Peter Cullen Passed Away!

The Spark of legend heads to the Matrix. 

The Allspark.

It's like losing your father.

Yearly wrap up.

Canadian actor Peter Cullen best known for his voice as Optimus Prime, the noble leader of the Autobots in The Transformers passed away.

Man my childhood.

President Donald J. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Congess, Prime Minister Mark Carney, Parliament, Hollywood and animators across the world react to his passing.

Cullen, a prolific voice actor who enlivened scores of TV series, specials and movies, including Optimus Prime in the syndicated 1984 series “Transformers” and Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh cartoon franchise, has died. He was 85.

His agent, Kevin Motley, said Cullen died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. “His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember ‘be strong enough to be gentle,’” said a family statement.

Before his audition, Cullen only knew that he would be reading for the part of a truck, though giving voice to a vehicle didn’t seem that crazy. “You’re always auditioning for something in animation that’s a little off of the norm,” Cullen told the AP in 2019.

When Cullen read about the heroic Autobot leader that turned into a red cabover semitrailer, he thought about his older brother, who had served as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War.

“He was my hero, and he certainly was the mainstay behind the character,” Cullen said. “I just did an impression of Larry, and he’s still alive in my mind today because every time I do Prime, there’s my brother Larry.”

Cullen’s authoritative baritone as Optimus Prime also appeared in 2009’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” through “Dark of the Moon,” “Age of Extinction,” “The Last Knight,” “Bumblebee” and “Rise of the Beasts” in 2023.

A legend of animation, Peter Cullen.

His thoughtful, almost operatic lines would be quoted for decades by kids and adults alike: “I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars: We are here. We are waiting,” he said in the first movie. In another, he intoned: “Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.”

Other highlights from Cullen’s prolific career include voicing Eeyore across various “Winnie-the-Pooh” projects, including Disney’s “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” TV series that aired from 1988-91, as well as voicing the villainous KARR opposite KITT in the 1980s NBC series “Knight Rider,” and lending his pipes to King Kong in the Jeff Bridges-led “King Kong” remake in 1976.

Cullen would attend conventions around the country to meet with fans from multiple generations, often getting teary. He said parents sometimes got more excited than their children meeting him.

“I expect that I will run into a father with his son, and the father will more than likely get choked up,” Cullen said before MegaCon Orlando in 2019. “And then I get choked up, and then the kid is saying ‘What are these two grown men getting choked up about?’”

Cullen is survived by his four children, Angus, Claire, Pilar and Clay.

Dems Got Hasan Piker On The Brain Worst Than The GOP!

Pro Israel Democrats and Republican Mike Lawler have an obsession with an agitator who isn't running for office. 

The Democratic Party are sabotaging their chances at winning the Midterms. Instead of putting forth policies that counter President Donald J. Trump and Republicans, they are doing bipartisan condemnation of a prominent progressive agitator who inspired people to vote for democratic socialists.

They are literally wasting more time talking about Hasan Piker than about the crumbling economy. The responses from Hakeem Jeffries, John Fetterman, Elissa Slotkin, Pete Aguilar, Hillary Scholten, Jared Moskowitz, Josh Gottheimer, Ritchie Torres, Cory Booker and Jacky Rosen was coordinated by their staff and AIPAC handlers.

Literally AIPAC has its tentacles all over this.

Republican Mike Lawler also is joining in on the pile on Piker.

They allow Randy Fine, Bill Maher, Mark Levin, Sean "Softball" Hannity, Chaya Raichik, Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer, Andy Ogles, Tommy Tuberville, Brandon Gill, Jake Tapper and Jesse Watters spew anti-Muslim nonsense without even a condemnation. 

Even if they did condemn the rhetoric of these assholes, it's always, we watered down round the circle denouncing.

I swear, if they continue this rambling about Piker, I am going to just sit it out.

I am tired of voting for bullshit. The Democratic Party thinks its key to winning is older Black voters, Jews and educated Americans. Well there are folks who are not into Republican Party policies but want to vote for the Democrats but can't because they want you to wait longer for change while they focus on the status quo. They want to chase after the elusive white voters.

Likely white women with biracial children are voting. Black women who are fed up with cost of living while they are working to succeed are voting. Black men who are tired of the stereotyping about them being violent and lazy are voting. Muslims tired of being told their religion is extreme when its not are voting. Arab Americans who are tired of being told to denounce someone who commits violence as its everyone are voting. 

People are sick and tired of Israel.

People are tired of the junk food media focusing on distractions.

I want Angie Nixon, Abdul El-Sayed and even James Talarico to win their senate bids.

I want the Democrats to stop focusing on Piker and focus on the economy and the decline of this country. If you got time to condemn people who aren't running the government, you got time to do something as people running the government.

Democrats have a 48% chance of winning the House. They have a 43% chance of winning the Senate.

Republicans have a 47% chance of holding the House. They have a 49% chance of holding the Senate.

Samuel Monroe, Jr. Passed Away!

If you watched Tales from the Hood, Menace II Society, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood, Set It Off, The Player's Club and watch television programs, you saw a veteran actor portraying the role of the antagonist. 

Samuel Monroe, Jr. has succumb to meningitis.

In early March, the junk food media reported he had meningitis which progressed throughout his body. They placed him in a coma and declared him brain dead.

