Adam Serwer is filling in while Kevin is on vacation. Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland, a former Navy fighter pilot, had his nomination to a state judgeship in Virginia rejected early Tuesday morning. Democrats say it's because he's gay; Republicans say it's complicated: "He holds himself out as being married," said Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who is running for U.S. Senate. Noting that gay marriage is not legal in Virginia, he said that Thorne-Begland's "life is a contradiction to the requirement of submission to the constitution." Marshall, the Family Foundation…
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Virginia GOP Tries To Explain Why Vote Against Gay Judge Wasn't Bigotry
MoJo Blogs and Articles | Mother Jones16 May 2012 | 2:06 pm -
Occupiers Take to the Farm
MoJo Articles | Mother Jones16 May 2012 | 5:00 amEarly Monday morning, around 100 University of California police raided a five-acre patch of land owned by UC Berkeley and used occasionally for agricultural research. The raid came three weeks after roughly 200 activists, community members, and students took over a small patch of the land, known as the "Gill Tract," located in the small city of Albany, just north of Berkeley. The group cleared out piles of wild mustard, tilled the soil, planted 15,000 donated seedlings, and set up camp. When the university ordered them to leave, they kept farming. The university responded by cutting off… -
Virginia GOP Tries To Explain Why Vote Against Gay Judge Wasn't Bigotry
Kevin Drum Feed | Mother Jones16 May 2012 | 2:06 pmAdam Serwer is filling in while Kevin is on vacation. Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland, a former Navy fighter pilot, had his nomination to a state judgeship in Virginia rejected early Tuesday morning. Democrats say it's because he's gay; Republicans say it's complicated: "He holds himself out as being married," said Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who is running for U.S. Senate. Noting that gay marriage is not legal in Virginia, he said that Thorne-Begland's "life is a contradiction to the requirement of submission to the constitution." Marshall, the Family Foundation… -
Hot Scoop: "Obama Didn't Write His Own Love Letters"
Political Mojo | Mother Jones16 May 2012 | 10:53 amOn the vast list of right-wing conspiracy theories about President Obama—he's Malcolm X's illegitimate son; he was photoshopped into the iconic Situation Room photo; his memoir was ghost-written by Bill Ayers; he's people!—this new bit of muckraking from conspiracy cauldron WorldNetDaily deserves a place of honor on the mantle. According to Jack Cashill, "an Emmy-award winning independent writer and producer with a Ph.D. in American Studies from Purdue," President Obama didn't simply have Bill Ayers ghost-write his memoir—he had someone ghost-write love… -
As Austerity Falters, European Economists Say "Price Carbon!"
Blue Marble Feed | Mother Jones16 May 2012 | 5:00 amTurmoil over budget cuts roils Greek streets. France elects an anti-austerity president. Even Germany's Austerity Queen Angela Merkel faces electoral backlash. It appears Europeans are getting sick of tightening their belts. But when you can't cut any more, there's little else to do but hustle up more cash. For governments allergic to raising income taxes, a European Climate Foundation analysis released yesterday shows there's a less painful way to slash deficits—one that could save the planet as it saves the economy: a carbon tax. The report argues that reforming how Europe taxes…
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MoJo Blogs and Articles | Mother Jones
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Virginia GOP Tries To Explain Why Vote Against Gay Judge Wasn't Bigotry
16 May 2012 | 2:06 pmAdam Serwer is filling in while Kevin is on vacation. Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland, a former Navy fighter pilot, had his nomination to a state judgeship in Virginia rejected early Tuesday morning. Democrats say it's because he's gay; Republicans say it's complicated: "He holds himself out as being married," said Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who is running for U.S. Senate. Noting that gay marriage is not legal in Virginia, he said that Thorne-Begland's "life is a contradiction to the requirement of submission to the constitution." Marshall, the Family Foundation… -
The Obama Administration Wants To Keep its Gitmo at Sea to Itself
16 May 2012 | 11:16 amAdam Serwer is filling in while Kevin is on vacation. Last year the Obama administration secretly imprisoned Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, an alleged member of the Somali militant group Al Shabab, on an aircraft carrier and interrogated him for two months before bringing him to the US and indicting him. No one was very happy about that decision. It made Republicans in Congress mad because they want Obama to add more prisoners to Gitmo and keep Muslims accused of terrorism out of civilian courts, and it frustrated civil libertarians and human rights groups who argued the… -
