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Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 13, 2016 12 Comments
Andy Stanley has a message for the forty-five and older crowd -- stop scaring the children. Why? Youngsters take cues from older generations. If all they hear is doom and gloom, there's a pretty good chance they're going to buy into the Apocalypse is nigh! hogwash. "Many of you have grown weary and you've lost heart, and the reason is, you have fixed your eyes on a political system, you have fixed your eyes on a political leader, you have fixed your eyes on the good 'ol days, you've fixed your eyes on the economy and you are growing weary and you need to knock it off!" said Stanley. "And I'll tell you why -- because you are scaring the children."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 13, 2016 56 Comments
Late last night, I blogged about a NYT report that the Education and Justice Departments were issuing a bathroom edict to all government-funded schools. As the NYT pointed out, the letter is not legally binding and has, "no force of law," but is a threat no less. Without force of law, the only threat remaining is federal money (which should make for a fun 10th amendment fight). So the ED and DOJ trotted out Title IX to preach about discrimination. But it's not a threat. Public schools will lose federal funding for noncompliance, but it's not a threat though: Potty Decree highlights (or lowlights):

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 12, 2016 38 Comments
Because the issue isn't contentious enough, Obama Administration Officials will issue a directive to public school districts nationwide, instructing them to allow students to use the restroom of their choosing. Officials from the Justice and Education Departments have signed the letter which preaches against discrimination. The New York Times reported late Thursday evening:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 12, 2016 26 Comments
As summer approaches, Belgian-owned Budweiser announces a new patriotic label:  "America."  The theme is intended to attract customers while sharing patriotic sayings, lyrics, and the like. From the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser press release entitled "Budweiser emblazons America on cans and bottles to kick off its most patriotic summer ever":
America’s No. 1 full-flavored lager is taking its longstanding tradition of patriotic packaging even further this summer by replacing “Budweiser” with “America” on the front of its 12-oz. cans and bottles. The brand is also modifying Budweiser’s iconic label to add copy that is central to American history, including phrases from the Pledge of Allegiance and lyrics from “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful.” On shelves nationwide from May 23 through the election in November, these cans and bottles aim to inspire drinkers to celebrate America and Budweiser’s shared values of freedom and authenticity.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 11, 2016 6 Comments
Ronan Farrow slammed those in Hollywood who still support and worship his father Woody Allen even though his sister Dylan accused the director of molesting her. He wrote in The Hollywood Reporter:
But the old-school media's slow evolution has helped to create a culture of impunity and silence. Amazon paid millions to work with Woody Allen, bankrolling a new series and film. Actors, including some I admire greatly, continue to line up to star in his movies. "It's not personal," one once told me. But it hurts my sister every time one of her heroes like Louis C.K., or a star her age, like Miley Cyrus, works with Woody Allen. Personal is exactly what it is — for my sister, and for women everywhere with allegations of sexual assault that have never been vindicated by a conviction. Tonight, the Cannes Film Festival kicks off with a new Woody Allen film. There will be press conferences and a red-carpet walk by my father and his wife (my sister). He'll have his stars at his side — Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg. They can trust that the press won't ask them the tough questions. It's not the time, it's not the place, it's just not done.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 10, 2016 16 Comments
If you're a single American looking for love who vowed to leave the U S of A should Donald Trump take the White House, today is your lucky day. Maple Match promises to help Americans find Canadian love. "Maple Match makes it easy for Americans to find the ideal Canadian partner to save them from the unfathomable horror of a Trump presidency," they claim.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 10, 2016 14 Comments
Ah, "mansplaining." Though the term is meant to define instances of sexist men speaking condescendingly to women simply because they're women, it's broadly used by neo-feminists to describe any man engaging in the following behaviors: assertiveness, moderately aggressive, argumentative, expository, a man standing up for himself, correcting the record, or otherwise saying something contrary to what a woman thinks is right. And it drives me up the damn wall. Like this video:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 09, 2016 24 Comments
In keeping with the lumbering awkwardness of Hillary Clinton's presidential primary campaign that has included herding reporters like cattle and adopting a phony Southern accent, Team Hillary has concocted a new means of countering widespread unflattering comments about Hillary online.  Unlike Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, Hillary does not enjoy an enthusiastic following even among those who support her, so she does not have the army of online people voluntarily engaged in defending her against attacks from both the left and the right. The solution? A vast network of highly paid online pro-Hillary trolls funded by a David Brock super PAC, "Correct the Record," that will be coordinating with the Hillary campaign.  The plan, apparently, was to hire a bunch of people to do what other candidates' supporters do for free . . .  and to make it look grassroots and organic. The LA Times reports:
When the Internet’s legions of Hillary hecklers steal away to chat rooms and Facebook pages to vent grievances about Clinton, express revulsion toward Clinton and launch attacks on Clinton, they now may find themselves in a surprising place – confronted by a multimillion dollar super PAC working with Clinton.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 09, 2016 17 Comments
In 2012, I wrote about this subject. Post-election loss, desperate, and hopelessly facing President Obama's second term, the idea of a political savior made its way in to mainstream though. 2016 is not 2012 (obviously), but for different reasons than before, there's a collective hunt for the one man who will save the republic. For some that man is Trump, for others, he's an unnamed hero waiting in the wings. Real talk: He (or she) is not coming. There will be no Reagan incarnate, no William F. Buckley the Greater, no zombie Goldwater. No one person can save us from our current predicament.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 09, 2016 25 Comments
I always found Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" segment depressing. He would wander around Los Angeles, conducting man on the street interviews with passers by, most of whom showed complete ignorance about very basic American history questions. I never found it humorous, I found it disheartening, but also context for why things are the way they are. This video is no different. Who fought in World War II? Who was Hitler? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 08, 2016 15 Comments
On Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry delivered the commencement address at Northeastern University.  During this address, he told the graduating class they are "about to graduate into a complex and borderless world." The Washington Examiner reports:
Kerry also seemed to dismiss the importance of national borders, and said technology has reshaped the world into one that the U.S. must engage at the risk of being left behind. He said Trump and others who want to look inward are making a mistake, even in the face of rising tension and violence in the world. "For some people, that is all they need simply to climb under the sheets, close their eyes and push the world away," Kerry said. "And shockingly, we even see this attitude from some who think they ought to be entrusted with the job of managing international affairs." "The future demands from us something more than a nostalgia for some rose-tinted version of the past that did not really exist in any case," he said. "You're about to graduate into a complex and borderless world."
