As if this week wasn’t amazing enough for women in America, there’s something of a revolution that occurred this week on the nation’s pop charts. Singer-songwriter phenom Sia has scored her first Number 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, and she made some important history while doing it. Here’s more from the source, Gary Trust of Billboard…
Sia‘s “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul, crowns the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Aug. 6), rising 3-1 to become Sia’s first Hot 100 No. 1 as an artist, while Paul earns his fourth topper and first in more than 10 years. The song unseats Drake‘s “One Dance,” featuring WizKid and Kyla, which led the Hot 100 for 10 weeks, marking both the longest-leading No. 1 of 2016 and of Drake’s career.
[…]
from reader Eric M.:
“Great news regarding Sia: if ‘Cheap Thrills’ goes to No. 1 on Hot 100, she’ll be the first female over 40 to reach the top since Madonna and Cher back in 2000 and 1999. Madonna was 42 when ‘Music’ led for four weeks in 2000, and Cher was 52 when ‘Believe’ reigned for four in 1999.”
As Sia was born Dec. 18, 1975, she’s just past 40 years and seven months of age.
In an industry marked by near-constant turnover due to ageism, this feat is definitely worth celebrating from the Australian-born pop star. Interestingly enough, the song was originally written for pop’s reigning Super Star Rihanna, but like most of the work on Sia’s album This Is Acting, Cheap Thrills didn’t make the final cut for Rihanna’s 2016 effort.
So much congratulations to the ever incredible Sia. Get your Thrill from the video below.
Just one week ago, as the Republicans finished up their big show in Cleveland, things didn’t look so great for the DNC. Thanks to the well-timed work of Wikileaks and its exiled founder Julian Assange, the Democratic Party became embroiled in scandal just as their historic Convention was about to begin. The DNC leaks provided a litany of embarrassing, salacious details of the Party’s backdoor politics, and even uncovered evidence of party favoritism, which caused immediate anger among Bernie Sanders’ most ardent supporters. Though the emails have yet to show a true coordinated effort of malice, the embarrassment was more than enough to oust DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz just hours before she planned to take the stage. Indeed, last weekend, many feared that the Democratic Party and presumptive nominee for President Hillary Clinton, were done.
But even through those difficulties, the Democratic National Convention got under way. Here’s more from Ron Elving of NPR…
The first afternoon, the Sanders forces were in full cry — booing every mention of Clinton’s name. There seemed to be little prospect for peace, and many opportunities for disruption and chaos.
[…]
These reactions overestimated the importance and power of the DNC, which was important in many ways, but far from critical, in determining who voted or how. Still, the WikiLeaks release served to confirm the suspicion that party rules and party rulers were somehow overruling the popular will of the people.
It was obvious that the DNC controversies fed into a Rules Committee decision to reduce the future numbers of superdelegates (elected officials and party leaders who are uncommitted participants in the nominating convention and may vote their own conscience). In 2020, such delegates will be reduced from 720 to 250.
But negotiations were going forward even then. Sanders’ people were talking, and there were delegation leaders willing to work overtime to heal wounds. Sanders himself, having already formally conceded, intervened to urge his delegates to show respect, if only to preserve the gains they had made as a movement.
But even as Democrats worked overtime to mend fences with bruised Sanders supporters within the Convention hall, they worked just as hard to produce a show for the ages for those watching at home. From the powerful sincerity of Michelle Obama on the first night, to the personal touch of FGOTUS— First Gentleman of the United States– nominee Bill Clinton on the second, to the each speaker at the DNC had a very specific goal for their dual audience… show the party is united with its nominee Hillary Clinton.
Intermingled with some of the country’s most prominent politicians were the speakers whose persuasive power could not be denied… those everyday Americans who got up in front of their country and spoke their truth. Geneva Reed-Veal (mother of Sandra Bland}, Sybrina Fulton (mother of Trayvon Martin) and other Mothers of the Movement took the stage to represent Black Lives Matter– a phrase barely even uttered at the RNC. The incredible speech of Khizr Khan, a Muslim-American father whose son, Humayun Khan, was an American captain who sacrificed his life to save other American troops in Iraq. brought the crowd to its feet in a rousing show of support.
If anything at the DNC can be claimed as a true success, it starts with the involvement of these real Americans, and the ever-powerful strains of sincerity that they delivered on stage. They reminded Americans that this year’s election really does matter.
By the time Hillary Clinton took the stage in the final speech, the true work of the Convention was done. From a turbulent beginning, the 2016 Democratic National Convention rose from the controversy and persevered. But thankfully, Clinton wasn’t satisfied with simply the work of others. She may not have provided the soaring oratory of President Obama, but she did give a speech that was patriotic, and policy-specific (something we’ve yet to see from Mr. Trump). NPR even did an excellent fact-check of Hillary Clinton’s address. For anyone worried about holding the Democratic nominee accountable, you can start keeping tabs.
Check out the historic address below…
So finally, after two long and raucous weeks, the table is set for America’s two main political parties. And for the Democrats, the song now belongs to Hillary. Let’s hope that chorus grows through November and on to January.
As if the contrast between last week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland and this week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia weren’t already apparent, the DNC decided to highlight those contrasts with a literal choir of star power.
