Month: November 2020

Dolly Parton somehow became even more of a national treasure on Tuesday when reports started coming in that legendary country-western singer had helped fund a highly promising COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna. Back in April, the “Jolene” singer had created the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund, which donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The center played a key role in helping Moderna develop its 94.5% effective vaccine, and once word got out it was thanks to Dolly’s help, the singer quickly started trending as the Twitter reactions started rolling in. Folks already loved Dolly before, but now that she’s out here literally funding a cure for COVID, that love is through the roof.

Of course, no one is more surprised by this latest development than Dolly herself. She stopped by TODAY to share her reaction, and the whole thing was pure Dolly.

“I’m just happy that anything I do can help somebody else,” she told TODAY. “And when I donated the money to the Covid fund, I just wanted it to do good. Evidently, it is. Let’s just hope we find a cure real soon.”

You can watch Dolly reacting to the vaccine’s success and the outpouring of social media love below:

When Dolly isn’t helping folks get through a pandemic with her unwavering kindness and generosity, you can catch her moving late night hosts like Stephen Colbert to tears just by singing and then giving them some trademark sass. “I’d better hush before you cry yourself to death and can’t finish your show,” Dolly joked to a teary-eyed Colbert back in October. God, she’s the best.

(Via Dolly Parton on Twitter)

Much of the smoke about a James Harden trade in recent days has revolved around him going to Brooklyn, where he’d join forces with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the Nets. That hasn’t been the only potential destination that has popped up in the Harden discourse, as the Philadelphia 76ers have been kicked around as a potential destination, too.

It’s not hard to see how a deal to Philly might work. The team could offer one of Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons as a starting point, and the Sixers recently hired former Rockets executive Daryl Morey to take charge in their front office. According to new reporting, Philly might also have something in its back pocket in its pursuit.

According to Kelly Iko and David Aldridge of The Athletic, one of Harden’s friends is Meek Mill, who is working to recruit Harden to his home city.

Philadelphia’s interest in Harden has grown in recent weeks, sources said. Morey’s ascension to the top decision-maker spot on the basketball side as president of basketball operations is an obvious link, given the history Harden and he share, but there’s also the lure of the Eastern Conference. Rapper Meek Mill has a longstanding relationship with Harden and has been trying to convince him to come to Philadelphia, according to a source. Billionaire Michael Rubin, a close friend of Meek’s and co-owner of the 76ers, is also very fond of Harden.

There is no guarantee that having Meek, a well-documented Sixers fan who had tons of support from the organization while he was in prison for a parole violation, is able to get his pal to Philly. But hey, any little bit helps.

Adam Deering made a big bet on himself back in 2002 and it paid off. The trouble was that, at the time, the people he needed help to make it happen — Royal Bank of Scotland in Urmston, Greater Manchester — didn’t have the same faith in him.

His story is a great tale about the power of believing in yourself topped by the oh-so-satisfying cherry of sweet revenge.

“I quit my job as a salesman aged 21 because I knew I had it in me to create a successful business, but I didn’t have a penny to my name so I needed a bank loan,” he told The Daily Mail.

“I presented them with a comprehensive business plan and asked for £10,000 ($13,250) but the bank manager didn’t seem to take me seriously at all,” he lamented. “I’d put my heart and soul into the business plan and I remember having my fingers crossed under the table as I nervously waited for the manager to go through it.”

“I was devastated when she told me I was too young and inexperienced and there was no way they could take a risk on me,” he added.

via The Peninsula Hotels / Twitter

Deering spent the last few dollars he had on renting an office space in Stretford, England, just outside of Manchester. But he couldn’t even afford a desk or chair so he was forced to cold call people while sitting on the office floor.

The early months of his new business were hard and he had no idea whether he’d succeed. “There were lots of times where I thought it was the end, but I refused to give up and it paid off,” he said.