Monroe Jr. died Thursday August 27 at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 52 years old. His mother Joyce Patton confirmed his death on Facebook. "I want to thank all of my Facebook family and friends new and old for praying for Samuel Monroe Jr., my son. But today God called him home. Please honor my final request to pray for the family especially his 3 children."

Monroe spent four months fighting for his life after being hospitalized in April with meningitis, MRSA pneumonia and complications that required dialysis.

His family revealed in April that the meningitis had gone untreated for approximately eight months, first contracted while he was filming in Las Vegas, because of repeated misdiagnoses at several hospitals.

His final months before they placed Monroe in a medically induced coma.

By the time he was properly diagnosed it had spread to his brain and spine. He suffered multiple seizures in recent weeks and doctors had warned his family he might spend the rest of his life in a vegetative state.

His wife Shawna Stewart, his mother and three children never stopped fighting for him.

Monroe built his career in the 1990s playing memorable supporting roles in films that defined Black cinema, Menace II Society in 1993, Tales from the Hood in 1995, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, Set It Off in 1996 and The Players Club in 1998. He is survived by his wife, his mother and his three children.

You Gotta Go!

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance's trade war with Canada will cause a toilet paper shortage.

Okay, folks are going to start going into desperation mode come the Fall. It will be the months where electirc usage increases, the daylight decreases, gun violence increases, folks are debating whether they go to a necessity or cut back on their usual routines.

It may come to a point where you will be forced to stay at home.

I am not going to fast food restraurants.

I am not going to bars and nightclubs.

I am not going to movie theaters, concerts, plays or large gatherings.

I am basically staying at home and it still costs money.

So what I am saying is simple. Why did Joe Biden allow Donald J. Trump to return to power?

Cause he was tone deaf. The former president put his gamble on helping Ukraine and Israel which led to inflation. As Israel was committing a genocide, Biden continued to give the country its vast resources draining our resources. He cost himself a second term and Kamala Harris a historical victory. 

Now as we are dealing with a tone deaf curmudgeon like Trump, his global instability led us to war with Iran at the behest of Israel. The junk food media isn't even covering the war crimes the U.S. and Israel are committing. They are so driving by buzz words like democratic socialism, Hasan Piker, transgender Americans and establishment.

Unaware, the war with Iran has quickly raised the cost of living globally.

Trump's fight with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada will lead to another massive blow to the necessities. Toilet paper, lumber, ink, crabs, fish, shrimp, milk, shipping boxes, copper, bandages and syrup will increase within weeks.

The U.S. and Canada are now in a full-fledged trade war following the breakdown of negotiations last weekend, and toilet paper has emerged as a casualty. Canada has threatened to impose tariffs of between 25% and 50% on “toilet paper or face tissue stock” from Sept. 8 in retaliation for a 50% hike from Washington, D.C.

Canada announced retaliatory tariffs after its previously good relations with the U.S. deteriorated. Trump told Canadian leaders to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs on Monday, while Carney accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada.

While toilet paper and tissues are often made domestically in the U.S., they rely heavily on lumber-rich Canada for raw materials. Procter & Gamble, the owner of Charmin toilet paper, said last year that it would have to increase prices amid tariffs that were in place at the time.

The tariffs the president imposed on Canada will almost certainly trigger a trade war with our closest ally. It will lead to Canadian customs and border agencies pushing tougher border crossing inspections for any U.S. citizen traveling.

According to the World Bank, the U.S. imported $328 million worth of toilet paper from Canada in 2024, making Canada the largest exporter of the product to the U.S.

According to a report by The Guardian, the U.S. accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world’s population. The average American uses 141 rolls of toilet paper per year, making the U.S. No. 1 globally for toilet paper consumption, just ahead of Germany, where people use an average of 134 rolls annually.

Toilet paper isn’t the only product affected by the trade tensions. U.S. tariffs have also affected Canadian liquor, including popular whiskey brands Crown Royal and Canadian Club, which are currently subject to a 50% tariff.

While Canada has not introduced a tariff on American liquor, most Canadian provinces have imposed their own bans on American alcohol in retaliation for earlier tariffs on Canadian products. Trump had cited province-wide bans on American alcohol as justification for new tariffs against Canada. Carney has asked provincial leaders to consider putting American liquor back on the shelves.

The auto industry could also be affected, though cars and auto parts have been exempt from U.S. tariffs. Canada is the largest purchaser of U.S.-made cars, which could put pressure on American automakers that rely on Canadian demand.

According to Al Jazeera, U.S. households could face higher prices on 550 consumer goods imported from Canada because of Trump’s 50% tariff. This could significantly affect Americans, according to a report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, an economic think tank, which found that U.S. importers and consumers absorb 96% of the tariff burden.

Tim Curry Passed Away!

Legends never die. They transcend. Another major celebrity passed away.

A legendary actor who spanned for decades has passed away. 

Just after hearing about Dolly Parton.

Yearly wrap up.

Tim Curry, the English actor and director who broke through iconic status from his role in the Rocky Horror Picture Show has passed away at 80.

He passed away from complications of his debilitating stroke in Los Angeles.

I am kid of the 1980s and 1990s. I grew up knowing Tim Curry voicing many animated villians on television. 

Sources tell TMZ the actor -- who had been plagued with serious health issues for more than a decade -- passed away late Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police responded to his house at 11:23 PM Tuesday night. We're told there is no foul play suspected in the case.

