Saturday, July 11, 2026

Wally Funk Passed Away!

Legends flew high.

American aviator who went to space as one of the oldest to be in space passed away.

Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87.

Funk died Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell said Thursday.

O’Dell, who described herself as Funk’s caregiver, said she was by Funk’s side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.

“It took its toll,” O’Dell said in a phone interview.

Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but never made it into space with that agency. In 2021, she got her chance aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.

At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest person to go into space, though the record was later broken by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate. They were both 90.

Bezos chose Funk as an “honored guest” to ride alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas.

In a post on X, Blue Origin said Funk was a “pioneer in every sense of the word.”

“We were humbled to be part of her journey,” the post said.

O’Dell said Funk was the “most eternally optimistic person” she had ever met.

“She was told by many, many, many men, ‘No, you can’t do this. No you can’t do that,’ ” O’Dell said. “And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”

Funk was the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a brief biography released by the City of Grapevine.

In the 1960s, she and other female pilots went through astronaut training in the Mercury 13 program, but they were not allowed to become astronauts.

“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would reach space. Her passion for flight, perseverance, and love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted Thursday on X.

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Timber On James Woods!

Don't throw stones at glass houses.

Actor and far right agitator James Woods has protected his social media after actress/activist Amber Tamblyn confirmed an encounter between them when she was 16.

During the fallout of Harvey Weinstein, many entertainers and politicians caught strays.

The actress said that Woods wanted to take her and a friend to Las Vegas for a "good time."

She blasted him for "predatory behavior" and stood on business by saying that his history goes further than her encounter.

Tamblyn at first wasn't believed but after Woods went after former Democratic senate candidate Graham Platner, I guess the progressives decided to bring his skeletons out the closet.

Following Woods' comments, political accounts and critics retaliated by resurfacing a 2017 allegation made by actress Amber Tamblyn. Tamblyn previously published an open letter in Teen Vogue and an op-ed in The New York Times detailing how an adult Woods tried to pick her and a friend up at a diner and take them to Las Vegas, allegedly replying "even better" when she informed him she was only 16 years old.

Woods, 79, known for his roles in "Casino" and "Once Upon a Time in America," had previously quoted an X post announcing Platner's cancelling of all campaign events where he rebuked Platner as "another pillar in the Democratic Pantheon," comparing him to former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress after several women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct (allegations which he denies), as well as attorney Michael Avenatti and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA).

Tamblyn, 43, who rose to fame after starring in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in 2005, then penned an open letter to Woods, which was published Wednesday in Teen Vogue. In the letter, the actor, activist, director and poet elaborated on a claim she made Monday that Woods, an Oscar-nominated actor best known for his roles in dramas like Ghosts of Mississippi and Casino, once tried to make an advance on her when she was 16.

James Woods creeped out Amber Tamblyn.

The renewed attention and subsequent backlash over these predatory behavior allegations prompted Woods to lock his social media profile and take his account private. The internet scrutiny grew so intense that it even forced the mother of Washington Nationals baseball star James Wood to issue a public statement clarifying that her son was a completely different person from the actor.

Platner vehemently denied the allegations. He formally withdrew himself from the nomination. He blasted the system by claiming that the allegations (whether true or not) has distracted the populist message he stood for. Most of his supporters are mixed on the departure and allegations.

In November 2017, actress Elizabeth Perkins publicly named James Woods by carrying a handwritten sign that read "James Woods #MeToo" at the Take Back the Workplace and #MeToo Survivors march in Hollywood.

While Perkins did not explicitly detail the nature of her mistreatment, she joined the rally to support victims of sexual harassment and assault. Representatives for both actors did not issue public comments regarding the sign at the time.

Woods is an outspoken conservative who appeared in film, television, podcasts and video games.

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Friday, July 10, 2026

Nolan X. Wells Is Forgotten News To America!

We not going to let his story fade.

The junk food media is picking up on a story about a young Black man being found dead on Horn Island in Mississippi. The media attention also Black Americans being found dead from mysterious drowning to hanging from trees.

Nolan Xavier Wells is national coverage. We are going to make his name synonymous with all the junk food media's obsession with missing white women.

The family of a Mississippi 18-year-old who was found dead after a July 4 boat trip with friends to an island off the Gulf Coast called for a thorough and transparent investigation during a news conference Friday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, saying many of the details they’re discovering don’t add up.

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who was retained by the family of Wells earlier this week, has said the family has concerns about the investigation and planned to conduct an independent autopsy. Wells travelled by boat to Horn Island, Mississippi, on July 4 with a group of friends, but did not make the return trip with them that afternoon. His body was found early Monday morning, more than a day later.

While Jackson County Sheriff’s Office officials said investigators don’t suspect foul play in the Black college student’s death, the sheriff has asked for any witnesses or people with video from the popular beach island about 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) off the coast of Mississippi to come forward to help shed light on the moments before Wells’ disappearance and death.

