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Unlike some other celebs, Halle Berry did not embarrass herself when asked about the Movement for Black Lives. The recently pregnant-not-pregnant knock out did say she was tired of hearing about Black Lives Matter ... with one redeeming caveat.

According to HipHollywood, Berry had this to say during Cannes:

In my world I get tired of people complaining about, Oh black lives matter, and they pontificate and pontificate about it, and I say, Well, what are you doing about that? It may not seem significant to you, but thats how we start. Have you called your local politicians, have you written a letter?

She continued, When they say theyve done nothing, I say, Well, dont talk to me because you are part of the problem, because you are sitting here spewing negativity and complaining.

So, yeah. Halle is all about that dont talk about it, be about it life.

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Halle Berry Says Doesn't Want To Hear About Black Lives Matter ... - The Root

Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images

First, a prayer.

Dear Black Jesus,

If you are listening. I apologize for the chewing gum I stole from Mrs. Jeffersons purse when I was in third grade. I was selfish back then. Also, I want to be clear that I forgive you for allowing one of Satans babies to govern the continental United States. Now that we are even, please let this Eric Holder for 2020 thing actually be real. Also, let this really happen, and in doing so, stop Joe Biden from talking about what he wouldve done but ultimately didnt do. Rap with you later. Your humble servant,

Steve

I cant lie; I have no idea what Eric Holders platform would be or whether hed actually be a good president, but when you consider that a junior senator from Chicago, by way of Hawaii, was also once this guy with little political experience and that worked out quite well, then Im all for a Holder presidency!

Look, Holder is like the rest of America who didnt vote for Russia to be all in the videos (Suge Knight voice). On Monday, Holder told Yahoo! News that hes ready to push his career to the forefront, with sources telling Yahoo! that Holder is thinking of running for president in 2020.

Up to now, I have been more behind-the-scenes, Holder said. But thats about to change. I have a certain status as the former attorney general. A certain familiarity as the first African-American attorney general. Theres a justified perception that Im close to President [Barack] Obama. So I want to use whatever skills I have, whatever notoriety I have, to be effective in opposing things that are, at the end of the day, just bad for the country.

Now is the time to be more visible, Holder continued. Now is the time to be heard.

Holder was a laid-back, mild-mannered attorney general during his tenure with the Obama administration.

I thought, frankly, along with everybody else, that after the election, with Hillary Clinton as president, I could walk off the field, he told Yahoo! So when she didnt win, I thought, Well have to see how this plays out. But it became clear relatively soonand certainly sooner than I expectedthat I had to get back on the field and be in effective opposition.

So this could mean a run for the White House, and I know its a long shot, but I also know that Holder kicks it with the Obamas, and even if they just come over and hang in the White House and play Scattergories, Ill take it.

Read more at Yahoo! News.

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Eric Holder May Run for the White House in 2020 - The Root

Common Dreams

Ire for Democrat Who Pulled Plug on California's Single-Payer Bill Common Dreams Advocates of the single-payer healthcare proposal which has been steadily advancing through the California legislature were voicing outrage and disappointment on Saturday after Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Democrat, announced he was pulling ... and more »

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Ire for Democrat Who Pulled Plug on California's Single-Payer Bill - Common Dreams

Democratic gubernatorial nominees Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Ralph Northam of Virginia are looking strong in 2017 general election campaigns. Photo: US Department of State; Commonwealth of Virginia

The frustrating pattern of near-misses for Democrats in 2017 special congressional elections was distorted and exaggerated by the Tweeter-in-Chief, who crowed:

I guess this means he thinks the special election in the 34th District of California, a virtually all-Democratic affair won by Democrat Jimmy Gomez, produced a GOP winner too. That election did end a full two weeks ago, so maybe the president has just forgotten it.

In any event, many Democrats are undoubtedly wondering when the impressive anti-Trump passions of 2017 will produce a win in a nationally significant and competitive contest. The two remaining scheduled special elections this year are not very promising for the Donkey Party. The first, in November (assuming a battle over control of the special election between the governor and legislature is resolved) is in dark-red Utah, in the district of Representative Jason Chaffetz (who is resigning at the end of this month), the 16th-most Republican House district in the country according to the Cook Political Report. There are 15 Republicans, as compared to four Democrats, who are running for the Chaffetz seat at this point.

In December (after primaries in August and party runoffs in September), Alabama will hold a special election to formally choose a successor to Attorney General Jeff Sessions (Republican Luther Strange at least temporarily holds the seat he was appointed to by disgraced former governor Robert Bentley, who resigned shortly after filling the seat). There is a lot of intrigue around the crowded GOP primary for this seat, and potentially some divisive intra-Republican activity, but no one at this point is giving any Democrat a chance. Perhaps that could change if the infamous Ten Commandments judge, Roy Moore, wins the GOP nomination. But Moore has won statewide as recently as 2012, which is something no Alabama Democrat can say. Democrats havent held a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama in 20 years, since Howell Heflin was replaced by Jeff Sessions.

So more than likely Democrats looking for a boost going into the midterm-election year of 2018 will rely on their solid prospects in the two states holding regular gubernatorial elections in November, New Jersey and Virginia.

The Garden State contest looks like a very solid bet to break the Democratic losing streak. This remains a fundamentally Democratic state; Hillary Clinton handily defeated Donald Trump 5541 there in 2016, and the state legislature has been under Democratic control since 2004. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy (a former ambassador to Germany and one of the remarkably large cast of former Goldman Sachs officials in politics these days) has money to burn and is fresh from an easy June 6 primary win over a large field. Republican Kim Guadagno won her primary pretty easily as well, but as lieutenant governor she is laboring in the large and dark shadow of Chris Christie.

