Katy Tur's book...Unbelievable!

---My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History

I'm sliding into the finish line, out of breath, of Katy Tur's book, "Unbelievable"...a must read for anyone who's serious about wanting to know what goes on, on the inside of news reporting of this current WH anomaly, Trump.  A year and a half out of her life, what a sacrifice she’s given for all of us, showing the truth against the lies this man-child has thrown around at will.

There is no one word that I can use to describe his [Trump] hallucinations of his own ability. There are many words used in this book, and it will boggle your mind to know and wonder how he can still sit in this highly held office of the United States.  He should be in a prison cell, in my opinion.

The book also has a bit of memoir about it, Katy’s family stuff and a sort of ‘how did I get to this point in my life?’ - and a lot of introspection on WHY THE HELL DID I COMMIT TO DOING THIS SHIT? And, CAN I GO HOME NOW?!  (my words, not exactly hers). But I must say Katy's humor is there throughout this time in her life, and I thoroughly enjoyed her phenomenal writing!

No party lines were drawn in this book, just the inside, very inside, story of a journalist following the campaign trail of a candidate running for President of the USA! Unfortunately, she (we) ended up with Trump.

MeToo - Poetic Miss-justice?

Read....

Scott Rosenberg writes a beautiful acknowledgement and admission of knowing what was going on, but not knowing....

The world knows, the witnesses know, the perpetrator knows, the victim knows...but mouths are shut to this on-going crime.

What does it take to open your mouth and say, #MeToo? What does it take to stop this plague of users and abusers? Does it take a mountain to collapse on a village, or a village to resurrect itself and acknowledge the mountain? You tell me.

‘Beautiful Girls Scribe Scott Rosenberg On A Complicated Legacy With Harvey Weinstein.

So, uh, yeah.
We need to talk about Harvey.

I was there, for a big part of it.
From, what, 1994 to the early 2000s?
Something like that.
Certainly The Golden Age.
The “PULP FICTION”, “SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE”, “CLERKS”, “SWINGERS”, “SCREAM”, “GOOD WILL HUNTING”, “ENGLISH PATIENT”, “LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL” years…

Harvey and Bob made my first two movies.
Then they signed me to an overall deal.
Then they bought that horror script of mine about the Ten Plagues.
For a lot of money.
Also bought that werewolf-biker script.
That no one else liked but was my personal favorite.
They were going to publish my novel.
They anointed me.
Made it so other studios thought I was the real deal.
They gave me my career.

I was barely 30.
I was sure I had struck gold.
They loved me, these two brothers, who had reinvented cinema.
And who were fun and tough and didn’t give an East Coast fuck about all the slick pricks out in L.A.

And those glory days in Tribeca?
The old cramped offices?
That wonderful gang of executives and assistants?
All the filmmakers who were doing repeat business?
The brothers wanted to create a “family of film”.
And they did just that…
We looked forward to having meetings there.
Meetings that would turn into plans that would turn into raucous nights out on the town.
Simply put: OG Miramax was a blast.

So, yeah, I was there.
And let me tell you one thing.
Let’s be perfectly clear about one thing:

Everybody-fucking-knew.

Not that he was raping.
No, that we never heard.
But we were aware of a certain pattern of overly-aggressive behavior that was rather dreadful.
We knew about the man’s hunger; his fervor; his appetite.
There was nothing secret about this voracious rapacity; like a gluttonous ogre out of the Brothers Grimm.
All couched in vague promises of potential movie roles.
(and, it should be noted: there were many who actually succumbed to his bulky charms. Willingly. Which surely must have only impelled him to cast his fetid net even wider).

But like I said: everybody-fucking-knew.

And to me, if Harvey’s behavior is the most reprehensible thing one can imagine, a not-so-distant second is the current flood of sanctimonious denial and condemnation that now crashes upon these shores of rectitude in gloppy tides of bullshit righteousness.

Because everybody-fucking-knew.

And do you know how I am sure this is true?
Because I was there.
And I saw you.
And I talked about it with you.
You, the big producers; you, the big directors; you, the big agents; you, the big financiers.
And you, the big rival studio chiefs; you, the big actors; you, the big actresses; you, the big models.
You, the big journalists; you, the big screenwriters; you, the big rock stars; you, the big restaurateurs; you, the big politicians.

