Art Salazar

a great word for how I feel about trump and his woes – pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune…( namely trump the racist, misogynist, corrupt, rapist, traitor )…and it makes me feel better when anyone who enabled this corrupt former president get their comeuppance…like Jeffrey Clark…the DC Bar says disbarment is the only possible sanction…another bid by Peter Navarro to get out of jail was rejected…and all those fake electors have been charged in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada…I’m waiting for Pennsylvania to add our state’s name to those fake electors being charged…and I continue to scratch my head on how in the world trump and Biden are neck and neck…I really don’t get it…happy that no maga supporters are showing up to protest trump’s trial…from The Washington Post by Hannah Knowles, Josh Dawsey and Ashley Parker: “trump on trial: Personal anguish, political defiance and a loss of control: The former president has tried to campaign during his New York trial, but it’s constraining him: NEW YORK — For 20 minutes Donald Trump  campaigned like everything was normal. He made his way down a line of cheering fans outside a construction site at 6:30 a.m., pumping his fist, clasping outstretched hands and signing MAGA hats. “Election interference,” he grumbled about the criminal charges against him, reprising his year-long mantra.

But by 9:30 a.m., Trump was stuck in court, no longer narrating the legal saga intertwined with his run for president. He sat quietly for hours at a time Thursday and watched stone-faced as a longtime friend and former tabloid publisher recounted Trump’s agitation in 2016 when a hush money scheme failed to quash a story about an alleged affair with a Playboy model. His go-to outlet: brief interludes in a dingy courthouse hallway in front of TV cameras, where he has vented about the judge, the “freezing” temperatures in the courtroom and “sitting up as straight as I can all day long.”…( not cold enough to keep him awake )…

“The phrase around here is ‘the process is the punishment,’” said one person close to Trump, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

Trump has done his best to turn his trial into an extension of his 2024 campaign, raging that the case is politically motivated and bragging that he can assemble adoring crowds even in heavily Democratic Manhattan. He has marveled to advisers that he gets more media attention outside court than he even did on the campaign trail, and that his comments are sometimes carried live.But the indictments that once helped Trump lock down the GOP nomination by firing up his base have become a serious constraint in the general election and thrust the domineering candidate into an unusually humbling position.

The trial is taking time and resources just as his campaign is rushing to build out infrastructure for the general election and close a fundraising gap with President Biden. Expected to stretch six to eight weeks, the trial is limiting the schedule of the presumptive GOP nominee at a critical moment when Biden is outspending him on the airwaves and seeing some improvement in the polls, though Trump’s team notes the former president still holds an edge in many surveys of a very tight race.

During the Republican primaries, Trump could swoop in and out of his court proceedings with more flexibility and campaign on the sidelines. Now the former president is required to attend; adding insult to injury, his first mid-trial rally was canceled last weekendbecause of bad weather. Next week, Trump is planning to squeeze two rallies — in Michigan and Wisconsin — into his off day. His team was angered that the judge chose Wednesday as the day off — believing it was meant to hurt him politically. He has trekked to his club in Westchester to play golf on the days he has been off, instead of hitting the trail.

Although Trump has consistently survived major scandals, the New York case is training new attention on salacious allegations that could give some voters pause. Trump is accused of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to an adult-film actress, whose allegations of an extramarital affair with Trump threatened to hurt his 2016 campaign. He has pleaded not guilty.

Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller, who has been attending court with the former president, rejected the idea that the trial has dampened Trump’s mood or hindered his campaign, despite what he called “some justifiable outrage” about the case. He said Trump “keeps telling us to load up his schedule” with events.

“Obviously, Trump would rather be in battleground states,” Miller said. “But we have a great candidate; we have a phenomenal airplane. … We’re going to bring the campaign trail to us.”

Trump has settled into a predictable if surreal rhythm for the trial, with his court appearances punctuated by all-caps social media posts and brief combative remarks in front of the press. He fields questions occasionally, sometimes ignoring reporters’ shouted queries.

“I’d love to say everything that’s on my mind,” Trump lamented to reporters this past week, chafing at a gag order forbidding him to talk publicly about witnesses, jurors and some other people linked to the case.

Prosecutors complained to the judge that Trump was still not restrained.

He’s been violating the gag order “right outside the door,” Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy said.

The outcome of the trial could sway some voters, polling shows, and Trump faces three other criminal cases, though it’s unclear if any others will go to trial before the election. Nearly a quarter of registered voters who back Trump say a conviction in one of his cases might cause them to reconsider supporting him, according to a CNN poll conducted April 18-23.

Americans were evenly split on whether Trump has been treated more harshly or more leniently than other defendants, underscoring how voters of different political persuasions and backgrounds are absorbing Trump’s legal woes in very different ways.

Trump’s lawyers have argued that there was nothing improper and attacked the credibility of a central witness, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. On his first Monday in court, Trump emerged with his trademark red tie, shoulders slightly hunched, to denounce proceedings as a “political persecution,” “an assault on our country” and “really an attack on a political opponent.” (Despite Trump’s claims, there is no evidence that local prosecutors have coordinated with Biden or his administration.)

“So I’m very honored to be here,” Trump concluded.

‘He can’t believe it’

The trial has been a jarring shift for a man who is rarely confined to silence, often around people paying to see him, and used to spending his days making phone calls, holding meetings, reading newspapers, tending to his properties, taping videos and peacocking around his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. Trump has also long prized having control of many of the details in his day-to-day life,people familiar with the matter said.

He largely avoids restaurants outside his properties because he wants control over the food — particularly how his steak is cooked. He has avoided certain hotels on the road, telling advisers he prefers a Holiday Inn Express, because the bathroom floors are light colored and he can see if there is dirt. At his property, he controls the music — both the song choice and the volume. He was personally involved in renovating his plane, asking for constant updates, and complained about having to use the private planes of others while his was in the shop for over a year.

Last year, a group of Trump advisers and lawyers spoke with him about the benefits of his criminal cases — his small-dollar fundraising was surging, he was crushing Republicans in the nominationfight, and his base was rallying to his defense. But Trump stopped the conversation to remind the group of a problem: He had been indicted four times and was going to spend the next year in court.

“It’s almost like he can’t believe it,” the person close to Trump said. “There is a sense when you talk to him, ‘Can you believe this? They indicted me.’”

Now captive to the courthouse for much of the day, Trump tries to exert influence over what he can, often serving as his own spokesman between sessions. On the first Thursday of the trial, the former president appeared brandishing a thick stack of news clippings, claiming that every article vindicated him. But his loss of power is evident: At one point, when he stood up, the judge immediately told him to sit down — and he did. When he has mumbled in court, the judge has reprimanded him.

Privately, he has complained at times to his lawyers, giving suggestions for what arguments they should make and sometimes second-guessing their arguments in the courtroom. But he is generally pleased with this set of attorneys, people close to him said.

On Friday, he opened his morning media remarks by wishing his wife, Melania Trump, a happy birthday.

“It would be nice to be with her — but I’m in a courthouse for a rigged trial,” Trump said.

He rails against the lack of mass demonstrations outside, falsely claiming that police are keeping hordes of supporters away. On Monday, he declared on social media that the area outside the court was “completely CLOSED DOWN,” though some protesters had been chanting and walking on the sidewalk. By Tuesday he was saying that “Thousands of people were turned away from the Courthouse in Lower Manhattan by steel stanchions and police.”

There have been some minor demonstrations, with appearances from far-right activist Laura Loomer and conservative commentator Andrew Giuliani. But on Thursday afternoon, 68-year-old Gary Phaneuf was the only Trump supporter visibly protesting in the park outside the courthouse.

“Fight for Trump!” the Staten Island resident shouted as other New Yorkers in the park went about their day.

Phaneuf, who was arrested for a curfew violation in Washington after the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol, said he was disappointed in the turnout for the trial. He speculated that Trump supporters got discouraged from mass mobilization after Jan. 6.

“We got nothing here right now, let’s be real,” Phaneuf lamented. “You don’t see any prominent Republicans here today, do you?”

Trump in court: Quiet, then combative

Trump has been mostly impassive when court is in session, sandwiched between lawyers at the defense table as reporters scrutinize his every move. Some days, his most notable reaction is a yawn.

He frowned when David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, discussed a Trump Tower doorman who had claimed — falsely, Pecker said — that Trump had fathered a child outside his marriage. He briefly folded his arms in front of his chest when Pecker turnedto the topic of Karen McDougal, the Playboy model who alleged an affair with Trump.

His tone during his brief appearances outside the trial room, meanwhile, has at times veered into outright mewling. “I’m sitting here for days now, from morning till night in that freezing room,” he moaned at one. “Freezing! Everybody was freezing in there, and all for this.”

He has griped about the court-imposed gag order, complaining that he has been unfairly muzzled. And he says he should be out campaigning. “I should be right now in Pennsylvania and Florida and many other states — North Carolina, Georgia — campaigning,” Trump said last week.

Some of Trump’s grousing has provided an opening for the Biden campaign, which has gleefully seized on his daily remarks to portray him as feeble and infirm. “Trump says he has difficulty sitting for long periods of time and staying awake,” the Biden campaign wrote on X.

At the end of the day, Trump returns to Trump Tower, his famous property in Manhattan. People close to Trump said he appears happiest in his gilded triplex there, which remains furnished from his time in New York.During evening dinners, the conversation often veers back to the case.

Late Thursday afternoon, a small crowd began to gather outside the tower at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and East 56th Street. By just after 5 p.m., about a hundred people were waiting to catch a glimpse of Trump, even though police insisted they would not be able to see anything besides the black vehicles.

Some people waiting were the die-hard fans whom Trump aides have made sure to highlight in their videos from New York. “I love him!” declared Lucy Cooper, 16, who said she was visiting from Boston.

Others who wandered by were hostile. One man stopped to take a selfie under the chunky gold “TRUMP TOWER” letters with his hand in the shape of an L, for “loser.” ( Dawsey and Parker reported from Washington.)…

a few things came up in the documents case that may or may not be adjudicated if judge Aileen Cannon has anything to say about it…I’m full of Schadenfreude…Walt Nauta lied to the FBI about any and all things he had to do with the documents at Mar-a-Lago…but today it came out that if he was charged with lying to the FBI, trump would pardon him when he wins the second term presidency in 2024…from CNN by Tierney Sneed, and Holmes Lygrand, CNN: “Trump co-defendant in classified documents case was told he’d be pardoned in a second term, notes in FBI interview say:

Donald Trump’s valet Walt Nauta was told that if he was charged with lying to the FBI, the former president would pardon him when he won a second term in 2024, according to notes from an interview with a witness in the federal classified documents investigation.

A redacted summary of the November 2022 interview given to the FBI by the witness – who is identified as “Person 16” and described as someone who worked in Trump’s White House – was made public in newly unsealed court filings in the criminal case on Monday.

Nauta was charged in June of last year with lying to the FBI and obstructing the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith, along with Trump who was charged with obstruction and mishandling of classified and national defense information. Both men have pleaded not guilty.

Nauta’s attorney declined to comment to CNN. Trump’s attorneys have not responded to CNN’s inquiry.”…not guilty?…we realize he’s innocent until proven guilty…but why would you need a pardon if you’re not guilty?…

watched all these old movies…It Happened One Night again…Mr. Deeds Goes to Town…Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur…a 1936 film directed by Frank Capra…from Wikipedia: “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is a 1936 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role. Based on the 1935 short story “Opera Hat” by Clarence Budington Kelland, which appeared in serial form in The American Magazine, the screenplay was written by Robert Riskin in his fifth collaboration with Frank Capra.”…great Frank Capra film…and an old Bette Davis film in which she plays twin…A Stolen Life… from 1946…from Wikipedia: “A Stolen Life is a 1946 American drama film starring Bette Davis, who also produced it. The film, based on the 1935 novel A Stolen Life by Karel Josef Benes, was directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Among the supporting cast are Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Peggy Knudsen, Charlie Ruggles, and Bruce Bennett. It is a remake of the 1939 British film Stolen Life starring Elisabeth Bergner and Michael Redgrave.”… Bette Davis Kate loses her love interest Glenn Ford to Bette David Pat…Pat marries Glenn Ford…and Kate broods through most of the film…then…from The Plot: “A heartbroken Kate focuses on her work with a rude but very talented artist named Karnock (Dane Clark), but rejects his romantic overtures. Bill eventually goes to Chile, allowing Kate to spend some time with her sister, whom she hasn’t seen since the marriage. When the two go sailing, a sudden storm washes Pat overboard and she drowns, her sister inadvertently seizing her wedding ring while trying to save her. Kate passes out and is washed ashore in the boat. When she regains consciousness, she is mistaken for Pat.

