Juneteenth is officially a federal holiday! President Joe Biden signed it into law yesterday. Republicans are big mad for… reasons. [Buzzfeed]
This man made a whole tiny bedroom for his tuxedo kitty and I want all of it, the man, the cat and the kitty bedroom. [OMG Blog]
Jennifer Hudson drops a single for her Aretha Franklin bio-pic. [Just Jared]
Recap (with spoilers) for Loki Ep. 2, “The Variant.” [Pajiba]
Scott Disick spent $50K on a birthday gift for Amelia Hamlin. [Dlisted]
Zoe Kravitz will make her directorial debut with a film (that has a great name) starring the charming potato, Channing Tatum. [LaineyGossip]
Emily Ratajkowski’s shirt-vest thing is awful. [Go Fug Yourself]
Soulja Boy shoots his shot with Kim Kardashian. [Egotastic]
Meg Ryan posted some beauty shots of herself. [Seriously OMG]
ABC never aired their excellent profile of James Baldwin. [Towleroad]
Rafael Nadal & Naomi Osaka pulled out of Wimbledon. Rafa is skipping the Olympics, while Osaka will play in Tokyo. [CNBC]
It’s about time but it doesn’t take away from the fact that we have governors across the country taking voting rights away and making it harder to vote, especially POC. The current atmosphere of reverting laws regarding voting rights is an issue that is in great need of being disbanded and outlawed across the country. We are seeing states revert back to Jim Crow days and we should be actively destroying these actions.
Plrase everyone, vote in local elections too.
There is too much power in the hands of Republicans because people don’t.
A bandaid for a gaping wound, good grief.
Well it’s something presidents before him never accomplished, so I’ll give him that.
He’s already done so much more than TFG, only five months in, all while having to clean up the muck of that administration’s disastrous tenure. Baby steps.
Amen to that. Glad Opal Lee got to witness it during her lifetime.
Really enjoyed Opal Lee’s thoughts in this NPR story.
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/1007498876/how-juneteenth-became-national-holiday
Please understand I’m not criticizing Biden. It’s just so much bigger than a Federal Holiday, when we cannot even make voting day a federal holiday. Don’t even get me started on the almost 400( or is it more already?) voter suppression bills in 44 states. Also, how many average black citizens are employed in federal jobs that will afford them a paid holiday? It. Is. Not. Nearly. Enough.
And I’m a white, blonde, 55 year old broad.
Oh my gosh!! That kitty bedroom is adorable!! The kitty also has his own video to watch all the birdies!! I love this!!!
Now that kit will never leave his room.
That was amazing! LOVE the iPad lol. I used to leave on the tv on nature docs for my cats. They *loved* it! I’d see all three, sitting in a row, their little heads turning, watching birds fly! 😄
Now make Election Day a federal holiday
THIS!!!! 👆🏻👆🏻
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Do NOT make election day a federal holiday. Think of parents who want to vote but it’s a federal holiday so schools are now closed. Also, think of everyone who wants to vote but doesn’t work for the government. There is no guarantee that they will get the day off. All that making it a federal holiday does is create a significant imbalance in the ease with which -some- people can vote.
I’ve read most countries do their elections on weekends. France, for example, always holds elections on Sundays as does Spain. I can’t see why we can’t do the same.
@CHIMES
you can vote with kids, you can take turns, there’s also early voting and mail-in voting. Almost everywhere in the world election day is either a holiday or always on a week-end. It’s seen as offering more access, not less. It needs to be federal AND mandated. But even if it’s not, having at least SOME people off is better than having no people off.
NZ election is always on a Saturday, on the reasoning that the majority of people have the weekend off work, and on that day all the schools and churches are free, so lots of voting stations can be set up in them, and nobody has to queue for long. Combine that with early voting for people who won’t be able to on the day, or will be travelling outside their electorate, and 12 hours of polls being open so that the majority of people working Saturday will still have time to drop by, and there are no significant barriers. Of course, in the USA most of those barriers are deliberate and intended to disenfranchise voters. If the will to improve things was there, it really isn’t rocket science.
@CHIMES@MIDNIGHT schools where I grew up and where I have lived over the years are always closed on election day any way because many of them are used as polling stations so parents who work outside the home still have to face the situation
Read on Twitter a disturbing reminder of inequality: Racist well-to-do bigots will have their Amazon and Uber and other deliveries on their Juneteenth holiday while the descendants of the enslaved will serve them because they have to work.
