The Public Theater Presents....Ain't No Mo'
This video was published on YouTube on January 21.
Click here for additional information.
Source: PublicTheaterNY
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Tori Sampson Addresses Beauty Standards in New Play
This video was published on YouTube on February 21.
Click here to obtain ticket information on "If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muh*****".
Source: ImageNation
Friday, March 1, 2019
Teenage Boy Buys Friend Electric Wheelchair
It's "Feel Good Friday" on From The G-Man
Scroll down to review other heartwarming and humorous posts.
Danny Trejo: From Criminal to One of Hollywood's Most Recognizable Stars
This report was published on YouTube on January 11.
FAIR GAME: Kristine Leahy sits down with renowned actor, Danny Trejo, to discuss
his rise to stardom from his life in jail, his time with Anthony
Bourdain on "Parts Unknown" and why his time on the Muppets will be
something he'll never forget.
WWE Wrestler Roman Reigns Opens Up About His Leukemia Battle
This report was published on YouTube on February 26.
Film Bloopers from 1941
This video was published on YouTube on November 13, 2008.
Warning: The footage contains foul language.
Cute Kids Dancing with Street Performers (2019)
This video was published on YouTube on January 21.
Source: Viralcoholics
Retired Military Dog Reunited with Handler After Five Years
This video was published on YouTube on February 27.
Clarksvillenow: This military dog, Alex, and his handler, Sergeant First Class Nicholas
C. Iafelice, were reunited after five years. Alex will spend the rest
of his life with Iafelice and his family.
Santa Maria Police Officials Honored at Annual Awards Ceremony
This report was published on YouTube on February 12.
The Santa Maria Times: Heroism, public service and hard work were celebrated Tuesday during the Santa Maria Police Department’s annual awards ceremony. The event — which was sponsored by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and held at the Radisson Hotel — was attended by scores of police officers, local dignitaries and community members.
The Santa Maria Times: Heroism, public service and hard work were celebrated Tuesday during the Santa Maria Police Department’s annual awards ceremony. The event — which was sponsored by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and held at the Radisson Hotel — was attended by scores of police officers, local dignitaries and community members.
Teacher's Pup - TIME for Kids
Source: Kristina Howard
Lottery Winners: 'We Want to Do a Lot of Things for a Lot of People'
This video was published on YouTube on January 4.
Giving Blankets to the Homeless: Helping the Poor People in India
This video was published on YouTube on January 14.
Source: Zaib Sheikh
Thursday, February 28, 2019
First Lady Melania Trump to Travel on a Three-State Tour to Promote 'Be Best'
The Office of the First Lady is today announcing Mrs. Trump’s
participation in a three-state tour to Oklahoma, Washington State, and
Nevada to promote the three pillars of her initiative Be Best, which
includes the well-being of children, online safety, and opioid abuse.
On Monday, March 4, the First Lady will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma to
visit an award-winning elementary school that focuses on incorporating
character education throughout its curriculum. Mrs. Trump will then
visit a tech company near Seattle, Washington to receive a tour and
briefing on some of their programs and applications meant to teach
children online safety, as well as technology innovations meant to help
children with disabilities.
On Tuesday, March 5, the First Lady will give remarks and participate in an opioids town hall in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Whether it is social media and technology or drug and alcohol abuse,
children in our country and around the world are faced with many
challenges,” stated First Lady Melania Trump. “Through Be Best I will
continue to shine a spotlight on the well-being programs that provide
children the tools and skills required for emotional, social and
physical well-being and promote successful organizations, programs, and
people who are helping children overcome some of the issues they face
while growing up in the modern world.”
Source: The Office of the First Lady
Governor Cuomo Launches Tax Fairness for the Middle Class Campaign
Earlier today, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched a Tax Fairness for the Middle Class Campaign at Millennium Buffalo in Cheektowaga to make the property tax cap permanent and cut middle class taxes.
To illustrate the benefits of a permanent property tax cap, Governor Cuomo unveiled a digital tax calculator to showcase estimates of how much taxpayers have saved under the property tax cap and will continue to save over the next 10 years with a permanent property tax cap.
