1/ The excellent Frank Rich with his insightful commentary on the big stories of the week......
New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich speaks with contributor Alex Carp about the biggest stories in politics and culture. This week, the magazine asked him about the new wave of "religious freedom" laws, the new host of The Daily Show, and what to make of Andrew Sullivan's recent comments about blogger burn-out.
Just as Indiana lawmakers announce plans to "amend" their controversial religious-freedom law, the Arkansas state legislature approved a similar bill and sent it the governor's desk. In a surprise move this morning, the Republican governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, who’d previously expressed support for the bill, asked the legislature to recall or amend it. Will the furor over what happened in Indiana extend into 2016?
That Hutchinson did this abrupt about-face is further proof of what a political disaster the Indiana law, and other, ongoing anti-gay initiatives in other red states, is for the GOP. At least 20 anti-LGBT laws have been proposed in Texas this year alone, according to the Texas Observer. Hutchinson’s reversal is one small attempt to quell these flames before they do more damage to his state and his party. But much damage has already been done. Not a single Republican presidential contender came down against the Indiana law, and most have been vocal in their support of it and the Indiana governor, Mike Pence. That unanimity cannot now be written out of the record as the GOP faces 2016.
2/ We watched the HBO documentary "Going Clear" last week, and it was as good as the reviews said it was...... it showed the "Church" Of Scientology for the vicious, mafia-like business it is.......
If you saw it, the movie shows excerpts from a promo made by the Scientologists enticing potential weak people into the cult - SNL did a spoof of the ad, and it's very good......
Look at the four minute full length original first [with subtitles of what the video really means], then watch the 3 minute SNL version.....
And see "Going Clear" - excellent!
When SNL presents a highly-produced pre-taped video sketch, it’s almost a guarantee to be better than the live-action skits. And tonight’s Scientology-bashing example was one for the ages.
The scene: A fake ’90s-era musical ad for a religion called “Neurotology,” replete with nonsense jargon like “Diametrics”; belief in aliens living in your brain; expensive devices that attach to your head; and subtly terrified followers who eventually leave the religion, go “missing,” or become outspoken activists against the cult.
There’s even a terrifying Miscavige-like leader and goofy black-and-white footage of an L. Ron-Hubbard-like founder.
You could spend two hours watching HBO’s Going Clear… or you could just watch this now:
3/ Jon Stewart wants his legacy to be the one comedian that really skewered Fox News......his best stuff is on their lies and misinformation, and this is a great example.....five great minutes.....
Jon Stewart tonight really went after Fox News for being so self-congratulatory about their own coverage of Ferguson, getting a liberal Hollywood elitist to “apologize” to them and presenting them a cake.
Stewart was going off Megyn Kelly touting Fox’s coverage and seemingly wanting some kind of acknowledgement from the media that they got it right.
He said it’s “bullshit” for Fox to play the “rush to judgment” card when they rush to judgment a lot, but acknowledge that it “is newsworthy when Fox is right.”
The surprise Hollywood guest vowed only to make movies “blindly uncritical of America” and showed a montage of Fox’s biggest fans: Fox.
He concluded by comparing the 18-year-old Fox to an actual 18-year-old: “You have a massive ego and spend 24 hours a day jerking yourself off.”
4/ Anyone who uses Siri or voice texting will love these autocorrect funnies......
This batch are pretty good.....
5/ Russell Brand is a British comedian, and he does a regular news blog.....this one is quite interesting, as he discusses the logic behind the German pilot crashing the plane into a mountain in the context of why it's happening, and Fox News.
He makes a lot of sense. Give it a chance - it's nine minutes, and it should make you think.....
In the latest episode of The Trews, our favorite Brit takes on Fox News’ coverage of the Germanwings plane crash. Russell Brand’s target this week was Fox’s Neil Cavuto. Brand plays clips of the Fox host trying to figure out why the pilot chose to crash the plane. And he interjects his funny common sense assessment of Cavuto’s awkward monologue in the way that only Russell Brand can.
Brand says,
“In a way this is the perfect Fox News story, because there’s no way of knowing for certain what were the motivations…and in that gap of ignorance, there’s room for tremendous fear and great propaganda.”
Brand also discusses the very serious epidemic of mental illness. And in typical Russell Brand style, he combines humor with some very insightful observations. He also makes a link between mental illness in this country and Fox News and explains why it best serves the Conservative propaganda machine to keep things this way.
6/ The warming oceans are changing the currents that shape our weather and the climate, with potentially disastrous consequences. Think if Gulf Stream changed course, which it is showing signs of doing.....
A slightly nerdy but detailed and informative report from the Washington Post.....just one of the few great newspapers left, reporting news you don't want to hear but should anyway.....
As with the story last week on the Totten Glacier in Antarctica, all long term climate influences take decades to affect us, but there's no doubt - change is a'comin.......