Wells’ death has galvanized the Black community. Actor and producer Tyler Perry is helping pay for Wells’ funeral, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is helping pay for his independent autopsy and filmmaker Spike Lee showed up to the news conference to show support for Wells’ family.

Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on the football team. His family members have raised concerns, saying they’ve seen video of a fight allegedly involving their son, and saying that as an elite athlete he was able to swim.

Wells was left without his phone or keys, lawyers say

Attorneys said Friday that the friends who left Wells on the island took his phone and keys when they departed. Crump said Wells’ family used an app to track his phone, and a friend went to where it was on land to pick it up.

“What teenager would leave their phone behind if they’re going to stay on this island? What teenager wouldn’t take their phone? It’s not adding up at all,” Crump said.

He added that the family believes text messages from social media apps had been deleted from his phone when they got it back, and they plan to employ experts to try to retrieve all the data they can.

A photo posted to social media, allegedly from the boat ride to the island, shows Wells with his arms around three white, male friends. Speculation and suspicion about the teen’s death have been rampant online, as people grapple with the state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority white space.

Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, looked to the sky several times as lawyers spoke Friday, to hold back tears. When she spoke, she said this was not how she wanted the world to know her son.

Wonsley said they had taught him about history, but he was a peacemaker who didn’t like division, and wanted everyone to be included.

“We just wanna know what happened,” she said, through tears. “And why our baby didn’t come home.”

Family demands thorough investigation into Wells’ death

Crump called for a thorough investigation, saying to law enforcement, “They want to know that you have not taken the path of least resistance.”

“If the roles were reversed and you had three young Black men on a boat with a young white man and that young white man ended up dead, what kind of investigation would be conducted by the Mississippi law enforcement officials? How many times would those three young Black men be interrogated?” he added.

It’s the second case that Crump has taken on in the state in recent months. He also was recently retained by the family of a Mississippi 1-year-old who was killed when police fired into a moving car.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said earlier this week that Wells’ mother had called to report him missing around midnight into the morning of July 5. Crews from multiple local and state agencies began an extensive search Sunday of the island and surrounding waters. His body was recovered early Monday, family members confirmed.

An official autopsy was conducted Tuesday, though officials have said it could be weeks before results are released. Ledbetter said Wells’ friends were cooperating with the investigation.

“From the people we’ve talked to, it sounds like he chose to stay on the island with the assumption that he was going to ride back to the mainland with someone else,” Ledbetter told The Associated Press earlier this week.

Crump and Wells’ family said some of those details didn’t seem to add up either, saying from the videos they had seen Wells was one of, if not the only, Black person on the island where there were around 200 people celebrating the holiday. They said the girl the friends said Wells was speaking to gave a different story about him leaving with those friends. They raised questions about why no one would have given him a ride home if he chose to stay.

“If he’s drowning, nobody sees him drown? Nobody offers assistance? Nobody tries to help? I mean, obviously he stands out. I think he’s the only Black person I saw when I’m looking at the videos,” Crump said.

Lynching is back.

Gov. Tate Reeves, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith (R-MS), Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), Rep. Mike Ezell (R-MS) and Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS) represent a generation of boomers. 

Clueless and worthless.

Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the country. It is has a 40% Black population but is poorly represented by all members.

Republicans maintain a supermajority of power.

Missing white woman syndrome is a term used by some social scientists and media commentators to denote perceived disproportionate media coverage, especially on television, of missing-person cases toward white females as compared to males, or females of color. Supporters of the phenomenon posit that it encompasses supposed disproportionate media attention to females who are young, attractive, white, and upper middle class. Although the term was coined in the context of missing-person cases, it is sometimes used of coverage of other violent crimes. The phenomenon has been highlighted in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other predominantly white countries, as well as South Africa.

The phenomenon has led to a number of tough-on-crime measures, mainly on the political right, that were named for white women who disappeared and were subsequently found harmed. In addition to race and class, factors such as supposed attractiveness, body size, and youthfulness have been identified as unfair criteria in the determination of newsworthiness in coverage of missing women. News coverage of missing black women was more likely to focus on the victim's problems, such as abusive boyfriends, criminal history, or drug addiction, while coverage of white women often tended to focus on their roles as mothers, daughters, students, and contributors to their communities.

The Laken Riley Act is a controversial law that eliminates due process. An example of a missing woman, a criminal of color, political theater and more laws that eliminate freedoms under guise of protecting.

How many women of color are killed by white men?

Do white men often troll social media with "thoughts and prayers" to women of color?

It is an easy answer......!

Former kidnapping victim and victim's rights advocate Elizabeth Smart has pressed the junk food media to give attention to all people missing (especially woman of color). She voiced frustration over missing Black and indigenous women who rarely get coverage.