Source: NYGovCuomo
The Rich Are Still Getting Richer: An Op-Ed by Nomi Prins
Like a gilded coating that makes the
dullest things glitter, today’s thin veneer of political populism covers
a grotesque underbelly of growing inequality that’s hiding in plain
sight. And this phenomenon of ever more concentrated wealth and power
has both Newtonian and Darwinian components to it.
In terms of Newton’s first law
of motion: Those in power will remain in power unless acted upon by an
external force. Those who are wealthy will only gain in wealth as long
as nothing deflects them from their present course. As for Darwin, in
the world of financial evolution, those with wealth or power will do
what’s in their best interest to protect that wealth, even if it’s in no
one else’s interest at all.
In George Orwell’s iconic 1945 novel, Animal Farm,
the pigs who gain control in a rebellion against a human farmer
eventually impose a dictatorship on the other animals on the basis of a
single commandment:
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
In terms of the American republic, the modern equivalent would be: “All
citizens are equal, but the wealthy are so much more equal than anyone
else (and plan to remain that way).”
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Nation
INN: There is a Bright and Growing Light in News: Nonprofit News
This video was published on YouTube on February 13.
The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN): An estimated 2,000 journalists have lost their jobs since the beginning
of the 2019 in the media industry. But there is a bright and growing
light in news: nonprofit news. Sue Cross and Fran Scarlett cover some of
the possibilities in nonprofit news.
ONA Strengthens Investment in Local Journalists with an Expanded Leadership Training Program
We are pleased to build on the incredible success of ONA Local
the past 11 years and introduce its next iteration, a new training
program that emphasizes cohort-based leadership development to connect
innovators in local journalism communities. The first cohort of 92 ONA Local organizers represents more than 50 communities, from St. Louis, Phoenix and Baltimore to Mexico City, Argentina and Australia.
ONA Local — a global network of resource-sharing groups for digital
journalists — has expanded considerably in recent years. With the
support of a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation from
2016 to 2018, we experimented with different ways to launch new groups,
build leadership teams and provide ongoing support. During that period,
our Meetup network has nearly doubled, now reaching over 14,000 members.
We organized ONA Local summits
to train organizers in key leadership skills and seed collaborations
among community builders who otherwise may not have a chance to connect,
and designed a Speakers Bureau initiative to expand training opportunities for local journalists. We also improved the structure of the ONA Local student groups to facilitate opportunities for students to explore digital journalism and collaborate on projects.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Online News Association
SPLC and Latin Grammy Award-Winning Band Release Song Teaching Immigrants Their Rights
In an effort to reach immigrants who may not understand their rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has teamed up with the all-female mariachi band Flor De Toloache to launch a
new song that aims to help them avoid being victimized by illegal law
enforcement tactics.
Click here for the full announcement.
Source: The Southern Poverty Law Center
US-North Korea Summit: The Big Fail
The following statement was submitted by a source with high-level contacts in the Asian region.
"The collapse of US-North Korea talks in Hanoi is a big disappointment
for all concerned, including South Korea which has been pushing hard for
a breakthrough on US-North Korea relations and is trying to improve its
own relations with the North. According to what Trump and Pompeo said
at their press conference, it looks like both sides miscalculated and
came with their maximalist positions: the US asked for complete
denuclearization and North Korea asked for the US to lift all economic
sanctions.
"It doesn't look like either side went in ready to compromise,
something they should have worked out long before the summit. There's
no indication of a third summit anytime soon, although both Trump and
Pompeo said negotiations will continue among officials of both sides and
that they learned a lot from each other.
"As long as North Korea
refrains from nuclear and missile tests, as they have been since late
2017, we're at least not sliding backward into confrontation. But the
status quo can't be sustained indefinitely."
Justin Trudeau Faces Questions Amid SNC-Lavalin Firestorm
Global News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced questions Thursday amid the ongoing
firestorm surrounding SNC-Lavalin following Jody Wilson-Raybould's
testimony on Wednesday.
Indian Air Force and Army Address Escalating Tensions with Pakistan
Coverage begins at the 4:54 mark.
Trump Press Conference Following Summit with Kim Jong Un
Full Coverage
This report, which was published on YouTube on February 27, begins at the 18:00 mark.
Parental Alienation: A Growing Problem in the Jewish Community
Rejected by My Children
Is there a way to bridge the abyss when your ex turns your own kids against you?
