January 2012
5 posts
5 tags
5 tags
3 tags
“I know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better. Jobs....”
– Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) in the video she posted announcing she is stepping down from Congress this week.
6 tags
“I defy you to find anything like a quorum, anything like even enough people to...”
– Today’s White House Quote of the Day comes from Jay Carney who was answering a “process” question about the Richard Cordray appointment.
December 2011
4 posts
7 tags
“This is an issue where an overwhelming number of people in both parties agree. ...”
– Today’s White House Quote of the Day is from President Barack Obama who was speaking about the pay roll tax holiday extension.
4 tags
“The issue right now is this: The clock is ticking; time is running out. And if...”
– President Obama during his surprise appearance at the White House Briefing today. #quoteoftheday?
3 tags
5 tags
“Well, if I had a crystal ball, I would have predicted that Denver would go on...”
– White House Press Secretary Jay Carney talking about how the pay roll tax cut extension debate will play out during the gaggle on AF1 this morning.
April 2011
2 posts
“This is not even a plan. This was a speech. This was a plan to have a bunch of...”
– Paul Ryan channeling Aaron Sorkin when responding to President Obama’s fiscal speech earlier today.
4 tags
Do Overs. Sequels. Toy Story
From Carrie Dann and Shawna Thomas, both people who can’t resist a chance to relate politics to pop culture:
______________________________________
The White House’s foes have taken pains to describe today’s remarks by President Barack Obama’s remarks as a “redo” or a “do-over” by a leader under mounting pressure to more squarely address the nation’s deficit.
They’ve even gone a little...
December 2010
1 post
1 tag
Just a spoonful of nutella...
Barry: hey beautiful
Shawna: how are you?
Barry: tired. crazy night last night
Shawna: did you drive to WV at 11p to play hold 'em for 6 hours?
Barry: is that what you did? i just had a spoonful of nutella
August 2010
2 posts
5 tags
GTMO End of Day Hot Note
Note: At NBC News we have something called the hot file where we file update news stories throughout the day that the entire news division has access to. I easily get 100-200 hot notes a day. Here’s what I filed at the end of Omar Khadr’s hearing today:
Judge Pat Parish denied the defense’s motion to suppress the Omar Khadr “bombmaking ” video found at the sight...
FREEDOM FRIES
me: They FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
M: wow
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
FRENCH FRIES!
me: FREEDOM FRIES MICHAEL
M: I mean FREEDOM FRIES!
god I'm doomed
July 2010
3 posts
For Chris. Putting it out there on the interwebs...
HSPVA changed my life. I had known about PVA for what seemed like FOREVER and in my head it was this shining beacon of not-normalcy. When I got there I didn’t think I was as cool as the cool kids, but for the first time since hitting the awkward adolescent-teenageness, I felt I was in the right place. And it’s there, in that right place, that I met Chris. I didn’t like Chris at first. I don’t...
Me: ok. i have to edit this
i want to get it done in 2 hours
so i can pretend to care about soccer
one more time
Matthew: DO IT BIRTHDAY LADY
um
Me: before putting that away in a box for four years
Matthew: I CARE ABOUT SOCCER
Me: ok
Matthew: and it is FUTBOL
Me: maybe that's why boys want to fuck you
who knows
you speak spanish
Matthew: with a castillian lips, no less
Me: lips and lisp hopefully
id like some castillian lips
Matthew: hahahahahahahaha
HAHAHA
destroyed
i am
hilarity
bison
i have to go do laundry
Me: Laughing. Outloud.
I'm ok with my irrational love of vampires.
David:
I will take a tall Erik anyday
Even a Bill Compton I woudn't kick out of bed
Shawna:
i just finished the second season of true blood
David:
SO GOOD
Shawna:
all i want to do is have that skarsgard's babies
ALL I WANT
David:
Those children would be too tall for humanity
Shawna:
they'd be perfect
David:
All of your babies will be perfect
Shawna:
and id get to have sex with that erik
David:
You know he's not a vampire in real life, right?
Shawna:
whatever
June 2010
5 posts
The way things are →
2 tags
Sandwiches
G: hey there
have you figured out what boys want?
i was thinking "who are my resources?"
Me: sandwiches
G: and I certainly can't go to a man
sigh
Me: they want sandwiches
G: i hate boys
me: yeah
me too
G: sex and sandwiches?
or just sandwiches
Me: well
I think they'd like sex
G: or am i supposed to MAKE the sandwich
or just procure one
Me: i think a homemade sandwich is a nice touch.
but even if you just procured a subway sandwich
they'd probs be pretty satisfied
G: i'll remember that next time
1 tag
So there's this thing, on my head.
