Politics

When Biden Swears, Why Is It Such A Big Fucking Deal?

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 12:55 pm

Joe Biden was probably pretty preoccupied yesterday, what with the passage of the “historic!” health care reform and all (seriously, every news source ever, can’t you think of even one other word besides ‘historic’ to describe Obamacare? Work on this, please). So it was pretty understandable when his excitement got the better of him and he accidentally used some dirty language when congratulating President Obama as he signed the bill into law. As he went to embrace Obama at the end of a celebratory speech, he murmured, “This is a big fucking deal,” and the crowd went, and continues to go, wild. MORE »

Are You A Bad American For Not Liking Olympics?

Andrew Belonsky :: Friday, February 12th, 2010 3:20 pm

The Olympics officially kick off this evening, and millions of people plan on tuning in tonight and over the next few weeks. An estimated fifty-three percent, actually. Although that number’s down a bit from the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, it’s still a significant amount. Yet, unlike these people, I can’t bring myself to give a damn…not about the stats and scores, anyway. I don’t much care whether we win in figure skating, the most popular sport, or bobsledding, the gayest. Nor does roughly forty-seven percent of the nation. I wonder: Does that make us bad American, or good ones?

Google Commits Music Blogocide Over MP3s

Shannon Hassett :: Thursday, February 11th, 2010 11:00 am

Had you been up early and browsing for some mp3s this morning, you would have been hard pressed to find the usual suspects. A number of the web’s most highly trafficked music blogs were shut down over the past day and a half, including: I Rock Cleveland, It’s A Rap, LivingEars, Masalacism, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted and To Die By Your Side. In addition to the release of mp3s, the sites share another common bond in their blogging platforms, as all are hosted by Google’s Blogger. Not a huge surprise, then, when overnight the creators all received a similar message from Google alerting them to their apparent copyright infringement and the immediate shutdown of their blogs. MORE »

Obama To NASA: Keep Your Feet On The Ground

Adam Kearney :: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 3:00 pm

For stargazers and those with interplanetary ambition, Obama’s budget for the US space program is a mixed bag. NASA’s budget for the next five years has been increased to $100 billion, however the popular Constellation program, which Bush initiated to send astronauts to the Moon by 2020, has been scrapped. The program would have created new boosters, orbiters, and a lunar lander for the 21st century. Instead, the Administration plans to extend the life of the International Space Station for another 10 years, although it has yet to produce any significant scientific results. And once the space shuttle fleet is taken out of service this fall, there will be no way to send people to the station without hitching a ride with the cosmonauts. NASA has also lowered it’s prices for the vintage 1970’s spaceships, but you can get the engines for free. MORE »

State Of The Union 2010: The Drinking Game

Adam Kearney :: Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 4:00 pm

If you’re tuning into the State of the Union address tomorrow night (and don’t worry, it won’t interfere with the Lost reunion, the network squared that away) try to liven up the rhetoric with a fun drinking game based around President Obama’s most common catchphrases. So, grab a cool six-pack of American beer, and plunk yourself down for some real participatory democracy.

Here are the rules: MORE »

For Roe, Woe is Me

Shannon Hassett :: Friday, January 22nd, 2010 5:30 pm

Today marks the anniversary of the decision in landmark supreme court case Roe v. Wade, which came to a close on this date in 1973. Headlining the festivities is the March for Life, sponsored by none other than the March for Life Fund, an organization created for the sole purpose of petitioning Roe v. Wade. Pro-life’s capture of the date for its own purposes, despite the Roe decision’s pro-choice leanings, is nothing short of impressive marketing, and it says a lot about the current state of U.S. abortion policies 37 years after Roe.

Abortion laws experienced a rebirth in the media throughout W’s White House residency as he expertly attempted to reverse (and largely succeeded) much of what Roe v. Wade had accomplished in the fight for women’s reproductive rights. The case mandated that a woman be permitted to abort her pregnancy until the “point at which the fetus becomes viable,” the job of defining “viable” also falling on the court as part of the decision. By the time Bush left office, there was a ban on federal funding for international family planning groups and stem cell research, not to mention a whole lot more abstinence only education. Despite those defeats, the pro-choice movement benefited heavily from the Bush backlash in terms of gaining support, but Obama’s reign has steered the issue back into murky water. MORE »

Martha Coakley Vs. Scott Brown: Will A Brown Victory Prove Kennedy Curse?

