Vote!

Just a friendly reminder to early vote this weekend, or regular vote on Tuesday (November 4th)! This, like every, election is important, and your voice deserves to be heard. Try as people might to silence it. Yes, those are all individual articles discussing different issues - there are that many different kinds of attempts to suppress voters this election - not to mention future elections. If they're that scared of you voting, that means your vote is that much more important.

Vote!

Let's Learn About Income Inequality with Amy Poehler and Billy on the Street!

Love this super weird animated short by Adam McKay starring Amy Poehler, Billy Eichner, and a bunch of other celebs, all about income inequality and one messed-up lollipop.



Adorable, informative, and horrifying! Just like I like my cartoons!

[via HuffPo]

The Daily Show Tackles Immigration in Austin

Love this clip from TDS about immigration. I know everyone's favorite part is probably the end trailer, but mine is definitely, "DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!". I clapped right along with them!

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

Keep Austin weird. And keep letting immigrants into Texas.

#NewRedskinsLogo

Love this video by Hari Kondabolu re: Redskins.



Makes a pretty strong point! You can see some of the new logos here.

Sugar: It's In Your Dinner

I love watching John Oliver stick it to The Man. In this case, The Candy Man.



And now just because it's in your head:



He does sell it pretty dang hard.

People's Climate March: A Resounding Success!

My brother and I went to the People's Climate March in New York last Sunday. It was incredible. 400,000 people? After walking through it - I believe it. It was truly amazing to see all kinds of people from all walks of life (not just aging hippies and naive college students!) come together and support a cause we can all support. This is the defining issue of our time, and it's about time we started acting like it!

Obamacare: Lowering Premiums

This is a pretty BFD. TPM's headline that the fact that Obamacare is lowering - instead of increasing - premiums around the country is something the GOP doesn't want you to see is totally accurate. This, along with other factors like the fact that Obamacare hasn't been the disaster the GOP "knew" it would be, is why it's slowly but surely stopped being a 2014 elections issue. Just as Social Security and Medicare quickly blended into the, "Of course we have this safety net/protection," Obamacare, too, is quietly becoming just another thing Americans assume they have, and appreciate without really acknowledge or even know they appreciate.

First Trailer for Jon Stewart's "Rosewater"

We're going to find out very soon what Jon Stewart was up to last summer. Below is the trailer for Rosewater, a film about an Iranian-Canadian journalist detained in Iran for 118 days, mostly for his coverage of the 2009 elections, but in part for appearing on Stewart's The Daily Show.



What do you think? It looks intense but interesting and informative. Honestly, I could stare at Gael Garcia Bernal for days, so if nothing else, Jon Stewart proves he can pick a solid story and great star.

[via /Film]

Notorious RBG Owns her Notoriety

Ruth Bader Ginsburg knows we adoringly refer to her as Notorious RBG and loves it. She said as much in an interview with Katie Couric for Yahoo News. If you aren't familiar with the meme, check out the Notorious RBG Tumblr and see why we love this boss Supreme Court Justice.

[via Jezebel]

Kristen Bell Deserves a Mary Poppins Reboot

Ok, Mary Poppins isn't getting a reboot (nor should it!), but Kristen Bell is crazy convincing in this parody in favor of a minimum wage increase:

Mary Poppins Quits with Kristen Bell from Funny Or Die      

The kids were also scarily on-the-nose. I think we've reached the Uncanny Valley of musical movie parody. Also, it's pretty funny and I love watching KB show off her singing chops.

[via The Hairpin]

Satanists, Pretty Cool People

Satanists are at it again. First, it was erecting a giant statue of Baphomet in the Oklahoma capitol. Now, they're turning the Hobby Lobby ruling on its head, saying that they should be exempt from the restrictive, anti-choice "informed consent" laws all around the country on the basis that their religion is based in scientific fact, and therefore they cannot abide by laws that are based on fear, junk, and political bias. In their words:

 In response to what The Satanic Temple have dubbed a “pernicious encroachment” of “informed consent” laws regarding abortion, the organization is asserting a religious exemption from the burden of state­mandated “informational” abortion materials for those who share their deeply held beliefs. According to their website, “The Satanic Temple believes that the body is inviolable ­­ subject to one’s own will alone.” Further, “we strive to make all decisions regarding personal health based on the best scientific understanding of the world, regardless of the religious or political beliefs of others.” (Full Statement)

It's a simple, powerful argument, and one the Satanists agree that any woman should make when presented with these informed consent requirements. Unlike Hobby Lobby, Satanists are starting to make a lot of sense. Who knew?

