Crazy Eddie's Motie News: guns

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Tuesday, May 26, 2026

'2000 Meters to Andriivka' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and Best Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

I decided I had enough in me to continue my series on the nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards today, so I'm going right after the category with the most nominated documentary.

Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
Antidote
FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Passion Pictures | Bellingcat | Impact Partners | Channel 4 | M4 Studios]
Life After
Independent Lens
Multitude Films | PBS [ITVS | Straw House Production]
Lost in the Jungle
Little Monster Films [National Geographic]
2000 Meters to Andriivka
FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Associated Press]
Thoughts & Prayers
HBO Documentary Films [Tony Tina]

2000 Meters to Andriivka leads all documentaries with six nominations, including Best Documentary. Life After follows with four, also including Best Documentary. Antidote, Lost in the Jungle, and Thoughts & Prayers tie at two to round out the category. I think this is the first category where every nominee has at least one other nomination — such quality! Not even Best Documentary can claim that distinction for its nominees. This will mean 2000 Meters to Andriivka winning, which I expect, will mean that much more.

As per usual, I am embedding the trailers in the above order, beginning with 2000 Meters to Andriivka (official trailer) | FRONTLINE.

From the Oscar®-winning team behind 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA documents the toll of the Russia-Ukraine war from a personal and devastating vantage point.

Following his historic account of the civilian toll in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov turns his lens towards Ukrainian soldiers — who they are, where they came from, and the impossible decisions they face in the trenches as they fight for every inch of their land.

Amid a failing counteroffensive in 2023, Chernov and his AP colleague Alex Babenko follow a Ukrainian brigade battling through approximately one mile of a heavily fortified forest on their mission to liberate the Russian-occupied village of Andriivka. Weaving together original footage, intensive Ukrainian Army bodycam video and powerful moments of reflection, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA reveals with haunting intimacy, the farther the soldiers advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that, for them, this war may never end.

That's every bit as gripping as I thought it would be.

Now for the other Best Documentary nominee, Life After Official Trailer.

LIFE AFTER is a gripping investigative documentary that exposes the tangled web of moral dilemmas and profit motives surrounding assisted dying. Disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport uncovers shocking abuses of power while amplifying the voices of the disability community fighting for justice and dignity in an unfolding matter of life and death.

I still expect 2000 Meters to Andriivka will win, but I would not be surprised if this upsets it. If so, it might upset 2000 Meters to Andriivka in every category in which it's nominated, because it's competing against my pick to win in all four. Otherwise, it will likely come home empty-handed, because I expect 2000 Meters to Andriivka to sweep.

Moving on to the other FRONTLINE nominee, Antidote | Trailer | Laemmle [Theatres].

What is the cost of speaking truth to power? In Putin’s Russia, it could mean your life. An immersive and chilling documentary, Antidote follows in real time a whistleblower, Vladimir Kara-Murza, from inside Russia's poison program as he attempts to escape. He is a prominent political activist who is poisoned twice and now stands trial for treason. Also profiled is his wife Evgenia and Christo Grozev, the journalist exposing Putin's murder machine. He too is under threat and is forced to flee.

Antidote's other nomination is for Outstanding Graphic Design: Documentary, and it shows in the trailer.

Next, Lost in the Jungle | Official Trailer | National Geographic Documentary Film.

After a deadly plane crash strands four young siblings deep within the Colombian rainforest, a dramatic rescue mission unfolds, uniting Indigenous trackers and the military in a race against time. For the first time ever, LOST IN THE JUNGLE offers the exclusive account of this incredible true story directly from the children themselves and the rescuers who scoured the Amazon rainforest for a grueling 40 days and nights to find them. From National Geographic Documentary Films and Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, along with Emmy® Award-winning director Juan Camilo Cruz, LOST IN THE JUNGLE is a gripping tale of survival, courage and hope.

Lost in the Jungle's second nomination is for Outstanding Sound: Documentary and I can hear it in the trailer.

Thoughts and Prayers | Official Trailer | HBO is the final trailer for today.

How to survive an active shooter in America.

The HBO Original Documentary #ThoughtsAndPrayers captures the current landscape of safety rituals in schools and communities across America.

I first cited the statistic that "gun violence was the number one cause of death among U.S. children and teens in 2020, passing auto accidents" in 'Teenage Dream' and 'The Lost Class' — two PSAs about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards. It's depressing that it's still true.

I'm not going to recycle all the other categories in which these documentaries earned nominations; my readers can go through the posts below and read my opinions, which haven't changed. In the meantime, stay tuned for the nominees for Best Documentary whose trailers I haven't yet embedded tomorrow.

Previous posts about the 57th News & Doc Emmy Awards

Monday, January 26, 2026

'All the Empty Rooms' leads Gold Derby odds for short documentary at the Oscars

I examined the nominees for Documentary Feature at the Oscars to begin my Academy Awards coverage. I'm taking advantage of a snow day to resume it with the nominees for Best Short Documentary, beginning with both the first alphabetically and the leader in the Gold Derby odds, All The Empty Rooms | Official Trailer | Netflix.

In this moving short documentary, a journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.

This is an expanded version of The Lost Class, a PSA about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards, showing all the empty chairs of students lost to gun violence who would have graduated from high school had they lived. That worked because of the sheer numbers, 3,044, but it wasn't about the individual victims; fellow Emmy nominee Teenage Dream did that for the survivors. All the Empty Rooms personalizes the issue for those who never came home.

Next alphabetically and by Gold Derby odds, Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud | Official Trailer | HBO.

“The way you hold that camera, you’re doing it from your heart.”

Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud is a powerful tribute to a war photojournalist who risked everything on the front lines.

That's moving and gripping. I can see why it's second in the odds.

Children No More "Were and are Gone" Trailer from Medalia Productions is third in the odds.