A fellow producer at work has asked me multiple times if I’ve seen the Chris Rock documentary, Good Hair. I haven’t. Please don’t revoke my black card. I’ve heard about it. It seems like a movie I should want to see. However, I haven’t made the effort to see it yet. And it struck me tonight as I looked at my chosen hairstyle for the last few days that I probably...
MY BIRTHDAY
me: yeah. she has snooty face
kinda like **** ******
Matthew: funny
me: im full of laughs
speaking of
my birthday
what shall i do for it
i have to start thinking
we're like a month away now
Matthew: we werent speaking of your birthday
me: hmmm
in my head I was
Shawna:
Alex Livingston FTW
Alex:
ftw?
Shawna, damn it, this is HOW I AM!!!
Shawna:
JFGI alex JFGI
Alex:
Just fucking get in?
Shawna:
well, i suppose that works, but i would never say that to you
also not what that stands for
Alex:
Jungle fever going ipswich
i've got to look it up now
oh wow, that's FUCKING IRONIC
Shawna:
LOL
Alex:
wow
wow
Shawna:
I can not stop laughing
May 2010
8 posts
"I don't need my cousins seeing all that"
me: I'm listening to this new xtina album
i dont know how i feel
Ben: and you're telling me this because you want the gay opinion?!?
me: no
I'm gay male enough
my opinions are pretty much on par with gay males
Ben: haha yeah i'd have to agree with that
i didn't know she had a new album. what's it like?
me: she's trying to be gaga
sort of
Ben: gross
she's better than that
me:
i watched it and thought
1. gaga
2. i saw this video 13 years ago and it was by madonna and it was called Human Nature
Ben: haha
you're gayer than i am
i don't think i even know that song
me: REALLY?
THAT SONG IS AMAZING
and the video is even more amazing
Ben: heh...i'm gonna have to wait until my boss ISN'T interviewing candidates for store manager
Ben: yeah totally don't know that song
but the video is hot
me: Wow
i need to give you a lesson in gayness
im taking your homocard away
Ben: i had butt sex with my boyfriend last night
and i went to a sia concert a few weeks ago
and i walked in the AIDS Walk
and i'm playing in a musical
me: LOL
can i post this convo to my facebook wall?
Ben: yeah sure, but don't tag me in it
i don't need my cousins seeing all that
“Flight changes, you know, are the first signs that one is being held…...”
– Valerie Patricia von Knobelsdorf Cerven
3 tags
It was kind of like camp, you know, till it...
In between the hearings and waiting to see if Khadr would show up to court or not, being at GTMO has weirdly been like being at camp. I mean it’s a camp where you are escorted almost everywhere you go by members of the military and driven on white school busses to the McDonalds, but still, camp. There are flashlights and tents and mosquitoes and men in uniform.
However, GTMO lost it’s decidedly...
4 tags
The Tale of the Tape
Newest Entry: The Tale of the Tape
FBI Agent Robert Fuller, the first witness in Omar Khadr’s hearing who began his testimony on Wednesday, finally concluded it on Friday. Fuller is one of the FBI agents who interrogated Khadr in Bagram before he was brought to Guantanamo Bay in October of 2002.
During his testimony the prosecution played the video of Omar Khadr allegedly making a bomb...
“It is very very strange to think that your alternatives were going to a party...”
– MSNBC PR Representative
April 2010
1 post
3 tags
Glimpse of GTMO
SMALL GLIMPSE INSIDE GUANTANAMO BAY
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/29/2289691.aspx
Posted: Thursday, April 29, 2010 2:09 PM Filed Under: On Assignment
By Shawna Thomas, NBC News Producer
Shawna Thomas is an NBC News producer on assignment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to cover a pre-trial military commission hearing for Omar Khadr.
Khadr is a Canadian citizen who is accused of...
February 2010
4 posts
4 tags
Business Cards and HCR
As I walked up to the bureau this morning, I saw Debbie Wasserman Schultz answering questions at the cameras that waited outside. Schultz was on Meet the Press this morning and there’s usually a small stakout outside of the bureaus or locations of all the Sunday morning shows. The idea is, if you can get the guest to say the same thing in front of your camera that they said on the show,...
4 tags
Too Old to be news
This is what I wrote a couple of days ago about the DNC Winter Meeting. I’m posting it here less for you to read and more to remind myself to post writeups here so this awesome tumblr address doesn’t go to waste. Also, I find it odd that tumblr thinks the word tumblr is misspelled.
______________________________________________________________________
On Day Two of the DNC Winter...
4 tags
Sometimes it's not enough to be a producer
My friend and colleague Hilary sent this email about her time in Haiti to a bunch of us at work. Please read it and then consider helping:
___________________________________________________________________
Hey guys….
As some of you may know, I just got back from Haiti. I was sent down the day after the earthquake, and stayed in Port au Prince for over two weeks. It was a life-changing...
