ThePoliticsBar

Second Round - Trump's Failed Executive Branch

Trumponomics Is Failing

National Insecurity

War On Good Govt.

Third Round - Battles On Capitol Hill

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Monumental Bullsh**

Corruption Land

A Question Of Judgment

Wins for America

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Rest In Peace

Media Matters

Movies, Music, & More

Sports Entertainment

Your Bar Regulars Tonight

Our friends Karen from Chicago, & Anita From San Antonio, co-hosts of Tru Blu Politics (and on Patreon too) are back in the bar tonight, to talk about another crazy busy week of news. From election returns, to Congressional fights, from Platner to Pulte, there’s been a lot of news that’s happened this week. We’ll recap most of it. Plus, we’ll talk about The Tru Blu Politics daily podcast at Resistance Journal too. Grab a drink & join us this evening!

Join us today, on any of our radio affiliates, or subscribe and listen ad-free anytime!

DOTD For Friday, June 5, 2026

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:15:30 GMT

Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Bananavardier Cocktail or Mocktail, inspired by the formal introduction of bananas to the U.S. on this date, June 5, 1876.

The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia, Horticultural Hall, 1876. (Photo by Prisma/UIG/Getty Images)

Extra, Extra, Get Your New Banana!

Among the many new & unique attractions at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 were… the bananas. Wrapped in foil and sold for a dime each, they were a novelty for many Americans who had never seen them before.

Yes, Spanish and Portuguese colonists brought banana shoots from the Canary Islands and West Africa to the Caribbean and South America in the early 1500s. But most Americans in the continental U.S. had never seen or tasted them. So the Philly Exposition was really the first introduction of bananas to most of the Unites States.

In the decades that followed the Exposition, the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was responsible for introducing many more Americans to the fruit, promoting the banana in their literature, and distributing them throughout the country.

The story of the UFC begins in 1871, when cattle rancher Minor C. Keith first planted bananas alongside the tracks of the national railroad in Costa Rica. By the 1880s, Keith was the dominant banana trader in Central America. In the same decade, Lorenzo Dow Baker founded Boston Fruit, the first company to import bananas into the U.S. Keith’s enterprise merged with Boston Fruit in 1899 to create the United Fruit Company.

During the next decade, United Fruit Company’s Great White Fleet, painted white to reflect the intense sun, carried bananas from Central America to the U.S. An increasing number of refrigerated train cars pushed bananas further inland, to places they had never gone before.

Beginning in the early 20^th century, the United Fruit Company promoted the banana in a series of pamphlets and ads, taking it from a little-known novelty to a household staple. At the heart of their campaign was an endorsement of the fruit’s healthy properties. During the 1920s, the United Fruit Company hired doctors to extol the nutritional virtues of the fruit. In 1939, they offered free textbooks—decidedly pro-banana—to schoolchildren.

The Academy Library has a number of historical pamphlets produced by the United Fruit Company and its distribution arm, The Fruit Dispatch Company. Here, we offer a selection of images from that collection:

Cover of “The Food Value of the Banana,” 1928.

The cover of the fourth edition of “The Food Value of the Banana,” published in 1928, features a rosy-cheeked and radiant little boy, banana in hand.

In 1917 the United Fruit Company published “The Food Value of the Banana,” a collection of 15 opinion pieces touting the virtues of the banana as a nutritious snack. “Points about Bananas” concluded the volume.

The United Fruit Company’s test kitchens reported in 1924 that bananas with corn flakes and milk made the best breakfast for families. The company’s subsequent publications emphasized that bananas were powerfully healthy, especially for the very young.

“The Food Value of the Banana,” 1928, back cover.

The back cover of the same 1928 pamphlet explains the ideal time to consume a banana, and how it can be eaten in each phase of ripeness. Most bananas cycle from green to yellow to yellow with brown spots in seven days.

Cover of “Serve Bananas in ‘Latest Style,’” 1940.

The Fruit Dispatch Company published “Serve Bananas in ‘Latest Style’” in 1940 to introduce new banana recipes to American households. Recipes included “ham banana rolls with cheese sauce” and “banana fritters” as well as a “banana sweet potato casserole.” We’re charmed by the lady banana with the Elizabethan collar waving her napkin. She predates the United Fruit Company’s Chiquita Banana by four years.

From “Nutritive and Therapeutic Values of the Banana,” 1941.

1941 was a busy year for the UFC’s presses. Here, a chart from the second addendum to “Nutritive and Therapeutic Values of the Banana,” an annotated bibliography of recent research devoted to the fruit. The forward tells us that the banana pictured is a Gros Michel, or “Big Mike” banana, imported to the U.S. since the late 1890s. The “Big Mike” was larger, with a sturdier peel, and anecdotally more flavorful. By 1960 “Big Mikes” had been almost entirely eradicated by Panama disease. On American tables it was replaced by the Cavendish.

From “Bananas…How to Serve Them,” 1941.

This inset from “Bananas…How to Serve Them” (1941) illustrates the health benefits of bananas at every age. We learn that the Dionne quintuplets (b. 1934), the earliest quints to survive their infancy, ate bananas. Bananas are a “training table favorite” for athletes, and they appeal to the elderly as well because they are easy to chew and digest.

From “Chiquita Banana’s Cookbook,” 1960, page 2.

Inspired by Carmen Miranda’s character in Busby Berkeley’s The Gang’s All Here, United Fruit Company introduced Chiquita Banana in 1944 (Miranda herself was frequently called, “chiquita” in her films). Dik Brown, creator of Hagar the Horrible, drew the first Chiquita; advertising execs composed her famous song. Here, a 1960 iteration of Chiquita graces “Chiquita Banana’s Cookbook.”