By Rachel Ginsberg
It was a perfect picture, the kind you’d stick in a family photo
album: three smiling girls in matching outfits on a sunny afternoon,
embracing their Tatty as they revel in his attention while licking
triple-scoop ice cream cones. But what started out as a Sunday dream
morphed into a family nightmare — it was the last time Baruch saw his
daughters in four years.
Baruch and his first wife divorced close to a decade ago after a
marriage that was stormy from the outset, and their three little girls
were put into joint custody — Baruch had them every other week from
Thursday to Monday morning, and one overnight in between. Less than a
year later, Baruch remarried and his new wife, Liba, joined in the
custody of the girls (“they were really just babies at the time,” she
says) and raised them together with her own four children. For three
years this new blended family found its rhythm, weathering some
precarious custody battles in the interim — like the time Baruch’s ex
filed an emergency petition in court claiming that he was a drug addict
who regularly beat the girls and locked them in the bathroom. For two
months, while she railed against him to the children, he wasn’t allowed
to see his daughters; he was finally cleared after a series of drug
evaluation exams came out clean, and after a court-appointed therapist
determined that not only was Baruch not a danger to his kids, but that
he was a devoted and stable father and there was no reason he shouldn’t
be allowed to see his children.
The complete article can be accessed by clicking on and enlarging the following images.
Source: Rachel Ginsberg
Happening in Harlem: Blackface.....Really??? (A Hardcore Discussion)
Click on the flier to increase its size.
Note: The start time has been changed to 6:30 p.m.
Note: The start time has been changed to 6:30 p.m.
Source: ImageNation
MTA Approves Fare and Toll Hikes, Keeps Base Bus, Subway Fare at $2.75
This report was published on February 27.
Source: ABC7 Eyewitness News
Source: ABC7 Eyewitness News
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
AOC, Sanders, and Warren Are the Real Centrists Because They Speak for Most Americans
By Mehdi Hasan
Do you know what really annoys me about the media’s coverage of U.S. politics, and especially the Democratic Party?
Google the words “moderate” or “centrist” and a small group of names will instantly appear: Michael Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar, Joe Biden, and, yes, Howard Schultz.
Bloomberg is considered a “centrist thought leader” (Vanity Fair). Klobuchar is the “straight-shooting pragmatist” (Time). Biden is the “quintessential centrist” (CNN) and the “last hurrah for moderate Democrats” (New York magazine). Shultz is gifted with high-profile interview slots to make his “centrist independent” pitch to voters.
Now Google the freshman House Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She’s been dubbed a member of the “loony left” (Washington Post), a “progressive firebrand” (Reuters), and a “liberal bomb thrower” (New York Times).
Got that? Biden, Schultz and Co., we are told, sit firmly in the
middle of American politics; Ocasio-Cortez stands far out on its
fringes.
This is a brazen distortion of reality, a shameless and demonstrable
lie that is repeated day after day in newspaper op-eds and cable news
headlines.
“It’s easy to call what AOC is doing as far-lefty, but nothing could
be farther from the truth,” Nick Hanauer, the venture capitalist and
progressive activist, told MSNBC in
January. “When you advocate for economic policies that benefit the
broad majority of citizens, that’s true centrism. What Howard Schultz
represents, the centrism that he represents, is really just trickle-down
economics.”
“He is not the centrist,” continued Hanauer. “AOC is the centrist.”
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Intercept_
Trump Administration Officials Asked About Sexual Abuse of Unaccompanied Minors Allegations
C-SPAN: Florida Congressman Ted Deutch raises newly reported allegations of
sexual abuse against thousands of migrant children in U.S. custody by
contract employees of the Health and Human Services Department. The
allegations were included in documents handed over to Congress by the
department. According to the documents the Office of Refugee
Resettlement received 4,556 complaints and the Justice Department
received 1,303 complaints, including nearly 200 allegations of sexual
abuse between 2017 and 2018.
Attorney General Barr Pledges to Protect Voting Rights In First Address
C-SPAN: New Attorney General William Barr delivers remarks at an African
American History Month event at the Justice Department, in which he
pledges to protect voting rights during his second tenure at the law
enforcement agency.
Click here for video.
