Alan Boyle has a story on what looks to be a thought-provoking new movie.
Category Archives: Popular Culture
Remembering The Mad Man
…over at Lileks’ place. His requirements verification process left something to be desired.
The Future Of Twitter
A pessimistic view, but with opportunities.
But Don’t Call It Fascism
Did the NEA break the law?
Public funds are not supposed to be expended to support partisan projects. Beyond that, it is unconstitutional to grant or deny federal funds on the basis of the recipient’s political actions or opinions. National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley. The NEA is the single largest funder of the arts, and several participants in the August 10 conference call had recently received NEA checks. It would have been entirely reasonable for those on the phone call to conclude that future NEA funding could be influenced by their willingness to play ball with the Obama administration’s political agenda. Moreover, the Hatch Act limits the ability of federal employees to engage in partisan politics. Sergant’s sending of the email invitation to artists and arts groups, using his government email account, could be considered a bright line violation of the act, as could his apparent solicitation of political support from any arts group that had an application for funding pending before the NEA. Likewise, Ms. Wicks’ participation in the call would appear to be illegal if she was “on duty” and if the call was deemed political in nature.
It would take a thorough knowledge of the facts and more legal research than I’ve had time for to draw a conclusion as to whether the White House or NEA violated the law in connection with the artist outreach, but at a minimum an investigation is in order.
Why not? This administration, and its defenders, doesn’t seem to be all that fastidious about either the law or the Constitution. So how long does Yosi Sergant keep his job?
A Rare Moment
President Obama just called Kanye West a jackass…
I don’t know why the White House would want this off the record. Seems like a great “Sister Souljah” opportunity. Of course, I’ve always thought that Kanye West was a jackass. Glad to see the president has finally come around.
British, Or Australian?
I was just listening to the GEICO Gecko ad where this confusion comes up. I’ve never thought he was an Aussie — the accent sounds vaguely Cockney to me. But I suspect that it’s not a pure accent from anywhere, but rather an actor (from somewhere in the Anglosphere, possibly even in the US) putting on a fake one.
Any thoughts?
Has The Barack Obama Show…
…already jumped the shark?
Larry Gelbart
RIP.
I hadn’t realized that he wrote the screenplay for The Wrong Box (which doesn’t seem to be available in DVD). I haven’t seen it in years, but when I was young, it was one of my favorite comedies.
Is All Forgiven For Rich Rodriguez?
Probably not all — after all, he led Michigan to their worst season in school history last year. But today’s win over Notre Dame will go a long way. That game will be a classic.
Especially if they can win out, though I don’t know how likely that is. I have to say, though, that it’s nice to have a true freshman QB who is already playing like a Heisman candidate in his second game..
A Blow For Space Diving
I’ve heard from a reliable source that Eli Thompson has died in a skydiving accident in Switzerland. He had been planning to be the first person to dive from a rocket. I’m sure that someone else will step up, though. Condolences to his young family.
I thought this was kind of ironic, from the link:
After his first jump at 19, Eli Thompson knew that skydiving was something he would do for the rest of his life.
Sadly, he was right, but probably not quite in the way he intended.