Golden Girls Little Known Facts

Entertainment 11 Minutes

In honor of Betty White’s birthday this month, let’s delve into some little known facts about The Golden Girls from PARADE.

The Golden Girls cleaned up during awards seasons

Throughout The Golden Girls‘ 1985-1992 run, they racked up 68 Emmy nominations and 11 wins; the series was ranked No. 69 on the Writers Guild of America’s list of 100 Best-Written TV Series of All Time.

Bea Arthur actually detested cheesecake

Despite Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia always bonding over the creamy dessert, in real life, Arthur was not a fan of cheesecake at all.

The Golden Girls house wasn’t actually in Miami

The iconic Golden Girls house was actually based on a Brentwood, Los Angeles ranch-style home. Producers had a replica made of the front of the property at the then-Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, which was used for exterior shots. The home is estimated to be valued at nearly $3 million.

The Property Brothers want to renovate The Golden Girls property

Drew and Jonathan Scott dropped the idea-bomb on The Kelly Clarkson Show in October 2019 after discussing the Property Brothers‘ renovation of The Brady Bunch house. ”So, we’re thinking next, the Golden Girls house,” Drew quipped. He also volunteered to play Blanche if a reboot was ever on the table!

Betty White and Bea Arthur drew on real-life grief for some heartwrenching scenes

Both White and Arthur each lost their mothers while filming Season 1 of The Golden Girls, but wouldn’t take time off. Director Lex Passaris recalled, “We were ready to shut down the show for as long as they needed, but both ladies said, ‘No. We need to work.'”

Betty White channeled true heartbreak for another poignant scene

While filming the episode “The Heart Attack,” White drew from the death of her beloved husband, Allen Ludden, when she was in character as widow Rose Nylund. “Everyone thinks Estelle’s character Sophia is dying, so it was particularly poignant,” Passaris said. “Rose tells a story about her husband Charlie’s death, and Betty’s basically talking about Allen. Betty’s voice kind of cracked and she took a breath and said to me, ‘I’d give anything to have that year of my life back again.'”

Estelle Getty spent three hours in the makeup chair to become Sophia Petrillo

Makeup artist Maurice Stein revealed that Getty, who was younger than White and Arthur, took three hours to transform into the petite, heavily creased Sicilian spitfire. “When she first sits down in the chair, she’s just Estelle, a nice, lovely lady. But as the makeup goes on, she becomes this snappy old lady, wise-cracking and crusty,” he said. “She seems to slum down in her chair and really get into character. By the time she gets up from her chair, I have Sophia on my hands.”

Getty was only 63 and playing 20 years older—and she didn’t want to age offscreen. She got a facelift in between Season 2 and Season 3, driving the makeup team into a tizzy.

Bea Arthur didn’t like to dine alone

McClanahan once said that Arthur refused to go to dinner between shoots unless White walked with her. Arthur’s son confirmed the anecdote years later, noting, “Betty would pick my mom up in the driveway, or my mom would pick her up.”

Betty White thought Bea Arthur couldn’t stand her

Despite Arthur and White dining together between shoots, White didn’t think Arthur liked her, and McClanahan didn’t think so either. “Bea came from a New York stage point of view,” McClanahan admitted. “She always had what we call ‘the fourth wall.’ And Betty came from a television point of view: She would flirt with the audience, and pull her skirt up and say, ‘Hi sailor.’ But Bea never acknowledged the audience.” McClanahan said she could never be totally sure why Arthur sometimes got grumpy about White because Arthur never told her—but she did note that White “adored” Bea.

Estelle Getty struggled with crippling anxiety

Stage fright was an understatement when it came to Getty. McClanahan once said of her costar, “She had an awful time remembering her lines because she would freeze and panic. The day before tape day, you could see a big difference in her. She’d be walking around like Pig-Pen under a black cloud. By tape day, she was unreachable.” White concurred and marveled of Getty’s skill despite her anxiety battle. “You thought, ‘She’s never going to be able to take a step on that stage.’ She’s one of the reasons for the success of the show with young people. They get such a kick out of little Estelle telling big Bea off!”

Betty White was almost cast as Blanche Devereaux instead of Rose Nylund

“You get a lot of scripts mailed to you and not too many of them are good, but when this one came along it just hit the spot and they sent it to each of us,” White recalled in 2010. “They sent it to me with the idea of me doing Blanche. Jay Sandrich, who was our director for most of the Mary Tyler Moore shows, said, ‘If Betty plays another nymphomaniac they are going to think it is Sue Ann Nivens all over again.’ He said, ‘Why don’t we switch them?'”

Betty White, Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan all knew each other before being cast as The Golden Girls

Before Rose, Dorothy and Blanche, the core Golden Girls cast had worked together in various series. “The first table read was an experience. I had worked with Bea, I had done a couple of guest shots on Maude. I had worked with Rue on Mama’s Family,” White said. “Estelle was a new one to all of us. She came from New York after her hit. We all sat down for the first table read and somebody read a line and then somebody else read a line.” She added, “It was the most exciting…We all began to look at each other because there wasn’t any first reading feeling about it. It was like we had been working together forever. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.”

Bea Arthur didn’t have patience for what she believed to be fashion crimes

McClanahan revealed that Arthur loathed backward baseball caps. “That really got to her,” McClanahan said. “We were interviewing directors one time and if someone came in with a baseball cap worn backwards, he didn’t stand a chance.”

