White House Correspondents’ Dinner 2013: A Little History & Expected Guests


 

By Jueseppi B.

 

menu-multi-home

 

Get ready for another star-studded White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The guest list isn’t set in stone, of course, but here’s a rundown of the celebs expected. Gallery produced by Andrea Drusch and Emily Howell.

 

 

130416_conan_obrien_ap_605_605

Comedian Conan O’Brien is headlining the dinner.

 

 

2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner still star-studded, but slightly toned down

 

A preview of this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which may be a bit more toned down in light of the recent Boston terror attack.

 

Though some call it nerd prom, the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner is the glitziest event of the year in Washington, bringing in more celebrities than we policy wonks know what to do with. News organizations in the White House Correspondents’ Association host celebrities and sports stars at sit alongside politicians and politicos for a dinner at the Washington Hilton, bringing together Hollywood and the so-called “Hollywood for ugly people.”

 

It’s been reported that this year’s guest list has been toned downfrom years past. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of stars slated to attend Saturday’s event. Here’s our roundup of the biggest names:

 

Expected guest will include:

Actress Courtney Cox has plans to attend with USA Today.

 

Actress Kristin Chenoweth has plans to attend with USA Today.

 

Actress Kate Walsh has accepted an invitation from USA Today.

 

Actress and almost Senate candidate Ashley Judd plans to sit with USA Today.

 

Actor Josh Gad is expected to attend with USA Today.

 

Actress Nicole Kidman plans to attend with the Daily Beast and Newsweek.

 

Actress Olivia Munn plans to attend with the Daily Beast and Newsweek.

 

Movie producer Harvey Weinstein plans to attend with the Daily Beast and Newsweek.

 

Jon Bon Jovi has accepted the Huffington Post’s invitation.

 

NBA great Shaquille O’Neal plans to sit with the Huffington Post.

 

Actress Scarlett Johansson has accepted the Huffington Post’s invitation.

 

“Modern Family” stars Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen plan to sit with ABC .

 

“Nashville” stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere plan to sit with ABC.

 

“Scandal” stars Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn plan to sit with ABC.

 

Actress Jessica Alba is expected to attend with NPR.

 

Comedian Tracy Morgan plans to sit with NPR.

 

Actress Sophia Bush is expected to attend with NPR.

 

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas is expected to attend with NPR.

 

Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Corey Stoll, Kate Mara, Constance Zimmer and Michael Kelly from “House of Cards” have plans to attend the dinner, according to a Netflix spokesperson.

 

Actor Jeremy Renner plans to go with Reuters.

 

Comedian Fred Armisen is expected to attend with Reuters.

 

Victor Cruz of the New York Giants plans to sit with Reuters.

 

Actor Dan Stevens of “Downton Abbey” fame has accepted an invitation from Reuters.

 

Kathleen Turner is expected to sit with Reuters.

 

Actress Madeline Stowe has plans to attend with Reuters.

 

Steven Spielberg plans to sit with Time magazine.

 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has accepted Time magazine’s invitation.

 

Gymnast Gabby Douglas plans to sit with Time magazine.

 

John Legend & Chrissy Teigen plan to sit with Fortune.

 

Michael J. Fox is expected to attend with NBC.

 

Matthew Perry has plans to attend with NBC.

 

Michael Douglas has accepted NBC’s invitation.

 

Actor Giancarlo Esposito is expected to attend with American Urban Radio Networks.

 

Willie and Korie Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” plan to sit with CBN News.

 

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Natalie Dormer of “Game of Thrones” have plans to attend with Cosmopolitan.

 

Singer Barbra Streisand plans to attend the dinner, according to her publicist.

 

Actress Claire Danes plans to go as a guest of CBS News.

 

Psy plans to attend the with CBS News.

 

 

A Little History:

 

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the President of the United States. The WHCA was founded on Feb 25, 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a Congressional committee would select which journalists could attend press conferences of President Woodrow Wilson.

 

The WHCA operates independently of the White House. Among the more notable issues handled by the WHCA are the credentialing process, access to the President and physical conditions in the White House press briefing rooms.

 

 

White House Correspondents’ Dinner

The WHCA’s annual dinner, begun in 1920, has become a Washington, D.C. tradition and is usually attended by the President and Vice President. Fifteen presidents have attended at least one WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924. The dinner is traditionally held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the Washington Hilton.

 

Until 1962, the dinner was open only to men, even though WHCA’s membership included women. At the urging of Helen Thomas, President John F. Kennedy refused to attend the dinner unless the ban on women was dropped.

