It’s Thursday, and we are now 40 days away from Election Day.
Let’s look at a sweet old blind dog and his new puppy friend:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEmQB2cJ028/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEhQyY1puE5/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFK0MJqpH_r/
Political Crap
You know what? Let’s just let President Anti-Democracy tell you, in his own words:
"We’ll want to have — get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very — we’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer frankly, there’ll be a continuation." pic.twitter.com/6ZieIROi8M
— Jacob Soboroff (@jacobsoboroff) September 23, 2020
Reporter Brian Karen: “Win, lose, or draw in this election, will you commit here today for a peaceful transferal of power after the election?”
President Disaster: “Well, we’re going to have to see what happens. You know that. I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”
Karen: “… Will you commit to making sure that there’s a peaceful transferal of power?”
President Underminer: “Get rid of the ballots and…we’ll have a very peaceful—there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it. You know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know better than anybody else.”
I mentioned yesterday that The Atlantic ran a sobering piece outlining how President Fartgobbler might try to steal a Biden win by having friendly state legislators go along with his “these mail-in ballots are questionable so we’re going to throw them out and appoint electors ourselves” plan. You add to this a Supreme Court in his pocket who might agree to throw out ballots he doesn’t like, and possibly uphold elector shenanigans, and we were already in nightmare land.
Here's Trump saying he needs a SCOTUS Justice to litigate the election in his favor. The video is from *today.* And Romney is voting for that person.
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) September 24, 2020
But cool tweet, I guess. pic.twitter.com/YtwcUOnrpS
So when he went on TV yesterday and threatened violence if the election doesn’t go his way — and let there be no question: refusing to a peaceful transfer of power is, indeed, a threat of violence — you can understand why people are setting their hair on fire:
Trump’s refusal to commit to the peaceful transfer of power is the behavior of a desperate would-be dictator who’d cling to office even if it meant destroying our democracy.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 24, 2020
It’s pathetic. But because he is the president, we should take his threat seriously.
Refusing to peacefully transition power to a leader elected by the people. Urging states to “get rid of” ballots and silence voters. These are the tactics of a fascist.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) September 24, 2020
Democracy as we know it is on the line. https://t.co/1xBJJ5tTC3
Pelosi on Trump declining to commit to peaceful transfer of power: “You are not in North Korea, you are not in Turkey, you are not in Russia, Mr. President … you are not in Saudi Arabia. You are in the United States of America. It is a democracy.“ https://t.co/mRWa6yO6vC pic.twitter.com/jlx0ijisW6
— ABC News (@ABC) September 24, 2020
When the president says he wants to “get rid of the ballots,” he’s saying he does not want to count your vote. 173,000 absentee ballots were reported cast yesterday in North Carolina alone. Those votes matter. Trumpists chanted “lock her up.” Our chant should be #CountTheVotes. https://t.co/CKsuhwdzF3
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) September 24, 2020
Everyone from Pence on should be asked on the record today if they will commit to a peaceful transfer of power. https://t.co/7huuLDElCN
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) September 24, 2020
He will absolutely do the right thing to defend the honor of the country and the safety of its citizens. This is DONALD TRUMP we’re talking about. Hello? Okay, have a good night’s sleep. All is well. Silly gooses. https://t.co/JEkmUTNrzW
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 24, 2020
Trump has just been asked, as no president has ever had to be asked in the modern era, whether he will commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 23, 2020
Trump says: We will have to see what happens
This one moment by itself is an impeachable offense.
every single day for four years I have thought about Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt gloating that you can dismantle a democracy right in front of a liberal's face piece by piece and all they'll do is convene breakout sessions and committee meetings til the boots are in the halls
— Anthony Oliveira (@meakoopa) September 24, 2020
The story of the 2020 election won’t be about republican vs democrat, the polls, or how much was spent.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 24, 2020
It’ll be about how the president openly sought to win the election through unelectoral means.