Bea Arthur came through for Rue McClanahan in a big way

“She took care of me the Thanksgiving my mother died the first year of Maude,” McClanahan recalled. “It was unexpected. My mother was young, and I was young. I went back to Oklahoma for the funeral and I was devastated. When I came back to California, I was grieving so. I heard from Bea and she said, ‘I’m having Thanksgiving dinner and you come over here immediately.’ I went over to her home in Santa Monica and she put me to bed, and tucked me in and brought me dinner. She calmed me down and I felt safe for the first time. You don’t forget things like that.”

There were rumors of a reboot with Betty White

Those rumors, however, were mostly unfounded. Stan Zimmerman, a writer for Season 1 of The Golden Girls, explained, “It is not a rumor. [Fellow Golden Girls writer] James Berg and I did write a pilot script called Silver Foxes. It is NOT a reboot of The Golden Girls. But it is inspired by the show, a show that we were lucky enough to have written on during the first season of the show.” Saturday Night Live alum Cheri Oteri was attached to the project, which was to be about a group of aging gay men living together in Palm Springs, California, inspired by the classic series—and there was even a one-line role in the works for White. “Unfortunately, we cannot get one network executive to read [the script],” Zimmerman said, “or even a producer to pass it to them. We have found ageism and homophobia alive and well in Hollywood. Hopefully a groundswell of support from the viewing public will get an outlet like Hulu or Amazon to make it.”

The iconic “Thank You for Being a Friend” wasn’t producers’ first choice for The Golden Girls theme song

“They approached the publishing company for Bette Midler‘s song, ‘Friends,’ but it was too expensive. Eventually of the producers remembered Andrew Gold’s song, ‘Thank You For Being A Friend,'” Jim Colucci, author of Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai revealed. “They licensed it and hired a session singer named Cynthia Fee. Even though the recording session was slated to last for an hour, she did it in one or two takes—maybe 20 or 30 minutes—and planned on never thinking of it again. The irony is that thanks to unions, every time your song gets played, you get paid. So this job she did on a random weekday in 1985 has put her kids through college.”

Bea Arthur didn’t like the jabs about Dorothy’s appearance

“Bea was offended. When the writers called Rose [Betty White] dumb or Blanche [Rue McClanahan] a slut or Sophia [Estelle Getty] old, it could roll off those women’s backs because they were not like their characters,” Colucci said. “Unfortunately, the things that were said about Dorothy were that she was big and ugly. And that wears on an actress after a while.” The “Dorothy bashing” was one of the reasons Arthur would ultimately exit the series.

Bea Arthur almost wasn’t Dorothy Zbornak

Arthur wasn’t producers’ first choice for the sassy substitute teacher, in part because of her iconic role as the liberal titular Maude Findlay, especially after her character got an abortion before Roe v. Wade was passed. However, Colucci claimed that writer and creator Susan Harris insisted, “I wrote this role for Bea and I want Bea.” As it turned out, Arthur initially didn’t want to be Dorothy, either, because she thought the character was too similar to Maude, but McClanahan claimed in My First Five Husbands … And The Ones Who Got Away that she talked her into taking the role.

Elaine Stritch almost played Dorothy

Elaine Stritch auditioned for Dorothy Zbornak and almost got the role. Stritch went in for a reading, but cursed during her audition—and irked the writer and lost the part to Arthur. To hear her tell it: “I blew it!”

The Golden Girls concept started out as a joke

Colucci said that The Golden Girls began as a gag sketch for advertisers featuring Everybody Loves Raymond star Doris Roberts in 1984. “They did this schtick where they were confused thinking there was a show on NBC called Miami Nice: ‘Oh, it must be about old people in Miami. That does sound nice.’ When people laughed, the president of the network thought, ‘There might be something there.'”

They had a groundbreaking gay main character…until they didn’t

The Golden Girls had one Golden Guy, albeit very briefly: Coco, a gay housekeeper and cook (and former drag performer), played by the late Charles Levin. He appeared in the pilot, where he made huevos rancheros for the girls. When the series’ pilot ended up being five minutes too long, unfortunately, Coco bore the brunt of it on the cutting room floor—especially since Getty was such a hit with audiences when she delivered her iconic one-liners. Coco disappeared from most of the pilot and from the rest of the show, though The Golden Girls did still have a lot of progressive episodes centered around LGBTQ+ issues, including the AIDS crisis.

Blanche Devereaux’s accent evolved over time

McClanahan is originally from Oklahoma, and producers originally had her keep her natural accent to play Blanche in the pilot. However, in later episodes, the southern belle’s twang was much more pronounced and exaggerated, a move that McClanahan said was a combined idea between her and director Paul Bogart.

Rue McClanahan kept a lot of Blanche’s outfits

In her memoir, McClanahan revealed that she was allowed to keep about 500 of her costumes from The Golden Girls—and she somehow had all the closet space she needed for them in a Manhattan apartment.

Rue McClanahan had her own lingerie line

Blanche Devereaux would approve! McClanahan developed and sold her own lingerie line called A Touch of Rue, which was sold on QVC—and inspired by her adventurous and sultry character.

Bea Arthur made a major contribution to the LGBTQ+ community

Arthur bequeathed $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center, a long-term housing center for LGBTQ+ youth, in her will. She had previously hosted shows with proceeds benefiting the center.