He played Pennywise, the killer clown in It. He played Skullmaster, the archenemy in the Mighty Max franchise. He played Nigel Thornberry, the father of protagonist Eliza Thornberry in The Wild Thornberries. Captain Hook in Peter Pan and the Pirates. Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island. 

Born April 19, 1946, in Grappenhall, England, Curry trained in drama at the University of Birmingham before sharpening his acting skills in theater. That traditional arts foundation never left Curry’s characteristically British approach to the craft. Even at his filmography’s most cinematic across film and TV, Curry retained an immediacy that recalled the high-risk potential of being on stage — as reflected in his Tony-nominated parts for “Amadeus,” “Spamalot,” and more. 

It’s impossible to talk about Curry without stressing the mammoth impact of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975). A genre-bending, queer fringe film phenomenon that immortalized Curry as a countercultural icon decades before his death, the beloved indie remains the longest-running midnight movie of all time. As the simultaneously menacing and strangely sympathetic Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Curry didn’t just anchor the zany world created by writer and co-star Richard O’Brien. Instead, the movie’s unexpected main attraction became indelible proof of its timelessly powerful thesis of acceptance. 

Equal parts sexy and satire, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” turned ritualized screening culture into an essential safe haven for theater-going weirdos that’s stood its ground for more than half a century. It’s well documented, but Curry’s singular contribution to the texture and mood of the genre filmmaking landscape around “Rocky Horror” cannot be overstated. Other performers have tried to replicate his command of audacious, boundary-pushing comedy, but few (if any) have succeeded.

After slowly changing the theatrical underworld as the king of midnight movies, Curry spent the rest of his acting career gleefully refusing to be pinned down. He was the embodiment of what happens when a classically trained performer with infinite talent decides typical taste is optional for his path through Hollywood, and any one Curry’s films is arguably worth reevaluating in the wake of his death. 

In Ridley Scott’s “Legend” (1985), Curry disappeared under layers of prosthetics to deliver a demonic performance that’s so committed it became the epic fantasy film’s defining image. In the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s “It,” Curry used Pennywise the Dancing Clown as an avenue to redefine, intentionally or not, what serialized horror could even look like — doubling-down on the genre expertise in his earlier film adaptation of the boardgame “Clue.”

The deep voice of Tim Curry was known in television, film and radio.

The cherished cult classic from 1985 is an ideal showcase for Curry’s impeccable physical humor and timing. As the ever-exasperated butler, Wadsworth, Curry guides the main characters and audience through an escalating experiment in choose-your-own absurdity that sees pure chaos choreographed. That palpable elasticity extended into Curry’s voice work for animation, unearthing another layer of the late actor’s otherworldly talent. Curry’s turn in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” (1997) is an oddly vivid example that shouldn’t be missed if you’re even vaguely tempted to the possibility of this particular performer speaking for a villainous pipe organ named Maestro Forte.

Over the years, Curry was also the voice of Nigel on “The Wild Thornberrys,” Emperor Palpatine in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” and Hexxus in “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” (1992). Whether by Curry’s charismatic nature or through a perfectionist drive to study, the late artist understood how to expand almost any creative assignment. Curry was the rare actor to recognize that genre films rely as much on their gutsy style as they do performers earnestly engaging with outrageous universes around them through a proportionately grounded sense of play.

He also appeared in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992), “Muppet Treasure Island” (1996), and more. Curry never condescended to material, but consistently elevated scripts by taking them seriously. That paradox is at the heart of why Curry’s work will always endure. It’s also why so much of his filmography has found a second life in the cult film world of today. Sincerity and audacity are not opposing forces but complementary ones in this space, and for writers, retro programmers, and other film fans who came of age after midnight at the movies, Curry’s impact persists as its own kind of religion.

In his later years, even as Curry’s health declined following a major stroke in 2012, the actor remained a devoted presence in the ever-lasting orbit of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” — up through its triumphant 50th anniversary. Curry continued to make appearances for the film’s obsessives, who never stopped doing the “Time Warp” alongside him.

Everton Blair Heads To Washington!

You don't need a ticket to ride. 

Another progressive defeats a pro Israel and legacy name opponent. The daughter of the late Georgia U.S. House member David Scott was defeated by Everton Blair.

Blair will serve the remaining term.

Rep-elect Everton Blair (D-GA) was backed by progressives and took a firm approach despite the establishment trying to label him as on of Hasan Piker's friends.

He will be Georgia's first openly gay U.S. House member. He is also the first Black openly gay member from the Deep South.

Though Blair's time in Congress is set to be temporary, it will be a first for the state of Georgia and restore a Democratic representative to the closely divided House of Representatives.

The New York Times reported that Everton Blair Jr. won Tuesday's runoff to the special election for U.S. representative for Georgia's 13th Congressional District. The win will send Blair to Congress to serve out the remainder of the term of Scott, who died in office in April. Blair defeated Marcye Scott, the deceased congressman's daughter, in a run-off after neither candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round of the special election to replace Scott. 

Tuesday's victory will send Blair, the former chair of the Gwinnett County School Board in Georgia, to Washington D.C. to finish out Scott's term, which ends in January. Blair is not running in November's election, which will decide who occupies the seat for the full term that begins next year; Blair lost the Democratic primary for that race to Georgia State Representative Jasmine Clark. The 13th District, which represents eastern suburbs of Atlanta, is a heavily Democratic district, making Clark the clear frontrunner to win the seat in November.

