Bill Clinton is still, somehow, allowed to speak at important public events, and he’s certainly making the most of it. The former president and now first-man-in-training took that privilege to a whole new level this week, giving his thoughts on the rival of his wife, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
This morning was not a good morning for Laura Ingraham, the conservative commentator who hosts a syndicated radio show that is broadcast across the country. Today, Ingraham’s show had some technical difficulties, which led her to curse out her executive producer Drew Charmichael live on-air when she thought her mic was dead.
Tax Day is Monday, America. I hope you filed your return already, and can spend the weekend enjoying the sunny weather, unstressed about your civic obligation to fill government coffers. If you haven’t, don’t worry: you still have three days. A word of advice, however: don’t file with Liberty Tax Services, which has seen an alarming number of stores shut down over alleged misconduct lately.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on an exciting New York City real estate offering: For $22 million, someone can buy a 20-unit apartment building in Brooklyn Heights to use as their very own single-family dwelling. Are you that person? That is to say, are you a monstrous asshole, who would like to make dozens of people’s lives worse for the sake of your personal luxury?
Today on the internet, there is an interview with Erik Nielson, a professor of literature and hip-hop at the University of Richmond, on the subject of rap lyrics being used against young men of color in criminal trials across the country. Nielson has written about the phenomenon and has served as an expert witness for defense attorneys hoping to convince juries that their clients are not violent criminals based on lyrics they may or may not have rapped.
A serious essay on Anti-Rich Prejudice: “When I discuss unfair treatment of successful businessmen, I almost always hear comments like, ‘Oh, boohoo. What do the rich have to complain about? Look at everything they have!’ This reflects a crass materialism, which amounts to the notion that money solves everything.”
In an interview with Variety earlier this week, AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron seemed to submit to the imaginary collective will of “Millennials — who live on social media,” by teasing a pretty bad idea: Allowing people to text during the movie. Many people got very mad and AMC immediately backed down, tweeting this morning: “NO TEXTING AT AMC. Won’t happen. You spoke. We listened.”
Climate-change denier and Trump surrogate Sarah Palin, promoting her new film, Climate Hustle, inexplicably challenged just how much of a Science Guy Bill Nye really is: “Bill Nye is as much a scientist as I am,” she said during a Congressional event Thursday. “He’s a kids’ show actor. He’s not a scientist.”
Sin taxes, which states levy on things like cigarettes and booze and gambling, are popular with just about everyone. So why the fuck haven’t we established the single smartest sin tax of all?
On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Valerie Caproni ordered that documents related to the conviction of former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges last fall be unsealed. Prosecutors say that the documents show Silver carried on extramarital affairs with at least two women—one of whom had business before the state legislature, and one of whom he helped get a government job.
Like an acoustic guitarist doing shaky Jack Johnson covers at a crowded happy hour, Ted Cruz prattled on about his ideas for America or some bullshit at the back of the room, while attendees at last night’s New York City GOP gala—who can barely hear each other in here, Jesus—just tried to have a good time with their friends.
At one point during last night’s Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton tried to use Bernie Sanders’s anti-Wall Street message against him. “I’m the only one on this stage who did not vote to deregulate swaps and derivatives, as Senator Sanders did,” she said. “That contributed to the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and started the cascade.”