I saw you.
All of you.
God help me, I was there with you.

Again, maybe we didn’t know the degree.
The magnitude of the awfulness.
Not the rapes.
Not the shoving against the wall.
Not the potted-plant fucking.
But we knew something.
We knew something was bubbling under.
Something odious.
Something rotten.

But…
And this is as pathetic as it is true:
What would you have had us do?
Who were we to tell?
The authorities?
What authorities?
The press?
Harvey owned the press.
The Internet?
There was no Internet or reasonable facsimile thereof.
Should we have called the police?
And said what?
Should we have reached out to some fantasy Attorney General Of Movieland?
That didn’t exist.

Not to mention, most of the victims chose not to speak out.
Aside from sharing the grimy details with a close girlfriend or confidante.
And if they discussed it with their representatives?
Agents and managers, who themselves feared The Wrath Of The Big Man?
The agents and managers would tell them to keep it to themselves.
Because who knew the repercussions?
That old saw “You’ll Never Work In This Town Again” came crawling back to putrid life like a re-animated cadaver in a late-night zombie flick.
But, yes, everyone knew someone who had been on the receiving end of lewd advances by him.
Or knew someone who knew someone.

A few actress friends of mine told me stories: of a ghastly hotel meeting; of a repugnant bathrobe-shucking; of a loathsome massage request.
And although they were rattled, they sort of laughed at his arrogance; how he had the temerity to think that simply the sight of his naked, doughy, carbuncled flesh was going to get them in the mood.
So I just believed it to be a grotesque display of power; a dude misreading the room and making a lame-if-vile pass.

It was much easier to believe that.
It was much easier for ALL of us to believe that.

Because…

And here’s where the slither meets the slime:
Harvey was showing us the best of times.
He was making our movies.
Throwing the biggest parties.
Taking us to The Golden Globes!
Introducing us to the most amazing people (Meetings with Vice President Gore! Clubbing with Quentin and Uma! Drinks with Salman Rushdie and Ralph Fiennes! Dinners with Mick Jagger and Warren-freaking-Beatty!).

The most epic Oscar weekends.
That seemed to last for weeks!
Sundance! Cannes! Toronto!
Telluride! Berlin! Venice!
Private jets! Stretch limousines! Springsteen shows!
Hell, Harvey once took me to St. Barth’s for Christmas.
For 12 days!
I was a broke-ass kid from Boston who had never even HEARD of St. Barth’s before he booked my travel.
He once got me tickets to the seven hottest Broadway shows in one week. So I could take a new girlfriend on a dazzling tour of theater.
He got me seats on the 40-yard-line to the Super Bowl, when the Patriots were playing the Packers in New Orleans.
Even got me a hotel room, which was impossible to get that weekend.
He gave and gave and gave and gave.
He had a monarch’s volcanic generosity when it came to those within his circle.
And a Mafia don’s fervent need for abject loyalty from his capos and soldiers.

But never mind us!
What about what he was doing for the culture?
Making stunningly splendid films at a time when everyone else was cranking-out simpering “INDEPENDENCE DAY” rip-offs.

It was glorious.
All of it.

So what if he was coming on a little strong to some young models who had moved mountains to get into one of his parties?
So what if he was exposing himself, in five-star hotel rooms, like a cartoon flasher out of “MAD MAGAZINE” (just swap robe for raincoat!)
Who were we to call foul?
Golden Geese don’t come along too often in one’s life.

Which goes back to my original point:
Everybody-fucking-knew.
But everybody was just having too good a time.
And doing remarkable work; making remarkable movies.

As the old joke goes:
We needed the eggs.

Okay, maybe we didn’t NEED them.
But we really, really, really, really LIKED them eggs.
So we were willing to overlook what the Golden Goose was up to, in the murky shadows behind the barn…

And for that, I am eternally sorry.
To all of the women that had to suffer this…
I am eternally sorry.
I’ve worked with Mira and Rosanna and Lysette.
I’ve known Rose and Ashley and Claire for years…
Their courage only hangs a lantern on my shame.
And I am eternally sorry to all those who suffered in silence all this time.
And have chosen to remain silent today.

