pop culture
The headline rundown: Modern popular culture topics in the realm of politics, legislation and activism.
Is Peter Rabbit a Communist?
Is anyone surprised Armitage Hux does not like rabbits? During a lecture break, I watched the trailer for the new Peter Rabbit. Looking beyond the ridiculous concept, strange plot, exhausting amounts of cuts (can trailers please relax?), I saw ("The Light" by Hank Williams, a great song) something interesting.
By The Decadent Roomies8 years ago in The Swamp
Impactful Political Cartoons About Gun Control
There is a mass shooting virtually every few weeks. Hundreds of men, women, and children die because of gun violence, and still we have no solution. And while we sit around waiting for the next mass shooting to happen, these political cartoons about gun control depict the senselessness, sorrow, and stupidity surrounding the firearms debate.
By Jody Hopkins8 years ago in The Swamp
Is It Iron Man's Fault That Donald Trump Is President?
America has done the unprecedented and elected a man to the highest position of political power who has no government or civil service experience. If you were to go to a doctor to perform some kind of invasive surgery, you’d want the best person for the job. At the very least, you’d want a surgeon. You’d want that guy or gal who’s spent ten years in med school, another five in residency, and another five performing a number of successful procedures. Even if that surgeon had a terrible bedside manner or acted as arrogant and douchey as Doctor Strange, that’s the person you would want fiddling around inside you when the anesthesia hits.
By Isaac Shapiro8 years ago in The Swamp
#WomenBoycottTwitter: Did It Make A Difference, Or Did Women Silence Their Voice?
Anytime people are banding together to fight a common cause for the greater good, I'm intrigued. The #WomenBoycottTwitter movement, which occurred Friday Oct. 13, definitely has me intrigued, but it's also got me concerned.
By Christina St-Jean8 years ago in The Swamp
Is It a Threat? Is It a Joke? Scaramucci Says He'll Bring a "Professionally Monogrammed Front Stabbing Knife" for Stephen Colbert
Anthony Scaramucci, aka "The Mooch", aka the White House Communications Director with the shortest lived tenure, seems like he might be going off the rails.
By Christina St-Jean9 years ago in The Swamp
The Lobbyist As Anti-Hero
There's a line in an early episode of Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing where White House chief of staff Leo McGarry (played by the late John Spencer) tells the staff that "There are two things in the world you never want to let people see how you make 'em: laws and sausages." Yet the process by which a bill becomes law has proven to be rich ground for writers and filmmakers from Advise & Consent to Aaron Sorkin efforts like The American President and the aforementioned West Wing. More recently, filmmaker John Madden has turned to the lobbying efforts that help make bills law for his film Miss Sloane, starring Jessica Chastain in the title role.
By Matthew Kresal9 years ago in The Swamp
#CNNblackmail: The New Meme War (Trump Tweet)
#CNNblackmail is currently trending, and in this article, we will break down how it all started, the response and the beginning of a new meme war. Whatever your political allegiance this story touches on an issue that goes beyond partisan politics and enters into the realm of the foundational aspects of our privacy, freedoms, and society.
By Fred Akali9 years ago in The Swamp
Aslan's Deception
Clearly, as Reza Aslan so eloquently demonstrated, obscurantism is the new black. With an all but creepy smile, Aslan has been lionized, sniffing things like Islam does not need a reformation. Really? Then how does he answer to the experiences of Ayaan Hirsi Ali in Somalia, who against her own will, suffered female genital mutilation? Painfully, Hirsi Ali recounts the details of this event for all to witness:
By Roger Smith9 years ago in The Swamp
Yes, This Is Tone Policing
The logic goes something like this: critiquing the tone of someone’s argument is a tool of oppression. Accusations of “Tone Policing” are designed to limit the scope of a political debate to the content of one’s rhetoric, not its mode of delivery.
By Dan Johnson9 years ago in The Swamp
MSNBC Leans to the Right, a Little
What do Bret Stephens and Greta Van Susteren have in common? (a) Both are conservative journalists recently in the pay and orbit of conservative media; (b) both have history with MSNBC. There the similarities end, since one's just started at MSNBC, while the other just left. This latest TV minute, the square dance of talking heads has got people’s attention and sent fearful progressives rushing to social media to express their concerns.
By Michael Eric Ross9 years ago in The Swamp