The Golden Girls and The Golden Palace had serious star power

The Golden Girls had guest stars with serious pedigrees at the time, including Bob Hope, Alex Trebek, Merv Griffin, Sonny Bono, Lyle Waggoner, Julio Iglesias and Burt Reynolds, who played themselves in cameos, as well as a young George Clooney, who played a detective investigating the ladies’ jewel thief neighbors. Jerry Orbach played a former flame of Dorothy’s and Mickey Rooney made an appearance as Sophia’s boyfriend. Mario Lopez guest-starred as an immigrant student Dorothy tutored. LA Law star Alan Rachins made an appearance as a love interest for Blanche. Debbie Reynolds played a prankster pal for Dorothy, Rita Moreno played a neighbor and none other than Quentin Tarantino guest-starred in two episodes as an Elvis Presley impersonator. In the finale, Dorothy marries Blanche’s uncle, Lucas, played by Leslie Nielsen.

The Golden Palace, a brief spinoff of The Golden Girls, also starred a young Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin and had a guest appearance from none other than Jack Black.

The same actor played two different boyfriends for Rose Nylund

Actor Harold Gould played Rose Nylund’s boyfriend, Arnie, in Season 1 episode “Rose the Prude.” He later had a recurring role as Rose’s longtime love, Miles Webber.

The Golden Girls performed for the Queen Mother

The Queen Mother—Queen Elizabeth II’s mom, for those of you unfamiliar with royal titles—was such a huge fan of The Golden Girls that she invited the cast to perform live for her and the British royals in London. “It was very exciting,” White gushed. “The Queen was lovely. We were told not to address her unless we were addressed. She was up in a box and she came down on stage after with Princess Anne. She said, ‘Lovely, pretty girls,’ and I said, ‘Not bad bodies,’ and she said ‘Oh, no, not bad bodies!'”

Estelle Getty was sensitive about what she would and wouldn’t joke about onscreen

White wrote in her book If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t)that Getty would never use death for a laugh, explaining, “Estelle Getty was so afraid of dying that the writers on The Golden Girls couldn’t put a dead joke in the script.” Getty herself once explained that death wasn’t her only no-go, noting, “I have a thing about gratuitous pain. Why would you make fun of somebody who’s fat or who’s cross-eyed or who’s bald? And I won’t do gay-bashing jokes.”

Only three characters could sit at the kitchen table

The set wasn’t big enough for all four characters to sit side by side, and producers and directors didn’t want any of The Golden Girls to have their backs to the camera, which is why one of them often sat on a stool near the table. Additionally, Arthur was always seated in the center of whoever was at the table because she was tall and had priceless facial expressions.

Estelle Getty wanted Sophia to be Jewish, not Italian

Estelle Getty wanted to play Sophia as a Jewish woman like herself—which may well have worked, as Bea Arthur was also raised Jewish.

Bea Arthur wanted to leave while the going was good

Arthur’s son, Matthew Saks, said that her decision to leave The Golden Girls wasn’t a very complicated one, and that while she did appear on The Golden Palace later, she was reluctant to do so. “I think she got tired of it. She just thought it was time to leave the show,” he said. “She wanted to leave a year before, but the others asked her to stay for a final year and she did. And then, of course, they did The Golden Palace without mom on it. She came and did one episode, though. I don’t think she really wanted to do that. But she did. Her logic was also that these shows ran their course. Something suffers, whether it’s the production, the writing. It loses its magic.”

SOURCE: PARADE

Published by pat frederick

Published

198 thoughts on “Golden Girls Little Known Facts”

  1. Morning All
    couldn’t sleep so here i am…lol.
    i put a new corn/apple block out for the deer yesterday and they have it surrounded this morning as far as i can tell. the spot lights shine out there but it’s still really dark.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Liked by 1 person

  11. Laura Loomer Profile picture
    Laura Loomer
    @LauraLoomer
    9h • 1 tweets • 2 min read •
    Read on X
    SCOOP:

    More craziness and weaponized justice in DC today as it relates to the trials of J6 defendants.

    Reliable sources confirmed to me that during today’s Jury selection in the case of J6 defendant John George Todd llI, US District Judge Beryl Howell singled out a potential juror in a January 6th Case and asked them, “Are you offended by what happened that day? Because true patriotic Americans don’t do what they did on January 6th 2021.”

    How can a jury be selected if the judge is poisoning the jury pool during jury selection!

    J6’ers cannot get a fair trial in D.C. when even the Judges cannot keep their political biases to themselves.

    Totally inappropriate behavior by US District Judge Beryl Howell, who has a history of making biased comments in favor of the Democrats.

    In 2023, Congresswoman @EliseStefanik filed an official ethics complaint against Judge Howell after she gave an acceptance speech at the Women’s White Collar Defense Association awards banquet on Nov. 28 in Washington, D.C.

    Rep. Elise Stefanik said Howell’s award acceptance speech implied a criticism of President Donald Trump for “authoritarianism” and that her speech blamed Trump for what she calls “encouraging the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.”

    Stefanik’s complaint, which was submitted to the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2023, cited Canon 2B of the Code of Judicial Conduct in saying, “Judge Howell’s speech is plainly inappropriate, consisting of partisan statements, election interference and improper extrajudicial statements while criminal cases are pending.”

    Canon 2B says, “A judge should avoid lending the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge or others.”

    Stefanik’s 2023 complaint also said Howell “promoted the Democrat political campaign theme that the reelection of Donald Trump equates to America choosing authoritarianism. This is conduct unbecoming of a federal judge.”

    Judge Howell is one of the main judges overseeing the J6 cases in DC where J6 defendants have all been DENIED venue changes.

    @RepStefanik please get in touch with me, and I will connect you with the people who witnessed this in court today.