Since the video has no description, I'm sharing the one from IMDB: "Israeli peace activists hold silent vigils in Tel Aviv, displaying photos of Gaza's young victims. Despite facing public backlash, their wordless demonstrations powerfully highlight war's human cost." This is another side of 'We Will Dance Again' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards. That was about the Israeli victims of the October 7th attack on the Nova Music Festival. It won the Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, something I didn't acknowledge until now. Being interrupted by a hostile commenter trolling the entry will do that. This is about some Israelis' reaction to their government's response.

Now a second nominee, The Devil Is Busy | Official Trailer, from HBO.

"Before I send them in, I look in their eyes. I say to them, 'you’re safe now.'"

#TheDevilsBusy offers an intimate look inside a women’s healthcare clinic in Atlanta, where Tracii leads security to ensure safety and care amid protests and restrictions.

Welcome to post-Roe America, which is looking more like pre-Roe America.

I conclude the trailers with Perfectly A Strangeness - Trailer | 2026 Oscar® Nominated Documentary Short Film from Premium Films.

'Perfectly A Strangeness' by Alison McAlpine official trailer, 2026 Oscar® Nominated in the best Documentary Short Film category.

Synopsis: In the dazzling incandescence of an unknown desert, three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe. A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be.

This has the most science content of any of the nominees except for possibly The Devil Is Busy, which has some health content amongst the social commentary. Just the same, I doubt I'll recommend it to my students. Sometimes, blogging as professional development doesn't yield positive results.

As I wrote above, the nominees are in the same order in the Gold Derby odds as they are in the alphabet. What are the odds of that happening? All the Empty Rooms has the first place votes of 70.0% of experts, 66.7% of editors, and 81.0% of users. Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud sits in second among all three groups as the choice of 20.0% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 12.7% of users. No experts picked either Children No More: Were and Are Gone or The Devil Is Busy, the selections of 2.6% and 2.0% of users, respectively. Instead, the remaining expert is currently voting for Perfectly a Strangeness along with 1.7% of users. The film school students might like this last one, but everyone in the Motion Picture Academy votes for the winner, and I think they'll vote for one of the top two choices. Remember, electorates matter.

Again, that's a wrap for today's awards show coverage. Stay tuned for two brief entries worth sharing next month sandwiching this year's unveiling of the Doomsday Clock on Wednesday.

Previous posts about the 2026 Oscars

Monday, June 16, 2025

'We Will Dance Again' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards

I promised I would examine We Will Dance Again and the other Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees today at the end of 'Daughters' and 'Death Without Mercy' lead nominees for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards and I'm following through beginning with We Will Dance Again | Official Trailer | Paramount+.

The new P+ Original documentary We Will Dance Again delves into the October 7th terror attack at the Nova Music Festival, a celebration meant for music, life and love that turned into a horrific scene of violence.

We Will Dance Again is told through the eyes of more than a dozen survivors, many of whom recorded their experiences on their cell phones as the massacre unfolded. It is a painful story of unfathomable tragedy, and also of bravery, sacrifice and heroism. Viewer Discretion Advised.

This serves as a terrifying reminder of how the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began, as a terror attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians enjoying themselves.

We Will Dance Again has two nominations for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and Outstanding Editing - Documentary and is my pick to win this category. The remaining nominees, 64 Days: The Insurrection Playbook, Bread & Roses, Print it Black, and "A Year of War: Israelis and Palestinians" on FRONTLINE, have just this one nomination. It's time for their trailers, starting with 64 Days: The Insurrection Playbook by Saboteur Media.

JANUARY 6TH.
YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE STORY.
YOU DON'T.

FROM EMMY AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER NICK QUESTED

64 DAYS: THE INSURRECTION PLAYBOOK
...
Through never-before-seen footage, exclusive access to the proud boys, eyewitness reports, unreported emails, videos, social media posts, interviews with politicians on both sides of the aisle, and unprecedented access to the investigators supporting the January 6 Committee, 64 DAYS chronicles the most important period of our modern republic—the 64 democracy-bending days between the election and the devastating January 6th insurrection.

Four-and-one-half years ago, I wasn't completely convinced this was a coup. It didn't take me long to change my mind. Watching this should convince my readers, if they aren't already.

Next, Bread & Roses — Official Trailer | Apple TV+.

In the shadow of Kabul’s fall, three women fight to reclaim their lives. Bread & Roses is now streaming on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/BreadandRoses_

Bread & Roses directed by Sahra Mani and produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Malala Yousafzai, captures the spirit of Afghan women in their relentless quest for autonomy. A moving portrayal of strength amid struggle, this acclaimed Cannes Film Festival documentary shines a light on their resilience.

This trailer is very popular, with 172,905 views and 115 comments. That might count for something, but the YouTube viewers are not the award voters. As I write nearly every time I examine awards shows, electorates matter. Just the same, this is my pick to upset We Will Dance Again.

I continue with Print It Black 2024 Trailer by TV Movie Trailers.

After the Robb Elementary school shooting in Texas, local Uvalde Leader-News journalists are left to report on the fallout - and on one of their staff members. Reporter Kimberly Rubio rises to national prominence as an advocate for gun reform after her ten-year-old daughter, Lexi, is killed in the shooting. Through the journalists' reporting, we witness the social fabric of this small Texas town unravel as Kimberly and other victims' families search for accountability from law enforcement and local leaders. The documentary also shines a light on the critical role of community journalism, at a time when local newspapers are folding rapidly across the country. Print It Black trailer is after the news report.
Cast: Kimberly Mata Rubio, Pete Luna, Craig Garnett, Meghann Garcia, Melissa Federspill, Julye Keeble, Norma Ybarra, Felix Rubio, Dustin Burrows, James Volz, Hal Harrell, Shelia Jackson Lee, Nicole Ogburn, Beto O'Rourke, Pete Arrendondo, John Quinones, Maria Elena Salinas, Mireye Villarreal http://www.imdb.com/title/tt32265065/

This is about both guns and local journalism. If the TV journalists are like the entertainment professionals who vote for the Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards, who will vote for a good nominee about themselves if all else is equal, then they might vote for this. I'm not sure they're like that and that all else is equal. This trailer doesn't help; it looks homemade. I'm sure ABC News, which made the documentary, would have done a better job.

