janea4old

why even post that?

January 2025: Trump freezes funding for EV (electronic vehicle) charging stations in Illinois https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/01/27/trump-executive-order-energy-illinois/ (Putting this in the Climate thread because seems to fit best here)

Stephanie Sloane interviews Wally Kurth about Leslie Charleson https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/24684/general-hospital-wally-kurth-leslie-charlson-monica-quartermaine/

I agree that Lower Decks was great and Section 31 was ... a choice? Section 31 dialogue writing made Bold&Beautiful look intelligent. Michelle Yeoh elevates everything she does, but wow this was a pretty bad script. I am missing SNW, I hope they soon announce the first airdate of the coming season.

Statement from United Farm Workers "We are in scary times with immigration sweeps, executive orders & farmworkers laboring in thick wildfire smoke. We're scrambling to do everything at once & our resources are stretched thin." Full statement at this link: https://act.seiu.org/a/scarytimes (They appeal for donations; but even if you are disinterested in donating, I found it interesting to read all the things they are dealing with right now)

https://coastalentertainment.seatengine-sites.com/shows/297657

Oh well here, I found something from a legal scholar regarding Trump's order and the Fourteenth Amendment the US Constitution passed in 1868. The professor mentions that this came from the 1860s when the Republicans were the party of Lincoln, and supported the end of slavery. (how that party has changed). by Evan Bernick ‪@evanbernick.bsky.social‬ Associate Prof at Northern Illinois University College of Law. Constitutional law, criminal law, abolition ‪Evan Bernick bluesky from January 21 https://bsky.app/profile/evanbernick.bsky.social/post/3lgb35gaw322l The same professor has lots of details on his bluesky about the Constitution and Native American rights and citizenship. Too much for me to quote here.

- duplicate

Clarification: This post is my personal speculation about the MOTIVES of one of the executive orders. What is behind this? The whole "birthright" executive order is Trump wanting to rescind the right of children born in the USA to be US citizens, if their parents weren't citizens (big oversimplification of what the order says, but I'm not posting about the details here). The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that if you were born in the USA, you're a citizen (and it says a lot more than that). This has been in place since 1868. YES 1868. So people are saying the executive order is unconstitutional and cannot be implemented, because it violates the Fourteenth Amendment. However, my point is this: The original focus of the Fourteenth Amendment was to give citizenship to newly-freed enslaved persons. From the details within the amendment -- laws regarding the birthrights of children of immigrants came to be. In my personal opinion (SPECULATION ONLY), I think this is intended as a psychological attack on the Fourteenth Amendment, (with some fanatics wanting to overturn the Fourteenth Amendment, and others trying to undermine its influence). I speculate that the whole faction behind this nonsense ultimately wants to undo Reconstruction. I mean they can't legally, but they certainly want to undermine it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution There are also clauses in the Fourteen Amendment regarding indigenous tribes, and that's very complicated because some members of some Tribes regarded themselves as citizens of their own tribal nation and didn't want to lose that, and there are tons of essays and discussions that are beyond my skill to understand in full. But I think the gist of it is that Native Americans are citizens of the USA because they were born here (well obviously since it was their land first, but anyhow). Legally they can be citizens if they want, but there are all sorts of tribal treaty issues that make the clauses in the Amendment difficult to understand. I'm not even going to pretend that I follow all the legal nuances on that. So first of all, (my speculation), I think the Project 2025 people want to unfree slaves, and uncitizen Native Americans, AND deny citizenship to immigrants. They can't do all that, but they want to. Perhaps their next goal (they wish! ) ... would be to deny women the right to vote? I mean ... it's all part of the same pattern. But that's not in the Fourteenth Amendment, so different topic.

Celebratingthesoaps is a content farm, not a reputable soaps site. They are owned by https://joalmedia.com/brands

Hegseth also has horrid beliefs: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/24/trump-pete-hegseth-extremism In a series of newly unearthed podcasts, Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, appears to endorse the theocratic and authoritarian doctrine of “sphere sovereignty”, a worldview derived from the extremist beliefs of Christian reconstructionism (CR) and espoused by churches aligned with far-right Idaho pastor Douglas Wilson. In the recordings, Hegseth rails against “cultural Marxism”, feminism, “critical race theory”, and even democracy itself, which he says “our founders blatantly rejected as being completely dangerous”. For much of the over five hours of recordings, which were published over February and March 2024, Hegseth also castigates public schools, which he characterizes as implementing an “egalitarian, dystopian LGBT nightmare”, and which the podcast host Joshua Haymes describes as “one of Satan’s greatest tools for excising Christ from not just our classrooms but our country”. Elsewhere in the recordings, Hegseth expresses agreement with the principle of sphere sovereignty, which, in CR doctrine, envisions a subordination of “civil government” to Old Testament law, capital punishment for infringements of that law such as homosexuality, and rigidly patriarchal families and churches. (that's just part of the article)

The original Rachel Blake seemed like a decent person who had suffered a lot, and Marlena tried to help her. Kristen and Peter Blake were sociopaths who considered killing their mother Rachel Blake because she was in the way of their plans, but they were interrupted and didn't follow through.

