Wednesday Link-Off: The Great (Missed) Debate

Sorry I’m late with today’s set of links. I’ve spent the last couple of evenings playing Rise of the Tomb Raider on PC for review. Square Enix just moved the embargo date from Thursday to today so I can what I was playing. And, yes, it’s good. Probably better than 2013’s reboot but I’ve got about two-thirds of the game still to go.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday so it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Kate Beckinsale.

In sort of the inverse of the California ballot initiative requiring legislators to wear their donors on their sleeve, President Obama is contemplating an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to disclose who they donate to. (New York Times)

Donald Trump thinks he can shoot people and not lose any support. That might be true but would he no longer be eligible to hold office if convicted. (The Hill)

And Trump is planning to pull out of tomorrow’s GOP debate because Fox News has Megyn Kelly assigned as a moderator. Maybe it’s for the best because Trump can’t improve his standing in the debates. (Daily Intelligencer)

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Sunday Link-Off: One vs. All

charlotte-muscleandfitness16-01Wrestling fans will notice that the title is the theme of tonight’s Royal Rumble. I’m hoping that All wins tonight but I’m not going to put money on that given how the Fed has booked the last 20 months. By the time ‘Mania rolls around, the Fed will have given Reigns a non-stop 22-month push for one Wrestemania moment. And you wonder why Raw’s ratings have tanked over the last few years.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with WWE Divas Champion Charlotte.

A number of prominent Conservatives have taken to the pages of the National Review to explain why Donald Trump would be disastrous for the GOP. (National Review)

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha talks about her fight to expose the problems with Flint’s water. (CNN)

It may not be Flint in the midst of a water crisis. There might be a whole host of major American cities that will soon have the same problems made public. (Gizmodo)

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Sunday Link-Off: Making America Great

minka-kelly-artofelysium16-01It’s not often that I have a set of links that give you some semblance of hope but here we are. Today’s links might just be enough to make you think that all is not lost for the United States of America. Granted, that could all change in November.

Anyway, it’s Sunday so it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Minka Kelly.

Very quietly, the death penalty is slowly dying in America. What is behind this change? (Economist)

Americans are mad as hell and they’re probably going to keep taking it. (Esquire)

Michael Moore has an actual plan to make America great again. (The Nation)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Other Eve Eve

anna-kendrick-variety15-01I just realized that people are more than willing to call December 23rd “Christmas Eve Eve” but no one calls December 30th “New Year’s Eve Eve.” It doesn’t really make sense to call one date an “eve eve” but not the other. Hell, you even have to do last-minute shopping on both eve eves. Granted, one is for gifts and this one is solely to get you drunk. Priorities, right?

Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of 2015 which means that it’s time for us to do the links. Since it’s the last linkdump of the year, we have to lead off this post with our woman of the year. Using the scientific analysis criteria of the blog’s traffic, posts, comments and so on, for the second consecutive year, our woman of the year is Anna Kendrick.

Are those who want to limit free speech as a weapon to combat terrorism themselves a form of terrorist? It’s an interesting little debate. (The Intercept)

As we gear up for Presidential primaries starting next year, we witness the ongoing death of the Republican Party as a political group and the rise of an anti-establishment cultural movement in its stead. (Washington Post)

Why does everyone seem more scared of everything thing this year than last? Because the TV news is exploiting your fear for ratings. (Rolling Stone)

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Sunday Link-Off: Have You Felt It

erin-heatherton-yutsaiyume15-03I know Jackie gave his quick thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens yesterday but I don’t think I’m capable of doing it quickly. Our review podcast could either be 30 minutes or 3 hours depending on how much we argue about. I think we’ll both agree that we loved it and will be going multiple times. We’ll let you know when to expect the review.

Anyway, that’s a problem for a future date. For now, we’ve got to focus on some links. Let’s kick things off with Erin Heatherton.

America’s Omnibus budget bill also included the dreaded CISA, Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. I hope you don’t value your privacy. (Engadget)

Fox News’ “fair and balanced” slogan might get mocked but it’s not off the mark when it comes to the Republican primary. They’re giving a good grilling to the frontrunners. (The Fix)

Carly Fiorina was near the head of the GOP polls for a little bit. Now, she might be talking her way out of any chance. She has a pretty poor relationship with the facts. (Salon)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Song Remains the Same

jessica-alba-edit15-05bAnother week, another mass shooting in America. I remember seeing a statistic to the effect there being more than one mass shooting per week since President Obama took office in 2009. You can make statistics say a lot of thing but it’s scary that this one seems so believable. It’s even more frightening that nothing will be done to prevent another mass shooting from happening in future.

