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The dinner party is not dead, despite assaults on all sides. Come pandemic, come people who believe dinner parties are boring, you cant kill the impulse to host, or the impulse to show up with a bottle of Merlot thats just one notch above the lowest price point in exchange for a nice meal (hopefully) and some good conversation (fingers crossed).

TMZ reports with some grainy, forensic-like photographs that on Tuesday, Kim Kardashian and her ingenue Pete Davidson went to dinner at Jeff Bezoss Los Angeles home. They spent several hours there, per the tabloid.

Its natural to wonder what kind of conversation befell the Bezos table? Did Hillary Clinton, Kardashians coffee companion last weekend, get a mention? I cant explain why, but it seems bad for her if she did not come up at this particular table. Hours is probably enough time to add up their respective fortunes and compare notes, or maybe play bore on the floor (an equally psychologically debilitating, but slightly different version than boar on the floor, the game played in season two of Succession.) Hours is probably enough time to have Davidson try some new material from some forthcoming stand-up set, while Kardashian says, Honey, tell them the one about Staten Island.

More than what was spoken into this rarified air, Im wondering what does a billionaire bring to a billionaires house as a gift for the host? What is the billionaires equivalent of the bottle of Merlot thats one notch above the lowest price point? Probably just a bottle that is 1,000 notches above the lowest price point, right? But maybe its something morea complete set of his-and-hers Skims so everyone can get comfy for a post-dinner cognac? Donations to their preferred philanthropic organizations? A senator? After all, the best gifts between two billionaires are traded favors.

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From Coffee With Clinton to Dinner at Jeff Bezoss House: Kim Kardashian Is Making the Rounds - Vanity Fair

By David Toscano

As a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton in 2016, I was deeply disappointed when she lost. But I also believe in the peaceful transition of power, and even had a bit of optimism that Donald Trump, because of his independent streak, might do some positive things for the country.

Boy was I wrong!

And while I was an equally strong supporter of Terry McAuliffe in his run for governor this past fall, I was willing to give Glenn Youngkin a chance that he would separate himself from Trump, governing instead as a moderate conservative, respectful of the traditional role of the legislature in the making of law, and fiscally responsible in his approach to budgeting. It is still early, but I fear I am wrong again.

Youngkin has been dealt a good hand, and he could easily have defined himself as a moderate like Marylands wildly popular Republican governor Larry Hogan. While his margin of victory was not large, his Trump vote was significant enough that no further consolidation of it is necessary. His purported support of schools appealed to suburbanites, thereby giving him an immediate strong position from which to govern. And Ralph Northam left him a significant budget surplus that could allow both new investments and tax relief, the bread and butter of politics.

In his first two weeks of office, however, the new governor has become mired in a series of actions that appear driven more by ideology and sound bites than by policy.

His very public announcement that he intends to fire the present commissioner of the state Board of Elections, a man respected by Republicans and Democrats alike, is little more than a stoking of the Trump base still obsessed with the big lie and searching for election fraud that remains virtually nonexistent.

He can legally install his own people in key positions (elections matter) but any efforts to effectively clean house would mean terminating numerous civil servants with the experience necessary to continue our reputation as one of the best states for election fairness and integrity. And his executive order preventing schools from teaching critical race theory prompts further concern that sound policymaking will take a backseat to ideology. Moreover, his creation of a so-called tip line where Virginians can report divisive practices in our schools prompts worry that this will undermine teachers and limit creative thinking in the classroom.

In addition, the new governor continues to generate a series of oops moments in his policy moves. First, he issues an executive order that purports to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a consortium of states helping to reduce CO2 emissions while bringing needed revenues to the commonwealth. His only problem is that joining RGGI was a legislative action. And the last time I read the Virginia Constitution, it is the legislature not the executive who makes laws.

Another executive order, similar to those recently pronounced by governors in Florida and Texas, that compromises the ability of local school divisions to keep students and teachers in the classroom with policies to fight COVID-19 is now drawing fire, with seven school divisions filing lawsuits questioning his legal authority to issue the edict. Even the conservative Cato Center for Education Freedom questioned the Orders ambiguity and criticized it because it also applied to private schools. Finally, in contradiction of Virginias tradition of responsible budgeting, the new governor proposed $3.5 billion in amendments to Gov. Ralph Northams introduced budget without indicating how he will pay for them. This appears strange, coming from a governor with such a strong business background.