Breaking new ground for Black and LGBTQ+ representation in Georgia

Blair, who graduated from Harvard and Stanford and served in the Obama administration, made history in 2019 when he came out as gay while serving as a member of the Gwinnett County Board of Education. His announcement made him only the second out gay Black man to serve in statewide office in Georgia and one of only a few openly gay elected officials in the state. Now Blair, who comes from a family of Jamaican immigrants and previously worked as a math teacher before becoming the first Black person to serve on the Gwinnett County Board of Education, will now be the first openly gay man elected to Congress from Georgia. He ran his congressional race as a progressive, receiving backing from Bernie Sanders' organization Our Revolution and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. He also drew support from Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), a prominent gun control pro Israel lawmaker.

Democrats fight for control of House of Representatives

Blair's election fills a Democratic seat in Congress left vacant by Scott's death at a time when Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. Blair will tighten that majority along with fellow Democrat Aisha Wahab, who recently won a special election to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant by Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April amid allegations of multiple assault and misconduct. Two other House seats remain open after the April resignations of Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas after he was alleged to have had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, and Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, who resigned amid federal fraud allegations and recently lost the Democratic primary to regain her seat.

While Clark's likely election in November will aid Democrats in their hopes of retaking the House of Representatives, Blair's term in Congress will help ensure that Republicans maintain at most a paper-thin majority in the House for the remainder of this term. His election is the latest milestone for Blair and the state of Georgia and adds another progressive voice to the Democratic Party's representation in Congress.

Latimore Passed Away!

Benny Latimore passed away from cancer.

Benjamin "Benny" Latimore, the Southern soul-blues singer, pianist, and songwriter who spent more than fifty years shaping the genre, has died at 86.

Only weeks before birthday.

Latimore was born in Charleston, Tennessee, in 1939, and grew up steeped in country radio, Baptist church hymns, and Delta blues. He broke into the music business as a backing pianist for Florida bands, including Steve Alaimo's, before landing his first studio sessions around 1965 with Henry Stone's Miami-based Dade label. A move to Glades Records in the early '70s paid off fast: his 1973 reworking of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" cracked the R&B Top 30, and a gender-flipped cover of Gladys Knight's "If You Were My Woman" followed soon after.

Then came the song that defined him. "Let's Straighten It Out" topped the R&B chart in 1974 and crossed into the Billboard Hot 100, a career peak he followed with two more Top 10 R&B hits, "Keep the Home Fire Burnin'" (1975) and "Somethin' 'Bout 'Cha" (1976), before the hit streak cooled toward the decade's end.

Rather than fade, Latimore rebuilt. He signed with Malaco Records in 1982 and released seven albums of modern blues material over the following years, stepping away briefly in the mid-'90s for a stint with J-Town before returning to Malaco in 2000. He later recorded for Mel Waiters' Brittney Records and, in 2007, launched his own label, LatStone, with longtime collaborator Henry Stone, the same producer who'd given him his first break decades earlier.

Even outside his own catalog, Latimore stayed busy in Miami's soul scene as a session pianist, playing on Joss Stone's The Soul Sessions and Mind Body & Soul alongside fellow Florida veterans Betty Wright, Timmy Thomas, and Willie Hale. He made a late-career television appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2014, and in 2017 was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Darline Graham Nordone Trounces Ralph Norman!

Republican DEI.

The special election runoff ends with a win for Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC).

She easily defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC). This makes two huge losses for the far right Republican. He now can exit Congress along with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).

Graham Nordone, younger sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham who was appointed to complete his term, on Tuesday won a special primary runoff election to replace her brother on the November ballot, the Associated Press projects.

As of 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, the special GOP primary runoff for U.S. Senate in South Carolina was called in favor of Darline Graham Nordone -- who is going by Darline Graham in the Senate.

Graham Nordone had secured at least 178,000 votes, defeating runoff opponent Norman in the special primary.

Graham Nordone was one of 10 Republican candidates vying for the U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in the Aug. 11 special primary election, which was held following Lindsey Graham’s death. No candidate obtained enough of a majority to avoid a runoff, however.

Now Graham Nordone and Norman obtained the most votes out of the 10 Republican candidates, securing 32.8% and 24.6% of the vote, respectively. The two went head-to-head in a runoff election on Tuesday.

After winning Tuesday’s runoff, Graham Nordone  will face off against Democratic nominee for Senate Dr. Annie Andrews in South Carolina’s general election this November.

Old is no longer cool.

Darline Graham serving remainder of late brother’s term in Senate

Graham Nordone was appointed in July to serve the remainder of Lindsey Graham’s term in the Senate, following his unexpected death. Lindsey Graham’s current Senate term is set to expire in January 2027.

The late Lindsey Graham had won his Senate primary in June, and was seeking a fifth term in the role. He died on July 11 from a believed tear in his aorta.

Lindsey Graham served as U.S. senator for South Carolina since 2003.

Following her appointment, Graham Nordone announced that she’d run for a full term to replace her brother in the Senate. Both her appointment and her Senate campaign were endorsed by President Donald J. Trump.

Graham Nordone was also endorsed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, whose seat will also be up for grabs in November.

Prior to her current nomination to Senate, Graham Nordone had not served in public office.

