The Doors formed in 1965, with the beautifully chaotic Jim Morrison at the helm.
This year, in celebration of the band's 60th anniversary, never-before-seen photos of them taken during concerts, studio sessions, global tours and more are on display at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in Los Angeles.
Three photographers are debuting previously unseen images, Henry Diltz, Paul Ferrara and Michael Montfort, with additional photography by Joel Brodsky, Ken Regan, Ethan Russell, Art Kane, Guy Webster, Bobby Klein and Gloria Staver.
Now back in October, I was focused on the election and campaigning for Kamala. I'm not surprised I missed a lot of other things during that time. Thank you to Gary for e-mailing me this October interview of Maria McKee:
Growing up in Los Angeles as a member of “a very baroque household,” McKee originally planned to work in theatre but, through the encouragement of her older brother Bryan MacLean (already world famous as one-fifth of psychedelic rock band Love), it was music that turned out to be her calling. Starting out playing shows with her brother and other musicians in and around LA, her path eventually crossed that of guitarist Ryan Hedgecock, at a drive-in jam spot over in Orange County. Sensing some potential in uniting their efforts, Lone Justice was born, expanding by the end of 1983 into the classic line-up of Hedgecock, McKee, by bassist Marvin Etzioni and drummer Don Heffington.
With this new rhythm section in place, the Lone Justice sound began to shift away from its more simplistic rockabilly and country origins, swirling the band’s diverse influences into an arresting roots-rock tempest that blazed a trail and breathed new life into what we now recognise as the fully revitalised umbrella scene of Americana. The early buzz around the band was enough for Tom Petty and Bob Dylan to gift them songs, and McKee’s uncanny ability to sell herself as some kind of cowpunk avatar won her the admiration of major-league artists like Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Annie Lennox (an uncredited backing vocalist on their debut album) and U2, who took Lone Justice out on the road as openers on their Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree tours.
“I was this theatre kid from Beverly Hills High who thought I was going to go to Juilliard,” McKee says, laughing at the improbability of it all. “Some of those songs are pure hillbilly gospel, and that was not my background at all.” It's not that she didn’t have a deep abiding love for the music. Her passion for it was real. But McKee’s artistic vision, rich with cinematic and literary references, extended far beyond the box she found herself confined to. When the self-titled Lone Justice debut failed to make the commercial impact expected of it and the rhythm section quit, the band survived just one more album (1986’s Shelter) before McKee embarked on a solo career.
She was promoting the new Lone Justice album (see my review "VIVA LONE JUSTICE") and she picks her five favorite songs that she's written over the years and why she likes them, so check it out.
While I'm playing catch up, my favorite band, Sade, was in the news back in February. Hugh McIntyre (FORBES) reported:
It’s been 15 years since Sade released a new album. There aren’t many hints that fans should expect anything from the group, and in lieu of something exciting to listen to once more, longtime lovers of the band — fronted by the woman who gave her name to the act — are continuing to focus their buying and streaming habits on one specific collection.
The Best of Sade Hits No. 1
The Best of Sade rises from No. 2 to No. 1 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart. This frame marks the first time that the compilation has run the show on the list of the most-consumed collections classified by the chart company and music magazine as jazz.
Sade’s History on the Jazz Albums Chart
Sade earns its first No. 1 on the Jazz Albums tally this frame. Only three projects from the band have landed anywhere on the jazz-focused roster. Diamond Life climbed to No. 4 in July 2024, while Promise only rose as high as No. 19 during the same frame.
If Sade's had it and wants to enjoy their lives, I can understand that. But I do love them -- and Sade herself. I was listening to LOVERS ROCK yesterday, in fact. And I note them in the review that's going up later.
Okay, one last article I'm noting. This one's from this past week, this is the opening to an AMERICAN SONGWRITER piece by Jim Beviglia:
Here’s something a little bit different from the Yacht Rock universe. It’s a song that was tackled by two different artists, each of whom had a hand in its writing. But it’s not the Yacht Rock legend who came out of it with the bigger hit.
Carly Simon wrote “You Belong To Me” with Michael McDonald. And it was Simon who scored the big hit with it, if only because McDonald’s band, The Doobie Brothers, chose to tuck it away as an album cut.
Aside from the fact that they both operated out of the Los Angeles area, Carly Simon and The Doobie Brothers didn’t have a whole lot in common as they both attained great success in the 70s. But they became forever entwined thanks to “You Belong To Me”.