I’m reading this a day late, but I read both Uber and Lyft (and Postmates) are giving employees a paid day off this year, so people may have a harder time with that than they think.
The filters on Meg Ryan are doing some VERY heavy lifting!! She looks like a cross between Nicole Kidman and Donna Mills (and shaving off about 40 yrs).
Big whoop. I am a county employee in Alabama. Governor Kay Ivey signed into law making it a state holiday but alas – we county employees had to work today. Everybody else is off. We were told if we wanted to take the day off we could but we have to use our own time.
That’s nice. Are they gonna start teaching black history in schools now?
This would be a great platform/movement for Dr. Jill Biden to endorse, similar to Melania’s “Be Better” anti-bullying rhetoric (although it never went anywhere because she was married to one of the biggest bullies on earth). I think JB really could make huge inroads to getting this started.
So true. For all Dr. Jill Biden’s campaign points as a professor and push for access to higher ed, it would be good for her to address the issues in that realm, now that they are in the White House. Where is the condemnation of the anti-Critical Race Theory sweeping the country? Where is the work on student loan forgiveness and improved access to educational options? I know it’s only been five months but they have work to do if they spent the campaign touting her connections, history and experience in that realm. Start undoing the damage from Betsy DeVos. I’m sensitive about these matters as a prof and as a Black woman with crushing student loan debt. We are the most educated demographic but the ones with the highest loans (much of that also related to limited options for financing school in the first place while watching many around us get full rides/scholarships, often based on connections or loaded “desirability” factors) and some of the lowest post-graduation salaries, if we get a salary at all (see contract higher ed teaching force, 75% without any benefits or job security).
It’s a great day for black americans. Biden’s going into history for this move. Bravo. I hope this inspires all countries to reflect on inequalities.
As a black woman, these symbolic gestures are worthless. Please do something that actually impacts black Americans, Biden.
Thank you!!
I’m a white woman, raised in a racist, conservative, “christian” environment and was never educated about Black history. This symbolic gesture has already increased awareness. Even for those who don’t agree that Juneteenth should be a holiday, they are faced with at least some historical context, and that’s a start.
I from Texas, this is a state holiday. I am glad to see Juneteenth become a federal holiday. Now do something about voting rights. I agree election day needs to be a federal holiday.
I’ll believe that Scott Di(si)ck spent that much when he shows the money going out of his bank account. A receipt isn’t proof of anything with that pack of fabricators and exaggeraters. He likely doesn’t even *have* that much liquidity.
Good for Biden! Being from Texas I grew up with some awareness of Juneteenth, but it wasn’t a big deal. I’m not trying to be offensive, just stating a fact, as far as dates go, it was often overshadowed by father’s day. When I moved to Atlanta a few years ago, I realized there are people that really care about it but it still didn’t get a lot of attention.
Now, I think making it a holiday will change the conversation around it a bit. It’s going to do a lot to bring awareness to the dates history around the country. This is a good baby step for our country.
I think this is good news indeed. Much to be done, but every step forward is important right now.
This is nice, that Juneteenth is a Federal holiday now. In no way does that compensate for not ending voter suppression, not supporting Critical Race Theory, and not passing the George Floyd Act. There is still much work to be done but this is nice.
Poor champ… I hope the filthy way unfits keep his name out of their mouths. He was a sweet boy. Heart goes out to the Bidens on their loss. Dogs are Family.
Very nice Info
They kitty bedroom is amazing and a sign of love. Our cat somehow punched a hole through our patio screen door a couple of days ago to create her own entry/exit door. We failed as her humans on her needs. She’s nonplussed or nonpussed at the expense to fix it.
Nic pics of Meg Ryan-she does look like a combo of people though.
Zoe Kravitz’s movie does have a great title. Outside of the supernatural aspect it sounds a lot like Cathy Cash Spellman’s Playground of the Gods. When I read it years ago I thought it would make a great movie. With all the bs going on in the movie making business back then it’s easily to see why it wouldn’t have made the cut or even a thought.
https://www.cathycashspellman.com/books/the-playground-of-the-gods/
I mean it’s nice but I want to see canceling of student loan debt, Voting Rights protection, CRT acceptable federal mandated curriculum, Anti-Black Hate act, etc. They even released a Juneteenth flag that in my opinion spits on the historic and culturally significance of the flag already being used for Juneteenth.