Eventually, his business flourished. He sold his debt management firm six years ago for £5 million ($6,620,000). He now owns five multi-million pound companies, including debt management firm Hanover Insolvency and funeral company Pride Planning.

His property portfolio is worth millions of pounds.

Recently, he bought the building of the bank that rejected him 18 years ago and plans on doing a £500,000 ($662,000) renovation to turn it into apartments and a retail unit.

“To me, buying the bank building brings things back full circle and it shows that I was right to keep believing in myself,” he said. In addition to his various business ventures, Deering is also a motivational speaker.

“Building a business from scratch certainly isn’t easy and there are always times when you wonder if it is going to work out,” he said. “The key is to stay true to your vision and keep going, there will always be hurdles to overcome.”

Deering’s faith in himself when no one else had any allowed him to become the massive business success he is today.

“When I was turned down for the loan, it was tough but because I had a dream and I was so focussed on achieving it, I made it happen anyway,” he said.

Like many of us, Bill Gates can’t understand why some people are opposed to wearing masks. The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist has been involved in public health for decades and a vocal advocate for masks throughout the pandemic.

The numbers don’t lie. Mask mandates have helped lower COVID-19 infection rates and studies show that if every American masked up, we could save 63,000 lives by March.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of Americans who are opposed to wearing masks because they believe they infringe on their individual liberties.

In doing so, they also put countless lives at risk because they continue to help spread the infection.

Gates shared his frustration with anti-maskers on his new podcast with actor Rashida Jones: “Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions.”

“The idea that somebody’s resisting wearing a mask, that is such a weird thing to me,” the billionaire told Jones on the first episode of their podcast.

“What are these, like, nudists?” he said. “I mean, you know, we ask you to wear pants, and no American says, or very few Americans say, that that’s, like, some terrible thing.”

“If you want to get back to normal life anytime sooner, wear a mask, or don’t wear a mask and stay at home,” Jones said. “But, like, to ask for both things feels like you just want things to be better and they’re not, so you kind of just have to deal with what it is.”

“The mask helps you open up more things,” Gates said. The philanthropist believes many underestimate the risks of COVID-19, because they think it spreads like a cold or flu.

“These unbelievable viral loads that you see with coronavirus don’t occur with most of the other respiratory viruses,” Gates said.

If someone with a cold spent an hour in a room full of people, most would remain healthy. However, with COVID-19. a “high percentage” of people would catch the virus. “That’s like measles,” he said.

On the podcast, he also addressed the mixed messages health officials sent about masks in the beginning of the pandemic. “Our model of ‘flu with coughing’ turned out to be wrong,” he added.

But now, Gates said, “it’s overwhelmingly clear that the upside” of wearing a mask “is gigantic.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also appeared on the show. He offered some words of encouragement to those having a hard time coping with pandemic stress.

“One of the things we’re dealing with is a degree of essentially fatigue that people have about going through this,” Fauci said. “It’s amazing. It’s almost like a distortion of time, Rashida.”

“I want to tell people, ‘Don’t give up,” Fauci added. “This is going to end. Science is going to help us with a vaccine and therapy, and if we pay attention to the public-health measures, we can gain control of it.'”

The vaccine is on the way and the therapeutics for treating COVID-19 are helping more people survive the virus. But it’s hard not to imagine an America where it wasn’t allowed to thrive because far too many people mistook inconvenience for tyranny.

I’ve been writing for the people of the internet for more than a decade, so I’m used to my fair share of hate mail. I don’t generally share the details of my inbox with the public (choosing instead to send screenshots to my close friends so we can vent about the insanity of the world together), but two e-mails I received from people who had similar complaints about an article I wrote seem like they offer a lesson of sorts about how we should—and shouldn’t—communicate with each other.

A few months ago, I wrote an article about some people’s reactions to the murder of Cannon Hinnant, a 5-year-old North Carolina boy shot and killed by a neighbor while out riding his bike in front of his house. It was a terrible, tragic story. Anti-BLM forces quickly jumped on it, complaining that the national media didn’t cover the story like they would if the races were reversed (Hinnant was white, his killer was Black). A #SayHisName campaign accompanied the complaint, usurped from the BLM movement. My piece pointed out the reasons why that complaint was problematic.

