Problems

at the end of last October, I bought out my Honda Civic lease…it became apparent that getting a new lease at the price I’ve had for years would be impossible…so I decided to buy my Civic…it only has 25,000 miles on it…I’ve had it for over 4 years…I shopped around for a loan…my bank was outrageous… my car dealer was even more outrageous…on a lark I went to a credit union…they had a great rate and it seemed like they knew what they were doing…it’s now almost 3 months…the lease was paid off in December…after much back and forth…with hours on the phone…the first problem was the credit union faxing the documents to Honda in Texas…they just wouldn’t go through…they tried numerous times…I came back the next day and it seemed like it went through…they issued a check for the tags company… once the title was in hand, I would take it to the tag company and they would have the credit union as the lean holder…in the meantime, the credit union sent the Authorization for Payoff and Close Letter, with the check to a PO Box in Philadelphia…the company was in Texas…that they got the payoff and applied it to my account took more numerous phone calls always at least a half hour of hanging on before it was my turn…then I was at the credit union faxing another copy of the Odometer Statement… that they never sent…this was at the end of December…well here it is weeks after…I get a letter from the credit union asking if I got the title…which I think Honda would have sent to them…I was back in there today…with no satisfaction…their loan department said they would get back to me after talking to Honda…the check for the tag company expires on January 29…another problem…they “assured” me they would re-issue that check again…no problem…now I’m waiting for them to get back to me…nothing’s easy…and full of angst…I guess I shouldn’t bother so much…I make the payment…and I have the car… we’ll have to wait and see what happens…

other problems…McCarthy has put Marjorie Taylor Greene on two committees…the House Oversight Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee…two powerful committees that Greene wanted as was promised for backing McCarthy…she wants to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas…Gosar is back on the Natural Resources Committee where he was before getting booted out by the Democrats…both Greene and Gosar were booted off their committee for their incendiary, and violent remarks, plus Greene’s espousing QAnon theories…Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania were put on the Oversight Committee…Scott Perry is the fox in the hen house…George Santos is on the Small Business Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee…isn’t that special?…I can’t wait to see what all this is coming to…especially in terms of the debt ceiling…which has world-wide consequences…the Republicans don’t care if the US defaults on their debt…the only thing that keeps me hopeful is that they have a slim majority…and anything they do will not get through the Senate…but the House holds the purse…the debt ceiling is looming…fasten your seat-belts…

next we have dark money having led Ohio Governor DeWine to sign into law that natural gas is “green energy”…from The Washington Post by Maxine Joselow: “How dark money groups led Ohio to redefine gas as ‘green energy’: In Ohio, natural gas is ‘green’ now. Documents show how dark money groups led to this law.: When Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed legislation this month to redefine natural gas as a source of “green energy,” supporters characterized it as the culmination of a grass-roots effort to recognize the Buckeye state’s largest energy source.

But the new law is anything but homegrown, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post.

The Empowerment Alliance, a dark money group with ties to the gas industry, helped Ohio lawmakers push the narrative that the fuel is clean, the documents show. The American Legislative Exchange Council, another anonymously funded group, assisted in the effort.

ALEC — a network of state lawmakers, businesses and conservative donors — circulated proposed legislation for Ohio lawmakers and has urged other states to follow suit, according to the documents, which were obtained via a public records request by the Energy and Policy Institute, a group that advocates for renewable energy.

“What the emails reveal is just how closely Ohio lawmakers coordinated with a natural gas industry group on the new law that misleadingly defines methane gas as green energy, as the first step of a plan to introduce similar legislation in multiple states,” said Dave Anderson, policy and communications manager for the Energy and Policy Institute.

Although Ohio Republicans say they are trying to promote their state’s energy industry, critics have called the new law misleading and “Orwellian.” Unlike renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, natural gas and other fossil fuels emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases.

The law also adds to a fierce linguistic debate, one amped up by the recent furor over gas stoves and their health effects. Climate activists have urged politicians and journalists to stop using the term “natural gas” and instead use “methane gas,” since its primary component is a powerful planet-warming pollutant.