Rep. Joe Pitts Thinks Arafat and Sharon Need To Get to Work
16 May 2012 | 10:54 amAdam Serwer is filling in while Kevin is on vacation. Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) seems like he hasn't checked in on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in a while: "With the global war against terrorism, it is now incumbent on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasir Arafat to clamp down on Palestinian extremists that have perpetuated violence and to restart a peace process that has collapsed," wrote Pitts in a recent, rather outdated response letter to a constituent. Arafat has been dead for eight years and Sharon has been in a coma for six. Sadly, "dead" and… -
Hot Scoop: "Obama Didn't Write His Own Love Letters"
16 May 2012 | 10:53 amOn the vast list of right-wing conspiracy theories about President Obama—he's Malcolm X's illegitimate son; he was photoshopped into the iconic Situation Room photo; his memoir was ghost-written by Bill Ayers; he's people!—this new bit of muckraking from conspiracy cauldron WorldNetDaily deserves a place of honor on the mantle. According to Jack Cashill, "an Emmy-award winning independent writer and producer with a Ph.D. in American Studies from Purdue," President Obama didn't simply have Bill Ayers ghost-write his memoir—he had someone ghost-write love… -
Report: MEK To Be Taken Off US Terror List
16 May 2012 | 10:39 amMonths of lobbying by prominent Democrats and Republicans and an assist from a high-powered lobbying firm that specializes in sanitizing the records of dictators seem to have paid off for Mujahideen-e-Khalq. The Obama administration is preparing to remove the Iranian exile group from the State Department's official list of terrorist organizations, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday: The Obama administration is moving to remove an Iranian opposition group from the State Department's terrorism list, say officials briefed on the talks, in an action that could further poison…
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MoJo Articles | Mother Jones
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Occupiers Take to the Farm
16 May 2012 | 5:00 amEarly Monday morning, around 100 University of California police raided a five-acre patch of land owned by UC Berkeley and used occasionally for agricultural research. The raid came three weeks after roughly 200 activists, community members, and students took over a small patch of the land, known as the "Gill Tract," located in the small city of Albany, just north of Berkeley. The group cleared out piles of wild mustard, tilled the soil, planted 15,000 donated seedlings, and set up camp. When the university ordered them to leave, they kept farming. The university responded by cutting off… -
"The Dictator": A Qaddafi-Inspired Rom-Com Filled With Pubic-Hair Jokes
16 May 2012 | 2:01 amThe DictatorParamount Pictures 83 minutes If The Dictator were a dictator, it would probably be Chiang Kai-shek: good in spurts, but excessive and, in the end, unpardonably flawed. The film (directed by Larry Charles) chronicles the politically incorrect misadventures of Adm. General Haffaz Aladeen, the jolly autocrat of the fictional North African republic of Wadiya. The character—actor/satirist Sacha Baron Cohen's latest creation—is a comic pastiche of democracy-killing icons: Aladeen enjoys a flamboyant, sybaritic, rape-abundant lifestyle à la Uday Hussein. He possesses… -
WATCH: Romney Plays the VP Vetting Game [Saunders Cartoon]
14 May 2012 | 3:10 pmEditors' note Mother Jones illustrator Zina Saunders creates editorial animations riffing on the political news and current events of the week. In this week's animation, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney plays the Vice President vetting game. Who will his VP pick be? Paul Ryan, the darling of the let-them-eat-cake crowd? Chris Christie, who doesn't take orders from anyone who makes less than a million dollars? Or maybe it will be Marco Rubio, the Latino Tea Party favorite? The animation, as always, was written, animated, and acted by Zina Saunders. -
Why America's Killer Drones Give Our Government Too Much Power
14 May 2012 | 1:50 pmThis story first appeared on the TomDispatch website. Here's the essence of it: you can trust America's crème de la crème, the most elevated, responsible people, no matter what weapons, what powers, you put in their hands. No need to constantly look over their shoulders. Placed in the hands of evildoers, those weapons and powers could create a living nightmare; controlled by the best of people, they lead to measured, thoughtful, precise decisions in which bad things are (with rare and understandable exceptions) done only to truly terrible types. In the process, you simply… -
If You Thought Michele Bachmann Was Out There...