🤎

This is all intentionally designed to be triggering. It's very difficult for me to stay aware of what's happening, and yet not be overwhelmed with how terrifying it all is. I mean, if you're *not* terrified, you're not paying attention. This stuff is real. But if you *are* terrified, then it's easy to become frozen in fear. And they want us to freeze up, curl up, and die, that's their goal. So yeah. It's absolutely vital to attend to one's own mental, emotional, and physical health. Turn off the news when needed. Find something uplifting or silly when needed. Cuddle with your dog or cat, or visit a friend who has a dog or cat.

Trump created a new agency "DOGE" (Department of Government Efficiency) and put Musk in charge. The idea of a nazi in charge of Government Efficiency...

Elon Musk via video at "AfD" (neo-Nazi) campaign rally in Germany (January 25, 2025) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/25/elon-musk-makes-surprise-appearance-at-afd-event-in-eastern-germany “It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” Musk said. Musk spoke in favour of voting for the far-right party. “I’m very excited for the AfD, I think you’re really the best hope for Germany fight for a great future for Germany,” he told onlookers.

They fired the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard (because she's a woman, but they gave other random excuses as to why) Archived from Connecticut newspaper The Day https://archive.is/v9Pre

Sometimes, for soaps, when they let JPI Photography or the network photographers on set for promotional stuff, the lighting is different in those shots than when the episodes are finally edited for airing

Soap vet Michael Dietz, known for playing Joe Scanlon on Port Charles and Alan-Michael Spaulding on Guiding Light, will appear for a short story arc beginning April 30. I just checked out his instagram (you can see it even if not a follower). https://www.instagram.com/michaelsdietz/ I was reading the speculation on another thread, and it would make sense if *maybe* he appears as a recast Peter Blake, as he would have the right look. But I don't know about the timing of Dietz in a "short story arc beginning April 30". That would be around the time of the new writing team's stuff beginning. Yeah theoretically they could be building toward that with young runaway Rachel Black meeting a Lady in White on January 24 who is *supposedly* Rachel Blake. But I don't know. Dietz could be playing someone completely unrelated.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris now has her own website (in English and in Spanish) https://kamalaharris.com ----------- Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ first stop in California: Altadena fire zone Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, meet community members and workers of World Central Kitchen. Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-01-20/former-vice-president-kamala-harris-first-stop-in-california-altadena January 20, 2025 The first stop former Vice President Kamala Harris made after leaving office and returning to California on Monday was Altadena, where she met with volunteers and firefighters working on the Eaton fire. Hours after attending President Trump’s inauguration, Harris and former second gentleman Doug Emhoff landed at Burbank Airport and headed to a former auto repair shop in Altadena. Harris and Emhoff met with volunteers working for World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit organization founded by chef José Andrés that is distributing free meals in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Then they helped distribute meals at the start of the dinner rush. “The volunteers who were there, some of them who lost their own homes, are there doing the work of taking care of perfect strangers,” Harris said. “These are folks who understand the strength and the value of community.” Harris’ visit came as Los Angeles County announced that all mandatory evacuation orders in Altadena had been lifted. The county also increased the estimated tally of buildings damaged in the blaze: 9,418 buildings destroyed and 1,069 damaged. One 72-year-old Pasadena resident named Ann, who said she didn’t want her full name in the media, stopped by the World Central Kitchen site to pick up dinner before returning to her home near the Rose Bowl. To her surprise, the volunteer who handed the meal to her — a beef and rice dish, an orange and a plastic packet of utensils — was the former vice president. She set down the bag on the asphalt outside the garage and immediately called her sister, saying, “This is too fantastic.” “Kamala Harris is serving the food!” she said in a voicemail message. “It’s 5:15. Maybe if you hurry, you can get over here!” Then Harris and Emhoff visited Los Angeles County Fire Station 12 on Lincoln Avenue, where they met with firefighters who were working overnight on Jan. 7 when the Eaton fire erupted. “Moments of crisis really do reveal the heroes among us,” Harris said. She said at least a dozen firefighters had lost their homes during the Eaton and Palisades fires. “California firefighters, time and time again, prove themselves to be the best at the kind of work that is about dealing with these moments of unprecedented crisis and doing it with extraordinary courage and sacrifice,” Harris said. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, who was among the firefighters who met Harris, said he was “so appreciative” of the federal assistance President Biden approved before he left office. That agreement will cover 100% of the cost of California’s fire management and debris removal for the next six months, an increase over the usual federal share of 75%. Gov. Gavin Newsom requested the funding after meeting with Biden in Los Angeles the day after the fires started. “It was really a touching moment for me, because the federal government is going to help this area rebuild,” Marrone said. “I thank them for that.” (This article was written before Trump threatened to cut off aid to California) https://www.instagram.com/p/DFG3z9tB4fJ/ January 21, 2025 wckitchen "Moments of crisis really do reveal the heroes among us... These are folks who understand the strength and value of community.” Former Vice President @kamalaharris joined WCK’s relief efforts in Southern California, serving meals alongside people directly affected by the fires. Local chefs and volunteers, many of whom lost their own homes in the blazes, continue to show up daily to cook for their communities. #ChefsForCalifornia