You can read the piece here if you want the context for the emails I’m going to share with you.

As with many articles I write, the reactions were split. I got messages from people thanking me for expressing exactly what they had wanted to say, and messages from people who vehemently disagreed. I always a bit amazed when people take the time to track down my e-mail address to share their thoughts on what I write, and I generally appreciate it, even when they’re writing to tell me they disagree with me. But the disagreement messages for this article were on a whole other level.

If it were just the one horrible message, I’d write it off as just some whacko. But I got multiple messages and comments that were boiling over with hatred. I had to block one guy from my Facebook page for dropping in to address me—a woman he has never met—as a “hypocritical bitch” and a “f*cking c*nt” with no other arguments made. (Out of curiosity, I took a peek at his profile and found out he was a fitness/performance coach who had volunteered with a kindness initiative. Interesting, huh?)

But the cherry on top of this article’s hate mail sundae was this email from a man named Edger. Prepare now for a bunch of profanity. (You might also need a key for this: gfy = go fuck yourself, pos = piece of shit, msm = mainstream media.)

Here we go:

“Say his fucking name!

Your liberal pos article telling us not to compare Cannon Hinnant’s murder to the scam blm bs or politicize the tragedy is unbelievably fucked up bitch. THAT is exactly what you motherfuckers have been doing for six fucking months over this blm scam bullshit, so gfy you scumbag pos!!!

We are sick of you leftwing blm socialist scam artist destroying America and will fight to the death for our country. And we will win.

I pray one or better yet all of your kids get cancer and die, so you can feel the pain of what you liberals have done to this innocent family and Americans with your cold hearted liberal left wing politically motivated articles and tweets. All of you heartless and trashy liberal degenerates will pay dearly one day, God willing.

CNN, MSNBC and CNBC did not pick up the story until just a few hours ago and only after the outrage of their deafening silence was raised loudly by patriotic Americans, unlike you msm liberals pos assholes.

You pathetic pieces of shit do not come close to understanding how angry we all are, but you will in November, you corrupt vermin.
HOW DARE YOU EVIL FUCKING SCUM.
FU!!!”

So fun, right? Clearly, the dude has some issues, but this is really not too far off from public comments I receive on Facebook regularly on my articles. Our public discourse has devolved into radicalized idealogues spewing the anger and hatred their chosen media outlets keep them coming hooked on instead of actually discussing ideas and issues.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Another email I received on this article exemplifies the kind of disagreements we can and should have, even if we’re coming from totally different perspectives.

Hi Annie

First if I want to say I’m sorry you were subjected to all those vulgar tirades from those that did not like your article on Cannon. Those were uncalled for and just immature.

But that is not to say I agree with your article. There are some flaws or liberties you took with your argument. The 30 second google search on news stories does come up with hits, but most from Thursday or Friday of last week. When the murder took place on Sunday. One very local News to NC Did report it on Sunday night.

Second, you wrote, on average, three children are killed every day. But that includes those over the age of 12. I don’t think 16 thru 18 year old count as children. Those over the age of 12 make up half of the three children. If you focus on the 8 and under group(Which is more appropriate for this case), it’s more like one per day. And I’d be willing to bet, In not one case, did a man walk up to a child in the street and shoot him point blank in the face. Just the heinous of this crime should have made more of a National splash.

I am not asking for demanding justice. His killer was caught.

But in these days of all this racial unrest, I truly believe that, if the races were reversed, this would have been the first story on Good Morning America on Monday morning. Wouldn’t you agree? Or at least agree that is a good possibility? Of course I can’t prove that and can’t cite any examples of when this actually happened.

Anyway, I wanted to write and share my thoughts. I am just so tired of the media bias.

Mike

Now, that’s a message I can do something with.