14 May 2012 | 2:01 amRep. Tim Walz should be in big trouble this November. The Minnesota Democrat's district gave just 51 percent of its vote to Barack Obama in 2008 and the National Republican Congressional Committee is spending big bucks attacking Walz as an out-of-touch lefty. But Walz has two things going for him. The GOP's April nominating convention ended in a stalemate after 23 ballots, meaning the two top candidates have to spend the next three months preparing for the August primary. That, in turn, means Walz stands a decent chance of facing Allen Quist, a 67-year-old soybean farmer and onetime…
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Kevin Drum Feed | Mother Jones
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Virginia GOP Tries To Explain Why Vote Against Gay Judge Wasn't Bigotry
16 May 2012 | 2:06 pmAdam Serwer is filling in while Kevin is on vacation. Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland, a former Navy fighter pilot, had his nomination to a state judgeship in Virginia rejected early Tuesday morning. Democrats say it's because he's gay; Republicans say it's complicated: "He holds himself out as being married," said Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who is running for U.S. Senate. Noting that gay marriage is not legal in Virginia, he said that Thorne-Begland's "life is a contradiction to the requirement of submission to the constitution." Marshall, the Family Foundation… -
The Obama Administration Wants To Keep its Gitmo at Sea to Itself
16 May 2012 | 11:16 amAdam Serwer is filling in while Kevin is on vacation. Last year the Obama administration secretly imprisoned Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, an alleged member of the Somali militant group Al Shabab, on an aircraft carrier and interrogated him for two months before bringing him to the US and indicting him. No one was very happy about that decision. It made Republicans in Congress mad because they want Obama to add more prisoners to Gitmo and keep Muslims accused of terrorism out of civilian courts, and it frustrated civil libertarians and human rights groups who argued the… -
Rep. Joe Pitts Thinks Arafat and Sharon Need To Get to Work
16 May 2012 | 10:54 amAdam Serwer is filling in while Kevin is on vacation. Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) seems like he hasn't checked in on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in a while: "With the global war against terrorism, it is now incumbent on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasir Arafat to clamp down on Palestinian extremists that have perpetuated violence and to restart a peace process that has collapsed," wrote Pitts in a recent, rather outdated response letter to a constituent. Arafat has been dead for eight years and Sharon has been in a coma for six. Sadly, "dead" and… -
On Vacation
15 May 2012 | 11:48 pmThat's it for me, at least for a while. I'm on vacation for the next couple of weeks. Adam Serwer will be filling in for me here, and a few of the other MoJoers may be popping in once in a while too. I might even pop in myself, subject to my mood and the vagaries of Wi-Fi, of course. Don't let anything important happen while I'm gone, OK? See you all in June. -
BREAKING: Congress Passes a Bill
15 May 2012 | 5:32 pmExciting news! Congress passed a bill! On a broad bipartisan vote of 78 to 20, the Senate voted Tuesday to extend the life of the U.S. Export-Import Bank and expand its authority to make loans to U.S. exporters. In the “Schoolhouse Rock” version of how Capitol Hill works, this is what Congress does all the time — passes legislation. But it made for big news on this Capitol Hill, where protracted partisan warfare has meant that lately the story has more often been about votes forced by one party or the other to indignantly demonstrate the other’s opposition. Amid the…
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Political Mojo | Mother Jones
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Hot Scoop: "Obama Didn't Write His Own Love Letters"
16 May 2012 | 10:53 amOn the vast list of right-wing conspiracy theories about President Obama—he's Malcolm X's illegitimate son; he was photoshopped into the iconic Situation Room photo; his memoir was ghost-written by Bill Ayers; he's people!—this new bit of muckraking from conspiracy cauldron WorldNetDaily deserves a place of honor on the mantle. According to Jack Cashill, "an Emmy-award winning independent writer and producer with a Ph.D. in American Studies from Purdue," President Obama didn't simply have Bill Ayers ghost-write his memoir—he had someone ghost-write love… -
Report: MEK To Be Taken Off US Terror List
16 May 2012 | 10:39 amMonths of lobbying by prominent Democrats and Republicans and an assist from a high-powered lobbying firm that specializes in sanitizing the records of dictators seem to have paid off for Mujahideen-e-Khalq. The Obama administration is preparing to remove the Iranian exile group from the State Department's official list of terrorist organizations, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday: The Obama administration is moving to remove an Iranian opposition group from the State Department's terrorism list, say officials briefed on the talks, in an action that could further poison… -
Dark Money Deluge: Crossroads GPS Unveils $25 Million Ad Campaign
16 May 2012 | 9:55 amCrossroads GPS, the deep-pocketed nonprofit created by Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, announced Wednesday that it plans to pump $25 million into a new ad campaign running in ten battleground states including Colorado, Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The group's announcement is a direct response to the Obama campaign's pledge earlier this month to spend $25 million on ads this month. The first phase of Crossroads' blitz will be a two-week run of the ad "Obama's Promise," which slams the president for supposedly failing to fulfill promises to help struggling homeowners, cut the… -
