RIP Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton has had serious health problems recently, so the news is not totally surprising. We just don't like to hear it. She was eighty years old.  

My mom listened to a country music radio station while we grew up. So I had exposure to country music while growing up in New York City. I like various country music singers. 

I like Dolly Parton. Erik Loomis provides a largely positive obituary here, including honoring her talent and business savvy. He references a 1960s song about a pregnant woman committing suicide after being abandoned. 

She was a feminist. One thing he notes is that she did not speak out against her state's anti-trans legislation.

Parton is regularly cited as an LGBTQ ally. She was careful not to bluntly oppose certain laws. But people knew where she stood. In the 1980s, she said this:

“I got a huge gay following and some really macho-looking women,” Parton told Andy Warhol in a conversation for a 1984 Interview cover story. “To me, people are people. … Many of my friends are gay, male and female. I don’t judge people. I don’t care what people do in their bedrooms and people shouldn’t care what I do in mine.”

The anti-LGBTQ movement is based on hate, lack of empathy, and scare tactics. People, however, overall found same sex marriage not a big deal. Parton was accepting, loving, and knew it was not a big scary thing. 

When asked, early on, she made jokes about gays now having the same problems as straights. [I heard a form of this on today's Gay USA episode.] 

Of course, she didn't really think marriage was bad. She was married for almost sixty years. 

Dolly was pro-labor, including all those people required to produce her music. Not just for one film.

She was loving, funny, and honored by people she worked with. As the actress Daryl Hannah noted on Bluesky:

I could tell you stories & you would love ‘em, but they wouldn’t make you love her more than you already do. We will always love her.

Her reading charity is well-cited. Her family recommended people donate to it instead of flowers. 

She also was pro-vaccine:

When the COVID-19 pandemic upended lives around the world, country music legend Dolly Parton found her own way to lead in a crisis.

Her $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help expedite development of the Moderna vaccine gained international recognition. A Guardian correspondent even suggested naming the shot, "The Dolly."

Parton didn't stop there. Photographers captured her on March 2, 2021, donning a face mask and getting the vaccine in a public show of trust. During a scary and confusing crisis, she was a voice of calm, singing improvised lyrics of "Vaccine" to the tune of her megahit "Jolene."

Trump offerred her a Medal of Freedom. She begged off, concerned about traveling during COVID and other reasons. Later, Dolly was wary about Biden giving her one. It might be seen as "political" if she accepted. She had red and blue fans. 

He announced flags will be flown at half-mast in her honor. 

The actor Tim Curry also died. Many honor his many roles, especially his gender bending role in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. He was gloriously "weird." 

Dolly Parton was pretty outrageous too. Let us allow their spirit to live on, even as we wish "another 80-year-old died." Anyway, I don't think Dolly would have liked people saying that. 

SCOTUS Mail-in Voting Ruling

 

Various preliminary takes on yesterday's order (though it is on the opinion page) have already been provided by my usual sources. 

The general conclusion: it might have limited effect, it might be a red flag, and overall, the dissents are correct. 

Trump is clearly wrong and the Supreme Court should not do anything to give him aid or comfort, however limited. And this isn't the first time. To be continued. 

Beauty and The Beast

I sometimes watch DVDs with someone who has not watched many of the films that many have seen. I recently re-watched Enchanted with her. Last night was B&B. The animated version. 

(Years later, we had the live-action version. Kevin Kline played the grandfather.) 

Multiple familiar actors do the voices, including the person who later played the gruff police officer Lenny on Law & Order, though some might remember him from Dirty Dancing. 

[Jerry Orbach had done some stage work.*]

The film has some good songs. It also has scary parts, including when wolves threaten Belle.

The "heavy" is also a rather cruel character. His flunky reminds somewhat of the flunky in Enchanted.

His being a sexist boor is one thing. Then, he goes next level. Again, I can see some parents being like the mother of "Chip," and thinking their children were too young for some of this.

True enough, the original fairy tales were rather dark. But we generally have a sanitized version. Up to a point. Not quite as dark as this.

One thing that is somewhat lost is that this is supposed to be taking place in France. A few of the servants are French, but Belle and many of the others do not sound very French.

I guess the original edit was deemed inappropriate. 

The film is about true love conquering all -- both familial (Belle sacrifices herself for her father) and romantic (a beauty falls for a beast). Also, about the dangers of appearances. Dreaming of more. 

And, of course, the power of reading.

The true symbol that all is well is when they kiss. For the value of a true love kiss, see either Enchanted or a Hallmark Channel film. A kiss is a standard finale. 

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* Jerry Orbach, to be clear, did a significant amount of stage work. Many people only know him as "Lenny." 

His first appearance on the show -- the actor -- was a one-episode guest role portraying someone else. If footnotes are not the place for trivia, what is? 

Other Films 

To toss it in there, since the film is so popular, they decided to do some spin-offs. Oh, you mean after the events of the film? No silly. 

People like the enchanted castle stuff. So, looking at the plot summaries, the stories generally involve stuff that would have taken place during the film. 

