Category: Entertainment

WashPost OPINION: Bipartisan Duo Of Prosecutors Sets Forth Case Against Sessions — Cites Kleindienst Example — Meanwhile, See Kate McKinnon As Jeff Sessions On SNL!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/federal-prosecutors-have-brought-charges-in-cases-far-less-serious-than-sessionss/2017/03/03/d4345396-003d-11e7-8ebe-6e0dbe4f2bca_story.html

Philip Lacovara and Lawrence Robbins write in the Washington Post:

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a seemingly false statement under oath during his confirmation hearing. Admittedly, not every potential perjury case gets prosecuted, and Sessions may well have defenses to such a charge. But as lawyers at the Justice Department and attorneys in private practice who have represented individuals accused in such cases, we can state with assurance: Federal prosecutors have brought charges in cases involving far more trivial misstatements and situations far less consequential than whether a nominee to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer misled fellow senators during his confirmation hearings.

. . . .

Certainly there is precedent for a prosecution in this context. Part of the fallout from Watergate included the special prosecutor’s investigation of Richard Kleindienst, who had resigned from his position as attorney general, for alleged false statements during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kleindienst was asked whether the White House had interfered with a Justice Department antitrust action against the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. He stated, “I was not interfered with by anybody at the White House” — but President Nixon and one of his top aides had each called Kleindienst regarding the case. Kleindienst pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for “refus[ing] and fail[ing] to answer accurately and fully” questions at a congressional hearing.

Those facts left no room for any colorable defense on the “knowledge” issue. But when Justice Department officials decide whether to bring a case against Sessions — or, more appropriately, when an independent counsel is appointed and resolves that question — this must be done against the backdrop of other perjury cases that the department has chosen over the years to bring. And the department has prosecuted individuals who advanced defenses very similar to Sessions’s arguments here, often where there was far less at stake.”

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Read the full piece at the link:

And, Here’s Kate McKinnon as Jeff Sessions on SNL from Saturday, March 4:

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/jeff-sessions-gump-cold-open/3480395

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PWS

03/06/17

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immigrationcourtside FOOD/ECONOMY: How Much Does The U.S. Restaurant Industry Depend On Foreign-Born Workers? What Would Happen If They Weren’t There To Serve Us?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/02/17/restaurants-imagined-a-day-without-immigrants-in-one-city-last-year-it-actually-happened/

Caitlin Dewey writes in Wonkblog in today’s WashPost:

“Immigrants are part of the U.S. economy,” Roblero said, in Spanish, via Facebook Messenger. “Now I’m under house arrest. I haven’t left to see any of my coworkers, the restaurant is closed and I can’t work.”

Thus far, few restaurants have suffered the scale of the raids that Agave did. But in cities across America, restaurants, bars and hotels are bracing themselves for the possibility of further enforcement action under the Trump administration. On Thursday, restaurants in several major cities — including José Andrés’s Jaleo, Oyamel and Zaytinya in D.C. — shut down or cut service to demonstrate how much their businesses would suffer without immigrants.

. . . .

That has been devastating to the families of the employees, Valladares said, particularly those with young children. Many of the families fear being split up if their relatives are deported. They’re also having trouble buying food and paying rent while their primary breadwinners await immigration hearings; Cosecha is now providing for many of those needs. Only one of Mucino’s restaurants, the taco joint La Divina, is open and in need of employees.

On a recent Wednesday evening, the phone at La Divina was answered by a 21-year-old college student named Drew Smith. He was hired after the raids, he said, to replace a cashier who had been arrested, along with several new cooks who, early on, didn’t even know where to source ingredients. Smith loves La Divina: The people are nice, the tacos are good, and it “feels like working in Mexico,” he said.
“But it seems like less people come to the restaurant now,” he added. “I think there’s a perception that the tacos are different.”

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PWS

02/18/17

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TGIF: immigrationcourtside MUSIC: He Wasn’t The First Ever, But “Weird Al” Is The Greatest Music Parodist Of All-Time (IOW, The “Tom Brady” Of Music Parody) — And, The Self-Admitted “World’s Biggest Nerd” Does It All With Permission!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2017/02/16/how-weird-al-eclipsed-almost-every-star-he-ever-parodied/?tid=a_classic-iphone

From the Washington Post:

“LOS ANGELES — One day last summer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, on break from “Hamilton,” stopped by neighbor Jimmy Fallon’s house in the Hamptons. They both love music and Fallon has a listening room in the basement, so it wasn’t long before they were downstairs sharing another passion: “Weird Al” Yankovic.

“I said, ‘Do you know “Polka Party!”?’ ” Fallon says. “He’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, I know it word for word.’ ”

Fallon threw Yankovic’s 1986 record on the turntable, and the Broadway phenomenon and the late-night TV star sang along to an accordion-driven medley that covers 12 songs in three minutes, from Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” to Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach.”