3 tags
Don't Ask Don't Tell Numbers
Something to think about:
Total U.S. military discharges under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell since 1997 FISCAL YEAR TOTAL MALE FEMALE 1997 997 773 224 1998 1145 828 317 1999 1034 718 316 2000 1212 921 291 2001 1227 854 373 2002 885 636 249 2003 770 516 254 2004 653 437 ...
January 2010
4 posts
4 tags
Ni Hao Kai-Lan
Speaking of television, now that I live in a house with a three-soon-to-be-four-year old, all of the DVRs are set to record his favorite shows at all hours of the day. Children’s television isn’t something I give a lot of thought to, because it is SUPER-ANNOYING. (Why don’t you have hair Cailou? WHERE IS YOUR HAIR? Do you have cancer Cailou? Is that part of the lesson?) I...
4 tags
Arrested on the Capitol Steps in ORANGE JUMPSUITS
A group of about 30 protesters, who are part of the group Witness Against Torture, were arrested on the steps of the Capitol after unfurling three banners that said “Broken Promises. Broken Laws. Broken Lives.”
Witness Against Torture is an organization who opposes torture and is calling for the U.S. facility in Guantanamo to be closed. Members have been fasting since January 11th...
4 tags
For What the Bell Tolls? Health Care Reform
Speaker Pelosi pledged to go forward with health care reform, but her newser this morning suggested that there was not a clear plan on how to do this. She was fittingly interrupted by the tolling of a clock in the room, making it audibly clear that she was short on time when it came to health care. Even if she kept repeating that they are not in a rush.
The Speaker almost completely ruled out...
4 tags
DC's Version of Hollywood
The glamorous gate crashers, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, flashbulbed their way in front of the House Committee on Homeland Security. They were subpoenaed to answer questions about attending the November 24th White House State Dinner.
The Salahi’s released a statement before the hearing, making it clear that they were going to “respectfully invoke” their right to remain silent...
November 2009
3 posts
Blacks hit hard by economy's punch →
These days, 24-year-old Delonta Spriggs spends much of his time cooped up in his mother’s one-bedroom apartment in Southwest Washington, the TV blaring soap operas hour after hour, trying to stay out…
Improv Everywhere: I Love Lunch! The Musical →
For our latest mission, seven undercover agents staged a spontaneous musical during lunch at the Trump Tower atrium. The mission was filmed for a segment on The Today Show and includes a cameo from…
J'Accuse
Jeremy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_affair
Jeremy: Relevant mostly because it's the context for the underused expression of moral outrage "J'Accuse."
me: Is this information contained in cartoon and song form anywhere like School House Rock?
I enjoy when inanimate objects burst into song to teach me a historical lesson.
Jeremy: I think that, like Fraggle Buchenwald, the Muppets do Dreyfus was never broadcast.
October 2009
9 posts
WatchAnd sometimes I get to go to Alaska and make web video while Ziplining in a rain forest. (This is the short piece, so watch this one.)
WatchSometimes I get to go to Alaska and make web video.
4 tags
Drunk on Wine Coolers is the name of my new band
Sam: btw do u watch glee?
Shawna: ummm
DO I WATCH GLEE? Sam Sam Samir
that's like asking a fish does it swim
Sam: bc i said to fran...
Shawna: or a kangaroo if it likes to box
Sam: it's like a show based on your friends conversations after beer
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Shawna: or Roman Polanski if he likes little girls
Sam: ewww
Shawna: yes, when i watch it with the DC friends, Sometimes Evan turns to us and says
it's like y'all wrote a show
and didn't tell me
Chicago News Director Explains Use of Teen Beating... →
From Al’s Morning Meeting: Chicago News Director Explains Use of Teen Beating Video
"Good Hair" on the TV News Set →
Few women Go “Natural” on America’s Anchor TeamsSpokesmen for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CNN told Journal-isms that there are no guidelines preventing black women from wearing their hair in natural…
The great ruse
David: Have you heard of The Ruse?
me: like when you thought you were straight?
David: You are SO funny
me: wow. Ironic use of italics
Oh Father of Lies
me: i want to fit in williamsburg, not look like im going to church
Joseph: yes
i mean you dont even go to church or love baby jesus. why would you want to look like you are a god fearing christian?
me: exactly
satan is my friend
Joseph: i so knew that
me: yes, he's also your friend on facebook
Joseph: he is, but i hide his updates. he is update happy
he's always talking about taking over the world this, taking over the world that
it gets annoying
me: the father of lies is like that
Joseph: true
but you cant defriend him
he'll know as soon as you do it
so you just got to live with it
He's Actually British?
Jonathan: but I mean
I only have so much patience for the engagement of the week
Although I liked the double entendre of echo's engagement being an engagement and marriage
albeit to a horribly british-accented Apollo
me: ummm
HE'S BRITISH IN REAL LIFE
Jonathan: he's actually british?
I don't care