The last trailer today is A Year Of War: Israelis and Palestinians (trailer) | FRONTLINE.

FRONTLINE documents harrowing accounts from those who experienced the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the ongoing war in Gaza. Israelis and Palestinians directly impacted by the conflict talk about death, despair and the continuing trauma.

This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: https://www.pbs.org/donate/

I like closing circles and this nominee does just that, looping back to We Will Dance Again with a more balanced perspective.

I conclude with We Will Dance Again's other nomination.

Apollo 13: Survival has the most nominations for Outstanding Editing - Documentary with four, followed by Death without Mercy, Blink, and We Will Dance Again, all with two, and Citizen Nation with just this one. It also has an editing nomination at the BAFTA Film Awards, so it definitely has a strong case to win. Besides, it's an archival documentary, so editing is going to be its strong suit.
I expect to return to this category twice before I make a call, once for We Will Dance Again and the other Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and again for Blink and Citizen Nation when I finish this category and Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary.

I can see how editing of all the survivors' videos made We Will Dance Again what it is. That written, I suspect Blink's editing might be even stronger. I plan on covering the remaining nominees for this category and Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary on Wednesday. In the meantime, stay tuned for my examination of Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy and the other nominees for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary tomorrow.

Previous posts about the 46th News & Doc Emmy Awards

Sunday, June 1, 2025

'Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal' and 'The Truth vs. Alex Jones' lead nominees for Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary

Happy June and happy Sunday! As I promised yesterday, I'm kicking off the month by examining the nominees for Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary as the Sunday entertainment feature because Alex Jones is as much an entertainment story as he is a legal one.

The American Experience episode "Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal" earned three nominations at the News & Doc Emmy Awards and technically leads The Truth vs. Alex Jones with two nominations, but the situation mirrors the field for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary because The Truth vs. Alex Jones's other nomination is for Best Documentary, which balances out "Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal" earning nominations for Outstanding Writing – Documentary and Outstanding Direction – Documentary in my handicapping, so both are tied in my book. The other nominees in this category, Cult Massacre: One Day In Jonestown, Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, and Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer, have only this one nomination.

I'm going through the nominee's trailers in the order above, beginning with POISONED GROUND: THE TRAGEDY AT LOVE CANAL | Trailer | American Experience | PBS.

In the late 1970s, residents of Love Canal, a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, discovered that their homes, schools and playgrounds were built on top of a former chemical waste dump, which was now leaking toxic substances and wreaking havoc on their health. Through interviews with many of the extraordinary housewives turned activists, the film shows how they effectively challenged those in power, forced America to reckon with the human cost of unregulated industry, and created a grassroots movement that galvanized the landmark Superfund Bill.

POISONED GROUND: THE TRAGEDY AT LOVE CANAL tells the dramatic and inspiring story of the ordinary women who fought against overwhelming odds for the health and safety of their families.

When I first started teaching environmental science, one of the lab exercises was to watch a video about Love Canal and fill out a worksheet. That assignment disappeared the next time I taught the class, but the memory stuck with me. I'm too close to the end of my career and the actual episode is a touch too long to show in class, but I will definitely recommend this to my students for extra credit. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Next, The Truth vs. Alex Jones | Official Trailer | HBO.

#TheTruthVsAlexJones chronicles the landmark defamation trials brought by Sandy Hook parents against Alex Jones.

Watching that makes me dislike Jones even more than when I gave him an honorary Kenny McCormick Memorial Medal for losing at least five accounts because of abuse. If this documentary wins an Emmy or two, it would make for a bookend to Sandy Hook Promise winning two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Commercial. I'd enjoy that.

I continue with the nominees that have just this one nomination with Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown | Official Trailer | Hulu.

Survivors and eyewitnesses tell the immersive story of Jim Jones' idealistic organization's final hours that spiraled into a mass casualty event. Watch Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown on Hulu!

Connecting this documentary to 9/11: One Day in America indicates both its pedigree and how this could easily have been a nominee for Outstanding Historical Documentary (same with "Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal"). Doing so would have put it in direct competition with Tsunami: Race Against Time, also by the same team, and I don't think they, Hulu, and National Geographic would have appreciated that. It's better off here, although I'd be surprised if that allows it to win this category.

It seems that no documentary category would be complete without a Netflix nominee, and Into The Fire: The Lost Daughter | Official Trailer | Netflix confirms my feeling.

A mother discovers the daughter she gave up for adoption many years ago has disappeared—and she will stop at nothing to find her. INTO THE FIRE: THE LOST DAUGHTER, directed by Ryan White and produced by Charlize Theron, comes to Netflix September 12.

"[P]roduced by Charlize Theron" — Theron is no stranger to true crime, having won an Oscar for portraying serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.

The final trailer today is Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer | Official Trailer | Hulu.

To stop serial killers you need to think like one. Follow FBI specialist Dr. Ann Burgess as she explores the minds of notorious murderers in the new series Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer, premiering on July 11.

