Brock Turner’s Mother to Judge: ‘This Would be a Death Sentence’
Carleen Turner, the mother of former champion Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner pleaded for his mercy in a four-page letter to a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky prior to Turner’s sentencing, The Fresno Bee reports. “I beg of you, please don’t send him to jail/prison. Look at him. He won’t…
Neil Young Onstage: ‘F–ck You, Donald Trump’
In a lengthy Facebook post, Neil Young cleared the air about how he feels about Donald Trump using his songs: “YOUNG CONTINUES TO DENY TRUMP PERMISSION TO USE HIS MUSIC,” the rocker wrote, attaching a short clip of him yelling “Fuck you, Donald Trump” onstage. The discrepancy began with an interview with…
After Bernie, Does the Left Need a Rethink?
For as long as I can remember, there’s been a deeply held belief on the American left that if a Democrat would only stop pandering to the mushy middle and run an unapologetically liberal, unabashedly populist campaign, he or she would win in a laugher. For too long, the Dems…
President Obama: Presidency Is ‘Not Reality TV’
“I’ve seen the decisions that have to be made and the work that has to be done,” President Obama told Jimmy Fallon during Thursday’s Tonight Show, reflecting on his last months in office. Does he think Republicans are content with Donald Trump, Obama fired back on behalf of his party: “We…
David Letterman on Donald Trump: ‘He’s Repugnant to People’
David Letterman says Americans shouldn’t complain about Donald Trump, as the real estate mogul has ascended the Republican party without breaking any laws. “There’s nothing illegal going on. It’s just that he’s despicable,” the former Late Show host tells Tom Brokaw in a preview of their interview for NBC News’ On…
Obama Takes Trump ‘Tonight Show’ Jab: ‘Orange Is Not the New Black’
President Obama took a hilarious jab at GOP candidate Donald Trump on Thursday’s Tonight Show, telling Jimmy Fallon he’s been binge-watching his favorite TV show, “Orange Is Not the New Black.” The “Commander-in-Preach” landed that joke about the real estate mogul’s skin complexion during a politically tinted edition of “Slow Jam the…
Democrats Will Learn All the Wrong Lessons From Brush With Bernie
Years ago, over many beers in a D.C. bar, a congressional aide colorfully described the House of Representatives, where he worked. It’s “435 heads up 435 asses,” he said. I thought of that person yesterday, while reading the analyses of Hillary Clinton’s victories Tuesday night. The arrival of the first female presidential…
5 Reasons Decriminalization Protects Sex Workers’ Rights
Editor’s note: This piece by Amnesty International USA’s interim executive director was written in response to a recent article on RollingStone.com critical of the group’s policy on decriminalizing prostitution. As one of the largest human rights organizations in the world, Amnesty International’s mission is to promote human rights for all and to…
Joe Biden to Stanford Rape Victim: ‘Your Bravery Is Breathtaking’
Joe Biden has penned a powerful open letter to the anonymous 23-year-old sexual assault victim whose court statement in the rape trial of Stanford student Brock Turner has gone viral. The vice president acknowledged that the “nation is not satisfied” with the sentence – a six-month jail term that The Associated…
Women Politicians Discuss What Clinton’s Nomination Means to Them
The night she claimed the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton spoke of how proud her mother, Dorothy Rodham — born the day Congress passed the 19th Amendment — would be if she were alive. “She overcame a childhood marked by abandonment and mistreatment and somehow managed not to become bitter or broken,” she said of…
Why Americans’ Rights Are in Mortal Danger This November
Now that the long slog of the primary is all but over, and Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee, Americans must focus on what’s going to become incredibly apparent over the next month: the need for a President Clinton – and not a President Trump – to appoint new…
Why a Guantanamo Detainee Would Refuse a Chance to Leave
Earlier this year, a man named Mohammed Bawazir, one of dozens of remaining Guantanamo detainees whom the Obama administration has cleared for release and is working to transfer, rejected an offer of resettlement in a third country. The 34-year-old Yemeni has been detained without charge for over 14 years, like most of…
