The House GOP leadership spent $40,000 on brand-new congressional lapel pins for each of its members.
Every two years, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and the six non-voting members, get new congressional pins which are a security measure.
Ever since 1975, the U.S. Capitol Police have been recognizing members by those pins since they serve as a memento of their time on Capitol Hill.
Spouses and family members are allowed to get similar, though not identical, pins to identify them.
“It’s a thing,” Rep. Sean Casten (D-Illinois) told HuffPost. “It’s a memento for members and spouses.”
Even though House lawmakers received new pins in 2023, they were still given new ones on January 10.
Democrats were fast in publicly calling out Republicans for wasteful spending.
“Every Congressional session we get a new pin – it’s our ID on the floor for the next 2 years,” Casten wrote on X. “Today we’re getting a new pin,...
Every two years, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and the six non-voting members, get new congressional pins which are a security measure.
Ever since 1975, the U.S. Capitol Police have been recognizing members by those pins since they serve as a memento of their time on Capitol Hill.
Spouses and family members are allowed to get similar, though not identical, pins to identify them.
“It’s a thing,” Rep. Sean Casten (D-Illinois) told HuffPost. “It’s a memento for members and spouses.”
Even though House lawmakers received new pins in 2023, they were still given new ones on January 10.
Democrats were fast in publicly calling out Republicans for wasteful spending.
“Every Congressional session we get a new pin – it’s our ID on the floor for the next 2 years,” Casten wrote on X. “Today we’re getting a new pin,...
- 2/6/2024
- by Alessio Atria
- Uinterview
When you come across a newsworthy item that strikes your creative fancy and feeds the instinct to turn it into some sort of screenplay is that you are not the only supplicant sipping from this particular muse's font. Jack Abramoff himself would fully appreciate this, both as an unsuccessful Hollywood screenwriter/producer and as a functionally-intellectual piece of human shit. If an idea is good, someone else is probably going to have it, and so you're gonna have to be the first to the finish line with the finished product, or else you're going to be considered derivative and lesser than. A Bug's Life trumped Antz, Dante's Peak edged out Volcano, Capote outcapoted Infamous, Armageddon aerosmithed Deep Impact, Tombstone made Wyatt Earp its huckleberry -- the streets of Hollywood are paved with the corpses of lesser flicks that were released within months of similar tales. Alex Gibney, who has been...
- 12/22/2010
- by Brian Prisco
“Washington is like Hollywood, only without the pretty faces.” This, according to Kevin Spacey’s idealistic, wise-cracking super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff on the two-faced, backstabbing nature of capitol hill.
In 2006, Abramoff, who, by many accounts, was one of the most powerful men in Washington, pled guilty to defrauding four American Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars, and to illegal dealings with SunCruz Casinos. His indictment led to a widespread corruption investigation that resulted in the convictions of top White House officials, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and Congressional aides, shaking the right-wing establishment to its core. And George Hickenlooper’s “Casino Jack” aims to tell the tale.
Spacey charges into the role full force, attacking the essence and nuances of his character with all the voracity and gusto with which Abramoff himself laid waste to the idea of ethics in politics. After twice winning Hollywood’s most coveted acting award,...
In 2006, Abramoff, who, by many accounts, was one of the most powerful men in Washington, pled guilty to defrauding four American Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars, and to illegal dealings with SunCruz Casinos. His indictment led to a widespread corruption investigation that resulted in the convictions of top White House officials, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and Congressional aides, shaking the right-wing establishment to its core. And George Hickenlooper’s “Casino Jack” aims to tell the tale.
Spacey charges into the role full force, attacking the essence and nuances of his character with all the voracity and gusto with which Abramoff himself laid waste to the idea of ethics in politics. After twice winning Hollywood’s most coveted acting award,...
- 12/22/2010
- by Eric M. Armstrong
- The Moving Arts Journal
A look at what's new on DVD today:
"Afterschool" (2009)
Directed by Antonio Campos
Released by Mpi Home Video
Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, Campos' polarizing debut stars Ezra Miller as a high schooler whose Av club assignment leads him to capture the drug-induced deaths of two of his popular prep school classmates. [Sam Adams' review of the film is here.]
"All Men Are Brothers" (1975) and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms" (1978)
Directed by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma/Chang Cheh
Released by Well Go USA
Well Go USA do long-suffering American kung fu fans a solid and finally release "All Men Are Brothers," the sequel to the Shaw Brothers' epic "Seven Blows of the Dragon" (a.k.a. "Water Margin") featuring David Chiang and Chen Kuan-tai as warriors battling against the tyranny of despots, and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms," which pits Shaw brothers favorites' the Venom Mob against the master that crippled them.
"Afterschool" (2009)
Directed by Antonio Campos
Released by Mpi Home Video
Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, Campos' polarizing debut stars Ezra Miller as a high schooler whose Av club assignment leads him to capture the drug-induced deaths of two of his popular prep school classmates. [Sam Adams' review of the film is here.]