I am trying VERY HARD to be optimistic and not let the fuckers get me down about this, but I gotta tell you, it’s difficult. After the body blow that was Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016, I know I’m not the only one out there who is bracing herself for another disappointment. But that’s what they want: they want us to feel hopeless, as if it doesn’t matter what we do, they will either win through the electoral college as they did in 2016, or they’ll just outright steal the election. They want us to feel as though either way, we’re screwed, so we might as well just stay home.
We can’t give them what they want. Listen to Asha:
THREAD. It is important to take note and be prepared for the unprecedented actions Trump says he intends to take after the election. But it is also important not to allow his *wishful* reality to *become the reality. To do that, consider Trump's psychological POV right now: https://t.co/faXkQw2BMn
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) September 24, 2020
3. Remember that in pretty much every instance Trump has faced like this in the past, he's had an exit strategy. He walks away. But he can't get out of the election. He's like a mail-order bride who has to go through with it. Except in his case, if he loses, he may end up in jail
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) September 24, 2020
5. I and @davidashimer wrote about various possibilities in this piece. An important way to empower ourselves, in addition to VOTING, is for commentators and media to manage expectations. https://t.co/l3OPwkvKS9
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) September 24, 2020
7. Empirical research shows that lies travel faster than the truth, especially on social media. Therefore, the previous tweet needs to saturate the information space, by everyone, starting NOW. Also, we WILL have a peaceful transfer of power, as we have for 231 years. Pass it on.
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) September 24, 2020
9. In short, this thread is a reminder that what Trump *says* is NOT a fait accompli. His goal is, as @RepSwalwell said in our #JusticeLeague event tonight, to sap you of hope. He does not have the power to do that. Don't let him. He is weak, and afraid. You are not.
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) September 24, 2020
And to fight the creeping despondency, DO something, if only to make yourself feel more powerful and in control:
[S] Remember to make a voting plan! Visit https://t.co/g3EdiP7wP4 to register or check your registration status, learn your early voting options (it varies by state), polling place, and more. If you can vote early in-person or by mail, do it NOW!
— Paul and Storm (@paulandstorm) September 23, 2020
[S] Textbanking! Check out https://t.co/Am4NFAUYEa to join up with super-effective (and super-easy) outreach efforts. For phone banking (also easy!) visit https://t.co/UqTiz17zHg
— Paul and Storm (@paulandstorm) September 23, 2020
[S] Sign up with your state’s Democratic Party to do shifts on a Voter Hotline, or be a Poll Observer (do not do this if you are in a high-risk group for COVID), and other efforts to protect the vote (Fellow Virginians: JOIN ME! https://t.co/Gt6UMPVbpG)
— Paul and Storm (@paulandstorm) September 23, 2020
[S] There are many, many other ways you can take action; these are the ones I’m engaged with right now. But by all means pile on more in the replies!
— Paul and Storm (@paulandstorm) September 23, 2020
And I know this might be scary for a lot of us, but if you’re healthy and young, try to vote in person if you can. The key to President Autocrat’s plan is to contest mail-in votes. If your vote is placed in person, it’ll be harder for him to erase it, no matter what happens. It’s a lot to ask of voters during a pandemic, but he’s telling us exactly how he’s going to try to steal the election. It’s up to those of us who can put our bodies on the line to try to prevent that from happening.
And Republicans are terrified of us doing that — of showing up. Here in Texas, a group of Republicans is suing our Republican governor for moving early voting up a week. They want us to have less time to vote so that the polling sites will be more crowded and voting will take longer. It’s all an effort to discourage us from voting at all because they know the more of us who vote, the more in danger their hold of power is.
Finally, some palate cleansers:
SOUND ON.
Your loss will be humiliating. pic.twitter.com/dZzldmLfzy
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 24, 2020
You know what is genius about this get out the vote video made by Atlanta strippers, besides the fact that it was made by Atlanta strippers? The fact that it focuses on down-ballot races. Get your booty to the polls:
#Atlanta strippers have pulled off the best voting #ad campaign I have seen yet. Because… Atlanta #Vote #GetYaBootyToThePolls pic.twitter.com/oMOcGws6Fe
— Lisa Respers France (@LisaFranceCNN) September 23, 2020
Black Lives Matter
Had the President of the United States not directly threatened democracy and this election, this would have been the biggest story of the day: a Kentucky grand jury declined to charge two police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor in her home, and only indicted one detective for endangering Taylor’s neighbors with reckless gunfire.