This “overturning circulation” plays a major role in the climate because it brings warm water northward, thereby helping to warm Europe’s climate, and also sends cold water back towards the tropics. Here’s a helpful visualization, from Rahmstorf and the Potsdam Institute, of how it works:
Graph of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation by Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Red colors are surface currents, blue colors are below the surface. “NADW” stands for North Atlantic Deep Water.
And here’s a wonderful video from NASA that visualizes the thermohaline circulation for the entire globe. Rahmstorf also has a blog post up at RealClimate.org explaining his research.
7/ This is fun - three girls in a car mime their way through the history of modern music.......including costumes, makeup and imagination.....amusing, and very well done - three minutes.....
LOVE the first one.....
Last year, the world was treated to a heart-stopping lip syncing battle between Emma Stone and Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, and I’ve just generally regarded her as the bossest lip sync-er of all time since then. Well, it was a good run, but it’s time for her to give up her throne to the three girls who mimed all the most popular songs of the last few decades in their car. These ladies from SketchSHE don’t just lip sync: Shae-Lee, Lana, and Madison commit so hard to this bit that they don costumes, wigs, and some pretty sick body art. They bust every move that ever existed from the 1940s to today, turning the confines of the car their own dance floor. We already love them from their cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” but, if possible, we love them even more now.
8/ Our politicians can't have it both ways, being ostensibly in favor of controls on carbon and simultaneously giving oil companies permission and encouragement to drill everywhere - even in the Arctic, the most difficult place in the world to drill an oil rig.
It's the power of money.....everyone knows to have any chance at all of slowing the rate of global warming carbon assets [oil, coal] have to stay in the ground, but the energy conglomerates own all politicians worldwide, not just the puppets in Washington.
I am disappointed in the President on this one....
The Polar Pioneer, a drilling rig contracted by Shell for Chukchi Sea exploration in 2015, is transported across the Pacific on the heavy-lift vessel Blue Marlin. (Photo: Vincenzo Floramo / Greenpeace)
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration reaffirmed a 2008 government auction of Arctic drilling rights on Tuesday, delivering a major victory to Shell Oil Co. as it aims to resume exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea this summer.
In validating the seven-year-old auction, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell stressed that the Arctic “is an important component of the administration’s national energy strategy.”
“We remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration offshore Alaska,” Jewell said in a statement. “This unique, sensitive and often challenging environment requires effective oversight to ensure all activities are conducted safely and responsibly.”
Related story: Feds propose Arctic drilling mandates
The move illustrated anew the balancing act the Obama administration has taken toward oil and gas development amid steep environmental opposition, coming the same day the White House formally pledged greenhouse gas emission cuts ahead of international climate talks. It also marked the second time the Obama administration has affirmed the Chukchi Sea lease sale in response to a court order and a long-running legal challenge that began even before the auction took place in February 2008.
9/ Thirteen powerful photos, spotlighting a world that's overpopulated and consuming more and more......the first, the rolling hills of Mexico City and the photo of the slums of Port Au Prince are amazing......
Very impressive, and thought provoking.....
Overpopulation, overconsumption – in pictures
How do you raise awareness about population explosion? One group thought that the simplest way would be to show people
10/ A few of our readers are British, and this will be of interest to them, or if you are planning a trip to London.....
By the way, I lived in London for almost 15 years and I've only been to a couple of these places.....wow....I wish I had seen this article when I lived there.
18 Incredible Places You Won’t Believe Are Actually In London
11/ The World Health Organization has put out a report that says Roundup probably causes cancer in humans.....now Monsanto demands a retraction......
The most evil, destructive corporation in the world....
Monsanto is demanding the WHO retract the recent report that said Roundup was probably linked to cancer. Monsanto is claiming the report was biased and that glyphosate products like Roundup are safe when the directions are followed. Is the company just scared that its profits will decrease?
12/ Remember Sara McClachlan from the 90's? Beautiful voice, lyrical songs and a string of hits, including this one "Arms Of An Angel". Here she is singing a duet with Pink......beautifully done....
Sarah McLachlan's duet of "Arms Of The Angel" with Pink left the audience in awe. - A truly beautiful duet, Sarah McLachlan and Pink’s voices come together to complement one another so beautifully in the famous song, “In The Arms Of The Angel.” Written by Sarah, this song stayed on Billboard’s top 100 for 29 weeks and is still of favorite touching the hearts of many.
13/ Lynn Parramore with a story on religion, with examples from the Church Of Scientology of how much like a business some churches are......designed to reward their executives handsomely, and milk the flock unmercifully.
Scientology is one of the nastiest examples, but think televangelists, megachurch pastors - they are all the same......and it's all tax free!
For me that's the bit I resent the most.....a clone of a rapacious corporation masquerading as a church that doesn't pay any tax at all....
Good article.....
The Church of Scientology of Los Angeles building. (Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)
This article originally appeared on AlterNet.
