On Thursday, Protestant minister and president of the North Carolina NAACP William Barber II took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to deliver a moving speech advocating for a revival of “the heart of our democracy” with the power of love, mercy and justice for all.
On Tuesday, conservative commentators sprang into actually to “fact check” Michelle Obama’s remark about the White House being built with slave labor, successfully missing the point of her story to note that, hey, lots of non-slaves worked on it too. Bill O’Reilly went one further, however, weirdly stating that the slaves that did work on the White House were “well-fed” with “decent lodgings.”
Bill Clinton is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, although “scheduled” might be a bit misleading, given that the former President has never met a time limit he couldn’t double.
On Tuesday, Mothers of the Movement, a group formed by women whose unarmed black children were killed by police or gun violence, took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to urge for police and gun reform and support Hillary Clinton as the candidate most prepared to enact that change.
On Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to give an emotional endorsement of Hillary Clinton. “Leaders like Hillary Clinton,” said Obama, “who has the guts and the grace to keep coming back and putting those cracks in the highest and hardest glass ceiling, until she finally breaks through, lighting all of us along with her.”
As next week’s Republican National Convention approaches, officials in Cleveland continue to field questions about what firearms attendees can openly carry (only real ones) and where they can carry them (only outside the convention hall), but, so far, the liberal media has failed to grill the powers that be about a much purer symbol American liberty: the humble e-cigarette.
Much like how everyone listens with bated breath when a drunk uncle gives an impromptu toast at a wedding (Will he make an inappropriate comment about the couple's sex life? Will he point at the best man and say something a little bit racist?), so was the nation captivated by Vice President Joe "Big Fuckin'" Biden at the Democratic National Convention earlier this month.
Hoping to counter the "bad name" Clint Eastwood gave "to older Americans everywhere with his absurd and awkward-to-watch introduction of Governor Romney" at last week's Republican National Convention, an ever-growing number of Internet users hope to convince the Democratic powers-that-be to let Betty White introduce President Obama at this week's Democratic National Convention.
Maybe Barack Obama is a celebrity after all: According to the AP, more than 38 million viewers tuned in to watch the Democratic nominee's DNC speech last night. Even excepting the uncounted audience who tuned in via C-SPAN, PBS, or online, "Nielsen Media Research said more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final American Idol or the Academy Awards this year." If next week's Republican National Convention has got its work cut out for it, John McCain might want to start with a VP pick who's got more ratings power than the lead from 30 Rock. [AP]
For every Steven Spielberg flinging a Democratic National Convention short film out the limo window on his way to his cabin retreat in the Rockies, we're learning there are a few dozen other filmmakers scavenging the floor of the convention hall with cameras and about two hours' sleep. Such is the spirit of democracy (or something — don't ask) fueling the makers of Convention, who have seemingly been everywhere at once this week trailing delegates, pols and pundits alike. And they're not the only ones winding down their routines tonight as Barack Obama's speech closes the event; Mayor of the Sunset Strip director George Hickenlooper is hanging around with his cousin, Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, and Amy Rice and Alicia Sams are neck-deep in their top-secret, Ed Norton-backed documentary following the Obama campaign. We hope they enjoyed the goodwill, because we're also hearing that the folks overseeing next week's GOP Convention in Minneapolis may do things a little differently:
The Democratic National Convention is past the halfway point in Denver, which tonight will emerge as the unlikely epicenter of Steven Spielberg's cosmic restitution for Indiana Jones 4. The director is taking only incremental steps toward recovery for now, however, joining contemporaries Ken Burns and Davis Guggenheim as the DNC's guest contributors of short films for each night. The good news: Spielberg's short celebrates American military veterans, and we guess the guy knows his American military veterans. (NB: It's narrated by Tom Hanks.) The bad news: Kind of like Cannes, Spielberg will be around just long enough to drop off the tape before heading back to lick his Clinton-supporting wounds. Insert frowny emoticon here:
When there's no new story about Twitter and all of its users — this week anyway — what's left to say? Reporters, they Twitter just like us! Today's Washington Post rounds up journalists covering the Democratic National Convention with Twitter, like former Wonkette editor and Time.com blogger Ana Marie Cox and the Huffington Post's Rachel Sklar. (Who found her new boyfriend through Twitter, whee!) We boiled down the whole thing into only what's fit to Twitter itself.
