Arguably one of the most influential and longest lasting brilliant singers who was uniquely capable of crossing multiple generations of song, all while retaining that same smile.  The legendary and irreplaceable Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96.  Wow, what a life!

In the latter part of his career, with incredible and smooth duets with female pop stars (1990 – 2020), I once remarked that Bennett’s specific style of charm reminded me of a human Quokka, simply because of that incredible and authentic smile he carried.  The guy was a class act.

Shine on Mr. Bennett. The sounds in heaven just got a whole lot more jazzed…

(Variety) […] He was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in Astoria, Queens, New York on Aug. 3, 1926, to Italian immigrant parents; his father was a grocer, his mother a seamstress. Raised in poverty, he began singing as a child, and studied music and his other lifelong love, painting, at New York’s High School of Industrial Art. His vocal influences included Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and, later, Frank Sinatra, as well as such female singers as Billie Holiday and Judy Garland.

Drafted at 18 in 1944, he served in World War II’s European theater, doing combat infantry duty and liberating a German concentration camp. After the end of the conflict, he sang as a member of an Armed Forces band.

On his return from service, he studied voice with Miriam Spier in the American Theatre Wing. He cut his first, unsuccessful sides for independent Leslie Records in 1949, as “Joe Bari.”

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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It’s going to get a lot more huggy in the brand image of Team DeSantis 2.0

According to campaign officials, and those inside the operations, DeSantis will stop talking about Florida, tone down the wokeism and confrontation with the alphabet people, drop the expensive platform speeches and focus on small group meetings to help the candidate learn how to like people more. In essence, stop being the DeSantis campaign.

Yup, awful huggy. Gee, who could have seen this coming?

(Via NBC) – TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign is planning a reboot, top campaign officials said, with a significant shift on messaging, events and media strategy.

Expect fewer big speeches and more handshaking in diners and churches. There will be more of a national focus than constant Florida references. And the mainstream media may start to get more access.

[…] Campaign filings show that the DeSantis campaign needs to figure out how to bring in more money and spend less. It fired roughly a dozen staffers last week. Donors and allies are pressing for a change. The poll numbers are stagnant. And rival GOP presidential candidates are smelling blood in the water.

“Downright low” is how a source who was present when the staffers were fired described morale these days. “The entire campaign is on the brink,” the person said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The reboot is notable for a candidate who was perhaps the most widely expected GOP entrant in the 2024 race.

[…] The campaign postponed paying some of its outstanding bills until after the end of June, in part so its second-quarter financial report would show more money in the bank, the sources said. It’s not an uncommon practice for campaigns running up against big reporting deadlines, but it can obscure larger issues.

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Many people said it was likely to happen and indeed it has.  Vivek Ramaswamy has now overtaken Ron DeSantis to become the top loser to Donald Trump in the GOP primary race.  According to a Kaplan Strategies poll [LINK HERE] Ron DeSantis has now dropped to third place in the presidential preference polling.

KAPLAN – “Vivek Ramaswamy, biotech investor, has made significant strides in his political journey, tying with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the latest national GOP poll. Both candidates claimed the support of 12 percent of likely GOP voters, coming second to President Donald Trump, who maintains a dominant 48 percent lead.

Doug Kaplan, founder of Kaplan Strategies, the firm that conducted the poll, highlights the rising popularity of Ramaswamy in the face of nine competitors. “Ramaswamy outperformed six other hopefuls by more than double, marking a significant surprise in this poll,” Kaplan comments.

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This afternoon U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley released the FBI witness statement known as the FD-1023 [Document pdf Here] that lies at the heart of the Biden bribery and corruption scandal.

BACKGROUND: Initially, the FBI refused to hand over the unclassified FD-1023 stating there is an ongoing investigation using the confidential human source who made allegations outlined in the document.  Remember, the allegations and the statement record were created in July of 2020, over three years ago.  The FBI refused to say the 6-page unclassified document existed.  After House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told FBI Director Chris Wray, he had already seen the unclassified document via a whistleblower, then Wray admitted the FBI indeed had it.  On June 1st, the FBI refused to release the document, stating it was captive as part of an “ongoing investigation.”   Today, Chuck Grassley released it.

[SOURCE]

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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The transparency of the puppeteers continues.  The latest example is the New York Post (Murdoch outlet) promoting a story of the RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, appearing on Fox News (Murdoch outlet) to warn President Trump not to avoid the RNC debate hosted by Fox News, the Murdoch outlet.

The private corporation (RNC) has a vested interest in Trump delivering credibility to the organization.  The Fox News corporation has a vested interest in Trump delivering credibility and ratings to the organization.  Whether President Trump decides to attend or not, the desperation expressed by the two corporations is a little funny.

The Freudian slip in this soundbite “20 million dollars” is also funny.  WATCH: 

[NEW YORK POST] – Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has cautioned that it would be a mistake for GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump to skip the party’s primary debates.

“I think he should be on the stage. I want everybody on the stage that qualifies, obviously,” she told Fox News Wednesday. “It’s a mistake not to do the debates, but that’s going to be up to him and his campaign.”

McDaniel cited two main reasons why she feels it’s in Trump’s best interest to jump into the upcoming verbal slugfest despite holding a massive polling lead over his rivals. “One, short-term, you want to win the nomination, you got to get in front of the whole primary voters,” she said. (read more)

There’s only one thing these three corporations care about, money!

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Today at 1:00pm ET the House Oversight Committee will accept testimony from two IRS investigators who are whistleblowers with allegations the DOJ and FBI intentionally interfered with their investigation of Hunter and Joe Biden in an effort to politically protect the Biden family.

The statements by the whistleblowers have been corroborated recently by an FBI supervisory special agent.  The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1:00pm ET, with livestream link below.  [HOUSE LIVESTREAM LINK]

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