ABOVE: Sure, he wasn't the nicest, but Ryan O'Neal was fun to look at. Today, he's 80.
Engaging couple (Image by Easton Schirra for The Knot)
INSTAGRAM: Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan are the first same-sex couple on the cover of The Knot magazine, which has been publishing since 2000. I used to work in the same building as The Knot, the magazine's parent company, in SoHo back in the '90s. Nutty workers! But they were probably stand-offish because we, their neighbors, were a porn-mag publisher.
Nugent said he could barely crawl out of bed. Sadly, he did. (Image via video still)
DAILY BEAST: Ted Nugent, the has-been rocker who as recently as last week was continuing to rail against the perception of COVID-19 as a serious illness — and a man who is, er, virulently anti-vaccines — has announced he is very sick with COVID-19. He worked in some racism along with the reveal.
NBC NEW YORK: It's great that you're vaccinated, but you still should not be rushing to travel internationally.
Sen. Schumer: "Today is what you might call a very unofficial American holiday—4/20. It's as appropriate a time as any to take a hard look at our laws that have over-criminalized the use of marijuana." https://t.co/4qj9NaKlAq pic.twitter.com/Ob3W6qXzd7
— ABC News (@ABC) April 20, 2021
ABC NEWS: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, gamely acknowledging 4/20 as an unofficial national holiday (!) has reiterated that he fully supports the repeal of federal anti-marijuana laws (a position he has held for a few years), and says a vote is coming:
I believe the time has come to end the federal prohibition on marijuana in this country, and I'm working with Senators Booker and Wyden on legislation to do just that. My thinking on this issue has evolved.
USA TODAY: Trump is “beyond seriously” considering a 2024 presidential run.
TMZ: Imagine tainting yourself as Trump trash AFTER the guy is out of office by accepting a meaningless award from him and bragging about it? #desperation But that is exactly what rapper (why so many pro-Trump rappers?!) Waka Flaka has done, with the blessings of his powerful, music-manager mom, Deb Antney.
FORBES: The Biden Administration strongly supports the push for statehood for Washington D.C.
Fun fact: The district Nancy Mace represents, #SC01, had a population of 650,785 when it first came into being. The most recent estimate for D.C. (2019) puts its population at 705,749 https://t.co/thzgjQvEHs
— David Nir (@DavidNir) April 20, 2021
TWITTER: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) actually said at a presser that the idea of statehood for D.C. makes no sense because D.C. is so small it wouldn't qualify as a congressional district. D.C. has about 700,000 residents compared to about 600,000 for Wyoming — whose congresswoman, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), was standing right behind Mace while she spoke.
NYT: When a judge is asking a Black co-worker why it's okay for Black people to use the N-word but not white people — and saying the full word — you have to wonder what her judgments on any issues charged by race would be like. We'll never know, since Judge Natalie T. Chase of Colorado was censured for her conduct and has agreed to resign.
The photo of Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling over the body of Kent State University student Jeffrey Miller in 1970 is one of the most important images of the 20th century. "That picture hijacked my life," says Vecchio, now 65. https://t.co/Ck2gGxmTjL
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) April 20, 2021
WAPO: Don't miss this lengthy piece on Mary Ann Vecchio, who was the 14-year-old girl in THAT Kent State photo. The piece provides such important information about the events leading up to the photo that symbolized American anguish over Vietnam, ties it into continuing police violence today and also speaks to what it is like to become instantly iconic, famous and infamous, all rolled into one. A must-read.
The note Mondale sent this weekend, just ahead of his death. (Image via Twitter)
NYT: Former VP Walter Mondale has died at 93. As others have pointed out, his Politico obit headline differs, just slightly, from of one-term, scandal-plagued, war-mongering Bush I's Politico obit headline:
The headline generator over at Politico is on the fritz. (Images via Twitter)
EXTRATV: Britney Spears has told fans she is fine and not to worry about her, an obvious response to the #FreeBritney movement. Oddly, she worked that into a quickie social media post in which she answers three questions from fans, the other two being silly fluff. Hardly the type of thing to address as an afterthought, but there you have it.
Also worth noting — Britney Spears has, to my knowledge, never or RARELY spoken out on any major political or social issues. It was rumored she was a Bush supporter, or that she had at least considered performing at his inauguration, and she once posed for a snap with Hillary Clinton. I can't think of many other examples. She is considered a gay icon, and that's fine, but I don't think anyone could argue she hasn't been a passive gay icon — certainly, she hasn't spoken out much about gay issues. But now, outta nowhere, she has dropped a #BlackLivesMatter post. Good for her. Many of her fans are stung. It always surprises me that people like her have right-wing fans. Madonna, who is far more leftist in her public statements and art, still gets booed at concerts when she goes anti-Trump, introduces Michael Moore, says she is anti-guns, etc. Baffling, right?! Who did ya think ya paid to see?
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