Her case attracted major media attention and led to the arrest of two predators. She stated that the junk food media needs to do better when it comes to covering victims.

Again, we here at Journal de la Reyna want to see all missing persons found safely, regardless of color. However, we want the same amount of time spent to finding women of color, children, men and other women who never get the attention.

It's a real coined term to media coverage of missing white women who get nonstop coverage. You know more about this person than the thousands of people missing everyday.

In addition to race and class, factors such as supposed attractiveness, body size and youthfulness function as unfair criteria in the determination of newsworthiness in coverage of missing women. News coverage of missing black women were more likely to focus on the victim's problems, such as abusive boyfriends or a troubled past, while coverage of white women often tend to focus on their roles as mothers or daughters.

Black women and indigenous women are missing far more and yet they never get the attention that white women get. Think about Gabby Petito and the amount of attention she and her killer got.

Usually if the victim is a white woman and the suspect is Black or an immigrant, the Republicans will exploit the tragedy to encourage white nationalists to vote. 

The world may never see Colin Flaherty or Charlie Kirk's rotten asses ever again.

However, there are more like them in the waiting. Believe me, Andy Ngo, Chaya Raichik, Benny Johnson, Jeffrey Mead, Candace Owens, Laura Loomer, Kevin Jackson, Jesse Lee Peterson, Larry Elder and Michelle Malkin will suck the cock of white supremacy for a buck.

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Curmudgeon Fires Bipartisan Election Officials!

I won the 2020 election. They don't what they talking about.

From Washed Up 45 to Curmudgeon 47. I think I got a nickname for the already lame duck. 

I am debating on whether I label him that or Geezer 47.

Months away from the U.S. Midterms, President Donald J. Trump has used his new authority to fire independent government officials who refuse to abide by his illegal orders. Christie McCormick, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland were fired out the cannon.

Any new commissioners must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The commission cannot have more than two members of the same party.

The ousters came the week after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 91-year-old case that had limited the president’s ability to remove members of independent federal boards.

Trump has urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote and present photo identification when voting.

“We do that, we’re not gonna lose an election for a hundred years,” Trump said during an Independence Day speech.

The U.S. Supreme Court is by far one of the worst entities of modern time. John Roberts will be ranked as one of the worst. In his 20 years of holding the title of Chief Justice, his legacy will be almost as bad as Roger Taney.

It will be similar to former president and chief justice William Howard Taft. 

These people were doing their job without bias or favor.

The Taft court was responsible for the unnecessary power that led us into the Great Depression.

With this latest decision to allow the president and future ones fire independent commissioners, it allows cronyism and favoritism. When an election is held and the results come through official calls, the president could instruct his officials to stall the election results. He cannot officially overturn decisions but it doesn't say won't try.

Two of the commissioners on the Election Assistance Commission were Democrats, whom Trump fired. The third official, a Republican, was allowed to resign. VoteBeat cited three officials familiar with the matter.

The EAC trains election officials in new voting technology, manages the national mail voter registration form, and oversees a testing and certification program for voting machines, some of which Trump falsely claimed took votes away from him and gave to former president Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Trump falsely maintains the election was rigged against him.

No his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and his push to rush through Amy Coney Barrett doomed his reelection bid.

Biden's failure to focus on the economy, his refusal to stop aiding Israel as it was committing a genocide, his debate performance, allowing Merrick Garland to slow walk Trump’s indictments which he delayed through the Supreme Court, failures to reign in John Fetterman, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin as they blocked key bills and allowing former vice president Kamala Harris take the bullet for his failures allowed Trump to return and cause more chaos.

Despite the Jan. 6 attacks, the American voters allowed this curmudgeon to return to the White House.

Oh, the junk food media was obsessed with Harris. They were on her like flies to shit.

No one seems to care about JD Vance, the current Vice President of the United States. He barely gets media coverage. Like it seems like a double standard for how the junk food media gives this curmudgeon the unnecessary attention in the face of endless crises he created.

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Thursday, July 09, 2026

Joy Reid: They Playing With Fire!

We ain't playing no more games.

Joy Reid said it clearly...

You have my permission to sit this one out. 

She is telling Democratic and Republican voters to just sit it out because the game is rigged. She said while Graham Platner is crazy, the voters who picked him as the nominee deserve the option of voting for him, flawed or not. With him dropping out, the Maine Democratic Party and independent senator Angus King are warned that putting in a candidate that goes against the platform Platner stood on will face a boycott.

The voters don't care about his personal problems. They care about policies that lowers groceries, gas prices, insurance premiums, education, shipping costs, healthcare costs and commodities.

The voters care about their taxpayer money going to Israel.

The voters care about the dumb potholes on their roads damaging their vehicles.

