Posted: 26 Sep 2014 02:39 PM PDT

Spoiler alert! Those of you not caught up with Scandal might want to skim this one. -Ed.This week, searchers learned how to get away with murder—and how not to get away with public criticism of prominent figures with important business relationships with your employer.

Shonda, Shonda, Shonda
TV fans, rejoice! This week brought premiere episodes for old favorite shows as well as hotly anticipated new ones. Top returning shows on search include CBS’s The Big Bang Theory (natch), and NBC’s The Blacklist and Chicago Fire. New shows that shot up the search ratings include Batman prequel Gotham and new family comedy black-ish.

But premieres week really came to a head on Thursday night, which we prefer to call the Night of Shonda. Producer Shonda Rimes has got ABC’s lineup locked up with Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy (in its final season this year) and the new How To Get Away With Murder, starring Academy Award-nominee Viola Davis. All three shows were in the top 10 hot searches the day of their premiere. True to form, Scandal’s season 4 debut left people with more questions than answers. Here’s a sampling (spoiler alert!) of what searchers were asking during the show:

The end of an era
Derek Jeter first took the field as a New York Yankee in May 1995. Five World Series, more than 3,000 hits and nearly 20 years later, this weekend he will take to the diamond for a final game at Fenway against his archrivals, the Boston Red Sox. Though neither the Yankees nor the Sox made this season’s playoffs, anticipation for Jeter’s farewell at-bat was already high. But last night, after giving baseball fans so many memorable moments over the years, he gave us one more. In his final game at Yankee Stadium, Jeter’s ninth-inning walk-off single gave the Yankees a win over the Orioles, provided the world another excuse to search for the star shortstop, and was a fitting ending to Jeter’s fairy-tale career.

Over on the political field, Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday that he is stepping down. Holder will leave behind a large and sometimes complicated legacy on issues including same-sex marriage, voting rights, criminal justice, national security and government secrecy. He’ll go down in history as the fourth longest-serving and first black AG.

NFL in the news
The NFL continues to be in the news for more than just its games. First, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave a press conference on Friday addressing the league’s issues with domestic violence. Then, on Monday, prominent sportswriter Bill Simmons was suspended for three weeks by ESPN after he called Goodell a liar in his podcast “The B.S. Report.” Simmons is prohibited from tweeting or other public communications until October 15, but Sports Guy supporters took to the web on his behalf, fighting to #FreeSimmons. Finally, this week’s season premiere of South Park featured a malfunctioning “GoodellBot” and a plotline about the controversy over Washington’s team name.

Happy 5775
Shana Tova! That’s what a lot of people were saying (and searching) as people worldwide dipped apples in honey and celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The holiday was the fourth hottest search trend on Wednesday.

Tip of the week
Google can help you get a good deal on your next airplane ticket. When the price drops on a flight you’ve been researching on Flight Search, you may see a Now card letting you know. Just tap the card to quickly and easily book your trip. This works on the latest version of the Google app on Android in the U.S.

Posted by Emily Wood, Google Blog Editor, who searched this week for [where do kiwis grow] and [reign season 2]

Stay informed …. Nativegrl77

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Daily Show

09/28/2014 Nativegrl77

The Redskins’ Name – Catching Racism

Jason Jones speaks with Native American activists as well as devoted football fans about the Washington Redskins’ controversial team name.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

FWD: a message from … Zach Silk, Yes on 594

09/27/2014 Nativegrl77

I saw this gun posted for sale online yesterday in Mill Creek.

And, I know you’re not a convicted felon or anything … but if you were, you could just hand over $550 in cash and buy this .45 caliber pistol with no background check at all. He’ll get back to you within an hour.

Really — that’s how huge the loopholes are in our gun laws here in Washington.

Help us close the loopholes in our gun laws that allow people prohibited by law from owning firearms: Pledge to vote Yes on 594 today.

If you’ve read this far, you’ll be horrified to know that recent research suggests that 4,400 people each year WHO LEGALLY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BUY GUNS buy them online in Washington.

4,400 EACH YEAR.

Click here right now to do something about it.

Thanks,

Zach Silk
Campaign Manager
Yes on 594

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

ALEC Exodus !

09/27/2014 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Major Tech Companies Cut Ties With The Secretive Conservative Lobbying Organization

Several tech giants announced this week that they are dropping out of ALEC, the conservative free-market lobbying group, partly over their spread of misinformation about climate change and lobbying against efforts to curb it.

ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council, works by connecting corporations with conservative legislatures and drafts conservative model legislation on everything from health policy to education. It’s also been exposed as the designer of voter suppression laws used as models in various states.

The exodus started in August, when Microsoft announced that it would cease dealings with ALEC. This Monday, Google did the same, followed in quick succession by Facebook on Tuesday, Yelp on Wednesday, and Yahoo on Thursday. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt explicitly called out the group’s climate denialism as the motivating factor for the tech giant’s separation from ALEC: “Everyone understands climate change is occurring and the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and our grandchildren and making the world a much worse place,” he said. “They’re just literally lying.” ALEC has worked to kill renewable energy programs and teach climate denial in schools.

This isn’t the first time that high-profile companies have fled from ALEC en masse. In 2012, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Wal-Mart and others left suddenly after the revelation that ALEC supports so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws like the one used to justify Trayvon Martin’s death in Florida. How those laws relate to corporations’ business interests is anybody’s guess.

BOTTOM LINE: ALEC’s network is powerful and secretive. It’s bad business for companies to be associated with liars, and as more of ALEC’s distortions come to light, more companies will sever ties. They’re wrong on climate change, but once other businesses and the public realize how wrong they are on issues ranging from civil rights to economic inequality, other companies associated with ALEC will drop the organization too.

Like CAP Action on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Seattle Times endorses 594

09/27/2014 Nativegrl77


	I know it’s almost the weekend, but I’ve got one more piece of business for you this Friday. *I wanted to make sure you saw that The Seattle Times* has endorsed 594! This is great news, and it’s a big deal for the campaign. But we have to make sure that our supporters hear the Times’ clear, decisive message: Yes on 594. Can you give us a hand spreading the news? Click here to share the news with your friends on Facebook!** Thanks for your help — when people hear news like this from people they know and trust, it’s even more powerful. OK — now you can start your weekend! Geoff Potter Communications Director WA Alliance for Gun Responsibility