At the time the song was written in 1977, both acts were riding high. Simon had endured a bit of a commercial slump following her string of highly successful singer-songwriter albums at the beginning of the decade. But she bounced back with “Nobody Does It Better”, her James Bond theme song that just missed reaching No. 1.
Meanwhile, The Doobie Brothers had reinvented themselves in the image of Michael McDonald after he joined the band in 1976 to replace Tom Johnston as the band’s chief lead singer. McDonald steered them in more of a rock and soul direction, with a little bit of the jazzy influences of Steely Dan (for whom McDonald often sang backup) added to the mix.
One thing the two artists do have in common, something the writer of the piece is unaware of? ANOTHER PASSENGER. That's Carly's sixth studio album and it came out in 1975. The Doobie Brothers are on that album and Michael McDonald specifically?
He plays or sings on the following tracks "Half A Chance," "It Keeps You Runnin'" (a song he wrote that was a hit for The Doobie Brothers), "In Times When My Head," "One Love Stand" and "Riverboat Gambler."
And despite the AMERICAN SONGWRITER's claim ("But the band didn’t choose it for a single. It’s a decision that they likely rued. None of the singles from Livin’ On The Fault Line did anything on the charts."), the Doobie Brothers did release "You Belong To Me" as single -- a few years later, in 1983, they released a live version of the song that made it to number 79 on the pop chart.
ADDED: In "Some sitcom needs to hire Emily Rutherfurd," I noted:
I first saw her in THE ELLEN SHOW, Ellen's CBS sitcom at the start of this century. It was funny but only lasted one season. She was Ellen's sister. (The sitcom shouldn't have been cancelled. It was on Friday nights -- a death day -- and led off CBS's prime time programming. When it was briefly moved to Mondays -- such as with the episode Mary Tyler Moore guest starring episode -- it's ratings were much better.) After that, I caught her on WILL & GRACE where she played Joanne, a student in Jack's acting class. She's going nowhere until Jack takes over the class and 'teaches' that acting is "attracting." So she goes out for a sad commercial and doesn't get it because she was "too jazzed" over her sick dad but they loved her "attracting" and gave her a toothpaste add. Her best episode is the one with James Earl Jones. She's at Jack's class and Jack gets her to do a scene (from SEX IN THE CITY) with James Earl Jones. She's excited to be on the stage with James Earl Jones and Jack calls her out saying something like, "Don't gush, Joanne, you're a professional actress." Then she plays Samantha to James Earl Jones' Carrie and it's very funny.
Here's some of Emily's scene with James Earl Jones at the start of this video.
Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"
No, TV criticism isn't for everyone.
And Martha Stewart is among those not up to it.
An unpopular opinion?
A critic can stake that out (though maybe not if you depend upon people to buy your wares at Home Depot).
But weighing in on a 'death' that had been rumored for months to be fake and that was known as fake after the May 19th season finale of THE BLACKLIST?
Not really testifying to an ability to watch TV.
BREAKING BAD? She dismissed the show as one she didn't watch because the people were too ugly.
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK was another show she didn't watch.
"Too close to home?" Chelsea asked, referencing Martha's 2004 conviction for insider trading and the imprisonment that followed.
"Too close to home?"
It's why Chelsea Handler makes such a great talk show host.
It's a funny comment and punctures the hot air many celebrities can have.
Elon Musk says his new political party will take on the Washington establishment of both Democrats and Republicans. In reality, he’s more likely to take votes away from Republicans, potentially worsening their problems in the coming midterms.
Even before Musk’s threat of a new party, the Republicans faced a tough battle to retain control of the House and possibly the Senate in 2026. If Musk is able to pry away Republican votes in a few hotly contested districts, he could undermine GOP control of Congress and make it harder for President Donald Trump to pull off his agenda.
Musk’s
new party could even spend its way into a few congressional seats. But
his vision of himself as a centrist kingmaker isn’t likely to come to
pass.
Musk has increasingly voiced frustration with Washington’s approach to debt and other issues since his stint as an advisor to President Trump ended in May. His feelings boiled over on July 4, when Trump signed his policy megabill into law. Musk said he was starting a new party, called simply America, then and there, though he has yet to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
That's not his vision.
It's his stated vision. He needs the stated vision. But the reality is that this is a grudge match between Musk and Chump and they're now both trying to destroy the other.
Attorney General Pam Bondi scrambled Thursday to discredit a Justice Department whistleblower who has accused DOJ leadership of planning to ignore court orders.