    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1752150213978890417.html

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Sliding down…..morning, Pat! I used to love this show and still watch re-runs now and then..

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/mess-west-army-god-convoy-heads-us-border-while-eu-farmers-block-cities
    Our Take: “The ‘Take Our Border Back Convoy’ took off yesterday, heading to three border cities across three states. While the event website still has TBD locations for CA and AZ, the main event is in Texas, and it’s happening rain or shine.

    I reached out to a friend who is deeply connected to the organizers of the event and, as expected, the media positioning of the event differs from the stated intent and plans.

    First, the convoy is not actually going to the border. Event organizers have rented a private ranch with 240 acres upon which people will gather and protest. While the materials reference ‘Eagle Pass,’ the maps and routes direct convoy goers to the private ranch.

    Second, no one associated with this event is referring to the effort as ‘The Army of God.’ Convoy organizer Dr. Pete Chambers mentioned that he joined God’s Army during an interview, and people associated with the event have talked about putting on the ‘Armor of God’ (see Ephesians), but positioning the convoy as ‘The Army of God’ is a media fabrication.

    Third, despite the regime’s attempt to paint the protest as vigilantism, the stated intent of this gathering is a rally. It was described to me as a festival atmosphere with cookouts, bounce houses, live music, and high profile speakers. Many politicians and candidates are expected to attend, and there are rumors of big name music acts making appearances as well.

    Moreover, my sources tell me that local law enforcement will be in plain clothes, along well as private security, to ensure the event remains peaceful. Provocateurs will be be detained and prosecuted by law enforcement. Additionally, the convoy is reportedly being escorted by National Guard forces.

    Organizers expect over a million people to gather in Texas by Saturday, and they are confident that they are taking all available precautions to prevent a J6-style false flag event. The manner in which this event has come together, and the parties reportedly involved in its production, make the convoy distinctive from J6; but there are always risks when we gather, and participants need to have their heads on swivels.

    The regime is desperate for a narrative change on the border, and I believe they will be attempting to achieve real world examples of ‘vigilantism’ that can pump their election year, anti-MAGA storylines. That said, our right to rally, protest, and redress our grievances is inalienable, but we can only keep that right if we exercise it.

    I pray the organizers achieve their objectives, and that Americans at the border this week stay safe and renew their strength for the clown world year ahead. Godspeed.” — Ashe in America

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Share away – that is one of the very reasons I post this stuff – so as many people as possible share it and spread the info. No need to ask, my dear! Hep yosef!

        Liked by 1 person

          1. Exactly! This whole “Army of God” schtick does NOT sit well with me. Not everyone believes the same thing and I’d wager there are some who wish to participate who will be turned off by that claim.

            Liked by 1 person

      2. I kind of look at myself as the curator for both blogs….you know, find, preview, sort, evaluate, verify and forward when it passes the smell test.

        Liked by 1 person

  19. NF: I can’t remember what I’ve posted where so if I get a repeat…..🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
    “Stolen elections have consequences”




    Liked by 1 person

  26. Wow! Just watched the weather forecast from this morning….they say the high today should be in the low 30’s….I’m already up to 38!!! From tomorrow on, it just gets warmer, getting up close to 50 in the next 10 days! Possible rain on Saturday, which will accelerate the melting – flooding from the rivers, I expect, with those huge blocks of ice thrown up into the fields! We had one of those episodes 5 or 6 years ago.

    Our Indian Summer has definitely arrived….which probably means we could get hit with a blizzard EOM February into March. Hope not but when it gets this warm, this early…..look out! I will REALLY stock up when I do finally get to Norfolk, I’ll tell you that! I’m going to be ready next time!!! This not being able to get out or go anywhere sucks!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. we’re supposed to get near 40* this week…we’ll see…
      stuff is finally coming off the roof, but i think that’s because the wood stove is producing gloriously warm temps inside…lol

      didn’t you report a polar vortex coming in february???

      we may…note MAY– see some sunshine Saturday and Sunday. I won’t hold my breath.
      this is why i dye my hair–I hate gray any more…LOL

      Liked by 1 person

      1. LOL – I’ve thought about going all the way and dyeing mine all gray. Now it’s an ugly mix of brown and gray, some white. It would look strange going all brown. But I really don’t care that much anyway so….meh!

        I actually had a pleasant convo with Mom…mark that one on the calendar!!! After the usual update on her health woes – it’s always something really minor but it’s ALWAYS something. I’ve learned….just “knod” and say “oh, yeah?” It’s soooo much easier that way!

        She had called to ask me to look up some info on something she saw on the Today Show….and I cringed inside….about the success of a Phase 1 trial for a vaccine for breast cancer that began 10 years ago. Of course, Mom thinks they should have made it available to the public 10 years ago…..sigh…..believe it or not, after finding an article on-line, I managed to give an overall explanation of all the different trial phases, technicalities, possible side effects, etc., etc. w/out saying a word about COVID.

        Until she went off against Big Pharma and $$$’s – ok, here’s my opening! By the end of the convo, I had gotten her to admit that the hospital in SC outright murdered my son and agreeing with me when I said I would never take another vaccine again. She also agreed that restricting MJ research for cancer was wrong. And SHE noted how quickly they came out with the COVID jab vs. one for breast cancer. I do believe her eyes may be opening!!! Unfortunately, I have to wonder if it will last.

