| Did the GOP Primary Debate Just Offer a Path to Avoid a Government Shutdown? |
[17 Sep 2015|02:34am] |
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http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/09/republican_primary_debate_points_to_government_shutdown_compromise_gop_candidates.html The most raucous applause of the second presidential debate Wednesday night went to Carly Fiorina, as she vigorously took a stand against the practices of Planned Parenthood. “I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these [Planned Parenthood sting] tapes,” she began. “Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain. This is about the character of our nation, and if we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us.”
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| Trump’s Silent Debate |
[17 Sep 2015|05:26am] |
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http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2015/09/trump_facial_expressions_at_the_republican_debate_video.html At CNN’s Republican presidential debate Wednesday, Donald Trump turned in a surprisingly subdued performance, at least as far as his usual tangents were concerned. But when it came to his pinched mouth, flailing arms, and rapidly turning head—not to mention some very badly executed handshakes—Trump was anything but restrained. In the video above, enjoy the best of his performance, without the unfortunate words.
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| Sicario |
[17 Sep 2015|02:43pm] |
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http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2015/09/sicario_starring_emily_blunt_reviewed.html Sicario opens on a power chord of fear, nausea, and dread that resonates throughout the whole movie. After an introductory screen defining the title—it’s drug-cartel slang for hit man—the seventh feature film from Québécois director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies, Prisoners, Enemy) drops the viewer straight into the noise and chaos of a tense FBI raid on a cartel-owned house near Phoenix. The electronic soundtrack (by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson) delivers a series of jolting sonic booms as a young field agent, Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), leads her team to an unexpected and macabre discovery: hidden in the walls of the house are dozens of decomposing bodies.
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| Why Would Any Sane Republican Run for President? |
[17 Sep 2015|03:45pm] |
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http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/09/gop_debate_the_way_republicans_choose_their_candidate_for_america_s_highest.html Did we learn anything about the Republican primary battle in Wednesday night’s debate? Basically, there are two contests going on at once. Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina are competing to be the most compelling anti-politician. Trump showed flashes of wit, but there are signs that his schtick is wearing thin. Carson came across as earnest, thoughtful, and intelligent, and he has just as a much of a claim to outsider status as Trump. Fiorina was legitimately awesome, in large part because she manages to be disciplined without coming across as robotic. She was so well-briefed that every other candidate on the stage, with the exception of Marco Rubio, who was also polished and prepared, ought to have felt embarrassed. The main flaw of the anti-politician type is that the anti-politician is generally not as knowledgeable as she or he ought to be about the issues of the day. Fiorina is an anti-politician who knows what she’s talking about, or at least who does an insanely good job of faking it. She will thrive.
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