“Chiquita Banana’s Cookbook,” 1960, pages 4-5.

“Chiquita Banana’s Cookbook,” 1960, pages 6-7

“Chiquita Banana’s Cookbook” offers an adorable banana bunny and a banana skillet breakfast, as well as new recipes for shakes. “Drink a banana and feel better for it,” says Chiquita, and we believe her because she’s wearing that amazing hat.

Bananas are highly nutritious, convenient superfoods packed with essential nutrients like potassium, vitamin B6, and dietary fiber. They offer practical health benefits, including enhanced digestive health, improved workout recovery, and better blood pressure regulation - and they’re a great way to celebrate, in moderation, in a cocktail like today’s Drink Of The Day, a Bananavardier Cocktail or Mocktail.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:

Truth Will Outlast Lies

ThePoliticsBar — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 23:30:57 GMT

There’s no foolin’ in today’s “News On Tap” - unless you think Republicans in Congress are actually going to step away from Trump. We’ll talk about today’s ‘Republican Revolt’ (which it really wasn’t) & more with our friend John Fugelsang tonight. Grab a drink & join us!

News On Tap For Thursday, June 4, 2026

ThePoliticsBar — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:05:04 GMT

There’s no foolin’ in today’s “News On Tap” - unless you think Republicans in Congress are actually going to step away from Trump. We’ve got the details on Trump’s continued messy war in Iran, and how Democrats are finally getting a few Repubs to help them try to stop the war. The cracks are showing in Congress on more than just the war, even as our national security isn’t secure at all. Meanwhile, Trump’s executive branch is failing badly - so he’s insulting Kaitlan Collins, of course We’ve also got Music & Sports news, and John Fugelsang will be back in the bar tonight to talk about all of it with us.Read up, get informed, and we’ll see you here tonight.

First Round - Trump's Middle East Mess

Trouble Over There

Trouble Over Here

Second Round - Rumblings On The Hill

Cracks Are Showing

National Insecurity

Third Round - A Failing Executive

Trumponomics Is Failing

Trump’s War On Good Govt.

Immigration Wars

Corruption Land

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Polls & Politics

The Trumpstein Files

Miscellaneous But Important

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

Movies, TV, & Music

Sports Entertainment

Tonight’s Bar Regular:

John Fugelsang, our friend, broadcaster, podcaster, Substacker, comedian, Host of “Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang” weeknights on Sirius XM & author of the bestselling book “Separation of Church and Hate” is back tonight! We’ll talk about Republican in Congress and their steps away from Trump, Trump’s misogyny to Kaitlan Collins, and other topics in today’s News On Tap. Plus, John’s got some live shows coming up too, that we’ll tell you about tonight. Join us!

Join us today, on any of our radio affiliates, or subscribe and listen ad-free anytime!

DOTD For Thursday, June 4, 2026

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:15:58 GMT

Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Lion’s Tail cocktail inspired by National Hug Your Cat Day. It’s a real holiday!

History of National Hug Your Cat Day

For thousands of years, cats and humans have been getting along by building close, symbiotic relationships.

Cats were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, a region encompassing modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. By 3500 BCE, cats had demonstrated their worth to farmers by regulating pests such as rodents, and establishing a mutually beneficial partnership.

Ancient Egyptians paid homage to cats with grand ceremonies and even built specialized cat cemeteries with thousands of mummified felines somewhere around 3000 BCE. While cats may not quite be worshipped today, they continue to be seen as by many as symbols of grace and poise.

In 1979, The International Cat Association (TICA) was founded to promote global appreciation of cats through genetic research and education.

Although, the exact date is unknown, National Hug Your Cat Day began being celebrated some time in the 1980s with the aim to increase warm interactions - and adoptions - between people and cats. The holiday was celebrated officially for the first time in 1986 by members of TICA. To celebrate the holiday they gave workshops on how to adopt, how to take care of cats, and how to recognize common domestic cat behaviors. They also held some of the first known cat hugging contests.

This holiday quickly gained popularity in other countries, and many countries began observing it to promote adoption of homeless cats by 1990.

National Hug Your Cat Day is one of those pleasingly straightforward holidays where the name says it all. The intention is not for the day to be complicated or over-thought, but just to go with what comes naturally!

Embrace your little bundle of furry joy and take some time to appreciate them. Of course, if they don’t want to be hugged, you may need some Band-Aids.

How To Celebrate National Hug Your Cat Day

The most important thing you can do on this holiday is to hug your cat, or any cat you know well enough to hug it.

While a cat owner may love his or her cat immensely, it’s easy to forget to show a furry friend how much love there is to go around when you’re managing a busy schedule and family. It’s best to start by petting the cat softly and having it warm up before going in for a hug. Be gentle and approachable, so the cat is more likely to welcome the embrace.

Of course, there are some other ways you can celebrate this unique holiday.

• Volunteer with a Shelter

Shelters are always looking for help and assistance. They also need responsible people to adopt available pets.

Therefore, consider volunteering time at a local shelter or adopting a cat to celebrate National Hug Your Cat Day.

Not everyone has a kitty at home to hug, but these shelters are filled with cats that need a little extra attention on this day. Be there to help the cats find homes and to give them a few extra snuggles while at the shelter.

• Enjoy Some Cat Photos & Videos Online

It’s also a good excuse for a pet owner to take pictures of the cat that’s always been by his or her side. Share these photos on social media and with friends and family to express the love that the cat is receiving.

