Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t the only one late-night host with a lot to say about the pro-Trump domestic terrorists storming the Capitol building on Wednesday.
The Late Show host Stephen Colbert went “unexpectedly live” to address the Republican politicians responsible for the riots, while Late Night‘s Seth Meyers soberly called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office immediately. “As everyone knows right now, today was a day filled with surreal and horrifying scenes of armed insurrection in an attempt to destroy, through violent means, American democracy,” he said. “It was a sequence of events unseen in the modern history of this nation, and the images should be seared into our collective consciousness for the rest of our lives.”
The events of yesterday were “incited, directed, and encouraged” by Trump in his desperate final days as president, as well as Republican politicians and the right-wing media. “As we were all watching these stunning scenes of violence, and sedition, and insurrection against our democracy, anxiously hoping for a restoration of calm and order, the president of the United States told the traitors and the mob, ‘We love you, you’re very special, I know how you feel.’ And he does,” Meyers said. “He knows how they feel because he’s spent four years telling them in great and odious detail how they should feel. So we should be shocked, but we can’t be surprised… He told that same crowd just hours earlier that they should never concede, that they should show strength and fight.”
The only solution left: Trump must be “immediately removed from office by either the cabinet or the Congress and prosecuted. Anything less is tacit permission to continue to use his office, and his influence after he leaves office, to foment sedition and dismantle democracy.” You can watch the Late Night clip above.
Despite Donald Trump‘s campaign to overturn the 2020 election resulting in a violent, attempted coup on Wednesday, Rudy Giuliani soldiered on and continued to call senators in an effort to delay Congress certifying the electoral college vote. But, in true Giuliani style, he did it by accidentally calling the wrong senator and leaving a damning voicemail that was quickly forwarded to the press. The call intended for Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville was made at 7:00 PM EST while MAGA insurgents were still vandalizing the inside of Capitol building. Instead, an anonymous senator received the message and made sure the press knew what Giuliani was up to even after the mob attack. Via The Dispatch:
“I want to discuss with you how they’re trying to rush this hearing and how we need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you,” Giuliani said in a voicemail. “And I know they’re reconvening at 8 tonight, but it … the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow—ideally until the end of tomorrow. I know McConnell is doing everything he can to rush it, which is kind of a kick in the head because it’s one thing to oppose us, it’s another thing not to give us a fair opportunity to contest it.”
Giuliani urged Tuberville and a congressman to “object to every state,” so Trump and Giuliani would have more time to work on other senators who he claimed are “very, very close to pulling their vote” for the certification. Ultimately, that effort failed as the attack on the Capitol building prompted Trump-friendly senators like Kelly Loeffler to abandon their plans to overturn the election results. Tuberville, however, remained loyal to the president and was one of Republican six senators who continued to object to Arizona’s vote certification.
January 6 — a day forecast by Trump to be a big one for weeks on Twitter — turned out to be a real sh*tshow. The Capitol Hill siege (which began as Mitch McConnell publicly stood up to Trump while Electoral College votes were counted) by a pro-Trump mob, who met little if no opposition by Capitol Hill police on their way into the very building where the Senate and House convened. And on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, co-host Joe Scarborough unloaded an impassioned, 7-minute rant that’s an essential listen after the deadly violence that had been incited by Trump earlier that day at a rally (and, arguably, ever since his “American Carnage” inaugural speech).
It’s quite a segment from Scarborough. At around the 5:00 mark in the above video, Scarborough’s fury hit its peak with an F-bomb and a shout directed toward Capitol Hill cops: “You opened the f*cking doors for ’em!”
Joe Scarborough went off on Capitol police live on MSNBC: “You opened the fucking doors for em!” pic.twitter.com/4Ydd4Au8HN
The host spoke about his time working in D.C. on or near the insurrection site. He cited the massive amounts of security that he personally encountered, and he raged at how they were welcomed into the building and even took selfies with some cops. And Scarborough isn’t afraid to point out the obvious here. “If these insurrectionists were black, they would have been shot in the face,” Scarborough pointed out. “And my god, if these insurrectionists were Muslim they would have been sniped from the top of buildings.” Then he got even more real:
“So I want to know from the Capitol Hill police — what, is it just white people? Or is it Donald Trump supporters? Why do you scream at people for walking across the street three blocks away from the Capitol? Why are you known as these badasses around the Capitol? But then Trump supporters come in and you open the f*cking doors for them. You open the doors for them and let them breach the people’s house. What is wrong with you?”
