Steven

Passionate musicologist and fan of the writings of John Fowles.

[Steven @Centimest]

I absolutely love this moment from The Newsroom.

You will probably find that I refer to it from time to time — and not just in relation to politics. And not simply because of the differences between Republican and Democrat policies in 2026.

For me, this TV moment, goes beyond that.

It references history; the struggles, the ideals, and the difficult process of progress itself — the recognition that progress is rarely smooth, and that better societies are shaped through argument, education, sacrifice, and perseverance.

In the movie: Inherit the Wind, Spencer Tracy speaks about “the price of progress.” Aaron Sorkin and Jeff Daniels make a very similar argument here.

An argument for reason; For the value of education.
For questioning certainty rather than blindly accepting it.

Different stories.
Similar ideals.

https://t.co/QJddGgyBlN

[Steven @Centimest]

Well then!

Apparently the real danger to America wasn't sovereign wealth funds or uranium policy.

It was watercolours!! 🤣

[Hunter Biden @HunterBiden]

We are supposedly at war to stop Iran from enriching the uranium we “obliterated” over a year ago.

Yesterday we signed a deal to help Saudi Arabia enrich uranium.

The first time the United States has ever helped another country enrich uranium on foreign soil.

The Saudis refused the inspection protocol 140 other countries accept. Too intrusive, they said.

Trump agreed. He signed a national security waiver to get around the rule.

The Saudis paid Kushner $100 million. They put $2 billion into his firm. They put another $6 billion into LIV Golf, which pays Trump properties to host its tournaments. They signed ten billion dollars in Trump-branded real estate deals in Jeddah and Riyadh. All in just the last few years.

But sure. My paintings.

[Steven @Centimest]

Supporting an independent press isn't about defending any particular newspaper or journalist. It's about defending the principle that those with power should never be the ones deciding what the public is allowed to know.

[National Press Club @PressClubDC]

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 23 — National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. released the following statement:

[Steven @Centimest]

that really is the difference between both men. This one has done the honourable thing whilst the other……

[Reggie B. @reggiebblue]

Hunter Biden: "My dad getting out after the debate was a singular act of political courage. I don't know of anybody that willingly relinquished power. Did my dad lose his step, yeah he did. Did he lose his step mentally, no he didn't. You wanna talk about the hypocrisy. The hypocrisy of the daily instances of Donald Trump doing something that is verifiably moronic."

[Reggie B. @reggiebblue]

Hunter Biden: "In a four year period coming out of a pandemic, my dad created more jobs than any other president. He cut child poverty in half. He passed more legislation than any president since LBJ. He expanded NATO. He stood up to Putin. He added two countries to NATO.

All of those things are lost in the mix of the insanity of what's now -- the chaos, falsehood and insanity. A UFC fight on the lawn of the WH, painting the Reflecting Pool blue, 3700 trades in February, building a tower in Abu Dhabi, Trump Tower in Saudi Arabia, and we're gonna turn Gaza into a golf course.

I don't know of any president that's just as a human being is as a good a man as my dad."

[Steven @Centimest]

Even more:

In 2003, George W. Bush was president, Barack Obama was an Illinois state senator, and America invaded Iraq—not Iran.

Apart from the president, the country, and the basic chronology, Karoline absolutely nailed it.

[Captain Obvious™️ @TheFungi669]

Karoline Leavitt: “When President Barack Hussein Obama bombed Iran in 2003 and made gas prices skyrocket, no one said a word about it.”

[Steven @Centimest]

I’m old enough to remember when presidents were held responsible for wars that happened while they were president.

[Captain Obvious™️ @TheFungi669]

Karoline Leavitt: “Kamala Harris got us into this reckless war with Iran and President Trump will get us out of it.”

[Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko]

Actually, I can give you a very simple and comprehensive explanation of what lies at the heart of the current major political crisis and the protests against the dismissal of defense minister Fedorov in Ukraine.

The reason is that Fedorov's brief time in office, together with the impressive successes of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the air and at sea, gave the Ukrainian people one thing above all else: HOPE.