‘On the right track’

Last summer, the documents show, a leader of the Empowerment Alliance emailed Ohio state Sens. George Lang (R) and Mark Romanchuk (R) to share a report from Goldman Sachs on the “importance of natural gas” in North America and globally.

“We are on the right track with natural gas is green energy,” wrote Tom Rastin, who leads the Empowerment Alliance with his wife, Karen Buchwald Wright.

As of last fall, Rastin and his wife were listed in Federal Election Commission filings as executives at Ariel Corp., a manufacturer of natural gas compressors. The couple also are major Republican donors who have dined with former president Donald Trump. Under their leadership, the alliance spent more than $1 million supporting Ohio Republicans in the 2022 elections.

Both lawmakers thanked Rastin for sending the report. And a week later, Lang emailed Rastin from the annual ALEC conference in Atlanta, saying he’d be leaving the convention “with some model legislation to define … that natural gas is clean energy.”

ALEC is known for drafting and disseminating “model” state legislation that tends to advance conservative, pro-business priorities. Several high-profile corporate members, however, have cut ties with the group over what they see as its opposition to climate action, including Google, BP and Facebook.

As nonprofits, ALEC and the Empowerment Alliance are not required to disclose their donors, part of the influx of dark money in American politics. ALEC and Lang did not respond to requests for comment. Romanchuk, through a spokesman, declined to comment.

Anthony Conchel, a spokesman for the Empowerment Alliance (TEA), said in an email that “Natural Gas is Green is not an original TEA idea” and noted that natural gas has lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.

“In our view, that is the very definition of green energy,” Conchel said.

‘Guess what? They are clean’

In addition to circulating the model bill, ALEC helped broadcast a talking point for its proponents: The European Parliament had recently voted to move ahead with a plan to label nuclear power and natural gas as “green” in some circumstances, a response to energy challenges created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Europe has now defined nuclear power and natural gas as clean energy sources. And guess what? They are clean energy sources,” Stephen Moore, a conservative commentator, said on a panel at the ALEC conference, drawing loud applause from the audience.

“So what you need to do in your states is change your renewable energy requirements,” Moore added. “If you don’t get rid of them altogether, you should redefine what clean energy is to include yes, clean nuclear power and yes, natural gas.”

Romanchuk, the author of the amendment that defined gas as green, also looked across the Atlantic for inspiration. In a December email, one of his aides acknowledged that his amendment was “inspired by a European Union vote last summer to classify natural gas as green energy.”

The Empowerment Alliance, meanwhile, has barely paused to celebrate its victory in Ohio. The group is already targeting other energy-rich states, according to a newsletter with the subject line “Ohio is Red, Gas is Blue, and Green too!” sent to supporters on Friday.

“States like Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia are top energy producing states,” the group wrote in the newsletter. “They should follow suit, encouraging their local and state lawmakers to enact similar legislation.”…on top of this baloney…Wyoming is banning electric cars…12 years from now…at the same time Washington state and Oregon are banning gas cars in starting 2035…a big push from the fossil fuel industry to throw sand into the works of climate change…they want to perpetuate the idea that fossil fuel is good…like methane gas is “green”…climate deniers pouring dark money with ties to the gas industry!…

problems for Austin Butler…Brendan Fraser won the Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Whale…it was a powerful performance…eclipsed Austin Butler as Elvis…here are the nominees and winners of the 2023 Critics Choice Awards:

FILM

Best Picture

Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
WINNER: Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
RRR
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking

Best Actor

Austin Butler, Elvis
Tom Cruise, Top Gun: Maverick
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
WINNER: Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living

Best Actress

WINNER: Cate Blanchett, Tár
Viola Davis, The Woman King
Danielle Deadwyler, Till
Margot Robbie, Babylon
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actor

Paul Dano, The Fabelmans
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
WINNER: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway

Best Supporting Actress

WINNER: Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Jessie Buckley, Women Talking
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Janelle Monáe, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Best Young Actor/Actress

