May 20, 2023

Saturday, May 20, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Zelenskyy to attend G7 summit Sunday as world leaders tighten sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

President Joe Biden, fourth right, and other G7 leaders pose for a photo during a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, Friday, May 19, 2023, during the G7 Summit. Pictured from left: President Charles Michel of the European Council, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, U.S. President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission.

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HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies vowed Friday to tighten punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine, days before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joins the Group of Seven summit in person on Sunday.

“Our support for Ukraine will not waver,” the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings, vowing “to stand together against Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.”

“Russia started this war and can end this war,” they said.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

“We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country,” Danilov said Friday. “There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests.”

Zelenskyy announced Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding a summit.

Fight Back.

Penguin Random House, PEN America, authors and parents sue Florida county for removing books on race and LGBTQ themes.

A new lawsuit against a Florida school board marks a “first-of-its-kind challenge to unlawful censorship”.

On May 17, the world’s largest English-language publisher, Penguin Random House, free-speech organisation PEN America, five authors (including bestselling queer YA author David Levithan) and two parents joined forces.

Their lawsuit claims Florida’s Escambia County School Board has “unlawfully” removed or restricted books about “race, racism and LGBTQ identities”, and those by non-white and/or LGBTQ authors.

“The School District and the School Board have done so based on their disagreement with the ideas expressed in those books,” reads the lawsuit.

It argues the book removals (and/or restricted access to books), against the recommendations of the district review committee charged with evaluating book challenges, violate the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech. It also argues school officials violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th amendment.

Nearly 200 books have been targeted in the district in the past year, according to publicly available information. CNN reports that more than half of those titles have been placed under restricted access and require parental permission during the review process, and 16 books have been either removed from all libraries or made only available for certain grades.

The lawsuit asks for books to be returned to school library shelves, “where they belong”.

PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel says the book removals are “a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices”.(The Conversation).

Keep in mind how extreme and serious these bans are.

School librarians face a new penalty in the banned-book wars: Prison.

Librarians could face years of imprisonment and tens of thousands in fines for providing sexually explicit, obscene or “harmful” books to children under new state laws that permit criminal prosecution of school and library personnel.


At least seven states have passed such laws in the last two years, according to a Washington Post analysis, six of them in the past two months — although governors of Idaho and North Dakota vetoed the legislation. Another dozen states considered more than 20 similar bills this year, half of which are likely to come up again in 2024, The Post found.


Some of the laws impose severe penalties on librarians, who until now were exempted in almost every state from prosecution over obscene material — a carve-out meant to permit accurate lessons in topics such as sex education. All but one of the new laws target schools, while some also target the staff of public libraries and one affects book vendors.



One example is an Arkansas measure that says school and public librarians, as well as teachers, can be imprisoned for up to six years or fined $10,000 if they distribute obscene or harmful texts. It takes effect Aug. 1.

(Washington Post).

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Disney levels another blow at Republican Florida Governor.

Did he really think he could beat The Mouse!

DeSantis campaign in turmoil after Disney refuses to repair candidate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' planned presidential campaign was upended on Thursday when the Walt Disney Company told top campaign staff that Disney engineers would no longer repair or maintain the candidate's animatronic systems. The move comes after Disney announced the cancellation of a $1 billion planned Orlando development in the midst of a legal feud between the company and the Florida governor's office. The feud began after Florida lawmakers retaliated against Disney, one of the state's top employers, for statements opposing the Republican-backed "Don't Say Gay" legislation DeSantis signed earlier this year.

Disney’s “Imagineering” department, which is responsible for developing and maintaining the special effects and complex moving “animatronics” used in the company’s theme parks, was going to be housed at the planned Florida development known as Lake Nona Town Center.

A company source involved with the decision cited the feud with DeSantis, noting that the cancellation of Imagineering's planned relocation of 1,000 employees from California to Florida would make it difficult for current Orlando-based engineers to provide engineering and repair assistance to the DeSantis campaign. "It's hard enough to stay on top of every animatronic figure in every ride in our Orlando parks," said the source. "The company decided it couldn't afford to keep sending imagineers to repair DeSantis every time his campaign hauls him to Iowa or other key campaign states." (Daily Kos).