Hope that this horrific war, with its appalling sacrifices and monumental heroism, might end in something far better than, at best, the bitter and humiliating "peace" for heroic Ukraine that would certainly be nothing more than a short respite before an even greater nightmare.

It is the hope that good will ultimately triumph over evil, that life will overcome death and light will overcome the dark, that justice truly exists in this world, and that the great vile evil embodied by fascist Russia will be punished for its crimes.

And who knows how history may yet unfold -- perhaps that hope will one day lead us back home, to Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol, Melitopol, Berdyansk, or Crimea, so treacherously stolen from us.

And hope is a tremendous force.

I strongly advise no one to stand in the way of Ukrainians who have finally seen a light at the end of the tunnel of darkness and a source of genuine good hope.

[Steven @Centimest]

@glenn_tunes BREAKING NEWS: Millions of Americans suddenly erased from existence after RFK Jr. discovers hereditary infertility works by preventing your own birth.

[Steven @Centimest]

BREAKING NEWS: Millions of Americans suddenly erased from existence after RFK Jr. discovers hereditary infertility works by preventing your own birth.

[Glenn Tunes @glenn_tunes]

RFK MAY HAVE SAID ONE OF THE DUMBEST THINGS I HAVE EVER HEARD 🙄 "INFERTILITY IS GENETIC, IF YOUR PARENTS COULDN'T HAVE KIDS THEN YOU WONT EITHER" 🤦 AND HE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR AMERICAS HEALTHCARE 🙄

[Steven @Centimest]

So pleased that Tarantino persisted.

[Gangster Cinema Central @GangsterCinema]

When Tarantino was casting Pulp Fiction, the script had so much heat on it in Hollywood, even Daniel Day-Lewis wanted to play Vincent Vega. But Tarantino was adamant the role had to go to John Travolta, despite the studios seeing him as washed up. Tarantino explains…

“Absolutely nobody in the studio wanted John Travolta. And not only that, but it was also considered a really hot script at that time. When he was turning everything down, Daniel Day-Lewis expressed interest in playing Vincent.

I like Daniel Day-Lewis —but I really wanted John. I had my heart set on him. And it's one thing to want the guy who's out of fashion when nobody else wants him, right? But when there's actually a hot guy who you can actually get, and you want to go with the guy from Barbarino? — Yes, I want the guy from Barbarino, I’m sorry...

I was just kind of tough on it, in so far as — they really wanted to do the movie, and I just said, "look, I want to go this way, and if you don't agree that this is the way to go, then maybe we shouldn't make this movie together. Maybe I should make it with somebody else."

It wasn't a take-it-or-leave-it kind of situation, right. It's like, "look, I think he's a terrific actor. I think what you should do is you should watch him in Brian De Palma's Blow Out, and if you don't think he's a terrific actor after that, then maybe we should talk about whether we should do this movie together."

...But also, aside from just that, there was this aspect: John Travolta is a movie star. Just because everyone in Hollywood had forgotten about it just shows how dumb they are.

I actually walked down the street with John Travolta at his lowest ebb, in pre-production of the movie, and people would lose their minds when they saw him. We'd walk into a regular restaurant and we had to leave. Tourists in Hollywood would see him and just lose their minds.

People were dying to see him in something worth watching. It's just stupid Hollywood didn't realize it.”

Quote comes from Quentin Tarantino's appearance on the Opie and Anthony Show, 12-13-2012

[Steven @Centimest]

This is a brief but accurate portrait of a true star.

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

When Charles Chaplin finally made enough money, he took his mother, Hannah, out of a mental hospital in London and moved her into a beautiful villa in California.

He hoped that after a lifetime of suffering, she could finally find some peace. But reality was much more painful than he expected. Sometimes, Hannah did not even recognize her own son.

Other times, she would hide pieces of bread wrapped in paper inside her shoes. It was a heartbreaking habit from her past, a reminder of the days when finding food was a daily struggle.

Even though they were rich now, the trauma of poverty never truly left her.

Charlie Chaplin’s life did not start with Hollywood glamour. It started in the poorest streets of London. Born in 1889, his childhood was a nightmare of financial ruin.