The voters care about the government not working in their interest.

Reid like Tucker Carlson has acknowledged that the two party systems worthless. 

She has left the Democratic Party. 

The enthusiasm is drying up and the Democratic Party will be shell shocked when they realize the progressive base they claim should find their own party will eventually do it at a crucial time.

On "The Joy Reid Show," the former MS NOW host warned key figures in the party that if they do not replace Platner with an "ideologically similar candidate," voters may stay home on Election Day.

"You need to replace him with somebody who is ideologically the same because that is what was decided. The people of Maine, the Democratic voters of Maine said, 'We want a progressive.' They did not say they want an AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] moderate," Reid said. "So, the Democratic Party in Maine ought to pick someone who is ideologically the same or ideologically similar as Platner."

Reid went on to give Maine voters her blessing not to cast their ballot if the Democrats do not select a candidate whose policies are in line with Platner's campaign promises.

"If you don't and the DNC shoves an AIPAC candidate down your throat, you have my permission to not vote for them because the Democratic Party needs to learn that it is not, 'Vote blue no matter who.' It matters who," Reid continued.

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Trump Might Abandon Qatari Gifted Air Force One!

No flights or just flights in darkness.

The President of the United States bragged about his new Air Force One plane. It was a damn near $400 million gift from the government of Qatar. The president was told by the U.S. Secret Service, the vice president and several Republicans about the optics.

President Donald J. Trump has a job approval of 29%. 

Vice President JD Vance has a job approval of 34%.

Congress has a job approval of 23%.

Supreme Court has a job approval of 29%.

The junk food media in general is viewed negatively more by Republicans but is starting to be viewed negatively by Democrats.

Israel is viewed very negatively by Democrats overwhelmingly. In the Republican Party, younger voters view Israel extremely negative. Older and religious Republicans view Israel still favorably. Democratic lawmakers like Haley Stevens, Chuck Schumer, Jared Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer, Angie Craig, Ritchie Torres, Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen, Hakeem Jeffries and even independent John Fetterman still back Israel despite opposition.

The war in Iran is very unpopular. The aggression has led to high gas prices, high food prices, high shipping costs, high insurance premiums and global instability.

Trump flew out of Turkey on Wednesday night on the old Air Force One instead of his new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 as a security precaution related to the resumption of hostilities with Iran, according to people briefed on the plans, who said the change came at the urging of the Secret Service.

The swap deepens questions about whether the new plane, which the president had pressed to be ready as soon as possible, was retrofitted with sufficient security measures over the last year. Lawmakers and some officials have raised concerns about whether the expedited timeline allowed for the addition of an advanced missile defense system and other modifications used to protect the president.

In a statement, Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said that “the new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff.”

Trump doesn't look well.

“As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats,” he added.

The older plane has been widely reported to be equipped with a system designed to blind an incoming antiaircraft missile, along with “chaff” that could be deployed to mislead a missile and force it off course.

It is unclear how many, if any, of those capabilities have been installed on the newer plane that was donated from Qatar, which Trump has been eager to get into service.

Industry and Pentagon officials have said such an extensive upgrade could cost as much as $1 billion and take up to two years to complete. But in testimony before Congress, Troy E. Meink, the Air Force secretary, estimated that the modifications would run “probably less than $400 million.”

The Air Force started upgrading the 747 jetliner in the United States last summer.

Air Force officials said at the time that they were modifying the jet for “executive airlift” support, on orders of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but that all other details about the upgrade were classified.

The plan immediately drew criticism from some members of Congress. The lawmakers expressed concern that Trump would pressure the Air Force to do the work so fast that sufficient security measures would not be built into the plane, including missile defense systems or even systems to protect it from the electromagnetic effects of a nuclear blast.

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Bonnie Tyler Passed Away!

Iconic singer Bonnie Tyler passed away from an intestinal infection.

The singers who sound American but were born overseas.

Yearly Wrap Up.

The legendary singer Bonnie Tyler has passed away in Portugal after an illness. If you grew up in the 1980s, you heard the hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart", which is a popular prom song.

Also "Holding Out for a Hero" which was used for the Super Mario Bros. film, Shrek, Short Circuit and other themes.

The Welsh singer was 75 years old. One month of her birthday.

Tyler died unexpectedly in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness, her family said Thursday in a statement on her website. She was hospitalized in May in Faro, where she had a home, for emergency intestinal surgery. She had been placed in an induced coma for a period but was reportedly improving last month and expected to make a good recovery.

“Bonnie’s family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for,” her family said.

Tyler earned three Grammy nods and in 2013 represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest, where she came in 19th. She was honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for her services to music by Queen Elizabeth II, thanks mainly to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which has had more than 1 billion streams, boosted by real eclipses in 2017 and 2024.

