Politics

CHAPEL HILL, NC—Responding to concern about the Trump administration accusing hundreds of Hispanic people living near the U.S.–Mexico border of having fraudulent birth certificates and revoking their passports, political scientists reassured Americans Thursday that stripping minority groups of their citizenship is usually where the descent into fascism peters out. “I know people might be worried that a targeted effort by a country’s leaders to erode the civil liberties and question the citizenship of a specific minority group is some ominous sign of even worse things to come, but in nearly all cases, this actually represents the low-water mark for fascism,” said Brian Snelling, professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, echoing the sentiments of political scientists around the country in explaining that the Trump administration’s accelerating use of white supremacist beliefs, discrimination, and violence to guide policy-making was … [Read more...] about Political Scientists Reassure Americans That Stripping Minorities Of Citizenship Usually Where Descent Into Fascism Peters Out

Rudy Giuliani is a busy guy these days. Between crazed television appearances, metaphysical musings, and affixing his chapped old man lips firmly to President Donald Trump’s marshmallow butt, it’s amazing that he’s somehow found time to insert himself smack in the middle of a Romanian political crisis. As first reported by MediaFax.ro on Monday, Giuliani—who, again, is just a guy with no actual position within the US government save for his sniveling role as Trump’s personal attorney—wrote Romanian President Klaus Iohannis last week to criticize Iohannis’ anti-corruption crackdown as a dramatic overreach, suggesting instead that those convicted in the sweep should receive amnesty. It probably seems a little weird that a private American citizen who regularly appears on TV as the de facto mouthpiece of the president of the United States would send a strongly worded letter recommending an official policy position to a foreign government. And, in … [Read more...] about Rudy Giuliani Is Butting Into Romanian Politics Because He’s Greedy in Addition to Being Stupid

Few movies capture the filth-under-the-fingernails grit of early ‘80s New York as well as Susan Siedelman’s 1982 film Smithereens. The character study follows its protagonist Wren through tagged-up, trash-strewn Lower East Side, Soho, and beyond as she attempts to make it in the big city with no discernible goal beyond that or the skill to pull it off. She glues selfies to subway walls that read, “Who is this?” She attempts social-climbing in dive bars. She fixates on a dickhead in a band, Eric (played by punk icon Richard Hell), who treats her like shit, and ignores the attention of Paul (Brad Rijn), who seems genuinely sweet but isn’t quite a prize himself (he lives in a van on the West Side Highway). Wren gets kicked out of her apartment and tumbles through the city in punk chic like a weed without roots. “I’m really rotten,” she confesses to Paul at one point. “I’m really disgusting.” This week, Criterion released a … [Read more...] about Susan Seidelman On How the ‘Woman Director’ Label Went from Pejorative to Political

Russian gymnastics legend Svetlana Khorkina, when she’s not busy talking about whether American gymnasts are doping and what she really thinks of WADA (hint: she likened them to a certain WWII Axis power), can be found lending her expertise to the Russian speedskating team—she’s now listed as a “specialist” for the Russian team—or talking about Russian politics. In Khorkina’s most recent interview with Sports.ru (translated by Luba—a personal friend of mine—of Gymnovosti), the current record holder for “most world championships medals won by a female gymnast”—one of the last records left for Simone Biles to break—went all in on the situation in Crimea, Russian prisons, America’s school shootings, the length of the presidential term. You know, the stuff we’re used to hearing about in interviews with former Russian gymnasts. On her time in the Duma: Khorkina retired from gymnastics following the … [Read more...] about Russian Gymnastics Legend Svetlana Khorkina Gets Pissy When Interviewer Wants To Talk Politics

Most kids will try to be on their best behavior while staying at a friend’s house, but it looks like 11-year-old Cory Delgado is taking politeness to a whole new level: This kid on vacation with his friend’s family hasn’t taken a shit for the last six days. Yup, you read that right. This might actually be the most well-mannered kid ever! Cory has always had a reputation for being a nice, respectful young man among his friend group’s parents, but it wasn’t until Tommy Miller picked him as the one friend he was allowed to bring down the shore that Cory showed his full capacity for politeness by forgoing all shitting for nearly an entire week. With the goal of staying as under-the-radar as possible so he didn’t come off as an intrusion or anything, Cory has spent all of his time at the Miller’s Ocean City, NJ beach house uncomfortably holding in every shit he feels coming on, knowing full well how annoying it’d be for Tommy’s parents … [Read more...] about Extremely Polite: This Kid On Vacation With His Friend’s Family Hasn’t Taken A Shit For The Last 6 Days