Bill is about to return, so Kate decides to assume her late sister’s identity. To her surprise, she learns that Bill is angry at Pat for her many affairs and in no mood to continue the marriage. Cousin Freddie has guessed the truth and insists that Kate must reveal to Bill her real identity. When she does, Bill realizes that Kate is the one he truly loves.”…a happy ending…to end all endings…

that was pretty much my day…definitely a blue Monday…my face facing the TV for hours…barely got dinner together…hahaha…I’m also happy to hear Hunter Biden is suing FOX “News”…imminently…

it’s said that you never really know a person until you walk around in his or her shoes…Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird said it best to his young daughter Scout… “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” …to take a serious subject and make it funny…writers Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod wrote Trading Places…I watched Trading Places this evening which I had recorded last week…a bet for $1.00 leads to nature versus nurture…from Wikipedia: “Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the film tells the story of an upper-class commodities broker (Aykroyd) and a poor street hustler (Murphy) whose lives cross when they are unwittingly made the subjects of an elaborate bet to test how each man will perform when their life circumstances are swapped.

Harris conceived the outline for Trading Places in the early 1980s after meeting two wealthy brothers who were engaged in an ongoing rivalry with each other. He and his writing partner Weingrod developed the idea as a project to star Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. When they were unable to participate, Landis cast Aykroyd—with whom he had worked previously—and a young but increasingly popular Murphy in his second feature-film role. Landis also cast Curtis against the intent of the studio, Paramount Pictures; she was famous mainly for her roles in horror films, which were looked down upon at the time. Principal photography took place from December 1982 to March 1983, entirely on location in Philadelphia and New York City. Elmer Bernstein scored the film, using Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s opera buffa The Marriage of Figaro as an underlying theme.

Trading Places was considered a box-office success on its release, earning over $90.4 million to become the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1983 in the United States and Canada, and $120.6 million worldwide. It also received generally positive reviews, with critics praising both the central cast and the film’s revival of the screwball comedy genre prevalent in the 1930s and 1940s while criticizing Trading Places for lacking the same moral message of the genre while promoting the accumulation of wealth. It received multiple award nominations including an Academy Award for Bernstein’s score and won two BAFTA awards for Elliott and Curtis. The film also launched or revitalized the careers of its main cast, who each appeared in several other films throughout the 1980s. In particular, Murphy became one of the highest-paid and most sought after comedians in Hollywood.

In the years since its release, the film has been reassessed both positively and negatively. It has been praised as one of the greatest comedy films and Christmas films ever made, but retrospective assessments have criticized its use of racial jokes and language. In 2010, the film was referenced in Congressional testimony concerning the reform of the commodities trading market designed to prevent the insider trading demonstrated in Trading Places. In 1988, Bellamy and Ameche reprised their characters for Murphy’s comedy film Coming to America.”… “As well as the main cast, Trading Places features Robert Curtis-Brown as Todd, Winthorpe’s romantic rival for Penelope; Alfred Drake as the Securities Exchange manager; and Jim Belushi as Harvey, a party-goer on New Year’s Eve. The film has numerous cameos, including singer Bo Diddley as a pawnbroker; Curtis’ sister Kelly as Penelope’s friend Muffy; the Muppets puppeteers Frank Oz and Richard Hunt as, respectively, a police officer and Wilson, the Dukes’ broker on the trading floor; and Aykroyd’s former Saturday Night Live colleagues, Tom Davis and Al Franken, as train baggage handlers.

Other minor roles include Ron Taylor as “Big Black Guy”, American football player J. T. Turner as “Even Bigger Black Guy” who only says “Yeah!”, and Giancarlo Esposito as a cellmate^] Trading Places also features the final theatrically released performance of Avon Long who plays the Dukes’ butler Ezra. The gorilla is portrayed by mime Don McLeod.”

Writing and development

In the early 1980s, writer Timothy Harris often played tennis against two wealthy, but frugal brothers who regularly engaged in a competitive rivalry and betting. Following one session, Harris returned home exasperated with the pair’s conflict and concluded that they were “awful” people. The situation gave him the idea of two brothers betting over nature versus nurture in terms of human ability. Harris shared the idea with his writing partner Herschel Weingrod, who liked the concept. Harris also drew inspiration for the story from his own living situation; he lived in a rundown area near Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles. He described the area in grim terms as crime-ridden, where everyone either had a gun pointed at them or had been raped.

Harris and Weingrod researched the commodities market for the script. They learned of financial market incidents, including Russian attempts to corner the wheat market and the Hunt brothers’ efforts to corner the silver market on what became known as Silver Thursday. They thought trading orange juice and pork bellies would be funnier because the public would be unaware such mundane items were traded. Harris consulted with people in the commodities business to understand how the film’s finale on the trading floor would work. The pair determined that the commodities market would make for an interesting setting for a film, as long as it was not about the financial market itself. They needed something to draw the audience in. It was decided to set the story in Philadelphia because of its connections to the founding of the United States, the American dream and idealism and the pursuit of happiness. This was tempered by introducing Billy Ray Valentine as a black man begging on the street. The pair knew that the method of Winthorpe’s and Valentine’s financial victory could be confusing, but hoped that audiences would be too invested in the characters’ success to care about the details.

The script was sold to Paramount Pictures under the title Black and White. Then-Paramount executive Jeffrey Katzenberg offered the project to director John Landis. Landis disliked the working title, but favorably compared the script to older screwball comedies of the 1930s by directors like Frank Capra, Leo McCarey, and Preston Sturges, which often satirized social constructs and social classes, reflecting the cultural issues of their time. Landis wanted his film to reflect these concepts in the 1980s; he said the main updates were the addition of swearing and nudity. Landis admitted that it took him a while to understand how Trading Places‘ finale worked.

CASTING

Trading Places was developed with the intent to cast comedy duo Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder as Valentine and Louis Winthorpe III respectively. The pair were in high demand following the success of their comedy film Stir Crazy (1980). When Pryor was severely injured after setting fire to himself while freebasing cocaine, the decision was made to cast someone else. Paramount Pictures suggested Eddie Murphy. The studio was initially unhappy with Murphy’s performance in his first film, the as-then-unreleased action-comedy 48 Hrs. (1982)—a film also conceived as a Pryor project. However, that film was well received by preview test audiences, leading the studio to reverse its opinion. Landis was unaware of Murphy, who had been gaining fame as a performer on Saturday Night Live. After watching Murphy’s audition tapes, Landis was impressed enough to travel to New York City to meet with him. Murphy said that he was paid $350,000 for the role; it was reported that the figure was as high as $1 million.

Landis wanted Dan Aykroyd to serve as Murphy’s co-star. He had worked previously with Aykroyd on the musical comedy film The Blues Brothers (1980); the experience had been positive. Landis said, “he could easily play [Winthorpe] … you tell him what you want, and he delivers. And I thought he’d be wonderful.” Paramount Pictures was less enamored with Aykroyd; executives believed that he performed better as part of a duo, as he had working with John Belushi. They felt that Aykroyd working alone would be akin to Bud Abbott, half of Abbott and Costello, working without Lou Costello and Aykroyd’s recent films had fared poorly at the box office. Aykroyd agreed to take a pay cut for the role.

The studio also objected to the casting of Jamie Lee Curtis. At the time she was seen as a “scream queen“, primarily associated with low-quality B movies. Landis had worked previously with Curtis on the horror documentary Coming Soon, for which she had served as the host. She wanted to move away from horror films as she was conscious that the association would limit her future career prospects. She had turned down a role in the horror film Psycho II (1983) because of this. Her mother, Janet Leigh, had famously starred in Psycho (1960). Curtis had performed recently in the slasher film Halloween II (1981) as a favor to director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill; she was paid $1 million for that role, but received only $70,000 for Trading Places. When asked if she had researched her role as a prostitute, Curtis jokingly remarked: “I’d love to say I went out and turned a couple of tricks on 42nd Street, but I didn’t.” Curtis had long hair when she was cast; costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis suggested cutting her hair shorter for the film.

For the greedy Duke brothers, Ralph Bellamy was the first choice for Randolph. For Mortimer, Landis wanted to cast an actor famous in the 1930s or 1940s who was not associated with playing a villain. His first choice was Ray Milland, but the actor was unable to pass a physical test to qualify for insurance while filming. As the start date for filming loomed, Landis thought of Don Ameche. The casting director claimed that Ameche was dead. Landis was skeptical of this and contacted the Screen Actors Guild in an attempt to locate him. They confirmed that Ameche had no agent, and his royalty payments were being forwarded to his son in Arizona. Landis accepted this as evidence that Ameche was deceased. However, after hearing of Landis’ search, one of the Paramount Studios’ secretaries mentioned that they saw Ameche regularly on San Vicente Boulevard  in Santa Monica, California. Landis called directory assistance to locate a “D. Ameche” in the area and made contact. Ameche had not featured in a film for over a decade; when asked why, he said that no one had offered him film work. The studio did not want to pay Ameche what Milland had been offered; as Ameche was financially independent and in no need of work, he refused to take the part until he received equal pay. Landis claimed that the studio reduced the film’s budget, frustrated at Ameche’s casting after a long absence from film work.

John Gielgud and Ronnie Barker were considered for the role of Winthorpe’s butler, Coleman. Barker refused to act if it involved filming more than 7 miles (11 km) from his home in the United Kingdom. G. Gordon Liddy, a central figure in the Watergate political scandal of the early 1970s, was offered the role of corrupt official Clarence Beeks. Liddy was interested in the offer until he learned that Beeks becomes the romantic partner of a gorilla. Paul Gleason took the role; his character reads a copy of Liddy’s autobiography Will while riding the train. Don McLeod portrayed the gorilla; he had already become popular for his performances as a gorilla in American Tourister commercials, which led to film appearances.”

Trading Places was mostly filmed in Philadelphia…it was good to see our fair city back in 1983…the building the Duke Brothers worked in was the Fidelity Bank Building…it had a branch in Abington where Nancy has a savings account as a kid…it’s now Wells Fargo Bank on the corner of Old York Road and Susquehanna…lots of landmarks shown at the beginning of the film…much like the Jonathan Demme film Philadelphia…lots of scenes of Philadelphia during the opening scenes…

I was in search of matzoh…went to the Giant this afternoon…found matzoh but I had to buy four boxes packed together…called Elissa to see if she would take two boxes..we didn’t buy it…I bought a few things…and when I got to the self-checkout, I didn’t have my wallet…I can’t believe I left it at home…along with my money…so I put everything back…and left…best laid plans…it’s a good thing Elissa didn’t want 2 boxes of matzoh…I came home and finished my laundry…

to Baby Jane?…Bette Davis and Joan Crawford…their rivalry in black and white…I recorded it that other day and watched it this evening…we find out whatever happened to Baby Jane…she goes nuts and spawned a whole new genre of horror films called psycho-biddy…Bette Davis received her 10th and last nomination for an Oscar for her Baby Jane…however, costume designer Norma Koch for Baby Jane won the Oscar for Black and White…Bette lost to Anne Bancroft as The Miracle Worker…the three other nominees were Katherine Hepburn in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Geraldine Page in Sweet Bird of Youth and Lee Remick in The Days of Wine and Roses…it was the year of Lawrence of Arabia and To Kill A Mockingbird…I read that Bette Davis did her own make-up for Baby Jane…that bizarre white face…perfect for the character…from Wikipedia: “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a 1962 American psychological horror thriller film directed and produced by Robert Aldrich, from a screenplay by Lukas Heller, based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Henry Farrell. The film stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and features the major film debut of Victor Buono. It follows an aging former child star tormenting her paraplegic sister, a former film star, in an old Hollywood mansion.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was released in theaters in the United States on October 31, 1962, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was met with critical acclaim and was a box office success. It was nominated for five Academy Awards and won one for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, with Davis receiving her tenth and final nomination for Best Actress.

