Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Olivia Newton-John

I just want to celebrate Olivia Newton-John tonight.

We were listening to music tonight in C.I.'s music room and someone put on Olivia's OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN'S GREATEST HITS, side one.  I know I've noted Olivia before here but she truly was something.  I've never understood the fascination with Karen Carpenter -- in fact, I lost all respect for Sonic Youth when they became part of that revival.  Karen could sing, yes.  But she could really only sing melancholy due to the way she swallowed the notes.  That's before you factor in how she and brother sucked up to Richard Nixon and were an archaic throwback.


Olivia was pop singer who could sing pretty much any popular genre -- top forty pop, dance, country, folk, etc.  So I just want to note five of Olivia's lesser known hits.


"Tied Up."



A top forty hit on the pop charts but not one most people think of.


"Livin' in Desperate Times."


Top forty hit from the second film she made with John Travolta, TWO OF A KIND.


"Deeper Than The Night."


Top forty pop hit from TOTALLY HOT.  She also had two other big hits on this album and the title track made it to number 52.  


"Sam."


A top forty pop hit.  The album, DON'T STOP BELIEVING, had three singles.  "Every Face Tells A Story" was not a top forty pop hit. It was an adult contemporary hit as was the title track and "Sam" and all three were also top forty country hits -- "Sam" and "Don't Stop Believing" went all the way to number one on the a.c. chart. 



"Dancing Round And Round."



Again, from TOTALLY HOT.  It made it to number 29 on the country chart -- I think that was her last top forty country hit.   It also made it to number 25 on the adult contemporary chart. 


Olivia had a gorgeous voice and she could really sing.  

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS): 

Monday, March 17, 2025.  We focus on one important action that took place in DC and across the country -- and your spoon of sugar is some gossip about an actor who's got another scandal that might be about to come out.


Borrowing from The Hollywood Kids, GUESS WHO, DON'T SUE.  His career imploded and, despite serious p.r. spin last summer, it has not recovered.  Though many insiders are fearful over what the wife may be about to do as a result of a recent high profile exhibition, they're fretting over the wrong one.  The real threat to Implosion's career right now is coming from the bi-sexual man once caught pounding Implosion.  Bi was happy in the closet -- where he'd been for years -- until recently.  Age and an open relationship with a woman have Bi finding more comfort and security in who he is.  He also needs money.  When the whispers started back up about that decades old pounding he'd given Implosion, Implosion got him a job that was supposed to last for years but didn't.  After Bi was let go from that job, Implosion kept insisting that he'd get the job back for Bi or find him another.  Implosion didn't or couldn't keep his word.  Bi's current woman contacted a friend in publishing and this led to a big offer for an autobiography.  But the offer is time sensitive as the editor with the publishing house explained, "Kelly McGillis could have gotten a ton of money writing about the romantic triangle she was in with Jodie Foster and Whitney Houston but she got too old and too ugly.  If you're going to write this book, we'd need to release it in no less than three years."

When we do a blind item, we do it for two reasons -- one, to get a little more attention for the news in the snapshot and, two, someone (in this case Implosion) has harmed a friend of mine.  Community members will be able to figure out exactly who Implosion is. That's hot gossip by the way that started making the industry rounds Saturday morning.  Both Bi's current female partner and the editor at the publishing house are whispering about it.


Now let's get to the big news, the National Mall.  The DC landmark contains many landmarks such as the Smithsonian, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of African Art and the National Museum of Natural History.  As the official government website notes, some call it "America's Front Yard" and, "For more than 200 years, the National Mall has symbolized our nation and its democratic values, which have inspired the world. The National Mall -- the great swath of green in the middle of our capital city and stretching from the foot of the United States Capitol to the Potomac River -- is the premiere civic and symbolic space in our nation."

That was made clear on Friday, as thousands took part in Now DC's Stand With America rally.  Now DC explained the action:

The United States is under siege from within -- hijacked by an illegitimate president and administration and protected by a system unwilling to uphold our constitutional safeguards.

The system refuses to act. Now, the people must.

#14thNOW, the historic movement that stood in the breach to stop this authoritarian coup before it started, extends this movement to ALL, calling for immediate action against the destruction of our democracy on March 14th with #NowDC.

If you are a veteran, this movement is for you. If you stand with Ukraine and the Free World, this movement is for you. If you are a federal worker, this movement is for you.  If you don’t want to lose Social Security, this movement is for you.  If you were deprived of your vote in 2024, this movement is for you.  If you’ve changed your mind since the election, this movement is for you.  If you don’t want to lose your rights, your safety, your freedom, and your country, this movement is for you. #NowDC is for everyone. 

On March 14, 2025, We the People will change the course of history.







Disabled veteran Don Carter rode shotgun in his son’s Chevy pickup truck for 11 hours from Illinois to the nation’s capital to take part in a political protest for the first time in his life.
Carter, a 92-year-old Korean War veteran, and his son, Larry, joined a crowd of nearly 3,000 for a two-hour national veterans’ rally Friday on the National Mall to protest cuts by President Donald Trump to veterans’ federal jobs, services and benefits.
The pair watched as fellow veterans waved American flags and speakers rallied support for the 30,000 federal workers fired by Trump’s administration. With chants of “Lock him up,” the crowd called for Trump to be removed from office for his actions.
Similar protests were held at state capitols across the nation, according to Fourteenth Now, the event organizer.
“Two billionaires, Trump and Musk, are gutting the VA and purging veteran employees — bankrupting war heroes while cashing in on their sacrifice,” said Michael Embrich, a Navy veteran and political commentator for Rolling Stone, who rallied protesters from a small stage.


