… but this is already the strangest political cycle and Trump is already the strangest political candidate. In any other year, with any other candidate, I wouldn’t even give this story the time of day. But…. well…. I don’t know…. According to four sources with knowledge of the situation, editors and writers at the outlet have privately complained since at … Read More
Bernie Sanders, #BlackLivesMatter, and The Difference Between Activism and Flaming
A Tough Weekend For Black Lives Matter, says the headline of an article in today’s Atlantic. And why? Two things: (1) an officer-involved shooting of a black youth by cops in Ferguson, Missouri at the end of a day of otherwise peaceful protests, and (2) a demonstration at a Bernie Sanders rally in Seattle on Saturday. The first one was … Read More
Fox Is Breaking Up With Trump And He’s Not Taking It Well
It’s pretty clear that the Fox moderators were coming down pretty hard on Trump, and although he got the most speaking time, he wasn’t really asked much on policy. Instead, he was put on defensive (more than the others) about his elect-ability and tone. After the debate, Trump complained that the moderators asked him “unfair” questions, and criticized Fox’s Megyn Kelly … Read More
Another Lazy Jon Stewart Tribute
I call this lazy, because I’m not writing it. I just liked what The Rude Pundit said in a couple of paragraphs: Stewart was never our crusader. If he was going to change things, it would be on a small scale, by bringing attention to issues like veterans’ rights and 9/11 responders’ health. He was our pressure valve, but his … Read More
GOP Debate Wrapup
Well, I didn’t think I was going to see either debate yesterday, but I was able to hear most of the Junior Varsity debate, and I saw all of the Big Boy Pants debate. My running Tweet commentary is below, under the fold. As for the first debate, Fiorina seemed like the clear winner to me. Apparently, I was not … Read More
Good Sports
If you’ve watched the Daily Show in the past couple years, you know that Jon Stewart has taken pot shots at Arbys. This ad appeared on the Daily Show last night.
Nate Silver Places Trump’s Chances of Being GOP Nominee at 2%
Nate Silver writes that in order to become the GOP nominee for the 2016 election, Trump must jump the “Six Stage of Doom”: Stage 1: Free-for-all When it happens: This is the stage we’re in now; it will continue through the next couple of months. Potential threat to Trump: Increased attention to other GOP candidates. Stage 2: Heightened scrutiny When … Read More
70 Years Ago Today (UPDATE: And 50 Years Ago Today)
UPDATE: Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed 50 years ago today…. Sadly, much of the key components were eviscerated by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Good Television Night For Political Comedy
At 11:00 pm EDT, we say goodbye to Jon Stewart. End of an era really. The Will Rogers of the modern era. There are and will be others in the political comedy arena, but none as astute as Stewart. I won’t indulge in a Stewart retrospective. Others are doing that, and much better than I could. I’ll just showcase two … Read More
Obama Calls Out The Iraq War Prevaricators
President Obama’s speech on the Iran nuke deal was a classic. He made a convincing argument for supporting the agreement and provides a plausible overview of what will happen if Congress doesn’t approve it. But he also talked about those opposing the deal, pointing out that these people are the same ones who got us into a costly and pointless … Read More
The Effect of The Video Releases On Public Opinion of Planned Parenthood
It appears that the video releases which show Planned Parenthood employees talking about the legal things they do could not be spun in a way to make Planned Parenthood look bad. In other words, Operation Defund Planned Parenthood is a fail. Yougov, a right-wing polling firm, has found that people’s opinions of PP have barely changed due to the videos. … Read More
Facepalm Quote Of The Day
“We have no problem with the girls sitting on the bench. We don’t care who sits on the bench with the teams, that goes for anybody … to sit on the bench.” – National Travel Basketball Association president John Whitely, after telling the boys’ basketball team, the Charlottesville Cavaliers, that they could no longer participate in the tournament because ten-year-old Kymora Johnson … Read More
Today’s Movie Theater Shooting
And the winner is…. Anitoch, Tennessee’s Carmike Hickory 8 Theaters The movie was: Mad Max The shooter is: Dead (shot by police) Shooter characteristics: White male, age 51 Shooter weapons: pepper spray, gun, hatchet, surgical mask and 2 backpacks (possible bombs?) # of victims: 0 dead, 3 treated for pepper spray, 1 with bruises from hatchet Motive: TBD Is he crazy?: TBD … Read More
Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Texas Voter ID Laws
Oh, well. Nice try, Texas — trying to prevent minorities from voting. Among other things, the State of Texas tried to impose Voter ID laws because (they said) illegal immigrants were voting. Of course, there was no evidence of this. Just the opppsite — illegal immigrants (as the Fifth Circuit noted) try to AVOID government officials since the last thing they … Read More
Good Ol’ Boys Shooting At The U.S. Military
For the second day in a row, shots were reportedly fired Wednesday near a Mississippi military facility where part of the “Jade Helm 15” training exercise was expected to take place. Soldiers training at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg reported shots fired into the air around 8 a.m. local time, according to a news release obtained by local TV station WJTV. … Read More