The alleged bitter Hollywood rivalry between the film’s two stars, Davis and Crawford, was pivotal to the film’s initial success. This in part led to the revitalization of the careers of the two stars. In the years after release, critics continued to acclaim the film for its psychologically driven black comedy, camp, and creation of the psycho-biddy subgenre. The film’s novel and controversial plot meant that it originally received an X rating in the U.K. Because of the appeal of the film’s stars, Dave Itzkoff in The New York Times has identified it as being a “cult classic”.

In 2003, the character of Baby Jane Hudson was ranked No. 44 on the American Film Institute‘s list of the 50 Best Villains of American Cinema. ( “But you are Blanche, you are in that chair!” )…

In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. ( 59 years later! )…

The White House Correspondent’s Association Dinner was held tonight at the DC Hilton…a huge room filmed with journalists, celebrities and government officials from around the world…it started at 8:00…after I got myself together…going to the Acme looking for matzoh…the shelves were empty…not a crumb to be had…but I did pick up some avocados…and cottage cheese and bananas…Elissa and Jed had made a 5:30 reservation at The Spring House Tavern…it was the only time they could accommodate us…I raised to the 501 but when I got on 309 it was already 5:10 and I knew I couldn’t get to the 501 and then be at the restaurant on time…so I called Elissa and we decided to meet at the restaurant…we had a good dinner…I do like their version of The Wedge Salad…I had been there once before with Susie…Elissa split The Wedge without the steak with Jed and then had their crab cake… Jed had duck…crispy…we were done by 6:30…Elissa didn’t have the desire to see Challengers…at 7:25 at the Ambler…so we went to the Whole Foods in Spring House and shopped…then back to the 501 to see the White House Correspondent’s Association Dinner…we started watching at 8:00…and didn’t really start until much later…really boring at the beginning…it lasted until 11:00…with only about an hour of any worth…Biden spoke and mainly roasted trump…his best line…was trump wasn’t having a good day…you might say he was having Stormy Weather…from The Guardian by David Smith: “‘Stormy weather’: Biden skewers Trump at White House correspondents’ dinner: US president made fun of Republican frontrunner’s legal woes while critics of his handling of Gaza war protested outside: Joe Biden has shown no mercy to Donald Trump with a series of barbed jokes about his election rival, telling a gathering of Washington’s political and media elites: “I’m a grown man running against a six-year-old.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner on Saturday night provided the ideal platform for Biden to continue a recent run of taking the fight to Trump with more aggressive rhetoric, cutting humour and personal insults.

But the jovial mood inside the room contrasted sharply with raucous demonstrations outside the Washington Hilton hotel. Hundreds of protesters shouted “Shame on you!” at White House officials, journalists and celebrities as they arrived at the dinner, condemning Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza and the media’s coverage of it.

As speculation about a debate between the two men intensifies, Biden – wearing tuxedo and black tie – opened his roast with a direct but joking focus on Trump, calling him “sleepy Don”, in reference to a nickname Trump had given the president previously.

“The 2024 election is in full swing and yes, age is an issue,” noted Biden, 81. “I’m a grown man running against a six-year-old.”

The president also skewered Trump over a recent speech in which he described the civil war battle at Gettysburg as “interesting”, “vicious”, “horrible” and “beautiful”. Biden said: “Speaking of history, did you hear what Donald just said about a major civil war battle? ‘Gettysburg – wow!’ Trump’s speech was so embarrassing, the statute of Robert E Lee surrendered again.”

Biden then made a reference to Trump’s falling out with his former vice-president, Mike Pence, who defied him over the 2020 election result. The president said: “Age is the only thing we have in common. My vice-president actually endorses me.” Vice-president Kamala Harris, sitting nearby on stage, laughed and applauded.

The president moved on to Trump’s criminal trial in New York, where he is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels. Biden said: “Donald has had a few tough days lately. You might call it Stormy weather.”

And then he brought up Trump’s recent scheme to sell “God Bless the USA Bibles” for $59.99. “Trump’s so desperate he started reading those Bibles he’s selling. Then he got to the first commandment: ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’ That’s when he put it down and said: “This book’s not for me.’”

Biden also poked fun at his own age and delivered some one-liners at the expense of the media. “Some of you complained that I don’t take enough of your questions. No comment.”

He added: “The New York Times issued a statement blasting me for ‘actively and effectively avoiding independent journalists’. Hey, if that’s what it takes to get the New York Times to say I’m active and effective, I’m for it.”

The president also struck a serious note, urging the media to stayed focused on the implications of November’s election. “I’m sincerely not asking you to take sides,” he said. “I’m asking you to rise up to the seriousness of the moment. Move past the horse-race numbers and the gotcha moments, and the distractions, the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalise our politics and focus on what’s actually at stake.”

There was also some gallows humour from Colin Jost, a comedian on the TV variety show Saturday Night Live, six months before an election that could see the return of Trump, who boycotted this event during his presidency and has called the media “the enemy of the people”. Jost said: “I’m honoured to be here hosting what is, according to swing state polls, the final White House correspondents’ dinner.”

Jost’s wife, the actor Scarlett Johansson, was among the 2,600 guests at the dinner along with Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jon Hamm and Chris Pine. The comedian said: “The last time I was in DC I left my cocaine at the White House. Luckily, the president was able to put it to good use for his State of the Union.”

Biden’s age was naturally a target. “I’m not saying both candidates are old, but you know Jimmy Carter is out there thinking, ‘I could maybe win this thing.’ He’s only 99.”

Both speeches were well received. Chris Sununu, the Republican governor of New Hampshire, praised Biden while taking a dig at his age: “The president made it through the speech so that’s a win for him at such a late hour. It’s never easy as a politician to deliver a joke. We’re not made to be funny. Don’t expect us to be funny. So any time you’re a politician, you get even a slight laugh, that’s a win.”

Earlier, guests ran the gauntlet of anti-war demonstrations outside the hotel, taking place after more than two dozen Palestinian journalists in Gaza released a public letter last week calling on their colleagues in the US to boycott the dinner.

“Shame on you!” protesters draped in the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh cloth shouted, running after men in tuxedos and suits and women in long dresses holding clutch purses as guests hurried inside for the dinner.

The demonstrators chanted “Shame on you for breaking bread!” and “Every time the media lies, a journalist in Gaza dies”. They held signs that said, “ABC: All Bullshit Constantly”, “CNN: Criminal News Network”, “Two-faced genocide Joe” and a giant banner that read, “Stop media complicity in genocide”. They laid out dozens of blue press vests, broken cameras and projected images of Palestinian journalists who have been killed.

Protester Ramah Kudaimi, 37, said: “It is shameful that while over 133 Palestinian journalists have been killed over the past almost seven months by the Israeli military, doing nothing more than covering what’s happening, the genocide in Gaza, journalists here in the US are partying it up with White House officials including President Biden in this moment when they are so complicit in what’s happening by continuing to send weapons to Israel, by continuing to refuse any sort of accountability for the war crimes Israel’s committing.”

Another demonstrator, who gave her name only as Yara, 24, said: “135 Palestinian journalists have been murdered at the hands of Israel since 7 October. They’ve asked to boycott this dinner. That call is not coming from organisers in DC; that is coming from the Palestinians in Gaza so we are asking that people heed that call and boycott the dinner tonight.”

She added: “It symbolises that everyone in that room does not care about the freedom of the press if they don’t care about the murder of press.”

Biden’s speech, which lasted about 10 minutes, made no mention of the ongoing war or the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. One of the few mentions came from Kelly O’Donnell, president of the correspondents’ association, who noted the deaths of journalists covering the war.

from NBC News by Megan Lebowitz: “Biden swipes at Trump at White House correspondents’ dinner: As the festivities played out inside, protesters calling for a cease-fire marched outside the venue.: WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday used his White House correspondents’ dinner speech to swipe at former President Donald Trump, taking shots at the presumptive GOP nominee while highlighting the stakes of the election.

Biden cracked jokes at his political rival’s expense and tackled age head-on, saying that he was “a grown man running against a six-year-old.”

The president said later that age was the only thing he and Trump had in common, adding, “My vice president actually endorses me,” a reference to former Vice President Mike Pence’s refusal to say he’ll back his former running mate in 2024.

But Biden’s speech took a serious turn when he discussed the stakes of November’s presidential election, echoing themes of his campaign speeches as he highlighted what he called Trump’s “attack on our democracy.”

The president urged the press to “rise up to the seriousness of the moment.”

“Move past the horse race numbers and the ‘gotcha’ moments and the distractions and the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalize our politics, and focus on what’s actually at stake,” Biden said. “I think in your hearts, you know what’s at stake.”

Biden also highlighted the detention of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia for more than a year on espionage charges that he and his employer deny. His case has been classified as a wrongful detention by the U.S.

The president called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release Gershkovich immediately, adding that the White House was also doing everything it could to bring home freelance journalist Austin Tice and businessman Paul Whelan.

Gershkovich’s parents and Tice’s mother were among the approximately 2,600 guests at the dinner, an estimate provided by NBC News political correspondent Steve Kornacki in a video that played at the event.

“I give you my word as a Biden: We’re not going to give up until we get them home,” Biden said. “All of them.”

Biden also highlighted the wrongful detention of Americans abroad, including Gershkovich, at last year’s dinner. The president emphasized during last year’s remarks that “journalism is not a crime,” noting that a free press is a “pillar” of a “free society.”

Celebrities who went to Saturday’s event included Scarlett Johansson, who is married to Jost; Rachel Brosnahan and Quavo. High-profile politicians and administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn, attended as well.

First lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff also attended the event, which took place at the Washington Hilton.

NBC News Senior White House Correspondent Kelly O’Donnell is serving as the White House Correspondents Association’s 2023-24 president and presided over the dinner.

“Saturday Night Live” cast member Colin Jost was the dinner’s featured entertainer. He co-anchors the NBC show’s “Weekend Update” segment.

Like Biden, Jost cracked several jokes at the former president’s expense, including Trump’s criminal trial, starting his remarks by saying “how refreshing it is to see a president of the United States at an event that doesn’t begin with a bailiff saying, ‘All rise.'”

Jost also targeted Biden at times, comparing the economy with the president ascending Air Force One’s steps: “It feels like it’s stumbling, but there’s somehow upward progress.” The comedian also told the president that his now-deceased grandfather voted for Biden in the last election because he thought Biden was “a decent man.”

While the dinner, a tradition dating back 100 years, played out inside the ballroom, hundreds of protesters mobilized outside the venue to call for a cease-fire and criticize Biden’s response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The protesters chanted, “Shame on you!” as attendees passed them to enter the hotel. They also yelled criticism of the media and a large sign read, “Stop media complicity in genocide.”

“Every time the media lies, journalists in Gaza die,” the crowd echoed the leader’s bullhorn chants.

Later, protesters called for the fall of Western media, chanting, “Brick by brick, wall by wall, Western media will fall.”

U.S. Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement that “attendees can expect layered security and screening at the dinner,” adding that there would be “intermittent” road closures near the venue.

“In reference to the publicized demonstration, we are working closely with the Metropolitan Washington Police Department to protect individuals’ rights to assemble but we will remain intolerant to unlawful behavior,” Guglielmi added.

After the dinner concluded, two protesters holding a sign saying “Stop Israel’s genocide” entered the hotel’s red carpet area as guests were departing. They heckled attendees and were removed by security.

The president has had to contend with protesters demonstrating outside of his official events, with protesters sometimes interrupting his speeches. In response, Biden’s team has worked to make the president’s events smaller and withheld their exact locations longer than usual in the hope of cutting back on potential interruptions.