In America, salvation is big business, and he who dies with the most souls wins. Plenty of lives are wrecked along the way, but no matter. When consumer capitalism meets religious yearning, the sky’s the limit of what can you can get away with. That’s the subtext of Alex Gibney’s latest film, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and screened on HBO on March 29.
L. Ron Hubbard, or LRH, as he liked to style himself, was an American of unprepossessing origins in search of meaning and money. Possibly he found the first, and is just now cavorting with intergalactic spirits in the sky. Most definitely he found the second, riding a rocket ship of wacked-out ambition to create what is now essentially a tax-free shell company with $3 billion in assets and real estate holdings on six continents.
Gibney doesn’t give us LRH as a madman, or even a simple huckster. The penny-a-word pulp fiction writer could have just been another loser who couldn’t manage to finish college and whose less-than-stellar naval service went awry when he inadvertently used a Mexican island for target practice and was deemed unfit for command. Going Clear traces the young man’s early perambulations through California occultism and various hare-brained moneymaking schemes to the Jersey Shore, where he washed up exhausted and plagued by anxiety. Another man might have just given up. But not LRH.
Instead, he marshaled a smattering of knowledge from various strains of psychological and philosophical esoterica to gin up a mental health self-help system he named Dianetics, which he introduced in a hugely successful book in 1950. For a while it seemed like LRH had finally found his pot of gold, but alas, the Dianetics fad faded like the hula-hoop craze, its foundations disintegrating into debt and disorder.
Then came the epiphany, shared with his second wife Sara Northrup, who appears in the film as the shell-shocked survivor of LRH’s dreams. “The only way to make any real money,” he told her, “was to have a religion.”
14/ Great column from Scott Maxwell in the Orlando Sentinel about infighting in Tallahassee between the crazy wing of the Republican Party, mainly in the House, and the few sensible Republicans that are left, mainly in the Senate....
The good guys in the Senate don't, of course, include our local Senator, "Loony Alan" Hays, the wack job who hates buses and poor people.....
There is a war raging in Tallahassee.
It is not, however, between Republicans and Democrats.
It is between Republicans and other Republicans.
Between the practical and the ideologues.
Between the solutionists and the obstructionists.
Between those who want to make a difference and those who want to make a scene.
They are battling over guns, gays, health care and more.
15/ We're coming up to summer, and the TV desert of reruns and garbage will begin, but one show you might consider bingeing is this one - "Orphan Black".
Here is a long story in the Times Magazine on the star of the series, Tatiana Maslany, and some of the technical details on how the show is made.
It's a virtuoso acting performance from her - Mary and I have watched the first series and half of the second, and it's excellent....
Seasons 1 and 2 are on Amazon Prime Instant video....
The clones eventually join forces, which means that Maslany winds up playing as many as four characters in one scene. These performances weren’t just a revelation to audiences; they astonished people close to Maslany. Frazee, recalling one of the first multiple-clone scenes he shot, said, “I remember thinking, [the clones] are so different, we probably could have gotten away with different actors who look similar.” He shook his head and added, “I couldn’t see, at all, the same person.” Stephen Lynch, the show’s makeup artist, told me that he is often asked what prosthetic piece he uses for a particular clone’s nose. (The answer: none.) Once, Maslany’s mother was on set watching her own daughter and wondered aloud when Tatiana would be back.
Nominally the story of how the clones find one another and team up to fight an escalating series of threats to their autonomy, “Orphan Black” grapples with the violent intersection between technology and female agency.
Todays video - the diner scene from the underrated movie "A History Of Violence", with Viggo Mortensen......great late night viewing - note - some violent bits, like this one!
Todays media joke
His request approved, the CNN News photographer quickly used a cell phone to call the local airport to charter a flight.
He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport.
Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane warming up outside a hanger.
He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, "Let's go."
The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind and took off.
Once in the air, the photographer instructed the pilot, "Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can take pictures of the fires on the hillsides."
Once in the air, the photographer instructed the pilot, "Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can take pictures of the fires on the hillsides."
"Why?" asked the pilot.
"Because I'm a photographer for CNN" , he responded, "and I need to get some close up shots."
The pilot was strangely silent for a moment, finally he stammered, "So, what you're telling me, is..... You're NOT my flight instructor?"
Todays Jesus jokes
There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:
1. He called everyone brother
2. He liked Gospel
3. He didn't get a fair trial
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Father's business
2. He lived at home until he was 33
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1. He talked with His hands
2. He had wine with His meals
3. He used olive oil
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1. He never cut His hair
2. He walked around barefoot all the time
3. He started a new religion
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian:
1. He was at peace with nature
2. He ate a lot of fish
3. He talked about the Great Spirit
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married..
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was virtually no food
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it
3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do
Can I get an AMEN!!
Todays cop joke
A policemen calls the station on the radio."Hello, is that you, Sarge?""Yes?""We have a case here. A woman has shot her husband for stepping on the floor she'd just mopped clean."“Have you arrested the woman?"
"No sir . . . the floor's still wet."
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