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Awaiting Georgia Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, August.

INDICTMENT SUMMER?!

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is signaling that indictments in her investigation into Donald Trump’s election interference could be unsealed in late July or during the first few weeks of August.

Willis has announced remote work days for most of her staff during this time period and has asked judges in a downtown Atlanta courthouse not to schedule trials for part of that time as she prepares to bring charges in the inquiry.

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Rules and Logistic happenings in the Senate must guide whether Democratic California Senator should - indeed, must - stay or go.

Dianne Feinstein is barely functioning, but she must continue. Here 👇 is why.

In Defense of Dianne Feinstein Not Quitting (No, Really)

The news of ailing Senator Dianne Feinstein’s return to Washington this week crackled through Capitol Hill aides’ messaging apps, journalists’ note-trading clouds, and donors’ inboxes. The oldest member of the Senate had come back to work after almost three months away, recovering from illnessesses that weren’t entirely disclosed during her absence, and she looked markedly older than when she had left. The senior Senator from California was back, but was she really?

There’s nothing Washington likes better than second-guessing, and the Feinstein situation was no different. The 89-year-old icon has made clear, at least for the moment, that she would ignore the merciless drumbeat of calls for her to cede the seat immediately to someone who can discharge the duties more consistently.

As The D.C. Brief wrote last week, Feinstein is giving a masterclass in how to mangle a legacy in what could be its final chapter. And yet, that verdict—along with dozens of others like it emerging from D.C. and around the country in recent days—may have missed the point.

Here’s an updated take that will undoubtedly draw some objections: Feinstein holding the seat until the election next year may be the most responsible thing she can do in case of one possible, albeit unlikely, scenario: a vacancy on the Supreme Court. In indulging her stubbornness, her ego, her paranoia—whatever we want to call it—Feinstein may be what stands between a 6-to-3 conservative Supreme Court majority tilting to a 7-to-2 position, or the key to it shifting back to 5-4. Either of those outcomes would be one liberals may regret not having taken more seriously.

The reason why Feinstein holds all this power is tied to her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats have an 11-to-10 advantage over Republicans on the panel, giving them zero margin for error in advancing President Joe Biden’s nominees for lifetime appointments to federal courts, including the Supreme Court. A tied 10-to-10 vote, at least under the current rules, leaves those nominees potentially stuck in limbo. Whenever she’s absent, Feinstein leaves Democrats on the committee with an insufficient 10 votes.

So one might argue that all that is more reason for Feinstein to resign, and let a younger, healthier Democrat take over her spot on the committee. But that’s not what would be guaranteed to happen. Even if Feinstein were to leave her seat early, allowing California Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint an interim lawmaker until after the 2024 election, there is nothing ensuring that that successor could be the 11th vote on Judiciary. Committee assignments are part of the start of every Congress, and changes are subject to 60 votes if some lawmakers object and demand a recorded vote. That means 10 Republicans would have to allow Democrats to either send Feinstein’s replacement or another lawmaker into that role. There is scant evidence that Republicans would accede to that request.

Need proof? In April, the Senate considered Feinstein’s request that she be allowed to step away from Judiciary for a beat, and to allow another Democrat to take her seat. The effort, clearly heading to defeat, wasn’t even put to a floor vote. Even in a body known for its cordiality across party lines, Republicans saw the ability to confirm nominees to lifetime gigs in robes and wielding gavels as more important than courtesy to an ailing colleague. “We’re not going to help the Democrats with that,” Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said.
Fellow Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was even more transparent about his party’s intentions: “I don’t think Republicans are going to lift a finger in any way to get more liberal judges appointed, so whether she’s resigned or leaves temporarily from the Judiciary Committee, I think we will slow walk any process that makes it easier to appoint more liberal judges,” he said.

Bad juju? Arguably. Good politics? Probably, especially if you’re a partisan wearing a red jersey.