It may also be fun to print out some favorites and create a photo album with them to review later on. One can never take too many pictures of a pet or cat, so now is a chance to go wild.

Be glad to know that those who suffer from allergies need not be left out of this holiday either. These people can watch cute and funny cat videos on YouTube as a way to participate in the festivities!

• Host a Cat Hugging Party

Today’s holiday is also a good excuse to host a party. Human parties are fun, but cat parties are even better! Call up some friends and family members and gather together as pet owners and cat lovers to celebrate the day.

Make sure everyone is equipped with treats and prepared to dish out plenty of hugs during the party. It’ll be a blast to have best friends and best cats to come together as a group to celebrate and enjoy the day.

Reasons to Love National Hug Your Cat Day

There are many reasons to love National Hug Your Cat Day. Kitties deserve only the best from owners and humans in general.

Cats are there to provide unconditional love through thick and thin, regardless of the circumstances. The day is an excellent reminder to give cats some extra TLC and thank them for their friendship and loyalty. There’s no better time to snuggle with a cat and give them a few extra scratches they will love.

Hugging and spending time with a cat offers many health benefits as well. Snuggling with a cat is naturally a pleasant experience and can improve and elevate an owner’s psychological state. Furry friends and pets can alleviate negative moods and put a smile on one’s face.

Feeling calmer is good for a person’s cardiovascular system and will have long-term health benefits that shouldn’t be ignored. Not only can they decrease stress levels, but someone who hugs and spends time with cats may also find their blood pressure readings to improve over time.

Quite simply, it is a day in which cat owners everywhere are encouraged to hug their cats. It’s an opportunity to give back to all the cats in the world and shower them with love and attention.

The more dedicated amongst them will not need this encouragement, of course, but it’s always good to be reminded of our feline friends!

Facts About Cats You May Not Have Known

• Cats May Have Technically Domesticated Themselves

Genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that cats were not actively domesticated by humans in the way dogs were, but instead gravitated toward early farming settlements where grain stores attracted rodents, favoring bolder wildcats that tolerated people.

Over thousands of years, this self-selecting relationship led to today’s domestic cats, which remain genetically very close to their wild ancestors while still showing many of the behaviors of solitary hunters.

• Cat Purring Occupies a Unique Frequency Range

Domestic cats typically purr in a frequency range of about 25 to 150 hertz, which overlaps with vibration frequencies that have been studied for their potential to promote bone density and soft tissue healing in various animals.

While the exact purpose of purring is not fully understood, this frequency overlap has led some researchers to suggest that purring could function partly as a self-maintenance behavior that supports a cat’s physical recovery after exertion or injury.

• Shelter Cats Often Benefit From Gentle Human Contact

Behavioral research in animal shelters has found that short daily sessions of calm petting and soft talking can lower stress levels in cats that are temporarily living in shelters, reducing their fearful behaviors and increasing sociability toward people.

In addition to improving day‑to‑day welfare, these interactions have been linked with better immune responses and may help make cats more adoptable by allowing their normal personalities to emerge despite the challenges of the shelter environment.

• Living With Cats Has Been Linked to Reduced Heart Disease Risk

An analysis of data from the long‑running U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I study found that people who had ever owned a cat were significantly less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, than those who never owned one, even after adjusting for major risk factors.

The researchers proposed that the stress‑reducing effects of interacting with cats, such as quiet companionship and tactile contact, might contribute to this association, though they cautioned that the findings do not prove cause and effect.

• Cats Use Scent and Body Language for Social Bonding

Cats rely heavily on scent and body language to reinforce social bonds, often rubbing their cheeks or bodies against a favored person or companion animal to deposit facial pheromones that signal familiarity and safety.

Another common behavior, “kneading” with the paws while relaxed on a lap or soft surface, is thought to originate from kittenhood nursing and is widely interpreted as a sign of comfort and affiliative intent toward the social partner.

However you choose to celebrate National Hug Your Cat Day, we think you should at least have a drink. So join us in celebrating with today’s Drink Of The Day, a Lion’s Tail cocktail

Ingredients

Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:

Things You Didn't Know

ThePoliticsBar — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 23:31:26 GMT

Tonight, the discussion from today’s news is all about elections & the war over democracy - but we need some laughs too. Which is why we've got the perfect guests coming to the bar tonight, Cheri Jacobus & Bob Cesca! Grab a drink & join us!

News On Tap For Wednesday, June 3, 2026

ThePoliticsBar — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:57:53 GMT

The favor of today’s “News On Tap” is all about democracy - elections, law, free speech, and the war over democracy. We start with out Election Returns recap, and we have the news on the traitorous treasonous Supreme Court 6 & their attack on democracy last night. Meanwhile, Trump & his minions are still failing with Iran & other foreign affairs, as Trumponomics continues failing, and Trump’s Dept. of Injustice lumbers on. We’ve also got Media & Entertainment updates too. And a couple of our friends, who are perfect for tonight’s discussions are joining us too - political strategist Cheri Jacobus & bar regular Bob Cesca! Read up, get informed, and we’ll see you here tonight!