Cops literally murdered a woman in her sleep.. then tried to frame the Boyfriend. THEN TRIED TO FRAME THE DEAD VICTIM by trying to get her EX-Boyfriend to lie on her.. THEN NO INDICTMENTS FOR HER ACTUAL WRONGFUL DEATH. Then they put TANKS out on the street like WE’RE the problem.
— Canice (@Canice100K) September 23, 2020
Kentucky literally cares more about a wall than the life of a Black woman.
This news is infuriating but not surprising. The Governor of Kentucky is calling for the information that was given to the grand jury to be made public — there is some concern that the prosecutors did not give the jurors any information about Taylor’s death to even consider. Whatever happened, however this grand jury came to this conclusion, it was bullshit.
Bulls— decision!!! BLACK LIVES MATTER!!! Cannot be said enough times. https://t.co/HOrDQzHJ0d
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) September 23, 2020
The white supremacist institution of policing that stole Breonna Taylor’s life from us must be abolished for the safety and well being of our people. #BreonnaTaylor #SayHerName #AbolishThePolice
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 23, 2020
my love to Breonna mother, family and
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 24, 2020
friends! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!! 😔😔🥺🥺😢😢😢😭😭😭
Brett Hankison is indicted for shooting into the apartment NEXT to Breonna Taylor & not for KILLING HER.
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) September 23, 2020
He's fired for shooting into BREONNA TAYLOR'S apartment & not for KILLING HER.
This is systemic racism.
Property is worth more than a Black woman. https://t.co/abVLkTqg1s pic.twitter.com/CwflSjR42h
Daniel Cameron is on Donald Trump’s short list as replacement of #RGB on the Supreme Court. The same man who decided to not charge the officers responsible for killing #BreonnaTaylor. Vote.
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) September 23, 2020
Brett Hankinson, one of Breonna Taylor’s murderers, was NOT charged with murder, but with wanton endangerment. This crime is punishable with up to five years in prison. That’s one year for each bullet fired into her sleeping body. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. #JusticeForBreonna
— Ron Perlman (@perlmutations) September 23, 2020
Say her name #breonnataylor No murder charges 😢🙏🏽😡 @ Sad Day https://t.co/AqqrwPBMfp
— Niecy Nash (@NiecyNash) September 23, 2020
Disgusted. Enraged. Heartbroken. Please contribute if you can. Justice should not be a luxury. #BreonnaTaylor https://t.co/SruISxW1Wf
— dan levy (@danjlevy) September 23, 2020
God bless Breonna’s family and all who knew and loved her. Her tragic death compounded by the violence of silence and inaction by the city she called home is more than any of them should have to endure. https://t.co/fcDmIWHlDS
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) September 23, 2020
This is a sad day for America and for justice.
— Martin Luther King III (@OfficialMLK3) September 23, 2020
Today, no one was truly charged for Breonna Taylor's murder, and her family deserves much better.
This is again why elections matter, not just for president. We must vote up and down the ballot by November 3rd.
Black Lives Matter.
There have been protests all over the country in response to this terrible decision. In Louisville, two police officers were shot, neither have life-threatening injuries, and in Buffalo, a truck plowed through protestors. Tensions remain high, and we are a tinder box right now.
In other Black Lives Matter news:
Gabrielle Union led an all-Black live reading of a Friends episode to encourage people to learn about their voting rights and raise awareness of voting in general.
Zack Snyder is filming some new Justice League scenes with Ray Fisher.
MLB and the Players Association are donating $10 million to increase diversity in baseball from youth leagues up through the majors.
