Month: April 2015

The Candidate Who Cannot Run.

This is the sort of article (subject: how Hillary Clinton refuses to actually run a campaign, even now that she’s declared her candidacy) that sounds best if you imagine that the author of it transcribed his drunken rant in a bar, then cleaned it up.  …That is not meant as an insult: cars may not run well on ethanol, but political commentary certainly does.  And there’s some prime stuff in there:

With nine months until the first presidential primary, Clinton can’t afford to actively run for president. Indeed, if she had her druthers, she probably wouldn’t even be unrunning now. She was pressured by the constant press attention about when she was going to announce and the email controversy. That sort of press attention was positive media attention she couldn’t control, and only by announcing could she dial it down. The email controversy was negative media attention she couldn’t control without the attention-deflecting machinery of a campaign. Indeed, she may be the first politician to announce for the presidency in order to decrease attention in her candidacy.

Continue reading The Candidate Who Cannot Run.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D, WI) attacks black woman over VA whistle-blowing.

Stimulus:

A former staffer for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has filed an ethics complaint accusing the Madison Democrat of engaging in a political coverup by firing the aide.

[snip]

[Marquette] Baylor turned down a severance deal that contained a confidentiality clause.

Response:

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s PR Machine went into hyper-drive Monday following news of a potentially damning ethics complaint filed against the Madison Democrat by a former aide that Baldwin sacked in what the deputy has charged is a “political cover-up.’

Continue reading Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D, WI) attacks black woman over VA whistle-blowing.

In the Mail: “Bedlam, Volume 1.”

…Well. Yeah.

It was… it was well done. Had a certain amount of a “the more alarming parts of Sin City” vibe to it. Not for people who dislike the splatter genre of horror. Oh, my, no, it is not for those people. Or anyone who has a bad reaction to having their protective-reflex buttons pushed. This is not a kid’s graphic novel, even if it is ostensibly about super-heroes.

Think Progress inadvertently sums why the Clinton Foundation is problematical.

Obviously, they were trying to debunk. The problem is that… well, it’s that the Clinton Foundation is a pretty suspect shop. There’s no way around it.

Also: I harp on Buzzfeed a lot, but it was pretty helpful of Ben Smith to present this in a nice, concise chunk for later dissemination. I didn’t have to do anything except scoop it out of the box, and onto the plate. Thanks, guys!

So. Kung Fury made it to Cannes.

That’s… that is indeed something.

Kung Fury got selected to compete in the Director’s fortnight section in the Cannes film festival, one of the world’s most respected film festivals!

This is a really big deal for us, going from a crappy office in a small swedish city to freaking Cannes!  It’s also a great opportunity to meet creative people from the film industry and perhaps discuss the possibility of a feature film version of Kung Fury, which we are really hoping for.

I have to admit, I never thought that I’d help back a flick that would end up going to Cannes. But since I did, I’m kind of glad that it involves a cop who time travels via a Nintendo Power Glove. I have my pride.

Harry Reid FINALLY caves on opposition to anti-trafficking bill.

Took him long enough: “It took Congress more than a month, but Senate leaders announced Tuesday morning that they’ve finally broached an agreement on legislation to help the victims of human trafficking. After a vote expected as early as Tuesday afternoon, the Senate can then finally take up the nomination of Loretta Lynch.” Basically, the Democrats objected to language in the bill reaffirming that federal tax money could not be used to fund abortions (the shorthand for this is “the Hyde Amendment”). The ‘compromise’ here is that money appropriated for this bill wouldn’t be used for any medical services; medical procedures for trafficking victims will be handled via existing procedures, which are already subject to the Hyde Amendment. Continue reading Harry Reid FINALLY caves on opposition to anti-trafficking bill.