First Round - Election Land

Election Returns

The War Over Democracy

Second Round - Foreign Affairs

Trump’s Middle East Mess

Other Foreign Affairs

Third Round - Failed Republican Government

Trumponomics Is Failing

The Fight On Capital Hill

Dept. Of Injustice

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

The Insurrectionist Slush Fund Isn’t Dead

When They Show You Who They Are

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Rest In Peace

Peabo Bryson, Veteran R&B Singer of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Whole New World,’ Dies at 75

Media Matters

Sports Entertainment

Tonight’s Special Guest

Cheri Jacobus, writer, pundit, PR strategist, & podcast host of “Politics With Cheri Jacobus“ AND her show, ’The Election Show’ with Eric Ham, both available on her on YouTube channel. Cheri’s a former Republican, & former RNC spokesperson, these days trying to help Democrats & Independents learn how to fight like Republicans. Today, we’ll talk with her about Pam Bondi’s firing, Trump’s failing war in Iran, and how all this incompetence is dragging down Republicans for the elections this fall.

Your Bar Regular Tonight

Bob Cesca, podcaster, broadcaster, journalist, artist, & host of The Bob Cesca Show, as well as co-host of the award-winning Trek Politics is back at the bar tonight. He’s got another new piece up at The Banter we’ll definitely talk about, “There Is No Bottom to Trump’s Corruption.” We’ll also talk with him about his latest work, and draw a few rounds from the News On Tap as we talk about all the news of the day. Join us tonight!

Join us today, on any of our radio affiliates, or subscribe and listen ad-free anytime!

DOTD For Wednesday, June 3, 2026

ThePoliticsBar — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:16:02 GMT

Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is an Andy Warhol Cocktail inspired by the traumatic commemoration of the day Andy Warhol was shot & was technically dead before being revived. That event happened on this date, June 3, 1968.

Who Was Andy Warhol?

Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

Andy Warhol was a successful magazine and ad illustrator who became a leading artist of the 1960s Pop Art movement, which emerged in the 1950s in Britain and peaked in the 1960s in America. . It challenged traditional fine art by elevating mass culture, consumer goods, and media iconography—like comic books, advertisements, and soup cans—into the realm of “high art.”

Warhol ventured into a wide variety of art forms, including performance art, filmmaking, video installations, and writing, and controversially blurred the lines between fine art and mainstream aesthetics. Warhol died on February 22, 1987, in New York City.

Early Life

Born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928, in the neighborhood of Oakland in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Warhol’s parents were Slovakian immigrants. His father, Andrej Warhola, was a construction worker, while his mother, Julia Warhola, was an embroiderer. They were devout Byzantine Catholics who attended mass regularly and maintained much of their Slovakian culture and heritage while living in one of Pittsburgh’s Eastern European ethnic enclaves.

At the age of eight, Warhol contracted Chorea—also known as St. Vitus’s Dance — a rare and sometimes fatal disease of the nervous system that left him bedridden for several months. It was during these months, while Warhol was sick in bed, that his mother, herself a skillful artist, gave him his first drawing lessons. Drawing soon became Warhol’s favorite childhood pastime. He was also an avid fan of movies, and when his mother bought him a camera at the age of nine, he took up photography as well, developing film in a makeshift darkroom his father and brothers set up in the basement for him.[

Warhol attended Holmes Elementary school and took the free art classes offered at the Carnegie Institute (now the Carnegie Museum of Art) in Pittsburgh. In 1942, at the age of 14, Warhol again suffered a tragedy when his father died of tubercular peritonitis, after having years earlier drunk contaminated water from a coal mine in West Virginia. Warhol was so upset that he could not attend his father’s funeral, that he hid under his bed throughout the wake. Warhol’s father had recognized his son’s artistic talents, and in his will, he dictated that his life savings go toward Warhol’s college education. That same year, Warhol began at Schenley High School, and upon graduating, in 1945, he enrolled at the Carnegie Institute for Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) to study pictorial design.

Warhol’s Pop Art

When he graduated from college with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1949, Andy Warhol moved to New York City to pursue a career as a commercial artist. It was also at this time that he dropped the “a” at the end of his last name to become Andy Warhol. He landed a job with Glamour magazine in September, and went on to become one of the most successful commercial artists of the 1950s. He won frequent awards for his uniquely whimsical style, using his own blotted line technique and rubber stamps to create his drawings.

Campbell’s Soup Cans

In the late 1950s, Warhol began devoting more attention to painting, and in 1961, he debuted the concept of “pop art”—paintings that focused on mass-produced commercial goods. In 1962, he exhibited the now-iconic paintings of Campbell’s soup cans. These small canvas works of everyday consumer products created a major stir in the art world, bringing both Warhol and pop art into the national spotlight for the first time.

British artist Richard Hamilton described pop art as “popular, transient, expendable, low cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, big business.” As Warhol himself put it, “Once you ‘got’ pop, you could never see a sign the same way again. And once you thought pop, you could never see America the same way again.”

Some of Warhol’s other famous pop paintings depicted Coca-Cola bottles, vacuum cleaners, and hamburgers.

Warhol’s Portraits

Warhol also painted celebrity portraits in vivid and garish colors; his most famous subjects include Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger and Mao Tse-tung. As these portraits gained fame and notoriety, Warhol began to receive hundreds of commissions for portraits from socialites and celebrities. His portrait “Eight Elvises” eventually resold for $100 million in 2008, making it one of the most valuable paintings in world history.

The Factory

In 1964, Warhol opened his own art studio, a large silver-painted warehouse known simply as “The Factory.” The Factory quickly became one of New York City’s premier cultural hotspots, a scene of lavish parties attended by the city’s wealthiest socialites and celebrities, including musician Lou Reed, who paid tribute to the hustlers and transvestites he’d met at The Factory with his hit song “Walk on the Wild Side”—the verses of which contain descriptions of individuals who were fixtures at the legendary studio/warehouse during the ‘60s, including Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, “Little Joe” Dallesandro, “Sugar Plum Fairy” Joe Campbell, and Jackie Curtis. Always more than just an artist, Warhol was a friend of Reed’s, and also managed Reed’s band, the Velvet Underground.