Do you know who I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for? The woman who was fired from her show for making racist comments who went on a talk show to try to rehabilitate her image and was asked about the racist things she said. No ma’am. Tamron Hall has nothing to apologize for.
Uncle Ben’s Rice has rebranded itself. Good.
Going Viral
This Is Us resumed production today. Its premiere date has been pushed up two weeks and will now debut on October 27.
A 2020 television sex scene. We’re back. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/0UK7uvpUW8
— Dan Fogelman (@Dan_Fogelman) September 24, 2020
Gargling with mouthwash can’t hurt.
Inside the quarantine bubble of The Great British Baking Show. BECAUSE WE NEED BAKED GOODS NOW MORE THAN EVER, DAMMIT.
The New York Metropolitan Opera is canceling the 2020-2021 season and won’t reopen until next year.
Black Widow; Eternals; and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are all moving to later release dates rather than debut on Disney+. So I guess Mulan didn’t do as well as we first heard?
In good news: Johnson & Johnson is starting the final stage of a one-shot COVID vaccine on 60,000 people on three continents. Unfortunately for President Virtually Affects Nobody, it won’t be ready until next year, not next month. The FDA is planning to announce stricter standards for an emergency authorization of a new vaccine — which is a good thing for public safety and trust in the eventual vaccine. However, President Doesn’t Know How Science works is decrying the move as being “political” because irony is not merely dead, this asshole has single-handedly set irony’s corpse on fire, swept up its ashes, placed them in a pillowcase, and tied it to a rocket before shooting it into the depths of outer space.
All Other TV News
When asked in 2019 about imprisoning Muslims in Xinjiang, Liu Cixin responded, “Would you rather that they be hacking away at bodies at train stations and schools in terrorist attacks? If anything, the government is helping their economy and trying to lift them out of poverty.”
NOW. A couple of things.
I agree that this statement is disgusting but I don’t know whether or not Netflix should drop this project — I don’t have enough information to make an educated opinion at the moment, and will be curious how both Netflix and Weiss and Benioff respond before I jump to any conclusions.
But, 1. Isn’t this “cancel culture” which the Right claims to loathe? 2. If I were a cynical person, I might think that these senators don’t actually give a fuck about the Uighurs and this was merely an attempt to inflame the culture wars — that these senators are showing their base that they are willing to stand up to China and “corrupt” Hollywood elites six weeks before an election. (It also doesn’t hurt that the Right wingnuts are still worked up over the Netflix film Cuties, and will be more than happy to take up pitchforks against Netflix again.)
Speaking of Benioff and Weiss (who, you might remember already had one show — Confederate — “canceled” thanks to public outcry), they’ve finally explained their decision to not include Lady Stoneheart in Game of Thrones. SPOILERS, Y’ALL: 1. They didn’t want to have too many resurrections (even though her resurrection would be in keeping with a universe in which resurrections were a thing but WHATEVER); 2. They wanted to keep Cat’s death an emotional gut-punch; and 3. They didn’t want to spoil things Martin has coming up in the books. A huge WhatTheFuckEver to that one, though.
And while we’re talking Game of Thrones, we’ll never know what the plot of the Game of Thrones prequel series that Naomi Watts was going to star in, apparently.
Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch made less money last year (but still made WAY TOO MUCH MONEY).
Ratched and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest could one day meet, but it’s not going to happen next season.
James Corden swears he was never in the running for Ellen’s show. OK.
OH HEY, REAL HOUSEWIVES BULLSHIT:
Lisa Vanderpump was her typically shady self when it came to Teddi being fired from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
E! dug up a bunch of old pictures of the Beverly Hills housewives, if you’re interested.
Heal up quickly, Buddy “Cake Boss” Valastro!
In news that I only care about, I’m sure: Holy shit, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter might be merged. This is not great news for the entertainment press.
Renewals
- Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers have been renewed at Fox for two more seasons each.
- The Casagrandes has been renewed for a third season on Nickelodeon.
In Development
- A Peacemaker series from James Gunn is being developed at HBO Max.
- Dirty Diana, starring Demi Moore, has been bought by Amazon.