And it strikes the legislature as irresponsible and budgeting by press release.

The new governor reports that he is having a ball, and expresses surprise at the negative reactions to his initial actions. But the campaign is over, and it is now time to govern. Many Virginia governors have struggled to learn their job, eventually finding the proper way to interact with the legislature while understanding the reasonable restraints on their power. Hopefully, this new governor will find this balance, sooner rather than later.

David J. Toscano served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2006-2020, including a seven-year stint as Democratic leader. He is the author of Fighting Political Gridlock: How States Shape Our Nation and Our Lives.

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Governing isn't the same as campaigning - Virginia Mercury

The Washington Post has recused its new national editor, Matea Gold, from the news organizations coverage of the FBI and Justice Department over a personal conflict of interest. A month before Gold was promoted, her husband, Jonathan Lenzner, was named FBI chief of staff.

A Post spokeswoman told RealClearInvestigations that the paper's managing editor, Steven Ginsberg, will be overseeing coverage of the Justice Department and the FBI. Kristine Coratti Kelly, the papers chief communications officer, said the decision does not reflect on Golds objectivity or credibility.

"We have every confidence in Mateas professionalism and high standards, Kelly said. She has recused herselffrom this area of coverage to avoid even the appearance of partiality.

The recusal means that, among other national stories, Gold will be cordoned off from guiding Post coverage ofSpecial Counsel John Durhams ongoing criminal investigation of the origins of the Russia probe of DonaldTrump, which the FBI and Justice Department initially opened under the Obama administration.

Durham's office secured the conviction of a top FBI lawyer last year and in recent months has indicted a top Hillary Clintoncampaign lawyer and a campaign subcontractor who provided most of the information in the discredited Steeledossier, which the FBI used to buttress its investigations of Trump and his advisers. In her previous role asinvestigations editor, Gold helpedoversee the Posts coverage of the Russia collusion accusations against Trump and hisadvisers, including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

"For the last four years, Matea has served as the national political enterprise and investigations editor, running some of The Postsmost sensitive stories, including coverage of the Russia investigation, the Ukraine pressure campaign and President Donald Trumpsattempt to subvert the 2020 election results, the Post said in astory last week about her promotion. "Reporters and other editors gravitate to Matea for guidance and direction.

In the wake of Durhams findings, the Post has retractedor corrected inaccuracies in several stories about Trump and his team. Gold also will be restricted from directing coverage of the ongoing Jan. 6 investigation or editing stories aboutthe U.S. Capitol riot probe led by FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The conflict posed by Golds husband, whose family has long been allied politically with the Clintons, was discussed last week during a staff-wide Post meeting, according to sources familiar with the development.

It is not uncommon for Washington journalists to be married to government officials, lobbyists and others who influence policy from various vantage points. But a review of Golds biography reveals a web of especially close connections to Democratic Party officials or activists.

Gold married Lenzner in 2006. Her husband is the son of the late private investigator Terry Lenzner, whoearned a reputation as President Clintons private CIA for digging up dirt on Clintons mistresses and otherenemies. He helped squelch a series of what were internally known as bimbo eruptions during the 1990s, reportedly with theapproval of Hillary Clinton. During the Clinton impeachment probe, Independent CounselKenneth Starr called him before a grand jury to testify about his aggressive investigative work on behalf of thepresident.

After Terry Lenzner retired in 2015, his son took over the Washington private-investigations firm he founded: InvestigativeGroup International, or IGI. Like his father, Jon Lenzner is a Democrat and a Clinton donor; he contributed atleast $1,700 to Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign, Federal Election Commission records show.