Warhol, who clearly relished his celebrity, became a fixture at infamous New York City nightclubs like Studio 54 and Max’s Kansas City. Commenting on celebrity fixation—his own and that of the public at large—Warhol observed, “more than anything people just want stars.” He also branched out in new directions, publishing his first book, Andy Warhol’s Index, in 1967.

The Shooting At The Factory

In 1968, however, Warhol’s thriving career almost ended.

At the time he was shot, Andy Warhol “was easily one of the most recognized and popular artists working in America,” according to Jose Diaz, curator of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. As a beacon for artists of all kinds, Warhol even attracted the extremists, like radical feminist writer Valerie Solanas.

Beginning in late 1965, Solanas repeatedly tried to get Warhol to produce a play she had written called Up Your Ass, with little success. Warhol never promised to produce the play, but he gave the perpetually broke Solanas a role in his 1967 film I, A Man, for which she was paid $25.

Solanas also founded an organization called the Society for Cutting Up Men (SCUM), and wrote the SCUM Manifesto, which envisioned a world without men, calling on “civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females” to “overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and eliminate the male sex.” Solanas even turned her manifesto into a play, and gave Warhol the manuscript, which he temporarily lost. However, she thought he had stolen her work, and thought he was trying to claim it as his own.

On June 3, 1968, Solanas showed up at The Factory, and shot Warhol and Mario Amaya, art critic and curator at The Factory, with a .32 Beretta. Amaya received only minor injuries and was released from the hospital later the same day. Warhol however, was seriously wounded by the attack. Warhol had been shot multiple times by Solanas, and the bullets devastated his stomach, liver, spleen, esophagus, and lungs. During the ensuing five-and-a-half hours of emergency surgery, his heart stopped, and he was briefly declared clinically dead before doctors revived him. He barely survived the attack, and after the initial surgery, remained in the hospital for nearly two months.

Solanas turned herself in to the police a few hours after the attack and claimed that Warhol “had too much control over my life.” She was subsequently diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and eventually sentenced to three years in prison for the assassination attempt.

The assassination attempt had a profound effect on Warhol’s life & art. Complications from a second operation to repair the damage in 1969 left Warhol’s abdominal muscles improperly repaired, requiring him to wear a surgical corset for the rest of his life to prevent his stomach from distending when he ate. Another effect of the shooting was that access to the The Factory became significantly more regulated, and Warhol changed its focus, aiming to make it a structured business enterprise.

Warhol Books and Films

In the 1970s, Warhol continued to explore other forms of media. He published such books as The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)and Exposures. Warhol also experimented extensively with video art, producing more than 60 films during his career. Some of his most famous films include Sleep, which depicts poet John Giorno sleeping for six hours, and Eat, which shows a man eating a mushroom for 45 minutes.

Warhol also worked in sculpture and photography, and in the 1980s, he moved into television, hosting Andy Warhol’s TV and Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes on MTV.

Warhol’s Death

In his later life, Warhol suffered from chronic issues with his gallbladder. On February 20, 1987, he was admitted to New York Hospital where his gallbladder was successfully removed and he seemed to be recovering. However, days later he suffered complications that resulted in sudden cardiac arrest and he died on February 22, 1987, at the age of 58. Thousands of people attended a memorial for the artist at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

Prior to his surgery, doctors expected Warhol to survive, though a re-evaluation of his case about thirty years after his death showed many indications that Warhol’s surgery was in fact riskier than originally thought. It was widely reported at the time that Warhol had died of a “routine” surgery, though when considering factors such as his age, a family history of gallbladder problems, his previous gunshot wound, and his medical state in the weeks leading up to the procedure, the potential risk of death from cardiac arrest following the surgery appeared to have been significant.

Legacy

Warhol’s enigmatic personal life has been the subject of much debate. He is widely believed to have been a gay man, and his art was often infused with homoerotic imagery and motifs. However, he claimed that he remained a virgin for his entire life.

Warhol’s life and work simultaneously satirized and celebrated materiality and celebrity. On the one hand, his paintings of distorted brand images and celebrity faces could be read as a critique of what he viewed as a culture obsessed with money and celebrity. On the other hand, Warhol’s focus on consumer goods and pop-culture icons, as well as his own taste for money and fame, suggests a life in celebration of the very aspects of American culture that his work criticized. Warhol spoke to this apparent contradiction between his life and work in his book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, writing that “making money is art and working is art, and good business is the best art.”

To Mr. Warhol, we raise a glass in tribute, with today’s Drink Of The Day, an Andy Warhol Cocktail

Ingredients

Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:

Slushies & Weasels

ThePoliticsBar — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 23:30:54 GMT

It's a Two-Fer Tuesday, and that means we've got TWO guests at the microphones tonight to help us discuss all the political news that happened today - Both Jared Rizzi & Hal Sparks are back tonight! Grab a drink & join us!