The obvious lesson here is “Be like Mike, not like Edger,” but how do we get people to do that? As I said, I’ve been writing on the internet for 10 years. I’ve written about all kinds of contentious topics, from racism to breastfeeding in public. Up until this year, the foulest message I’d received was on an op-ed I wrote five years ago about not assuming every family does Santa Claus—a take that earned me a “Stop being such a whiny c*nt and stop f*cking up your kids” message to my personal Facebook page. I get messages like that regularly now.

There are ways to discuss our perspectives—assuming your perspective isn’t wrapped in denying someone’s humanity or basic human rights—with civility and reasoned arguments. I am happy to debate issues and do so frequently, but it’s impossible to have a discussion with someone who says they hope your kids get cancer and die. Hatred like that is cancerous itself, but unfortunately it feels like its metastasizing throughout the body politic.

I wish I had a perfect answer for how to stop it, but I don’t. All I know is that we won’t survive this if we don’t figure out something quick.

Perhaps the worst part about 2020 isn’t that it’s thrown so much at us. It’s that we’ve taken all the shit we’ve had to wade through and started flinging it at each other. The election. Racial justice. COVID. Literally small pieces of fabric for your face. And it’s tearing us apart. A University of Nebraska-Lincoln survey of 800 Americans found that one in five had a friendship that was “damaged” because of a political argument.

The unfortunate thing about it all is that we have more in common than we think we do. We just suck at discussing it. According to More in Common, a group that works to address underlying drivers of polarization, Americans believe that more than half the country holds extreme views, but it’s actually closer to 30%. The problem is that we’ve been misunderstanding each other, not that our views are wildly dissimilar.

While some people advocate just not talking to their peers with different views, the solution isn’t to cut someone out of your life, or a refusal to engage with the someone of the opposite party. The solution is more conversation. But legit conversation, not the kind of “conversation” where two people just point out all the different ways the other person is wrong.

A recent study published in the Harvard Business Review proposes a better way for discussing disagreements. Researchers asked thousands of people to write responses to political statements with which they disagreed. Then, thousands of other people evaluates those statements based off of how receptive the writer seemed. The researchers were able to find four strategies which would help increase receptiveness in conversation.

The strategies are simple, but effective. The study advises people to “acknowledge the other person’s perspective,” “hedge your claims, “phrase your arguments in positive terms,” and “point to areas of agreement, even if small or obvious.”

It turns out, listening to other people’s ideas makes them more receptive to yours. Meaning, if you want to change someone else’s mind, it’s better listen to what’s on their mind. “When we appear receptive to listening to and respecting others’ opposing positions, they find our arguments to be more persuasive,” Francesca Gino, who worked on the study, wrote in the Harvard Business Review. “In addition, receptive language is contagious: It makes those with whom we disagree more receptive in return. People also like others more and are more interested in partnering with them when they seem receptive.”

The takeaway from the study is hopeful. As deep as our scars seem right now, they can one day fade away – as long as we learn to listen. “[E]ven when discussing the most difficult topics, it is possible for people with polar-opposite points of view to have a constructive conversation,” Gino wrote in the Harvard Business Review.

And there’s a strong indication that people want to heal. As partisan as this past election was, a Pew Research poll conducted before the election found the vast majority of supporters of both candidates (86% of Trump supporters and 89% of Biden supporters) wanted their favored candidate to focus on the needs of all Americans, “even if it means disappointing some of his supporters.”

The healing process doesn’t sit only in the president’s hands. It’s up to us to be better in our daily lives. And that starts with communication.

The NBA trade season has opened with quite the bang, particularly with regards to backcourt stars. Chris Paul has been dealt from Oklahoma City to Phoenix, Jrue Holiday is on his way to Milwaukee for a number of first round picks, Bogdan Bogdanovic will join Holiday on the Bucks in a sign-and-trade, and Dennis Schröder is headed to L.A. to join the Lakers.