In December, Wray appointed Lenzner as his chief of staff. The FBI did notrelease a press advisory announcing the major leadership change on the seventh floor of the Hoover Building, anddid not name the firm Lenzner helmed in his bio posted on the bureau's Leadership &Structure page of its website."From 2013 to 2018, Mr. Lenzner led a national risk advisory, corporateinvestigations, and crisis management firm in Washington, including three years as its CEO, the bio states. Asked for more details about Wrays decision to hire Lenzner, the FBI declined comment and would only provide a link to the same bio.

Lenzner filled the front office vacancy left by former FBI chief of staff Corey Ellis in December, after Garlandappointed Ellis interim U.S. attorney for South Carolina.

In 2016, the Clinton political operation also had a sympathetic figure working on the inside of FBI headquarters then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe who had influence over another investigation of Hillary Clinton. McCabe took control of the FBIs probe of Clintons mishandling of classified emails within months of McCabe and his wife meeting with then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe -- a Democrat and longtime ally of Clinton -- at the governors mansion in Richmond, whereupon McAuliffe agreed to bankroll the Democratic campaign of McCabes wife for the state senate. The FBI publicly closed the Clinton email investigation with no charges just three weeks before Clintons presidential nomination. Later, the Justice Department's watchdog investigated McCabe for political conflicts related to reports he used FBI email to promote his wifes campaign and wore a campaign T-shirt posted on social media.

IGI was the first investigative shop to launder payments for opposition research from political campaigns through law firms so that no record of payments to IGI showed up in Federal Election Commission disclosures. It first did this in 1994 while digging up dirt on then-Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedys opponents. In 2016, Hillary Clintons campaign employed a similar model in funneling more than $1 million in payments to private investigator Fusion GPS and dossier author Christopher Steele through the law firm Perkins Coie.

Its not known if IGI did any sleuthing work for Clinton or her campaign in 2016, but the firm has investigated Trump in the past. IGI did not respond to requests for comment. IGI has a number of connections to the Clintons. Jon Lenzners sister, Emily Lenzner, a Biden donor who sits on IGIs board, previously worked in the Clinton White House for Communications Director George Stephanopoulos and years later served as a production assistant for Stephanopoulos at ABC News.

After working in the White House for Hillary Clinton, Brooke Shearer, the late sister of Clinton operative Cody Shearer, took an investigative job at IGI. She was the wife of Bill Clintons close college friend Strobe Talbott, who sources say is a witness in Durhams mushrooming investigation. Durhams investigators have subpoenaed documents from the Brookings Institution, the Democratic think tank where Talbott served as president during the 2016 campaign and where the Steele dossiers primary source, Igor Danchenko, once worked as a Russian analyst. Talbottshoppedthe dossier tofederal agencies on behalf of Clinton. Cody Shearer worked on a second Trump-Russia dossier for Clinton duringher 2016 campaign, which was pitched to the FBI as a means to corroborate the now-debunked Steele dossier.

During the Nixon impeachment hearings, Terry Lenzner served as deputy counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee. Hillary Clinton worked on the impeachment inquiry as a low-level staff attorney. After Trump won the November 2016 election, Gold participated in a PBS panel on the White House transition: Trump Family Criticized for Conflicts of Interest. Theres going to be a lot of scrutiny about whether he is mixing his own business empire with his governmental actions, Gold opined.

In September 2017, Gold shared a byline on a Post story claiming that Trumps divisivepresidency was costing his golf clubs and resorts gala bookings and other business. The story repeated the shorthand and incomplete claim that "the president said there were 'fine people' among white supremacists, neo-Nazis andmembers of the alt-right protesting to preserve a Confederate statue [of Gen. Robert E. Lee] in Charlottesville.Actually, Trump specifically condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis at therally.Im not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemnedtotally, Trump stated at the time.

Although Gold has not contributed to federal political candidates, FEC records show both her parents are activeDemocratic donors, giving primarily to progressive candidates, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her parents alsocontributed money to Howard Deans failed 2004 Democratic bid for president while Gold covered Dean's candidacy as a reporter.

Gold met Lenzner on the campaign trail of former Democratic Sen. Bill Bradleys 1999 run for the WhiteHouse. Gold was covering Bradley, while Lenzner worked for him as a press aide.