It's interesting how these things play out.... I checked out ThisIsUs on NBC because I'd enjoyed Justin Hartley on Y&R, and heard he was doing a primetime show. Sterling K. Brown soon became one of my favorite actors of all time, and I began to follow his work. And also began to follow Susan Kelechi Watson and Ron Cephas Jones as well (and was so sorry to learn that RCJ passed away in 2023). I checked out Justin Hartley's newer show Tracker but it's not half the quality that ThisIsUs was. I checked out Queen Sugar on OWN (and didn't have OWN so purchased it on amazon), and then rewatched the whole series on Hulu. I started watching Queen Sugar because I'd enjoyed Greg Vaughan on DAYS, and heard he was doing a primetime/cable/streaming/whatever show. It's not that Greg Vaughan was a highlight, it's simply that I learned about Queen Sugar because I'd seen him on Days. Rutina Wesley, Tina Lifford, and Kofi Siriboe from Queen Sugar became actors I respected, and will follow them in other work they do. (well, most of the cast, but especially those three) There are a zillion shows on primetime/cable/streaming, so I don't have any way to sort through all the announcements of all those zillion shows. In both cases, actors from daytime soaps (Y&R and DAYS) drew me to watch amazing shows (ThisIsUs and QueenSugar) which I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I think I'd categorize both as nighttime soaps but with serious thought-provoking ideas as well as romance and family stuff. And from that, I began to follow the Black actors from ThisIsUs and QueenSugar. I honestly don't remember how ThisIsUs was promoted but I think the promotion was more mainstream due it being on NBC, articles on the usual industry sites plus some televised interviews. And an intriguing promo that caught my attention. QueenSugar was promoted by Oprah Winfrey. Not sure how the mainstream TV press covered it.

January 21: Trump shut down the Spanish-language version of whitehouse.gov The site — which was at https://www.whitehouse.gov/es/ now gives users an “Error 404” message. At first, it included a “Go Home” button that directed viewers to a page featuring a video montage of Trump in his first term and on the campaign trail. The button was later updated to read “Go To Home Page”. The Spanish profile of the White House’ twitter account @LaCasaBlanca and the government page on reproductive freedom also were disbanded. https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-house-spanish-language-website-62224890c5b05c8ce0878358ba4a5266 "Hispanic advocacy groups and others expressed confusion at the abrupt change and frustration at what some called the administration’s lack of efforts to maintain communication with the Latino community, which helped propel him to the presidency."

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-fires-least-12-independent-inspectors-general-washington-post-reports-2025-01-25/ Nonpaywall: https://archive.is/cPr1u Trump fires 17 independent watchdogs at US government agencies Inspectors general at state, defense and transportation departments removed in apparent violation of federal law, eliminating a critical oversight component and clearing the way for the president to replace them with loyalists. The inspectors general at agencies including the departments of state, defense and transportation were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately, the source said on condition of anonymity. The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires the president to give both houses of Congress reasons for the dismissals 30 days in advance. An inspector general is an independent position that conducts audits and investigations into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse of power.

Fyi a few excerpts of Trump's nonsense about piping water from the Pacific Northwest and Canada all the way to California to fight fires.... (him ordering water to be piped when no pipes exist) posted on the Climate thread at this post: https://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/62022-the-climate-thread/?do=findComment&comment=1988263