I mostly lost touch with the brothers by the early 2000s.
For no specific reason.
Just that there were other jobs, other studios.
But a few months ago, Harvey called me, out of the blue.
To talk about the bygone days.
To talk about how great it would be to get some of the gang back together.
Make a movie.
He must have known then the noose was tightening.
There was a wistfulness to him that I had never heard before.
A melancholy.
It most assuredly had a walking-to-the-gallows feel.
When we hung up I wondered: “what was that all about?”
In a few short weeks I would know.
It was the condemned man simply wanting to comb some of the ruins of his old stomping grounds.
One last time.

So, yeah, I am sorry.
Sorry and ashamed.
Because, in the end, I was complicit.
I didn’t say shit.
I didn’t do shit.
Harvey was nothing but wonderful to me.
So I reaped the rewards and I kept my mouth shut.
And for that, once again, I am sorry.

But you should be sorry, too.
With all these victims speaking up…
To tell their tales.
Shouldn’t those who witnessed it from the sidelines do the same?
Instead of retreating to the cowardly, canopied confines of faux-outrage?
Doesn’t being a bystander bring with it the responsibility of telling the truth, however personally disgraceful it may be?

You know who are.
You know that you knew.
And do you know how I know that you knew?

Because I was there with you.

And because everybody-fucking-knew.

Subject: The Moron

To: Rex Tillerson

From: Robert Reich

Subject: The Moron

I can understand why you feel Washington is a place of “petty nonsense,” as you said Wednesday when you called a news conference to rebut charges that you called Trump a moron last summer after a meeting of national security officials at the Pentagon.

I’m also reasonably sure you called him a moron, which doesn’t make Washington any less petty. You probably called him a moron because almost all of us out here in the rest of America routinely call him that.

But you’re right: There are far more important issues than the epithet you likely used to describe your boss.

On the other hand, your calling him a moron wouldn’t itself have mushroomed into a headline issue -- even in petty Washington -- if there weren’t deep concerns about the President’s state of mind to begin with.

I bet every cabinet secretary has from time to time called his boss a moron. I was a cabinet secretary once, and although I don’t recall ever saying Bill Clinton was a moron, I might have thought it when I found out about Monica Lewinsky. But Bill Clinton was no moron.

The reason your moronic comment about Trump made the headlines is that Trump really is a moron, in the sense you probably meant it: He’s impulsive, mercurial, often cruel, and pathologically narcissistic. Some psychologists who have studied his behavior have concluded he’s a sociopath.

Washington is petty, but it’s not nonsensical. It latches on to gaffes only when they reveal something important. As journalist Michael Kinsley once said, "A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth – some obvious truth he isn't supposed to say."

Face it. You are Secretary of State – the nation’s chief diplomat – under a president who’s dangerously nuts.

Last weekend, for example, Trump publicly said you were wasting your time trying to open talks with North Korea. Does he have a better idea? Any rational president would ask his Secretary of State to try to talk with Kim Jong-Un.

And there’s Iran. You and Defense Secretary James Mattis have both stated the nuclear agreement should be retained. That, too, is only rational. The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has been honoring the agreement. Without it, Iran would restart its nuclear program.

But Trump is on the verge of decertifying the agreement in order to save face (in the 2016 campaign he called it an “embarrassment to America”) and further puncture Barack Obama's legacy. His narcissism is endangering the world.

You tried to mediate the dispute between Qatar and its Arab neighbors. That, too, was the reasonable thing to do.

But then Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner sided with the United Arab Emirates, where they have business interests. Less than one hour after you called for a “calm and thoughtful dialogue” between Qatar and its neighbors, Trump blasted Qatar for financing terrorism. That was also nuts.

You are rightly appalled at Trump’s behavior. I can understand why you distanced yourself when Trump blamed “both sides” for violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. And why you were horrified when Trump gave a wildly partisan speech to the Boy Scouts of America, which you once headed.
Given all this, I’m not surprised to hear that you’ve talked about resigning, but that Mattis and John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, have talked you out of it.

I urge you not to resign. America and the world need sane voices speaking into the ear of our Narcissist-in-Chief. As Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee said recently, it’s you, Mattis, and Kelly who “help separate our country from chaos.” I don’t think Corker was referring to chaos abroad.

Let Trump fire you if he wants to. That would further reveal what a moron he is.

But if you really did want to serve the best interests of this nation, there's another option you might want to consider.