Stephen Blackwell :: Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 5:30 pm

Much has been made of Scott Brown’s sexiness, and believe me I see it. This guy blows away Obama’s “hot nerds.” He makes Jon Favreau look like Screech.

Now, this is only a slight digression from the salient issue — the stall of healthcare reform — which is inexorably tied to Brown’s victory or defeat. His “I’m a dude, you’re a dude” appeal has gone a long way with Massachusetts voters, as Coakley’s HRC-styled hauteur doesn’t exactly inspire the Southies.

There are over twenty-five million articles online right now (author speculation) insinuating that a Brown victory would lead to the death of healthcare reform and a reversal of fortune for the Democratic party. We’ll see, won’t we? The irony here is that it’s Ted Kennedy’s vacant seat that is causing the uproar. MORE »

Mass. Debacle: Dems Face Supermajority Loss?

Adam Kearney :: Monday, January 18th, 2010 4:30 pm

The Democrats have been done everything they can to secure a “supermajority” in the Senate, and they’ve held it with 60 seats to the Republican’s 40, since Al Franken was sworn in as the Senator for Missouri on July 7, 2009. But since Sen. Edward Kennedy passed away, the Democrats have been scrambling to secure the seat for their party in the Massachusetts special election. President Obama made a plea for Democrat Martha Coakley during a speech Massachusetts yesterday, following Bill Clinton’s arrival last Friday. However, early survey results show the Republican Scott Brown leading 51 to 46. MORE »

Medical Marijuana in NJ, Legalization Movement on West Coast: Everybody Wants Their Hands In The Pot.

Adam Kearney :: Monday, January 18th, 2010 1:55 pm

New Jersey has now become the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana, although lawmakers stress that the availability is going to be nothing like California’s. Only patients suffering from chronic conditions such as cancer and AIDS will be allowed the medication at this point, although the door has been left open for the state health department to add more diseases to the list.

Marijuana, even for medicinal use, is still illegal according to federal law, however Obama’s announcement in October that the FBI would no longer be prosecuting those following state laws has lent some cred to the legalization movement, which is not passing up the opportunity to advance their agenda. MORE »

Obama: The Musical

Adam Kearney :: Monday, January 18th, 2010 12:40 pm

At a time when many Americans are becoming jaded once again by the political process, after a crippling recession, a bitter battle over public health insurance, and a continued war on terror overseas, we can look back to the inspiring moments of Obama’s 2008 election campaign through a musical in Germany titled “Hope- The Obama Musical Story.”

Set in Chicago, in the 20-year period leading up to the election, the story begins with Obama as a community organizer and follows his journey to becoming the first black president, focusing primarily on the 2008 campaign and his historic slogan “Yes we can.” MORE »

Interview: Clare & The Reasons

Isaac Lekach :: Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 12:00 pm

Clare & The Reasons is the name of Clare and Olivier Manchon’s musical project. The two met at college in Boston and now call Brooklyn home. Arrow, their recently released second album, is a remarkable record. The songs are buoyant and melodic, but shrouded in proficiently arranged orchestration-complete with whistling, strings, horns, swells of vocal oohs and a Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) contribution on the track “This Is The Story.” Clare and The Reasons have tour dates posted here (including a show with Israeli/French songstress Keren Ann and a bunch of dates with the venerable Van Dyke Parks). Go find them! And do read our interview with Clare Manchon, in which she reveals a love for Stevie Wonder, tells us what Van Dyke Parks listens to and weighs in on our current administration, after the jump.

Today In Music

Brenna Ehrlich :: Monday, November 23rd, 2009 3:50 pm

For some reason I thought he’s be into dancier stuff: The Presidential iPod

Out of the woods and onto the runway?: Let The Joanna Newsom 2010 Rumor Mill Begins

You hearing this, Edward Droste?: The Justin Bieber Example: Use Twitter or Incite a Riot and Get Arrested (via The Daily What)

Guys like crazy chicks. We get it: 15 (Female) Literary Characters We’d Totally Sleep With

Seriously? There’s no nap couch?: The Pop-Up Cardboard Office