“We support legitimate whistleblowers, but this disgruntled employee is not a whistleblower—he’s a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame,” Bondi fumed on X.
Erez Reuveni, a former justice department attorney, filed a complaint to the Senate last month alleging that senior DOJ official and federal judge nominee Emil Bove suggested in a March 14 meeting that DOJ staff should say “f--- you” to courts and defy any order blocking migrant deportation flights from taking off to the CECOT megaprison in El Salvador the next day.
The DOJ fired Reuveni on April 11, after he admitted in court that officials mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia on one of those flights.
On Thursday, the whistleblower submitted new evidence to the Senate, including internal DOJ messages that appear to support his claim that Bove said the DOJ might have to ignore court rulings.
Lawrence O'Donnell covered this story on his MSNBC show last night.
As did Ari Berman on his show . . .
“If we can get a declaration to that effect, yes,” Reuveni answered. This meant the assertion could not be made without a facts-and-evidence-based declaration from ICE on Abrego Garcia’s status.
In other words, top DHS officials apparently were pushing to characterize Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 “leader” before any evidence of this had appeared. And Reuveni expressly warned against doing this absent such evidence.
Subsequently in that chain, an ICE official (whose name is redacted) answered Percival’s question about whether it’s OK to call Abrego Garcia an MS-13 “leader.”
“I have not found anything indicating ‘leader,’ but I’ll keep looking,” the ICE official wrote, meaning that the hunt for such evidence would continue.
It never materialized. That ICE official did identify Abrego Garcia as a “verified member” of MS-13, based on a formal declaration which at this point had been provided by ICE.
But this too would ultimately prove to be lacking in evidence. That claim was based on a ruling by a judge early in the 2019 proceedings to deport him (resulting in him receiving protected status) after he’d been arrested in Maryland the first time and transferred to ICE.
But that ruling rested on “double hearsay,” on paperwork filed by a Maryland cop after Abrego Garcia’s 2019 arrest that cited an unnamed confidential source, and neither the cop nor the source were cross-examined. The cop was subsequently suspended and indicted for serious professional misconduct on an unrelated case.
None of this stopped top administration officials and Trump himself from continuing to recklessly call Abrego Garcia a gang member and a terrorist too many times to count. Vice President JD Vance even described Abrego Garcia as a “high-level gang member in MS-13,” long after these internal emails showed the administration knew it had no evidence for the “leader” claim.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, heavy rainfall led to devastating and catastrophic flooding across six Central Texas counties. More than 100 people have died, with hundreds more reported as still missing. The flood has already become the deadliest inland U.S. flooding event in almost 50 years. As of this writing, the estimated total damage and economic loss will be between $18 billion and $22 billion dollars. The events in Texas are a heartbreaking reminder of how harmful continued climate change will be, as it is already fueling more intense, more frequent, and more catastrophic floods. Investment in disaster preparedness is crucial to giving communities a fighting chance to prepare for and respond to these events.
Amid this backdrop, the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has significantly reduced National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) staff, research capacity, and data-sharing capabilities, including weather forecasts. The National Weather Service (NWS), in particular, has lost close to staff at a time when 40 percent of national weather forecast offices are facing significant staff vacancies. Specifically for the Austin/San Antonio forecasting office, which covers areas affected by the Texas floods, the Trump administration’s recent DOGE layoffs included a warning coordination meteorologist position that plays a critical role in communication coordination between forecasters, emergency managers, and the public. These cuts to NOAA and NWS programs, staff, and data are making communities more vulnerable to storms like the one that hit Kerr County, Texas, over the weekend. And now, the Trump administration is looking to expand those cuts.
The Trump administration’s 2026 budget appears to be actively working to eliminate the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) along with all NOAA weather laboratories and cooperative institutes and laboratories, which provide weather forecasting data and research from 80 universities and work to improve NOAA’s warning and forecast capabilities. Without continued funding, long-term datasets would be disrupted and the NWS’ ability to inform disaster preparation and provide accurate and timely weather tracking would be at risk. Moreover, the president just signed into law the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which, among other dangerous provisions, repealed all unobligated funds that the Biden administration had designated for improving research, forecasting, monitoring, and public communication of hazardous weather.
As seen in Kerr County over July Fourth weekend, the impacts of extreme precipitation are deadly and damaging. Knowing when it will rain, how much will fall, and how rapidly it will fall is crucial to allow communities appropriate time to prepare and to evacuate if necessary.
