Last Call For Back-Scratching 101

The Village is a small world after all as the Sony Pictures hack/leak is the gift that keeps on giving.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd promised to show Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal’s husband Bernard Weinraub — a former Times reporter — a version of a column featuring Pascal before publication. 

The end result was a column that painted Pascal in such a good light that she engaged in a round of mutual adulation with Dowd over email after its publication. It also scored Pascal points back at the studio, with Sony’s then-communications chief calling the column “impressive.” 

The exchanges were uncovered in a trove of Pascal’s emails released as part of a massive hack on Sony carried out by the group known as “Guardians of Peace.” 

The column, published after the Academy Awards earlier this year, lamented how “Oscar voters and industry top brass are still overwhelmingly white, male and middle-aged.”

Of course.  It's ironic that the column found Hollywood to be an overly chummy boys club (which it is) while of course Dowd and Pascal using a close friendship to get the glowing column about Pascal written in the first place.

Can't be burned down fast enough.

Don't Get This Band Back Together, Please

One thing Hillary Clinton can attempt to do in order to address concerns of African-American voters like myself who did not vote for her in the 2008 primaries is to not surround herself with the people she had in 2007-2008. You know, back when her campaign braintrust decided that trashing Obama with good ol' Southern Strategy garbage was OH HELLO LANNY DAVIS.

Last week, on Dec. 4, I helped organize a Ready for Hillary fundraiser in Montgomery County, Md., in the immediate suburbs of Washington, D.C. The organization, an independent grassroots committee, has been at work for the past year gathering millions of names and small donations in support of Hillary Rodham Clinton for president — that is, just in case she decides to run in 2016.

Never the hell mind with that plan then.

By the way, Davis goes on to say Martin O'Malley's people are backing Hillary now, but the funny part is O'Malley is going after Hillary over her refusal to prosecute Bush/Cheney era torture.

Ark-itechcts Of Their Own Disaster

Joe Sonka gives us some good news:  Dinosaur Steve's Ark Park here in Kentucky will not be getting taxpayer money after all.

Kentucky’s Tourism Arts & Heritage Cabinet Secretary Bob Stewart informed representatives of the proposed Ark Encounter tourist attraction today that their project will not be eligible for up to $18 million in tax incentives from the state, due to their refusal to pledge not to discriminate in hiring based on religion. 

“As you know, since the filing of the original incentive application in 2010, we have strongly supported this project, believing it to be a tourism attraction based on biblical themes that would create significant jobs for the community,” wrote Stewart in a letter to Ark Encounter’s attorney. “However, based on various postings on the Answers in Genesis (AIG) and Ark Encounter websites, reports from Ark Encounter investor meetings and our correspondence, it is readily apparent that the project has evolved from a tourism attraction to an extension of AIG’s ministry that will no longer permit the Commonwealth to grant the project tourism development incentives.” 

Stewart explains that their application will not go forward because the state will not grant incentives to a company that openly intends to discriminate in hiring based on religion, saying it is a violation of the state constitution for these incentives to be used to advance religion. He detailed how Ark Encounter representatives had previously promised not to discriminate in hiring several times, but recently they have stated they have every right to do so, saying, “The Commonwealth’s position hasn’t changed. The applicant’s position has changed.” 

Stewart cited AiG CEO Ken Ham’s Nov. 19 fundraising letter that accused the Beshear administration of religious persecution and reaffirmed their desire to discriminate in hiring based on religion. He also cited other statements throughout the year from AiG officials claiming the purpose of the park is to evangelize and indoctrinate its visitors. 

“Certainly, Ark Encounter has every right to change the nature of the project from a tourism attraction to a ministry,” wrote Stewart. “However, state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination or otherwise be used to advance religion. The use of state incentives in this way violates the Separation of Church and State provisions of the Constitution and is therefore impermissible.” 

Stewart went on to wish the Ark Encounter project well, despite the fact that it will receive no money or incentives from the state.

Good.  I've been saying the Yabba Dabba D'oh here should never have gotten a dime, and it looks like finally that Ken Ham will have to fork over his own cash.  I'm not paying for a Christian indoctrination theme park with my tax dollars, especially when "Christian" here has nothing to do with the teachings of Christ and everything to do with being a complete bigoted asshole to everyone.

Good riddance, and I hope the whole thing burns.

StupidiNews!

• The House narrowly avoided another shutdown fiasco with a 219-206 vote to pass a funding bill through next year, but the bill faces substantial Senate opposition.
• A time capsule from Boston's colonial era has been dug up from under the Massachusetts State House, originally buried by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
• Dozens of congressional staffers walked out of the Capitol on Thursday in a "hands up, don't shoot" posture to show solidarity with supporters of slain Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
• Crude oil prices have now dropped below $60 a barrel as the International Energy Agency has cut their demand forecast for the fourth time in just five months.
• The FCC may have folded on net neutrality, but has decreed that in order to receive subsidies for rural broadband development that carriers have to offer a minimum of 10Mbps speeds.