His father was an alcoholic who abandoned the family early on. His mother tried her best to raise her boys while her mental health slowly collapsed. There was often no food in the house, and on some nights, they did not even have a safe place to sleep.

Before the fame, there was only hunger.

At just five years old, Charlie had to step onto a theater stage to perform. It was not because he wanted to be famous, but because his family desperately needed the money to survive.

Childhood ended before it even began, replaced by hard work and heavy responsibilities. Soon after, things got even worse. Charlie and his brother were sent to a workhouse for the poor. The misery he experienced there stayed with him forever.

Then came 1913, the year that changed everything. Charlie moved to the United States and started working in the movie industry. During one film production, a director told him to put on a funny costume and improvise.

Charlie walked into the dressing room and picked out random clothes without any real plan: oversized pants, a tight jacket, shoes that were way too big, a bowler hat, and a bamboo cane. He added a small mustache to make himself look older.

That was the moment the Tramp was born.

The Tramp became one of the most famous faces in human history. But Charlie did not just use him for cheap laughs. Through his movies, he showed the world the reality of poverty, loneliness, and social injustice.

People laughed at his clumsy movements, but behind the humor, Charlie was showing his own painful past.

In 1940, he made "The Great Dictator." For the first time, he spoke on screen, delivering a powerful speech against war and hatred. He famously said,

"We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery."

It was a brave stand against fascism, but it came with a heavy price.

During the 1950s, the US government accused him of having communist sympathies. He was watched, criticized, and eventually forced to leave the country.

He moved to Switzerland, banned from the land that made him a star. It took nearly twenty years for America to forgive him. In 1972, he returned to receive an honorary Academy Award.

When he walked on stage, the audience gave him a twelve-minute standing ovation, the longest in Oscar history.

Charlie Chaplin passed away on Christmas Day in 1977 at the age of 88. He never forgot where he came from.

Every bit of hunger, sadness, and hope he felt as a poor boy in London was poured into his art.

The Tramp was never just a funny character; he was a symbol of human resilience, proving that even when the world is cruel, a little bit of kindness and laughter can save your soul.

[Steven @Centimest]

Remember FDR?

[Acyn @Acyn]

Watters: We used to win landslide elections in this country. Remember Nixon? Remember Reagan? 49 out of the 50 states? All of a sudden we bring in this foreign born population, Democrats are all of a sudden competitive. They didn't change how persuasive they were. They just imported everybody that lived outside of the country. That’s why they want them here.

[Jeff Timmer @jefftimmer]

Fun Fact: The President of the goddam United States paid nearly $6 million in damages today to a woman he raped. Once upon a time, this would have been the only news you heard.

[Steven @Centimest]

@sarrah_bellus Eloquence isn't speaking the loudest; it's making a compelling case so calmly that the audience follows each step without noticing they've arrived at the conclusion. That's what impressed me most here.

[Love Music @khnh80044]

After this performance the band did an interview saying this was the best performance they have ever done. Just this song. Everyone was on cue. Perfect. Not a note missed by anyone. Pitch. Tone. Timing. All perfect. They said they never performed this good ever before. And you can clearly tell.❤️🎶
Fleetwood Mac – Everywhere

[Steven @Centimest]

@HunterBiden This is both a eulogy and a statement of political hope. The closing line—"Because I believe in an America after Trump". Great words.

[Steven @Centimest]

Loving it!

[Ultras Clips @ultras_clips]

🚨🇳🇴 The Vikings have taken over Miami Beach 🚣

[Steven @Centimest]

this is a very pessimistic outlook; unfortunately it also seems to be pretty accurate

[𝔗𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔐𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 @politicsusa46]

We listen to political commentators and pundits talk about politics and the state of the nation, but nothing beats the heartfelt words of a constituent challenging their elected representative face to face at a town hall.

Meet Fred Higginbotham resident of Bolivar, Missouri who took time out his day to tell Republican Mark Alford EXACTLY what he thinks about what this regime are doing to the country he loves.

I don’t know Fred, but if I had to guess, I’d say he is a man who has served his country and is clearly not shy to speak truth to power. I salute him for his willingness to tell the uncomfortable truth.

🎥 TikTok - https://t.co/L8hkkeYgXj