Yet the proposed cuts to NOAA—particularly the elimination of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research—would stifle critical research aimed at making precipitation forecasting more accurate and timely. On the chopping block are promising research-to-operations efforts as well as the National Severe Storms Laboratory, the Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats framework, the Warn-on-Forecast project, and the Flooded Locations and Simulated Hydrographs (FLASH) Project, which improves warning systems for flash floods. Additionally, NOAA’s 2020–2030 Precipitation Prediction Grand Challenge effort—which seeks to enhance precipitation prediction by improving our understanding of physical processes, exploiting observations, and improving forecast models and products—will falter without the continued investment.
Prior to this past weekend’s events, the National Weather Service had been warning about the coming rains and potential for flash floods for days, but a few key local NWS positions had been vacant since the first round of DOGE cuts and buyouts. The vacant warning coordination meteorologist position, in particular, is “responsible for working with emergency managers and the public to ensure people know what to do when a disaster strikes.” Yet the person who had served in that role for decades was among hundreds of NWS employees who accepted an early retirement offer, leaving the agency at the end of April.
Officials within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who were tasked with responding to massive flooding in central Texas this past week say that some of their lifesaving efforts were delayed due to cost-saving rules imposed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.
Noem, whose department oversees FEMA’s work, issued a new agency rule this year requiring all contracts and grants costing over $100,000 to be personally approved by her. As floodwaters were rising in Texas, Noem failed to respond to such requests over the weekend, taking four days to approve the spending that could have saved lives.
As of Wednesday evening, 120 people in Texas have been killed by the massive floods, with 173 people still missing.
FEMA officials were prompt to respond to the devastating natural disaster as it was happening. But according to four officials within the agency who spoke to CNN on the matter, the new rule directly impeded their efforts.
“We were operating under a clear set of guidance: lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs, and be ready to deliver it. That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment,” one of the sources told the network.
A spokesperson for FEMA defending the policy said Noem’s changes to the agency were mostly positive.
“The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades,” that spokesperson said.
But some crucial tools to assist in rescuing people were left unused for days, the anonymous FEMA officials said. For example, Urban Search and Rescue Crews, typically dispatched immediately when a disaster occurs, were unable to move into position within the state when floodwaters started to rise rapidly on Friday. Aerial imagery to assist in rescue efforts was also delayed, the officials said.
Although these requests were made on Friday, Noem did not approve them until Monday, several days after the flooding had started and wrought most of its destruction.
Noem — who frequently shares social media posts of her dressing in the same garb as other DHS agents — did take the time to post on her Instagram account on Sunday a few potential options for her official portrait as a former governor of South Dakota, The Daily Beast reported, asking her followers which image was their favorite.
CNN also reported that “the additional red tape required at FEMA added another hurdle to getting critical federal resources deployed when hours counted,” noting that “Texas did request aerial imagery from FEMA to aid search and rescue operations, a source told CNN, but that was delayed as it awaited Noem’s approval for the necessary contract.”
Also, “FEMA staff have also been answering phones at a disaster call center, where, according to one agency official, callers have faced longer wait times as the agency awaited Noem’s approval for a contract to bring in additional support staff.”
In its social media statement (below), DHS posted the CNN headline and wrote: “This is a FAKE NEWS LIE from CNN.” The headline read: “FEMA’s response to Texas flood slowed by Noem’s cost controls.”
“This reporting is an unapparelled display of activist journalism and distracts from the robust, coordinated federal response led by Secretary Noem that has saved over 900+ lives,” the DHS statement reads.
“President Trump approved a Major Disaster Declaration, hours after Governor Greg Abbott’s request. By Tuesday, FEMA had deployed 311 staffers, providing support and shelter for hundreds of people.”
The flooding started Friday. Tuesday is four days later.
CNN also reported facts that DHS’s statement called “fake news,” but then confirmed in its own statement.
“By Monday night, only 86 FEMA staffers had been deployed, according to internal FEMA data seen by CNN — a fraction of the typical response for a disaster of this scale,” the news network reported. “By Tuesday night, the federal response expanded to 311 staffers deployed, the data showed.”
We'll wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
Federal Reserve “Beige Book” survey reveals businesses are taking advantage of Trump’s chaotic tariffs to price gouge consumers.