        Liked by 1 person

  28. Liked by 1 person

  29. “Smartmatic Wants The President of One America News In Prison! Foreign voting machine companies now want American judges to jail American journalists”
    EMERALD ROBINSON
    JAN 30, 2024

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “The communist crap-rag Salon just published a piece opening a bizarre and dangerous new front in the curtailing of press freedoms in America. According to a staff writer named Tatyana Tandanpolie, attorneys for Smartmatic voting machines now want a federal judge to consider criminal charges for Charles Herring, the head of conservative TV news network One America News (OAN).

    What is the crime that Herring (allegedly) committed? He (allegedly) sent an email to the lawyer Sidney Powell which contained Smartmatic employee passwords — which would supposedly be a breach of “privacy data” laws.

    How serious is this “privacy data” breach? Well, it’s not very serious at all — since parts of the email were “revealed” in a “public filing” according to a CNN hitpiece.

    Neither the CNN piece nor the Salon piece explain how the transmission of an email between Herring and Powell could be a crime in the first place. After all, Smartmatic is a private company that signed contracts to act as a proxy of various state governments for public elections — an arrangement that is illegal under the Constitution obviously — which means that it’s no longer operating as a private company and doesn’t enjoy any protections from “libel” or “slander.”

    Smartmatic has the same rights to privacy that state governments have in such cases — none. The compelling right of the public to examine its voting machines to maintain the integrity of its public elections is paramount.

    What’s really happening here is that the illegal Biden regime wants to charge journalist with crimes for discovering the corruption of America’s rigged voting machines.”

    Liked by 1 person

  30. seems the criminal subpoena was for Cori Bush who paid her security guard (without a license) husband a lot for security–possibly with campaign funds. AND she also paid OTHER security firms. entire article
    Squad progressive Rep. Cori Bush is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly misusing government funds meant for private security.

    Punchbowl News first reported that DOJ is conducting the criminal probe into Bush.

    On Monday, the Justice Department subpoenaed the House Sergeant at Arms for records related to the misuse of federal security money.

    Bush has spent $756,000 on security since she was elected in 2020, her largest expenditure by far.

    A watchdog has demanded the Federal Election Commission (FEC) investigate the $62,000 Rep. Cori Bush paid her now-husband as a security guard from her campaign account.

    The nonpartisan Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) asked FEC acting general counsel Lisa Stevenson to look into whether Squad member and BLM activist Bush ‘used campaign funds for personal use.’

    It was recently revealed that Bush, D-Mo., married Cortney Merritts in a private ceremony in early 2023. In 2022 he was on the payroll of her re-election campaign.
    A watchdog has demanded the Federal Election Commission (FEC) investigate the $62,000 Rep. Cori Bush paid her now-husband as a security guard from her campaign account

    ‘It appears Rep. Bush’s campaign may have made payments for services that were unnecessary or above fair market value because of her personal relationship with the payee,’ FACT executive director Kendra Arnold said in the complaint.

    ‘If so, these payments would qualify as either impermissible payments to a family member or an impermissible gift.

    While hiring family members is frowned upon, it is not illegal. It would only be illegal if push paid her now-spouse over ‘fair market value.’ Payments to family members must be for ‘bonafide services’ related to their official duties.
    It was recently revealed that Bush, R-Mo., married Cortney Merritts in a private ceremony last month

    ‘Therefore, we request the FEC investigate whether Rep. Bush converted campaign funds for personal use by paying a salary that was not for bona fide services at fair market value,’ FACT wrote.

    ‘Ultimately, if one or more campaign laws are found to have been broken, we request the FEC hold the respondents accountable.’

    Merritts was paid as Bush’s security guard despite not having a license – which is required by the St. Louis Police Department, according to a Fox News report. Merritts was reportedly also not licensed for security in Washington, D.C.

    Bush, 47, is back in the spotlight after in 2021 she took heat for spending $500,000 on private security despite her impassioned pleas to ‘defund the police.’

    ‘I’m going to make sure I have security because I know I have had attempts on my life and I have too much work to do,’ the former Black Lives Matter activist told CBS News in August 2021. ‘So, if I end up spending $200,000, if I spend … 10 more dollars on it, you know what? I get to be here to do the work.’

    ‘So, suck it up,’ she added, ‘defunding the police has to happen. We need to defund the police and put that money into social safety nets because we’re trying to save lives.’
    Last year Merritts was on the payroll of her re-election campaign

    Two St. Louis cops were then fired for moonlighting on her security team without getting permission from their superiors.

    Bush’s campaign paid Merritts 24 bi-weekly installments of $2,500 in 2022 for security services. It paid another $250,000 to PEACE Security, a St. Louis-based firm, and $50,000 to a Nathaniel Davis, according to FEC records.

    ‘Any time a member of Congress puts someone with a close personal relationship on the campaign payroll, increased scrutiny is necessary to ensure the legal standard has been met, which in this case is that the payments were for ‘bona fide services at a fair market value,” Arnold said in a statement.

    ‘Both the fact that reportedly Bush’s husband isn’t licensed to provide security services for which he was paid, and that she was simultaneously paying large amounts to another company for the same services raise red flags that warrant an investigation by the FEC,’ she added.

