The Hollywood Liberal

Refugees Flood Turkish Border as Islamic State Steps Up Attacks on Syrian Kurds
New streams of Syrian refugees fled toward the border with Turkey as shelling hit the town of Kobani.

Iraq Army Woos Deserters Back to War on ISIS
The Iraqi military command has launched a campaign to re-enlist soldiers and officers who abandoned their units.

Nusra Front Vows Retaliation for Strikes in Syria
The leader of the Syrian rebel group and Qaeda offshoot threatens America in a YouTube video, a shift from the group’s prior focus on ousting Bashar al-Assad.

Internationally Renowned Human Rights Lawyer Marries Actor Who Played A Handyman On ‘Facts of Life’

Let’s get our priorities straight.

The post Internationally Renowned Human Rights Lawyer Marries Actor Who Played A Handyman On ‘Facts of Life’ appeared first on ThinkProgress.

CREDIT: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Over the weekend, George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin in Venice. Much of the coverage has focused on Clooney, with USA Today leading their report by describing him as “one of the world’s most eligible and sexy stars.” The New York Daily News bills Clooney as a “Hollywood heartthrob” who “finally uttered the words that he’d long sworn off.” E Online proclaims “the famous Hollywood hunk said goodbye to his bachelor days.”

Alamuddin is simply described as his “ladylove.”

There is one publication, however, that has its priorities straight:

CREDIT: Business Woman Media

Indeed, Alamuddin’s career is at least as impressive as Clooney’s. She is an internationally renowned human rights lawyer with degrees from Oxford University and NYU Law. Fluent in Arabic, French, and English, she has represented a slew of high-profile clients including Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and former prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko. Alamuddin has been appointed to several United Nations commissions dealing with issues related to international human rights.

Clooney, among other achievements, had a two episode arc on Friends in 1995.

The post Internationally Renowned Human Rights Lawyer Marries Actor Who Played A Handyman On ‘Facts of Life’ appeared first on ThinkProgress.

Top Republican Presidential Candidate Says Anarchy May Force Cancellation Of 2016 Election

Carson is also worried that the nation will devolve into anarchy because Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has “over three hundred bills sitting on his desk” that he won’t bring to the floor for a vote.

The post Top Republican Presidential Candidate Says Anarchy May Force Cancellation Of 2016 Election appeared first on ThinkProgress.

Ben Carson

CREDIT: AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Dr. Ben Carson, a popular Tea Party activist and Fox News contributor who says he will likely seek the Republican nomination for president in 2016, said on Sunday that he is seriously concerned that there will not be 2016 elections in the United States because the country could be in anarchy by that point. His reasons: the growing national debt, ISIS, and the U.S. Senate’s refusal to consider legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

Host Chris Wallace noted that in light of his potential presidential campaign, Carson’s previous comments were now under a greater spotlight. He noted Carson’s August comment that if the Republicans don’t win a majority in the Senate this year, the 2016 elections might not even be held and asked the retired neurosurgeon if he stood by it:

WALLACE: You said recently that there might not even be elections in 2016 because of widespread anarchy. Do you really believe that?

CARSON: I hope that that’s not going to be the case. But certainly there’s the potential because you have to recognize that we have a rapidly increasing national debt, a very unstable financial foundation, and you have all these things going on like the ISIS crisis that could very rapidly change things that are going on in our nation. And unless we begin to deal with these things in a comprehensive way and in a logical way there is no telling what could happen in just a couple of years.

Carson then noted that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has “over three hundred bills sitting on his desk” that he won’t bring to the floor for a vote, “thereby thwarting the will of the people.” He made no mention of the Republican House’s refusal to consider popular Senate-passed bipartisan measures like comprehensive immigration reform and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Carson finished a close second Saturday in a straw poll at the 2014 Values Voters Summit for 2016 presidential preferences.

Despite Carson’s fears, the United States has held presidential elections every four years since 1788, despite a civil war, two world wars, and a great depression. Carson has been no stranger to controversial comments since he became active in politics. In March of 2013, he compared same-sex marriage to bestiality and NAMBLA. That October, he decried the Affordable Care Act as “the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery,” adding that the law “is slavery, in a way.” And earlier this month, Carson defended former Baltimore Raven Ray Rice, saying people should stop “demonizing” him and suggesting that his wife also shared some of the blame for being attacked, opining that “they both need some help.”

The post Top Republican Presidential Candidate Says Anarchy May Force Cancellation Of 2016 Election appeared first on ThinkProgress.

My Brother’s Keeper Will Expand, but Not to Include Women and Girls
From: Dani McClain

President Obama gave a nod to women and girls of color, but critics say his racial justice initiative still misses the mark.

Is Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Ill?
North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un hasn’t been seen at a public event for three weeks, including a prominent state meeting that he has attended every year since coming to power in late 2011. On Thursday, Kim was conspicuously absent from the Supreme People’s Assembly, which is North Korea’s parliament attended by officials of the party, the military and various national organizations. A prominent seat remained empty on stage surrounded by North Korea’s top brass.

No. 6 Texas A&M rallies for 35-28 OT win over Hogs
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kenny Hill threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns, with a 25-yarder to Malcome Kennedy on the first play of overtime, and sixth-ranked Texas A&M rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to beat Arkansas 35-28 on Saturday.

A day of rest for Mickelson at Ryder Cup
GLENEAGLES, Scotland (AP) — For the first time in 10 appearances at the Ryder Cup, Phil Mickelson was given an entire day off.