The song spent four weeks at No. 1, and when Stereogum reevaluated it in 2020, the music outlet declared it an “extinction-level event rendered in musical form.”

“It’s pop music as heart-pounding, chest-thumping, blood-gargling, heavens-falling passion explosion. It’s sheer spectacle. It’s fireworks and lasers and lightning and thunder. It soars and swoops and barrel-rolls,” the site said.

The song has never really gone away: it was covered by the English singer Nicki French in 1995, and the band Westlife in 2006. Cate Blanchett sang it while hitting Billy Bob Thornton with her car in 2001’s “Bandits,” it appeared in a wedding scene in 2003’s “Old School” and One Direction sang it in 2010 on a U.K. version of “The X Factor.”

Early life

Tyler was born — as Gaynor Hopkins — a coal miner’s daughter in public housing with an outside toilet in Skewen, Wales, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) outside Swansea. She grew up with three sisters and two brothers.

She adored the Beatles and her first album was “A Hard Day’s Night.” The first song she bought, at 13, was “Hippy Hippy Shake” by the Swinging Blue Jeans and she watched “Top of the Pops” religiously, according to her memoir, “Straight From the Heart.”

She would record “Top of the Pops” on a reel-to-reel two-track recorder and write down the lyrics of songs she loved. Her favorites were by Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.

“I used to sing them into my hairbrush for hours and hours, and that’s how it all started for me. I fell in love with singing just from doing that. Looking back, even then my voice had a husky tone to it, but I didn’t think much of it. I thought everyone’s voices were different from each other’s,” she wrote.

In 1976 she had to have surgery to remove nodules on her throat, leaving her with that trademark vocal sound. Changing her name to Sherene Davis, she was fronting a soul band when she was discovered by talent scout Roger Bell, who brought her to London for demo sessions. Then she waited for a label until RCA said it was interested.

Under her new RCA-sanctioned name Bonnie Tyler, her debut album “The World Starts Tonight” in 1977 contained her first chart hit, “Lost in France,” and she was nominated for a breakthrough artists award at the Brit Awards. She then had a No. 3 hit in 1978 with “It’s a Heartache,” but soon drifted. She then signed with Sony and saw Meat Loaf perform “Bat Out of Hell” on the BBC. Impressed, she requested to work with Meat Loaf songwriter and producer Jim Steinman.

‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’

Steinman introduced her to his song “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which would become the debut single for her fifth studio album, “Faster Than the Speed of Night.” He borrowed one of the song’s lyrics — “Turn around, bright eyes” — from his 1969 musical “The Dream Engine,” written when he was a student at Massachusetts’ Amherst College. He told her the song was from a prospective musical version of “Nosferatu.”

“Jim liked to put down a basic rhythm track, do nine takes of the song, choose the best one and then put the kitchen sink on there, like Phil Spector used to,” Tyler told The Guardian in 2023. “He gave me a cassette to listen to in my hotel and we both preferred take two.”
Thank you Bonnie.

Featuring E Street Band members Roy Bittan on piano and Max Weinberg on drums, “Total Eclipse” is a rumination on lost love: “Once upon a time there was light in my life/But now there’s only love in the dark,” she sings.

The video, a staple of early-days MTV, was shot in a frightening gothic former asylum in Surrey, where the guard dogs apparently wouldn’t set foot in the rooms downstairs where they used to give people electric shock treatment. The visuals included slow-motion tossed doves, candles, dancing ninjas, dancing greasers, Tyler in frighteningly big shoulder pads, fencers, gymnasts, wind machines and shirtless boys wearing swim goggles being doused with water.

“Faster Than the Speed of Night” earned a Grammy nomination for best rock vocal performance — losing to Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield” — and Tyler got another nod for “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in the best pop vocal performance category, losing to Irene Cara’s “Flashdance — What a Feeling.”

After the ‘Eclipse’

Tyler never reached such dizzying heights again but stayed current with such movie soundtrack singles as “Holding Out For a Hero” — from 1984’s “Footloose” — and “Here She Comes” from “Metropolis” also in 1984.

Her 2019 disc “Between the Earth and the Stars” featured duets with Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard and Status Quo’s Francis Rossi, and she ended that year performing a Vatican Christmas concert before Pope Francis.

In 2013, she switched gears to make a country-flavored record in Nashville, “Rocks and Honey,” which included the Vince Gill duet “What You Need From Me” and a little ballad called “Believe in Me,” written by American songwriter Desmond Child and British songwriters Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. “Believe in Me” was picked to represent the United Kingdom at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden.

“It was an absolutely wonderful atmosphere there,” she told the San Francisco Examiner in 2023. “I was being interviewed every 15, 20 minutes, and when I walked out onstage behind the British flag, I thought the roof was going to come off! It was awesome, just awesome!”