From award-winning executive producers Dakota and Elle Fanning and critically acclaimed collaborators comes “Mastermind: To Think Like A Killer,” a fascinating new perspective on the woman whose crime hunting innovations changed history. To stop serial killers, psychiatric nurse and professor Dr. Ann Burgess must first learn to think like one. With unprecedented access to the mastermind behind the development of modern serial-killer profiling, the series tells Burgess’ tenacious story and her compassion for victims which puts her at the center of America’s most infamous true-crime cases. From the widely known Ed Kemper and Ted Bundy to lesser-known cases like the Ski Mask Rapist, Burgess investigates and studies the damaged psyches of victims and their attackers, putting two halves of the same story together to catch a killer. Largely an unsung heroine until now, Dr.Burgess impacted not only the FBI, she also radically championed the plight of women in America.

As a fan of the prematurely canceled Mindhunter and run extended on streaming Criminal Minds, I'm glad to see the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Units receiving the documentary treatment they deserve. Also, Dakota Fanning is familiar with historical crime, having played one of the detectives in The Alienist, while her sister Elle, better known for playing Catherine the Great in The Great, also portrayed a defendant in a movie about true crime, The Girl from Plainville. Together, that puts them on the same level as Charlize Theron. Those credentials might have impressed the Television Academy if their documentaries had been nominated at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, but I'm not so sure they will be enough to convince the documentarians and journalists here. As I usually write when I cover awards shows, electorates matter.

Time to recycle what I last wrote in 'The Grab' leads both Outstanding Investigative Documentary and Best Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.

Now to re-examine the nominees for Best Documentary, which I first covered in 'King Coal' vs. 'Hollywood Black' and 'Madu' for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.

For the first time in this series, I'm examining the nominees for Best Documentary. I've been holding off because the category has nine nominees this year. The Grab leads with four nominations, followed by American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders and Mammals with three each, Hollywood Black, The Sixth, and The Truth vs. Alex Jones, all with two, and The Commandant's Shadow, Queendom, and The Sing Sing Chronicles with just this one. The Grab and American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders are facing off for Outstanding Investigative Documentary, The Sixth leads the nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary, The Truth vs. Alex Jones is contending with Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal for Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary, and Mammals leads the rest of the field without a subject area nomination. That's four more opportunities to examine the nominees, after which I'll make my call.
Right now, I have The Grab in first, but I'm not making a final call until I write about the rest of the nominees.

I still think The Grab is first, but I'll change or solidify my choice after I write about Mammals.

Follow over the jump for the craft categories in which Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal earned nominations.

'Jon Stewart Debunks GOP’s City Crime Narrative' plus 'The Daily Show's Emmy nominations

I made a promise in the middle of John Oliver debunks 'Migrant Crime' in the middle of covering the RNC on 'Last Week Tonight'.

All the statistics about how crime in general has declined reminds me that I have three videos on the subject to share. I'll get to them in future posts.

One of those videos is Jon Stewart Debunks GOP’s City Crime Narrative | The Daily Show.

Trump called the RNC host city of Milwaukee a horrible place and is now trying to pass the insult off as a concern about crime. Jon Stewart digs into the Right's fearmongering obsession: crime in big cities. Republicans want you to believe that "lawless" Democrats are to blame, but when it comes to Democrat-run city crime, it turns out the guns are coming from red states.

I'm recycling the rogues gallery I featured in Closer looks at Trump's probation interview and Las Vegas rally from Meyers, Colbert, and Fallon to reinforce Jon Stewart asking convicted criminal Hoover Cleveland, "Are you talking about now, sir, or when you and your felonious friends come to town?"

As I wrote when I reused this image in MSNBC examines Project 2025, part 1, "Jailbirds of a feather flock together." Before Joe Biden dropped out, he called Hoover Cleveland a one-man crime wave. It makes me glad that former prosecutor Kamala Harris is running instead. The prosecutor versus the felon!

As an aside, Hoover Cleveland's impression of gunfire reminds me that I still think he sounds like Crazy Frog when he goes "bing, bing."

Finally, the crime stats show violent crime is indeed down after spiking during the pandemic, which happened when Hoover Cleveland was President, but the crime rhetoric from the Right continues. "Fvck the facts," indeed. I have two more videos that examine that phenomenon I'm saving for future posts, so stay tuned.

I wrote "I have Emmy nominations penciled in. Stay tuned" to close Vox asks 'Can Paris fix its poop problem before the Olympics?' Follow over the jump for The Daily Show's Emmy nominations.

Sandy Hook Promise's 'Just Joking' the sole PSA among Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial

As I've promised three times, I'm examining this year's Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial for the Sunday entertainment feature. I begin with the sole Public Service Announcement (PSA) among this year's nominees for Outstanding Commercial, Just Joking | Sandy Hook Promise.

80% of school shooters tell someone about their plans. But too often, people think they’re “just joking.” Always take threats of violence seriously. Watch and share our new PSA.

The comedians are funny people. The threats they are repeating definitely are not funny at all. Here's to their star power getting the message across.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the nominees, which are selling products, not just ideas.

Colbert, Klepper, and Kimmel come to comedic terms with Hunter Biden's conviction

Today is Loving Day, but since I don't know if I can top what I wrote two years ago, I'm not going to try. Instead, I'm looking for the silver lining of familial love in the very black cloud of the first story in Stephen Colbert's monologue last night, Pres. Biden Won't Pardon Hunter | Trump Goes After Taylor Swift | Martha-Ann Alito's Flag Fetish.

President Biden pledged to respect the judicial process after his son Hunter was convicted, the former president made creepy remarks about Taylor Swift's appearance, and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has a thing for flags.

Yes, President Biden both loves his son and recognizes his constitutional responsibility to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Those are more than I have seen out of "Hoover Cleveland," my new nickname for Trump. Speaking of laws being faithfully executed, since I'm pro-gun-control, I can't be too upset about Hunter's conviction. There is at least one wrong way to buy a gun in America. I just wish it wasn't exploited for a partisan political purpose by people who are generally opposed to gun control. Hypocrisy!