The Houston Rockets are currently the central focus of the NBA’s trade market after that early flurry, as they seem headed to a full-scale rebuild after their two stars, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, lobbied for trade requests. They’ve already dealt Robert Covington to Portland for Trevor Ariza and a pair of draft picks, and Harden continues to put a full-court press on the organization to ship him off to Brooklyn (with Philly as an apparent distant second on his list of preferences).

To this point, the Rockets have, as expected, insisted they don’t want to trade their star, as they want to continue operating from a place of leverage in negotiations to whatever degree is possible, but while Harden figures to bring a robust return their way, it is a much different issue trying to find a new home for Westbrook. The former MVP still has plenty in the tank, but the $133 million he’s owed over the next three years is a steep price to pay for his productivity. According to Marc Stein of The New York Times in his latest newsletter, there are currently just two potential suitors for Russ in the Knicks and Hornets, and both are lukewarm at the moment.

However, in Charlotte’s case, things could change dramatically on Wednesday night depending on how the draft shakes out, as Michael Jordan apparently has his eyes on LaMelo Ball. Should Ball be there, they’d likely move on from any Westbrook interest, but if he’s taken before Charlotte picks, it may push them to a stronger interest.

In the Hornets’ case, there is a belief in some corners of the league that their appetite for a Westbrook trade increases significantly if Charlotte does not land LaMelo Ball with the No. 3 overall pick in Wednesday’s draft. Michael Jordan, Charlotte’s owner, is a known Westbrook admirer. Should the playmaking Ball be drafted before the Hornets’ turn at No. 3, according to the theory, there is a much stronger case to be made for trading for Westbrook in spite of the cost and attendant risk.

Charlotte made a strong commitment to Terry Rozier last summer, but Westbrook would certainly be an upgrade there. the question is whether they believe he’s worth the financial commitment that comes with him. That said, Westbrook’s teams, for the flaws he has in his game, have always been competitive, and he would raise the floor of the Hornets. The question is whether there’s a cap on his ceiling as well, but for a Charlotte team desperate for even consistent playoff appearances, they could do worse.

Since becoming an official couple Saweetie and Quavo became a couple sometime in 2018, they’ve been many music fans’ prime example of “couple goals.” However, while their cutesy flirtation has set a trend or two, Saweetie’s high standards for their relationship became a hot topic of debate on Twitter when video from an Instagram Live in which she seemingly advises women to expect expensive accessories from their men went viral. In a new interview with Essence‘s Girls United, Saweetie addresses the resulting backlash and clarifies what she really meant.

In the original video, Saweetie counseled, “If he not getting you a Birkin, if he not paying for your bills, then throw that n**** back to the streets, okay?” Quavo, present in the background, simply shrugs in agreement. The flippant remark doubled as promotion for Saweetie’s anticipated single “Back To The Streets” with Jhene Aiko. However, rather than interpreting this advice for their individual circumstances, some fans instead took it literally, using it as “evidence” of an increasing sentiment of materialism in hip-hop — especially among women. Others thought it was a wasteful expenditure, telling anyone who would listen they should instead invest in assets like land and/or businesses.

However, in her Girls United interview, she makes clear that the costly Hermés purse (which can run a purchaser anywhere from a few grand to almost half-a-million dollars, according to Google Shopping) was only an example and she wasn’t recommending only dated exorbitantly rich men. “Let’s talk about the discourse,” she jokes. “For me, a Birkin is symbolic of a gift. So to people coming in, talking about ‘Oh, I’m going to get my girl property,’ why don’t you get her property and a Birkin. My sentiments behind that were just, you know, spoil your girl. Spoil her with your loyalty, your energy, and how you treat her.”