DC NEWS NOW notes that the protest "comes after Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins indicated the agency is looking to cut 80,000 jobs to slim its workforce" and that "More than 25% of the VA’s workforce is comprised of veterans."









Rallygoers called out the harm that’s come from mass firings at federal agencies, especially on the veteran community, many of whom are now out of a job. Chris Yeazel, an Army veteran who lives in D.C., said he’s seen this harm firsthand.

“I get my healthcare from DCVA,” Yeazel said. “I was up there about a week ago, and wait times are longer, half the offices are shut down, lights out, and you can hear veterans talking about it, they’re not blaming the workers, by the way.”

Speakers and attendees also touched on the GOP’s spending bill, which keeps the government funded, but at the expense of deep cuts to D.C.’s budget and government programs many veterans rely on.



Protesters on the National Mall — many of them veterans — called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump Friday.

Homemade signs denouncing Trump and Elon Musk and demanding the president be removed from office were everywhere — “No kings! No DOGE! No cuts to VA!” “Stop the coup,” and “I serve no kings.”

For well over an hour, they listened to speakers point out what they called Trump’s abuse of the office of the presidency.

They included Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer who fought the mob Jan. 6 and ran for Congress in Maryland.

“Donald Trump has referred to Jan. 6 as a day of love,” he said. “This right here is love. I feel this; I love you all. And you all make me, you all give me whatever the hell I’ve got inside of me that makes me want to keep going and not stop.”



The veterans who joined Friday's protest ranged from ones who have been frequent protesters to first-timers, from Vietnam veterans to Global War on Terrorism veterans, and from those who have personally been hit by the cuts to those who simply felt it was their duty to speak out as veterans.


"I think it's wrong that veterans such as myself, as well as everyone across the country, has to go through this autocracy, this oligarchy that we live in today," said Vincent Camacho, who added he served in the Air Force for 24 years from 2000 until last year.

Camacho, who said this was his first-ever protest, said he was fired from the Department of Agriculture recently as the Trump administration purged thousands of probationary employees from the federal government. Probationary employees are ones who were hired or promoted within the last couple of years and were targeted by the Trump administration first because they do not have as many employment protections as longtime employees.


The action took place as Convicted Felon Donald Chump's approval ratings continued to be miniscule.  Joe DePaolo (MEDIAITE) notes, "According to a new poll from NBC News out Sunday, Trump’s performance on economic matters is not being well received. In all, 54 percent of voters disapprove of Trump on the economy, while 44 percent approve. And the split is similar on Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living -- 55 percent disapprove, and 42 percent approve. And a mere 18 percent of voters believe the economy is 'excellent' or 'good'." The negative views about Trump on this issue are a first in the NBC poll -- which has never previously found a majority of voters opposed to his handling of the economy."

USA TODAY offers a photo essay of the DC action here. UPI offers a Bonnie Cash photograph of the rally here and another photo here.  Jimmy Alexander (WTOP NEWS) notes:



One of the veterans who made his voice heard was combat veteran, MSgt. Rig. The Northern Virginia resident served nearly 23 years in the Army.

"We paid for this with our blood, sweat and tears, and Elon Musk is out here destroying federal agencies with a stroke of a pen," he said. "It's completely illegal, and I don't know why the hell that these senators can't get off their ass and defend our democracy."

[. . .]


One person that made sure she attended the march was Rebecca Logan. She told WTOP that her husband drove her up from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Asked why she wanted to attend the massive protest, Logan said, "To help save my country."

The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, motivated Logan to join the Air Force after she graduated from high school.

Logan needed the help of a walker as she made her way to the National Mall. As she crossed Independence Avenue, she said she had a message for her fellow veterans: "I know a lot of the veterans voted for Trump. You were lied to, and it's OK to stand up and say, 'Hey, this is not OK'."




Again, that was the DC action and actions took place Friday afternoon in other US cities.  

Actions took place in Austin, Texas.



In Iowa.




They protested in Columbus, Ohio and (below) in Springfield, Illinois..

 


In West Springfield, MA.


They protested in Sacramento, California.



In Olympia, Washington.


In Fayetteville, North Carolina. 



In New Mexico.


In Indiana.



PENN LIVE's Megan Lavey-Heaton notes that they protested in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and KTSP reports:

A large group of veterans gathered Friday afternoon on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul in solidarity with a similar march in Washington, D.C.

[. . .]

Protesters in St. Paul could be seen holding signs titled “America: Fight for Veterans,” “We Love the VA,” “Thank You Vets,” and others.


 
 It was a major action across the country.  Americans pulled together to fight back against efforts to harm veterans and federal workers.  It was about people pulling together to help others.  Plural.  Not navel gazing.  Not tunnel vision.  Not 'single issue voters.'  It was about the power of pulling together to fight for all.  And it was a huge success in that the actions were felt and noted in every community that they took place. 
 


The following sites updated:

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