The Chamber of Commerce's Dark Money Days May Be Over
16 May 2012 | 7:24 amIn the annals of loopholes, one that the Federal Election Commission, the nation's election watchdog, created in 2008 could rank as one of the most absurd. The FEC's Republican commissioners decided that shadowy nonprofits running political ads (think: the US Chamber of Commerce) could hide the identities of people who donate more than $1,000, as long as those donors didn't earmark their money for a specific ad. So, for instance, a donor couldn't say, "I want you to run an ad attacking Nancy Pelosi next Monday at 7 p.m. on NBC." Donors and political operatives are not idiots, of… -
Will One of These Cases Be the Next Citizens United?
16 May 2012 | 5:25 amIn the latest issue of The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin explores how Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a seemingly narrow case about political attack ads, ended up fundamentally changing campaign finance law and becoming the signature decision of the Roberts court. So what could be the next Citizens United? Here's a look at some of the biggest campaign finance cases working their way through the federal court system, and what they could mean for those who'd like to reform the current system (and roll back Citizens United): Van Hollen v. FECOutlook for reformers: Promising…
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Blue Marble Feed | Mother Jones
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As Austerity Falters, European Economists Say "Price Carbon!"
16 May 2012 | 5:00 amTurmoil over budget cuts roils Greek streets. France elects an anti-austerity president. Even Germany's Austerity Queen Angela Merkel faces electoral backlash. It appears Europeans are getting sick of tightening their belts. But when you can't cut any more, there's little else to do but hustle up more cash. For governments allergic to raising income taxes, a European Climate Foundation analysis released yesterday shows there's a less painful way to slash deficits—one that could save the planet as it saves the economy: a carbon tax. The report argues that reforming how Europe taxes… -
Does Eating Corn Syrup Kill Your Memory?
16 May 2012 | 5:00 amIf you've ever experienced a cupcake coma (you know, the period of extreme lethargy that follows a sugar high brought on by consumption of one or more cupcakes), you might not be surprised by some recent findings on the effects of processed sweeteners. A team of UCLA researchers has observed that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) makes rats more forgetful, while omega-3 fatty acids—chemical compounds that research has shown can protect the brain's synapses—seem to have the opposite effect. The researchers, whose paper will be published this week in the peer-reviewed Journal of… -
Which Kids' Sunscreens Should You Avoid?
15 May 2012 | 3:45 pmAhhh, May. Time to don your sunnies, dig out the sandals, and head for the nearest beach or park for about the next four months. By now, you've probably been lectured enough about the perils of sunburn and skin cancer to bring a tube of sunscreen along, too. But while the stuff is important for staying safe from harmful UV rays, there are still enough confusing labels, dangerous ingredients, and misleading SPF designations in so many common products that you may want to opt for a day under the nearest tree instead. Or pay very close attention to exactly what's in your sunscreen, and how often… -
Poll: Americans Will Pay for Clean Energy
15 May 2012 | 9:02 amA recent poll found that the majority of Americans want to take measures now to curb our greenhouse gas emissions. But one of the complaints you often hear from lawmakers in Washington is that when it comes to solutions like deploying more renewable energy, Americans aren't willing to pay for them—particularly during a time of widespread economic distress. But, turns out that's not actually the case. A new paper published this week in Nature Climate Change finds that the average person in the US is actually willing to pay as much as $162 more each year for power in order to deploy more… -
A Podcast for Caffeine Fiends
15 May 2012 | 5:00 amIf you are a slave to your morning coffee like I am, you might want to take a listen to the latest episode of the Field Trip podcast, which is entirely devoted to the fascinating backstory of your caffeine fix. Highlights include San Francisco's celebrated coffee makers Ritual Roasters spilling the beans on their rigorous taste testing process, and the Field Trip crew bravely sampling the most highly caffeinated coffee in the world. Have a listen:
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Politics | Mother Jones
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The Chamber of Commerce's Dark Money Days May Be Over
16 May 2012 | 7:24 amIn the annals of loopholes, one that the Federal Election Commission, the nation's election watchdog, created in 2008 could rank as one of the most absurd. The FEC's Republican commissioners decided that shadowy nonprofits running political ads (think: the US Chamber of Commerce) could hide the identities of people who donate more than $1,000, as long as those donors didn't earmark their money for a specific ad. So, for instance, a donor couldn't say, "I want you to run an ad attacking Nancy Pelosi next Monday at 7 p.m. on NBC." Donors and political operatives are not idiots, of… -
Will One of These Cases Be the Next Citizens United?