Queen’s Brian May Denies Donald Trump’s Usage of ‘We Are The Champions’
On Tuesday, after clinching the final round of Republican primaries, Donald Trump walked onstage for his victory speech to Queen’s triumphant anthem “We Are the Champions.” Queen guitarist Brian May has issued a stern statement denouncing the usage of the song. “I’ve had an avalanche of complaints – some of which you can see in…
Trump’s Terrifying Relationship With the Law
Donald Trump has spent the last week repeating the claim that the federal judge presiding over a pair of lawsuits alleging Trump and Trump University defrauded students is biased because of his Mexican heritage (of which, Trump keeps reiterating, the judge is very proud). Trump claims Indiana-born Judge Gonzalo Curiel…
Watch Donald Trump ‘Rap’ Mac Miller’s Track ‘Donald Trump’
Rapper Mac Miller emerged into the mainstream with 2011 single “Donald Trump,” a middle-finger-swinging banger. But the real-life Trump threatened to sue the rapper for royalties. Now, in a mega-meta move, Miller upped the ante by editing Trump audio and video into a faux-performance of the track that makes it look like the businessman is parodying himself. The clip…
How Hillary Clinton Made Women’s History
A misty-eyed Hillary Clinton strode onto the stage at Brooklyn’s Navy Yard Tuesday evening, shortly after clinching the New Jersey primary, with promising leads in two other states, and she did something that she has often been loathe to do: She fully, unselfconsciously celebrated the historic nature of her campaign. Clinton jokingly promised not to smash…
Songs on Trial: 10 Landmark Music Copyright Cases
Western music is made up of just 12 notes, which yield a practically infinite number of songs. That’s the theory, at least. It’s only natural that composers mimic what’s been successful in the past, but as Robin Thicke and Pharrell learned the hard way, there’s a blurred line between inspiration and theft….
4 Reasons Bernie Sanders Could Fight On
On Monday — even before the Associated Press declared her the presumptive Democratic nominee — Hillary Clinton leaned on Bernie Sanders to fall in line. Citing her own precedent from 2008, Clinton told reporters, “Tomorrow is eight years to the day after I withdrew and endorsed then-Sen. Obama. I believed it was…
Seth Meyers Compares Trump University to Holiday Inn Med School
Donald Trump, came under scrutiny after making controversial remarks about U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel who is overseeing a lawsuit against Trump University, a defunct real estate school founded by Trump. Late Night host Seth Meyers took “A Closer Look” at the issue that could potentially detail the GOP frontrunner. Trump insinuated the Indiana-born judge overseeing the…
America, Here Are Your Presidential Nominees
Hillary Clinton officially clinched the Democratic nomination Monday, ahead of this week’s contests in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota. Bernie Sanders has not conceded the race to Clinton — in an email to supporters Monday evening he reiterated a pledge to take the race to the…
Hillary Clinton Clinches Democratic Nomination
Hillary Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination for president Monday, reaching the delegate threshold needed to all but mathematically eliminate rival Bernie Sanders from winning, according to the Associated Press. The AP reports that Clinton is now over the necessary 2,383-delegate mark to secure the nomination. That number includes the superdelegates who have indicated…
NYC Mayor to Kanye West: I’ll Help You Throw ‘Planned’ Block Party
After thunderstorms forced the cancellation of Kanye West’s headlining Governor’s Ball set, the rapper attempted to stage a G.O.O.D. Music pop-up concert at New York City’s Webster Hall early Monday morning. With massive amounts of fans flooding the streets, TeamKanyeDaily tweeted a clip of West trying to make contact with New York…
Muhammad Ali Was a Hero, But His Enemies Have a Legacy Too
When I was growing up, it was impossible to imagine anyone cooler than Muhammad Ali. He had the perfect looks of a rock star, was hilariously funny, and was beautiful to watch in the ring. My friends and I used to pop in tapes of his fights and double over…
Barack Obama: ‘Muhammad Ali Was The Greatest. Period.’