Of course, for Quavo, one of the higher-paid entertainers in hip-hop thanks to lucrative business deals with brands like Boohoo, Doritos, Lids, and Martell, that advice really was literal. In July, a video of Saweetie dropping into a split after he gave her not one but two Birkin bags for her birthday similarly went viral, prompting even more fans to declare the two couple goals.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Spike Lee’s first Oscar was for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman, one of the best films of 2018. He may win his next Oscar for Da 5 Bloods. I hope he doesn’t, though. That’s not a knock on the Vietnam-set drama, featuring an award-worthy performance from Delroy Lindo, because it’s very good and very powerful. It’s just that, if Lee wins another Academy Award, it should be for his Viagra musical.

Deadline reports that Lee is directing a movie-musical based on the Esquire article “‘All Rise: The Untold Story of The Guys Who Launched Viagra,’ which is inspired by the true events surrounding around Pfizer’s discovery and launch of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra (Sildenafil), which was hatched as a treatment for heart-related chest pain only for researchers to find its game-changing qualities occurred below the belt. The little blue pill had staying power in the global marketplace, perking up sex lives around the world.”

Lee, who is writing the script with Young Vic Theatre artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, featuring original songs from Passing Strange duo Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald, called it a “DANCIN’,ALL SINGIN’ MUSICAL Spike Lee Joint”:

“First And Foremost, I Thank Ms. Jacquelyn Shelton Lee. I Thank My Late Mother For As She Would Say Taking “My Narrow,Rusty Behind” Dragging, Kickin’ And Screamin’ To The Movies When I Wuz A Nappy Headed Kid Growing Up In Da Streets Of Da People’s Republic Of Brooklyn. I Did Not Want To See Corny People Singin’ And Dancin’. I Instead Wanted To Play With My Friends On Da Block, Stoop Ball, Stick Ball, Punch Ball, Soft Ball, Basketball, 2 Hand Touch, Tackle Football, Coco Leevio, Johnny On Da Pony, Hot Peas And Butter, Crack Top, Down Da Sewer And Of Course-Booty’s Up. All The Great New York City Street Games That Might Be Sadly Lost Forever. My Father, Bill Lee, Jazz/Folk Bassist,Composer HATED HollyWeird Movies, Henceforth And What Not, Me Being The Eldest Of 5 Children I Became Mommy’s Movie Date. She Was A Cinefile. Thank You Lawdy She Didn’t Listen To My Ongoing Complaints About Musicals. So Finally Going Into My 4th Decade As A Filmmaker I Will Be Directing A DANCIN’,ALL SINGIN’ MUSICAL Spike Lee Joint And I Can’t Wait. My Moms Has Been Waiting TOO!!! And Dats Da Rodgers And Hammerstein Truth, Ruth.”

If the movie doesn’t keep “All Rise” as a title, it had better be Mo’ Better Blue Pill.

(Via Deadline)

For years, there have been rumors that Donald Trump used racial slurs, specifically the N-word, during his time on The Celebrity Apprentice, and now, Holly Robinson Peete has confirmed that she was the target of those slurs. While appearing on SiriusXM’s The Karen Hunter Show on Tuesday, Peete recalled how the current president bristled at the idea of her winning the season three finale of the hit NBC reality show.

According to Peete, Trump argued with producers that he wanted Bret Michaels to win, which ultimately happened, but not before using the N-word in reference to the former 21 Jump Street star. Via The Daily Beast:

“Shortly after the finale, rumors started going around that he had tossed out an ‘N-word’ referring to me,” she continued. “When the producer told me when it happened, during the finale, I remember the moment. I wasn’t in earshot, but I could see them deciding between me and Bret Michaels.”

She recalled seeing Trump “talking with producers and they’re really animated and that was when I heard that he said, ‘They want the ‘N-word’ to win.’ Because I guess the network wanted me to win or me to be chosen and Trump wanted Bret.”

As for why Peete waited until now to confirm the longstanding rumor, she said that felt it wouldn’t have changed America’s perception of Trump. “People have accepted the things that he said that are so vile about so many other people, what difference is it going to make if he said that about me?” she explained.

(Via The Karen Hunter Show & The Daily Beast)