However, Scarborough had “no questions” for the president. “He should be arrested today, he should be sent to jail today for insurrection against the United States of America,” the co-host continued. He also demanded the arrest of Don Jr. (for his incendiary behavior and speeches at rallies) and Rudy Giuliani, who’s been orchestrating the Legal Strike Force charade for nearly two months and was busted calling the wrong senator in an attempt to slow down the Senate’s voting session on Wednesday.
Ultimately, though, Scarborough directed most of his fury at the Capitol Hill cops, who he saw “patting terrorists on the back” after they busted up windows and scaled walls, only to be welcomed by smiling officers who were “politely opening doors” to the mob. “There has to be an investigation,” he argued. “How many of these Capitol Hill cops are members of Donald Trump’s cult? How many? How many allowed this to happen? And I do want to know, where the hell were the D.C. police?” All very fair questions.
During and following the events at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. yesterday, everybody from Cardi B to Jimmy Kimmel to NBA coaches have shared their disgust with the situation. Now Selena Gomez has weighed in, focusing on the social media and internet companies she believes help foster online hate.
In a tweet directed at leaders of internet companies, Gomez wrote last night, “Today is the result of allowing people with hate in their hearts to use platforms that should be used to bring people together and allow people to build community. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Jack Dorsey, Sundar Pichai, Susan Wojcicki — you have all failed the American people today, and I hope you’re going to fix things moving forward.”
On her Instagram Story, Gomez also shared a video from former CNN chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin, which Yellin titled “How Social Media Fueled Today’s Insurrection” and which features Yellin in conversation with Imran Ahmed, CEO of The Center For Countering Digital Hate (CCHD).
Gomez has long expressed her discontent with how Google and social media sites have handled hateful and/or misleading online speech. Just looking at Gomez’s Twitter timeline from December, near the start of the month, she went after Facebook and Instagram in response to a CCHD post that declares, “Neo-Nazis are selling racist products on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook has left these pages online, despite being told about them 3 days ago.” Responding to another CCHD tweet from last week about the spread of “vaccine misinformation,” Gomez wrote, “Scientific disinformation has and will cost lives. @Facebook said they don’t allow lies about COVID and vaccines to be spread on their platforms. So how come all of this is still happening? Facebook is going to be responsible for thousands of deaths if they don’t take action now!”
Scientific disinformation has and will cost lives. @Facebook said they don’t allow lies about COVID and vaccines to be spread on their platforms. So how come all of this is still happening? Facebook is going to be responsible for thousands of deaths if they don’t take action now! https://t.co/IAtDpNT5Tt
Jimmy Kimmel didn’t have much time to react to President Trump’s worst supporters storming the Capitol building in a failed coup on Wednesday, but in a way, he channeled all the anger, confusion, and sadness he and many others have felt over the last four years into a single episode. “Thank you for joining us for the treason finale of the Donald Trump era. This was one of those days that I always assumed was behind us. This is not the sort of thing I ever imagined would happen in this country in my lifetime,” he said.
Kimmel noted how “laidback” the police looked “compared to the Black Lives Matter protests. Some were seen taking selfies with the criminals; others seemed to welcome them through the gates. It was a terrible day in the history of this country.” He then turned his attention to the president “and the scumbags that kept this ‘stolen election’ charade going — and that’s you Josh Hawley, that’s you Ted Cruz — either intentionally or just wildly irresponsibly lit these fires to start a war just to distract us from the fact that Donald Trump lost the election.” He was just getting started on that “lyin’ little bitch” Cruz.
“Ted Cruz, this guy doesn’t even believe the election was stolen. He knows better than that. He’s so hungry for political power. He’s so desperate to be liked and supported by these nuts who think Joe Biden is a Chinese agent and Satan is trying to force them to wear masks to the mall so that one day he can be president, he’s willing to roll the dice on a civil war.”
Kimmel listed the enablers that made yesterday a reality, including attorney Rudy Giuliani, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), “and especially Donald Trump. These people are not Americans,” Kimmel said. “There’s no ‘we, the people,’ there’s ‘me, the people’ and that’s it.” You can watch the Jimmy Kimmel Live! clip above.
Over the past 18 months, Taylor Swift has been more prolific than pretty much any other pop star. In August of 2019, she released Lover, which she followed in 2020 with a pair of companion albums, Folklore and Evermore. Now, at the top of 2021, she has returned with even more new music: Today, she released her deluxe edition of Evermore, which was previously only available in physical formats, on streaming platforms.