Earlier this month, Palestinian journalists wrote an open letter calling on others to boycott the White House correspondents’ dinner “as an act of solidarity with us — your fellow journalists — as well as with the millions of Palestinians currently being starved in Gaza,” pointing to the Biden administration’s support for Israel.”…Biden was better than Jost…at times Jost just bombed…fell flat…it must be such pressure to deliver at the Correspondent’s Association…what ever happens, happens!…

found a quarter…

I’ve never been a fast reader…it takes me a while to read a book…and that book has to capture me…books like those written by Erik Larson…he writes history like a novel…Devil in the White City…introduced Ferris to us…the man who invented the ferris wheel…Devil in the White City is about a serial killer and the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition which took place in Chicago in 1893…the White City was the buildings, all white, built on the Exposition grounds…the only building still standing was the Palace of Fine Arts, showing art works of course, it is now the Museum of Science and Industry…part of the story of Devil in the White City is about the story of World’s Fair architect Daniel Burnham and H.H. Holmes, a criminal figure widely considered the first serial killer in the United States….it was a wonderful read…as was Larson’s In the Garden of the Beasts…about the Ambassador to Germany during the time of Hitler’s rise to power…and Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania…the German u-boats sank the Lusitania during WW I…history like a can’t put down novel…I also like the books of Amor Towles…A Gentleman in Moscow…and The Lincoln Highway…he also wrote The Rules of Civility which I have not read…the film, Driving Madeleine, as the taxi drives her through Paris we see their Ferris Wheel…similar to the one in London…Ferris invented the Ferris Wheel to rival the Eiffel Tower which had just been built in Paris…Elissa is a avid reader, I asked her to recommend a book to me when I was flying to California twice in October and November…she recommended Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus…Julia downloaded it onto her Kindle for me…and true to form…I read it on the plane but didn’t finish it…Julia let me keep her kindle until she needed it for her trip to Japan in March…I went to the library and took it out from there…the first time is got it from the Library, I didn’t read it at all…the second time I did read it…but the day I was to return it was today, April 27…so, this afternoon I got myself together and went to the Library…sat down and finished reading it…then returned it…Elissa, I really liked the book…thank you for recommending it to me…it reminds me of Doris, who read avidly also…she was always reading…and she gave her books to Keith to read… which he loved…their own little book group…it takes me a long time to read a book…when I was walking through the Barnes and Noble in the Neshaminy Mall…I came across and intriguing book titled The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, not sure what it was about but it was set in Pottstown, PA…I looked around the new books but didn’t see it…not remembering the title but I would have recognized the jacket…so as I was leaving the Library, I asked the woman if they had the book but “I couldn’t remember the title but it was about a grocery store set in Pottstown”…she immediately knew the book…The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store…”they have five copies… it’s very popular…I could be put on the list and they would notify me when it was my turn…I’m 332nd in line for one of the five books…so I was looking around…came across the book by Rick Wilson…Everything trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever…I’ve quoted Rick Wilson’s title many times and I thought I should read his book…it was on sale for $3.00…I bought it…now to read it…it will probably take me a year…hahaha…maybe I’ll have read it by the time The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is available…Pam gets all her books from the Library…like Daughter, like Father…hahaha…I left the Library at around 5:00….I had silenced my phone while in the Library…I was about to call Elissa when I noticed she had called me and left me a message…she was out and about…and maybe she and Jed would go to the movies…but we’d have to wait and see…Jed had a horrible headache…I was to call back in 45 minutes…the movie, Challengers with Zendaya was at 7:25 at the Ambler…I went home to get my jacket…I’m always cold in the theater…I called her and going to the movies was not in the cards for her…she was flat on her back with the heating pad and poor Jed still had the headache…so I went by myself…from Wikipedia: “Challengers is a 2024 American romantic sports drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes. The plot follows a professional tennis champion (Mike Faist) who plots a comeback with the help of his wife (Zendaya), a former tennis prodigy who retired after an injury, as he goes up against another player (Josh O’Connor), who also happens to be his former best friend and wife’s former lover.

After being delayed from its initial September 2023 release date and pulled out from its slot as the opening film of the 80th Venice International Film Festival due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, Challengers premiered in Sydney, Australia, on March 26, 2024, and it was released in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios on April 26, 2024.”…the film is a bit confusing…many flashbacks from now to many thens…and I was confused with the ending…but it’s good…an interesting story…especially if you like tennis…and Luca Guadagnino’s films, the highly successful Call Me By Your Name, “are characterized by their emotional complexity, eroticism, and sumptuous visuals”…

today was a day without politics…except for me buying Rick Wilson’s book…haha…and I found a penny…but I did come across this cartoon by Ivan Ehlers from The New Yorker: we’re in big trouble with this Supreme Court…

“We’re not giving him a free pass to do whatever he wants—we’re buying him time so he can get elected and then do whatever he wants.”…Cartoon by Ivan Ehlers

this super right majority Supreme Court is protecting not the president or the office of the presidency…but protecting this former president…trump…Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh…are all in…and throw in Clarence Thomas who should be recusing himself from anything trump since his wife, Ginni, is in the thick of it…it seems that they are so easily delaying the decision in order to delay the prosecution until after the election…they are not troubled with the things that trump has been indicted for but rather the fact that a prosecutor has brought about a indictment…these justices are into protecting trump…back and forth about official or private acts… huey!…I’m freaking out…they are not deciding the case that is before them – does trump has absolute immunity?…they’re going off on tangents…going off on hypotheticals…not answering that question which is before them…those three or four justices…the liberal justices are trying to keep them on course…the danger to the rule of law…that prosecution for criminal acts are a deterrent to anyone thinking about committing those criminal acts while in office…if, the big if, presidents could do whatever they wan,t the rule of law would be trampled upon without any accountability or responsibility…the takeaway from today’s immunity argument is that this Supreme Court with the extreme right majority is willing to delay their decision and thereby delay the trial and save trump who may become president again and make all these trials go away…from The Washington Post: “The Supreme Court appeared poised to reject Donald Trump’s sweeping claim that he is immune from prosecution on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election, but in a way that is likely to significantly delay his stalled election-interference trial in D.C.

During nearly three hours of oral argument, several conservative justices said they were concerned about hampering the power of future presidents or subjecting them to the whims of a politically motivated prosecutor. Liberal justices emphasized that a president is not above the law.

Washington Post by Perry Stein and Rachel Weiner: “Gorsuch: ‘We’re writing a rule for the ages’:

Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh frequently told the government that the Supreme Court’s ruling would apply to all future presidents — not just Donald Trump.

“I’m not concerned about this case,” Gorsuch said. “But I am concerned about future uses of the criminal law to target political opponents based on accusations about their motives.”

“We’re writing a rule for the ages,” he continued.

Kavanaugh similarly said the stakes in this case extend far beyond Trump and the current allegations.

“This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country,” Kavanaugh said.

The liberal wing of the court pushed back, with Justice Elena Kagan saying those issues “seem important and may occasionally be difficult” but “also seem not really before us.” And Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argued that letting the D.C. Circuit ruling stand would be the cautious choice that would not disrupt the current understanding of presidential power.

“This sort of difficult line-drawing problem that we’re having with all of these hypotheticals,” she said, “is being necessitated” by the claim of absolute immunity.

“You suggested that the lack of immunity and the possibility of prosecution in the presidential context is an innovation,” she told Trump’s attorney. “And I understood it to be the status quo.

from Washington Post by Spencer Hsu: “Legal expert: July ruling will ‘practically close’ window for trial by election: It was clear from questioning that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and other justices are concerned that the lower court was “a little too sweeping in saying there was no immunity, period,” said Randall D. Eliason, a former federal prosecutor and George Washington University law professor.

“The sense I got from most of the questioning is that a number of justices are concerned about the idea, this opinion that there’s never immunity for anything,” Eliason said. He said Dreeben’s argument made sense that rather than immunityformer presidents should be able to raise uniquelegal defenses that would apply to certain presidential actions, “but I’m not sure he’s going to get a majority opinion to goalong with that.”

Whether Trump can be tried through a verdict in Washington “is going to depend a lot on what they say and how they write it, and very significantly how quickly they do it,” Eliason said. “If they wait until the last day of the term [in late June orearly July], the window forgetting the case tried before the election is practically closed, or close to it. You may start before the election, but you may not finish it.”

Trump’s trial judge, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, might not take that long to decide between immune and nonimmune conduct if the Supreme Court issues a clear ruling, but the question remains whether Trump will be able to again appeal her decisions before trial can begin, a question that remains in dispute between the sides and that did not come up in Thursday’s argument.”…also from Spencer Hsu: “Sotomayor fights Alito’s claim that prosecuting Trump threatens democracy:

Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Sonia Sotomayor battled over which poses the greater threat to democracy, prosecuting former president Donald Trump for allegedly plotting to overturn the 2020 election through fraud to the point of violence, or not prosecuting him for it?

Alito warned that prosecuting Trump is the greater threat.

“If an incumbent who loses a very close, hotly contested election knows that a real possibility after leaving office is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement, but that the president may be criminally [prosecuted] by a bitter political opponent, will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy?” Alito asked.

Justice Department attorney Michael Dreeben said no: “It’s exactly the opposite. … There is an appropriate way to challenge things through the courts with evidence. If you lose, you accept the results. That has been the nation’s experience.”

Taking up the gauntlet, Sotomayor made an equally blunt point. “A stable democratic society needs the good faith of its public officials, correct? … And that good faith assumes that they will follow the law?” she said.

“The ultimate check is the goodwill and faith in democracy,” Sotomayor said, answering her own question. The “crimes that are alleged in this case … are the antithesis of democracy” and “put into suspicion here that no man is above the law, either in his official or private acts.”

it’s all so disgusting about this extreme right majority Supreme Court…that’s why I’m freaking out…it doesn’t look good…they’re protecting trump just by not ruling quickly but stretching out everything…they’re not interested in any part of the case before them…they could have upheld the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit when it unamimously ruled the trump was not immune from prosecution for everything up to and including January 6…instead of upholding that ruling, the Court said they would take the case…and then, instead of quickly hearing the arguments…they delayed…and then now, that they have heard arguments won’t let us know their ruling until June or July…making sure the trial would not start before the November election…

freaking out…

picked up Ben and Ethan from Trenton New Jersey Transit…they’re coming for a wedding of Ben’s high school girlfriend…the wedding is tomorrow…I made chicken matzoh ball soup for Ben…along with a Caesar Salad from the Creekside…they are delicious…and we watched the Sixers game…Ben said if they didn’t win tonight we wee “toast”…luckily we did win…saw Carol and Rafe in the audience on TV…twice…that’s exciting…Pam was in town for Maddy’s birthday…Happy Birthday Maddy…and Happy Birthday to Sally…her birthday today also…many happy returns to both…glad we’re not “toast”…

trump complaining he can’t go out on the campaign trail…instead of campaigning, he’s on the gold course…

this time in Arizona…they’re finally getting around to indicting the usual suspects in the fake electors scheme… from CNN by Zachary Cohen and Holmes Lyband: “Meadows, Giuliani among indicted in Arizona in latest 2020 election subversion case: A grand jury in Arizona has handed up an indictment against former President Donald Trump’s allies over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, including the fake electors from that state and several individuals connected to his campaign.

Boris Epshteyn, a former White House aide who remains one of Trump’s closest advisers; former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; and Rudy Giuliani are among those who have been indicted, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, announced the indictment Wednesday night, focusing on the 11 individuals who acted as pro-Trump electors in the state. The names of several other indicted defendants remain redacted, Mayes said in a statement Wednesday, until those people have been served.

“A state grand jury made up of everyday regular Arizonans, has now handed down felony indictments for all 11 Republican electors as well as several others connected to this scheme,” Mayes said. “These are serious indictments, but this is the first hurdle the state must pass in our constitutional criminal justice system. We intend to prove these crimes were committed beyond a reasonable doubt.”

While Trump is not among those charged in Arizona, the details in the indictment suggest he is “Unindicted Coconspirator 1.”

CNN is reaching out to those charged for comment.

Trump allies ‘deceived the citizens of Arizona’ after 2020 election, indictment alleges

The indictment in Arizona includes nine counts, from conspiracy and forgery to engaging in fraudulent schemes. Because the indictment remains partially redacted, it is unclear what charges Trump allies such as Meadows, Epshteyn and Giuliani face.

“In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020,” the indictment reads. “Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters.”

The scheme, according to the indictment, called for the fake electors to fraudulently vote for Trump, “falsely claiming to be the duly elected and qualified Electors for President and Vice President of the United States from the State of Arizona.”

“Defendants deceived the citizens of Arizona by falsely claiming that those votes were contingent only on a legal challenge that would change the outcome of the election,” the indictment continues. “In reality, Defendants intended that their false votes for Trump-Pence would encourage Pence to reject the Biden-Harris votes on January 6, 2021, regardless of the outcome of the legal challenge.”