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Conflict of Interest: New Washington Post National Editor Recused From FBI Coverage - Longview News-Journal

Johnny Counterfit hopes to relaunch his comedy, singing career after the coronavirus shutdowns forced him to get a job as a forklift operator.

Somewhere inside a warehouse in Nashville, the forklift operator sings under his breath.

His co-workers don't know much about who he is. They may not be able to hear him singing. He's a 65-year-old man, practicing, ever so slightly, the voice of Johnny Cash.

Someday, he doesn't want to be a forklift driver anymore.

Johnny Counterfit (his stage name), an impressionist, singer, comedian, wants to re-appear inhonky tonks, theaters and on TV stations, a life he once knew.

He wrote me a couple of letters that sounded so fun. Heopened for Dottie West and Brenda Lee, he appeared on The Nashville Network and he performed at the White House.

The pandemic took a knife to Johnny Counterfit'scareer. Suddenly, a performer with 40 years experience, was looking for gigs in places that stopped hiring acts like his. He got the warehouse job so he could stop tapping into his savings.

Now he's got his eye on a comeback.

Johnny Counterfit was born Ronald DeMoor in Omaha in 1956.

He said he first noticed his particular skill at a very young age. He could impersonate the cartoon characters he saw on TV.

"I did Yogi Bear and Wally Gator," he said.

When he was 9, his parents got a stereo console and vinyl records. His impersonations expanded after listening to Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Buck Owens. By junior high school, he was doing Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como.

The Type Set: The perfect song for Johnny Cash

He sang their songs and told jokes in their voices.

In a 7th grade talent show, he did some of the voices he saw on the television program "Hee Haw."

"The audience applauded, and I was infected," he said. "The bug really bit me. I love making people laugh."

In his early 20s, Ronald DeMoor was trying to think of a stage name inspired by his bestimpression: Johnny Cash. What's the opposite of cash?

Counterfeit money.

But, he said, Johnny Counterfeit was one letter too long to fit on a marquee. So he decided on Johnny Counterfit.

His family had moved to Oregon, and he performed "A Boy Named Sue" at an open mic night at a place called "Nashville West."

"The audience just loved it," he said.

He kept doing free performances until he figured out that he was getting popular. He was hired for six nights per week and $100 per night at a club called "The Bridge Keeper" in Canby, Oregon.

Johnny Counterfit appeared on a CBS Christmas special doing the voice of Thurston Howell III (from "Gilligan's Island") in 1986. He was on ABC in 1987 doing stand-up on "America's Funniest People."

In 1993, Johnny Counterfit moved to Nashville. Within a year, he appeared on The Nashville Network.

The Type Set: Johnny Cash loved bacon, strummed guitar all the way until the end

The two highlights of his career came at the White House during the Clinton Administration. A talent booker he knew introduced Johnny Counterfit to Bill and Hillary Clinton.

He shook hands with the President and introduced himself using Clinton's raspy voice. Then he turned to Hillary and struck up a quick conversation with her using the voice of former President Ronald Reagan.

They must have loved him because they asked him to come back.

In 2000, Johnny Counterfit was on the White House lawn singing "I Walk the Line" as Johnny Cash.Clinton sat in the first row of seats. For the second verse, he sang as Clinton.

"That knocked him out," he said.

In the last 20 years, Johnny Counterfit didn't have any problems booking shows. He said he is loved by the 55+ crowd who rememberall the characters from the 1960s and 70s.

And then in March 2020 the stages went dark, and so did his career.

He said he had 12 gigs lined up for 2022, but he had to have surgery and was forced to cancel.

He got the warehouse job to stay afloat until the gigs come back.

"I switched gears and got to work," he said. "I told myself, 'Get your rear end back to work.'"

He has hope for a summer gig. Just before the pandemic, he was in talks to perform at a dinner show in Nashville.

"I'm hoping the ember of that idea is still there," he said.

Until then, Johnny Counterfit will be moving boxes.

And singing Johnny Cash songs under his breath to get ready.

Reach Keith Sharon at 615-406-1594 or ksharon@tennessean.com or on Twitter @KeithSharonTN.