This means that two songs are now available online for the first time: “Right Where You Left Me” and “It’s Time To Go.” On the former, Swift sings about an ill-fated relationship that left her dwelling on the past, singing, “Help, I’m still at the restaurant / Still sitting in a corner I haunt / Cross-legged in the dim light / They say, ‘What a sad sight’ / I, I stayed there / Dust collected on my pinned-up hair.”
On “It’s Time To Go,” there are also some thinly veiled lyrics that are more than likely about Swift’s feud with Scooter Braun and Big Machine, as she sings, “Fifteen years, fifteen million tears / Begging ’til my knees bled / I gave it my all, he gave me nothing at all / Then wondered why I left / Now he sits on his throne in his palace of bones / Praying to his greed / He’s got my past frozen behind glass / But I’ve got me.”
Listen to “It’s Time To Go” and “Right Where You Left Me” above and check out our review of Evermorehere.
Harry Styles has been taking over headlines this week when rumors of him dating Olivia Wilde arose after the two attended a wedding together. Now, another photo of them together has gone viral — but not for the same reason. Styles was spotted wearing a face-covering bandana rather than a proper mask, and fans are urging him to be more careful.
“Harry wear a mask” went viral on Twitter after photos surfaced of him on an outing with Wilde and a few friends. Styles was covering his face with a bandana, rather than a cloth mask, and his fans took the opportunity to shame him for it.
Fans maintained their love for the singer while also urging him, and other Styles fans, to wear an effective mask to prevent against the spread of COVID-19.
i’m beyond disappointed. there is an incidence of 8 thousand cases per 100 thousand people in LA. that’s literally an 8%! not only is it dangerous but careless and selfish to be driving and walking around without following guidelines. please harry wear a mask, we are concerned!
not a single person is wearing a mask here. what the actual fuck. harry you cant say “stay home save lives”, then not wear a mask in a PANDEMIC. HARRY WEAR A MASK pic.twitter.com/WYQZr9d4Oy
Per the CDC’s website, the official safety recommendations are to wear a multiple-layered cloth mask that fits snug around your nose and mouth. The CDC does not mention bandanas but they do note that neck gaiters, or neck warmers, are acceptable only if they have two layers. However, items like bandanas or gaiters oftentimes are more likely to have gaps around the nose area.
See Styles fans encourage the singer to wear a proper mask above.
The events unfolding in Washington on Wednesday were some of the most surreal our country has ever witnessed. It was something few ever expected to see in America, as an armed horde of radical Trump supporters stormed the nation’s Capitol building with very little resistance from the security forces ostensibly put in place to protect against that type of an invasion.
It left many baffled by the response, given the way Black Lives Matter protesters around the country have been routinely met with violent aggression by police forces throughout the past year. It was the perfect encapsulation of the hypocrisy and double standard that is in place when it comes to Black Americans.
Prior to Wednesday’s games, several teams took a knee during the anthem and released statements denouncing the actions in Washington, as well as the court ruling that the officers involved in the Jacob Blake shooting would not be prosecuted. After the game, several players used their media availability to address the situation, with Boston’s Jaylen Brown invoking Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic quote about two Americas, in which Black people are still treated as less than equal.
“In one America, you get killed by sleeping in your car, selling cigarettes or playing in your backyard. In another America, you get to storm the Capitol, and no tear gas, no massive arrests, none of that.”
He was preceded earlier in the night be Bradley Beal — fresh off a career-high 60-point explosion — who condemned the lack of urgency in the response to rioters who overtook the Capitol building and forced lawmakers to flee.
Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, on the attempted coup by Trump supporters in D.C. today:
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was part of the Bucks and Pistons taking a knee for seven seconds after tipoff for Jacob Blake, also spoke about his fears as a parent of a Black child growing up in a country where they can be targeted, not just by other citizens, but by the police themselves, without fear of consequences.
“My kid is going to grow up here in America and my kid is Black. I cannot imagine my kid going through what I see on TV.”
That was followed by Kyle Lowry, who in no uncertain terms called for Trump to be held directly accountable for his part in inciting the day’s events.
Lowry on Trump encouraging the scene at the Capitol: “That man is a criminal. Like, he should be charged…He basically told them to go do this, and people died.”