U.S. House Debates Resolution Blocking National Emergency Declaration
C-SPAN: The House will consider a joint resolution to terminate the President’s
national emergency declaration to build a southern border wall.
Click here for video.
House Democrats Announce Plans for Vote on Gun Background Checks Bill
C-SPAN: House Democrats, former Representative Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), and
student advocates speak with reporters about H.R.8, the Bipartisan
Background Checks Act of 2019.
Click here for video.
House Republicans Brief Reporters on Gun Legislation
C-SPAN: Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) and other House republicans spoke about two gun background check bills before the House, H.R.8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, and H.R.1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019.
Click here for video.
High School Students Lead Fight to Get Civil Rights Cold Case Bill Passed
Note: In July of 2015, the teacher showcased in this report, Stuart Wexler, appeared on The G-Man Interviews to discuss "Christian Identity”.
According to the critically acclaimed author and lecturer, his
groundbreaking 2012 book, The Awful Grace of God: Religious Terrorism,
White Supremacy, and the Unsolved Murder of Martin Luther King, Jr
(Counterpoint), which he co-authored with Larry Hancock, allowed him to
“have a better understanding of how a network of religious zealots
created an informal proto-social network under the umbrella of a little
known but important ideology: Christian Identity."
In tracing this network through the 1960s, it became clear that they may
have had their hand in a number of different racial crimes. This
revelation served as the catalyst for the book America's Secret Jihad, which was released in August of 2015.
From The G-Man congratulates Mr. Wexler and his students on their monumental achievement.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Governor Cuomo Signs Red Flag Gun Protection Bill
Earlier today, Governor Andrew Cuomo, joined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, signed the Red Flag Bill, a key component of his 2019 Justice Agenda. The Red Flag Bill, also known as the extreme risk protection order bill, prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm. This legislation builds on New York's strongest in the nation gun laws and makes New York the first in the United States to empower its teachers and school administrators to prevent school shootings by pursuing court intervention.
More information is available here.
Source: NYGovCuomo
Bernie, His Army and the Historical Moment
By Ted Glick
Bernie Sanders finally announced that he is running for President
this week. When asked what would be different this time around, he
replied, “We will win.”
Can he win? Yes, there are lots of reasons to believe he can.
There’s the 6 million dollars he raised in the 24 hours after his
announcement, most of it from his over-two-million-person list of donors
from 2016. Of his competitors for the Democratic Party nomination, the
second-best in this regard was Kamala Harris pulling in 1.5 million.
There’s the very important fact that after 2016 he and his supporters
got themselves organized into an independent national organization, Our
Revolution, with 600 chapters in just about every state. None of his
competitors have anything close to that. When combined with the many
millions of others not active in Our Revolution who supported him in
2016 and/or will be supporting him now, and remembering the massive,
people-powered momentum built with his leadership in 2015-2016, calling
it an “army” seems accurate.
There are the steps he has taken to politically strengthen both his
message and his connections to important constituencies where he had
weaknesses in 2016. An example is the fact that there are four co-chairs
of his campaign, California Congressperson Ro Khanna, Our Revolution
leader and former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, San Juan, PR mayor
Carmen Yulin Cruz, and Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice
cream. Three of the four are people of color, two are women.
Another example of how he has politically strengthened his positions is an In These Times article last month where he articulated a good analysis of US militarism and an imperialist foreign policy, without using those words.
Click here for the full article.
Source: tedglick.com
Grannies Respond: What We Saw on the US-Mexico Border in McAllen, Texas Motivated Us to Fight On
Grannies Respond is a grassroots movement, which formed in spring 2018 in response to the separation of families seeking asylum at the southern border of the United States. As news spread of immigrant children being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border — at that time a hallmark of the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy — a group of outraged grandmothers in New York state decided it was time to act.
They formed Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden, and put out a call on social media for others to join them in a six-city, 2,000-mile trip to McAllen, Texas, home of the largest U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention center for undocumented immigrants, where they planned to protest.
The 30 Grannies and their supporters departed from New York City’s Union Square July 31, 2018 in two 15-seat vans and a camper. By the time the Grannies’ caravan reached the border, the group had picked up participants from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Louisiana; they converged along the route, driving vans, RVs, cars, trucks, busses — anything, really, with wheels and a motor (there was even a motorcycle). They were a diverse lot, but all agreed on these demands: the immediate reunion of all families, an end to the detention of immigrants and their families, and due process under the law for all immigrants requesting asylum.