According to a post-primary Quinnipiac poll, Christies job-approval rating has dropped to an astounding 15 percent, the worst Quinnipiac has found in any state for any governor in the last 20 years. (Not that he cares.) Unsurprisingly, the same poll showed Murphy leading Guadagno by better than a two-to-one margin (55 percent to 26). The best news for the Republican is that half of voters dont know enough about her to have an opinion of her though it is unclear where Guadagno will get the money or the credibility to convince them shes what the state needs.

In Virginia, the Gillespie/Northam campaign has just begun, but a new Quinnipiac poll shows Northam leading 47 percent to 39. Aside from a united party and the support of reasonably popular incumbent governor, Terry McAuliffe, Northam has history on his side: Nine of the last ten Virginia gubernatorial races were lost by the candidate from the party controlling the White House (McAuliffe, in fact, was the one exception). Things could change, but Donald Trump does not seem like the kind of president who will help his party buck that trend in a state he lost last year.

So Democrats who are wondering why they cannot have good things may only have to wait for a little less than five months for some validation.

The Trump administration doesnt seem to be taking the threat of future Russian election interference very seriously.

Were about to find out what Mattiss Pentagon will do with mostly unchecked authority to conduct a war.

Should Democrats in places like Georgia keep trying to rebuild white support? Or should they focus on minority mobilization? The debate goes on.

A new report suggests Obama knew about Putins intervention in the 2016 election and its aims, but didnt move aggressively until it was too late.

The emergence of a new game plan, from persuasion to motivation.

Look, I dont know who you are, wiseass, Biden reportedly said.

One surprised music critic reviews Mystified.

The Justice Departments handling of the Clinton email investigation is at the center of the senators questions.

Dean Heller of Nevada said he could not support legislation as written. Now things get dicey for Mitch McConnell.

Turns out, the former FBI director was attending an event for a nonprofit that works with abused children.

D.C. might still be revolving around legislative gridlock and investigations. But the electoral landscape would be very different.

A U.S. representative said he couldnt back the resolution which condemned violence against women because it supported safe abortion.

Obamacares popularity seems to be peaking just as Republicans get closer to taking it down in legislation that is not popular at all.

The Saudi-led coalition wants the tiny Gulf state to cut off ties with Iran and close Al Jazeera, ultimatums Qatar isnt likely to meet.

Change is slow. Thats why we have to keep working.

She met with a handful of Republican senators this week, but they couldnt agree on a plan.

The president also admitted that his tape bluff was an attempt to intimidate Comeys testimony.

A quick break from the off-camera briefings.

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The Democrats' Losing Streak Will Likely End in November - New York Magazine

THE PURPOSE OF tax reform is to raise revenue more efficiently with fewer loopholes and special breaks that distort economic incentives and necessitate higher marginal rates. In discussing tax reform since President Trumps election, Republicans have promised to do just that: pass a bill with lower rates for both individuals and businesses, applied to an income base broadened by the elimination of deductions and credits.

If you listen very closely to what GOP leaders have been saying lately, however, especially in remarks last week by House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Vice President Pence, what youll hear is the carefully chosen words of people planning something thats not real tax reform at all.

Speaking to the National Association of Manufacturers Tuesday, Mr. Ryan pledged to take on defenders of the status quo and then proceeded to defend many of the status quos worst aspects. He pledged to get rid of special-interest carve-outs except for those that make the most sense such as the deduction for mortgage interest. Actually, this distortion of the real estate market is one of the tax codes least sensible features, but it is politically sacrosanct due to the power of the real estate lobby. The only major individual tax break Mr. Ryan seemed to leave on the chopping block was the deduction for state and local taxes, which disproportionately favors states that send Democrats to Congress. Any GOP tax plan would eliminate the estate tax, Mr. Ryan insisted thus entrenching the concentration of wealth in the United States.

Somewhat more plausibly, Mr. Ryan advocated a new corporate tax system, with a lower top rate, so as to discourage shifting production abroad. However, he gave few specifics and seemed to soft-pedal the means of paying for the plan he and his House colleagues had previously offered a so-called border adjustment that would raise tens of billions of dollars per year, essentially by taxing the U.S. trade deficit. He referred to a new, lower tax, specifically for small businesses, which could translate into a costly new benefit for pass-through entities, such as sole proprietorships and S corporations.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pence repeated the Trump administrations promise that the end result of any tax rewrite will be tax cuts, implicitly endorsing the dubious notion that the U.S. economy lags due to an excessive tax burden. And not just any tax cut, Mr.Pence said, but the largest tax cut since the days of Ronald Reagan, meaning even bigger than those enacted by President George W. Bush. So much for the idea that tax reform ought to be revenue-neutral. Given that Mr. Trump and Congress cannot and should not cut spending enough to offset such large revenue losses, what may be in the offing is tax reform that ratchets up federal debt.

Mr. Ryan, too, alluded to the need for tax cuts. That made the weeks GOP messaging unanimous and reinforced suspicions that, for all their talk of reform, slashing taxes, mainly for the wealthy and corporations, is the one policy that Republicans agree on and therefore the only policy they are actually going to enact.

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The Republican tax-reform plan isn't reform at all - Washington Post