Quietly meet with Mattis, Kelly, and Vice President Pence. Come up with a plan for getting most of the cabinet to join in a letter to Congress saying Trump is unable to discharge the duties of his office.

Under the 25th Amendment, that would mean Trump is fired.

The Scum receiving pay-offs from the NRA

Every Member of Congress Who Took Money From the NRA and Tweeted 'Thoughts and Prayers' to Las Vegas

Rafi Schwartz

Americans woke up on Monday morning to learn of yet another horrific act of gun violence in the United States—this time a mass shooting in Las Vegas that left at least 58 people dead and more than 500 injured. But it seems unlikely that the politicians in a position to actually change our gun laws will actually do something about it, because they never do. So, in lieu of any substantive gun control, what do America’s senators and congresspeople have to offer? That tried and true chestnut of noncommittal national mourning: “Thoughts and prayers.” And just as in the past, those thoughts and prayers seem to have been paid for in part by the National Rifle Association, whose campaign donations and scare-mongering have effectively blocked any life-saving legislation which might prevent a person from getting their hands on a fully automatic machine gun they can then use to pump bullets into dozens of innocent people. So who is sending their NRA-sponsored well wishes to the victims of the Las Vegas massacre today? Let’s take a look, with a little help from the campaign contribution database at opensecrets.org.

Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt received $11,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Virginia Congresswoman Barbara Comstock received $10,400 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

North Carolina Senator Richard Burr received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Texas Congressman Will Hurd received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

New York Congressman John Katko received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Maine Congressman Bruce Poliquin received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

New York Congressman Lee Zeldin received $9,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

North Dakota Senator John Hoeven received $8,450 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Iowa Congressman Rod Blum received $7,450 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte received $7,450 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson received $7,450 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Alaska Congressman Don Young received $6,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Arizona Congresswoman Martha McSally received $6,500 from the NRA during the last election cycle.

Arkansas Senator John Boozeman received $5,950 from the NRA during the last election cycle.

Texas Congressman John Culberson received $5,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

New York Congressman John Faso received $5,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Wisconsin Congressman and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan received $5,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Pennsylvania Congressman Bill Shuster received $5,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Pennsylvania Congressman Lloyd Smucker received $5,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney received $5,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle

Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole received $5,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Oklahoma Senator James Lankford received $5,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

South Dakota Senator John Thune received $5,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Michigan Congressman Jack Bergman received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Idaho Senator Mike Crapo received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

North Carolina Congressman Richard Hudson received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Florida Congressman Brian Mast received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullin received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise, himself the victim of a mass shooting, received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Alabama Senator Richard Shelby received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Texas Congressman Lamar Smith received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Iowa Congressman David Young received $4,950 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

California Congressman Ken Calvert received $4,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski received $4,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Texas Congressman Pete Olson received $4,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott received $4,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent received $4,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk received $4,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

North Carolina Congressman Patrick McHenry received $4,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Michigan Congressman Tim Walberg received $4,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Alabama Congressman Robert Aderholt received $3,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson received $3,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Ohio Congressman Dave Joyce received $3,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Minnesota Congressman Jason Lewis received $3,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Texas Congressman Michael McCaul received $3,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Virginia Congressman Scott Taylor received $3,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Colorado Congressman Scott Tipton received $3,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

California Congressman David Valadao received $3,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

North Carolina Congressman Ted Budd received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Ohio Congressman Steve Chabot received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

California Congressman Paul Cook received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Georgia Congressman Drew Ferguson received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Georgia Congressman Tom Graves received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

California Congressman Duncan Hunter recycled the well-wishes of Speaker Paul Ryan, and received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

West Virginia Congressman Evan Jenkins received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Ohio Congressman Bill Johnson received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

California Congressman Steve Knight received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle. 

Ohio Congressman Bob Latta received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Utah Congresswoman Mia Love received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Washington Congressman Dan Newhouse received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Minnesota Congressman Erik Paulsen recieven $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

New York Congressman Tom Reed received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Utah Congressman Chris Stewart received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.

Ohio Congressman Pat Tiberi received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.


Indiana Congresswoman Jackie Walorski received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.


Ohio Congressman Brad Wenstrup received $3,000 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.


Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black received $2,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.


Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn received $2,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.


Texas Congressman John Carter received $2,500 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.