 

Prior to World War II, the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers. Since 1983, however, the featured speaker has usually been a comedian, with the dinner taking on the form of a roast of the President and his administration.

 

Many annual dinners were cancelled or downsized due to deaths or political crises. The dinner was cancelled in 1930 due to the death of former president William Howard Taft; in 1942, following the United States’ entry into World War II; and in 1951, over what President Truman called the “uncertainty of the world situation.”

 

 

 

President Obama at White House Correspondents Dinner 2012

 

Published on Apr 28, 2012

President Obama at the 2012 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C.

 

 

 

 

C-Span’s coverage of the arrivals tomorrow at the White House Correspondents Dinner starts at 6:15 PM ET Saturday, the 27th of April.

 

 

2013 WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION℠ DINNER

 

 

Late night star Conan O’Brien to headline 2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

 

Conan O’Brien, the Emmy award-winning comedian and late night talk show host, will headline the annual White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner on April 27, 2013, it was revealed Wednesday by association president Ed Henry.

 

“Conan is one of television’s most innovative and influential talents and I am absolutely thrilled that he has agreed to be this year’s featured act,” said Henry. “As social media has changed all aspects of the media business, Conan has embraced this shifting landscape to become a creative force both online as well as in the traditional television model. We are grateful that Conan will be also be using that creativity to bring more attention to the WHCA’s commitment to helping needy journalism students.”  READ MORE

 

 

 

TELEVISED COVERAGE – 2013 DINNER

 

c-span link           

 

C-Span’s comprehensive coverage of the guest arrival from the red carpet area starting at about 6:30 pm, and their full coverage of the dinner program may be viewed on TV or online at C-SPAN.ORG’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner hub.

 

 

 

barackandmichelleshouse

 

gg

 

michelle_obama_2016_bumper_sticker__34989

 

nitt_action_blog_image

 

blogger4peacelogo

 

obamabottomlogo2

 

 

VAWA: Offensive, Sexist And Ignorant; Representative John “Jimmy” Duncan, Jr (R-TN).


 

By Jueseppi B.

 

images

 

 

 

Want to know why the Violence Against Women Act has gone nowhere in Congress? Because Congress is filled with people like Representative John “Jimmy” Duncan, Jr (R-TN).

 

Yesterday, during an interview about the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Rep. Duncan said that “like most men, I’m more opposed to violence against women than even violence against men, because most men can handle it a little better than a lot of women can.”[1]

 

What?!? Abuse is wrong, no matter who the target is. Being protected from a violent partner doesn’t make a woman weak. Period.

 

Comments like this promote the very dangerous idea that some people don’t need protection, and that those who do are somehow weak. Rep Duncan’s comments are offensive, sexist and ignorant and they are disturbingly reminiscent of the attitudes Representatives Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock showed towards women last year with their comments about rape.[2]

 

Even worse, Rep. Duncan says he isn’t sure whether he’ll support reauthorization of VAWA.[3]  Speaker John Boehner must make sure Rep. Duncan apologizes immediately on the House floor, and then Rep. Duncan must show he’s serious about protecting all people from abuse by signing on as a cosponsor of the expanded Violence Against Women Act now. These comments were published in the press late yesterday and a firestorm is beginning to develop. When elected officials say dangerous and offensive things, they must be held accountable–otherwise we’ll never make progress on important issues like VAWA. If all of us add our names right now, we can make sure he makes this right–but we need to act quickly. Can you sign the petition?

 

 

Sign the petition demanding Rep. Duncan apologize and cosponsor VAWA. 

 

 

Rep. Duncan’s comments are not just offensive, they’re also dangerous. While conservatives in the House continue to block VAWA, shelters, domestic violence hotlines and other key service providers are left to wonder how long they’ll be able to keep their doors open.[4] Domestic violence is a real problem in this country–three women die each day at the hands of an intimate partner.[5]

 

Over the past two decades, this life-saving law has been expanded every time it’s come up for renewal. Those expansions have never been controversial until last year when the Tea Party-controlled House blocked it from passing over new protections for the most underserved communities. Now, extremists in the House are continuing to block the bill while countless women’s lives are hanging in the balance.[6]

 

Here are just a few of the ways that VAWA has helped to curb domestic violence:[7]

 

 

  • Strengthened federal penalties for repeat sex offenders and created a federal “rape shield law,” which prevents offenders from using survivors’ past sexual conduct against them at trial.
  • Trained over 500,000 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges every year to ensure they understand the realities of domestic and sexual violence.
  • Established the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which has answered over 3 million calls and receives over 22,000 calls every month; 92% of callers report that it’s their first call for help.