Jordan Klepper covered some of the same ground on The Daily Show last night in Hunter Biden Convicted & Alito’s Wife Caught on Tape Talking Flags.

Jordan Klepper tackles the Hunter Biden guilty verdict, as well as Justice Samuel Alito's wife, Martha-Ann Alito, caught on tape planning to fight Pride flags with more flags. Plus, Michael Kosta reveals how Governor Kathy Hochul's decision to scrap New York congestion pricing might have had something to do with the "Diner Effect."

It's been nearly three weeks since I posted 'The Daily Show' and Stephen Colbert examine Justice Alito's flags and the controversy is still raging. People are still upset about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, January 6th, and the Supreme Court hearing Hoover Cleveland's immunity appeal and are taking it out on Alito and other Supreme Court Justices for them. My advice to Justice and Mrs. Alito is that they are in a hole and should stop digging, not that they will take it.

In place of Hoover Cleveland talking smack about Taylor Swift, to which I say good luck messing with Americans' entertainment, Klepper and Kosta are covering Governor Hochul's stopping congestion pricing. That's a subject that deserves another post. Maybe if or when CityNerd uploads a video about it.

My wife and I watched both of the above videos last night, but we didn't watch Jimmy Kimmel's monologue, Trump Rants About Shark Attacks, Jimmy Upsets Fox News & Hunter Biden Found Guilty on Three Counts, so I'm viewing it with fresh eyes.

The high profile trial of Hunter Biden ended badly for him as he was found guilty on all three counts, the Biden’s hosted a party at the White House in honor of Juneteenth, Donald Trump had a virtual meeting with the New York City Department of Probation, the Fox News crowd is upset that Jimmy is hosting an interview with Presidents Biden and Obama during a fundraiser here in LA, Dr. Phil interviewed Trump and mentioned a very familiar name, Fiberace was in Vegas this weekend where he said many incomprehensible things, including a diatribe about sharks, which made us think why not give the little ones a treat with an all Trump rendition of “Baby Shark.”

Kimmel now has Mondays off, which is why I featured Jimmy Fallon yesterday instead and why Kimmel is covering Hoover Cleveland's probation meeting, Dr. Phil's interview, and Las Vegas rally. That last deserved a "Baby Shark" parody, although I still think Hoover Cleveland sounds like Crazy Frog when he goes "bing, bing."

I close by returning to a subject Stephen mentioned in his monologue relating to Hoover Cleveland's conviction, Trump's Golf Courses Offer Alcohol Alternatives, last night's cold open.

Because nobody wants to golf sober.
Ugh, nightmare fuel! Also, this clip reminds me that tomorrow is National Golf Cart Day, but I'm not blogging about it. Instead, I've seen three references to Olive Garden this week, which I'm taking as a suggestion from the universe to showcase Company Man Mike's video explaining why Red Lobster's former sister restaurant, Olive Garden, is still a success. Stay tuned to see if I do.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

MSU shooting remembered one year later plus new Michigan gun laws take effect

I told my readers yesterday "stay tuned for Valentines Day. May it not be a sad occasion." Once again, I'm not feeling it. I'm in an Ash Wednesday mood and I'm not even a practicing Catholic. I'm also in a Spartan Strong mood and I went to Michigan. I'm going to give into both feelings by sharing Emotional day on MSU campus one year after mass shooting from Fox 2 Detroit.

Most students had the day off at Michigan State University Tuesday to honor the victims of a mass shooting that shook the campus and traumatized both students and their parents.

Fox 2's clip had the better preview image. WZZM/ABC 13 On You Side had the better story in SPARTAN STRONG | Michigan State marks 1 year since deadly campus shooting.

A gunman killed three Michigan State University students and wounded five others on Feb. 13, 2023. This is where the campus and community stand one year later.

One of my students wore a Spartan Strong sweatshirt to class yesterday. I told her I appreciated that.

At least the response to this mass shooting was stronger than Thoughts and Prayers as new gun laws took effect yesterday. Click On Detroit/Local 4/WDIV explained those in What to know about Michigan's new gun laws.

Following the deadly and horrific mass shootings at Michigan State University in February 2023 -- which occurred just over a year after the deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School in 2021 -- state lawmakers quickly passed a series of bills related to firearms in an effort to address gun violence.

Gun store owner Bill Kucyk was pretty pessimistic about how well the laws will work, but, as The Dude says, "that's, like, just your opinion, man." I think the new laws are a good thing.

That's a good place to end this post. Stay tuned for some non-holiday programming tomorrow. Comedy, anyone?

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Marching music for the 2024 Nevada Primary from University of Nevada, Reno, and UNLV

It's time for this year's edition of Marching music for the Nevada Primary! This is a continuation of my marching music for presidential primaries series — songs to listen and watch as my readers and I wait for results for results from the primary tonight and the Republican caucuses on Thursday. There are no competitive drum corps in Nevada, so I'm featuring the Silver State's top marching bands, beginning with SPACE - University of Nevada Wolf Pack Marching Band.

The University of Nevada Wolf Pack Marching Band performs SPACE. Musical selections include Also Sprach Zarathustra, Mars, Star Trek, and Space Oddity.

That's a pretty conventional selection of space-themed music, which reminds me that the Saturn Awards were Sunday night and Star Trek: Picard won four awards, while Star Trek: Strange New Worlds won one. I'll get to that in a future post, maybe as early as this weekend. In the meantime, I'm sharing UNLV 2015 LVI Performance.

UNLV's Star of Nevada Exhibition Performance at the Las Vegas Invitational at Las Vegas High School 11/7/15

This is the second best and second most recent complete performance I could find on YouTube. As I wrote four years ago, "The Star of Nevada Band could use better videographers among its fans!" The university could also record more of the band's shows!