This scheme failed on January 6, 2021, when then-Vice President Mike Pence accepted the electoral votes for Joe Biden, the indictment says.” ( we have to give credit to Mike Pence for showing a lot of backbone in rejecting trump and John Eastman’s fake electors scheme…he did the right thing…while trump’s supporters were chanting “hang Mike Pence”…he refused to leave the building before the electoral votes were counted…)

The case in Arizona adds scrutiny to actions taken on Trump’s behalf after the last election. It also comes as Trump’s legal team will argue before the Supreme Court Thursday that he’s immune from prosecution in the federal election interference case – at the same time Trump is on trial in New York related to hush money paid to cover up an alleged affair before the 2016 election.

First charges for Trump legal adviser over 2020 election efforts

Epshteyn has not been charged before in connection with 2020 post-election efforts to reverse Trump’s loss. Serving as a legal adviser to Trump, Epshteyn speaks to the former president regularly, and during certain stretches, multiple times a day. He is widely considered one of Trump’s most ferociously loyal advisers, since joining Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Epshteyn accompanied Trump to New York after his criminal indictment and sat with him in the courtroom while he was arraigned. He was also seen traveling with Trump to arraignments in both Georgia and Washington, DC. While he does not represent him in any of his current legal cases, Epshteyn has played a critical role in the hiring of many of Trump’s lawyers as well as in some of their departures.

After withdrawing from representing Trump in the special counsel’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents, Timothy Parlatore, who was brought on by Epshteyn, said differences with Epshteyn spurred his departure.

“He did everything he could do to try to block us,” Parlatore said on CNN.

Others in Trump’s orbit have long said that Epshteyn’s brash behavior could be a liability for Trump.

Eastman and Trump 2020 campaign officials also indicted

While the names of several defendants in the Arizona case remain redacted because they have not yet been served, the indictment does describe their roles in the alleged plot.

Other individuals charged in the Arizona indictment but whose names have been redacted, the source familiar with the investigation told CNN, include Trump allies Mike Roman, a 2020 campaign official; Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis; and conservative attorney John Eastman.

Roman, Ellis and Eastman also were charged in the election subversion case in Georgia, as were Meadows and Giuliani. Ellis pleaded guilty to one charge in the Georgia case. The others have pleaded not guilty.

Meadows, whose name is redacted in the indictment but is listed as Trump’s chief of staff in 2020, “worked with members of the Trump Campaign to coordinate and implement the false Republican electors’ votes in Arizona and six other states,” the indictment says, and “was involved in the many efforts to keep (Trump) in power despite his defeat at the polls.”

The individual who CNN has identified as Giuliani is described as spreading false claims of voter fraud across the country after the 2020 election, falsely claiming Arizona officials “made no effort to find out” if the vote was accurate, and encouraging “Republican electors in Arizona and in six other contested states to vote for Trump-Pence on December 14, 2020,” the indictment says.

Other unnamed defendants allegedly worked to overthrow the 2020 election results by encouraging Pence to reject or delay the certification of the electoral vote on January 6, spreading false claims of voter fraud, encouraging the fake electors and working to implement the fake electors scheme in Arizona.

Eastman’s attorney Charles Burnham told CNN in a statement that his client is innocent of any criminal conduct.

“The phenomenon of partisan lawfare grows more troubling by the day. Professor Eastman is innocent of criminal conduct in Arizona or any other place and will fight these charges as he has all the other unjust accusations leveled against him,” Burnham said.

Arizona state Sen. Jake Hoffman, one of the fake electors charged in the indictment, released a statement on X following the indictment.

“Let me be unequivocal, I am innocent of any crime, I will vigorously defend myself, and I look forward to the day when I am vindicated of this disgusting political persecution by the judicial process,” Hoffman wrote.

The Republican Party of Arizona also slammed the indictments in a statement Wednesday.

“Today’s indictments by Attorney General Kris Mayes represent a blatant and unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial power, aimed solely at distracting the public from the critical policy debates our country should be focusing on as we approach the 2024 election,” the statement said.

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs told CNN’s Abby Phillip Wednesday that she hoped to see those indicted held accountable.

“As Secretary of State I oversaw free, fair, secure elections in Arizona and defended the votes of millions of Arizonans,” Hobbs said on “NewsNight.” “I am confident that Attorney General Mayes conducted a fair and impartial investigation and grand jury process, and now the justice system will do its job.”

Latest prosecution of fake electors schemes

The Arizona case is the latest state-level prosecution aimed at schemes to upend Biden’s electoral victory. Prosecutors in Michigan, Georgia and Nevada also have brought criminal charges against some of the people who signed on as fake electors in those states. Investigators in Wisconsin are conducting a similar probe.

A grand jury empaneled in Maricopa County, Arizona, to investigate efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state met this week before Mayes announced the charges.

CNN previously reported that Arizona prosecutors had issued a series of grand jury subpoenas to people connected to Trump’s campaign and several individuals who served as fake electors from that state – a sign the probe was accelerating ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Some of the fake electors who were ultimately charged in Arizona recently appeared before the grand jury and cited their Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination, sources familiar with the probe told CNN.

Mayes initially focused her investigation on the 11 fake electors from Arizona and those who helped organize them, but the sources recently told CNN she also was looking into individuals tied to the former president’s national campaign.

“We conducted a thorough and professional investigation over the past 13 months into the fake electoral scheme in our state,” Mayes said Wednesday. “I understand for some of you today didn’t come fast enough. And I know I’ll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all. But as I’ve stated before, and will say here again today, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined.”

Several state-level officials from Arizona told the House Select Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot that Trump and his allies tried to pressure them to decertify the state’s election results.

The fake electors for Trump convened at the state Republican Party headquarters in Phoenix on December 14, 2020. They broadcast themselves preparing to sign the documents, allegedly provided by a Trump campaign attorney, claiming that they were the legitimate representatives of the state’s electoral votes.

By that time, Trump’s loss in the state – by fewer than 11,000 votes – had already been certified by its Republican governor, affirming that Biden won Arizona in the 2020 presidential election. But in the weeks that followed, some of the fake electors continued to push for Pence to reject the legitimate Democratic slate of electors.

The fake elector scheme and pressure campaign on Pence are focal points of special counsel Jack Smith’s federal indictment of Trump.

This story and headline have been updated with additional reporting. CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Rashard Rose, Katelyn Polantz and Jack Hannah contributed to this report.”…I’m waiting for Pennsylvania to get their act together to indict the fake electors here…with Scott Perry in the forefront…

this afternoon, making the film by the skin of our teeth, Elissa, Jed and I went to the Ambler’s showing of Driving Madeleine…I love this movie and wanted Elissa to see it before it left…the 1:15 this afternoon was the last showing…and we did just make it before it started…this movie does not disappoint…later on, my sister, to whom I recommended this film, ordered it and saw it also…she loved it and is spreading the word on the West Coast…I loved it more the second time…tearing up almost through the whole movie because I knew what was coming… Jed and Elissa loved it…you can’t help it…it’s such a good story…thank you Christian Carion for his direction, and his writing the screenplay with Cyril Gely…( I just noticed it’s showing on Friday at the Ambler at 3:45 )…from Showtimes: “Madeleine, a 92-year-old lady living in Paris, calls a taxi to reach the retirement home where she must now live. She asks Charles, a somewhat disillusioned driver, to go through the places that have mattered in her life, to see them one last time. Gradually, along the streets of Paris, an extraordinary history emerges, and Charles discovers the overwhelming past of the nonagenarian.”…a must see…and extraordinary film from 2021 just now being discovered…if you can get yourself to the Ambler this Friday at 3:45…

to top the day off, Elissa had invited Pam and Julia and Susan and me for dinner at the 501…she reserved a table for us in the main dining room…we were all to meet in the lobby at 5:15…meanwhile, after the movie I offered to take Elissa and Jed on errands…to Glenside for a few things she needed…Jed picked up some wine, a red, a Malbec and a white, Sauvignon Blanc for dinner tonight…and we stopped at Produce Junction so I could buy her flowers for her apartment…I bought her an orchid…they were back again…and orange roses and orange tulips for a splash of color in the apartment…we were back at the 501 for an hour to rest and relax…I brought my book but didn’t read a page…( until I got home )…trying to finish before I take it back to the Library on the 27th… dinner was so much fun…as usual…when we all get together…Julia was a little late, coming from town…but she made it on time while we were ordering…and she and Pam ordered the best thing…the mushroom rivoli with a creamy pesto sauce…most had Caesar salad…I had the spinach, red onion, strawberry and almond salad…it was delicious…in fact, the entire dinner was delicious and fun…as well as fun…we retired to her apartment for laughs and fun…Susan had to get home before dark, she doesn’t like to drive in the dark anymore…we all left a little before 9:00…Julia had brought the stuff she bought for me at Costco…so the hand off took place…all is well, home again jiggety jig…to plant myself on the sofa to watch MSNBC…the trump trial was dark today…it’s said tomorrow that the Supreme Court hears arguments on trump’s immunity claim…which the Court took up and delayed for trump the argument…and now, probably won’t be making any ruling for another month or two…just what trump wanted…from Rolling Stone by Adam Rawnsley, Asawin Suebsaeng: “Team Trump Is Ready to Lose the Supreme Court Immunity Case. They’re Celebrating: Trump’s lawyers don’t expect the Supreme Court to bless his absurd immunity claims. “We already pulled off the heist,” says a source close to Trump: Donald Trump‘s inner circle doesn’t expect the Supreme Court to go along with his extreme arguments about executive power in the immunity case before the justices. But what the high court does now is almost beside the point: Trump already won. 

Three people with direct knowledge of the matter tell Rolling Stone that many of the former president’s lawyers and political advisers have already accepted that the justices will likely rule against him, and reject his claims to expansive presidential immunity in perpetuity. Bringing the case before the court — after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., shut down their arguments on executive power — was a delaying tactic designed to push Trump’s criminal election subversion trial past Election Day this fall. The strategy paid off so much more than MAGAworld anticipated. 

“We already pulled off the heist,” says a source close to Trump, noting it doesn’t matter to them what the Supreme Court decides now.

Trump’s lawyers and other confidants had widely expected — and had told the former president as much — that the court maneuver would delay the election subversion trial, but perhaps only to around the summer. For months, Trump attorneys were actively preparing themselves and their client to face a trial, over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in the violent Jan. 6 assault at the U.S. Capitol, right around the time of the Republican Party’s nominating convention, the sources add.  

If the federal trial were to proceed during this election year, much of Team Trump had predicted it would be significantly more damaging politically to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee than, for instance, his ongoing criminal hush-money trial in Manhattan.

“We planned for that exhausting schedule and split screen,” says a person involved with the planning.

But the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, which Trump built as president, came through for him in a way that many Trump advisers didn’t believe was probable. When news broke in late February that the court would take up Trump’s claims of vast immunity, Trumpland was so elated that a lawyer close to Trump told Rolling Stone they were “literally popping champagne.” 

Special Counsel Jack Smith had initially tried to expedite the election subversion case by asking the Supreme Court to rule on Trump’s immunity claims, even as a lower appeals court considered Trump’s arguments in December of 2023. The court denied the special counsel’s request, helping to delay the process as the case wound its way through the appeals court. 

The Supreme Court later agreed to consider Trump’s claims — handing Trump a major win, as it almost certainly pushed his trial back past Election Day in November. For Trump’s 2024 campaign and his top attorneys, the battle ended there and has been over for two months now. 

While Trump’s lawyers don’t broadly expect the Supreme Court to accept the former president’s views on immunity, there is of course risk that the ultra-conservative court does bless them to some extent — and his claims are extreme, to say the least.  

Throughout the process, Trump’s lawyers have argued along two fronts. First, they have claimed that impeachment is the only constitutional avenue for handling criminal acts committed by a president while in office, regardless of when he is prosecuted for them. The Senate failed to convict Trump on charges that he incited the Jan. 6 insurrection, when it impeached him a second time shortly after he left office. His lawyers claim that any attempt to prosecute him outside of the impeachment framework represents an unconstitutional form of double jeopardy. 

Second, Trump’s attorneys have tried to argue that principles from civil cases against sitting presidents — where precedent holds that the chief executive enjoys absolute civil immunity for all official acts committed within the “outer perimeter” of his office — somehow also apply to the criminal case against him and prohibit prosecution. 