Graham Nordone will face off against Democratic nominee for Senate Dr. Annie Andrews in South Carolina’s general election this November.

About the special Republican primary runoff

The runoff election for the U.S. Senate special Republican primary took place on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Eligible voters were helping to narrow the field of candidates ahead of the general midterm election on Nov. 3, 2026.

South Carolina’s last U.S. Senate special election was in 2014, when Tim Scott took office.

Anyone who meets the U.S. Constitution’s requirements and South Carolina’s requirements can run for the U.S. Senate special election.

Who can vote?

Any registered voter who voted in the June Republican primary -- or did not vote in either party’s primary -- can vote in the special election.

Anyone who voted in the June Democratic primary cannot vote in the special election.

The deadline to register to vote in the special election was July 12.

Voters can verify their registration status and view a sample ballot on the South Carolina Election Commission website.

Baby Girl, We Still Miss You!

Aaliyah, we still mourn your loss.

We mourn Dolly Parton. She paved the way for singers like the late entertainer Aaliyah.

Today marks 25 years since her tragic death in a plane crash. She was among a handful of people who died in a plane crash after filming her music video in The Bahamas.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was 22 year old when she died.

The singer and actress was wrapping up filming for her music video "Rock the Boat" when she and her entourage gathered on a charter plane. The pilot was apparently under the influence risked it all by carrying the entertainer, equipment, suitcases and several members in the film crew on a plane that was overweight.

The plane crashed shortly after take off.

The incident was filmed. There's a rumor that the footage of people trying to save the victims online but I had trouble trying to find it.

Nonetheless, Aaliyah was badly burned and could not be saved.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Detroit, she first gained recognition at the age of 10, when she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At the age of 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records. Hankerson introduced her to Robert Sylvester Kelly, who became her mentor and sexual abuser. Kelly was the lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994). The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 

After allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with Atlantic Records.

Her life was cut short.

That marriage became the nail in the coffin for Kelly. In his federal trial, witnesses claim that a 14 year old Aaliyah was in the back of a tour bus having sexual intercourse with Kelly. An associate of Kelly illegally bribed a state worker to forge documents making Aaliyah 18 years old when they got married.

Aaliyah was 15 at the time of the wedding, while Kelly was 27. To conceal her age, an associate of Kelly's allegedly bribed an Illinois official to obtain a fraudulent marriage license that listed Aaliyah's age as 18.

Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in federal time out.

Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million (1996), which sold three million copies in the United States and more than eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah made her acting debut in the action film Romeo Must Die, alongside Jet Li. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which was supported by her single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely through airplay, becoming the first in the chart's history to do so. After completing the film, Aaliyah subsequently filmed her starring role in Queen of the Damned (which was released posthumously), and in July 2001, released her eponymous third album, which topped the Billboard 200. The album spawned the singles "We Need a Resolution", "Rock the Boat" and "More Than a Woman".

She spent months working on the album with her longtime friend and producer Timbaland. She also had the late Static Major, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Rapture and Bud'da help her work on the album.

She was engaged to then Roc-A-Fella Records CEO Damon "Dame" Dash and was happy with her life.

I still remember that night I've heard she died in a plane crash. It was heartbreaking.

Aaliyah was killed in the Marsh Harbour Cessna 402 crash along with eight other people on board, when the overloaded aircraft she was traveling in crashed shortly after takeoff. The pilot was later found to have traces of cocaine and alcohol in his body and was not qualified to fly the aircraft designated for the flight. Aaliyah's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft's operator, which was settled out of court. In the decades following her death, Aaliyah's music has continued to achieve commercial success, aided by several posthumous releases, including the compilation albums I Care 4 U (2002) and Ultimate Aaliyah (2005). She has sold 8.1 million albums in the US and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide. In 2010, Billboard listed her as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years, and the 27th most successful in history.

Her death shook the community. Rappers Jay-Z, the late DMX, Missy "Misdemeanor" Eliott, Timbaland and Lil Kim attended her funeral.

Aaliyah, hair stylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, Keith Wallace, make-up stylist Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Douglas Kratz and Gina Smith --- were killed when pilot Luis Morales III was under the influence when he piloted the twin-engine Cessna 402 in the Bahamas.

Her death rocked the hip-hop community. She was riding on a wave of success at the time. She released her album which was self-titled as Aaliyah (Red). It would be her final album.

We miss you and wish you could be singing some of your hits.

Canada Warns U.S. That Restrictions Are Coming!

Barrel of laughs.

President Donald J. Trump, an 80 year old curmudgeon now pissed of our ally to the North. Did you know the United States shares the border with Canada?

Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine border Canada.

The dominion includes Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The capital is Ottawa and largest city is Toronto. Both are located in the Ontario, its most populated province.

Quebec is the only province where 93% of Quebecians speak French. New Brunswick is the second province where 30% of its residents speak French. About 10% of those living in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine speak French.

Those who live on reservations are allowed free access between the U.S. and Canada.

Some of your favorite films and television shows are filmed in Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal and Edmonton. 

The Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney is not tolerating that curmudgeon's rants much longer. He has warned that the Niagara grid is at risk of being shut off to thousands of Americans. 

He said that lumber, syrup, milk, beef and chicken will cost more if the U.S. pushes for high tariffs. It will lead to high prices in the United States.