News On Tap For Tuesday, June 2, 2026

ThePoliticsBar — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:58:58 GMT

Today’s “News On Tap” is full of TrumpLand struggling, fumbling, & failing. They are, after all, a halfascist regime. First up - it’s ELECTION DAY! So go vote already. Then check the news. From Netanyahu continuing to undermine Trump’s attempt to end the Iran war, to Trump assigning his thug enforcer Bill Pulte to be Acting DNI, to Trump’s failing insurrectionist slush fund, we’ve got all your news updates. There’s also war inside the Pentagon, war in the courts, and Trump’s war on good government. We’ve also got your Media, Music, & Sports news too. Plus, it’s Two-Fer Tuesday - and we’ve got two guests at the mics in the bar tonight: Jared Rizzi, and Hal Sparks who will talk about all this political news and more. Read up, get informed, and we’ll see you here tonight!

First Round - Trump Struggling To End His War

Second Round - Corruption Land: Slush & TACOs

Third Round - Failing Republican Governance

Hiring A Weasel

War At The Pentagon

War On Good Govt.

War In The Courts

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Elections & Politics

Climate Concerns

Russia’s War On Ukraine

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

Music, Movies, & TV Entertainment

Sports Entertainment

Tonight’s Bar Regular

Jared Rizzi, freelance journalist, former White House Correspondent for SiriusXM & former reporter for CBS Radio News (RIP) – as well as our favorite fill-in co-host - is back with us at the bar tonight, after a few weeks away. We’ll pull a few rounds from the News On Tap, and ask Jared what he thinks is really happening with Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte to Acting DNI.

Tonight’s Special Guest

The one and only Hal Sparks is back at the bar tonight! Hal - an original member of the Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour - is the host of the Hal Sparks Megaworldwide show, streaming weekdays on his Infotainment Wars YouTube Channel, and on Saturday’s on WCPT radio! He’s also been the star of multiple TV shows, including Talk Soup, Queer as Folk, Dude Where’s My Car, and Lab Rats. Today, we’ll talk about all the news of the day - and we may even hit on a few issues from the past month. Come on by & join us tonight!

Join us today, on any of our radio affiliates, or subscribe and listen ad-free anytime!

DOTD For Tuesday, June 2, 2026

ThePoliticsBar — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:05:36 GMT

Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Brandy Alexander cocktail, inspired by the anniversary of the U.S. release of the iconic Beatles record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Today’s DOTD was infamously John Lennon’s favorite drink - which we’ll tell you about in a little bit. First? The story behind Sgt. Pepper.

Behind Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

While this legendary album was released on June 1, 1967 in England, the U.S. had to wait until June 2, 1967 to be able to get the record.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the band’s eighth album, and for many. became the soundtrack to the infamous “Summer of Love” in 1967. The appeal of the album and its music has proven to be timeless, though.

The album itself was also a bit of a stress release for the band, after the chaos of the previous period of their lives.

That immediate previous period included the Revolver album, which was completed on June 21, 1966 & released on August 5, 1966 - just in time for the band to fly off on yet another tour. The Revolver tour was difficult. Crammed into one month, August of 1966, the tour consisted of 19 performances, 17 in the U.S. and 2 in Canada, to large audiences in open-air stadiums.

The tour was plagued by backlash regarding the controversy of John Lennon’s remark about the Beatles being “more popular than Jesus”, death threats, and the band’s own dissatisfaction with the noise levels and their ability to perform live. Their speaking out against the Vietnam War added further controversy to the visit. That tour would also be their last in North America, with their last concert in the United States held at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on August 29, 1966.

Once the busy schedule of touring was behind them, more time could be spent writing and recording. Work began on recording the Sgt. Pepper’s album in late 1966, and between November 1966 and April 1967 they spent over 400 hours in the studio - a far cry from their days in 1963, with their debut album Please Please Me. Of course, the music of Sgt. Pepper’s was much more complex and now that touring was over, there was no need to consider what could be reproduced in front of a live audience.

In the studio, The Beatles encouraged their producer George Martin to achieve “the impossible” and in turn, Mr. Martin and his audio engineers would find innovative ways of realizing “the impossible” despite still using only four-track equipment.

At one stage, prior to the release of Sgt. Pepper’s, it was thought that both ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ would also be included on the album. But when these two were released as a double A-side single in February 1967, that idea was abandoned, because the band’s policy at the time was to leave previously released singles off new albums.

For the fourth time in the UK, no single was lifted from the album and for the first time, this also held true in the U.S. The album was also not banded, meaning each track ran into the next, and wasn’t separated, encouraging the listener to play the album all the way through, pausing only to turn the disc over.

Not only was the music different from what The Beatles had delivered in the past, in new, exciting, and colorful, so too was the way the album was delivered. The glossy double vinyl album sleeve featured the guys in their Sgt. Pepper uniforms surrounded by images of people they either admired or were interested in, while on the back of the sleeve there were the lyrics to all the songs. Inside each side of the album sleeves were other surprises, including a card featuring various cut-outs, and in the initial pressings at least, the paper inner sleeve, which bore a psychedelic design.

In Britain, the album hit number #1, and between June 1967 and February 1968 it spent a total of 27 weeks at the top of the charts, including during an initial chart run of 148 weeks. All of this, in spite of a BBC radio ban on playing the song “A Day In The Life.”

In the U.S., the album was released in exactly same way as in Britain… well almost. The high-pitched tone and the garbled speech embedded in the UK run-out groove did not appear on the American release. However, the album still enjoyed a fifteen week stay at the top of the U.S. Top 200 album charts during its initial chart run of 88 weeks.

In 1968, the album won four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, the first rock LP to receive this honor. In 2003, Sgt. Pepper’s was inducted into the U.S. National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” It has topped several critics’ and listeners’ polls for the best album of all time, including those published by Rolling Stone magazine. The album has sold more than 32 million copies, and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time, worldwide.