I close with Joint Halftime by University of Nevada and UNLV #NevadaStrong from College Marching Productions.

Watch as the University of Nevada and UNLV combine at halftime to honor those lost in the Las Vegas Shooting

As I wrote about 11 Minutes in 'Retrograde' about the final 9 months of the U.S. in Afghanistan earned 6 nominations at the News & Doc Emmy Awards: "I took one look at the title and preview image and suspected this series was about the 2017 Las Vegas Massacre, coverage of which earned eight nominations and three awards at the 2018 News and Documentary Emmys. Nearly six years time hasn't made the incident any less horrific." That's still true today.

I'm skipping the Virgin Islands Caucus on Thursday, February 8, so watch for this series to return on February 27, 2024 for the Michigan Primary. Stay tuned.

Previous marching music for 2024 primaries and caucuses posts.

Friday, December 15, 2023

Celebrate Bill of Rights Day with cupcakes on Cupcake Day!

Happy Bill of Rights Day! Take it away, National Day Calendar!

The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. Passed by Congress on September 25, 1789, these rights place limits on government power.

The bill was introduced by James Madison. He later became the 4th President of the United States.

Congress passed 12 of Madison’s proposed amendments. The states only ratified 10 of them. One of the two rejected by the states concerned the number of constituents for each Representative. The other limited when and how members of Congress are compensated. Neither was ratified at the time.

The previous year's video told the rest of that story.

The latter of the two rejected amendments was ratified 203 years later. The 27th Amendment restricted compensation for members of Congress.
The Bill of Rights is displayed in The Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.

There were 14 copies made; one for each of the 13 states to sign and one for the federal archives. Only 12 copies survive today.

The National Day Calendar's entry on its website opens with the origin of the day.

"Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate December 15, 1941, as Bill of Rights Day. And I call upon the officials of the Government, and upon the people of the United States, to observe the day by displaying the flag of the United States on public buildings and by meeting together for such prayers and such ceremonies as may seem to them appropriate."

That's the history of the Bill of Rights and Bill of Rights Day. For the amendments themselves, I turn to TED-Ed's A 3-minute guide to the Bill of Rights - Belinda Stutzman.

Daily, Americans exercise their rights secured by the Constitution. The most widely discussed and debated part of the Constitution is known as the Bill of Rights. Belinda Stutzman provides a refresher course on exactly what the first ten amendments grant each and every American citizen.

Lesson by Belinda Stutzman, animation by Jacques Khouri.

"The First Amendment...may be the most revered of the amendments." I would hope so, especially since it mentions religion, making "revered" just a bit on the nose for a description. However, I think the Second Amendment has just as passionate if not more numerous adherents, although for the version I mock as the "Second Ammoment." A well-regulated militia — what's that?

Today is also NATIONAL CUPCAKE DAY | December 15th - National Day Calendar.

I couldn't find any Bill of Rights cupcakes, so here are some Constitution Day cupcakes instead.

No images of Bill of Rights cupcakes for a day that celebrates both? That's an opportunity! Any of my readers interested in seizing it?

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Jordan Klepper on the NRA Convention, Clarence Thomas, and AOC

It's Tuesday, so it's time for some late-night comedy. I'm leading off today with Jordan Klepper Recaps The NRA Convention & Clarence Thomas's Corruption Scandal | The Daily Show.

Jordan Klepper takes the guest host seat to talk about the NRA Convention craziness, including Kristi Noem's 2-year-old granddaughter toting a gun, and Clarence Thomas's corrupt dealings with billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow.

Klepper opened with Justice Thomas's unreported vacations paid for by Harlan Crow, but guns and violence will be a recurring theme throughout this post, as all three videos examine the topic, including the next one I'm embedding, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Klepper on Trump, Clarence Thomas & Ending Violence | The Daily Show.

Jordan Klepper and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez meet at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx to discuss a program that addresses violence as a public health issue, as well as her take on Clarence Thomas accepting luxury gifts, the attack on abortion rights, and Donald Trump's indictment.

I enjoyed this interview of AOC. People who think she has no substance haven't listened to her. Instead, they're engaging with the imaginary woman in their heads, much like Clint Eastwood yelling at an empty chair was engaging with an imaginary Obama. As for her introducing articles of impeachment against Thomas, I wish her luck. She'll need it.

Should he be impeached, convicted, and removed? It doesn't matter, because the Republican House majority will never vote to impeach Thomas. We'll have to wait until 2025 for a Democratic majority. Even then, I doubt the Senate would convict, even if the Democrats retain their majority. We'll just have to outlast him. Sigh.

That doesn't mean it isn't worth trying. I just don't think it will succeed.

Klepper previewed and promoted his guest hosting stint on "The Daily Show" on MSNBC with Jen Psaki interviewing him in Jordan Klepper on going inside the MAGA movement.

Jordan Klepper, a contributor for 'The Daily Show', joins Jen Psaki to discuss his time at gun conventions and what he's learned from his conversations with MAGA supporters.

Good insights, especially about not being able to change people's minds about who they are. As the saying goes, you can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into.

I'm finishing by saying that Klepper is doing great so far. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week, especially his interview of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Go, Big Gretch!

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Colbert's monologue examined security leaks, Justice Thomas, and Tennessee expelling two legislators

I opened MSNBC interviews ProPublica about Justice Thomas's unreported vacations paid for by Harlan Crow with a reminder.

I left a note for myself in the middle of James Austin Johnson's 'Trump' hijacks the Last Supper on 'SNL' for Easter when I wrote "This clip covered lots of news, including Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni taking trips on Harlan Crow's yacht and the expulsion of two Tennessee legislators for protesting gun violence, that I should blog about."

Stephen Colbert examined both of those topics and more in Top-Secret Pentagon Docs Leak | Clarence Thomas Didn’t Report Gifts | Tennessee GOP Denies Racism.