Hornets’ Taylor banned from team activities
Hornets forward Jeffery Taylor will not be participating in any team-related activities during an NBA investigation into his arrest on domestic assault charges, the team announced Friday.

Clintons “so happy” about granddaughter Charlotte
Former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say their daughter Chelsea is “well and glowing” after giving birth

GOP: America not leading the world under Obama
Republicans say U.S. has lost its mojo, but the president points to American leadership in the fight against ISIS, Ebola, other threats

Independent candidate threatens to upset GOP hold in Kansas
Greg Orman, a former Democrat who switched to independent and is running for a Senate seat in Kansas may be the one who upends a hold Repubicans have had since 1932

Conflict Of Interest: George Will Again Uses His Column To Prop Up A Koch-Backed Candidate

Weeks after appearing at a VIP dinner for the Koch brothers-backed political group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), George Will devoted his Washington Post column to promoting one of the Kochs’ favored political candidates without disclosing the conflict of interest.

Last month, Politico reported on Will’s attendance at a private dinner featuring an “exclusive group of major donors and VIPs” as part of AFP’s Defending the American Dream summit. Despite repeated attempts by Media Matters, neither Will nor AFP would answer whether he had been paid for the appearance or compensated for his travel expenses. Will has repeatedly devoted column space in the past to promoting Koch-backed candidates and policy issues.

When the journalism group Society of Professional Journalists released its new Code of Ethics in September, the group’s ethics chair cited Will’s relationship with AFP — and his refusal to disclose whether he had been paid by the group — as the type of conflict journalists should try to avoid.  

Apparently undeterred, in his September 26 column, Will sang the praises of Republican Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst — a candidate who has received massive financial support from the Kochs and their political groups — without disclosing his conflict of interest.

In his column, Will lamented that the contest between Ernst and Democratic challenger Bruce Braley “should not be this close.” He dismissed Democrats’ “War on Women” narrative and asserted that Braley “is as awkward as Ernst is ebullient when campaigning.”

Pointing to spending by outside groups on Braley’s behalf, Will classified the Iowa Democrat’s “fretting about money in politics” as being “notably selective,” and wrote that although “politics is an inherently transactional business,” Braley is “operatically indignant about the Koch brothers.”

America’s Dubious Threat Assessments
Heather Wilhelm, RealClearPolitics
Sometimes, when people get rich, they get a little out of touch. It’s not their fault, really. Once the lower levels of your hierarchy of needs—food, water, shelter, employment, friendship, a $600 phone that you stare at to avoid making eye contact with your friends and family—are completely sated, the mind is free to wander, as psychologist Abraham Maslow once suggested, into the realms of self-actualization. Unfortunately, for some people, that wandering quickly dodges higher thought and swerves directly into the Land of Lost Marbles. We saw this over the weekend with the…

There Once Was a Debate
Mike Littwin, RealClearPolitics
If you’re wondering about Coffman-Romanoff III, let’s just say the debate won’t be confused with Rocky III, or even Coffman-Romanoff II. The matchup was — there’s no other way to put it — a mismatch, which, strangely, seemed to be fine with Mike Coffman, who apparently figured he had nothing to gain by engaging the quicker Andrew Romanoff. The funny thing is, he’s probably right. Romanoff won big, which in practical terms means, well, nothing. It’s an old political saw that you can’t win debates, you can only lose them. And there were no gaffes in the CD6 showdown. Coffman stumbled a few…

Obama’s “Cancer” Fight; Christie’s Achilles’ Heel? JFK’s U.N. Exhortation
Carl M. Cannon, RealClearPolitics
Good morning, it’s Thursday, September 25, 2014, a year in which the international news seems to veer between tragedy and farce. Under the latter heading was this week’s news that Venezuela is in line for a seat on the U.N. Security Council. “To New York, I will take the voice of Venezuela,” proclaimed that nation’s president, Nicolás Maduro. “The voice of Chávez!” Maduro is certainly a fitting successor to Hugo Chávez. Last year he expelled three U.S. Embassy staffers from Venezuela for no known reason other than his tacky taunt: “Yankees, go…

Mark Reckless’s journey to UKIP
Profile of UKIP’s new recruit – Tory defector Mark Reckless

Tory minister Brooks Newmark resigns
Conservative MP for Braintree Brooks Newmark resigns as minister for civil society over allegations to be published in a Sunday newspaper.

Second Tory MP defects to UKIP
Mark Reckless becomes the second Tory MP to defect to UKIP, announcing his decision on the eve of the Conservative party conference.

Russian Diplomat’s Speech Depicts the West as Hypocritical
Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, addressing the United Nations General Assembly, described the world’s acute conflict zones in near polar opposite terms from the way the United States and Western European leaders have framed them.

News Analysis: President’s Drive for Carbon Pricing Fails to Win at Home
The United States, which is under growing international pressure to price carbon, is missing from a World Bank declaration calling on all nations to enact laws forcing industries to pay for carbon emissions.

In a Final Act, Karzai Orders Execution of 5 Men in Rape Case
Rights activists are concerned that the men’s confessions in the gang rape and robbery of four Afghan women may have been obtained by torture at the hands of the police.

Digital War Takes Shape on Websites Over ISIS
A government team’s striking video and other postings are being disseminated through Twitter and Facebook to counter ISIS’s skillful online campaigns.