Others like Jimmy Butler, Steve Kerr, and Malcolm Brogdon likewise spoke out on how what transpired in Washington laid bare how different treatment is based on the color of one’s skin and the ideology they’re supporting.
As the Heat and Celtics stated, the league’s players decided together on Wednesday that they would participate in the scheduled games, rather than sit them out in solidarity, stating their goal to bring joy to fans on one of the darkest days in the country’s history, and true to their word, they continued to use their platform to bring awareness and call for accountability. In the day’s ahead, it remains to be seen just what will come of all this, but many of the league’s stars certainly aren’t shying away from discussing yet another inflection point in American history.
That being said, there’s a sort of universal rule in booze that the cheaper the juice gets the less palatable it becomes. And less than $10 per bottle is fire-sale (and fire in your throat) cheap. So please know that when we talk about bourbon at this price point, we’re not asking “can you sip it?” We’re simply asking “is it drinkable at all?”
Of course, what’s “drinkable” is very subjective. Generally speaking, we’re talking workhorse mixers. Bottles you use to make cocktails or, at the very least, add Coke, 7-Up, or soda water to. Many of these are also perfectly fine shooters and drinkable on the rocks in a pinch.
They’re all fine is what we’re saying. And for a tenner, that’s significant.
In the end, the ten bottles of bourbon below are most people’s gateway to the style. They’re cheap, readily available, and easy to understand. And, as you’ll see, you can still find nuance and flavor notes to enjoy, even at these bottom shelf prices.
This is a quality whiskey (from Heaven Hill) at a very accessible price point. It’s a bottled-in-bond, meaning it’s from one distilling season, aged for at least four years, and bottled at 100 proof.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a clear caramel and cream soda sweetness that definitely does draw you in. A touch of dark spice lingers in the background with a bit more of that vanilla-forward cream soda sweetness on the palate, making the sip very easy. The end has a touch more of that spice followed by a moment of oak buried under the creamy vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is a steal for $7 a bottle. It works wonders in an old fashioned, given the underlying sweetness.
This is Heaven Hill’s other gateway bourbon. There are no frills involved. This is standard bourbon that’s aged for three years before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
This is light, with a sense of cornmeal next to classic bourbon vanilla and butterscotch. That butterscotch sweetness tends to be the defining point as the corn and vanilla fade. The end has a bit of warm spice that works well with the corn syrup sweetness and vanilla.
Bottom Line:
Try this on the rocks with a splash of water. It’s also a great beer back if you’re looking to try a new shooter.
This is a bit of a hidden gem from Barton Distillery (Sazerac). The juice is a blend of three to six-year-old bourbons that are proofed to varying ABVs before bottling. Their 100-proof bottled-in-bond tends to end up on a lot of “best of” lists while this expression serves as more of a first taste to the wider world of Very Old Barton.
Tasting Notes:
Vanilla pods mingle with plenty of oak and a hint of caramel sweetness — classic bourbon, really. There’s a note of spice and fruit lurking beneath the fairly smooth texture of the sip. The end is short, oaky, and a little peppery.
Bottom Line:
This one will be a little harder to find, depending on where in the country you live. Still, this is almost good enough to be a sipper on the rocks and goes down well as a cocktail base.
This expression from Buffalo Trace (Sazerac Company) really hits classic and accessible marks equally. It’s 40 percent ABV, isn’t overly done, and works really well as an entry-level bourbon to Buffalo Trace.
Tasting Notes:
Salted caramel mixes with plenty of cream soda vanilla and sharp spiciness. The sweetness edges toward honey as the sip takes on a very distant whisper of florals. The end is short and sweet with a nod to the vanilla and spice, and the sweet notes lasting the longest.
Bottom Line:
This could easily be $20 and people wouldn’t bat an eye.
Sticking with Buffalo Trace (Sazerac), we’d be remiss not to call out a classic: Ancient Age. The whiskey in the bottle is young but crafted to be a shooter or mixer. It doesn’t pretend to be anything more that it is and that’s fine by us.
Tasting Notes:
Classic notes of vanilla-meet-caramel with a hint of spice and tart apple. That vanilla/caramel nature carries on with a small dose more of the spice as a minor idea of citrus arrives late. The end is warm, short, and very keyed into the sweeter sides of the vanilla and caramel.
Bottom Line:
This is made to be shot or mixed, so do just that.