“This Administration’s reckless approach [to tariff policy] is spiking costs for small businesses and creating opportunities for billion-dollar companies to grow their profits and take advantage of consumers.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) led a letter to Andrew Ferguson, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), urging the agency to investigate tariff-enabled corporate price gouging that is raising costs for American families and use its full authority to prevent it.
The letter was also signed by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), and Representatives Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), James P. McGovern (D-Mass.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.).
The lawmakers previously wrote to the FTC warning that large companies could take advantage of the Trump Administration’s chaotic tariff strategy to price gouge consumers. That letter noted that the on-again, off-again tariff confusion and uncertainty has created a cover for large corporations to raise prices on all goods, regardless of whether they are actually subject to new tariffs, and increase prices above and beyond what is necessary to cover any additional costs. Chair Ferguson did not respond to the lawmakers’ letter and has yet to take discernible action to prevent tariff-related price gouging, despite his own warning that President Trump’s tariffs “should not be interpreted as a green light for price fixing or any other unlawful behavior.”
In June 2025, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released new survey results showing that “a significant share” of companies raised prices of goods and services that are not subject to tariffs, confirming that businesses were indeed “taking advantage of an escalating pricing environment to increase prices.”
Anecdotes from the Federal Reserve illustrate that tariff-enabled price gouging is already a significant and legitimate concern:
- A heavy construction equipment supplier “raised prices on goods unaffected by tariffs to enjoy the extra margin.”
- A contact at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco “observed that price increases that had been implemented in anticipation of certain tariffs were not rolled back once those tariffs were removed.”
- The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said she heard of firms “raising prices even though they aren’t affected by tariffs because competitors who do face higher import taxes are raising prices.”
“This Administration’s reckless approach is spiking costs for small businesses and creating opportunities for billion-dollar companies to grow their profits and take advantage of consumers,” wrote the lawmakers. “The FTC should be utilizing its full authority to prevent these unfair practices.”
The lawmakers concluded the letter by urging the FTC to use its 6(b) authority to investigate any tariff-enabled price gouging and to issue a report on its findings.
As a champion for American consumers and a secure and healthy economy, Senator Warren has engaged in oversight of corporations for unfairly increasing prices for consumers:
- In May 2025, Senator Warren demanded the Federal Trade Commission investigate which large companies are using the Trump Administration’s tariff policies – and the confusion surrounding them – as an excuse to raise prices in excess of actual cost increases and to prosecute individuals and companies that price gouge American consumers.
- In May 2025, Senator Warren wrote to Ramon Laguarta, CEO of PepsiCo, Inc. (Pepsi), demanding an explanation for the company’s potentially illegal price discrimination against small and independent grocery stores.
- In May 2025, Senator Warren pressed Frans Muller, CEO of Ahold Delhaize — parent company of Stop & Shop — on the chain’s progress lowering grocery prices at stores across Massachusetts.
- In May 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) applauded the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into potential anticompetitive practices by major egg producers and urged the agency to continue its thorough investigation as egg prices continue to rise.
- In January 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) led 19 of their colleagues, writing to President Donald Trump, pushing him to take meaningful steps to lower the prices of eggs and other groceries—a problem he largely ignored during his entire first week in office.
- In November 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) led their colleagues in writing to Chair of the Federal Trade Commission Lina Khan and Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, urging them to investigate Albertsons and other major grocery chains for predatory practices that could have violated federal laws.
- In October 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren led a letter to President and Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski, pushing for more information on McDonald’s pricing decisions as fast food prices continue to increase, outpacing inflation and squeezing customers.
- In October 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, along with Representatives Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley, sent a letter to Frans Muller, CEO of Ahold Delhaize—parent company of Stop & Shop—demanding an explanation for its potential use of pricing algorithms leading to price gouging, resulting in higher prices in minority and working-class communities in Massachusetts.
- On May 3, 2024, during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs, Senator Warren called out food industry price gouging and urged action to combat unfair pricing practices.
- On March 28, 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Penn.) led a group of 14 lawmakers in a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan urging the agency to revive enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA), a critical tool to promote fair competition in the food industry.
- On February 28, 2024, Senator Warren joined Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in introducing the Shrinkflation Prevention Act to crack down on corporations that deceive consumers by selling smaller sizes of their products without lowering prices.
- On February 15, 2024, Senators Warren, Baldwin, Casey, and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) reintroduced the Price Gouging Prevention Act of 2024, which would protect consumers and prohibit corporate price gouging by authorizing the FTC and state attorneys general to enforce a federal ban against grossly excessive price increases.
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