“Picture Jimmy Fallon and I sitting in a basement laughing our asses off singing, ‘I’m gonna keep my baby, keep my baby, keep my baby,’ ” Miranda says.

“We were crying, laughing and singing,” Fallon says.

They’re not alone.
Yankovic has sold millions of albums, played 1,616 shows and outlasted so many of the stars he once spoofed. His most recent album, 2014’s “Mandatory Fun,” featured parodies of Iggy Azalea, Lorde and Pharrell Williams, a polka medley and his usual smattering of original songs. The album hit No. 1. At 57, he’s now readying a complete set of his 14 studio recordings, plus an album of bonus tracks. “Squeeze Box,” on sale through a PledgeMusic drive until the end of February, will naturally come in an accordion-shaped box. “Comedy recording and funny songs go back to the earliest days of the record industry,” says Barry Hansen, better known as Dr. Demento, the radio host who introduced Yankovic to the public 40 years ago. “But Al is unique. There’s nothing like him in the history of funny music.”

For Chris Hardwick — the comedian who created the Nerdist empire and hosts two game shows, “@midnight” and “The Wall” — Yankovic is more than a musical success story. He’s a triumph for all the oddballs and outsiders.”

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I remember during my “Jones Day phase” giving a lift in the family Suburban to one of my colleagues and his wife. As she thumbed her way through our shoe box of cassette tapes, his wife wondered aloud about a family whose musical tastes ran from Beethoven to “Weird Al” (although I actually think that Beethoven would have understood the connection). Yeah, we were pretty weird and nerdy.

My personal Weird Al favorite is “Girls Just Want to Have Lunch” (parodying, of course, Cyndi Lauper’s hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun) from his 1985 smash hit album “Dare to be Stupid.” Here’s a link to the music video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu6HJDYWf68

Happy listening/viewing!

Happy Friday!😎🍻

PWS

02/18/17

 

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Trump WH Rocketing SNL Ratings To New Highs — Watch Melissa McCarthy Do It Again As Sean Spicer! See Clip (Courtesy Of Variety) Here!

http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/saturday-night-live-melissa-mccarthy-sean-spicer-alec-baldwin-1201985397/

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I wonder how AG Jeff Sessions reaction will compare with the late AG Janet Reno’s reaction to her “Dance Party?”

PWS

02/12/17

 

 

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WashPost: The Fix: Trump Threatens Third Branch!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/08/president-trump-is-not-so-subtly-threatening-the-american-court-system/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_trumphearing-1230pm:homepage/story&utm_term=.889ea4d1df98

Aaron Blake writes in the Washington Post:

“In a speech to law enforcement officials, Feb. 8, President Trump read federal law giving broad him broad authority to set immigration restrictions, adding, “a bad high school student would understand this.” (The Washington Post)

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is now weighing what to do with President Trump’s travel ban. And Trump did his best Wednesday to put his finger on the scales of justice.

Continuing a highly unusual days-long effort by a president, Trump issued a stark warning to the three-judge panel and, really, the entire court system: Run afoul of me, and you may just pay a price.

In a speech in front of law enforcement in Washington, Trump suggested to the three-judge panel that they would marginalize themselves politically if they decide the wrong way. Trump has said similar things about the judge who previously halted his travel ban — albeit after the decision had come down.

The comments were oblique, but Trump’s point was crystal clear.

“If these judges wanted to help the court in terms of respect for the court, they’d do what they should be doing,” Trump said, in a comment thick with subtext. “It’s so sad.”

He added: “I don’t ever want to call a court biased, so I won’t call it biased. But courts seem to be so political, and it would be so great for our justice system if they would read [the law] and do what’s right.”

If that isn’t a threat to marshal support against the American court system and fight it politically, I’m not sure what is. Trump is basically saying: That’s a nice reputation you’ve got there. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.”

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So, if this is the contemptuous and disrespectful way Trump treats the Article III Courts, what does that say about the chances for fairness and due process in the U.S. Immigration Court System, where all the U.S. Immigration Judges and the Appellate Immigration Judges on the Board of Immigration Appeals work directly for Trump’s friend and enthusiastic supporter, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a well-established “immigration hard liner” who is reputed to be the “inspiration” behind Trump’s immigration enforcement program.

How long will an Immigration Judge who rules in favor of an individual who is one of Trump’s “removal priorities” or an Appellate Immigration Judge who speaks out in favor of due process in the face of Trump’s “move ’em all out” Executive Orders remain on the bench. Not long, I suspect. Is Attorney General Jeff Sessions really going to stand up for and protect a conscientious Immigration Judge who in good faith attempts to follow the law even when it conflicts with Trump’s edicts? Not likely.