After Trump’s attorneys appealed a district court’s dismissal of their arguments, they appealed to the federal appeals court in Washington.

During oral arguments before the appeals court, judges were incredulous at the implications of Trump’s views on executive power absent the check of criminal accountability. One stunned judge asked Trump’s lawyers, “Could a president who ordered SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival, and is not impeached, would he be subject to criminal prosecution?” 

The response from Trump’s lawyer, John Sauer, was chilling: “If he were impeached and convicted first … my answer is qualified yes, there is a political process that would have to occur first,” he said. In other words, under Trump’s vision of immunity, he could not be prosecuted for ordering an assassination — he would first have to be impeached and convicted.

At the Supreme Court, Sauer has argued the justices should not concern themselves with “lurid hypotheticals” that “almost certainly never will occur, and would virtually certainly result in impeachment and Senate conviction … if they did occur.”…so we see, not only is judge Aileen Cannon helping trump…the Supreme Court is also…most likely, neither of Jack Smith’s cases will start until after the November 2024 election…giving trump exactly what he wanted…his tactic…delay, delay, delay…maybe the Arizona indictments of trump’s allies will help a little before the election…I certainly hope so…

not a good day for trump in downtown NYC…no pro-trump protesters…no trump family members by his side…( Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out “even Jeffrey Dahmer’s parents were in court supporting their son”…no one shown up for “the family man”…maybe it’s because trump is reported not only to be falling asleep in court but also farting in court…from Jimmy Kimmel: “MANY People Say Trump FARTS in Court and Privately Stews Over Jimmy & Guillermo Meets Madonna!: Apr 22, 2024 #Kimmel Opening arguments began this morning in the People of the State of New York vs Donald Jeraldine Trump, he posted little bursts of lunacy on Truth Social in protest, his lawyers made it clear that they are going to continue to deny Trump had sex with Stormy Daniels, Trump is rumored to be farting in the courtroom but there’s no way to prove it so please don’t repost this video out of context with dumb captions like “The Shart of the Deal” or “Gassolini”, Donny has reportedly been stewing in private over everything from the look of his courtroom sketches to Jimmy making fun of him, New York Times reporter Susanne Craig wrote that Trump is STILL having trouble staying awake during the trial, we will hear testimony from his old friend David Pecker tomorrow, Taylor Swift’s album dropped over the weekend and Jimmy was confused about a bumper sticker he saw, and Guillermo went to Mexico City over the weekend as a special guest of Madonna who pulled him up on stage at her concert!”…from CNN Politics by Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell: “Takeaways from Day 6 of the Donald Trump criminal hush money trial: New York (CNN) – Judge Juan Merchan appeared poised on Tuesday to sanction Donald Trump for violating the gag order in his criminal hush money case after peppering the former president’s lawyers with questions about why Trump’s social media posts were acceptable.

Tuesday began with a hearing on Trump’s 10 alleged violations of the gag order, and it ended with former American Media Inc. chief David Pecker talking about how he vetted allegations of an alleged affair between Trump and Playboy playmate Karen McDougal in 2016 while in constant communication with Trump’s then-fixer, Michael Cohen. (Trump has denied the affair.)

Even with an abbreviated day for the Passover holiday, the one-two punch of the gag order violations and the testimony about the “catch-and-kill” deals to bury negative stories about Trump during the 2016 election added up to a frustrating day in court for Trump, who fumed about the news coverage of the trial and the limitations of the judge’s gag order.

Pecker will return to the stand on Thursday after court is dark on Wednesday. He has spoken now about two of the three catch-and-kill deals – but not adult film star Stormy Daniels, which is likely coming on Thursday.

Here are takeaways from Tuesday’s day in court:

Gag order hearing goes badly for Trump

Merchan issued the gag order before the trial began, limiting Trump from publicly discussing witnesses, the jury or the district attorney’s staff. Merchan expanded the order, which Trump has appealed, to cover his own family after Trump attacked his daughter.

He has not yet ruled on the district attorney’s motion to sanction Trump for allegedly violating the gag order, but it wasn’t hard to tell the judge’s sentiments.

Merchan rejected the explanations that Trump attorney Todd Blanche offered for the offending posts, after Trump’s attorney tried to argue that posts about Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen were political and not about the case.

When Blanche tried to argue that Trump’s response to a Cohen post about Michael Avenatti, Daniels’ former lawyer, was political because it discussed pardons, the judge grew frustrated.

“So the pardon is what makes it political?” Merchan asked Blanche.

“Of course,” Blanche responded.

“When your client is violating a gag order, I expect more than one word,” Merchan said after Blanche argued that pardons were political in nature.

Merchan also pressed Blanche on Trump’s intentions, after Trump’s attorney argued that reposts of others on Truth Social were not necessarily subject to the gag order.

“It’s your client’s position that when he reposts he did not believe he was violating the gag order. I’d like to hear that. Or you just want me to accept it because you’re saying it?” Merchan asked Blanche shortly before the hearing ended.

Merchan did not say when he would rule. The district attorney is asking the judge to fine Trump $1,000 for each violation, and to remind him additional violations could result in imprisonment.

In an interview taped Tuesday morning before the hearing, Trump blasted Cohen as a “liar” with “no credibility” despite the gag order barring him from publicly discussing witnesses.

“Michael Cohen is a convicted liar and he’s got no credibility whatsoever. He was a lawyer and you rely on your lawyers … Then he got in trouble because of things outside of what he did for me, largely, it was essentially all because what he did in terms of campaign, I don’t think there was anything wrong with that with the charges that they made,” Trump said in the interview with WPVI Philadelphia, which aired Tuesday evening.

Judge says Trump lawyers are ‘losing all credibility’

Tensions continued to grow between Trump’s legal team and the trial judge during the gag order hearing.

Merchan repeatedly asked Blanche to clarify examples of when Trump was specifically responding to attacks from Cohen and Daniels on social media and grew visibly frustrated when Blanche failed to comply.

“You’ve presented nothing,” Merchan said to Blanche. “I’ve asked you eight or nine times [to] show me the exact post he was responding to. You’ve been unable to do that even once.”

“President Trump is being very careful to comply with your order,” Blanche said at one point.

“You’re losing all credibility with the court,” Merchan responded.

Last week, Merchan supported prosecutors when they refused to give Trump’s legal team notice of their witness list, saying he understood the sentiment given Trump’s social media attacks.

Last Thursday, assistant district attorney Josh Steinglass said he wouldn’t take the risk of subjecting trial witnesses to Trump’s social media wrath.

When Blanche claimed he could promise that Trump wouldn’t reveal or discuss the witnesses on deck to testify, Merchan shot back, “I don’t think you can make that representation.”

Pecker puts jury inside how AMI helped Trump in 2016 campaign

Pecker, who ran American Media Inc. during the 2016 election, testified for around two-and-a-half hours on Tuesday, walking jurors through how he worked with Michael Cohen on Trump’s behalf to squash unflattering stories during the 2016 election.

On Tuesday, Pecker testified about the “catch and kill” deals involving McDougal and Trump’s doorman. He said that he met with Trump and Cohen in 2015 where he agreed to be the “eyes and ears” of the campaign and look out for negative stories.

“At the meeting, Donald Trump and Michael, they asked me, what can I do, and what my magazines could do, to help the campaign,” Pecker testified. “I would run or publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponents.”

While ultimately Pecker wasn’t directly involved with the $130,000 payment to Daniels, his role is important to prosecutors’ case because he establishes there were a pattern of payments made to hide unflattering stories about Trump during the 2016 election.

“I think it was a mutual benefit. It would help his campaign and it would also help me,” Pecker said of the agreement.

Pecker places Michael Cohen deep in the conspiracy

Pecker placed Cohen in the heart of the alleged “catch and kill conspiracy” Tuesday. He testified that Cohen was the go-between for Trump fielding media stories from Pecker since 2007.

At the August 2015 Trump Tower meeting, Pecker said he would notify Cohen about negative stories.

“Anything that I hear in the marketplace – if I hear anything negative about yourself or if I hear anything about women selling stories, I would notify Michael Cohen as I did over the last several years,” Pecker said. “Then he would be able to have them killed in another magazine or have them not be published, or somebody would have to purchase them.”

During Trump’s campaign in 2015 and 2016, Pecker said Cohen would also pitch stories about Trump’s political opponents and offer feedback on behalf of “the boss,” as Cohen referred to Trump.

“Michael Cohen would call me and say, ‘We would like you to run negative article on a certain – let’s say for argument sake – on Ted Cruz,’” Pecker said. “Then he, Michael Cohen, would send me information about Ted Cruz or Ben Carson or Marco Rubio and that was the basis of our story and then we would embellish it from there.” This story has been updated with additional developments. CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.“…

David Pecker ripped into trump’s “family man” defense, he says it was all about the campaign…from The New York Times by Jonah E. Bromwich, Ben Protess and Maggie Haberman: “Trump Endures a Rugged Day in Court as Witness Details ‘Catch and Kill’: The judge questioned the credibility of Donald J. Trump’s defense lawyer, and a key witness told of a plan to buy and bury stories that might have harmed the candidate.:

Donald J. Trump had a dismal day in court on Tuesday as the judge presiding over his criminal trial said Mr. Trump’s lawyer was “losing all credibility” and a key witness pulled back the curtain to expose what prosecutors called a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election.

The witness was David Pecker, longtime publisher of The National Enquirer, and he transported jurors back to a crucial 2015 meeting with Mr. Trump and his fixer at Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan.

Prosecutors called it the “Trump Tower conspiracy,” arguing that Mr. Pecker, Mr. Trump and Michael D. Cohen, who was then Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, hatched a plot at the meeting to conceal sex scandals looming over Mr. Trump’s campaign.

Their effort led Mr. Pecker’s tabloids to buy and bury two damaging stories about Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen also purchased the silence of a porn star, a deal at the heart of the case against the former president.

In gripping testimony Tuesday, Mr. Pecker took the jurors inside the meeting, recalling how Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump asked what he and his magazines — fixtures of American supermarket checkout lanes — could do “to help the campaign.” The account bolstered the prosecution’s argument that the men were protecting not just Mr. Trump’s personal reputation, but his political fortunes.

“I would be your eyes and ears,” Mr. Pecker recalled telling them, as he explained the tabloid practice of “catch and kill,” in which an outlet bought the rights to a story, only to never publish it.

Mr. Pecker’s testimony came after a bruising hearing for Mr. Trump and his legal team, as prosecutors argued that the trial is threatened by Mr. Trump’s repeated attacks on witnesses and jurors, mostly launched on social media and his campaign website. They urged the judge, Juan M. Merchan, to hold Mr. Trump in contempt over what they said were 11 violations of a gag order that bars the former president from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, jurors and court staff, as well as their relatives.

When Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, claimed that the former president was trying to comply with the order, Justice Merchan signaled that he found that preposterous, replying with words that no lawyer wants to hear: “You’re losing all credibility with the court.

The case against Mr. Trump, the first American president to face a criminal trial, centers on Mr. Cohen’s $130,000 hush-money payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors say he paid Ms. Daniels at Mr. Trump’s direction during the 2016 campaign to keep her quiet about a sexual tryst she said she had with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump’s lawyer in his opening statement denied that his client had slept with Ms. Daniels, echoing what Mr. Trump has consistently said.

Mr. Trump who faces up to four years behind bars if convicted, is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records for the way in which he accounted for the $130,000 repayment to Mr. Cohen. Each count reflects a different false check, ledger and invoice that, according to prosecutors, Mr. Trump used to disguise the reimbursement’s true purpose.

Mr. Trump, 77, who is once again the presumptive Republican nominee, faces three other criminal cases in three different cities on charges that he plotted to overturn his 2020 election loss and mishandled classified records once he was no longer president. But with those cases delayed, the Manhattan case may be the only one that makes it to trial before Election Day.

The Manhattan case, in just its sixth day, has become a media and political spectacle as Mr. Trump’s campaign-style attacks on Mr. Cohen and the jury test the limits of the legal system and the judge’s patience.

The gag-order hearing, held with the jury out of the courtroom, demonstrated a jarring reality for Mr. Trump as he seeks to reclaim the White House while under indictment: His political reflexes, and the norm-busting ethos that has defined the Trump era, often clash with the letter of the law.

