The CDC and every sane person in America agrees that you should STAY AT HOME next week. Even a gathering with one other family is too risky. And “other family” in this instance is defined as people who do not live with you, not separate DNA. But, you won’t listen? Because 50 million of you are expected to be traveling over the Thanksgiving Holiday, despite the strong warnings, rising cases, and rising deaths. It is not worth it people. I know you want to see your family this year, but do you want to see them next year? For those of us, who care that gathering could cause a spread of COVID, Zoom is hooking us up. On Thanksgiving day, Zoom is lifting the 40 minute cut-off for free meetings. So, we can all talk as long as we want !
I Know What You Did Last iPhone
Apple you dirty dog, you! We knew when the new iPhones came out our current phones would start to mess up. But now we have more proof. This week Apple reached a settlement agreement and agreed to pay $113 million to more than 30 states for concealing issues with batteries by affecting phone performance with a software update in 2016. They claimed they decreased performance to prevent old batteries from shutting down. After public outcry, they just gave a discount in 2017 to reduce the price of a replacement battery. But, we iPhone users always knew it was to get us to buy the new phone. It is why some people still don’t update their phones. Oh, Apple, you shady mother….(shut your mouth.) Sadly, this won’t make me switch to Android. I know, I’m not proud of myself at this moment….Look away.
Biden Debt Relief?
President-Elect Biden is getting pressure to relieve student loan debt. This week that pressure is coming from 238 nonprofit and community organizations that want Biden to make canceling student loan debt a top, day one priority. He is also being encouraged to do it by executive order. There is $1.6 trillion in student debt in this country, the majority of which is held by Black and Latinx communities. Proponents waffle between $10,000 and $50,000 of debt elimination. There is also a debate that it could have tax implications but, if done as part of the pandemic relief those effects can be avoided.
During the campaign, Biden acknowledged and pledged to do something about student loan debt. Now whether or not he does it by executive order is another story. But that may be the only way. Democrats are not all on the same page and with narrow margins in the House and the Senate currently undecided, executive order may be the only way it gets done. Either way, as one of the Black student loan debt holders, cancel away and yes please make it part of the pandemic package. I for one am waiting with bated breath.
Started with Madea Now We’re Here
During the pandemic, Tyler Perry created the blueprint for Hollywood. “People say, ‘Oh, my God, you’re in quarantine.’ No. We have movies on the lawn in the evening. We have four or five different kinds of food trucks. We have an alcohol truck. It’s an adult summer camp, and we have not had any complaints.”
Formerly criticized for making content that was “unpolished”, he is now a billionaire with an impressive catalog of work. In a pandemic, Perry found a way to create a “bubble” to shoot episodes of his many TV series for OWN, BET, and BET+. Before doing this, he consulted infectious disease experts. They came up with a 30-page reopening plan that laid out safety protocols: transportation, medical staffing, personal protective equipment, quarantine facilities, housing, catering standards, cleaning crews, temperature checks and, rapid and reliable testing. The entire thing cost $19 million that was co-financed by BET. By mid-September, Tyler Perry Studios had run 11, 814 Covid-19 tests and had 18 positives. That was a positivity rate of .15 percent, which was much better than Georgia’s 8.2 percent.
So, no matter what you think of Tyler Perry, and I’m sure he doesn’t care anyway. He continues to impress and break traditional Hollywood norms. I Love it!
But also this…
Happy Birthday Biden! Today is the President-elect’s 78th birthday. Congrats on being the oldest President ever! You and VP-Elect Harris continue to break records.
Obama breaking records! Yep, Former President Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land” sold nearly 890,000 copies in the U.S. and Canada in its first 24 hours. This number is far more than any other President’s memoirs. Take that! Now, he did beat Michelle’s “Becoming” first day numbers, but she has sold over 10 million copies total. So, let the competition begin.
Boy Scouts of America. They had a total of 95,000 sex claims cases. They say they must settle by this summer or they will be out of money and have to shut it down. One can dream. See, my previous post about them here.
Joe Wins Georgia! AP finally called the Georgia presidential race for President-elect Biden yesterday, after the results of the hand count audit. Biden won by 12,300 votes, after about 5,000 were found that were not counted previously due to human error. (not fraud)
Pissed Off Parents. NY parents are protesting and outraged that Gov. Cuomo has closed the schools. In response, Mayor de Blasio says he hopes it will be for weeks, but probably not. “To parents upset that restaurants and bars stay open as schools close, de Blasio had a stark message Thursday: It’s just a matter of time before those shut, too.”
The Culture Commentary 