    Bush is not the first ‘Squad’ member to hire her husband – Rep. Ilhan Omar funneled $2.9 million to a consulting firm run by her husband in 2021, which amounted to 80 percent of the company’s revenue.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13024009/cori-bush-investigation-department-justice-misusing-funds.html

    Liked by 1 person

  32. “Attention, Deep State: You Are Headed For A Shellacking Come November—The Trump Train’s Momentum Cannot Be Stopped”
    PAUL INGRASSIA
    JAN 30, 2024

    (Alex Soros says Davos wrong to think Trump win is a done deal)

    EXCERPT: “President Donald Trump heads into February’s South Carolina primary in a formidable position – the strongest ever in his political career. Following Iowa’s near-clean sweep, in which the 45th President picked up 98 of 99 counties in the Hawkeye State (and the one county he lost by just a single vote), he routed the New Hampshire primary with a double-digit victory, once again winning all but a single county in the Granite State.

    The momentum he carried into New Hampshire was so resounding that it forced Florida Governor, once hyped as President Trump’s successor not so long ago, to drop out of the race days before the first official vote was even tallied. The New Hampshire result, which saw Trump thrash Haley with a 54% to 43% margin, would have been wider but for all the former-Democrats-turned-undecideds in the state, who teamed up with left-leaning independents to artificially tilt the scales towards Haley. Thus, to the extent Haley put up any numbers on the board, it was because of her reliance on left-leaning voters, many of whom would otherwise not vote for her in a general election matchup against Biden (or whoever the Democratic nominee will be come November).

    This is confirmed by several features on cable news in which these voters outright admitted their participation in the New Hampshire primary was merely a protest vote against Trump, and they otherwise would never vote for a Republican in any race in which a Democrat was also on the ballot. Given that fact, it further underlines the significance of the New Hampshire victory, while also serving as a necessary reminder of the fraud and corruption that still exists in our elections.
    —————-
    Americans have long been known for their dynamism and freedom-loving instincts. At least, that was the case for most every other generation up until our own. The outcome of this year’s presidential election will ultimately come down to whether that instinct, however diminished, still exists or whether Americans, so browbeaten by the deep state into licensing their great replacement by perfidious foreign ideologies, customs, and invaders, no longer meaningfully exist.
    ——————-
    NF: This is from the NRCC! Sign it and you will start getting the donation requests…I will anyway – they need to know this is what we want!

    https://bit.ly/4aSNDhS
    ——————-
    Ultimately, their nefarious, freedom-denying playbook will not stand. The reason is simple: Americans from coast to coast cherish their sacred liberties and will fight for their freedoms to the end. While Donald John Trump is the avatar for that national renewal, the movement he spearheaded will long outlast him and, in that respect, transcend any single man or woman. If the enemies of the American experiment and its hallowed Constitution attempt to bring him down, the enemies of that project will have only signed their death warrant, for such occurrence would convert the oppressed sheeple into ravenous lions, who, like their forefathers, will fight to their graves so that they might remain free.”

    Long article: https://paulingrassia.substack.com/p/attention-deep-state-you-are-headed

    Liked by 1 person

  33. “The Missouri GOP War on The Freedom Caucus & MAGA”
    AMANDA MORRISON
    JAN 30, 2024

    EXCERPT: “The Uni-party wing of the GOP, funded and controlled by leftist billionaires are once again being rallied to undermine the true Republican agenda. Freedom Caucus members in the House and Senate are now being targeted by the ‘RINO Brigade’ at a state level.

    The Republican Civil War within the Missouri Senate has seen some interesting developments over the past couple of days. For several years, the top priority of the House and Senate there has been Initiative Petition (IP) Reform. IP Reform is a tool to prevent leftist dark money groups from passing state constitutional amendments that promote trans issues in kids and abortion.

    Initiative Petition Reform is a critical issue and leaders from both chambers have stated a commitment to stopping out of state ‘dark money’ from far-left groups that are attempting to hijack broken IP processes in an effort to further their leftist policies. These attempts at IP Reform have been repeatedly attacked using lies cloaked in deceptive and misleading language.

    At the bottom of this article you will find the office contact info for the Missouri Senate RINO brigade. Call them and let them know what you think. Also check out this link to our interviews with Freedom Caucus heroes Holly Jones and Bill Eigel:
    https://tomrenz.substack.com/p/why-is-the-missouri-gop-attacking
    What’s Happening:

    Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, who’s PAC is funded by far-left pro-abortion money – has stripped several members of the Missouri Freedom Caucus from chairmanships of committees in an ongoing battle for operational control and declares he was acting against “a small group of swamp creatures.”

    “The beginning of the 2024 legislative session in the Senate has been nothing short of an embarrassment. A chamber designed to be occupied with civil, principled statesmen and women has been overtaken by a small group of swamp creatures, who all too often remind me more of my children than my colleagues.”

    (Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia)

    Rowden, a Columbia Republican with a CPAC American Conservative Union (ACU) score of just 69% is also running for Secretary of State. His voting record shows he votes liberal on major policy issues including his refusal to protect women’s sports, election integrity & absentee ballots, taxes and DEI initiatives just to name a few.

    He claims he was forced to act after caucus members tied up the Senate for 11 hours on Thursday in an unsuccessful attempt to force action on bills making it harder to pass an initiative petition. Eigel and five members of the Freedom Caucus have filibustered almost every day since the session began on Jan. 3.