Leaks of government intelligence reports have created a full-blown international crisis, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas appears compromised by decades of undisclosed luxury gifts from a Hitler-loving GOP donor, and the Republican-led legislature in Tennessee claims race played no factor in the expulsion of two Black lawmakers.

After sharing MSNBC's serious takes on Clarence Thomas and his suspect ethics yesterday, it was time I found some humor in the situation. It was also time I devoted some blogging space to the antics of the Tennessee legislature. As for Discord, this is the kind of bad behavior that might have induced the service to change its privacy policy (H/T Infidel753). The participants in 2017's Weimar moment in Charlottesville used Discord to organize as well. I should research this change, but I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that Discord made it either at the behest of law enforcement or to discourage people from using its service for criminal activity — maybe both.

This story reminds me that I run a Discord server for this blog and one of my New Year's resolutions was to get more users. I have to do some more work with roles and channels first. Still, if you're interested, leave a comment below or send me a message on Facebook through the Crazy Eddie's Motie News page.

Stay tuned, as I plan on returning tomorrow with Colbert interviewing the Artemis II crew for Yuri's Night. I won't miss it this year!

Sunday, April 9, 2023

James Austin Johnson's 'Trump' hijacks The Last Supper on 'SNL' for Easter

Happy Easter! I'm opening today's holiday post with Trump Easter Cold Open - SNL.

Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) interrupts a recreation of The Last Supper.

Even a fictional version of The Former Guy couldn't resist making it all about himself. Also, "Saturday Night Live" couldn't resist making fun of TFG's arraignment and the reaction to it, both in the cold open and as the featured story in Weekend Update: Donald Trump's Arraignment, Marjorie Taylor Greene Slams NYC - SNL.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Ron DeSantis signing a bill that allows Florida residents to carry concealed guns without a permit.

This clip covered lots of news, including Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni taking trips on Harlan Crow's yacht and the expulsion of two Tennessee legislators for protesting gun violence, that I should blog about. In the meantime, I'm glad I mentioned them here; they deserve attention.

Weekend Update wasn't done with Ron DeSantis or the NCAA Women's Basketball championship, but only after Weekend Update: Rupert Murdoch Calls Off Engagement, Pope Francis Praises Sex - SNL.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a YouTuber getting shot in a mall after recording a prank video.

I already have a post planned for the Artemis II astronaut announcement for Yuri's Night. I won't miss it this year!

DeSantis's reaction to Disney subverting DeSantis's replacement for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney World's own government provided the premise for Weekend Update: Jafar on Ron DeSantis ' Attacks on Disney - SNL.

Jafar (Bowen Yang) stops by Weekend Update to discuss Ron DeSantis stepping up his attacks on Disney.

*snort* I hope 'SNL' submits that to the Television Academy for Bowen Yang's third Emmy nomination. He gave DeSantis what he DeServed.

The NCAA Women's Basketball championship returned to Weekend Update: LSU's Angel Reese on Her White House Invitation - SNL.

Angel Reese (Punkie Johnson) stops by Weekend Update to discuss being invited to the White House after LSU's win over Iowa in the NCAA women's basketball championship.

This segment and the previous one both qualify this entry as the Sunday entertainment feature.

Normally I'd skip the last segment of Weekend Update, but I found Co-Worker Who's Extremely Busy Doing Seemingly Nothing on Returning to the Office so hilarious that I'm embedding it.

A co-worker who's extremely busy doing seemingly nothing (Heidi Gardner) stops by Weekend Update to discuss Americans returning to the office in person.

Welcome to post-pandemic work life.

I close the highlights section of this entry with CNN App - SNL.

A commercial advertises an app where reporters detail Trump's indictment and arrest in a new way.

As I first wrote in 'SNL' on Thanksgiving and repeated in 'SNL' shares scary news for Halloween 2022, "This clip serves as another demonstration of the commercials parodies being one of the best parts of 'SNL.' When they're on, they're on, and this one was ON!"

Follow over the jump for the retrospective of the most read holiday posts from the back catalog that I promised in PBS Eons and SciShow on Piltdown Man for April Fools Day, a Science Saturday holiday special.

Randy Rainbow's 'Thoughts and Prayers' on the fifth anniversary of Parkland shooting

I closed Mass shooting at Michigan State University on eve of fifth anniversary of Parkland shooting by telling my readers "I have a song from Randy Rainbow for events like these. Stay tuned." Watch and listen to Thoughts and Prayers - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody.

Parody Written and Performed by Randy Rainbow (Based on "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three" by Marvin Hamlisch from A Chorus Line)

Thanks to Randy Rainbow, I now have a better response than Professor Farnsworth and Grumpy Cat memes or throwing up my virtual hands in response to mass shootings. The song makes me cheerful enough to wish my readers a Happy Valentines Day! It also directs my anger to the people standing in the way of reform that would reduce deaths. I find all of these helpful. What about my readers?

Mass shooting at Michigan State University on eve of fifth anniversary of Parkland shooting

I wanted to wish my readers a Happy Valentines Day today, but I'm not feeling it because there were 3 killed, 5 injured in shootings at Michigan State University; suspect dead last night as KABC 7 in Los Angeles reported this morning.

Three people are dead and five others injured after a shooting at multiple locations on Michigan State University's East Lansing campus Monday night, police said, and a suspect has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, ABC News reported.

Jory Rand opened his report with "This is an American story, an unwell person with access to guns." He closed it with "This is a uniquely American story. These kinds of things don't happen in other developed countries like this. And as we said after Ulvade, this is our latest mass shooting. It won't be our last." That's depressing. It's also not the kind of "American exceptionalism" I wish to celebrate.