The only question probably will be whether Article III Judges will stand up to Trump’s bullying and excesses and force Constitutional due process back into the system after Trump and Sessions drain it out. So far, the Article III Judiciary seems to be almost as unfazed by Trump’s bulling and threats as, say, the cast of SNL. But, it’s early in the game. And even Article III Judges eventually might find that they have to pick their fights. Will the due process rights of foreign nationals be one of them? Only time will tell. Stay tuned.

PWS

02/08/17

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Entertainment: Never Trust A Guy Who Can’t Take A Joke — Taking Their Cue From The President, The More Trump Lets Satire Rattle Him, The More SNL And Others In The World Of Comedy Are Going To Double Down On The Stuff That Gets To Him (The Only Way Out For The Prez — Get a Sense Of Humor — But, Sadly, That’s A Tall Order For a Guy Who Has Made His Life “All About Me”)!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/snl-women-trump-administration_us_5899c922e4b040613138f6f9

Maxwell Strachan writes in HuffPost:

“So, President Donald Trump is supposedly upset that a woman played his White House press secretary on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend.

Politico is reporting that seeing Sean Spicer depicted by a thunderous Melissa McCarthy bothered the president so much, particularly because he “doesn’t like his people to look weak.” Spicer himself said that he thought McCarthy “could dial back” the impression. The impression clearly bothered them both.
As a result, people have been excitedly starting to call for more women to play the men in Trump’s administration, hoping to further injure the president’s always sensitive ego, and maybe cause some behind-the-scenes drama.
Rosie O’Donnell, a longtime critic of the president, has already said she would be willing to play Trump adviser Steve Bannon if called upon by Lorne Michaels. To which we say: Why stop there? It’s time for “SNL” to throw the entire administration into a gigantic hissy fit by having women play them all.

To help out the people over at “SNL,” we decided to do a bit of the casting work for them, just so they can think about it. Look, “SNL” can do what it wants. But if what it wants is to create an existential crisis at the White House, it should do this.”

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Check out the full story (with pictures) at the link to see who Strachan would cast as whom. Talk about going viral on Sunday morning!

PWS

02/07/17

 

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My Wife Was Right (As Usual) — Sean Spicer CAN Take A Joke — And That’s A Good Thing — Does The Ghost Of Janet Reno Live In The White House Press Room?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sean-spicer-responds-to-melissa-mccarthys-snl-sketch_us_58988795e4b0c1284f26d5ed

From HuffPost:

“The [SNL spoof] performance apparently left such an impression that Spicer himself commented on it.

While at the Super Bowl on Sunday, Spicer talked to “Extra” and told them he received an onslaught of text messages after the sketch aired. He told the publication that though he thought that McCarthy “could dial back” a bit, he found the show to be really “funny.”

Spicer elaborated by saying McCarthy “needs to slow down on the gum chewing; way too many pieces in there.” Overall, Spicer’s response is a vast departure from how the rest of the administration ― namely Trump ― has been reacting to political sketches on “SNL.”

It seems the notorious gum-chewer can take a joke.”

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After watching this skit, my wife Cathy said to me “I’ll bet even Sean Spicer will laugh at that one.” Of course she was right!

“Alternate facts” or not, Spicer recognizes sizes one essential truth — only very significant people get parodied on SNL. Good for him!

For those who haven’t seen the SNL clip, go to the HuffPost link above and follow the other links to the complete skit, starring Melissa McCarthy as SS. The late Janet Reno’s unfailingly positive  and good humored reaction to SNL’s “Janet Reno’s Dance Party” routine was one of the things I’ll remember most about her as not only a good Attorney General but a very genuine human being.

Can’t survive in Washington, particularly if you’re working in the filed of immigration, without a sense of humor. I wish President Trump would figure that one out and “get with the program.”

PWS

02/06/17

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  1. Entertainment: Never Trust A Guy Who Can’t Take A Joke — Taking Their Cue From The President, The More Trump Lets Satire Rattle Him, The More SNL And Others In The World Of Comedy Are Going To Double Down On The Stuff That Gets To Him (The Only Way Out For The Prez — Get a Sense Of Humor — But, Sadly, That’s A Tall Order For a Guy Who Has Made His Life “All About Me”)!
  2. Trump WH Rocketing SNL Ratings To New Highs — Watch Melissa McCarthy Do It Again As Sean Spicer! See Clip (Courtesy Of Variety) Here!
  3. FLASH: Kushner Wins West Wing Battle! Bannon Banished To Basement! (On SNL) — WARNING: THIS IS FAKE NEWS! (But, Very Funny)
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