    The action toward members of the newly formed Freedom Caucus stripped committee positions, parking spaces, funding to pay staff – and allegedly, there were even discussions about confiscating their office furniture. Those stripped of their committee chairmanships are:….”

    https://tomrenz.substack.com/p/the-missouri-gop-war-on-the-freedom

    Liked by 1 person

  34. “The Left’s Lawfare Will Destroy American Democracy: Government of the people, by the people, for the people has become government of the lawyer, by the lawyer, for the lawyer – and in New York, that recipe now threatens to destroy the nation.”
    PAUL INGRASSIA
    JAN 30, 2024

    EXCERPT: “The idea that a rogue judge can exploit a rarely-used statute intended to prosecute real-life cases of fraud in order to bring down the leading presidential candidate should outrage all Americans, regardless of party affiliation. New York’s anti-fraud statute in question, Executive Law 63(12), will be front and center in Judge Engoron’s decision this week.

    The statute is one of the most severe anti-fraud statutes in the country because it notably does not require a showing of intent to deceive to prove fraud. That said, however, the few instances of case law on the books since the late 1950s, when the statute was first adopted, show how courts have interpreted the statute.

    In every single case save one, courts have only ever found fraud where actual victims suffered from provable harms as a result of the fraud. (The lone exception was a business that wrote college admissions essays for students, in which the victim was “the integrity of the educational process.”)

    In the Trump case, by sharp contrast, not only were there no victims – there was no fraud. This is most blatantly seen by the fact that Trump’s lender, Deutsch Bank, never so much as complained – let alone, even noticed – that it had been defrauded of the asserted $168 million that Letitia James absolutely insists it had lost in an otherwise very profitable business relationship with the Trump organization.

    No matter how rich and powerful the lending organization, any bank that was supposedly defrauded nearly two hundred million dollars would notice and would have brought a lawsuit years before Letitia James developed a savior complex for big banks…..”

    https://paulingrassia.substack.com/p/the-lefts-lawfare-will-destroy-american

    Liked by 1 person

  35. “‘There are only two genders!’ Bayer Leverkusen fined €18,000 for ‘discriminatory’ supporters’ banner: A huge banner unrolled by fans of the German football club displayed the slogan, “There are many styles of music but only two genders”
    January 30, 2024
    editor: REMIX NEWS author: THOMAS BROOKE

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Bayer Leverkusen has been fined €18,000 by the German Football Association’s (DFB) sports court after its supporters unfurled a banner that stated there are only two genders — a move deemed to be discriminatory against the LGBT community.

    The Bundesliga club was indicted by the DFB for “discriminatory, unsportsmanlike behavior on the part of its supporters” for the incident that occurred during the team’s away match against Werder Bremen on Nov. 25 last year. A huge banner unrolled by fans displayed the slogan, “There are many styles of music but only two genders.” The financial penalty was imposed in a ruling by a single judge who ruled that €6,000 of the fine could be used to fund “preventative measures against discrimination.”

    The club and the DFB have agreed to the judgment, which is now legally binding. Julian Reichelt, the former editor of Germany’s largest tabloid Bild, slammed the judgment and claimed the banner “simply states the basic biological fact of our existence. The spirit of our institutions is being eaten away by an ideological virus,” he added.

    Conservative commentator Anabel Schunke said the judgment was indicative of Germany entering “peak madhouse.” Bayer Leverkusen remains undefeated in the Bundesliga so far this year and sits top of the table after 19 games played. The club has never won the German top flight but has finished runner-up five times, more than any other team never to have won the title.”

    Liked by 1 person

  36. “Hungary, Ukraine attempt to mend fences: A meeting between Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán and President Volodymyr Zelensky is now looking more possible”
    January 30, 2024
    editor: REMIX NEWS author: MAGYAR HÍRLAP

    (Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. (Facebook)

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Encouraging steps have been taken toward restoring a climate of trust between Hungary and Ukraine, but there is still a long way to go and a lot of work will be needed, which Hungary is ready to do, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Uzhhorod on Monday after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.

    At the meeting, Szijjártó presented a list of 11 Hungarian requests, chief among them being the restoration of the Hungarian ethnic minority’s schooling and language rights. “I would like to quickly state at the outset that the government of Hungary has never asked for any rights for the Hungarians of Transcarpathia that did not exist before 2015,” he said in the video.

    At a press conference after the talks, Ukrainian diplomatic chief Kuleba called the restoration of good neighborly relations a common interest, the “Carpathian True Word” (Kárpáti Igaz Szó) reported. He said that the situation of national minorities is not a simple issue and has been a topic for a very long time, which is why it was discussed most at the meeting. They would like to settle this contentious issue properly from both sides.

    Kuleba also stated that a steering working group will be set up, which will have 10 days to find solutions to finalize the minority issues. This is to be settled at the inter-governmental committee level. Szijjártó reminded that Hungary has received more than 1 million refugees from Ukraine, more than 5,000 Ukrainian children attend Hungarian schools, and about half a million families in Ukraine have received Hungarian humanitarian aid.

    Szijjártó also asked his Ukrainian counterpart to maintain the current reliable gas transport route and to ensure fair operating conditions for Hungarian companies. It was said at the meeting that the parties had moved closer to an Orbán-Zelensky meeting, which would turn a new page in the history of the two countries.”

    Liked by 1 person

  37. “Illinois election board allows Trump to remain on ballot, appeal expected”
    By Madeleine Hubbard
    Published: January 30, 2024 12:29pm
    JustTheNews

    “Former President Donald Trump will remain on the Illinois Republican primary ballot, per a state election board decision Tuesday, although the matter is likely to be appealed.

