LAMusing 🌻

@mjfree I hope these Generals understand they WILL be ordered to commit illegal and immoral acts in the near future, and are facing that they will have to make a clear choice. "I was just following orders" will not absolve them either in heaven or on earth for war crimes

@NextBestPicture Variety has it sold for 17 million. Either way its amazing for a directorial debut

Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut #Cannes breakout hit CLUB KID has been acquired by A24 for $15 million My review: nextbestpicture.com/club-kid/

Footnote: Tillis’ vote to confirm Hegseth as defense secretary brought the tally to a 50–50 deadlock after R senators Collins, McConnell and Murkowski joined Dems in opposing him. His vote allowed VP Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote, confirming Hegseth.

Voting Republican is working out so well for them

Congress needs to act! Minimum Wage should be set at $174k so we can see how tough it is to live off this minuscule salary.

We're in a weird era where a guy gets publicly shamed for running his sprinklers on a Tuesday, while a data center the size of a Costco quietly drains a reservoir so AI can generate a picture of your cat as a medieval knight. And the data center gets a tax incentive for it.

**Yes, it likely violates the Hatch Act.** As Secretary of Defense, Hegseth is a covered federal employee. The Hatch Act prohibits using an official title or position for partisan political activity, such as speaking at a campaign rally for a congressional candidate (even off-duty). OSC guidance is clear: Cabinet secretaries may not use “Secretary” at such events. The announcement explicitly bills him as Secretary of Defense at this rally for Ed Gallrein.

Has anyone suggested to Congress to just get a second job or eat chicken, one piece of broccoli, a tortilla and one other thing? Maybe only buy their daughters ONE barbie?! Or does that only apply to us peasants?

I hope Americans are paying attention to the fact that while millions are struggling to put gas in their tanks and food on their table, Mike Johnson is fighting to make sure members of Congress can still do insider trading because they only make a measly $174k annually.

One byproduct of data centers is the excess heat they generate and release into the environment. Here, Elizabeth from Indio, California, speaks out against the proposed data centers in the Coachella Valley, which is already one of the warmest areas in the U.S. #DemsUnited

Nevada's largest utility says it will need three times the electricity required to power Las Vegas just to handle proposed data centers — and it probably can't do that without fossil fuels. to.pbs.org/4c0Eh6n

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has one of the few labs in the world which can study Ebola virus. In March 2025 RFK Jr had it shut down. We now have a huge Ebola outbreak on our hands. What a foolish move

@NextBestPicture Gotta say the first reactions coming out are all over the place.

Na Hong-jin’s HOPE is an absolutely balls-to-the-walls, insane, adrenaline-pumping thrill ride from the first hour long opening action set piece all the way to the end of its nearly three hour runtime. The scale of the production design, visual effects, stunts and sound work are out of this world. Lacks any form of characterization and the dialogue can get rather tedious and repetitive but holy shit, what a fun, chaotic ride! I was constantly on the edge of my seat begging for it to not end and my hope was confirmed as this does indeed serve as a part one! A non-stop spectacle unlike any other!

Utah residents push back after Kevin O’Leary’s data center plan turns out to be 40,000 acres, not 40,000 square feet

Here’s the part no one is saying: The next president won’t get a real first term. They’ll inherit a repair job. Rebuilding alliances. Restoring credibility. Undoing damage. An entire presidency spent fixing what Trump broke.

@MendezMovieRPT So far there are 3 films that have screened that I'm genuinely excited to see. None of them are in prize contention. Of the ones that ARE in contention that have screened, there are 3 I'm interested enough to watch, but will honestly probably wait till they are streaming

Typically Cannes really heats up in the second half of the festival, so no time to panic just yet, but so far I'm not sensing many awards contenders this year compared to how *stacked* last year's lineup ended up being in terms of reception.

@finnimations @StevenWallaby Clarissa also getting great reviews. Crazy that Club Kid, Camp Miasma, and Clarissa are not in contention

@StevenWallaby The only things that I've seen pretty unanimously loved across the board are Camp Miasma, Club Kid, and Diary of a Chambermaid. I've been surprised by how mixed Fatherland and All of a Sudden have been compared to my expectations, but there's still more festival to go.

Man are there any clear successes yet. The Hamaguchi seems great but it seems geared towards maniacs like myself who want him back in Happy Hour mode plus the Schoeunbrun isn't even in competition.

Massie: I’m walking to an airplane to rejoin the most expensive congressional race in U.S. history. It’s turned into a referendum on whether Israel gets to buy seats in Congress. And what they found out is that my seat is really expensive. By the time this is over, they will probably have spent $20 million and come up short. I’ve never seen Great Britain, Australia, or even Germany play in our elections here in the United States. But Israel gets so much from the United States. It’s a one-sided relationship. They get us to be their proxies in wars they want against their enemies. They get our military assistance. They get our technology. They get our bombs. They get our tax dollars. And I think it’s a very one-sided relationship. At least with NATO, we pretend that they would come to our aid someday if we needed it—and even that’s a ruse.

BREAKING: A reporter just asked Mike Johnson for the first time at a press conference, “Why should we even ask you any questions today when you never read or hear about anything anyway?”

The Thomas Massie primary is truly insane. We are looking at the most expensive U.S. House primary in history, with spending pushing toward $35 million. Massie's opponent, Ed Gallrein, has raised just $2 million on his own. The rest of the money, over $14 million, is coming from outside Super PACs who desperately want Massie gone. On top of that, Pete Hegseth is being deployed to Kentucky to campaign against him. Stephen Miller & Con Inc. have been on massive Twitter tirades attacking him. And there was a highly coordinated smear campaign of unfounded allegations launched this week by Con Inc. influencers. When the establishment is willing to spend $35M+ and go to these lengths to take one man down, it really makes you wonder why. Whether you like Massie or not, this election will determine whether or not we as voters actually have a voice anymore. If outside special-interest money can successfully buy a seat and sway an election like this, we have a serious, serious problem.

@FilmUpdates Pretty amazing for a directorial debut!

Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut ‘CLUB KID’ has sparked a bidding war with offers already in the eight-figure range. A24, Mubi, Focus Features, Searchlight Pictures and Netflix are leading contenders to acquire the film.