Kate Linnea Welsh

It's been a REALLY long week, huh? Time to take a break from current events with some happy Friday links!

The Vice President tweeted about the President's birthday WITH FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS. Never tell me this friendship isn't real; I couldn't take it.

A Wrinkle in Time, which is exciting for any number of reasons, is also a milestone: it makes Ava DuVernay the first woman of color to direct a movie with a budget over $100 million.

Oldman et al. are INDEED continuing their Le Carre adaptations with Smiley's People and EVERYTHING IS AMAZING.

Teaser for Dunkirk!

Trailer for Victoria!!

GOOD QUESTION: Why Don’t I Ever Run Into Shirtless Justin Trudeau While Hiking? (I mean, I don't hike much, and certainly not in Canada, BUT STILL.)

DELIGHTFUL: I Made a Shipwreck Expert Watch The Little Mermaid And Judge Its Nautical Merits

I love real life Last Tango in Halifax stories. He let her go 60 years ago because she was in college and he didn't want to hold her back!

Ooh, pretty libraries.

It's Friday. Let's ogle superheroes.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

How a Secretive Branch of ISIS Built a Global Network of Killers

This gets at a lot of why I'm so excited about Hillary Clinton's candidacy, specifically, beyond obviously wanting to support the Democrat and stop Trump: Hillary Clinton's Nomination Is a Victory for the Smart Girls

The New York Times relaxed their normal rules about acceptable language to print/portray and put an uncensored video together from Trump rallies. It is disturbing and terrifying and you should watch it.

This is fine: Trump Campaign Changed Ukraine Platform, Lied About It

Nothing to see here: Donald Trump Is Reportedly Very Interested in Using Nuclear Weapons

I cannot believe this is a real interview with a prominent mainstream party's presidential nominee.

If this kind of thing ends up happening it will be... quite something to observe, from a historical sense: A likely GOP Electoral College member threatens to withhold his vote from Trump

Missouri has cut funding for public defenders severely... and the director of the department had the best reaction ever. (Warning: That's a PDF.)

Ohh, interesting question: Who Should Play Donald Trump During Hillary Clinton’s Mock-Debate Prep Sessions?

Members of Fundamentalist Mormon Sect Re-Arrested While Awaiting Trial for Food Stamp Fraud (Are you watching Escaping Polygamy? It is fascinating and has made this case even more interesting to follow.)

Me elsewhere: On this week's episode of The Fourth Wall, Holly and I - and special guest Katie Moest! - talk Comic-Con.

Here's how Khan's amazing speech happened.

!! Pope Appoints Commission To Study Possibility Of Women As Deacons

Trump’s already got an excuse for a November loss: the election will be “rigged"

Yesterday in Trump: He kicked a crying baby out of a rally, which is obviously a good punchline but the more important part here is that he humiliated and kicked out THE MOTHER just for having a baby who acts like a baby, which is yet another sign of his hatred and disdain for women.

Also yesterday: "I always wanted to get the Purple Heart — this was much easier."

And ICYMI on Monday he called Hillary Clinton the devil.

And so, it begins: The First Republican Member of Congress to Back Hillary Clinton

Also Meg Whitman. Meg Whitman!!

I'm angry about this: Some Bernie delegates say they sold their DNC credentials to anyone with enough cash after he officially lost, which means people could get onto the floor the night Clinton spoke without going through the normal security check. (There was still a metal detector, thank goodness.)

This is not how anything works.

The political cats of Britain are really seizing their moment while the humans are in disarray, huh?

The Ice Bucket Challenge did not fund a breakthrough in ALS treatment. This is important: "There is real harm in trumpeting citizen fundraising campaigns as a source of scientific advancement, though: because of this long-term, incremental work, science requires sustained, long-term funding. As useful as the funds raised by the Ice Bucket Challenge are, they can't replace the big, institutional, steady spending that has been under assault since the Reagan era."

Why Michelle Obama's Convention Speech Was a Total Game Changer

The subtext of Bill Clinton’s speech: women have always done the invisible, thankless work

Three-fourths of evangelicals support Donald Trump. Blame the "prosperity gospel." (Vox always has me at "Max Weber.")

And/but: Trump Is Driving Catholic Voters Toward Clinton

So, the Alan Grayson campaign situation was weird to start with...

...AND THEN: Alan Grayson said he never hit his wife. Then he got physical with a reporter.

I have limited sympathy for people who do not get agreements regarding compensation IN WRITING in the first place, but this situation with child performers certainly reinforces how terrible Trump and his people are. (And, obviously, it's the adult who should have insisted on a contract and none of this is the children's fault.)

Cecile Richards was the first person to say "abortion" at the DNC. Democrats often don't.