"All Men Are Brothers" (1975) and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms" (1978)
Directed by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma/Chang Cheh
Released by Well Go USA
Well Go USA do long-suffering American kung fu fans a solid and finally release "All Men Are Brothers," the sequel to the Shaw Brothers' epic "Seven Blows of the Dragon" (a.k.a. "Water Margin") featuring David Chiang and Chen Kuan-tai as warriors battling against the tyranny of despots, and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms," which pits Shaw brothers favorites' the Venom Mob against the master that crippled them.
- 9/8/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Chicago – Following our rave review this week of the new documentary “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” and following our Hookup this week with 50 free advance-screening passes to the film in Chicago, we’ve secured even more!
We now have two “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” full-size posters signed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney as well as six DVDs to these additional Magnolia titles: “Man on Wire,” “Food, Inc.” and “Jesus Camp”.
“Casino Jack and the United States of Money” from Alex Gibney features Stanley Tucci, Paul Rudd, Jack Abramoff, William Branner, Tom DeLay, Donn Dunlop, Kevin Henderson, Hal Kreitman, Kelly Brian Kuhn, Paolo Mugnaini, Bob Ney, Ralph Reed, Michael Scanlon and Neil Volz. The film opened in Chicago on May 14, 2010.
To win your free DVD or poster courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is answer a question in this Web-based submission form.
We now have two “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” full-size posters signed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney as well as six DVDs to these additional Magnolia titles: “Man on Wire,” “Food, Inc.” and “Jesus Camp”.
“Casino Jack and the United States of Money” from Alex Gibney features Stanley Tucci, Paul Rudd, Jack Abramoff, William Branner, Tom DeLay, Donn Dunlop, Kevin Henderson, Hal Kreitman, Kelly Brian Kuhn, Paolo Mugnaini, Bob Ney, Ralph Reed, Michael Scanlon and Neil Volz. The film opened in Chicago on May 14, 2010.
To win your free DVD or poster courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is answer a question in this Web-based submission form.
- 5/15/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Chicago – There’s a memorable moment in “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” in which one of director Alex Gibney’s interview subjects compares an Enron press conference to the musical sequence in “Chicago,” where a slickly manipulative lawyer has all of the city’s reporters on marionette strings.
I couldn’t help being reminded of another catchy “Chicago” show tune while watching Gibney’s latest so-infuriating-it’s-entertaining documentary, “Casino Jack and the United States of Money.” It’s the song belted out by Matron Mama Morton, who boasts, “Ask any of the chickies in my pen/They’ll tell you I’m the biggest mother hen/I love ‘em all and all of them love me/Because the system works, the system called/Re-ci-pro-ci-ty.” I suggest that Gibney find a place for this number on his director’s cut. These lyrics succinctly describe the mentality of former megalobbyist Jack Abramoff,...
Chicago – There’s a memorable moment in “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” in which one of director Alex Gibney’s interview subjects compares an Enron press conference to the musical sequence in “Chicago,” where a slickly manipulative lawyer has all of the city’s reporters on marionette strings.
I couldn’t help being reminded of another catchy “Chicago” show tune while watching Gibney’s latest so-infuriating-it’s-entertaining documentary, “Casino Jack and the United States of Money.” It’s the song belted out by Matron Mama Morton, who boasts, “Ask any of the chickies in my pen/They’ll tell you I’m the biggest mother hen/I love ‘em all and all of them love me/Because the system works, the system called/Re-ci-pro-ci-ty.” I suggest that Gibney find a place for this number on his director’s cut. These lyrics succinctly describe the mentality of former megalobbyist Jack Abramoff,...
- 5/14/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Yes, we're excited to see "Iron Man 2," "Inception" and God help us, "Predators." But what we're really looking forward to spending a few hours in the company of an undertaking Bill Murray ("Get Low"), an Italian-speaking Tilda Swinton ("I Am Love") and a toga-wearing Rachel Weisz ("Agora") in the comfort of air-conditioned theater over the next three months. (Either that or we'll be enjoying them from the comfort of home online, on demand or on DVD.)
There are no less than 114 independently produced movies arriving in theaters this summer to compete with the big studio blockbusters and we've compiled this helpful guide that covers all of them. Yet realizing that the latest arthouse and foreign fare is subject to changing dates, particularly if you don't live in Los Angeles or New York, we've also included links to follow the films on Twitter, Facebook and release schedules where available, so...
There are no less than 114 independently produced movies arriving in theaters this summer to compete with the big studio blockbusters and we've compiled this helpful guide that covers all of them. Yet realizing that the latest arthouse and foreign fare is subject to changing dates, particularly if you don't live in Los Angeles or New York, we've also included links to follow the films on Twitter, Facebook and release schedules where available, so...
- 5/11/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Chicago – In our latest documentary edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” from Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney!
The film features Stanley Tucci, Paul Rudd, Jack Abramoff, William Branner, Tom DeLay, Donn Dunlop, Kevin Henderson, Hal Kreitman, Kelly Brian Kuhn, Paolo Mugnaini, Bob Ney, Ralph Reed, Michael Scanlon and Neil Volz. “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” opens in Chicago on May 14, 2010.
To win your free pass to the advance Chicago screening of “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question below. That’s it! This screening is on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in Chicago. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.
The movie poster for “Casino Jack and the United States of Money...