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have issued an official White House statement and moving tribute following the death of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. “Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing. But we’re also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known…
‘Idiocracy’ Team Ready Anti-Donald Trump Campaign Ads
Mike Judge and Etan Cohen, the director and writer behind the 2006 cult comedy Idiocracy, have reteamed to pen a series of anti-Donald Trump campaign ads starring the film’s wrestler-turned-president, played by Terry Crews. The ads were fueled by a tweet Cohen sent as Trump began dominating the GOP ticket. “I never expected #idiocracy to become…
Meet the Trump University Teacher at Center of Class-Action Suit
This week U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel unsealed 400 pages worth of documents related to two class-action lawsuits filed against Donald Trump’s real-estate seminar, Trump University, by students who say they were defrauded by the program. Among the documents released were a sales playbook that described the “roller coaster of emotions”…
Prophets of Rage Plot RNC Convention Takeover in Cleveland
Prophets of Rage, the supergroup featuring members of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real, have revealed that they’ll be in Cleveland to “Make America Rage Again” during the Republican National Convention in July. “We’ll be rocking furiously in and around the RNC,” guitarist Tom…
10 Times Clinton Roasted Trump in Her Latest Speech
In a speech today that marked her pivot to the general-election race against Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton bashed the presumptive Republican nominee, referencing his thin-skinned responses to criticism and the racism, sexism and xenophobia that have become hallmarks of his campaign. Delivered before a lively San Diego crowd days before California’s key…
Americans Are Wrong: Trump Would Be the Worst Barbecue Guest Ever
Five months before Election Day, presidential polls are little more than an excuse for political journalists to write lazy horserace stories. The snapshot of who’s ahead and who’s behind is largely meaningless, and the good stuff usually gets buried. Take this latest Quinnipiac poll. It puts Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald…
Bassnectar, Z-Trip Appear on ‘Rave For Bernie’ Compilation
Many artists have rallied around presidential candidate Bernie Sanders from across genres, including Killer Mike, Tom Morello, Best Coast, Bonnie Raitt, Cat Power, Lucinda Williams and more. Adding to Sanders’ growing list of artist supporters are those from the electronic dance music community. Bassnectar, Z-Trip, Cobra Starship and others have contributed…
6 Reasons to Be Wary of Amnesty’s Prostitution Policy
On May 26th, Amnesty International’s board voted to adopt a policy of decriminalizing adult prostitution. In its report, Amnesty frames prostitution as sex work, pimps as legitimate sex business operators and johns as customers. This approach to prostitution is irresponsible and has been opposed by more than 600 leading organizations and…
Thurston Moore Meets Bernie Sanders on Limited-Edition Vinyl
Former Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders unite on “Feel It In Your Guts,” a 12-string acoustic piece featuring excerpts from the Senator’s speeches. One thousand hand-numbered, white, flexi-disc vinyl copies are available for free with individual donations to the Sanders campaign. The track is also available as…
What It’s Like to Audition for ‘Shark Tank’ for Weed
Cameras rolling, Richard Haines pitches his business: MDHerb, a website for medical marijuana patients to share their experiences with various products. He’s looking for $150,000 in exchange for about 12 percent of the company. He says MDHerb is “a collaborative community” that lets patients “keep journal entries of what they’re…
Green Party’s Jill Stein on Why Bernie Sanders Should Go Third-Party
America’s two major political parties are poised this year to pit a couple of historically disliked presidential candidates against each other. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s unfavorable ratings are bad news for both the Democrats and the Republicans — but those ratings could be another candidate’s chance to dismantle the country’s two-party system. That’s exactly what presumptive Green Party nominee…
Bernie Sanders Fights On: The Rolling Stone Interview
Not even “the math” can spoil a Bernie Sanders rally. The democratic-socialist senator from Vermont has outperformed any rational expectation, building an insurgent campaign that has captured 20 states, propelled by more than $210 million in grassroots contributions, averaging under $30 a pop. But with each passing state election –…
How New Doc ‘Merci Congo’ Sheds Light on Deadly Conflict
“This machine is called a computer.” Neema Namadamu is standing in a small room in the remote Itombwe Plateau in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, teaching a group of women how to use a laptop. It’s the first time most of them have ever seen the technology. The scene serves…
Some 2,500 Americans Have Died in Afghanistan and Iraq Under Obama
In Barack Obama’s keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention — the speech that catapulted him onto the national stage — the bright-eyed, loose-limbed senator from Illinois spoke of America’s responsibility to its soldiers. “We have a solemn obligation,” Obama said, “not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they’re going,…
Billy Joel: Donald Trump’s Campaign ‘Very Entertaining’
At Billy Joel’s concerts over the past year, the singer has often dedicated the performance of his 1974 single “The Entertainer” to Donald Trump, with one such shout-out occurring Friday night at Joel’s monthly gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden. While there is debate whether the dedication is genuine or…
