Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action in University of Texas Case

Jordan Sargent · 06/23/16 10:22AM

This morning, the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action as practiced by the University of Texas with a 4-3 decision in a case filed by a student named Abigail Fisher who argued that she had been denied admission to the school because she is white.

"I Look at Every Assault on Me as an Opportunity": Todd Solondz on Provoking, Directing, and Resurrecting Dawn Wiener

Rich Juzwiak · 06/23/16 09:35AM

For over 20 years, filmmaker Todd Solondz has confronted audiences and what they hold true with brutal satires of human interaction and the politeness that convolutes it. His subject matter has probed, often with a sense of humor, taboos like child abuse, rape, and exploitation. His 1998 movie Happiness offered a glimpse into the interior lives of a pedophile and an obscene phone caller. He has also challenged the truths we hold about filmmaking—by now his cinematic universe is connected tenuously via partial sequels, alternate lives for his characters, and multiple actors’ interpretations of the same characters. It’s gotten twisty: A quarter of his latest movie, Wiener-Dog, is a sideways sequel to his 1995 breakthrough Welcome to the Dollhouse, imagining the adult life of Dawn Wiener, the Dollhouse protagonist that he previously killed off in 2004's Palindromes. In Wiener-Dog, Dawn is played not by Heather Matarazzo, who made that role iconic, but by Greta Gerwig—Solondz says Matarazzo’s lack of interest in ever reprising the role “freed” him.

A Very Short Guide to a Very Bad Idea: "Brexit"

Hamilton Nolan · 06/23/16 08:20AM

Today is the day—the day for the “Brexit” vote that you’ve been hearing so much about, against your will. What do you, the only very vaguely interested American, need to know?

Donald Trump Takes a Break

Brendan O'Connor · 06/23/16 07:53AM

Tonight, Donald Trump heads to Scotland on a short, 36-hour trip, not to meet with political leaders during a time of particular tumult for the United Kingdom, but rather, to visit two golf courses that he owns.

Hamilton Nolan · 06/22/16 03:40PM

While the median size of new U.S. homes has risen to an all-time high, a study says the average size of new apartments has fallen by 8% in the past decade. You can have a tiny apartment in a cool place, a huge house in a boring place, or, more likely, the backseat of a 1982 VW Rabbit in the Walmart parking lot.

The Democrats Are Boldly Fighting For a Bad, Stupid Bill

Alex Pareene · 06/22/16 03:20PM

After Democrats in the Senate staged a filibuster in support of gun control measures, their colleagues in the House have begun a “sit-in” aimed at embarrassing Republicans into allowing a vote on a measure that would restrict the ability of suspected terrorists to legally buy guns. The move is fantastic political theater. It’s also a tremendous waste of popular support and activist energy in support of a measure that isn’t just ineffective but also actively offensive.

The Clintons Have a For-Profit College Problem Of Their Own

Brendan O'Connor · 06/22/16 02:15PM

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s foray into for-profit education with Trump University, which currently faces two class-action lawsuits in California brought by former students, and one fraud lawsuit in New York, is by now well documented. In marketing materials, Trump compared Trump University to his alma mater, the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; in a deposition in January, he favorably compared its refund policy to the Home Shopping Network’s. Then, when called on the carpet for failing to deliver results for students, Trump said in his own defense that no one should have believed his “marketing BS.”

What Is to Be Done About the New York Times Not Giving Credit Where It’s Due?

J.K. Trotter · 06/22/16 01:22PM

Last night, the New York Times reported on Iowa Congressman Steve King’s attempt to block the Obama administration from changing the face of the $20 bill from Andrew Jackson to the black abolitionist Harriet Tubman. At first glance, the piece reads as straightforward, workaday journalism. On closer inspection, however, it reveals a few of the paper of record’s most entrenched pathologies.