish the Senate draft last week, but commissioners spent more time than initially allotted working through Metro Detroit, the state’s most populous region.

Many groups and several members of the commission have called for additional meeting dates to power through drafting the state House and Congressional maps in time for scheduled public hearings in October. Commission members will meet twice Thursday afternoon and evening to continue their work and will likely consider adding meetings to the calendar.

As currently drawn, the state congressional draft map changes current districts significantly, particularly in mid-Michigan as well as Metro Detroit, where Michigan’s current congressional map places Districts 7, 8 9, 12.

https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2021/09/proposed-congressional-districts-call-for-big-changes-in-mid-michigan-metro-detroit.html


https://twitter.com/MLivePolitics/status/1438967390046494729
September 17, 2021

I was today years old when I learned about the Congressional Art Competition:

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.

Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries. Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The winning works are displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol.

https://www.house.gov/educators-and-students/congressional-art-competition




https://twitter.com/RepRaskin/status/1438865015600209923



https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1403474654895886337



https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1396869609618169858



https://twitter.com/Fritschner/status/1391874621335552002



https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1389690114364907525



https://twitter.com/RepAngieCraig/status/1396849177477500931

Wow... so much talent!
September 17, 2021

Top Russian Diplomat's Secret Life With Millionaire Mistress Exposed

Source: The Daily Beast

Sergey Lavrov, “the face of Russian diplomacy,” has reportedly been living large while on “official trips” to more than 20 countries with his ultra-rich mistress.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reportedly bankrolled his mistress’s travel abroad with him on official diplomatic trips to almost two dozen countries around the world, according to a new bombshell report from Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny’s team. The report, entitled “Yachts, bribes and a mistress. What Minister Lavrov is hiding,” details a plethora of luxury digs and yachts enjoyed by the couple, including a yacht owned by the notorious oligarch Oleg Deripaska, which has been graced by the likes of Belarusian model Anastasia Vashukevich, better known by her pseudonym Nastya Rybka.

Lavrov, 71, is married and has a daughter. His alleged female companion, Svetlana Polyakova, is an actress and a restaurateur, with no known qualifications that would justify her apparent affiliation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Property records unearthed by reporters show that Polyakova and members of her family own real estate in Russia and the U.K. worth about 1 billion rubles ($13.6 million), as well as a fleet of luxury cars worth a total of about 40 million rubles ($545,000).

The Navalny team’s Thursday report was a follow-up to an investigation released earlier this week by iStories, an independent Russia-focused investigative news outlet. Based on information provided by sources within the Foreign Ministry, the outlet found that Polyakova’s relationship with Lavrov is reportedly so close that her friends listed her contact information as “Svetlana Lavrova.” She participated in public events alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and was included in the elite entourage allowed to be in his presence.

The investigation by Navalny’s team alleges that over the past seven years, Polyakova has used the foreign minister’s official plane on at least 60 occasions. Among other countries, she reportedly traveled with Lavrov to France, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Portugal, and Greece. Polyakova’s mother, daughter, and even her niece accompanied her on some of those official “diplomatic” escapades.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-russian-diplomat-sergey-lavrovs-secret-life-with-millionaire-mistress-exposed



https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1438822535680991234
September 16, 2021

Piers Morgan to join Fox News Media after leaving last job over duchess comments

LONDON (AP) — British presenter Piers Morgan will join News Corp and Fox News Media and host a TV show that will air in the U.S., Britain and Australia, the company said Thursday.

News Corp executive chair Rupert Murdoch said Morgan, 56, is “the broadcaster every channel wants but is too afraid to hire.” Murdoch added in a statement: “Piers is a brilliant presenter, a talented journalist and says what people are thinking and feeling.”

The show is billed as the primetime draw on the new channel talkTV, expected to launch in the U.K. in early 2022. It will also air on FOX Nation in the U.S. and on Sky News Australia. Morgan said he would also become a columnist for The Sun and The New York Post.

Morgan said his new show will be a “fearless forum for lively debate and agenda-setting interviews,” and praised Murdoch for championing free speech.

Morgan left Britain’s ITV in March after sparking a record 50,000 viewer complaints with controversial comments about Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Morgan said he did not believe Meghan’s claims – made during a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey – about how the monarchy allegedly ignored her struggles with mental health.

https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2021/09/piers-morgan-to-join-fox-news-media-after-leaving-last-job-over-duchess-comments.html
September 16, 2021

Rolling Stone updates 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list with big changes, new No. 1

Rolling Stone updated its list of the 500 greatest songs of all-time – its first update in 17 years.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, took home the top spot for her version of "Respect," which was originally recorded by Otis Redding. Snagging second place was Public Enemy's "Fight the Power."

The magazine noted that its list was created from over 250 artists, writers and industry figures who participated in a poll of over 4,000 songs.

Rolling Stone's original list came in 2004, but a measurable amount of change was evidenced in the revised list, with nearly half the songs new to the ranking. There's far more hip hop, country music, Latin pop, reggae and R&B in the latest list. Outkast's "Hey Ya!," for instance, checked in at No. 10, while Kanye West's "Stronger" took the final spot at No. 500.


The top 20 are listed below, with the full list of 500 available on Rolling Stone's website.

20. Robyn: "Dancing on My Own"
19. John Lennon: "Imagine"
18. Prince and the Revolution: "Purple Rain"
17. Queen: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
16. Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z: "Crazy in Love"
15. The Beatles: "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
14. The Kinks: "Waterloo Sunset"
13. The Rolling Stones: "Gimme Shelter"
12. Stevie Wonder: "Superstition"
11. The Beach Boys: "God Only Knows"
10. Outkast: "Hey Ya!"
9. Fleetwood Mac: "Dreams"
8. Missy Elliott: "Get Ur Freak On"
7. The Beatles: "Strawberry Fields Forever"
6. Marvin Gaye: "What’s Going On"
5. Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
4. Bob Dylan: "Like a Rolling Stone"
3. Sam Cooke: "A Change Is Gonna Come"
2. Public Enemy: "Fight the Power"
1. Aretha Franklin: "Respect"


https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/09/16/rolling-stone-updates-500-greatest-songs-all-time-list-new-no-1/8361150002/


https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/kanye-west-stronger-1224837/

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