It might not be completely clear (it wasn't for me), but the "time skip" entry here suggests the film takes place over an extended period. So, there is plenty of time for additional "enchanted" content. 

As to the live-action film, there was also one back in the day. Tubi shows me there are multiple live-action versions without all the enchanted details. 

I once started watching the live-action version of the animated film that this entry discusses. It didn't really, including the lead, catch my interest. 

It also tosses in various extra details, which aren't really necessary and might be counterproductive. Still, I think I will try to watch it again. 

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard

 

JKF's video came into my YouTube feed. 

She has some interesting content, especially related to LGBTQ and disability issues. She is a lesbian mother and with various disabilities. She has a quirky voice though you can tell here (when she is tired) it is somewhat an affect. 

We can be overwhelmed with all of this content. But it also is amazing, huh? Should I check up more on stuff that would turn me off? Probably. You know, watch a bit of Fox News or a dubious podcaster. OTOH, there is so much other stuff. Oh well. 

Quickies

I re-read The Sunflower Forest. I wrote a review. Overall, I enjoyed it. Not sure about the triple murder.

Roberts handed down an administrative stay in the Trump Ballroom Case. Such stays often are only temporary. The litigation has been going on for a while as illegal construction occurs. Congress has the best ability to address this. But Trump Republicans control. 

The Mets are playing well. Oh well. Credible shot at .500 or close. 

Florida Executes William Frances Silvia

He murdered his wife about twenty years ago and seriously hurt his mother-in-law. 

The jury later decided it warranted a death sentence, 11-1. His lawyers tried to challenge the unanimous jury finding, but a court held that he waived the challenge.

It does sound like he had mental health issues:

In 1999, Silvia's mother was killed by a drunken driver, and two years later, his brother John died from a drug overdose. According to defense psychologist Deborah Day, Silvia has a history of mental illness in the family, with his sister suffering from bipolar disorder and having been committed multiple times. Silvia himself attended sessions with a psychiatrist during his first marriage and was put on medications for six months.

The final appeal flagged that Silvia, in the end, had to rely on a lawyer also defending another person recently executed. This allegedly resulted in inadequate representation.

The Supreme Court, as usual, rejected this final appeal (this morning) without comment. These last-minute appeals are often somewhat desperate. This one isn't much different.

I still would have liked at least some justice to discuss the matter since we are talking about a final appeal, the end result being the deprivation of life. Oh well.

This is another case where people won't cry much for the person executed. It also does not appear to be a "worst of the worst" case. 

He viciously murdered his spouse. There is a lot of domestic violence, often by people with a lot of issues. This was murderous. Warrants a long prison sentence. Instead, he lost the execution lottery. 

Florida has been the busiest again, executing 13 of the 23 people executed this year. Texas had four and still has multiple scheduled for later this year. Oklahoma had three. Three states had one each. This is partially a game of catch-up. But still. 

SCOTUS Reminds Us To Be Ashamed (Yes, About Trump)

The second (of three) scheduled Supreme Court summer order list was released today. 

The usual housekeeping dominated the short list of orders. Alito didn't take part in one case. The usual "rehearings denied" (they are nearly never granted) were included. 

The list started this way:

REHEARINGS DENIED

25-432 PUCKETT, CARL E., ET UX. V. AIN JEEM, INC., ET AL.

25-567 VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. V. FCC, ET AL.

25-573 TRUMP, DONALD J. V. CARROLL, E. JEAN

As noted by my local paper:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday again rebuffed President Donald Trump’s push to throw out a jury’s $5 million finding that he sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll at a New York City department store in the mid-1990s and later defamed her.

Many people alleged* that Trump, in various respects, sexually assaulted women. Trump has been accused of trying to see teen beauty contestants in a state of undress. He bragged about being able to do these things with impunity.  

The "grab the pussy" talk received some attention. We know how things have gone. See also, Thomas and Kavanaugh.

E.J.  Carroll, taking advantage of a New York law that extended the window, was able to obtain a jury verdict that Trump sexually assaulted her. 

He denied it. Toss in defamation. He kept it up after the civil judgment. Another jury found defamation again. This time with a much higher financial judgment. The appeal for that is still pending. 

People, if they are halfway honest, don't have the vapors about either charge. Defamation? 

To slightly paraphrase a Supreme Court opinion, "Lying was and still is his habit." 

The denial of rehearing is not truly news. There was no real chance that it would be granted. 

(Trump already gave her the money, but it was held in trust until the finalization of the appeal.) 

What it does help remind us is the nature of the person in the Oval Office. The election of Trump will be a blot on our country for time immemorial. 

Sexual wrongdoing has been a major concern in multiple political races this election cycle. The Democratic candidate for governor in California and for Senate in Maine are different than expected for that reason. OTOH, we have Max Miller. 

Trump remains a symbol of what not to do. 

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* One woman, someone who would otherwise be a Trump supporter, particularly comes to mind.

She alleged wrongdoing. Trump defamed her. She sued. The litigation went on and on and on.

She finally gave up. It wasn't worth the hassle, including not being able to openly talk about it. The Trump side alleged total vindication.