UPDATE 2:13 PM: The Illinois House has voted in favor of marriage equality. Governor Quinn has previously announced his intention to sign the bill into law. I’m hearing that gay marriage will become legal in Illinois on June 1st, 2014. Original Post: BuzzFeed says: The Illinois House will take a final vote on marriage equality […]
Paul Constant
Posted inPolitics
In Case You Thought the Shutdown Changed Anything
Republicans are still the party of no: Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked confirmation of two Obama Administration nominees, signaling a return to the chamber’s protracted fight over White House appointments that led to talk of filibuster reform over the summer. This is the sort of boring, everyday shit that the Senate is supposed to do […]
Posted inThe Apocalypse
Facebook Admits a Drop in Daily Use Among Young Teens
David Lieberman at Deadline points out one of the most noteworthy parts of Facebook’s earnings call: …CFO David Ebersam said the company had seen a drop in use among young teens. “Our best analysis on youth engagement in the U.S. reveals that usage of Facebook among U.S. teens overall was stable from Q2 to Q3, […]
Posted inPolitics
The NSA Tapped Into Google and Yahoo Data Centers All Over the World
This is even more unthinkable than all the other unthinkable stuff that’s been previously reported in the Washington Post: The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, according to documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with knowledgeable […]
Posted inPolitics
Here Are the Anti-Obamacare Ads Republicans Are Airing During The Daily Show
Ha ha ha! They’re just like those “I’m a Mac” ads! Remember those? I hear all you kids in the 18-35 demographic love those ads! The reception over at the conservative National Review is decidedly mixed: Man, that sucked. Why can’t we find any creative conservatives? Private sector” should not be a white dude. Really, […]
Posted inPolitics
Two Completely Unrelated Things
1. Denver Nicks at Swampland says: South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday he will block President Barack Obama’s nominees for executive branch positions until survivors of the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi testify before Congress. 2. Mary Noble at Politix says: The US embassy in Benghazi was protected by Libyan […]
Posted inTech
I Hope They Name It "Skynet"
CNET’s Daniel Terdiman broke the story that Google appears to be building a mysterious four-story-tall barge just off the coast of Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay: Google did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But after going through lease agreements, tracking a contact tied to the project on LinkedIn, talking to locals on […]
Posted inHorrors
Universal Studios Cancels Ride Due to Gay Superman Controversy
Vice’s Jamie Lee Curtis Taete went to the new Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure show at Universal Studios and saw some “comedy” that wouldn’t have been out of place in the bad old homophobic 1960s: Anyway, Superman joins Bill and Ted on their witch-killing quest. Bill and Ted are pretty psyched about that because, […]
Posted in$$$
Congressional Democrats Slam Walmart for Sucking at the Government Teat While Failing to Provide a Living Wage
It’s heartening that the living wage discussion is finally inspiring Democrats to fight on behalf of the American worker. Salon’s Josh Eidelson says: A slide from Wal-Mart’s U.S. CEO’s presentation to Goldman Sachs’ retail conference boasts that “Over 475K” U.S. employees earned more than $25,000 last year. Activist workers and members of Congress seized on […]
Posted inHorrors
What Do You Think of Facebook's Decapitation Video Ban?
First, Facebook banned videos of decapitations. Then it reversed its policy on decapitation videos. Now it’s banning them again. Nudity is still, and has always been, banned on Facebook.
Posted inHealth
Consumer Reports Versus Republicans
Getting a strongly worded note from Consumer Reports must be kind of like getting yelled at by Mr. Rogers: Pundits opposed to the new health care law and some media outlets have tried to suggest that our coverage of the troubled HealthCare.gov site means that Consumer Reports has turned against the Affordable Care Act. Not […]
Posted inMedia
Vice Founder Gavin McInnes Says Women “Naturally” Want to Be Homemakers
Gavin McInnes ranted all over a Huffington Post video chat in the most tired, men’s rights-y way imaginable: Women are forced to pretend to be men. They’re feigning this toughness. They’re miserable. Study after study has shown that feminism has made women less happy. They’re not happy in the work force, for the most part. […]