By an objective measure, Feinstein’s best days are behind her. She made a name for herself as a fierce advocate for her ideals, an independent mind who famously defied the intelligence agencies and a President from her party. Yet Feinstein has been coasting on her reputation for some time. Even her biggest defenders will acknowledge she has missed a beat, and her friends—especially her female ones, to whom she has been a role model and mentor—have found her brushback frustrating. Her ability to effectively advocate for the state of California is questionable.

Feinstein’s choice is hers alone. While the 25th Amendment provides a mechanism from removing an unfit President—a process considered by Donald Trump’s own Cabinet after the Jan. 6, 2001, insurrection—there is nothing that provides for the ousting of a sitting Senator for incapacitation. Of the 15 Senators in history to be booted from their gigs, 14 of them were Confederate supporters and the final one was for treason. The last time Senators even considered such moves was in 1995, and Sen. Bob Packwood resigned in the face of abuse of power and sexual misconduct allegations. (He later found redemption as a high-powered lobbyist.) (Time).

Nancy Corinne Prowda walks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and staff at the Capitol on Thursday, May 11.

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When Sen. Dianne Feinstein walked into the Capitol last week, ending a monthslong medical absence, she was accompanied by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a small entourage of aides — and a close personal confidant with a storied political pedigree.

Nancy Corinne Prowda blended into the swarm around the legendary California Democrat. The San Francisco Chronicle made note of her presence but left unreported amid the spectacle was the larger role that Prowda, the eldest child of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has come to play in Feinstein’s life as the 89-year-old has dealt with the absence of her deceased husband, the departure of trusted staffers, a nasty case of shingles and spiraling concerns about her fitness for office.

(Politico).

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Has there ever been anyone like Nina Simone!

Thank you, Venus Williams.

Venus Williams helps preserve home of Blues icon Nina Simone.


The U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation designated singer and activist Nina Simone's childhood home a National Treasure.

Williams teamed up with artist Adam Pendleton for an in-person auction event at Pace Gallery New York on May 20, that will be supported by world-renowned auctioneers online. The event marks the largest preservation effort dedicated to an African-American historic site, Yahoo reported. Nina Simone grew up in Tryon, North Carolina.

“Each of the artists Adam and I have selected for the auction has a unique, powerful voice, and we’ve been moved by their generosity and enthusiasm for this important cause,” Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam winner, said.

As one of the greatest artists of her time, Nina Simone left a legacy spanning four decades by the time she passed away on April 21, 2003, according to a biography. Beginning with her 1959 classic hit, “I loves You Porgy,” to her 1979 Black empowerment song “Young, Gifted and Black,” Simone captured generations of people who were inspired to love their Black skin.

This Dec. 5, 1968 file photo shows jazz singer Nina Simone in London.

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Nina Simone childhood home preserved for future generations

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, lead the Nina Simone Childhood Home preservation project.

“Nina Simone is one of the most important musical artists of the 20th century. I’m inspired to be able to protect her legacy by preserving her childhood home. Her music, her vision, cannot be forgotten,” Adam Pendleton said.

Pendleton and other artists purchased the Nina Simone childhood home in 2017 to restore and preserve it. The full exhibition will remain on display from May 12 through May 20.

Brent Leggs is executive director of the fund and senior vice president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“Our partnership with the artists, Venus Williams, and Pace Gallery is a powerful demonstration of how art and preservation practice can join forces to permanently preserve Simone’s remarkable legacy,” Leggs said.

Online bidding in the auction for Nina Simone 👇 opens to the public at 11:00 a.m. ET on May 12 until 3 p.m. ET on May 22.

Nina Simone Childhood Home: Benefit Auction Co-Presented by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and Pace Gallery | Hosted by Sotheby’s | 2023 | Sotheby's

Sotheby’s is honored to host this prestigious auction on behalf of the Nina Simone Childhood Home Preservation Project. The auction is part of a multifaceted fundraiser co-presented with the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and Pace Gallery.Co-curated by the artist Adam Pendleton and the tennis champion, entrepreneur, and arts patron Venus Williams, this auction will feature works by internationally renowned contemporary artists, with proceeds supporting the Nina Simone Childhood H...

(Theblackwallstreetnews).

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Have a good weekend.

The news itself will determine how much I send in the Roundup these next two days.

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