Have you heard about Google's "Big Tent," the $100 luxury newsroom Google has set up for bloggers at the Democratic National Convention? If not, here's another story on the Internet where reporters go, Oh man, Google is totes on the pulse, giving all the intrepid young blogger kids at the Democratic National Convention this week a safe place to get massaged for free by ladies and plug in their 'iPones" — read the label — while they change the world together!
How does the slowest industry news week of the year suddenly become a busy one at Defamer? Simple: Just add a Washington bureau! However, since we entered grueling negotiations last week to bring Victoria Jackson aboard as our full-time bureau chief and ideological consultant, we've fallen behind on a list of essential stories coming out of this week's Democratic National Convention. So for the sake of your political edification and our poor, congested inboxes, here's the latest worth knowing from Denver and beyond:· Hollywood East is open for business, reports Variety, with everyone from Jennifer Lopez to Kanye West to Cyndi Lauper enlisted to share in the platform platitudes. The bad news: Bono is skipping Denver, leaving a sanctimony vacuum from which organizers are attempting to shield guest speaker Fran Drescher — especially at this altitude. · Gamble for Democracy! In the best DNC synergy to date, Poker Players Alliance and the Paralyzed Veterans of America are co-hosting a charity tournament Tuesday at Coors Field. Ben Affleck will among the players; the winner gets a seat at the 2009 World Series of Poker. · "According to the Center For Responsive Politics, which follows political money, [Joe] Biden throughout his U.S. Senate career has raised only $390,298 from the TV/Movies/Music sector, including a mere $187,600 from entertainment industry donors in 2008 while he was running for President." More from Nikki Finke. · Access Hollywood kicked a note over the transom reporting that Jennifer Hudson will sing the national anthem before Obama's speech Thursday night. · Sheryl Crow performed at Red Rocks on Sunday, later telling Extra that while Barack Obama inspires her, "Celebrity has sort of become a derogatory term." Not on our watch, Sheryl! Anyway, tune in tonight, etc. etc. · Speaking of Extra, this just in about the show's Denver correspondent: "Carlos Diaz is reporting all week from Denver’s Democratic National Convention and is available for live shots." But enough about target practice! Zing! Ugh. Politics is hard! · Paul Colichman, the mogul (and Hillary Clinton supporter) behind Out, The Advocate, the Here network and other gay media monoliths, is outraged by Obama's professed aversion to gay marriage. "If we write checks to candidates who don't stand up for us, aren't we being self-destructive?" We don't know, Paul — Hillary didn't support gay marriage either, and you seem to have survived. Off you go! [Via Queerty]
There was a small, nonviolent, "mild" anti-war protest in Denver today, timed to the upcoming Democratic convention. The protest organization is stupidly named "Recreate 68," but has specifically decried the violence at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. Fox News of course wanted to cover this boring thing in the most insane way possible, with race riots and burning flags and naked hippies on PCP. None of that was available, so instead Fox sent a nerdy correspondent to go right into the middle of a throng of protesters trying to march in the opposite direction. The protesters managed not to collide with the camera crew, so no one was hurt, but they refused to grant interviews and started chanting "Fuck Fox News," which means they are Censor Fascists who hate the First Amendment. Everyone has to grant interviews to everyone else, unless they are Nazis, which is why we are looking forward to our big video interview with Bill O'Reilly the next time we catch him on the street or outside his apartment or maybe in his office. Video of the leftist non-riot after the jump.