Carney and provincial leaders are considering restricting energy exports, including electricity, as leverage in an escalating trade war with the United States. Following the collapse of bilateral trade negotiations, Trump imposed massive 50% tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, prompting Carney to vow a "dollar-for-dollar" retaliation. 

On September 1, the tariffs go into effect and you will see it soon.

With the U.S. fighting a war with Iran, the world's economy is at risk of collapase. The U.S. is demanding an absolute shut off of the Iranian economy. They are pushing for crippling sanctions and vow to punish countries that continue to aid them.

Canada usually assisting in U.S. wars ain't doing it this time.

Canada has pledged to roll out “dollar-for-dollar” countertariffs on scores of U.S. goods next month in response to President Donald Trump’s latest import taxes, which have plunged the North American neighbors deeper into a bitter trade war.

Ottawa released a list of more than 700 targets Tuesday. Starting Sept. 8, Canada’s government says it will impose steeper import taxes on goods ranging from fish and cheese to smartphones and steel imported from the United States.

Canada said it was focusing its retaliation on products “most affected by U.S. tariffs.” The levies will be set at 15%, 25% or 50% — rates that the government said would match U.S. tariffs on goods targeted in Washington’s latest round as well as products covered by previously imposed sectoral duties.

Tuesday’s announcement came just days after the Trump administration’s 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods, ranging from honey to hockey sticks, took effect. That represents just 5% of the value of goods Canada sent to the U.S. last year, but the punishing rate comes on top of a series of tariffs Trump has imposed on the country during his second term in office. More threats of escalation have piled up in the meantime. As a result, businesses—and, by extension, households—on both sides of the border could soon feel the strain of even higher prices.

Here’s a recap of some of the affected products.

Canada details retaliation plans for U.S. steel, fish and more

Canada plans to impose steeper tariffs on hundreds of U.S. products starting Sept. 8.

Many of the goods are highly specific and mirror products on which Washington began imposing 50% tariffs over the weekend. The list also includes products made of steel and aluminum, which already face a 50% U.S. sectoral tariff on most imports globally, although some goods qualify for lower duties under an adjustment rolled out by the White House earlier this year.

Some of the many U.S. items Canada is now targeting include:

• Live and frozen fish, crustaceans, oysters and mussels
• Cheese and curd products
• Natural honey, molasses and baking mixtures
• Perfume, makeup and hair preparations
• Carpets and other floor coverings
• Toilet paper, facial tissues and envelopes
• T-shirts, jackets, coats and gloves
• Various metal products made of steel or aluminum, including wire, rods, pipes and foil
• Stoves, ranges, refrigerators and other household appliances
• Smartphones and video game consoles
• Motorcycles and trailers
• Fishing rods and exercise equipment

The new tariffs on these products will carry rates of 15%, 25% or 50%. Canada’s tariffs on many American products would double from 25% to 50%, with the largest share of the new measures affecting steel and aluminum.

U.S. already slapped a long list of Canadian goods with new tariffs

The Trump administration already outlined its own lengthy list of more than 550 Canadian products that are now subject to 50% tariffs. That list includes natural honey, vegetable seeds and flower bulbs; alcoholic beverages such as beer and vermouth; ice skates and other sports accessories; various household goods; and smartphones.

Trump imposed the tariffs by reaching back to a long-dormant Great Depression-era law. Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which has never been used before, authorizes the president to impose import taxes of up to 50% on goods from countries that have discriminated against U.S. businesses.

Trump claimed that Canada discriminated against U.S. autos, alcohol and dairy products, particularly following the implementation of his earlier import taxes last year. It’s worth noting that the list of Canadian goods facing the latest levy is far more diverse.

More threats of escalation pile up

Threats of stronger countermeasures and further escalation have continued to pile up—and it’s possible that even more products could face steeper import taxes down the road.

Trump took to social media Monday to say that his administration would also increase tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, automotive parts and steel to 50% starting Jan. 1, 2027. Like other countries, Canada currently faces a broader 25% tariff on autos. A 50% sectoral tariff on most steel imports is already in effect.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the auto-sector proposal would “gradually dismantle” Canadian production. He also accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada and said U.S. demands during the failed talks showed that Americans wanted to “destroy our major industries.”

Beyond tariffs, Trump added another provocation Tuesday, saying the United States was giving “serious consideration” to renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” amid a feud with Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Ford told The Associated Press this week that his province would be ready to cut off electricity and critical minerals to the U.S. if the trade war worsens.

Dolly Parton Passed Away!

Legends never die. They transcend.

Yearly wrap up.

President Donald J. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Congress, former presidents, former vice presidents, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, the music industry, Nashville, Broadway, Hollywood and Toronto will honor the iconic singer and entertainer Dolly Parton.

The country music icon whose soaring vibrato vocals, poignant songwriting and sparkling costumes defined her rise from a log cabin in the Tennessee mountains to the height of stardom and acclaim, has died. She was 80 years old.

Parton died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, her publicist said in a statement. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Known for her curvy physique, massive blond wigs and skin-tight outfits that served her self-deprecating wit, she was among the most beloved personalities in music and beyond — the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography and politics.

She wrote hundreds of songs, including classics like “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” that totaled more than 100 million worldwide sales and more than 1 billion online streams. Parton, who plucked bejeweled banjos, guitar and dulcimers with her long fingernails during performances, was a generous philanthropist and successful businesswoman whose projects included a theme park in the Smoky Mountain foothills near her birthplace.

