8/26/2022: The Biden White House Thinks You’re Stupid
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8/26/2022: The Biden White House Thinks You’re Stupid
PLUS: JLo’s Anti-Virgo Attitude; Lyin’ Meg; and What’s In a Name?
Today is Friday, August 26, 2022.
It is the 238th day of the year.
127 days remain.
TRENDING
US Open landed in Twitter’s Top 10 Trends yesterday after one big name dropped out. More in Sports.
#ThenMyMindWentBlank was trending Thursday. Tweets included, “Trying to decide what to wear today,” “I saw cake,” “I took the blue pill,” “Saw my first algebra problem” and “Went out for a quick pint.”
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was trending after news broke that the actor joined the upcoming season of “The Boys.” More in Casting Call.
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HIT LIST
The Cassville School District in Missouri has reintroduced a spanking policy for students – but only if parents opt their kids in.
The district is about an hour west of Branson.
The policy permits “use of physical force as a method of correcting student behavior” that includes paddling a student with reasonable physical force – but no chance of any harm. A witness must also be present and the circumstances of the punishment will be well-documented.
A rep for the school district says younger kids would get no more than two paddlings, and older students up to three.
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Soylent – which is an actual, real company that makes plant-based beverages – reports that the number of vegans in America increased thirtyfold between 2004 and 2019.
Today, they estimate 9.7 million Americans don’t eat animals or their byproducts.
The average vegan makes about $54,000 a year.
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Peloton lost $1.2 billion in the second quarter of the year – and its CEO says this is “substantial progress”!
The home exercise program company reported a fall in revenue and overall subscribers. But Barry McCarthy – the CEO – says much of those costs were associated with righting the ship. Plus, the quarterly cash burn dropped from $650 million to $412 million, he says.
McCarthy expects to get the company back into the black some time next year.
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SeaWorld says it is not, in fact, actively breeding monstrous killer whales like the fearsome amphibious dinosaurs depicted in Jurassic World.
Rumors about their breeding program surfaced after a former employee named John Hargrove suggested to the Sun that SeaWorld was interbreeding species of whales that would never mate in the wild.
Hargrove first got recognition for appearing in the 2013 Netflix documentary “Blackfish.”
SeaWorld says it’s all bogus, telling Newsweek, “The wild characterizations from this former employee – who has not worked at SeaWorld in any capacity for 10 years – are designed to get clicks, not communicate facts or science.”
WORTH NOTING: SeaWorld ended its killer whale breeding program in 2016.
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An Italian man has bowled the turkey of infectious diseases.
He tested positive for covid, monkeypox and HIV all in one day back in July. He said he was having a real wild time with a bunch of other dudes in Spain days before developing the signs of monkeypox. That’s when he went in for treatment and found he had the trifecta.
As this is a rare situation, medical professionals are watching closely to see to what extent, if any, these afflictions impact each other.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The Dow picked up 324 points (0.98%) on Thursday to close at 33,293. The S&P added 58 points (1.42%) to close at 4,199. The Nasdaq added 207 points (1.67%) to close at 12,639.
🛢 West Texas Intermediate fell slightly to $93.18 a barrel. Brent Crude also dipped below $100 a barrel, trading at $99.09.
⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas was $3.87 on Thursday.
₿ Bitcoin picked up $236 in value Thursday, trading around $21,600.
🛩 There were 1,995 flights delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday and 98 such cancellations.
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CHARTS
New to Amazon Prime:
Samaritan (Rotten Tomatoes Score: No Score)
Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby (No Score)
New to HBO Max:
Wolf (Score: 44%)
New to Netflix:
Loving Adults (No Score)
Me Time (No Score)
Seoul Vibe (No Score)
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DEATHS
JOE E. TATA has died.
The actor, known best for his role as Peach Pit owner Nat on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” passed away Wednesday night. He had battled Alzheimer’s for years, according to his daughter.
He was 85.
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THE SWAMP
Add the economist who chaired former President BARACK OBAMA’s Council of Economic Advisers to the list of people who say President JOE BIDEN’s redistributive college debt handout is a terrible idea.
JASON FURMAN says this of the program: “Pouring roughly half trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning is reckless. Doing it while going well beyond one campaign promise ($10K of student loan relief) and breaking another (all proposals paid for) is even worse.”
He added on Twitter that this will lead to “encouraging higher tuition in the future, encouraging more borrowing, creating expectations of future debt forgiveness, and more,” and notes, “Most importantly, everyone else will pay for this either in the form of higher inflation or in higher taxes or lower benefits in the future.”
WHEN YOU’VE LOST THE WASHINGTON POST: The Washington Post Editorial Board published a scathing editorial decrying the redistribution plan on Thursday, with this shocking headline: “Biden’s student loan announcement is a regressive, expensive mistake.”