 

 

And the results have been clear–since 1994 when it passed, domestic violence has declined 67%.[8]

 

Rep. Duncan’s comments show just how out of touch he is with women, and with the reality of domestic violence. Can you sign the petition urging him to apologize, and show that he’s serious about protecting all people from abuse by signing on as a cosponsor of the Violence Against Women Act?

 

Sign the petition today.

 

Thanks for speaking out,

 

Nita, Shaunna, Kat, and Karin, the UltraViolet team

 

 

Sources:

1. John Duncan On VAWA: Most Men Can Handle Violence Better Than Most Women, Huffington Post, February 19, 2013

2. GOP’s Akin, Mourdock lose Senate elections, Washington Post, November 7, 2012

3. John Duncan On VAWA: Most Men Can Handle Violence Better Than Most Women, Huffington Post, February 19, 2013

4. The Violence Against Women Act is on life support, Washington Post, Jan 25, 2013

5. Each Day 3 Women Die Because of Domestic Violence, National Network to End Domestic Violence

6. Leahy, Crapo Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill To Reauthorize The Landmark Violence Against Women Act, Senator Leahy Press Release, January 22, 2013

The Violence Against Women Act is on life support, Washington Post, Jan 25, 2013

7. Factsheet: The Violence Against Women Act, The White House, accessed January 24, 2013

8. Ibid.
 

 

 


 

 

 

This message was sent to Jueseppi B. by Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet from the SignOn.org system. MoveOn.org Civic Action sponsors SignOn.org

 

 

 

 

domestic-violence-verbal-abuse-1

 

 

 

19219_365857606855231_1982075481_n

 

 

282808_123702927796432_324339832_n

 

 

 

blackhistorymonthbanner

 

 

TheObamaCrat.Com™ Soapbox: “The NRA doesn’t speak for me” Says Gun Owner Mr. Jerry Thompson


 

By Jueseppi B.

 

JasonSoapbox copy

 

 

 

“The NRA doesn’t speak for me.”

 

That’s what Ohio MoveOn member, parent, and gun owner Jerry Thompson has to say to Congress in a powerful new ad he just filmed. It will air on the Sunday talk shows and next week on cable news networks. The ad has already received great coverage from CNNUSA Today and The Huffington Post.

 

After the Newtown massacre and the National Rifle Association‘s disgusting response, Jerry has had enough.

 

The gun violence prevention fight is heating up in the Senate this month, and the NRA is getting ready to write checks. If millions of people see Jerry’s ad, we can drown out the NRA’s money and their message, and pave the way for real reform.

 

 

“THE NRA DOESN’T SPEAK FOR ME” – 30 Second National Ad

 

Published on Feb 15, 2013

Gun owner Jerry Thompson of Ohio has a message for Congress: The NRA Doesn’t Speak for Me. Stop taking their money.

 

 

 

 

 

The NRA’s multi-year campaign to wave their wallets in Washington and block gun violence prevention policies has been almost unbeatable—until now.

 

The NRA leaders don’t speak for hunters, gun owners, or even their own members. Watch & share this video from Jerry from Ohio where he calls out the NRA and the Senators who take their money for not speaking for him.

 

We’re ready to take the Senate fight for reform directly to the NRA and the senators who they fund.

 

Since Newtown, MoveOn members have sprung into action, holding hundreds of events all over the country, generating more than 750,000 petition signatures calling for new and better policies to end gun violence, and donating just under $1 million dollars to the effort.

 

Jerry tells members of Congress that if they “take money from the NRA—and then continue to do their bidding—we’re gonna remember that come election time.” Share this video with your friends and family to prove Jerry right and beat the NRA.

 

 

Click here to share the ad with your friends and family online.