Anyway, let’s get this post started. Let’s kick things off with Jessica Alba.

America is big on fighting terrorism. Domestic terrorists, on the other hand, they’re willing to give them a pass. (New York Times)

It’s scary to think that the San Bernardino shooting has already made people forget about the Colorado Springs shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic. That shooting may not be down to terrorism but people incited by anti-PP rhetoric. (Washington Post)

For some reason, the press invaded the apartment of the two San Bernardino shooters. It wasn’t a pretty scene. It was just sensationalist bullshit for the sake of ratings. (Mashable)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Going Right

natalie-dormer-womenshealth15-01“Fair and balanced” is a buzz phrase that is really an excuse to skew hard to one side of the political spectrum to counter-act a message they perceive as supporting the opposite end of the spectrum. Both the left and right are guilty of it but it seems to be more often the right because they’re the ones shouting loudest about needing to present their perspective as balance. Both the left and right are engaged in a self-aggrandizing circlejerk in the name of some sort of superiority complex. I don’t know what that has to do with the links or the title of this post but this needs to be said.

Anyway, let’s just get to the links and move on with our lives. Let’s kick off with Natalie Dormer.

Despite allegations that the Planned Parenthood shooter was a transgender liberal, the man’s ex-wife says that the shooter is conservative, religious and anti-abortion. (Raw Story)

Remember when people liked Chris Christie? That was before he realized that having good relations with the White House was actually detrimental to his own White House aspirations. His Syrian refugee plans are just more evidence of how far to the right he’s going to win the nomination. (Esquire)

And while everyone on the right is willing to ban Syrian refugees, statistically, you’re seven times more likely to be killed by a gun nut than a terrorist. (Think Progress)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Truthiness

giada-de-laurentiis-campari15-02Is the truth really a matter of perspective? I know there are two sides to every story and the truth often lies somewhere in the middle. It almost seems like politicians are rewarded more as they stray farther from the truth. It’s not any one side, either. It’s as if the farther you get from the political centre on either end of the spectrum, the farther you get from the truth.

We’ll have more on that in a minute as we do the Wednesday set of links. Let’s kick things off today with Giada de Laurentiis.

The PolitiFact Truth-O-Meter goes from True to Pants On Fire. The Donald’s claim that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheered when the World Trade Center buildings came down could break the scale. (PolitiFact)

On that note, Bernie Sanders wants his shot at Trump to challenge his “facts.” The trick with people who have no facts is that they’ll force people to spend so long debunking made up stuff that they’ll never have the time to make their own points. (The Hill)

It’s all because Trump is trying to appeal to the GOP base to win a primary. Will this help him win an election? Most of the world hopes not. (The Guardian)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Electoral Marathon

anna-kendrick-instagram15-01bI told you that there would be an election call in Canada on Sunday and here we are. The Prime Minister has called an election that will have a campaign period of over double the standard length. We have some links that go into that problem and other issues.

Anyway, it’s time for us to do the very political links. Let’s kick things off with Anna Kendrick in Hawaii from her Instagram. As if you needed another reason to go there.

So the longest federal election campaign in history kicked off on Sunday. How do we have a long campaign, you might wonder? Well, the Prime Minister has timed things to his advantage using his fixed election date law. (The Globe and Mail)

A new autobiography says that Prime Minister Harper’s legendary temper has been frequently turned towards the Supreme Court of Canada. If you are getting your wrists slapped that frequently by the Supreme Court… (National Post)

The economics of failure have failed. It’s time for someone new to save the day. (CBC News)

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Sunday Link-Off: Power and Politics (of Money)

milana-vayntrub-tvland15-01You know, I’m not too up for a lengthy intro today. It’s been a long week but I’m working on a few things in my offline life (not directly related to the ol’ 9-to-5) so I could either free up a whole lot of time for blogging and other extracurricular pursuits or magically lose it all. That doesn’t sound too mutually exclusive, does it?

Anyway, it’s Sunday so that means we’re going to do the links. Let’s kick this show off with Milana Vayntrub who you might know from various TV series but most certainly know as the AT&T girl.

“Bill Cosby Deposition Reveals Calculated Pursuit of Young Women, Using Fame, Drugs and Deceit” (New York Times)

Coca-Cola might be one of the biggest (or, at least, most prominent) sponsors of FIFA and the World Cup. That isn’t stopping them from looking for FIFA to do more to clean up. (BBC Sport)

A former top intelligence official says that America’s current use of drones is doing more to create more terrorists than stop them. (The Intercept)

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