See Bernie Sanders Talk Trump Debate, Superdelegates on ‘Real Time’
Ahead of the crucial June 7th California primary that could tip the balance of the Democratic presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders appeared on Friday’s Real Time With Bill Maher to discuss superdelegates, his platform and why it’s hard to formulate a strategy to defeat Donald Trump come Election Day. “He is so unpredictable…
See Bernie Sanders Comment on Trump Debate on ‘Kimmel’
Following Donald Trump’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Bernie Sanders stopped by the late-night show. Sanders had requested Trump’s participation in a debate by having Kimmel ask on his behalf. “You made it possible for us to have a very interesting debate about two guys who look at the world very, very differently,”…
Green Party’s Jill Stein on the Feminist Case Against Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton’s plan to win the White House relies heavily on winning the support of women voters. And she shouldn’t have much problem doing that: Not only does she have the endorsements of many marquee women’s organizations — EMILY’s List, NOW and Planned Parenthood, for example — she’ll likely face…
Meet the Bernie-Endorsed Law Professor Trying to Unseat the DNC Chair
Running against the head of the Democratic National Convention is a pretty lonely exercise: You don’t get into the race expecting a lot of high-profile Democrats will flock to you with endorsements. But then again, most DNC heads aren’t as controversial as Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who’s so disliked that there’s been…
Elton John, Vladimir Putin Meeting Over LGBT Rights Postponed
Elton John and Vladimir Putin’s planned meeting on LGBT rights in Russia has been postponed, The Guardian reports. The Kremlin has said that the pair could meet at a later date. The pair’s meeting has been put on hold for now given their busy schedules, making it impossible for the singer and…
Trump on Bathroom Laws: ‘Let the States Decide’
Donald Trump responded to the “bathroom bill” legislation on Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday. “Let the states decide,” the presumptive Republican nominee said, without offering any specific explanation into what he personally thought states should decide. The “bathroom bill” is one topic Trump opposes the majority Republican party stance. He has spoken against North Carolina’s House Bill 2,…
Hillary Clinton’s New Anti-Trump Ad Misses the Mark
A new attack ad put out by the Hillary Clinton campaign this week achieves the near-impossible, making Donald Trump look wronged and (almost) like a victim. More believably, it makes the Democrats look sleazy and disingenuous in comparison. The ad begins with a picture of a grinning Trump and the words, “In 2006,…
Stephen King, Cheryl Strayed Sign Open Letter Condemning Donald Trump
Stephen King, Wild author Cheryl Strayed, Junot Diaz, Michael Chabon and Jennifer Egan are among the 400 writers who have lent their name to an online letter condemning Donald Trump. In “An Open Letter to the American People” on Lit Hub, the authors write that they “oppose, unequivocally, the candidacy…
Hillary Clinton on Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’: ‘It’s Great’
Hillary Clinton visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show for an interview that airs Wednesday, with the Democratic candidate discussing a variety of topics from potential vice president picks to her admiration for Beyoncé’s Lemonade. “I have seen parts of it, and I do like it. It’s great,” Clinton said, taking a question from…
How Zombie Ted Cruz Already Beat Trump in Washington
Ted Cruz isn’t running for president anymore, but his zombie campaign lumbers on. At the Washington state Republican convention this past weekend, the state party managed to install Cruz loyalists in 40 of the 41 available delegate slots to this summer’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland. What’s more, the Washington Republican primary was…
System of a Down’s Serj Tankian on Bernie Sanders: ‘I’m Rooting for Him’
System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian has been outspoken in his support of Bernie Sanders since last summer and, as primary season nears an end, he’s standing strong behind the Democratic presidential candidate. “There’s only one guy whose voting record I respect here,” the singer tells Rolling Stone. “He’s…
Neil Young: I’m OK With Donald Trump Using ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign got off to a rocky start last June when – after playing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” after the rally announcing his presidential bid – the rocker immediately asked the mogul to stop using the Freedom track on the campaign trail. The issue sparked…
Why Hillary Clinton’s Church Is Facing a Major LGBT Schism
On May 10th, more than 100 clergypersons in the United Methodist Church came out of the closet. They did so at great personal risk, knowing that the official doctrine of the UMC says they were in active disobedience of the word of God. Such action is punishable by firing, which…
Trump Shows How Much He Really Cares About Veterans
Donald Trump is rich as hell. I know this because he says so, often. His wealth has shaped his campaign’s entire narrative. He can create jobs because he’s a businessman who does important business things. He does all the best deals. He never settles. Trump is so rich he won’t…
Officer in Freddie Gray Case Found Not Guilty of All Charges
Baltimore police officer Edward Nero was acquitted Monday of all charges related to the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. His was the first of six trials, one for each of the officers implicated in Gray’s death, to result in a verdict. Gray died on April 19, 2015, from injuries he sustained…
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