16 May 2012 | 5:25 amIn the latest issue of The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin explores how Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a seemingly narrow case about political attack ads, ended up fundamentally changing campaign finance law and becoming the signature decision of the Roberts court. So what could be the next Citizens United? Here's a look at some of the biggest campaign finance cases working their way through the federal court system, and what they could mean for those who'd like to reform the current system (and roll back Citizens United): Van Hollen v. FECOutlook for reformers: Promising… -
Smackdown: ACLU Calls Out Private Prison Giant
16 May 2012 | 2:09 amThe American Civil Liberties Union has invited the leader of the nation's largest private prison enterprise, Corrections Corporation of America, to a public debate on the merits of prison privatization. The organization's May 8 letter to CEO Damon T. Hininger notes that CCA "has repeatedly criticized the views of the ACLU regarding for-profit incarceration. If you truly believe that private prisons are right for our country, we see no reason why you would be unwilling to defend that position in a public debate."The letter, signed by David Fathi, director of the ACLU’s National Prison… -
Smackdown: ACLU Calls Out Private Prison Giant
16 May 2012 | 2:09 amThe American Civil Liberties Union has invited the leader of the nation's largest private prison enterprise, Corrections Corporation of America, to a public debate on the merits of prison privatization. The organization's May 8 letter to CEO Damon T. Hininger notes that CCA "has repeatedly criticized the views of the ACLU regarding for-profit incarceration. If you truly believe that private prisons are right for our country, we see no reason why you would be unwilling to defend that position in a public debate."The letter, signed by David Fathi, director of the ACLU’s National Prison… -
Tea Partiers Backing Scott Walker May Run Afoul of IRS
15 May 2012 | 2:01 amThe tea party movement is kicking into gear again, buoyed by the success of Richard Mourdock in defeating longtime Sen. Richard Lugar in Indiana's GOP primary. They're intent on proving that the movement is not dead, as so many commentators have declared. To that end, the Tea Party Patriots (TPP), which claims to be one of the movement's largest national umbrella groups, is recruiting volunteers for phone banks and promising a massive outpouring of support for embattled Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The tea party has already been active in the recall fight, but is preparing to go all out in…
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Environment | Mother Jones
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As Austerity Falters, European Economists Say "Price Carbon!"
16 May 2012 | 5:00 amTurmoil over budget cuts roils Greek streets. France elects an anti-austerity president. Even Germany's Austerity Queen Angela Merkel faces electoral backlash. It appears Europeans are getting sick of tightening their belts. But when you can't cut any more, there's little else to do but hustle up more cash. For governments allergic to raising income taxes, a European Climate Foundation analysis released yesterday shows there's a less painful way to slash deficits—one that could save the planet as it saves the economy: a carbon tax. The report argues that reforming how Europe taxes… -
Why Seafood Guides Alone Can't Save the Troubled Seas
16 May 2012 | 5:00 amOver on The Daily Beast, the marine biologist Callum Roberts has a good essay (excerpted from his new book) on a topic that doesn't get nearly enough attention: the declining state of the oceans. According to Roberts, "with an ever-accelerating tide of human impact, the oceans have changed more in the last 30 years than in all of human history before." Today, he adds, "in most places, the seas have lost upwards of 75 percent of their megafauna—large animals such as whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, and turtles—as fishing and hunting spread in waves across the face of the planet."… -
Occupiers Take to the Farm
16 May 2012 | 5:00 amEarly Monday morning, around 100 University of California police raided a five-acre patch of land owned by UC Berkeley and used occasionally for agricultural research. The raid came three weeks after roughly 200 activists, community members, and students took over a small patch of the land, known as the "Gill Tract," located in the small city of Albany, just north of Berkeley. The group cleared out piles of wild mustard, tilled the soil, planted 15,000 donated seedlings, and set up camp. When the university ordered them to leave, they kept farming. The university responded by cutting off… -
Does Eating Corn Syrup Kill Your Memory?