All of that is clearly a reason to salute this iconic album with today’s Drink Of The Day, a Brandy Alexander cocktail. But first, as promised, the story behind today’s DOTD…

Ingredients - & The Story Behind Today’s DOTD…

The Politics Bar After Hours - Data Centers Suck

ThePoliticsBar — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:02:09 GMT

It’s Monday night, and we’ve got another After Hours with Brooklyn Dad Defiant! We’re talking about data centers, and how people across the country are angry about their massive spread, and all the problems with them. We also talk about the new movie “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.” And Jody has a “Soapdish” story about Carol Burnett too. Grab another drink & stick around for the full conversation.

Judgment Day

ThePoliticsBar — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:31:04 GMT

Looking around at the U.S.-focused political news today, we think the main story is clearly about judgement. We'll ask what he thinks, and what stories really caught his attention recently, as he rejoins us at the bar for the first time in a couple weeks. Grab a drink & join us tonight!

News On Tap For Monday, June 1, 2026

ThePoliticsBar — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 18:45:30 GMT

Today’s batch of “News On Tap” proves our flavor of news judgement remains spot-on. From Trump’s continuing quagmire in Iran, to Netanyahu the war monger, to Trump’s other foreign failures, we’ve got your news updates. We’ve also got updates from the War Over Democracy - and how we good folks won a few rounds over the last few days. We also have an update on Trump’s stupid immigration wars, the elections happening tomorrow & the failing judgement of certain Democrats and Republicans, and the dueling way America is celebrating our 250th birthday. Plus some Weddings & Funerals (it is June), some Movie & TV news, and some Sports news too. Plus, Brooklyn Dad Defiant is back at the bar tonight, for the first time in two weeks! Read up, get informed, and join us for the conversation tonight.

First Round - Trump's Failing Foreign Wars

The Quagmire In Iran

No Desire For Peace

Trump’s Other Foreign Failures

Second Round - The Uncivil War At Home

War Over Democracy

Fighting Back - And Winning

Third Round - Failures In Governing

Immigration Wars

The Failing Congress Returns

Corruption Land

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Dueling Americas

Elections & Politics

Worried & Watching

Russia’s War On Ukraine

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Weddings & Funerals

Movies, TV, & Music Entertainment

Sports Entertainment

Today’s Special Guest

Brooklyn Dad Defiant, AKA Majid M. Padellan, is a author, activist, blogger, and host/co-host of TWO online shows – ‘The Defiant Weekly’ on Wednesdays, and ‘The JoJo & BDD Show’ with Jo Carducci on Thursdays. It’s been a couple weeks since BDD has been in the bar, and he’s got a new post up, “Trumplethinskin Finally Got What He Wanted (With The End Of The Colbert Show).” We’ll talk with him about that, draw a few rounds from the News On Tap, find out what he’s been watching & listening to, and of course get his take on Trump’s Failed America 250 Concert. Grab a drink & join us tonight!

Join us today, on any of our radio affiliates, or subscribe and listen ad-free anytime!

DOTD For Monday, June 1, 2026

ThePoliticsBar — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:31:41 GMT

Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Showgirl Cocktail inspired by the celebration of what would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday this year, since she was born June 1, 1926.

A Brief Marilyn Monroe Biography

Marilyn Monroe personified Hollywood glamour with an unparalleled glow and energy that enamored the world. Although she was an alluring beauty with voluptuous curves and a generous pout, Marilyn was more than a 1950s sex goddess. Her apparent vulnerability and innocence, in combination with an innate sensuality, has endeared her to the global consciousness. She dominated the age of movie stars to become, without question, the most famous woman of the 20th Century.

She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to Gladys Baker.

As the identity of her father is undetermined, she was later baptized Norma Jeane Baker. Gladys had been a film cutter at RKO studios, but psychological problems prevented her from keeping the job and she was eventually committed to a mental institution.

Norma Jeane spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages until 1937, when she moved in with family friend Grace McKee Goddard. Unfortunately, when Grace’s husband was transferred to the East Coast in 1942, the couple couldn’t afford to take 16-year-old Norma Jeane with them. Norma Jeane had two options: return to the orphanage or get married.

On June 19, 1942 she wed her 21-year-old neighbor Jimmy Dougherty, whom she had been dating for six months. “She was a sweet, generous, and religious girl,” Jimmy said. “She liked to be cuddled.” By all accounts Norma Jeane loved Jimmy, and they were happy together until he joined the Merchant Marines and was sent to the South Pacific in 1944.

After Jimmy left, Norma Jeane took a job on the assembly line at the Radio Plane Munitions factory in Burbank, California. Several months later, photographer David Conover saw her while taking pictures of women contributing to the war effort for Yank magazine. He couldn’t believe his luck. She was a “photographer’s dream.” Conover used her for the shoot and then began sending modeling jobs her way. The camera loved Norma Jeane, and within two years she was a reputable model with many popular magazine covers to her credit. She began studying the work of legendary actresses Jean Harlow and Lana Turner, and enrolled in drama classes with dreams of stardom. However, Jimmy’s return in 1946 meant Norma Jeane had to make another choice- this time between her marriage and her career.