Heading over to Louisville’s Glenmore Distillery (Sazerac Company), Zackariah Harris hits some very easy-to-drink marks. It’s a high-corn mash bourbon that’s blended, proofed, and bottled with no bells or whistles.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a clear lightness that leads toward plenty of vanilla and caramel with a touch of kettle corn and cinnamon. The taste stays light and almost soft as the spice gets a little peppery and the vanilla leads towards some woodiness. The end is short but leaves you thinking about taking another shot.
Bottom Line:
While this is a fine shooter, it also works well as a cocktail base for anyone looking to practice without breaking the bank.
If you’re going to buy Evan Williams (Heaven Hill), it may as well be this one. It’s a standard bourbon that’s aged at least four years before blending and proofing down to 40 percent. It’s almost always under $10 per bottle, even if you’re not in Kentucky, making this a winner.
Tasting Notes:
This bourbon hits the classic triad of vanilla, caramel, and oak squarely on the head. There’s a continuation of those notes with the addition of sweet fruits and a very distant hint of toasted coconut next to corn. The end returns to the oak and vanilla but holds onto the sweeter fruits on a quick fade.
Bottom Line:
You can’t beat this for simple cocktails or highballs (especially with colas or lemonades).
This wheated bourbon from Heaven Hill is an entry point to the much higher priced and much older Old Fitz expressions from HH. While this has no bells or whistles built into the blend, it’s still crafted to highlight the quality of wheated bourbon and makes for a good starting point.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a bit of that bourbon vanilla up top, but it’s more about the Christmas spices and, dare we say, mint on this one. The sip brings along a caramel sweetness while leaning into the spices with a note of fruit lurking beneath. The end holds onto the cinnamon-forward spices and caramel sweetness as it quickly fades out.
Bottom Line:
This is another one that’ll be tougher to track down outside of Kentucky. Still, if you come across a bottle, give it a shot for, well, shots. And cocktails.
This is a classic bourbon that became part of Jim Beam about 30-odd years ago. Until then, it was famed for being the drink of choice of President Grant back in the 1870s, which gave it a lot of panache as a brand. The juice in the bottle is a year younger than a typical Jim Beam bourbon but still holds up to any other bottle in this price range.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a bit of sweetness on the opening that’s very reminiscent of Beam while leaning into caramel and vanilla. An undercurrent of popcorn draws the sweetness back. The body of the sip is warm (not for the faint of heart) and touches on caramel apples, more popcorn, and plenty of that vanilla.
The end is shortish, warm, and has a slight salted and buttered popcorn flourish.
Bottom Line:
This works pretty well on the rocks if you’re looking to get tipsy. It’s easy to drink but you know you’re drinking whiskey with a capital “W.”
Jim Beam’s PET bottle is almost always under $10. The whiskey is the standard 4-year-old Beam in a plastic bottle. If you know Beam, you know exactly what you’re getting with this bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Sweet notes mix with corn, vanilla, and oak. The sweetness edges more towards a cherry or Red Vine as a mild spice kicks in with plenty more vanilla, caramel, and oak. The end is short and sweet but very much in the classic bourbon column, only hindered by a slight plasticky taste.
Bottom Line:
Note, the plastic bottle does come through a bit here. That’s a shame. That being said, if you’re mixing this with Coke or ginger ale or Sprite, you’re not going to notice it.
If there’s anything you know about Key Glock, it’s that the Memphis rapper is always hard at work when it comes to his music. The proof behind that statement arrives through a new video which arrives just six days into the new year. Key Glock shared his new song and visual for “Off The Porch” to officially kick off his 2021 campaign. Unlike his previous videos that erred on the rambunctious and raucous side of things, Key Glock’s latest effort is a bit simpler, yet equally captivating. It finds the Memphis rapper in a dark setting with just a bright yellow car and a BMX bike behind him as he lays his menacing raps into a silver microphone that hangs just above his head.
Key Glock’s latest visual comes after he blessed his fans in 2020 with two projects: Yellow Tape and Son Of A Gun. Both albums were entirely solo efforts that showed a sharp improvement in his music. He backed up the project with videos for songs like “1997,” “Rich Blessed N Savage,” and “Son Of A Gun,” all of which added to his portfolio for an impressive 2020. As for what’s in store for Key Glock in 2021, that remains to be seen but if the “Off The Porch” serves as evidence for the future, you can expect a lot of good things from the Memphis native this year.
You can watch the “Off The Porch” video above.
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