[via Jezebel]

In other news, Texas is down 20 abortion clinics

Just one year after Texas passed one of the harshest reproductive rights restrictions in the country, half of Texas' 40 abortion clinics have closed. By next year, the entire state will be down to six. This is a tragedy, and another reason why we must elect Wendy Davis and other pro-choice candidates to stand up for women's rights.

Besides, if conservatives really wanted to help and protect future generations, they'd embrace the Medicaid expansion. Since they refuse to do that, I can't take the idea that they care about anyone but themselves seriously.

Stanford to Divest its Endowment of Coal

Stanford University has officially announced it will divest from its $18.7 billion endowment of coal companies, becoming the first major university to do so. Divestment is a powerful and effective tool to bring change. If more universities follow suit, it will send a strong message to these companies that they need to get in the clean energy business or go out business.

[via Gawker]

Last Week Tonight, Tonight!

Who's excited for the premiere of John Oliver's new show, Last Week Tonight tonight? I know I am!

11pm on HBO or your parents' HBO GO account!

Cosmos: Taking Down the Creationists, One at a Time

I'm digging on the new Neil deGrasse Tyson hosted Cosmos. I love science. I love space. I love NdGT. I also love a calm, rational, reasonable approach to taking down the people who bash science over ridiculous claims like that the human eye is too perfect to have been randomly selected for or that the Earth is 6,000 years old. In addition to being a fun astronomy brush-up that's beautifully shot, Cosmos has systematically tackled creationists' most controversial and banal arguments. Read more about its take on creationism here, and also watch the show!

Adam Scott as Derek Huff Doesn't Want You to Sign up for Obamacare

I haven't seen Step Brothers all the way through - and by all the way through I mean the only part I've seen is where the bunk bed collapses, and that was two weeks ago when I was flipping through channels. But it seems like Adam Scott's character in it, Derek Huff, is a real gem. Watch below as he hates on health insurance, really pushing you to not sign up via healthcare.gov by March 31st!

A Message from Step Brothers' Adam Scott from Funny Or Die      

[via HuffPo]

GOP Can't Stop Demonizing Women

TPM has a nice round-up of the latest shenanigans the GOP is throwing out there in the (as much as they deny it, very much still existing) "war on women." I just hope I don't get drafted.

What if the Media Treated Male Politicians like Female Politicians?

Super amazing candidate for TX governor Wendy Davis is getting a lot of BS from the right and the media in general about her mothering skills. It's completely unfair and a waste of the voters' time.

It's also, sadly, just another example of the media and the right treating female politicians horribly compared to male politicians. To sum it up, blogger Avital Norman Nathman wrote a piece for the Frisky (re-posted by HuffPo) positing what it would be like for men to be treated the way women do in politics. It's a solid - if depressing - thought experiment.

Fantastic Super Bowl Ad

Although it won't be playing during the Super Bowl itself, this ad from the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is super relevant to "the big game"



I figured out about halfway through the ad why they were only using one word at a time. It's a really smart, moving way to prove how destructive and reductive a term like "redskin" can be, in general usage and especially for the name of a football team.

I'm not sure even Budweiser's "horse and dog are friends" ad can beat that.

[ThinkProgress]

Wendy Davis' Texas

The Hairpin has an interesting article from a Texan woman on her experience with the Wendy Davis filibuster. It's a fascinating read, and a great reminder that while most Texas politicians are the worst (Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Ron Paul, Pete Sessions, etc), some politicians and Texans are super awesome people trying to preserve our rights as women and move our state forward progressively.