This story is part of Project 88, which is named for the 88 characters produced on a Smith-Corona typewriter. The Tennesseans Keith Sharon types letters on his 1953 typewriter and mails them to people all over the world with an envelope and stamp so they can write back. This story originated with a letter Keith received. The question Project 88 is trying to answer is: Will people communicate the old-fashioned way, through heartfelt letters about the best and most challenging days of their lives. This project is not for political rants, and any kind of snail mail letter (typed, hand-written or computer printout) is acceptable. Please include a phone number.

You can be part of Project 88 by writing to:

Keith Sharon

The Tennessean

1801 West End Ave.

16th Floor

Nashville, TN 37203

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How a Johnny Cash and Bill Clinton impersonator ended up as a Nashville forklift driver | The Type Set - Tennessean

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A South Texas butterfly sanctuary has closed after it was the target of conspiracy theories that escalated into credible threats.

The National Butterfly Center, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Mission, has long been the target of QAnon conspiracy theories falsely tying the organization to human trafficking.

The center is a 20-year-old nature conservatory for wild butterflies. There are no law enforcement investigations into the organization or its staff for human trafficking.

They tell these lies in a variety of forms through all of their channels to provoke stochastic terrorism, said the centers executive director Marianna Trevio-Wright.

Trevio-Wright suspects the butterfly center attracted the conspiracists attention because of a lawsuit it filed against the Trump administration in 2017. The center argued that proposed border wall construction threatened to drive through the center and destroy butterfly habitats. Five years later, the lawsuit is still ongoing in federal court.

In 2019, Brian Kolfage, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, tweeted out false rumors accusing Trevio-Wright of human trafficking.

The National Butterfly Center responded by suing Kolfage and his organization, We Build the Wall, for defamation and disparagement in state court. Kolfage and others were indicted in 2020 over allegedly redirecting funds from We Build the Wall to personal expenses.

But the harassment did not stop. Trevio-Wright said she has been the subject of threats via phone, email and Twitter.

Theres no way really to navigate it. You get at each day and you hope for the best and deal with whatever the day throws at you, Trevio-Wright said. Many of those days for the last three years have been pretty rough, some of them downright terrible.

The harassment escalated in late January when a right-wing congressional candidate from Virginia, Kimberly Lowe, visited the nature conservatory, Trevio-Wright said. Lowe demanded the center give her access to the river to see all the illegals crossing on the raft. Trevio-Wright said Lowe tackled her when she asked Lowe to leave the premises.

The center closed last weekend during the We Stand America border security rally. Former state Rep. Aaron Pea had informed Trevio-Wright that the center could be a target during the rally and that she should be armed at all times or out of town.

Attendees of the rally, largely composed of staunch Trump supporters, did stop at the conservatory. Ben Bergquam, a contributor for the far-right site Real Americas Voice, posted a minutelong clip on Twitter, repeating false claims about sex trafficking.

On Wednesday, the butterfly sanctuary closed again this time, indefinitely due to safety concerns for staff and the public.

The false trafficking rumors around the National Butterfly Center echo Pizzagate, a 2016 conspiracy theory that claimed a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant was the site of a child abuse ring led by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Pizzagate made headlines when a man fired a gun at the restaurant based on the false information.

QAnon, a far-right political conspiracy and movement, emerged shortly after in 2017 and falsely claimed a child sex trafficking ring conspired against Trump. Once limited to fringe platforms, QAnon conspiracy theorists have flooded mainstream social networks and have been accused of plotting or carrying out violent crimes. They were also among the mob of Trump supporters that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The FBI has identified the movement as a domestic terrorism threat.

Its incredibly distressing that the United States has come to the point where a really significant part of the public is just no longer tethered to reality, said Jeffrey Glassberg, the founder of the North American Butterfly Association, the parent organization of the butterfly center.

Glassberg has worked as a molecular biologist and patented DNA fingerprinting. He authored several books on butterflies before he established the butterfly center out of an empty onion field.

For the butterfly conservatory to be at the center of false trafficking allegations, he said, nothing could be more absurd, frankly.

Excerpt from:
Conspiracy theorists' threats force Texas butterfly sanctuary to close - The Texas Tribune