In 2017, she joined Joe Jonas’ band DNCE for a performance on the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas as part of a “Total Eclipse Cruise.” When the moon passed in front of the sun, they played “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

Tyler was married to property developer and former Olympic judo competitor Robert Sullivan.

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Wednesday, July 08, 2026

Freedom Fuel Networks: The Newest Scam That Curmudgeon Pushing!

Pumping freedom.

Valero and Sunoco gas stations are ending their licensing at several gas stations in the Mid-Atlantic states. What comes in its place is Freedom Fuel Network.

What the fuck is this?

Another MAGA based entity that President Donald J. Trump is pushing on his gullible supporters.

Job approval at 29%. 

The White House announced that the first "Freedom Fuel" gas station has opened and was offering gas for $3.47. 

The initiative was announced Tuesday, along with a minute-long video of customers buying gas from the Freedom Fuel Network and thanking Trump. The gas station is located in the Philadelphia area and is the first of 25 gas stations announced. 

The gas station shown in the video was decorated with American flags and says "Freedom Fuel Network" on the top.

The Trump-promoted gas stations arrive as the president announced the ceasefire agreement with Iran was "over," launching new strikes on Wednesday. 

The ceasefire began on June 17, but oil markets had been reacting to expectations that it would happen weeks before the announcement. According to AAA, the average cost of a gallon of gas in the U.S. on Wednesday was $3.796, down more than a dollar from its high a few months ago. 

Where are Freedom Fuel gas stations located?
There are 25 locations, according to the Freedom Fuel Network webpage. It's unclear whether all 25 stations are open. 

The gas stations are listed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Why is gas so expensive?

Gas prices have surged worldwide since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Conflict in the region and a subsequent war have led to instability in the region, which is a crucial part of the global oil market. 

A dueling U.S. and Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of oil flows, has been one of the biggest disruptors of global oil markets.   

After climbing significantly in the opening days of the war, the average price for a gallon of gas dropped below $4 on June 18 and has been in the $3 range since. However, Wednesday's announcement that the ceasefire with Iran is "over" will likely increase gas prices again. 

The cost of a barrel of oil, the driving force behind gas prices, jumped in the wake of Trump's early morning announcement. Oil prices surged nearly 6% after Trump said that the interim agreement with Iran is over, though he will allow talks to continue.

The restarting of the conflict and its impact on gas prices likely won't be felt immediately. Refineries typically pay for crude oil a month or more in advance, so even after oil prices drop or increase, they won’t immediately be processing products at the new rate. It could take weeks or months for oil to start flowing through the Strait of Hormuz again. And even when it does, it will still take significant time for oil to flow again at the level it was moving before the war. 

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Ironic The Curmudgeon Claims It Was A Waste Of Time When He Was The One Who Started This!

And you wonder why the Iranians say "death to America!"

The President of the United States, Congress, the Supreme Court and the junk food media are at record levels of unpopularity. 

Iran, North Korea, China and Russia can sit back and eat popcorn. We are watching our country fall apart because of the same tired old 20th Century policies that keeps the elite rich and the struggling angry at the vulnerable.

Since 1776, the U.S. has been at some level of violence.

Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz has impacted over 20% of the world's economy.

The president is willing to gamble the world's economy to please Israel and distract us from his perversions in the Epstein files.

On Tuesday, the U.S. launched attacks on Iran. The U.S. claimed Iran attacked commercial vessels which merited a response.

The U.S. continues this one sided aggression at the behest of Israel. The apartheid genocidal ethnostate has continued its aggression in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria despite "ceasefires."

Here in the United States, folks are being laid off from their jobs. More Americans are exhausted of their jobs.

More Americans are tired of paying hundreds of dollars for gas. They have to put aside vacations, health visits and mechanics to save money.

More Americans cannot get child care that is affordable. They have to put more pressures on family members and friends to save money.

More Americans are really frustrated with grocery prices. As companies like Walmart are phasing out paper tags for electronic tags, the fears is the pricing surges will come when people notice the price of milk and eggs surge at peak crisis.

More Americans are fed up with rent rising. As rent and housing are surging in prices, many Americans are angry at President Donald J. Trump refusing to sign the bipartisan affordable housing bill into law. It will quietly become law but Trump has threatened a veto if the Congress refuse his SAVE Act.

The junk food media is obsessed with Graham Platner's personal life instead of the issues that Americans are facing. 

Are you tired of the noise?

Trump in Tรผrkiye for the NATO Summit. He is upset that NATO didn't aid in his aggression of Iran. He claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin will eventually come to some agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Russia is testing Poland.

He also is lifting sanctions on Tรผrkiye when it comes to fighter jets. Israel vehemently opposes it. Giving the country military resources, it allows a buffer to stop Israel from further aggression.