Frankie Corio, Aftersun
Jalyn Hall, Till
WINNER: Gabriel LaBelle, The Fabelmans
Bella Ramsey, Catherine Called Birdy
Banks Repeta, Armageddon Time
Sadie Sink, The Whale

Best Acting Ensemble

The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
WINNER: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
The Woman King
Women Talking

Best Director

James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water
Damien Chazelle, Babylon
Todd Field, Tár
Baz Luhrmann, Elvis
WINNER: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Sarah Polley, Women Talking
Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Woman King
S. S. Rajamouli, RRR
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

Best Original Screenplay

Todd Field, Tár
WINNER: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner, The Fabelmans
Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

Best Adapted Screenplay

Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale
Kazuo Ishiguro, Living
Rian Johnson, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Rebecca Lenkiewicz, She Said
WINNER: Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Best Cinematography

Russell Carpenter, Avatar: The Way of Water
Roger Deakins, Empire of Light
Florian Hoffmeister, Tár
Janusz Kaminski, The Fabelmans
WINNER: Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick
Linus Sandgren, Babylon

Best Production Design

Hannah Beachler, Lisa K. Sessions, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Rick Carter, Karen O’Hara, The Fabelmans
Dylan Cole, Ben Procter, Vanessa Cole, Avatar: The Way of Water
Jason Kisvarday, Kelsi Ephraim, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Bev Dunn, Elvis
WINNER: Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino, Babylon

Best Editing

Tom Cross, Babylon
Eddie Hamilton, Top Gun: Maverick
Stephen Rivkin, David Brenner, John Refoua, James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water
WINNER: Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Matt Villa, Jonathan Redmond, Elvis
Monika Willi, Tár

Best Costume Design

WINNER: Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Jenny Eagan, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Shirley Kurata, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Catherine Martin, Elvis
Gersha Phillips, The Woman King
Mary Zophres, Babylon

Best Hair and Makeup

Babylon
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
WINNER: Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Whale

Best Visual Effects

WINNER: Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Everything Everywhere All at Once
RRR
Top Gun: Maverick

Best Comedy

The Banshees of Inisherin
Bros
Everything Everywhere All at Once
WINNER: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Triangle of Sadness
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Best Animated Film

WINNER: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Turning Red
Wendell & Wild

Best Foreign Language Film

All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Close
Decision to Leave
WINNER: RRR

Best Song

“Carolina,” Where the Crawdads Sing
“Ciao Papa,” Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
“Hold My Hand,” Top Gun: Maverick
“Lift Me Up,” Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
WINNER: “Naatu Naatu,” RRR
“New Body Rhumba,” White Noise

Best Score

Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Michael Giacchino, The Batman
WINNER: Hildur Guðnadóttir, Tár
Hildur Guðnadóttir, Women Talking
Justin Hurwitz, Babylon
John Williams, The Fabelmans

TV

Best Drama Series

Andor (Disney+)
Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
WINNER: Better Call Saul (AMC)
The Crown (Netflix)
Euphoria (HBO)
The Good Fight (Paramount+)
House of the Dragon (HBO)
Severance (Apple TV+)
Yellowstone (Paramount Network)

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Jeff Bridges – The Old Man (FX)
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
Diego Luna – Andor (Disney+)
WINNER: Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Adam Scott – Severance (Apple TV+)
Antony Starr – The Boys (Prime Video)

Best Actress In A Drama Series

Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Sharon Horgan – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
Laura Linney – Ozark (Netflix)
Mandy Moore – This Is Us (NBC)
Kelly Reilly – Yellowstone (Paramount Network)
WINNER: Zendaya – Euphoria (HBO)

Best Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

Andre Braugher – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Ismael Cruz Córdova – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video)
Michael Emerson – Evil (Paramount+)
WINNER: Giancarlo Esposito – Better Call Saul (AMC)
John Lithgow – The Old Man (FX)
Matt Smith – House of the Dragon (HBO)

Best Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Milly Alcock – House of the Dragon (HBO)
Carol Burnett – Better Call Saul (AMC)
WINNER: Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus (HBO)
Julia Garner – Ozark (Netflix)
Audra McDonald – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul (AMC)