Witnesses in the case “rightly fear” being subjected to the former president’s “vitriol,” a prosecutor, Christopher Conroy, told the judge. He rattled off statements that Manhattan prosecutors believe crossed the line, including calling Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels “sleaze bags” and reposting an attack on the jury pool. That happened the night before a juror who had already been seated asked to be excused.

“What happened here was exactly what this order was meant to prevent, and the defendant doesn’t care,” Mr. Conroy said.

Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, argued that Mr. Trump’s posts were not personal and did not violate the order, because he was simply responding to “a barrage of political attacks.”

But Justice Merchan bridled, imploring Mr. Blanche to stick to the facts and the law.

“I need to know what is true,” Justice Merchan said, underscoring Mr. Trump’s penchant for using social media to spread lies.

It then got worse for Mr. Blanche, who appeared flummoxed by the judge. At one point, Justice Merchan called one of his arguments “silly.”

Prosecutors have asked Justice Merchan to fine Mr. Trump $1,000 for each statement, although Mr. Conroy wondered aloud if Mr. Trump, who has sold campaign merchandise with his mug shot, was actually angling for jail time. The judge, whose daughter has been among Mr. Trump’s targets, did not immediately rule.

The case against Mr. Trump commenced Monday, when both sides delivered opening statements that offered dueling visions of Mr. Trump and the evidence. A prosecutor accused the former president of orchestrating a “criminal conspiracy and a coverup.” Mr. Trump’s lawyer proclaimed, “President Trump is innocent.”

The prosecution then called its first witness, Mr. Pecker, who returned to the stand on Tuesday for a second day of testimony.

In about two and a half hours of examining Mr. Pecker on Tuesday, the prosecution placed him firmly in Mr. Trump’s orbit, as a longtime fan and friend who became an extension of the 2016 Trump campaign. His closeness to Mr. Trump — and his gentle, almost grandfatherly affect — appeared to bolster his credibility.

“I would call him Donald,” Mr. Pecker recalled, adding that he had “a great relationship with Mr. Trump over the years,” and that he had launched a magazine with him called “Trump Style.”

Mr. Pecker described a symbiotic relationship between Mr. Trump and The National Enquirer during the former president’s turn as a reality television host on “The Apprentice.” Mr. Trump would leak details of the show to the magazine, which in turn would run stories on the contestants.

The relationship took on national significance after the crucial 2015 meeting at Trump Tower.

“I received a call from Michael Cohen telling me that the boss wanted to see me,” Mr. Pecker recounted for the jury.

Afterward, Mr. Cohen routinely contacted Mr. Pecker, checking in weekly, or even daily. The purpose of their conversations was often was to protect Mr. Trump from negative stories, including a doorman’s apparently false claim that Mr. Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. Mr. Pecker, who purchased the story, testified that Mr. Cohen had told him “the boss would be very pleased” to have that story suppressed.

Mr. Pecker, who later also bought a story from a former Playboy model who said she had had an affair with Mr. Trump, explained that Mr. Cohen was “physically in every aspect of whatever the campaign was working on.” But, in a detail that the defense may seize on, he testified that Mr. Cohen, who was not a campaign employee but Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, may have “injected himself” into the campaign at times.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers have not yet cross-examined Mr. Pecker, but when they do, they are likely to seize on that description of Mr. Cohen. A central theme of Mr. Trump’s defense is to portray Mr. Cohen as a renegade and a liar, and to distance the former president from the most problematic evidence.

Yet Mr. Pecker’s testimony placed Mr. Trump directly in the middle of their conspiracy. And in a sign that at least Mr. Pecker knew that their arrangement was problematic, he noted that he wanted to keep it “confidential.” When a prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, asked why, Mr. Pecker explained that he did not want it to “leak” that he helped the campaign.

Under questioning, Mr. Pecker acknowledged that he did not merely spike detrimental stories but promoted helpful ones. Mr. Cohen, he explained, would feed him information about Mr. Trump’s Republican primary opponents, and The National Enquirer would sometimes “embellish” them.

The tabloid, for example, ran stories about Mr. Trump’s primary opponents, including Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. The prosecutors illustrated the point for jurors, posting several lurid headlines on screens: “Donald Trump Blasts Ted Cruz’s Dad for Photo with J.F.K. Assassin,” “Bungling Surgeon Ben Carson left Sponge in Patient’s Brain!” and, in a moment of ironic foreshadowing, “Ted Cruz Shamed by Porn Star.”

At the Trump Tower meeting, Mr. Pecker said, he had indicated that he expected many women “would come out to try to sell their stories” about Mr. Trump, because he was known as “the most eligible bachelor and dated the most beautiful women.”

Mr. Trump was not, in fact, a bachelor. He had married his third and current wife, Melania Trump, in 2005.”… David Pecker corroborated what Michael Cohen has been saying for years…and for which he went to jail…all at the direction of trump “the family man”…trump fuming with a figurative knife in his back put there by David Pecker…

went to the Woodmere for their Tuesday night movie…tonight was Brick…from Wikipedia: “Brick is a 2005 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson in his directorial debut, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Brick was distributed by Focus Features, and opened in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006. The film’s narrative centers on a hardboiled detective story set in a California suburb. Most of the main characters are high school students. The film draws heavily in plot, characterization, and dialogue from hardboiled classics, especially those by Dashiell Hammett. The title refers to a block of heroin, compressed roughly to the size and shape of a brick.

The film won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and received positive reviews from critics. It has come to be regarded as a cult classic.”…this was Rian Johnson’s directorial debut, he started writing the screenplay after graduating from USC School of Cinematic Arts…from Wikpedia: “Development: The origins of Brick were Rian Johnson‘s obsessions with Dashiell Hammett‘s novels. Hammett was known for hardboiled detective novels, and Johnson wanted to make a straightforward American detective story. He had discovered Hammett’s work through an interview of the Coen brothers about their 1990 gangster film, Miller’s Crossing. He read Red Harvest (1929) and then moved on to The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Glass Key (1931), the latter of which had been the main influence for the Coens’ film. Johnson had grown up watching detective films and film noir. Reading Hammett’s novels inspired him to make his own contribution. He realized that this would result in a mere imitation and set his piece in high school to keep things fresh. Of the initial writing process he remarked “it was really amazing how all the archetypes from that detective world slid perfectly over the high school types”. He also wanted to disrupt the visual traditions that came from the genre. Once he started making Brick, he found it “very much about the experience of being a teenager to me”.^[4] Johnson maintained that the film was not autobiographical.

Johnson wrote the first draft in 1997 after graduating from USC School of Cinematic Arts a year earlier. He spent the next seven years pitching his script, but no one was interested, because the material was too unusual to make with a first-time director. Johnson estimated the minimal amount of money for which he could make the film, and asked friends and family for backing. His family were in the construction industry, and contributed enough to encourage others to contribute. After Johnson had acquired about $450,000 for the film’s budget, Brick began production in 2003.”…it was pretty interesting having a “film noir” set in High School…good film on a tight budget…worth going to see this film having never heard of it…Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars out of 4…his only criticism was “The film’s only serious flaw, thought Ebert, was that the characters were not entirely believable and thus it was difficult to care about the outcome of events for the characters.”…

election fraud, pure and simple…David Pecker was the first witness in trump’s first day of Hush Money Trial…but it’s the “family man” trying to protect his family…whom of which, none of this family is in the courtroom with trump on his first day of his trial…its more than just “hush money”…it’s about trump falsifying 34 business records…calling the numerous checks trump wrote to his lawyer, Michael Cohen, as “legitimate” payment for legal services rendered…but in reality, it was trump’s attempt to cover up payment of $130,000 to a porn star, Stormy Daniels…just days before the 2016 election…so Storm wouldn’t come out and tell her story of an alleged sexual encounter…while this “family man’s” wife was home with their newborn son…trump has violated the gag order place on him…tomorrow Judge Merchan will rule on what he will do with the violations…it’s said on a few MSNBC programs I watched this evening, the defense opening statement fell flat…”there’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election…leaving out any criminal “trying to influence an election…which is the reason trump is charged criminally…mainly attacking the credibility of the witnesses…especial Michael Cohen…from The New York Times by Jesse McKinley and Kate Christobek: “Opening Statements in Trump’s Criminal Trial: Five Takeaways: Prosecutors signaled a sweeping case and Donald J. Trump’s lawyers began their assault on witnesses’ credibility. The judge seems intent on expediting the first trial of an American president.: Monday marked another key moment in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump: opening statements, during which the former president listened quietly to the prosecution’s allegations of crimes, and the defense’s counterargument that he was a simple man, wrongly accused.

The jury that will decide Mr. Trump’s case concentrated intently on the statements, which began the presentation of what will be weeks of testimony and other evidence, all in a tense courtroom in Lower Manhattan.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee once more, Mr. Trump, 77, is charged with falsifying 34 business records in an attempt to cover up a payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, in the days before the 2016 election. Ms. Daniels, who may testify, says that she and Mr. Trump had a sexual encounter in 2006, a claim the former president denies.

Mr. Trump has also denied the 34 felony charges, calling them orchestrated by Democrats; if convicted, the former president could face probation or up to four years in prison.

Here are five takeaways from Mr. Trump’s fifth day on trial:

The prosecution has a big story to tell.

The charges faced by Mr. Trump may sound bland — “falsifying business records” doesn’t really set the heart racing — but the prosecution made clear on Monday that it plans on painting a much broader picture.

Matthew Colangelo, a prosecutor, laid out in his opening statement a tale that touched on tabloid journalism, tawdry affairs and covertly recorded phone calls. Jurors will likely be told about events inside fancy hotel rooms, Trump Tower and even the Oval Office. And the stakes? The presidency.

All that suggests that the case will keep jurors wide-awake during the six or so weeks it is projected to take. Indeed, when asked if they wanted paper and pens to take notes, more than half of the people in the jury box (12 jurors and six alternates) raised their hands.

The defense wants to destroy prosecution witnesses.

Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, used his opening statement to cast Mr. Trump’s actions leading to this case as run-of-the-mill business, and said that Mr. Trump is defending himself at trial, just as “any of us would do.”

He argued that the use of a nondisclosure agreement — the document Ms. Daniels signed after receiving the payment — was typical among the wealthy and the famous and “nothing illegal.” He continued that there was nothing wrong with trying to influence an election, adding: “It’s called democracy.”

Mr. Blanche also attacked Mr. Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for Mr. Trump. He said Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance crimes in 2018, was a “criminal” who “can’t be trusted.” He added that Ms. Daniels was “biased” against Mr. Trump and made a living off her story about the sexual encounter.

He called the heart of the prosecution case just “34 pieces of paper” that don’t involve Mr. Trump.

Trump was muted during the abbreviated day in court.

On Mr. Trump’s way into the courtroom on Monday, he addressed reporters for about three minutes and blasted a range of perceived enemies, including New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and the judge in a recent civil fraud case that resulted in a $454 million judgment against him.

But Mr. Trump’s behavior during opening statements reflected that he understood the gravity of the moment.

Mr. Trump made no outbursts during the prosecution’s opening statement, although he occasionally showed displeasure: He shook his head slightly at arguments that he orchestrated a scheme to corrupt the presidential election and then more strenuously when prosecutors said he was guilty of felonies.

During his own side’s opening statement, Mr. Trump sat largely motionless and expressionless watching his lawyer Mr. Blanche. Mr. Trump’s behavior was muted compared with his volatility during past Manhattan court appearances.

But at the conclusion of the trial day, Mr. Trump took his preferred spot in front of a television camera in the hallway, and spoke for more than nine minutes, attacking the prosecutor’s case — once again — as unfair.

David Pecker used to live on celebrity news. Now, he is the news.

Prosecutors’ first witness was David Pecker, the longtime publisher of The National Enquirer. He ambled to the stand and promptly gave a lesson in the ways of tabloid journalism, including the purchasing of articles — anything more than $10,000, he had to approve — and the significance of putting a famous face right out front.

“The only thing that was important is the cover of a magazine,” Mr. Pecker testified.

In about 30 minutes of testimony, Mr. Pecker also laid out trade secrets on sourcing, saying hotel workers and limo drivers could be a font of information on the rich and famous.