In a massive, moving tribute to Americans taken by gun violence in Orlando, 40 of Broadway’s biggest stars took over the DNC stage to sing a stirring rendition of the Hal David and Burt Bachrach classic, What the World Needs Now Is Love.
Here’s the scoop on all the stars from Adam Hetrick of Playbill:
How beautiful it is when the worlds of music, entertainment and politics can join together for a cause greater than the sum of its parts. Watch the moving video below, and have some tissue at the ready…
Right, Left or Center, at least one aspect of this week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio can certainly be agreed upon… it was a fascinating series of events.
At its most basic level, we can all be thankful that the convention was successful– there were no major acts of violence or dangerous disruption, and hopefully everyone that participated will have a safe a journey home. Whether one agrees with the politics or not, all Americans can be proud that this year’s RNC was kept safe.
But of course, being safe and feeling safe are often two very different emotions. As Elle Magazine’s Melissa Harris-Perry shares, the RNC didn’t
Every night this week in Cleveland, the energy has waned as the hour progressed. By the time media left the Arena at 11 p.m., the building was only half full. Tonight was different. Mr Trump’s speech brought delegates and their energy to a late night crescendo. Chants we heard all week increased in fervor, volume, intensity, and frequency—” Build that wall!” “Lock her Up!” “U-S-A!”
The police presence we experienced all week was more visible than ever.
It occurred to me 30 minutes into Mr. Trump’s speech that when he finished we would be facing the classic problem of large venue events, say, concerts for example: everyone was going to leave at the same time. This would be the first time all week when we would all be streaming out at ounce. Trump supporters, fearing immigrants and criminals and hoarse from chanting about walls and locks would be in tight quarters with the liberal media liars. Team Trump is stoked by the discourse of the speech.
Keep in mind, RNCers had just undergone a week of hotel induced sleeplessness, long meetings, late nights, and cocktail parties. Then, throw in the protestors we would all have to pass as we left the zone of the arena.
Suddenly I was viscerally afraid.
Compared to any other Republican National Convention in recent memory, and certainly in the 21st century, 2016 seemed one for the books in terms of blatant vitriol, at least the kind that was caught on camera. It’s also true that Ms. Perry’s identity as an African-American woman proved to be much more the exception than the rule for this year’s RNC. Per The Washington Post, of the 2,472 convention delegates in attendance, just 18 of those were African-American… an historic low not seen in nearly century. And of course, this is against the backdrop of country which is more diverse than ever before. All season long, the Trump organization and the GOP have boasted about the monumental “growth” of the party… more primary voters than ever before, and historic voter registration numbers. That may be true, but it isn’t the same growth that is occurring in the rest of America.
Even the moments that could be considered true “brights spots” contained noticeable shade. Peter Thiel, Billionaire businessman and believed to be the first ever openly gay male to speak at a National GOP Convention gave a rousing speech showing himself proud to be gay and a Republican. But in virtually the same breath, he also throws transgender Americans under the bus by undervaluing their most fundamental rights. To his question, “who cares?” about bathrooms?? The same people which shared that room with him and worked tirelessly to repeal Pro-Equality legislation certainly do. Indeed it must be nice to be a Billionaire who also happens to be gay.
But thanks to some careful, and historic planning by Fairness USA, some of Thiel’s hateful messaging was countered. The groundbreaking TV ad, which debuted on Fox News, allows the American public to finally see the Transgender equality issue from the other side. In my opinion, this is the kind of history which is long overdue.
So as Texas Leftist predicted one year ago, RNC 2016 is now in the books, and Donald Trump has claimed his place as the Retrumplican… err I mean Republican Party’s new leader. Between you and me, the DNC 2016 can’t come fast enough.
Love. Respect. Common Empathy. The desire to understand and support instead of the rush to judge and assume. Nonviolent solutions. This is my prayer.
Thank you to all of those police and law enforcement that risk their lives and health to protect our freedoms, and keep us safe everyday. We appreciate you and support you.
Thank you to those that peacefully exercise those precious freedoms in the wake of constant injustices which threaten our communities. We appreciate you and support you.
Just when things start looking up for the GOP Presumptive Nominee, we all remember that even Hillary’s sloppy email practices cannot save Donald Trump from, well… Donald Trump.
Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee for the Republican presidential nomination, once again lauded deposed Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein during a campaign stop.
Speaking at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday evening, Trump praised what he said was Hussein’s innate ability to kill terrorists “so good.” While it’s not the first time he’s mentioned the former leader, this time Trump elaborated that he appreciated Hussein’s authoritarian take on civil liberties.
“You know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good,” Trump said. “They didn’t read them the rights, they didn’t talk. They were a terrorist, it was over.”
Some may view this clip as a simple statement of fact. Trump is correct that under an authoritarian regime, few people have to sit around wondering about the Civil Liberties implications of murder. So yes, Saddam Hussein did indeed kill terrorists in a highly efficient manner.
But here’s the problem… Hussein killed lots of other people with efficiency as well, including millions of innocent Iraqi citizens. They did not ‘read them rights’ because under a dictatorship, they didn’t have rights. For Trump to laud Hussein’s method of handling terrorism, we must also realize that it is an endorsement of “shoot first, ask later”. If you’re going to endorse such things on the campaign trail, does that mean that all of our rights get thrown out the window the day ‘Terrorist Trump’ is sworn in?