WORTH NOTING: This wasn’t an op-ed or a guest column; it’s the official position of the newspaper.
MEANWHILE: Whatever insolent dweeb running the Biden White House’s Twitter account has completely left reality.
The White House Twitter account is trying to equate PPP loan forgiveness with student loan forgiveness.
Many members of Congress tweeted their disapproval of this loan forgiveness program. Many of these same members of Congress also benefited from the 2020 Paycheck Protection Program. They owned businesses that were ordered shut in March 2020 and applied for the program, just like millions of other small business owners did, to avoid complete financial ruin.
In a ham-handed and failed attempt to play gotcha, the White House official Twitter account published the total amount each of these Members of Congress received in PPP funds that were ultimately forgiven. The suggestion is that they’re hypocrites for opposing student loan forgiveness while taking federally-backed loans to try to stay afloat after the government ordered the doors of their businesses shut.
WORTH REMEMBERING: The federal government encouraged businesses to close their doors in March 2020. Many states illegally enforced these shut downs. In return, the feds promised forgivable loans if those businesses kept a portion of their staff on payroll.
This is in no conceivable way the same as forgiving the debt an adult high school graduate willfully and freely took on of his own accord.
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In a stunning (but not surprising) revelation, Facebook’s MARK ZUCKERBERG told JOE ROGAN on his podcast that Facebook actively suppressed links pointing to stories about HUNTER BIDEN’s laptop before the November 2020 – at the specific request of the FBI.
WORTH REMEMBERING: At the time the FBI had an open file on Hunter’s countless illegal misdeeds – including human trafficking, drug use, lying on a gun permit application, and tax fraud – and ordered agents working the case to shut it down. They knew the general gist and substance of the leaked laptop materials were accurate, and they pressured a private platform to shut down any mention of it.
Worse, Facebook complied. There was no legal order to do so.
WATCH:
SPEAKING OF THE FBI: The Florida judge who authorized the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago earlier this month ruled Thursday that the Department of Justice must release the affidavit that was used to justify the intrusion.
BUT WAIT: Whatever the DOJ releases can still be redacted. They must submit it to his court by Noon today.
The affidavit is expected to shed some light on the justification for the investigation. Trump’s camp seems to believe the information will be vindicating; his detractors expect it to be the nail in his coffin.
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LOTTERY
No winner for Tuesday night’s Mega Million drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $135 million jackpot or a $75.8 million cash payout.
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No winner for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing. Saturday night’s drawing will be for a $115 million jackpot or a $65.2 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
These albums drop today:
Benoit & Sergio, “Lost Decade”
Blondie, “Against the Odds: 1974-1982”
Bret McKenzie, “Songs Without Jokes”
Chris Forsyth, “Evolution Here We Come”
Diamanda Galas, “Broken Gargoyles”
DJ Khaled, “God Did”
Ezra Furman, “ All of Us Flames”
JID, “The Forever Story”
Julia Jacklin, “Pre Pleasure”
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, “Let’s Turn It Into Sound”
Muse, “Will of the People”
Pantha du Prince, “Garden Gaia”
Regina Spektor, “11:11
Selena, “Moonchild Mixes”
Stella Donnelly, “Flood”
Teen Suicide, “Honeybee Table at the Butterfly Feast”
UTO, “Touch the Lock”
William Orbit, “The Painter”
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“Real Housewives of Dubai” star CAROLINE STANBURY has been accused by one of her co-stars of being among the names listed in JEFFREY EPSTEIN’s little black book.
The accusation came out during the filming of the show’s Season 1 reunion. When asked by ANDY COHEN if she is in the book, Stanbury just shrugged.
Stanbury famously dated PRINCE ANDREW -- a known associate of Epstein’s -- following his 2000 divorce from SARAH FERGUSON.
Part one of the reunion special airs on August 31 on Bravo.
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“Glee” alum HEATHER MORRIS says JENNIFER LOPEZ once cut backup dancers for one of her tours based on their astrological sign.
Speaking on the “Just Sayin’ with Justin Martindale” podcast, Morris said that JLo walked into the room after a long day of auditions and said, “By a show of hands, if there are any Virgos in the room, can you just raise your hand?” She then told those with their hands raised, “Thank you so much for coming,” aka get out of here.
Morris did clarify that the story was not from her own personal experience.
It is unknown why Jlo, who is a Leo, is not a fan of Virgos.
FUN FACT: Her ex-husband MARC ANTHONY is a Virgo.
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BRITNEY SPEARS has deactivated Instagram once again.
She took to Twitter to announce she is taking time off from the social media app, telling her 55.8 million followers that she is choosing “happiness.”
Spears also wrote that she wants “to be fearless like when [she] was younger and not to be so scared.”
Her post comes just ahead of the release of her duet with ELTON JOHN, “Hold Me Closer,” which starts steaming today. It is her first song in six years.