Trump said Wednesday he believes the current ceasefire with Iran is over after an exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran, the latest escalation straining the agreement to end the war.

"I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum," Trump told reporters in Ankara, where he is attending the NATO summit.

He called the Iranian leaders "vicious, violent people."

"If they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it," he added.

Trump, however, did not rule out talks continuing to permanently end the war with Iran.

He said the top U.S. negotiators, Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, want to negotiate.

But, Trump added, "as far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars."

There was no immediate response from the Iranian government.

His comments came after the U.S. and Iran traded attacks again overnight Wednesday, the second such escalation since the two sides signed an interim deal in mid-June.

The strikes followed Tuesday's attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in what it said was retaliation for the previous Iranian aggression. Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it responded to those strikes by launching missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain, two Arab Gulf countries that host U.S. military bases.

An uneasy alliance. Turkiye is tried of being restraint as Israel mounts a possible attack on it. NATO will react but the U.S. might now join them if Israel attacks.

Trump is in Ankara, Tรผrkiye, to attend the NATO summit, where he has continued to air grievances, lamenting that European countries don't contribute enough to their own defense spending, as Russia's war against Ukraine has dragged on.

He has also expressed frustration since the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran began that Europe hasn't been supportive enough of his agenda.

Earlier in the day, the president said he was "testing" allies on how they'd help with the war.

"Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it's OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them," Trump said.

The tension between Trump and NATO nations has also grown as the president continued on Tuesday to insist that the U.S. should have control of Greenland, a territory currently under Denmark.

Despite friction in the alliance, at the gathering Trump has discussed some issues important to him related to the U.S.-Israel-led war in Iran, such as increased defense spending and logistics around opening the Strait of Hormuz.

And as the two-day summit ends, Trump is expected to take questions during a Wednesday press conference.

The brief two-day gathering typically left little time for one-on-one meetings, but Trump was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the gathering. Negotiating an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been an elusive goal for Trump, who has teased recently that the end of the war is "getting closer," without providing much further detail. He also said he recently spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Tuesday, Trump met with the leader of the host nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he considers a friend. The two discussed the U.S. potentially selling F-35 fighter jets to Tรผrkiye — despite there being a congressional ban in place that prevents this.

"We have a very good relationship. … Why wouldn't we do that?" Trump said in his meeting with Erdogan.

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Graham Cracked!

Goodbye to any hopes of winning back young white men who wanted a populist in the Democratic Party. The party elites chased Graham Platner out over allegations. By the way, the president launched another war with Iran. Expect gas and food prices to rise again.

Yearly Wrap Up.

Senate nominee Graham Platner ends his bid as the Democrat to take on Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

Allegations were too much. I guess the Democrats will chase out a candidate with personal flaws and fly into rage over he said/she said noise. 

Okay.

I now have Maine senate race as Likely Republican.

He wanted to focus on issues that affect people in Maine. But here we are talking about some issue facing him and his personal life. Last month it was the allegations of cheating through a social media app. Then it was about a few ex-girlfriends who said he was either a lousy guy or a great partner.

Now sexual abuse.

The allegations comes from a woman who claimed that a mere five years ago, Platner broke into her home and sexually assaulted her. She went to CNN, the network owned by Larry and David Ellison.

What is not being discussed is the jobs report.

The cost of living.

The price of gasoline.

These corporations are raking in massive profits despite Americans tightening their wallets.

The price of groceries are still high.

The cost of housing is unbearable.

The cost of insurance premiums are high.

The cost of shipping goods is high.

The option to go to the doctor, the car mechanic or take a vacation is expensive.

You know the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran again.

More people are struggling under this president. Yet, we are more concerned about a he said/she said story.

This has the Democratic Party got him to step aside.

I take sexual abuse allegations very seriously. 

However, for every allegation, there is a Tara Reade and Donald J. Trump. 

My thing is, why the victim go the junk food media instead of the police?

Me thinks it was an op from the Israelis. 

A woman who previously dated Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop, according to a Politico report released Monday, leading prominent supporters to pull their endorsements and throwing a must-win race for the party into turmoil.

White women tears have locked up Black men. They often get away with sending innocent people to the iron college if they have a bogus allegation.

That curmudgeon Collins will likely face a milquetoast who is backed by the establishment. The pro Israel Dems and KHive are celebrating the decision of Platner leaving the race. 

The Maine Democratic primary voters will be either angry or relieved. 

The young white male voter, well I guess they're in President Donald J. Trump's corner thanks to the Democratic Party's decision to play on moralism.

It makes me less likely to support Democrats come Midterm and 2028.

The enthusiasm is drying up and the Democratic Party will be shell shocked when they realize the progressive base they claim should find their own party will eventually do it at a crucial time.