The film features Stanley Tucci, Paul Rudd, Jack Abramoff, William Branner, Tom DeLay, Donn Dunlop, Kevin Henderson, Hal Kreitman, Kelly Brian Kuhn, Paolo Mugnaini, Bob Ney, Ralph Reed, Michael Scanlon and Neil Volz. “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” opens in Chicago on May 14, 2010.
To win your free pass to the advance Chicago screening of “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question below. That’s it! This screening is on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in Chicago. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.
The movie poster for “Casino Jack and the United States of Money...
- 5/11/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
Directed by: Alex Gibney
Cast: Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay
Running Time: 2 hrs
Rating: R
Release Date: May 7, 2010
Plot: A documentary about lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the many scams he took part in while hobnobbing with the top members of Congress. From the director of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.
Who’S It For?: This isn’t just for political junkies, but for anyone who’s interested in receiving a thorough education on a complicated but very real villain. Those who are politically inclined should be prepared to watch Tom DeLay and others get their names dragged through the mud, and then some.
Expectations: Going in, I knew little about this film, and not so much about Abramoff.
Scorecard (0-10)
Talking: The talking heads are balanced with politicians and the authors who may have written about them. Nina Easton, author of “Gang of Five,...
Directed by: Alex Gibney
Cast: Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay
Running Time: 2 hrs
Rating: R
Release Date: May 7, 2010
Plot: A documentary about lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the many scams he took part in while hobnobbing with the top members of Congress. From the director of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.
Who’S It For?: This isn’t just for political junkies, but for anyone who’s interested in receiving a thorough education on a complicated but very real villain. Those who are politically inclined should be prepared to watch Tom DeLay and others get their names dragged through the mud, and then some.
Expectations: Going in, I knew little about this film, and not so much about Abramoff.
Scorecard (0-10)
Talking: The talking heads are balanced with politicians and the authors who may have written about them. Nina Easton, author of “Gang of Five,...
- 5/7/2010
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Jack Abramoff as seen in Casino Jack and the United States of Money
Photo: Magnolia Pictures When it comes to documentaries dealing with corporate and political misdeeds they seem to run together. Someone did something bad, it involves a lot of different people, exploitation and arrogance was involved, there's a paper trail or voice mails or both and justice in one way or another was served while others were let off the hook. They are also extraordinarily infuriating and depressing. Alex Gibney's Casino Jack and the United States of America is no different and feels very much like his 2005 doc, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. For as competent as Casino Jack is, it ends with text telling us where each member of the scandal is now and as most often is the case, the punishment never seems to fit the crime.
I don't wade deep into the financial and political news sector.
Photo: Magnolia Pictures When it comes to documentaries dealing with corporate and political misdeeds they seem to run together. Someone did something bad, it involves a lot of different people, exploitation and arrogance was involved, there's a paper trail or voice mails or both and justice in one way or another was served while others were let off the hook. They are also extraordinarily infuriating and depressing. Alex Gibney's Casino Jack and the United States of America is no different and feels very much like his 2005 doc, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. For as competent as Casino Jack is, it ends with text telling us where each member of the scandal is now and as most often is the case, the punishment never seems to fit the crime.
I don't wade deep into the financial and political news sector.
- 5/7/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Let’s get this out of the way up front: Casino Jack and the United States of Money is an argument for campaign finance reform. In director Alex Gibney's documentary, we meet characters who subscribe to the free market approach; they believe those who can afford to spread the wealth around the United States capitol are entitled to the influence those funds can gain. The film tries to enrage us by showing how this is common practice, and how it was taken to an extreme during the late '90s and '00s. However, Casino Jack doesn’t try to paint one man or group as the problem, but shows it’s the whole campaign finance system that‘s flawed.
As was the case in Gibney’s Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, his latest shines a light on intelligent men who made fortunes through unsavory practices and fell from grace.
As was the case in Gibney’s Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, his latest shines a light on intelligent men who made fortunes through unsavory practices and fell from grace.
- 5/6/2010
- CinemaSpy
I added several new trailers over the course of the week and for those of you that don't frequent the homepage, the trailer page or keep an eye on the latest trailers added to the site at the bottom of every single page, I have included seven of those trailers in this one post... just for your viewing pleasure. Have at it.
Splice
Superstar genetic engineers Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) specialize in splicing together DNA from different animals to create incredible new hybrids. Now they want to use human DNA in a hybrid that could revolutionize science and medicine. But when the pharmaceutical company that funds their research forbids it, Clive and Elsa secretly conduct their own experiments. The result is Dren, an amazing, strangely beautiful creature of uncommon intelligence and an array of unexpected physical developments. And though, at first, Dren exceeds their wildest dreams, she...
Splice
Superstar genetic engineers Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) specialize in splicing together DNA from different animals to create incredible new hybrids. Now they want to use human DNA in a hybrid that could revolutionize science and medicine. But when the pharmaceutical company that funds their research forbids it, Clive and Elsa secretly conduct their own experiments. The result is Dren, an amazing, strangely beautiful creature of uncommon intelligence and an array of unexpected physical developments. And though, at first, Dren exceeds their wildest dreams, she...
- 4/3/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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