Best Comedy Series

WINNER: Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Barry (HBO)
The Bear (FX)
Better Things (FX)
Ghosts (CBS)
Hacks (HBO Max)
Reboot (Hulu)
Reservation Dogs (FX)

Best Actor In A Comedy Series

Matt Berry – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Bill Hader – Barry (HBO)
Keegan-Michael Key – Reboot (Hulu)
Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
WINNER: Jeremy Allen White – The Bear (FX)
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai – Reservation Dogs (FX)

Best Actress In A Comedy Series

Christina Applegate – Dead to Me (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Renée Elise Goldsberry – Girls5eva (Peacock)
Devery Jacobs – Reservation Dogs (FX)
WINNER: Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)

Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)
Leslie Jordan – Call Me Kat (Fox)
James Marsden – Dead to Me (Netflix)
Chris Perfetti – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
WINNER: Henry Winkler – Barry (HBO)

Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Paulina Alexis – Reservation Dogs (FX)
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear (FX)
Marcia Gay Harden – Uncoupled (Netflix)
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Annie Potts – Young Sheldon (CBS)
WINNER: Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Best Limited Series

WINNER: The Dropout (Hulu)
Gaslit (Starz)
The Girl from Plainville (Hulu)
The Offer (Paramount+)
Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
Station Eleven (HBO Max)
This Is Going to Hurt (AMC+)
Under the Banner of Heaven (FX)

Best Movie Made For Television

Fresh (Hulu)
Prey (Hulu)
Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime)
The Survivor (HBO)
Three Months (Paramount+)
WINNER: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (The Roku Channel)

Best Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie Made For Television

Ben Foster – The Survivor (HBO)
Andrew Garfield – Under the Banner of Heaven (FX)
Samuel L. Jackson – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)
WINNER: Daniel Radcliffe – Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (The Roku Channel)
Sebastian Stan – Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
Ben Whishaw – This is Going to Hurt (AMC+)

Best Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie Made For Television

Julia Garner – Inventing Anna (Netflix)
Lily James – Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
Amber Midthunder – Prey (Hulu)
Julia Roberts – Gaslit (Starz)
Michelle Pfeiffer – The First Lady (Showtime)
WINNER: Amanda Seyfried – The Dropout (Hulu)

Best Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie Made For Television

Murray Bartlett – Welcome to Chippendales (Hulu)
Domhnall Gleeson – The Patient (FX)
Matthew Goode – The Offer (Paramount+)
WINNER: Paul Walter Hauser – Black Bird (Apple TV+)
Ray Liotta – Black Bird (Apple TV+)
Shea Whigham – Gaslit (Starz)

Best Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie Made For Television

Claire Danes – Fleishman Is in Trouble (FX)
Dominique Fishback – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)
Betty Gilpin – Gaslit (Starz)
Melanie Lynskey – Candy (Hulu)
WINNER: Niecy Nash-Betts – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
Juno Temple – The Offer (Paramount+)

Best Foreign Language Series

1899 (Netflix)
Borgen (Netflix)
Extraordinary Attorney Woo (Netflix)
Garcia! (HBO Max)
The Kingdom Exodus (MUBI)
Kleo (Netflix)
My Brilliant Friend (HBO)
WINNER: Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Tehran (Apple TV+)

Best Animated Series

Bluey (Disney+)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (Adult Swim)
WINNER: Harley Quinn (HBO Max)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)
Undone (Prime Video)

Best Talk Show

The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC)
WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (Bravo)

Best Comedy Special

Fortune Feimster: Good Fortune (Netflix)
Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (HBO)
Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual (Netflix)
Nikki Glaser: Good Clean Filth (HBO)
WINNER: Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (Netflix)
Would It Kill You to Laugh? Starring Kate Berlant & John Early (Peacock)

and sadly for Rafa…in the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal lost to American Mackinzie McDonald in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. 7-5…Nadal had injuries…Nadal is the defending champion…or rather was…

out and about after my credit union freak-out…found 2 dimes and 6 pennies at the Mall where I went to walk…2.5 miles…and a little hot and sour soup…no problems there!…