    In a bipartisan 7-1 vote, the Illinois State Board of Elections dismissed the challenge to Trump’s eligibility, per multiple reports. The state panel determined that it did not have the jurisdiction to make a decision on the 14th Amendment argument invoked against Trump’s candidacy.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. you know what?
      i don’t give a rat’s ass about the or last one there you posted…
      CA did this to themselves–allowing looting and shoplifting under a $1,000.
      and i’m convinced the nfl is today’s roller derby and professional wrestling all in one

      Liked by 1 person

  47. Hmmmm….???

    “Sen. Joe Manchin’s Wife Hospitalized Following Car Crash During Business Trip”

    ENTIRE ARTICLE @ whatpsuptoday: “Sen. Joe Manchin’s wife, Gayle Conelly Manchin, has been hospitalized and is in “stable condition” following a car crash, according to the West Virginia lawmaker. “On Monday, my wife Gayle and her colleague Guy Land were involved in a car accident on the way from the airport to the hotel in Birmingham, Alabama for an Appalachian Regional Commission event that was planned for today,” Manchin announced in a statement issued Tuesday morning.

    In its own statement, ARC elaborated that “another vehicle struck their car” while they were driving to attend a grant workshop. Sen. Manchin said that both Gayle and Land were admitted to a local hospital where they are receiving “excellent care,” adding, “[Gayle] remains in stable condition but will stay there for a couple of days for precautionary measures.”

    Gayle, 76, is the former first lady of West Virginia, who later served as president of the West Virginia Board of Education and as the state’s secretary of education and the arts under Republican Gov. Jim Justice. She is currently the federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

    Sen. Manchin has been in the news recently for mulling a possible third-party presidential run after making a surprise announcement in November that he wouldn’t seek reelection to the U.S. Senate. Manchin is a rare Democrat elected to represent a deeply conservative state, and his retirement from Congress effectively hands his Senate seat to the Republican Party.

    In November, the outgoing senator said he was “having a hard time” with his plans for the future, telling reporters during an event in Charleston: “The two-party system, unless it changes, will be the downfall of our country,” the Associated Press reported.

    In January, when asked again if he would consider joining a third-party ticket, Manchin suggested that he needs to see how the primary elections play out first. “If there’s going to be an option or a need for an option, you’ll find out by [Super Tuesday],” he told reporters. “By March, you’re going to have pretty much a lay of the land and what you’re going to have and what you’re going to be offered.”

    Manchin was the governor of West Virginia from 2005 until 2010, when he was elected to the Senate in a special election. His tenure in Congress has courted controversy among fellow Democrats, as he’s repeatedly blocked the party’s agenda to appease his conservative voter base.”

    Liked by 1 person

  48. NF: I’m really torn on this subject – fantastic news for the handicapped that it can help but it’s a two-sided coin. Kind of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. It all boils down to WHO is doing the controlling…????

    ENTIRE ARTICLE from StrangeSounds: “Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of the neurotechnology company Neuralink, has said the first human received an implant from the brain-chip startup and is recovering well. The surgery is not a surprise: the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given the company clearance in September to carry out the first trial of its implant on humans.

    “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection,” Musk said in a post on X on Monday, a day after the chip was implanted. Spikes are activity by neurons, which the National Institute of Health describes as cells that use electrical and chemical signals to send information around the brain and to the body. Musk did not provide further details.

    In follow-up tweets sent in between arguing about video games and bantering with far-right influencers, the businessman said the first Neuralink product was called Telepathy. ”It enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking,” he wrote. “Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs. Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”

    Musk has a long history of bold promises but a spottier record of fulfilling them. In 2016, he wrongly predicted that within two years it would be possible for a Tesla to drive autonomously from New York to Los Angeles. That year he said his SpaceX rocket company would fly to Mars in 2018 – it still has not.

    In 2017, Musk suggested Neuralink’s first product would be on the market “in about four years.” However, Tuesday’s news was a “significant milestone” towards that goal, said Anne Vanhoestenberghe, a professor of active implantable medical devices at King’s College London. “For the brain-computer interface community, we must place this news in the context that while there are many companies working on exciting products, there are only a few other companies who have implanted their devices in humans, so Neuralink has joined a rather small group,” she added.

    “I expect Neuralink will want to give the participant time to recover before they start training their system with the participant. We know Elon Musk is very adept at generating publicity for his company, so we may expect announcements as soon as they begin testing, although true success in my mind should be evaluated in the long-term, by how stable the interface is over time, and how much it benefits the participant.”

    The startup’s study, Prime, is a trial for its wireless brain-computer interface to evaluate the safety of the implant and surgical robot. Researchers will assess the functionality of the interface, which enables people with quadriplegia to control devices with their thoughts, according to the company’s website. Neuralink and Musk did not immediately respond to a request for further details.

    Musk replied to a crypto influencer on X who quoted him as saying the company would “help in restoration of eyesight” to add that Blindsight was another product Neuralink was working on. Reuters reported this month that Neuralink was fined for violating US Department of Transportation (DoT) rules regarding the movement of hazardous materials. During inspections of the company’s facilities in Texas and California in February 2023, DoT investigators found the company had failed to register itself as a transporter of hazardous material, the agency’s records show.

    They also found improper packaging of hazardous waste, including Xylene, a flammable liquid that can cause headaches, dizziness, confusion, loss of muscle coordination and death, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Neuralink received FDA clearance last year for its first trial to test the company’s implant in humans, a critical milestone for the startup. Reuters reported in June that the company was valued as high as $5bn, based on private stock trades.

    Neuralink announced the implant trial in September. The company said during the study a robot developed by the company would surgically place the implants’ “ultra-fine” threads that helped transmit signals in participants’ brains.”

    Liked by 1 person

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