Derek Miller, chief of staff to Utah governor Gery Herbert, has issued a letter putting all of the 1300-plus gay marriages that happened in Utah over the last few weeks in deep-freeze. Brooke Adams And Matthew Piper report for the Salt Lake Tribune: “Wherever individuals are in the process of availing themselves of state services […]
Paul Constant
Posted inTech
In the Future, All Cars Will Be Smart Cars
Popular Science: Officials will decide in the “coming weeks” whether all new cars in the U.S. must have the technology to communicate with other cars and warn drivers—or even brake for them—when there’s a crash impending, ABC News reports. Those same officials originally said they would make a decision about these technologies by December 31, […]
Posted inPolitics
The Clinton Machine Is Already at Work
It’s easy to make fun of Politico’s array of breathless 2016 presidential prognostications, but Maggie Haberman deserves credit for this piece about what Hillary Clinton’s been up to lately. Early last summer in her Georgian-style home near Washington’s Embassy Row, Hillary Clinton met with a handful of aides for a detailed presentation on preparing for […]
Posted inBooks
Shia LaBeouf Is an Insufferable Prick
So yesterday, in response to the plagiarism scandal that’s been surrounding him for the past month, Shia LaBeouf hired a skywriter to write an apology to Dan Clowes in the sky over Hollywood: An apology from Shia Labeouf to Daniel Clowes. 5 miles long message from our team The Skywriters pic.twitter.com/zqfWgkMIUZ— Skywriting Aerial Ad (@Worldwideskyads) […]
Posted inBooks
Writer Says You Have to Write to Be a Writer; Tumblr Gets Upset
On his Tumblr, popular Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis often responds to fan questions. Many of the questions are about the writing process. Over the weekend, he got a question that kicked off more of a controversy than usual. Here’s the question: what advice do you have for someone that has had writers block […]
Posted inTV
Rob Delaney on the Duck Dynasty Guy
Here’s Rob Delaney talking about the Duck Dynasty guy using the word “logic” to describe his bigotry. I enjoyed this video very much:
Posted inPolitics
Mayor Bloomberg Says God Wants Him to Be Rich, Poor People to Starve
Someone finally asked New York’s outgoing mayor for his opinion on that New York Times story about the homeless girl named Dasani. His response? Outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I-NY) went on the defensive when asked whether he was moved by the New York Times’ powerful series on a homeless family struggling to survive in New […]
Posted inPolitics
If We Cut the Safety Net, Almost a Third Of All Americans Would Be Below the Poverty Line
You should read this whole New York Times report on poverty from Eduardo Potter. It’s about how our attitudes toward the poor in America have changed, and how we’re losing the war on poverty. But I think one paragraph in the piece is the most important part. It highlights exactly what’s wrong with the Republican […]
Posted inMovies & TV
American Russell
American Hustle: A Smarmy Scorsese Riff in the Gaudy ’70s
American Hustle: David O. Russell’s smarmy Scorsese riff.
Posted inBooks
A Real Fake Tough Guy
No action movie star in the business today moves like Lee Marvin. Marvin was a panther. He was fast and brutal and because he didn’t care if he looked cool, he was the coolest man in any movie. Marvin knew that not talking was scarier than talking, that grunting was better than bragging, and that […]
Posted inMedia
You Do Not Own Your Digital Media
If you buy your entertainment digitally, you really should read this story from Boing Boing that was published over the weekend: Bill sez, Last “December I bought some favorite Christmas specials for my kids with the idea they could watch them every year. Went tonight to watch one (‘Disney Prep and Landing 2’ if you’re […]
Posted inPolitics
Judge Says NSA’s Wiretapping Is Probably Unconstitutional
I considered headlining this one “Judge States the Obvious,” but the sad truth is that this is surprising news: A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency program which collects information on nearly all telephone calls made to, from or within the United States is likely unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon […]