The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

Negotiators for Hollywood studios and the Writers Guild of America reached a breakthrough agreement after five straight days of negotiations — a tentative deal to end a strike that has halted most TV and film scriptwriting in the country.

The terms of the agreement were not immediately shared by the WGA, which said in a statement Sunday night that the deal was “exceptional,” adding that it included “meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”

The union said it was immediately suspending picketing, though its more than 11,000 members were warned not to return to work until the deal is put into the language of a contract, then approved by WGA leaders and general membership in coming days. “We are still on strike until then,” the statement said.

But the deal still marks the most hopeful sign of progress since May, when the WGA and a consortium of major studios and streaming services failed to renew their old contract. The sides were divided over issues such as pay for writers and the use of artificial intelligence to create scripts. The WGA strike has lasted nearly 150 days, making it one of Hollywood’s longest labor-strike disputes...

Hopefully, the union has negotiated a good deal that members can approve.  If so, great victory for labor. Now, do SAG/ AFTRA.

The bad:

... The Assembly seat had been held by Democrats for 50 years. But after the district lines were moved, Republican Angie Sapik, who had posted comments disparaging the Black Lives Matter movement and cheered on the Jan. 6 rioters on social media, won the seat in November 2022.

The redrawing of the 73rd District and its implications are emblematic of the extreme gerrymandering that defines Wisconsin — where maps have been drawn in irregular and disconnected shapes over the last two decades, helping Republicans seize and keep sweeping power.

That gerrymandering, which stands out even in a country where the practice is regularly employed by both major parties, fuels Wisconsin power dynamics. And that has drawn national attention because of the potential impact on abortion rights for people across the state and voting policies that could affect the outcome of the next presidential election.

The new maps have given Wisconsin Republicans the leeway to move aggressively on perceived threats to their power. The GOP-controlled Senate recently voted to fire the state’s nonpartisan elections chief, Meagan Wolfe, blaming her for pandemic-era voting rules that they claim helped Joe Biden win the state in 2020. A legal battle over Wolfe’s firing now looms.

The future of a newly elected state supreme court justice, Janet Protasiewicz, also is in doubt. Her election in April shifted the balance of the court to the left and put the Wisconsin maps in peril. Republican leaders have threatened to impeach her if she does not recuse herself from a case that seeks to invalidate the maps drawn by the GOP. They argue that she’s biased because during her campaign she told voters the maps are “rigged.”...

They can't win honest elections, so they cheat.  Justice Protasiewicz said the maps were rigged because they are.

The ugly:

Congressman Paul Gosar, representing the 9th district of Arizona, said on Sunday that a retiring general should be "hung," echoing sentiments from former president Donald Trump, who said the military leader might deserve "the death penalty" for his purported actions.

Gosar, who was targeted for censure after his newsletter reportedly included a link to a website that promotes antisemitism and Holocaust denialism, said in his Sunday newsletter that General Mark Milley wrongly delayed National Guard resources surrounding January 6th.

Gosar's comments come just after Trump suggested that the retiring general who has criticized the former president deserves the "death penalty," prompting conservatives of various backgrounds to condemn the comments.

In Gosar's newsletter on Sunday, he said that after the riot "was in full swing, the Chief’s request for National Guard was finally approved."

"But even after approval was given, General Milley, the homosexual-promoting-BLM-activist Chairman of the military joint chiefs, delayed," the lawmaker added. "Of course, we now know that the deviant Milley was coordinating with Nancy Pelosi to hurt President Trump, and treasonously working behind Trump’s back."

Going even further, Gosar suggests Milley should be executed.

"In a better society, quislings like the strange sodomy-promoting General Milley would be hung," he said. "He had one boss: President Trump, and instead he was secretly meeting with Pelosi and coordinating with her to hurt Trump."

He added:

"How this traitor remains in office is a question we need answered."

Coup supporter Gosar (Insurrection-AZ) is such a fascist loon that even his family actively campaigns against him.  Congratulations to the voters of AZ-9; you elected a real POS to represent you.  Says something.