 

 

Source:

 

1. ”First on CNN: New player in gun control ad wars,” CNN, February 15, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=287317&id=62736-19935541-RTVIqlx&t=4

 

“MoveOn.org ad targets lawmakers on gun issue,” USA Today, February 15, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=287318&id=62736-19935541-RTVIqlx&t=5

 

“NRA, Ohio Senator Rob Portman Targeted In New Ad Campaign,” The Huffington Post, February 15, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=287319&id=62736-19935541-RTVIqlx&t=6

 

 

2. “John Boehner‘s Senate-first strategy,” Politico, February 13, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=287278&id=62736-19935541-RTVIqlx&t=7

“Stand and Fight,” The Daily Caller, February 13, 2013
http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/13/stand-and-fight/

 

 

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

 

 

 

americangunflag

 

 

 

iimaginepeace

 

 

 

14027892916089074381

 

 

 

Funeral Held For Teen Girl Killed At Chicago Playground

 

 

 

jordan-davis-23

 

 

 

541025_2834231134994_1235661674_32213200_1678449298_n52

 

 

 

19219_365857606855231_1982075481_n

 

 

 

282808_123702927796432_324339832_n

 

 

 

blackhistorymonthbanner

 

 

 

Victoria’s Secret Versus Apple


By Jueseppi B.

 

This ad campaign by Victoria’s Secret has sparked some controversy and I was so consumed with politics & the fight to prevent Lyin UnFitt Mitt Romney from fucking America up way beyond what George Dubbya Bush accomplished during his 8 years of terror…..I almost missed this.

 

Check this out:

 

Victoria’s Secret Geisha Lingerie Sparks Controversy: How One Blogger Took on a Brand | Fashion – Yahoo! Shine.

 

Victoria’s Secret Geisha Lingerie Sparks Controversy: How One Blogger Took on a Brand

By  | Fashion – Tue, Sep 25, 2012

 

t takes hundreds of employees, thousands of hours and millions of dollars to launch a mass market lingerie line. And one blogger to take it all down.

 

“I never thought they would pull the Geisha outfit off the market,” Nina Jacinto tells Shine. “I imagine there were a number of factors that went into that decision.”

Two weeks ago, Jacinto, a 26-year-old Bay Area blogger and non-profit development manager, most likely became one of those factors.

It all started here. “I saw a link to [Victoria's Secret's Go East] line on the blog, Angry Asian Man,” she says.

 

 

“Hooray for exotic orientalist bull—-,” wrote the blogger who included a link to the “Asian-inspired” lingerie line’s centerpiece: “The Sexy Little Geisha,” a mesh teddy that comes with an obi belt, chopsticks and a fan.

 

Victoria’s Secret boosts sales in tough economy

 
Immediately Jacinto sat down to write an insightful post on why she found the outfit, and the line in general, offensive. ”It’s the kind of overt racism masked behind claims of inspired fashion and exploring sexual fantasy that makes my skin crawl,” she wrote in article published September 6 on the blogRacialicious, a site for commentary on the intersection of culture and race.

 

“There’s a long-standing trend to represent Asian women as hypersexualized objects of fantasy,” wrote Jacinto. She also took umbrage with the lingerie description as “your ticket to an exotic adventure” and the fact that none of the models for the collection were of Asian descent.

 

“The lack of Asian women here simply exposes the deep-rooted nature of the Orientalist narrative, one that trades real humanness for access to culture,” she wrote. “Besides, it can only feel sexy and exotic if it’s on an “American” body—without the feeling of accessing something foreign or forbidden, there can be no fantasy.”

 

One week after Jacinto posted her piece, the feminist website Bust picked up on the story. When the Bust reporter went to check out the teddy described in Jacinto’s story, it had disappeared from the site. According to Bust, a Victoria’s Secret rep suggested the teddy had simply “sold out.” A week after that, The Frisky’s Jessica Wakemen wrote about the offending and mysteriously missing teddy in question. “Considering the complicated history of geishas, repurposing the “look” for a major corporation to sell as role-playing lingerie seems a bit tasteless,” she wrote.

 

By the afternoon, major news outlets like the Huffington Post began calling blogger backlash to Victoria’s Secret a “controversy.” The Daily Mail noted that the teddy and the Go East line in its entirety had been removed from the company website and replaced with the main product page.

The company still hasn’t released a statement or confirmed its decision to remove the line, and had not returned Yahoo! Shine’s request for comment at press time.

 

 

Over on Twitter, the audience is divided on the issue of whether the geisha teddy is offensive. ”Can we please stop fetishizing Asian cultures?” asks one Twitter user. ”I’d still wear it,” adds another. On the brand’s Facebook page, a VS superfan asks when the line is coming to Australia.  Don’t expect it too soon.