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OZZY OSBOURNE vowed to never take acid again after finding himself talking to a horse in the middle of a field for over an hour after one trip.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Ozzy said he was stunned when the horse spoke back to him, telling him to “[eff] off,” after their lengthy convo.
It is unknown when the incident occured, but Ozzy did say it was at a time “when people were very fond of lacing [their] drinks with acid,” and he used to “swallow handfuls of tabs at a time.”
The rocker has been very open about his long history with substance abuse, with him previously saying that he’s been addicted to most drugs throughout his music career.
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SHAQUILLE O’NEAL doesn’t believe the Earth is round.
He bases this thought on the fact that when he traveled from the US to Australia, his plane “flew straight” instead of “diagonally.”
Speaking on “The Kyle & Jackie O Show,” Shaq said “I flew 20 hours today, not once did I go this way,” he said, gesturing his arm diagonally. “I flew straight,” he continued, before adding that the plane “didn’t tip over” or “go upside down.”
The legendary NBA player also stated that he is unsure the Earth actually spins.
WORTH NOTING: Shaq does not have any science degrees.
WORTH ASKING: What does “science” even mean these days?
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CASTING CALL
CHRISTIAN SLATER will star in “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” a live-action series adaptation of the fantasy books, for Disney+.
He will play Mulgarath aka Dr. Dorian Brauer, a capital-V Villian who has an insatiable desire to consume people, according to Deadline.
The “Spiderwick Chronicles” tells the story of Mallory and her twin brothers Jared and Simon, who move with their mother to their run-down ancestral home, The Spiderwick Estate, where they find themselves pulled into an alternate, fantastical world.
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JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN has joined the cast of Amazon’s superhero series, “The Boys.”
He will be a recurring guest star on the upcoming fourth season of the show, according to Variety. No details about his role were shared.
The casting reunites Morgan with showrunner ERIC KRIPKE. The pair worked together on the long-running CW show “Supernatural.”
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MILES TELLER is set to star in Skydance’s upcoming film, “The Gorge.”
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film has been described as a high-action, genre-bending love story, per Variety.
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BARBIE FERREIRA will not return for Season 3 of “Euphoria.”
The actress announced her exit on social media this week, saying a “very teary eyed goodbye” to her character Kat Hernandez.
Fans of the HBO series flooded her post with their shock and sadness.
While Ferreira did not say why she is leaving the show, rumors have been swirling that she and creator SAM LEVINSON got into a heated argument during production on Season 2. The Daily Beast reports that she walked off set at least twice.
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CELEBRITY CELLBLOCK
Actor DEVIN RATRAY has been accused of raping his friend LISA SMITH at his Manhattan apartment in 2017.
Smith claims the “Home Alone” star drugged her before sexually assaulting her, according to a police report obtained by CNN.
Ratray has denied the accusation.
As for why the delay in investigating, NYPD officials told CNN that they “shelved” the case because officers thought she “didn’t want to press charges.”
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KYLIE JENNER seemingly revealed her son’s name to a superfan at a launch party for her cosmetics line on Wednesday.
In an Instagram video, the beauty mogul is seen whispering into the ear of COLT PAULSON, who reacts with an ecstatic open-mouthed smile. “Kylie Jenner told me the name,” he wrote on the video.
As many may remember, Kylie and TRAVIS SCOTT initially named their newborn son, Wolf, but two months later revealed they wanted to change his name. They have not announced what his new name is, but based on the video maybe they plan to share it soon.
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
MEGHAN MARKLE appears to have exaggerated the story she shared on her “Archetypes” podcast about a fire that broke out in her son’s nursery during a trip to Africa in 2019.
WATCH:
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PRINCE HARRY’s memoir may be delayed again.
Publishing sources told Page Six that the book’s release date, which was initially believed to be ahead of this year’s holiday season, is now “up in the air.”
This claim is supported by the fact that the book is still not yet available on Amazon or elsewhere for pre-sales.
WORTH NOTING: Perhaps the delay is due to the fact that Harry’s book would have gone head-to-head with MICHELLE OBAMA’s book “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times,” which is due out November 15.
ROYAL WORRY: Not only is Harry’s family concerned over what may be in the book, but also about what he may say on the promo tour he will surely go on.
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PRINCE ANDREW’s popularity continues to plummet.
The Sun reports that the disgraced royal has just 11% popularity with Brits.
Meanwhile, his mom, QUEEN ELIZABETH, is at the opposite end of the spectrum with 75% popularity.
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SPORTS
NOVAK DJOKOVIC officially withdrew from the US Open on Thursday after sticking to his guns and not getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
As many know, the CDC’s policy says unvaccinated non-American citizens are banned from entering the US.
He also missed the Australian Open in January due to his vaccination status.
WORTH NOTING: This is the same CDC who last month told people to go back to living their lives like it's 2019.