Norma Jeane divorced Jimmy in June of 1946, and signed her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox on August 26, 1946. She earned $125 a week - about $2100 a week in 2026 dollars. Soon after signing her contract, the studio execs had Norma Jeane dye her hair blonde, and then studio executive Ben Lyon suggested she change her name to Marilyn Monroe, borrowing her grandmother’s last name. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Marilyn played a series of inconsequential characters in her first films, until 1950, when John Huston’s thriller The Asphalt Jungle provided her with a small but influential role. Later that year, Marilyn’s performance as Claudia Caswell in All About Eve (starring Bette Davis) earned her further praise. From then on Marilyn worked steadily in movies such as: Let’s Make It Legal, As Young As You Feel, Monkey Business and Don’t Bother to Knock. It was her performance in 1953’s Niagara, however, that delivered her to stardom. Marilyn played Rose Loomis, a beautiful young wife who plots to kill her older, jealous husband (Joseph Cotten).

Marilyn’s success in Niagara was followed with lead roles in the wildly popular Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (co-starring Jane Russell) and How to Marry a Millionaire (co-starring Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable). Photoplay magazine voted Marilyn the ‘Best New Actress of 1953,’ and at 27 years old she was undeniably the best-loved blonde bombshell in Hollywood.

On January 14, 1954, Marilyn married baseball superstar Joe DiMaggio at San Francisco’s City Hall. They had been a couple for two years, after Joe asked his agent to arrange a dinner date. “I don’t know if I’m in love with him yet,” Marilyn said when the press got word of their relationship, “but I know I like him more than any man I’ve ever met.” During their Tokyo honeymoon, Marilyn took time to perform for the service men stationed in Korea. Her presence caused a near-riot among the troops, and Joe was clearly uncomfortable with thousands of men ogling his new bride.

Unfortunately, Marilyn’s fame and sexual image became a theme that haunted their marriage. Nine months later on October 27, 1954, Marilyn and Joe divorced. They attributed the split to a “conflict of careers,” and remained close friends. The DiMaggio & Monroe relationships was so complex, we published a different DOTD history page that went far more in-depth with their tragic love story.

After DiMaggio, Marilyn was ready to shed her “shallow blonde” image by 1955. It had gotten her into the spotlight, but now that she had the opportunity and experience, Marilyn wanted to pursue serious acting. She took a hiatus from Hollywood and moved to New York City to study under Lee Strasberg at his Actors’ Studio.

In 1955, Marilyn started her own motion picture company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. The company produced Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl (co-starring Sir Laurence Olivier). These two films allowed her to demonstrate her talent and versatility as an actress. Marilyn received further recognition for 1959’s Some Like It Hot, winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy.

On June 29, 1956, Marilyn wed playwright Arthur Miller. Friends reported she made him “giddy.” While they were married, Arthur wrote the part of Roslyn Taber in 1961’s The Misfits especially for Marilyn. The movie co-starred Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. Sadly, the marriage between Marilyn and Arthur ended on January 20, 1961, and The Misfits was to be Marilyn’s (and Gable’s) last completed film.

At the 1962 Golden Globes, Marilyn was named ‘Female World Film Favorite,’ once again demonstrating her widespread appeal.

Sadly, in a shocking turn of events the evening of August 4, 1962, 36-year-old Marilyn died at her Brentwood, California home. The world was stunned. Marilyn’s vibrant spirit and beauty made it impossible to believe she was gone.

On August 8, 1962, Marilyn’s body was laid to rest in the Corridor of Memories, #24, at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.

During her career, Marilyn made 30 films and left one, Something’s Got to Give, unfinished. She was more than just a movie star or glamour queen. A global sensation in her lifetime, Marilyn’s popularity has extended beyond star status to icon. Today, the name “Marilyn Monroe” is synonymous with beauty, sensuality and effervescence. She remains an inspiration to all who strive to overcome personal obstacles for the goal of achieving greatness.

With that in mind, we salute Marilyn Monroe with today’s Drink Of The Day, the Showgirl Cocktail,

Ingredients

Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:

The Politics Bar After Hours - Fugly On The Inside

ThePoliticsBar — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:02:50 GMT

We’ve got one more round in the After Hours tonight with Karen & Anita from Tru Blu Politics podcast (and on Patreon too). It’s the last broadcast day of our birthday month, so we’ll talk a little about birthdays, a little more about Texas & Talarico, & whiny Republicans hating Democrats standing up. Grab one more round with us now!

We Are Only Fans

ThePoliticsBar — Fri, 29 May 2026 23:31:08 GMT

It was a short week - but there was still plenty of political news. From Pam Bondi’s latest appearance, to Trump’s failing Iran war, to the rise of Talarico in Texas,
we'll recap the best highlights & worst lowlights of the week with Karen & Anita from Tru Blu Politics podcast (and on Patreon too). Grab a drink & join us now!

News On Tap For Friday, May 29, 2026

ThePoliticsBar — Fri, 29 May 2026 18:47:05 GMT

There’s a flavor of accountability coming in today’s “News On Tap.” From Trump finally (maybe) having to deal with losing the Iran War, to Trump & Republicans’ failed economy, and their bungled immigration war, we’ve got all the news updates. There’s also a little news about a touch of accountability, and Trump’s Dept. of Injustice. Plus, more news in Polls & Politics, along with Media, Music, & Sports entertainment news too. And Karen & Anita from the Tru Blu Politics podcast will both be back tonight! Read up, get informed, & we’ll see you here tonight.

First Round - Trump's Middle East Failures

Ending A Losing War

Still Fighting

Our Birthday Discount!

Second Round - Republicans' Failed Government

Trumponomics Has Failed

Trump’s Bungled Immigration War

Corruption Land

Third Round - Justice & Injustice

A Touch Of Accountability

Trump’s Dept. Of Malice & Injustice

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

Polls & Politics

Other Foreign Affairs

Miscellaneous But Important

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

Music, TV, & More

Sports Entertainment