Her career was forever influenced by her upbringing as one of 12 children born into what she called a “dirt poor” Tennessee family. She started her education nonprofit, Imagination Library, to send free books to children in Tennessee because her father, who quit school to work on the farm, struggled to learn to read.

Parton’s first musical performances were in church, where her grandfather was a preacher. By age 10, she was learning guitar and singing on local television shows. At 13, she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, where Johnny Cash introduced her as “a little girl here from up in East Tennessee.”

With a suitcase of songs, she followed her uncle, Bill Owens, also a songwriter, to Nashville after graduating high school in 1964. Fred Foster, who produced Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson and more, saw her potential and got her songs cut by other artists, as well as recording and releasing Parton singing her own material. By the mid-1970s, Parton was a Nashville queen.

A key collaboration with Porter Wagoner

Parton’s partnership with Porter Wagoner, a pencil-thin pompadoured star with flashy rhinestone outfits, was key to her career. She honed her acting skills on his syndicated TV show and he advocated for her to get a record deal at RCA. Their first duet, “The Last Thing On My Mind,” was released in 1967, the same year she started her own publishing company.

While their duets were often big radio hits, Parton’s solo singles didn’t chart as high at first. With Wagoner as a co-producer, she began to adjust her country warble to a more polished, pop-leaning style.

She got her first No. 1 solo single with “Joshua,” and reached the Top 5 with the ballad “Coat of Many Colors,” about how her mother sewed together scraps of clothes to make a coat Parton wore “so proudly” even as her peers mocked her for being poor. The song, with its Biblical references and ode to maternal love, was later made into a children’s book and a TV movie.

In 1973, she had the hit that made her career — “Jolene,” a country music standard with its steady, churning rhythm and Parton’s repeated delivery of the title as she pleads for the woman not to steal her man.

The song topped the country charts, crossing over to pop and later being released internationally, opening up new audiences for Parton. “Jolene” is one of her most covered compositions, including by Miley Cyrus (Parton’s goddaughter), Olivia Newton-John and The White Stripes.

She left Wagoner’s show in 1974, amid reports of squabbling between the two, although they continued to record together and Wagoner stayed her producer for years after that. But the relationship turned litigious when Wagoner sued her in 1979 for millions in management fees and royalties.

Dolly Parton with George W. Bush, Laura Bush and Steven Spielberg.

A pop crossover star

She followed “Jolene” with a huge hit in 1974, “I Will Always Love You,” an ode and farewell to Wagoner that helped her win the Country Music Association’s female vocalist of the year back-to-back in 1975 and 1976. She famously turned down Elvis Presley, who wanted to record it, because she would not share publishing rights.

Decades later, Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” became a smash for the soundtrack of her 1992 film “The Bodyguard,” and broke sales records. Houston won a Grammy for her performance in 1994, presented to her by Parton.

“Here You Come Again,” a pop crossover hit and one of the few she didn’t write, further established Parton as a multi-genre entertainer and brought her first Grammy Award in 1979.

“A lot of people thought I had totally lost my mind,” she told The Associated Press in 1979 of changing her singing style. “But I had no fear of change. I expected success, but I was braced for failure. I didn’t care if people thought I was wrong. In my own heart, I knew I was doing the right thing.”

Parton’s other crossover hits included the title song from “9 to 5,” the 1980 comedy starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin; and her duet with longtime friend Kenny Rogers, “Islands in the Stream,” written by brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. In 1987, she collaborated with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris on the million-selling “Trio” album.

Her husband Carl Thomas Dean passed away last year 

Down home charm

For millions of fans, she was simply “Dolly,” a mixture of Southern charm, humor and glamour. But she was also considered a feminist role model for holding the reins of her own career, writing her own songs, owning her content and looking after her finances in an entertainment world dominated by men.

Parton was open to making fun of herself; when she hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 1989 she told the writers that her only restrictions were she wouldn’t curse and she wouldn’t make fun of Jesus. She regularly joked about her breasts or her dumb blonde appearance, but with a wink that she was the one controlling the laughs. In the memoir “My Life So Far,” Fonda remembered Parton’s way with a wisecrack, “usually high raunch,” and a laugh that was “somewhere between a girl’s giggle, an explosive shriek, and a cascade of little bells.”

After her gown split down the front when she won CMA’s entertainer of the year in 1978, Parton quipped: “My Daddy said that’s what I got for putting 50 pounds of mud in a five-pound bag.”

Throughout her career, she embraced her glamorous style, often wearing custom curve-hugging rhinestone dresses and bodysuits even if they drew tsk-tsks from others in the industry. Her look was always a part of her larger musical business plan.

“I knew my songs were good even if I had been ugly as sin,” she told the AP in 2014. “So I thought, ‘Well, I would have probably chose to look this way even if I had been a waitress.’ I mean, this is my look. I mean, I like a lot of makeup. I like a lot of hair. I like flashy clothes. I like to show it off. But that’s just who I am.”

She married Carl Dean, an asphalt paving contractor, in the mid-1960s; they were together until his death in 2025 at the age of 82. Though rarely seen in public, he was an influence on her career. She told NPR that she wrote “Jolene” about a flirty bank teller who seemed to take an interest in Dean.

