Ethan Coen wasn’t exactly a scholar on Jerry Lee Lewis . You wouldn’t even have called him a fan, really. Sure, the Oscar-winning filmmaker — who, along with his brother Joel, has given the world The Big Lebowski and Barton Fink and Fargo and No Country for Old Men and a dozen other movies that have earned rabid cults and regularly show up on Greatest Movies Ever lists — knew “Whole Lotta Shaking Going On.” Everybody does. He could probably sing a few verses of “Great Balls of Fire” in a karaoke emergency if need be. Press him, and Coen might name you some of his other early hits, like “High School Confidential,” “Breathless,” or “High Heel Sneakers.” And like most folks, he knew about Lewis marrying his 13-year-old cousin and the scandal that ensued, derailing the Killer’s early career and stopping his chart-topping reign dead in his tracks. Coen had also, by his own admission, “left the movie business” and wasn’t necessarily looking to throw himself into another … [Read more...] about How Ethan Coen’s Documentary on Jerry Lee Lewis Brought Him Back to Filmmaking
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MAGA Law: How the Trump Judges Twist U.S. Justice
The hard right’s takeover of the Supreme Court is real, and is having real consequences. But despite that leaked decision that would overturn Roe, this takeover isn’t just about abortion, and it’s not just about the Supreme Court. In fact, Trump-appointed judges at all levels of the judiciary are remaking nearly every aspect of American law, from voting rights to environmental regulations, police accountability to LGBTQ and women’s equality. There are also a lot of these judges. In four years, the Trump administration put a record 226 life-tenure federal judges on the bench. And while these judges don’t make the headlines like the Supreme Court does, they are already transforming our country, a little bit at a time. Perhaps most important, they will be there many, many years. Because Trump’s minions chose the youngest cohort of judges in recorded history, some of these people are in their thirties and forties. That means they could still be on the bench in 40, even 50 years — … [Read more...] about MAGA Law: How the Trump Judges Twist U.S. Justice
Texas’ Gun Culture and Politics Made Dallas Shooting Inevitable
A little over a year ago, a mentally ill Dallas-area man named James Lance Boulware, angry over losing custody of his son, bought an armored van on eBay, marketed as a “Zombie Apocalypse Assault Vehicle.” The van had gun ports under each of its blacked-out windows. Just after midnight one Saturday morning, with a few homemade pipe bombs and a semi-automatic rifle in-hand, he drove the van to the headquarters of the Dallas Police Department and started firing at squad cars. Many hours later, the cops, with the aid of specialized weaponry, disabled the van and killed Boulware, spending much of the day dealing with the explosive devices he left behind. One of the strangest things about Boulware’s bizarre and brief reign of terror in Dallas is how little attention it warranted by that Monday. Having happened in the wee hours of the weekend, it fell into a news hole. And Boulware’s failure to successfully shoot any of the police he targeted made it easier for people to shrug it off. … [Read more...] about Texas’ Gun Culture and Politics Made Dallas Shooting Inevitable
Exclusive: Trump Is Telling Allies His Record on Abortion Could Hurt His 2024 Chances
Donald Trump is on the precipice of achieving the most lasting and impactful part of his presidential legacy, as the justices he put on the Supreme Court prepare to help overturn Roe v. Wade and cement the former president’s status as a hero to social conservatives. But for a man who rarely opens his mouth without talking about his own (real or alleged) achievements, Trump has been near-silent on abortion since it became clear Roe was going under. Instead, Trump has been privately fretting about what the impending collapse of abortion rights will do for his own political prospects, telling those close to him that the issue could hurt him with “suburban women” should he try to retake the White House in 2024. “Suburban women have been a recurring concern for [former] President Trump, including during the 2020 campaign, when his smarter advisers were sounding the alarm to him about how he was losing suburbs. He is … worried women in the suburbs could punish him for this one day, … [Read more...] about Exclusive: Trump Is Telling Allies His Record on Abortion Could Hurt His 2024 Chances