One Exquisite Moment + ‘Speakeasy’ Reminder
Please be sure to have one exquisite moment daily, and mark your calendar for our ‘Speakeasy’ this Sunday, May 21, with Monique Camarra <3
In the back of a blackened Hollywood bar, hanging out with its owners, publicists, and a photog, on assignment, at home in a world far away from the political suck, I am asked what else I do.
In these situations I’m usually the one asking the questions, but I answer. I am proud of this magazine, I am proud of my work with the Byline crew, and I am very proud of my podcast. I feel a warm audience - the publicist who asked me about me used to work in politics, so she knows the suck.
I tell them my podcast partner is being sued by Michael Flynn, and she said, “So you’ve made the big time!”
I tell her, yes, we have made the big time.
‘One Exquisite Moment’
A member of the Bette community was kind enough to compile quotes of inspiration for our community, which I will share with you soon.
But here is a preview, a quote from Audrey Hepburn:
“I believe every day, you should have at least one exquisite moment.”
It is my hope your day was filled with many exquisite moments, and I am writing this tonight as a new mantra for our community. Do let’s hold each other accountable for at least one exquisite moment a day. We had a lovely hour of togetherness at Bette’s Happy Hour yesterday, where we were able to surround a member with love on a day that she needed it. So happy we have formed this kind community.
I have documented many exquisite moments today. Among them, this morning’s birdsong began at 1:55 am - full throated. More than three hours earlier than usual. And I just lay there in bed grateful for things with wings. Aren’t we lucky to share a planet with exquisite creatures that can fly…
I dozed off and woke up to my sister calling me from NorCal. Her husband has Alzheimer’s - he is young, and it’s a tragedy - but she told me she felt so grateful, because they shared a great love, and she knows that is a rare thing. He’d gone missing for a few hours, and the police deployed drones to find him, and I am so damn relieved he is safe.
Later in the evening, in Hollywood, I was sitting in a back porch of an exquisite bar conducting an interview with some scene stars. I like not taking pictures in those moments - I like the exquisiteness of the memory in my mind’s eye - the colors, the smiles, the easy vibes. I like being a veteran reporter recognized for the value of my experiences and ability to stick my deadline landing.
But the most exquisite moment of my day was when I learned Erik Prince had been indicted in Austria for trafficking arms to Libya for the same Libyan warlord who has the same attorneys as Michael Flynn, who is using those very same attorneys who represent Libyan warlords that Erik Prince may go to prison for trafficking arms to sue Jim. Forgive my shite grammar, but when you’re in the crosshairs of these gangsters, it’s nice to see them being exposed for the truly terrible people we know them to be and have investigative receipts for.
These creeps are trying to remake the world order with Putin the head of the hydra, and I’m just not having it.
You might recall that Donald Jessica Trump committed pardon fraud when he pardoned Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, and four of Erik Prince’s Blackwater mercenaries who were jailed for massacring Iraqi civilians.
As I tweeted today, now that Prince has been indicted for arms trafficking, we are only days away from CNN reputation washing him with his own town hall.
It did give me an opportunity to repurpose old tweet threads that document Prince’s nefarious role in Trump-Russia, and then I was reminded that any time the law started closing in on Dana Rohrabacher’s old intern, some lovely network chippy would be sure to give him an hour of ‘ah shucks’ boyish face time.
As I wrote today, when the network chippy who interviewed a pervy criminal in a crowd friendly town hall last week got a promotion:
“The normalization warriors are central to the fascist creep.”-Jason Stanley
It is becoming more and more apparent to all that the media is engaged in the cover up of truth. Smh.
So, as we look around for evidence of reality, indictments of boss level creeps are exquisite examples of evidence of the rule of law holding on, as is the rebuke of fascism yesterday in heated races in Florida, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. Keep it going… As David Pepper taught us, we get one good day, and then it’s back in the trenches.
As you know, I rarely leave the trenches and today I took an hour to listen to RadPod’s interview with Pekka Kallioniemi, the creator of ‘Vatnik Soup’.
If you haven’t watched the RadPod breaker, please do. It’s exquisite in its metalness. Pekka is metal.
That brings me to our ‘Speakeasy’ reminder for this Sunday, May 21, at 4 pm PT - we are going to be discussing all kinds of global shakedowns with geopolitical analyst Monique Camarra, whose daily EuroFile reports are vital to our understanding of developments in the war in Ukraine and Italy’s ‘soft fascism.’
In her work, Monique has been hyper focused on Russian capture, influence and information warfare in Italy and Europe, and how it affects geopolitical and security issues (kinetic-non-kinetic warfare) on the old Continent. She is also an instructor at the Department of Communication at the University of Siena.
She is co-host of Kremlin File and EuroFile@6 podcasts, with her accompanying Substack - EuroFile. I scan every report and cannot believe how much I have learned about Russia’s gaslighting techniques and the incredible spirit and will of the Ukrainian people. Monique curates stories, reports, and op-eds from throughout Europe to offer a wide breadth of knowledge.
Please join us on Sunday at 4 pm PT for an hour with Monique. If you are not yet a paid member, please sign up here:
Now, god willing and the creek don’t rise, I am going to have more exquisite moments by finally watching a pair of Jean Paul Belmondo films.
Stay kind, stay focused, say loud.
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Bette Dangerous is a reader-funded magazine. Thank you to all monthly, annual, and founding members. Thank you as well to all those who support my work with your generous coffee tips and who buy my ebooks. A private link to an annual membership discount for activists and members of the media is available upon request.
Two big thank yous: thank you to all my friends who have supported Bette community member Jason Van Tatenhove’s gofundme. Jason - who testified to the January 6 Committee about violent extremism - lost his wife this week, and all your kind donations are helping to offset funeral costs. In addition, thank you to the Bette community members who have been donating to Jim Stewartson’s donorbox to help with legal fees to fight the lawsuit that Mike Flynn brought against Jim. We are extremely grateful.
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More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.
The next Bette Dangerous ‘Speakeasy’ Zoom for paid members is Sunday, May 21, 4 pm PT, featuring geopolitical analyst Monique Camarra, cohost of Kremlin File and WTF podcast, as well as the daily EuroFile Report. Monique will update us on Italy’s ‘Soft Fascism’ and the Ukraine war, which she documents daily. Registration link will be sent on Saturday.
Paid members will also receive invites to our new weekly Bette’s Happy Hour, a wellness checkin every Tuesday.
Thank you to everyone - you have no idea how grateful I am for all your monthly and annual memberships and all your additional support. You know who you are💘🥹.
(Ducks on a pond for my mom)
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“I say a silent prayer of thanksgiving as I walk upon the earth.”-Audrey Peterman.
“May the viral hope for truth and humanity wash away the chaos of these years.”-S.C., Bette community member
“Something Sacred never dies in almost all of us, that can hear the invitation of Truth…”-words from a Bette Dangerous community member
“Nothing but blue skies from now on…”-Irving Berlin
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(Pekka with the RadPod crew)