‘9 to 5’ to Hollywood and Broadway

In her first major film role, Parton played alongside Fonda and Tomlin as office workers who rebel against their tyrannical boss in “9 to 5.” Critic Roger Ebert called her a “natural-born movie star” and the title song earned her two Grammy Awards and a ranking of 78 on the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 movie songs. Starring roles in “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas” and “Steel Magnolias” followed.

“I never thought of myself as a movie star,” she told AP’s Bob Thomas in 1979. “I knew I’d be a star, but as a singer or as a writer of songs or books or poetry. I wanted to be a famous performer and wear flashy clothes, but singing in movies was not one of my ambitions. My family lived in the mountains and we didn’t see movies.”

Her love affair with TV and film continued for decades, with appearances alongside Cyrus on “Hannah Montana” and adaptations of her music for Christmas specials, films and streaming series. She also became an author, her books ranging from the memoir “Dolly” to a bestselling novel co-authored by James Patterson, “Run, Rose, Run.”

The stage adaptation “9 to 5: The Musical” debuted in 2009, and “DOLLY: A True Original Musical” is set to open Jan. 19, 2027, on what would have been her 81st birthday.

United States of Dolly

Beyond her music, Parton’s most lasting legacy might be her generosity and broad appeal.

When a deadly wildfire swept through the Smokies in 2016, she held an all-star telethon and set up a foundation that sent monthly checks to residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

She opened up her Dollywood theme park in East Tennessee, a major economic driver in Appalachia that draws tourists from around the country, and established the Dollywood Foundation. She wrote books and memoirs, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and was given a lifetime achievement award by the Recording Academy. She was selected for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2025.

With 55 Grammy nominations and 10 wins, Parton is the third-most nominated woman in Grammy history, only behind Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.

Parton spanned social and political divides, through multiple generations of fans, urban and rural and in between. In tumultuous election years, it wasn’t uncommon to see “Dolly for President” shirts. But she was strict in not voicing her own political beliefs, often turning aside questions about presidents, candidates, policies and other controversies.

“I don’t do politics,” Parton told host Jad Abumrad on his hit podcast “Dolly Parton’s America.”

“I have too many fans on both sides of the fence. Of course, I have my opinion about everything, but I learned years ago to keep your mouth shut about things.”

When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation sent out a ballot in 2022 with her name on it, though she said she felt she hadn’t earned it, the voters answered with a “Hello, Dolly.” Parton showed up to the induction ceremony, performed and then put out a rock album.

El-Sayed Dives Into The Watters!

Wattered down.

I have the Michigan senate race as Lean Democrat.

It is a distraction for the junk food media to be obsessed with progressive agitator Hasan Piker. To be honest, I rather they put their energy on the looming economic crisis President Donald J. Trump put on the United States. 

Canada and Iran are going to make it harder on Americans.

While they are obsessing over Piker, democratic socialism, immigrants, transgender Americans and of course, Black Americans, the U.S. economy is either officially in a recession and if Trump doesn't end the conflict in Iran, we will enter a depression.

Democratic senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed decided to go on Fox. He also reacted to the recent controversy involving opinions from Pike on a pro Israel Democrat Jeremy Moss.

Jesse Watters Primetime.

Watters and El-Sayed engaged in a highly contentious, wide-ranging interview on Fox, clashing over hot-button cultural issues, economic policies, and foreign affairs.

I am going just make this brief.

It was risky going on Fox. Watters is literally on the phone with Republicans and he is dying to get clips for the Republican National Committee to use against El-Sayed.

It also shows that El-Sayed is willing to go into an area where he knows he will expect a hostile host.

On top of that, the appearance on Fox makes Mike Rogers look weak. 

Rogers feels comfortable being on friendlier outlets.

Watters desperately tried to throw every distraction at El-Sayed.

While discussing gender-affirming care and surgeries for minors, Watters asked if El-Sayed supported such procedures. El-Sayed, a physician, redirected the question by asking Watters, "Are you circumcised?" Watters called it a personal question and argued that circumcision is different than castration. El-Sayed countered that circumcision is still a surgery on a child, stating that conservatives are "really selective" about when they want government involved between a parent, doctor, and patient.

Watters grilled the candidate on progressive proposals, including taxing the rich and socialized healthcare, telling El-Sayed, "I don't think you're very good at math" and labeling some of his platform "straight-up wacky". El-Sayed pushed back by attempting to steer the focus to inflation, the economy, and healthcare affordability.

El-Sayed repeatedly lobbed criticism at his Republican general election opponent, Mike Rogers, calling him a "beta" for allegedly ducking debates and refusing to appear on Watters's show.

El-Sayed used the exact same tactic during his interview on Jesse Watters Primetime. When Watters tried to grill him over progressive platform spending, El-Sayed pivoted to the affordability crisis and gas prices. He explicitly targeted the host's surname to call out Fox News' coverage, telling him that he wanted to talk about actual kitchen-table issues instead of wading into "the culture war Watters" (a play on "cultural waters").

When appearing on The Will Cain Show, the host pressed El-Sayed on inflation, high gas prices, and economic policies. El-Sayed abruptly flipped the interview, trying to catch the host out of touch by demanding Cain "answer the question" about whether he pumps his own gas. In the heated exchange, El-Sayed mocked the host's name, asking if he was "Will-ing or un-Will-ing" to answer or mockingly asking, "Will you, Will?"

I will offer you both.