16 May 2012 | 5:00 amIf you've ever experienced a cupcake coma (you know, the period of extreme lethargy that follows a sugar high brought on by consumption of one or more cupcakes), you might not be surprised by some recent findings on the effects of processed sweeteners. A team of UCLA researchers has observed that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) makes rats more forgetful, while omega-3 fatty acids—chemical compounds that research has shown can protect the brain's synapses—seem to have the opposite effect. The researchers, whose paper will be published this week in the peer-reviewed Journal of… -
Which Kids' Sunscreens Should You Avoid?
15 May 2012 | 3:45 pmAhhh, May. Time to don your sunnies, dig out the sandals, and head for the nearest beach or park for about the next four months. By now, you've probably been lectured enough about the perils of sunburn and skin cancer to bring a tube of sunscreen along, too. But while the stuff is important for staying safe from harmful UV rays, there are still enough confusing labels, dangerous ingredients, and misleading SPF designations in so many common products that you may want to opt for a day under the nearest tree instead. Or pay very close attention to exactly what's in your sunscreen, and how often…
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Culture | Mother Jones
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"The Dictator": A Qaddafi-Inspired Rom-Com Filled With Pubic-Hair Jokes
16 May 2012 | 2:01 amThe DictatorParamount Pictures 83 minutes If The Dictator were a dictator, it would probably be Chiang Kai-shek: good in spurts, but excessive and, in the end, unpardonably flawed. The film (directed by Larry Charles) chronicles the politically incorrect misadventures of Adm. General Haffaz Aladeen, the jolly autocrat of the fictional North African republic of Wadiya. The character—actor/satirist Sacha Baron Cohen's latest creation—is a comic pastiche of democracy-killing icons: Aladeen enjoys a flamboyant, sybaritic, rape-abundant lifestyle à la Uday Hussein. He possesses… -
WATCH: Romney Plays the VP Vetting Game [Saunders Cartoon]
14 May 2012 | 3:10 pmEditors' note Mother Jones illustrator Zina Saunders creates editorial animations riffing on the political news and current events of the week. In this week's animation, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney plays the Vice President vetting game. Who will his VP pick be? Paul Ryan, the darling of the let-them-eat-cake crowd? Chris Christie, who doesn't take orders from anyone who makes less than a million dollars? Or maybe it will be Marco Rubio, the Latino Tea Party favorite? The animation, as always, was written, animated, and acted by Zina Saunders. -
Occupy This Album: 99 Songs for the 99 Percent
14 May 2012 | 5:00 amVarious Artists Occupy This Album Music for Occupy Like the '60s-era social movements that inspired the performers at Woodstock, the Occupy movement has proved an irresistible draw to musicians. Dropping in on Zuccotti Park last fall was a who's who of socially conscious music luminaries from Russell Simmons and Kanye West to Rufus Wainwright and Sean Lennon. They came out to inspire the protesters with their music or celebrity, but the inspiration apparently works both ways—judging, at least, from this new box set featuring 99 songs by A-list performers from Willie Nelson to Ladytron… -
"Dark Shadows" May Imperil Tim Burton's AC/DC Status
11 May 2012 | 5:25 amDark ShadowsWarner Bros. Pictures 113 minutes In March 2010, CollegeHumor.com debuted a sketch titled "Tim Burton's Secret Formula." The Burton character brainstorms with his team of "weavers of shadowy fantasms" to come up with his next big project. Burton rejects the idea for an original screenplay and declares that they will stick to taking "an old story that was already creepy and make it shitload creepier!" From there, the other elements and usual suspects fall into place: Johnny Depp, Tim Burton's domestic partner, buckets of white make-up, black set design and wardrobe, Danny Elfman… -
WATCH: Why Austerity Won't Fix Europe [Fiore Cartoon]
10 May 2012 | 3:08 pmMark Fiore is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a website featuring his work.