Platner said Wednesday that he plans to withdraw from the U.S. Senate race in Maine after facing an allegation of sexual assault, shuttering an insurgent campaign that had withstood months of controversy only to implode and imperil Democrats’ attempt to regain power in Washington.

Platner’s exit was expected to further divisions between the party’s moderate and progressive factions, as Democrats struggle to unify ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats were desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins while President Donald Trump is broadly unpopular.

In an 11-minute video posted to social media, Platner said the process to replace him needs to be “open, transparent and democratic” and to reflect the will and values of people who supported him. He also lashed out at Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C.

“People in D.C. need to stay in D.C.,” Platner said. “Decisions should not be made by people in places of political power.”

At times scratching his beard and looking off camera as he spoke, Platner seemed to become emotional as he announced his plans, seated on what appeared to be a wooden deck as the noise of nearby traffic whizzed by. He also stressed that his decision was not an admission of guilt.

Although Platner had never before held elected office, progressive leaders promoted him over Gov. Janet Mills, who was favored by the Democratic establishment. Mills dropped out of the race in late April as Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer, consolidated support from primary voters who were eager for a more combative candidate and were willing to overlook his checkered past, which included a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol and online postings dismissive of sexual assault.

Shortly before Platner clinched the Democratic nomination in the June 9 primary, there were reports that he had exchanged sexually explicit messages with other women while married and that he had become physical with a previous girlfriend during an argument.

Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski support an adjudicated sexual predator. 

But Platner’s support didn’t crater until Monday, when Politico reported that a woman said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop.

Jenny Racicot, who lives in Maine, told Politico she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner but cut off contact with him after that night in 2021 and told him the encounter wasn’t consensual. In a CNN interview, she said she had been raped “by definition.”

After the story was published, Platner in a video released on social media denied the allegation as “categorically false” but said he would be “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” for his campaign. High-level backers pulled their support, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said the next day that he spoke with Platner and that “in light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election. The state Democratic Party held an emergency meeting Wednesday, where more than 100 state committee members signed off on holding a nominating convention, in the event of Platner’s withdrawal.

Platner announced he would do just that less than an hour later.

According to the statute, party officials may select a new nominee if a candidate who won the primary withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13. The replacement candidate must be named by July 27.

Democrats must net four Senate seats to gain control of the 100-member chamber, and party leaders viewed Maine as a critical piece of the puzzle, along with Alaska, Ohio and North Carolina.

Nazi tattoo, Reddit posts and more had already been challenges for Platner

Platner has faced difficult questions almost from the moment he started his campaign last year. News outlets uncovered years-old comments on Reddit that appeared to endorse political violence, dismiss rape in the military, criticize rural Americans and use anti-gay slurs.

There was another controversy over the skull-and-crossbones tattoo, which is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol, on his chest. He said he was unaware of the history and chose the tattoo while drunk and on leave with fellow Marines in Croatia. He covered the tattoo after becoming a candidate, and he said in an Oct. 21 interview with the Pod Save America political podcast that he was “not a secret Nazi.”

“Skulls and crossbones are a pretty standard military thing,” Platner added.

However, a former girlfriend told The New York Times that Platner joked about the tattoo being a Nazi symbol and called it “my Totenkopf.”

The revelations about the tattoo and the online comments stirred concern among Democrats that Platner had been poorly vetted as a political candidate and demonstrated questionable judgment. Some party leaders despaired over Platner’s chances to win even before allegations about previous relationships began to surface.

Platner drew progressive buzz and support

Before Politico’s story was published, Platner canceled some town halls planned around the state. Such events were a calling card for his campaign, which prided itself on a willingness to go anywhere to rally voters. Volunteers hosted happy hours and trivia nights that helped generate enthusiasm for a generational shift from Collins, 73, to Platner, 41.

At a time when Democrats have grown dissatisfied with the party establishment, Platner seemed like an appealing alternative. His deep voice could command a room, and voters were drawn to his gruff populism and focus on economic inequality.

They were also willing to look past controversies as Platner portrayed himself as a regular person who had made mistakes and was striving to better himself and his community. Sometimes he talked about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he focused on the power of redemption.

Before the sexual assault allegation became public, some voters said they also wouldn’t want to be judged on their worst moments, such as drunken behavior or crude comments.

Platner was backed by progressives including Rep. Ro Khanna of California, but that support quickly eroded after Racicot’s allegations.

“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna said Monday. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”

Sonja Birthisel, a Democrat and data analyst in Orono, Maine, voted for Platner in the primary. But she said he did the right thing by dropping out.

“My hope for the future of our democracy is that we can hold all of our elected officials to higher standards,” she said.

But the 38-year-old said she rejects the idea that the race is a proxy battle between moderate and progressive forces nationwide.

“Maine is a big small town,” she said. “I’d really love to see out-of-state influence and out-of-state money keep out of our beeswax as much as possible.”

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