- The Guilty, an Antonine Fuqua-directed drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal, has been bought by Netflix.
- Carrie Underwood will have a Christmas special on HBO Max.
- For Heaven’s Sake, a comedic true crime documentary, has been ordered by CBS All Access.
- The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart has been picked up by HBO.
- Woman In The Book, an animated horror series, is being made by Crypt TV for Facebook Watch.
- The Jealousy Man is being turned into a film by Amazon.
- The Bond, a nature series, is being developed at Discovery.
- Brendar the Barbarian, a live-action puppet series, is coming to Nickelodeon.
- Francesca Sloane has signed an overall deal with Amazon and they are developing together A Spy in the House of Love, a series about Anais Nin.
Casting News
- Alan Arkin is leaving The Kominsky Method. It’s somewhat surprising, considering Arkin co-stars in the series with Michael Douglas, and there was no indication at the end of season 2 that this exit was coming. Interestingly, along with Mom, this is the second Chuck Lorre show in a matter of a couple of weeks to lose one of its two co-stars. What’s going on?
- Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery, and Rupert Friend will star in Anatomy of a Scandal on Netflix.
- Kevin Zegers and Sam Palladio are joining the cast of Rebel on ABC.
- Jason Isaacs, Jemima Kirke, and Dua Saleh are joining Sex Education for the third season.
- Ashly Burch and Dana Snyder will co-star in The Ghost and Molly McGee on Disney Channel.
- Leah Gibson and Nathan Owens are joining Batwoman on The CW.
- Tehmina Sunny will join Chicago Med on NBC.
- Cherry Jones and Jason Segel are leading The Sky is Everywhere for Apple.
Mark Your Calendars
- Closer Look Thursday will air on NBC on October 8 — in primetime!
- Truth Seekers will premiere on Amazon on October 30.
- The Undoing will debut on HBO on October 25.
- Father of the Bride Part 3(ish) will debut on Netflix tomorrow.
- City So Real will debut on National Geographic on October 29.
- The Salisbury Poisonings will air on AMC on October 1.
- Freedia Got A Gun, a documentary about Big Freedia and gun violence, is coming to Peacock on October 15.
- The Queen’s Gambit will premiere on Netflix on October 23.
- Ghostwriter will return on Apple TV+ on October 9.
R.I.P.
Harold Evans, Legendary publisher, editor, and journalist
Coliesa McMillian, One of the subjects of My 600-lb Life
WATCH THIS
Star Trek: Discovery: The CBS All Access series makes its premiere on CBS (thanks to COVID-19 ruining the fall season). Series premiere (again, sorta). 9 p.m., CBS
Haute Dog: It’s a dog grooming competition. DOG GROOMING. Series premiere. HBO Max
The Murders at White House Farm: A look into a thirty-year-old murder of three generations of one family, and the detective who looked past the obvious suspect. Series premiere. HBO Max
Celebrity Family Feud: Season premiere! 7 p.m., ABC
Press Your Luck: Season premiere! 8 p.m., ABC
Match Game: Season premiere! 9 p.m., ABC
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Chris Rock, Jonathan Majors, Sasha Sloan
- Late Night with Seth Meyers: Alicia Vikander, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Rep. Katie Porter, Tony Romo
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Sharon Stone, Alicia Keys
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Norman Reedus, Aminé
- The Daily Show: The Daily Social Distancing Show
- Conan: Jane Lynch
- Watch What Happens Live: Bethenny Frankel
THUR | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
ABC | Celebrity Family Feud (new) |
Press Your Luck (new) |
Match Game (new) |
CBS | Big Brother (new) |
Love Island (nre) |
Star Trek: Discovery (new) |
CW | Mysteries Decoded (new) |
Penn & Teller: Fool Us (repeat) |
News/Local |
FOX | The Masked Singer (repeat) |
Filthy Rich (repeat) |
News/Local |
NBC | Council of Dads (repeat) |
Blindspot (repeat) |
Law & Order: SVU (repeat) |