Kerry's dismissal of national borders was part of his attack on GOP presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 07, 2016 7 Comments
Finally, some good news from the Golden State! It looks like we have solved all our other problems, so Governor Jerry Brown was able to focus on the issue of paramount importance: Smoking!
Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a package of bills that will regulate the manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes and increase the legal smoking age from 18 to 21. Other bills the governor signed will close loopholes in existing smoke-free workplace laws and require that all K-12 schools be tobacco-free.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 07, 2016 35 Comments
In December 2001, alert passengers on an American Airlines flight thwarted a terrorist attack by "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, and in the wake of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, we learned that neighbors had noted suspicious activity at the terrorists' home but had not reported it for fear of being accused of profiling or of being racist. This week, a passenger on an American Airlines flight was seated next to a man who was intently focused on "scribblings" she could not decipher, and after repeated attempts to engage him in conversation, she reported behavior she found to be suspicious. The Washington Post reports:
On Thursday evening, a 40-year-old man — with dark, curly hair, olive skin and an exotic foreign accent — boarded a plane. It was a regional jet making a short, uneventful hop from Philadelphia to nearby Syracuse. Or so dozens of unsuspecting passengers thought. The curly-haired man tried to keep to himself, intently if inscrutably scribbling on a notepad he’d brought aboard. His seatmate, a blond-haired, 30-something woman sporting flip-flops and a red tote bag, looked him over. He was wearing navy Diesel jeans and a red Lacoste sweater – a look he would later describe as “simple elegance” – but something about him didn’t seem right to her. She decided to try out some small talk.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 02, 2016 16 Comments
Americans and their coffee law suits... Chicago resident, Stacy Pincus, filed suit against coffee giant Starbucks. Her beef? She claims Starbucks, "has engaged in the practice of misrepresenting the amount of Cold Drink a customer will receive," by adding too much ice to their iced beverages. Pincus and counsel are requesting class-action status. Pincus says she would not have purchased Starbucks iced-drinks had she known she was getting less than the entire cup's worth of coffee or tea beverage. The complaint claims, "in purchasing Cold Drinks from Starbucks retail stores, Plaintiff relied on Starbucks’ misrepresentations of material fact regarding the true amount of fluid ounces contained in the Cold Drinks. Plaintiff would not have paid as much, if anything for the Cold Drinks had she known that it contained less, and in many cases, nearly half as many, fluid ounces than claimed by Starbucks. As a result, Plaintiff suffered injury in fact and lost money or property."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 30, 2016 5 Comments
Thursday, we blogged about actor Will Ferrell's reported plans to play Ronald Reagan in a "comedy" about Reagan's Alzheimer's plight. Despite movie media reporting to the contrary, Reagan wasn't diagnosed with Alzheimer's until after he left the White House. President Reagan's daughter and son both spoke about against plans to make film. Patti Davis, daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan blogged:
Perhaps you have managed to retain some ignorance about Alzheimer’s and other versions of dementia. Perhaps if you knew more, you would not find the subject humorous.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 29, 2016 23 Comments
I LOVE cheese. ALL the cheese. Me, basically: giphy So I was thrilled to learn America has a Cheese Mountain. Well, kind of.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 29, 2016 20 Comments
Star Trek enthusiasts are just about the most passionate among the many entertainment industry fandoms. Because there hasn't been any new television episodes recently (though a new CBS production is slated to begin filming soon), and the latest movies have been less than satisfying for many series buffs, veteran entrepreneur Alec Peters raised $101,000 on Kickstarter to produce Prelude to Axanar. This short film would then inspire more contributions for a larger production, as an offshoot of the Star Trek: New Voyages fan-based series.
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