One of the ironies in the previous clip is that one of the Michigan State students being interviewed was wearing an Oxford Strong sweatshirt. That honors the victims and survivors of the mass shooting at Oxford High School, which I found too distressing to cover at the time.

I find myself unable to blog about the shooting at Oxford High School and its ongoing fallout. It's too fast moving and too close to home, literally. I might get to it later, but then again, I didn't blog about the Larry Nassar scandal until 2019.* It may be a while.

More than a year, to be precise. At least one MSU student survived both mass shootings. WDIV/Click On Detroit interviewed her mother in Michigan State student who survived Oxford shooting was sheltered in place in East Lansing.

Andrea Ferguson’s daughter survived the Oxford High School shooting in 2021 and in her first semester at Michigan State was sheltered in place on campus during the active shooter situation.

On the one hand, I'm glad Andrea Ferguson’s daughter is O.K. On the other, I find it horrifying that she's had to go through this terrifying experience twice in just over a year.

Speaking of horrifying, today is the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. WUSA 9 observed the grim occasion in Remembering the 17 lives lost in the Parkland school shooting, 5 years later.

It was February 14, 2018, when Hogg, then 17, and other terrified students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Seeing this reminds me that I need to follow up on 'Teenage Dream' and 'The Lost Class' — two PSAs about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards. "Teenage Dream" won Outstanding Commercial. Now, may it change hearts and minds in addition to winning awards.

Speaking of hearts and minds, I have a song from Randy Rainbow for events like these. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

President Biden on banning assault weapons and funding police in first of three visits to Pennsylvania

I haven't written about guns since 'Teenage Dream' and 'The Lost Class' — two PSAs about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards a month-and-a-half ago, but the topic is in the news again as CNBC reported in Pres. Biden announces 'Safer America Plan'.

CNBC's Kayla Tausche joins Shep Smith to report on President Biden's unveiling of his 'Safer America Plan, and his challenge to GOP lawmakers who claim to back police, but refuse to condemn the insurrection.

This was a big enough story that France 24 English also covered it in Biden zeroes in on Pennsylvania ahead of midterm elections.

US President Joe Biden will travel three times over the next week to Pennsylvania, including for a speech in Philadelphia Thursday on "the continued battle for the Soul of the Nation," the White House has said. Biden is zeroing in on the northeastern state, where he was born, ahead of midterm elections in November in which his Democratic party will fight to keep control of Congress.

I wish President Biden luck and skill in getting his agenda, whether it's banning assault weapons, funding the police, or keeping Democratic control of Congress. He'll need it.

That ends August's blogging. Stay tuned for the first post of September.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

'Teenage Dream' and 'The Lost Class' — two PSAs about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards

As I have since 2019, I begin my coverage of this year's Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which the Television Academy announced earlier this week, with the nominees for Outstanding Commercial. I'm featuring the two Emmy-nominated Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about gun violence in general and school shootings in particular above the jump, beginning with past nominee and winner Sandy Hook Promise, whose nominated PSA this year is Teenage Dream.

Gun violence shouldn't be part of growing up.
...
*** This video contains sensitive content related to gun violence that may be triggering for some viewers. ***

The irony of these school shooting survivors singing Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" was not lost on me, which was the point, as News 12 in New York highlighted in Sandy Hook Promise’s ‘Teenage Dream’ PSA aims to prevent further gun violence.

Sandy Hook Promise tapped survivors of gun violence in schools from around the country to recite the lyrics to the Perry tune.

That was one of the adults behind the PSA. Good Morning America interviewed the teens themselves in Survivors share how their ‘teenage dreams’ disappeared after school shootings l GMA.

A new PSA from Sandy Hook Promise features survivors of school shootings reciting the lyrics of the popular Katy Perry song in hopes of preventing others from experiencing the same grief.

Yes, you heard that right; gun violence was the number one cause of death among U.S. children and teens in 2020, passing auto accidents. That stat deserves a post of its own, so I'm moving on.

Normally, Sandy Hook Promise would have gun violence to themselves, but this year, Change the Ref joined them with Lost Class 1/3.

This year, 3,044 students won’t get the chance to graduate because they were killed by a gun. It’s time we pass universal background checks, so we can protect our students and make sure more of them make it to their graduation day.

By donating to Change the Ref, you’re helping in the fight against the gun violence epidemic. Change the Ref uses the funds raised to keep applying pressure to our politicians and policymakers through creativity, creating more campaigns like The Lost Class. Together, we can change the perception of guns in America and inspire change that will keep the futures of our students safe from guns.

In its own way, showing all those empty chairs and switching the audio between the commencement address and the 911 calls is even more effective than Sandy Hook Promise's PSA. Also, convincing a former head and current board member of the NRA to address 3,044 empty chairs is quite a feat. Democracy Now examines how that happened in Meet the Father Who Tricked Ex-NRA Head into Addressing 3,044 Empty Chairs for Gun Violence Victims.

The parents of a student killed in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School duped a former president of the National Rifle Association into giving a high school graduation speech defending gun rights in front of 3,044 empty white chairs — one chair for each student who could not graduate this year because they were killed by gun violence. David Keene, who still serves on the NRA board, thought he was giving a rehearsal speech for graduating students at the James Madison Academy in Las Vegas, but no such school exists. Video of the speech was turned into a viral video promoting universal background checks. The stunt was organized by the group Change the Ref, which was founded by Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin was shot dead in the Parkland, Florida, massacre. Manuel Oliver says the video has led to an outpouring of support from across the U.S. “We need to do these more often, because it shows that the NRA, the gun industry and the gun lobby are not as powerful as they say,” he says.

This clip includes not only the commercial I embedded above, but parts of the other two videos in the series, so not only does it explain what's went on, but saves me the trouble of embedding them, too. Thank you.

Follow over the jump for the other four nominees.

Crazy Eddie's Motie News