WORTH ASKING: What is the difference between a non-American coming here and an American traveling to another country and then returning home?
LET US NOT FORGET: The hundreds of thousands of people crossing our southern border.
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LIST OF THE WEEK
Choosing a name for a baby is a tough decision. To help make it easier, some parents have asked Google what names are deemed socially acceptable.
Here are some of the names that parents have Googled this year:
Apple
Apollo
Batman
Barbie
Cinderella
Doctor
Disney
Eleven
God
Google
Hades
Jesus
Jane Doe
John Doe
Lucifer
Lod
Majesty
Monkey
Nirvana
Ocean
Prince
Princess
Queen
Royal
Shrek
Sir
Thor
Zeus
Zodiac
*Info courtesy of The Mirror
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Dog Day
National Webmistress Day
National Women’s Equality Day
National Cherry Popsicle Day
Toilet Paper Day
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ON THIS DATE
1346 – The cannon makes its debut as a battlefield weapon.
Edward III had 22 units at his disposal for battle against France's Philip VI. The weapons didn't inflict much more damage than their contemporary trebuchets - so essentially they were just more effective when used to intimidate the enemy: the loud noises and explosions rattled the opposition.
Ancient French historian Froissart documented the battle in his "Chroniques du Crecy."
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1843 – Charles Thurber receives a patent for his design of the first fully-functional typewriter.
The patent itself designates a "machine for printing by hand by pressing upon keys which contain the type, called 'Thurber's Patent Printer.’"
Like in recent times, the paper was pulled in on a roller and moved horizontally as the keys inked it.
Thurber got a British patent for the machine in 1857.
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1883 – An island volcano in the Dutch Indies explodes in the most violent eruption in recorded human history.
Two-thirds of the island was flattened. An ensuing tsunami killed another 36,000 people across Indonesia. Waves traveled through the Indian Ocean and out to Cape Horn.
There were even reports that the initial blast was heard in Australia and barometers in England registered changes. So much ash spewed into the sky that the climate and weather patterns were changed for years.
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1959 – The Mark I Mini hits car lots in Britain, costing $800. It would become one of the best-selling cars in Britain's history.
The marketing campaign featured two models: the Austin 7 and Morris Mini-Minor - the only difference was their radiator grilles. By 1962, they were both just called "Minis."
The small car's sideways-mounted engine permitted plenty of space in the 10-foot-long car: four adults could fit inside, even with some luggage.
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1968 – Hippies swarm the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in protest of the Vietnam War and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, the Dem candidate for president.
Police notoriously beat down the protestors as the violence spread inside the convention hall at the International Amphitheater and innocent bystanders were hurt.
Eight men were eventually arrested for inciting the violence, and they would become known as the "Chicago Eight." Their trial began the next year, causing protests to break out once again.
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1970 – The National Organization for Women kicks off the Women's Strike for Equality.
It coincided with the 50th anniversary of Congress' passing the 19th amendment.
Over 20,000 women ultimately rallied (and life elsewhere went on), but was nonetheless the largest gathering of its kind in history. The strike was designed to call attention to equal opportunities for men and women workers and general gender social equality.
There was also an emphasis on encouraging pro-choice policies and universally free childcare.
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2016 – San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick kneels during the National Anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality in the US.
The pose would be emulated by other athletes to show their support for the cause.
Kaepernick however has not thrown a football professionally since the end of that season.
2020 - Following the police shooting of Kenosha, WI resident Jacob Blake, the Milwaukee Bucks decline to take the floor in their playoff game against the Orlando Magic.
The move was historic, in that it was the first NBA game — playoffs or otherwise — to be postponed after two entire teams refused to take the court.
It also created a domino affect, with subsequent playoff games being called off in support.
IT SHOULD BE CLEARLY NOTED: While the message of unity is great, the fact of the matter is that in this instance, Blake was in the wrong. He was a criminal engaging in criminal activity.
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BIRTHDAYS
Leonardo Cecchi - actor, “Alex & Co.” - 24
Keke Palmer - actress, “Hustlers” & “Scream Queens” - 29
Dylan O’Brien - actor, “Teen Wolf” - 31
James Harden - basketball player - 33
Danielle Savre - actress, “Too Close to Home” - 34
Evan Ross - R&B singer - 34
Cassie Ventura - R&B singer - 36
Saint Jhn - rapper - 36
Brian Kelley - country singer - 37
John Mulaney - comedian - 40
Macaulay Culkin - actor, “Home Alone” films - 42
Chris Pine - “Star Trek” & “Wonder Woman” - 42
Melissa McCarthy - actress, “Gilmore Girls” & “Spy” - 52
Born On This Date
Katherine Johnson - mathematician, NASA - 1918 (d. 2020)
Mother Teresa - religious leader - 1910 (d. 1997)
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