Click here for additional information.
Source: Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden
They formed Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden, and put out a call on social media for others to join them in a six-city, 2,000-mile trip to McAllen, Texas, home of the largest U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention center for undocumented immigrants, where they planned to protest.
The 30 Grannies and their supporters departed from New York City’s Union Square July 31, 2018 in two 15-seat vans and a camper. By the time the Grannies’ caravan reached the border, the group had picked up participants from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Louisiana; they converged along the route, driving vans, RVs, cars, trucks, busses — anything, really, with wheels and a motor (there was even a motorcycle). They were a diverse lot, but all agreed on these demands: the immediate reunion of all families, an end to the detention of immigrants and their families, and due process under the law for all immigrants requesting asylum.
Click here for additional information.
Source: Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden
The Week Ahead in Washington
Associated Press White House reporter Darlene Superville and Washington Post congressional reporter Mike DeBonis discussed the week ahead on Capitol Hill and at the White House.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Unpacking the Politics of the SNC-Lavalin Affair
This report was published on YouTube on February 24.
Tax Season’s Dynamic Duo: E-file and Direct Deposit
New York State Taxpayer Advocate Margaret Neri today encouraged all New York State taxpayers to e-file their tax returns and have any refund directly deposited into their bank account.
“We know that New Yorkers want their refunds quickly, and we aim to deliver,” said New York State Taxpayer Advocate Margaret Neri. “That’s why we recommend that filers avoid paper, and combine the simplicity and security of e-filing with direct deposit to speed refunds by up to two weeks.”
Benefits of e-filing
E-filing is safer and more efficient than sending paper returns through the mail. About 92% of all personal income tax returns in New York State are electronically prepared and filed. All returns, regardless of how they’re filed, undergo the same systematic review.
Use direct deposit
To use direct deposit, simply check direct deposit on your tax return, then enter your bank’s nine-digit routing number and your account number. For checking accounts, this information is available on your checks; for savings accounts, contact your bank.
Free filing options available
Taxpayers with adjusted gross household incomes of $66,000 or less in 2018 may use free, user-friendly software at www.tax.ny.gov to electronically prepare and file both their state and federal tax returns. Taxpayers can search Free File on the Tax Department website to be directed to the tax preparation software. Using the software can reduce filing errors that delay return processing and refunds. This also prevents valuable credits from being overlooked.
Eligible taxpayers can also visit a free Tax Department preparation site. A schedule of dates, times, and locations for free-filing sessions statewide is available on our Facilitated Self-Assistance (FSA) program webpage.
Tax Department experts will be available at each site to assist low- and middle-income New Yorkers through the filing process at no charge. At certain locations, they can assist taxpayers in multiple languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.
Check your refund status
Taxpayers can quickly view the status of their New York State tax refund anytime by using the Check your Refund tool on the Tax Department website: www.tax.ny.gov. Updated daily, it’s the fastest and most convenient way to know when to expect your refund. It provides the same information available to our phone representatives—only without the wait!
You can also find out when your refund will be issued by signing up for Tax Department email alerts. Visit the Tax Department homepage at www.tax.ny.gov and select subscribe at the bottom of the page.
Don’t have a computer or smart phone? Call the Tax Department’s automated refund-status line anytime at 518-457-5149.
New York State Taxpayer Rights Advocate
As a New York State taxpayer, you have rights protecting you from any unfairness in the administration and collection of taxes, as well as a variety of options to resolve tax issues.
The Office of the Taxpayer Rights Advocate will help you understand your rights and will help find the best way for you to pay the amount of tax you owe.
The Office of the Taxpayer Rights Advocate, an independent office within the Tax Department, provides: free assistance to resolve difficult or ongoing tax problems; options to consider if a tax issue is causing undue economic harm; and recommendations for administrative or legislative reforms.
Click here for additional resources.
Source: The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
Public Advocate Race: 7 Factors That Will Help Decide Who Wins on Tuesday
The nonpartisan special election features 17 candidates, and a number of variables.
Click here for details.
Source: The New York Times