He seemed at ease: laughing at a prosecutor’s jokes, and sometimes directly addressing the jury just a few feet away.

We’re moving right along.

Over the past five trial days, the judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan, has shown that he is eager to keep this trial on schedule. He seems serious about keeping his word to the jurors that the trial will last six weeks.

On Monday, truncated by a juror’s dental emergency and the Passover holiday, he decided to start with the first witness — Mr. Pecker — despite having only half an hour left on his schedule.

On Tuesday, the court will first consider a prosecution motion to hold Mr. Trump in contempt over recent comments that they say violated a gag order meant to keep him from attacking participants in the trial and their families.

Then, Mr. Pecker will continue on the stand, probably diving deeper into the “catch-and-kill” scheme used to buy up — and cover up — unflattering stories, a central element of the prosecution’s narrative.

Court will end early again, at 2 p.m., for further observance of Passover and then will have its weekly Wednesday break.

But there is little indication that as the weeks pass, Justice Merchan will let the pace slacken.”…this is case is about a “conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election and cover-up”…if trump is a witness the judge rules that he can’t be grilled about the cases he has lost in court..the E. Jean Carroll cases…the fraud brought about by Attorney General Letitia James…I don’t think we’ll be seeing trump testify in defense of himself…no catch and kill for trump this time…I think it’s only going to be kill…kill his defense, beat it to a pulp…trump’s lawyers only chance of getting a hung jury is by attacking the witness’ credibility…don’t believe your lying ears and eyes…

Happy Passover…if you celebrate…eat plenty of matzoh…with butter it’s delicious…or slather cottage cheese on it and put in the toaster over…then sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on it…yum!…Pam and I went to Elissa’s cousin’s new apartment in Doylestown…new, he’s only been there 4 months…beautiful place…and lovely dinner with friends and family…glad Pam went and drove me home…Thanks Pam…and a shout out to Lori…it’s her birthday today…in a month, she’ll be a grandmother…a young “grandmother”…I’m freaking out, April is almost over…again Happy Passover…

alarm went off this morning…promised Julia I would be at Pam’s by 11:00…we all had tight schedules today… having to be somewhere at a certain time this afternoon…last night I wrote myself a note…with all the things I had to take to Pam’s…top on the list was the pizza from yesterday…Pam, Jim and Julia had it for dinner…a great success…the matzoh, the chopped onions, the chopped parsley, the dozen eggs, the ginger, the pepper, cookbook with the recipe…although I know it by heart… and the butter…which was frozen until this morning…all packed in a bag and off I went to Pam’s…beating Julia who borrowed Henry’s car to drive out from town…while the onions were trying to turn golden brown, Julia made the both of us scrambled eggs, loaded…half a bagel…and sliced avocado…the matzoh balls were in the works…the worst part is the prep…and then of course the making or rolling of the dough…we faced timed with Ben who was still in bed…by this time Jim had arrived…the onions were done, enter the matzoh…and spices…when it sticks to the pan, they’re done cooking… then back in a bowl, with the eggs, and the parsley…stir all together…the eggs get cooked by the heart of the cooked matzoh…the parsley makes it look pretty…Pam took it upon herself to roll the dough and made all the balls…Jim told us the Abington Art Center had their fair…vendors and food…and we thought we’d all go…stay for a short time them scatter to our next thing…it wasn’t a great day for a fair…but it wasn’t raining…something to be thankful for…I saw latter on the news that Manayunk had their fair today also…the close the street and a good time was had by all apparently…Abington’s was okay…I could have bought a bunch of stuff but I don’t need anything…I had to fight myself not to buy anything…including funnel cake…we all piled back into Jim’s car and back to Pam’s…I gathered my stuff to take back to my apartment…had to be in Ambler for the 3:45 showing of the movie I wanted to see…Driving Madeleine…a French film with English subtitles…Julia back in town…I just made it to the Ambler to discover my movie wasn’t until 6:45…what to do?…should I go back home to return at 6:45?…I decided to go see Wicked Little Letters again…at 4:00…in retrospect, I should have gone to see Civil War again…fell asleep a couple of times…but enjoyed it again…it’s so funny based on a true story in the early 1920s… “a story lost to history until now”…from Wikipedia: “Wicked Little Letters is a 2023 British black comedy mystery film directed by Thea Sharrock, written by Jonny Sweet, and starring Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones, Malachi Kirby, Lolly Adefope, Eileen Atkins, and Timothy Spall. Based on a true scandal, it follows an investigation into the anonymous author of numerous crudely insulting letters sent to the residents of seaside town Littlehampton.”…says a lot about women in positions of authority…having no authority…being put down…specially a woman doing a “man’s job”…like a police person…haha…police man… the constable dismisses her suspicions and forbids her to interfere with the investigation of the wicked little letters…a lot of discrimination going all…all over the place…besides all that…it’s very funny….I had an hour to get something to eat…a couple of years back…during the summer, Elissa and I went to Bridget’s…she introduced me to the Au Poivre Cheesesteak…it was delicious…and ever since I’ve wanted to order it again…but Bridgit’s is busy all the time…and I never make a reservation…because it’s always a spur of the moment to maybe go there…well, I sat at the bar, asked if the Cheesesteak was quick enough to order to out of there in 45 minutes…she said yes, and ate…the fries were still good…but the Cheesesteak was chewy…I was a little disappointed…but I ate it and was back at the theater at 6:45…ready to see this French film…which I imagined was similar to Driving Miss Daisy…and in a way, was…but not at all the same…both films have elderly women being driven around…that’s the end of the similarity…Driving Madeleine is completely different…and is suspect…is having a re-discovery… since it’s a film from 2022… the premise: “The film stars Line Renaud as Madeleine, an elderly Parisian woman, who is moving into a nursing home; en route, she asks taxi driver Charles (Dany Boon) to detour to various locations around the city that have meant something to her in her life.”…it was released in the US in January of 2024…I loved this movie and so did the semi-packed little theater of the Ambler…it’s funny…it will bring tears to your eyes…and Etta James and Dinah Washington provided some of the soundtrack…Neely Swanson of the Beverly Hills Courier: “Driving Madeleine” is a gift to all of us, old and young. Director Christian Carion, working from his adaptation of a script by Cyril Gely, has shone a light on the value of living a life, both troubled and indomitable, and sharing that vision.”…it’s “the 50s.” Women had only just been given the right to vote but could not make any financial decisions, open bank accounts or work without their husband’s permission. Divorce was unthinkable and domestic violence was not recognized as an issue.”…Madeleine’s story plays out during that drive to the assisted living place…and so does Charles’, the taxi driver…they bond and we bond…you must see this film…it’s worth it… it’s great…my sister called me this evening…I told her about Driving Madeleine…she looked it up and she can watch it on a number of venues…she also told me that Kimberly Akimbo is coming to San Francisco…with the entire cast, including Tony Winning Victoria Clark…she’s excited to see it…the reason it’s closing on Broadway…it will be touring America with Victoria Clark in her Tony award winning role…lucky for everyone who sees it…and lucky is everyone who sees Driving Madeleine…I want to talk about Karma…I called Elissa walking out of the theater, knowing that Jed and Sophie were here…asked her if her kids were still around or had gone back to her apartment…they were in Ambler, after having dinner at Geromino, the Peruvian restaurant…they were at Rita’s for dessert…I went and joined them…happy to see Jed, he’s been in Chicago for months…he bought me a chocolate/vanilla swirl…I sat in the car…chatted…perfect end of the day…my car was across the street…got in, and drove home…happy as a lark…

AT LAST

At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh, yeah, yeah

At last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you

I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I’ve never known (oh, yeah, yeah)

You smiled, you smiled
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven
For you are mine at last

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Harry Warren / Mack Gordon

At Last lyrics © Emi Feist Catalog Inc., Four Jays Music Publishing Company

not Moscow Marjorie…not white supremacist Paul Gosar…not Thomas Massie of Kentucky…the trio of far right House Representatives who would oust Speaker Mike Johnson…because he’s doing the right thing…he brought the bill to a vote and it was passed…from The Washington Post: “The House approved a $95 billion package of foreign aid bills that would provide funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, among other priorities. The bills moved forward despite a far-right threat to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) if he advanced Ukraine aid.”…by Lix Goodwin: “Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) welcomed the passage of the package of bills, noting that the House “at long last approved desperately needed funding for Ukraine, for Israel, for the Indo-Pacific, and for humanitarian assistance.”

He reiterated that the Senate will take the first vote Tuesday afternoon. “Our allies across the world have been waiting for this moment, and I assure them the Senate is on the path to pass the same bill soon,” Schumer said in a statement.”…better late than never…and thank The Force…will have to wait and see what Moscow Marjorie Taylor Greene will do…

had a bunch of plans…movie here, a little French film at the Ambler…Driving Madelaine…movie there, at the AMC Plymouth Meeting, Sasquatch Sunset…and ended up going to Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture…a neighbor of Elissa’s at Hill House is getting her Master of Fine Arts at Tyler…and she was having her MFA Thesis Show…only up for 3 days to make way for others…it was being taken down this evening…so we decided to go and see…was able to park around the corner from the entrance…Elissa’s friend is a glass-blower… from Canada…she going back home in June…I was taken by Heather’s work…beautiful…but first taken by one of her colleagues, Henry David great installation and drawings…they’re fantastic…also coming down today to make way for the next three MFA thesis shows…we were close to Philly Style Pizza…Julia turned me on to their pizza… every once in a while we would get it…so I called and ordered a pizza…we would eat it in the car…I sent a picture of Tyler to Julia and Pam…”guess where I am?”…explained how we got there…and while we were sitting in the car, eating the pizza…who should walk by?…Heather…she was so happy to see Elissa and vice versa…Elissa hasn’t been home since the middle of January…karma…after pizza, we made our way to Walgreen’s on Bethlehem Pike…Elissa had to pick up a prescription…only trouble was the pharmacy closes at 6:00…we didn’t make in time…but we went in, she needed a few other things…the prescription would wait until tomorrow…then we went to see if Ghostbusters was showing at the Movie Tavern…and it was…at 7:15…but Elissa thought she was pushing it…her leg was hurting already…so I drove her back to the 501…she would ice her leg and rest up…I left there at 7:00…kind of decided to go see Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire…with Paul Rudd…taking a cue from Disney…instead of fire and brimstone…this one, ice and freezing…a little of Ernie Hudson…a little of Bill Murray… a lot of Dan Akyroyd…with a little of Patton Oswald thrown in for good measure…milking the Ghostbusters franchise…from Wikipedia: “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a 2024 American supernatural comedy film directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jason Reitman. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and the fifth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, and Logan Kim reprising their roles from Afterlife, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton reprising their characters from the earlier films. Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster also join the cast. Set three years after the events of Afterlife, the veteran Ghostbusters must join forces with their new recruits to save the world in New York City from a death-chilling god who seeks to build a spectral army.

Following the success of Afterlife, Sony Pictures announced the sequel in April 2022, with Reitman returning as director. Co-writer and executive producer Kenan later took over as director from Reitman that December, with the latter staying on as a co-writer and co-producer. That same month, Rudd, Coon, Grace, Wolfhard, O’Connor, Kim, Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson, Potts, and Atherton were all confirmed to reprise their roles. New cast members including Nanjiani, Oswalt, Lind, and Acaster were announced in March 2023, with principal photography commencing that month and wrapping in June. Dario Marianelli was hired to compose the film’s score, replacing Afterlife composer Rob Simonsen. This is the first film in the Ghostbusters franchise to be released following the death of the franchise’s co-creator and Jason Reitman’s father Ivan Reitman, who posthumously receives credit as a producer alongside his son and Jason Blumenfeld. The film is dedicated to Reitman’s memory and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first film.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire had its world premiere at the AMC 13 Theater at Lincoln Square in New York City on March 14, 2024, and was released in the United States on March 22, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed over $165 million worldwide, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2024.”…it has a budget of $100 Million…so I guess it made a few bucks…came home and immediately went into Matzoh ball mode…cut my onions and parsley…I ready to cook at Pam’s…tomorrow at 11:00…Julia’s coming out to help…three generations…like our trivia name…only making a couple of batches…Julia has to be back home by 2:30…we’ll get it together and all will be well…if not, who you gonna call?…

found a quarter and a penny…