 

Companies pay attention to the blogosphere, and hard-learned lessons have taught them that they’re not immune to the power of a strong and well-crafted opinion. In June, Adidas pulled its plans to create a line of shackle sneakers when over 2,000 commenters on Facebook complained of the design’s racist overtones. And last year, American Apparel‘s plus-size modeling contest was taken to task by a contestant who taught the marketing company a thing or two about women with curves.

 

Shackle sneakers spark outrage

 

Jacinto, meanwhile, has gotten a lot of responses from commenters questioning why she cares so much about some bras and underwear. “It’s important that companies like VS know that capitalizing on a stereotype and on a culture is tasteless and offensive,” she explains. “The messaging we insert in our culture shapes people’s attitudes—so questioning clothing like this is important.”

 

Questioning is one thing, seeing results is another. Whether or not Victoria’s Secret confirms it, Jacinto’s impact on a massive multimillion dollar line seems obvious. But she still sees room for improvement. “Their Cherry Blossoms line [another Asian-influenced VS line mentioned in her blog] still exists and still contains language such as ‘indulge in touches of eastern delight,’ ” she says. “The clothing itself may not be as overtly distasteful as the Geisha piece, but the language makes it troublesome to me. Surely there must be another way to advertise that line that doesn’t exoticize Asian women.”

 

If this is not the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen, read, heard of in my 52 years of life.

 

This is a fucking ad campaign to get women to appeal to THEIR men/women/transgendered mates. And some blogger has “sparked” a controversy over this?

 

Question for all you outraged folks: How many of you own Apple products, who are so outraged over this defaming of Asian women?

 

How many of you who own those Apple products, are also aware of the working conditions those Apple iPads, iPhones and MAC computers were created in….working conditions that are illegal in the United States Of America? Which is why Apple, an American company, has “outsourced” millions of jobs to China over the years.

 

Here we have some bloggers who are pissed at the apparent sexual objectification of Asian women…BUT YOU OWN THE MOST SEXUALLY OBJECTIVE ITEMS PRODUCED BY THE MOST SEXUALLY OBJECTIVE COMPANY IN HISTORY?

 

Apple has factories in China that employ underage Chinese workers of ALL genders, pays them pennies an hour, makes them work 18 hour days and keeps them captive in company slums. YET you find this ad campaign for some fucking lingerie sexually objective towards Asian women?

 

My Lord is America stupid.

 

 

 

Small Business Tax Cut Bill, In Senate, Could Lead To Almost 1 Million New Jobs


By Jueseppi B.

 

 

 

 

 

By Mr. 

 

WASHINGTON — The small business tax cut bill that the Senate is rolling out Tuesday would spark the creation of nearly 1 million jobs, according to an economic analysis provided to The Huffington Post.

 

The Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act would grant small businesses 10 percent tax breaks for expanding payrolls either through hiring or raises, and would extend for another year the 100 percent bonus depreciation that businesses can take on assets. The bill, which also contains a break on the alternative minimum tax for corporate taxpayers, would cost about $28 billion overall.

 

The private group Regional Economic Models, Inc., estimates the combined impacts of the cuts would be worth about $87 billion added to the GDP and 990,592 jobs. The bill would also boost personal incomes by about $73 billion, according to REMI’s analysis.

 

REMI explained that it did the study using preliminary estimates from Congress’ Joint Tax Committee and information from the Small Business Administration to estimate impacts across states and industries.

 

The bill represents Senate Democrats‘ efforts to both spur the economy and put Republicans on the defensive by forcing them to choose whether or not to back the sorts of tax cuts that they normally would in the past. Republicans were still mulling their options Tuesday morning, and waiting to see whether they would be allowed to have amendments.

 

But for Democrats, the measure is a no-brainer.

 

“Creating close to one million jobs would put a meaningful dent in the unemployment problem,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the head of the Senate Democrats’ policy and messaging efforts. “This tax cut is not a cure-all, but it could be a difference-maker for small firms on the fence about adding payroll. After last month’s sluggish jobs numbers, we may be on the verge of a rare moment of agreement on how to help the economy.”

 

The bill is also meant as an answer to a $46 billion small business tax cut proposed by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), which Democrats and outside analysts estimate would disproportionately help the wealthy – business owners such as doctors, finance firms and even sports teams — while including no requirement for businesses to hire.

 

Michael McAuliff covers Congress and politics for The Huffington Post. Talk to him on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Register To Vote 

Declare Yourself & Vote 

I Want To Vote

Voter Participation Center

Can I Vote ?

 

 

 

“BARACK” The Vote

 

 

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 14,555 other followers

%d bloggers like this: