Daily Archives: October 19, 2021

Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty Images/Shutterstock

Usually, when Washington is at a decisive consensus that one party is in disarray that its next election cycle will be messy, that its wings cant agree, that voters arent convinced by its standard bearer its candidates follow a simple formula: Ditch the national party and focus instead on local issues. But with three weeks until Virginia votes for its next governor, the electoral equation has been scrambled. From Richmond to Virginia Beach, it is Democrats who are working to nationalize the campaign despite President Bidens dipping approval ratings and Republican optimism about next years midterms, a move Bidens White House has dialed into in recent weeks, while right-wingers are trying to turn voters focus toward the hyperlocal.

Terry McAuliffe, the former governor running for his old job, has been talking about what he accomplished in Richmond but has recently spent an increasing amount of his time and ad budget focusing on his opponents ties to Donald Trump. Glenn Youngkin the Republican private-equity exec who was so little-known locally that early campaign stories had to use old news photos of his appearances in Davos is, on the other hand, contorting himself to avoid invoking Trump in front of moderates and suburbanites, while at the same time appearing with conspiracy-spewing Trump allies such as Seb Gorka. Meanwhile, hes been pitching the final weeks of his campaign as an effort to save Virginias schools from, as one local GOP leader put it to me last week, critical race theory, wokeness, and political correctness.

Its all made for an appropriately portentous preview of the next year of American politics, where every semi-competitive race is now treated as if it holds the secret key to long-term electoral success.

While top Democrats in Washington work out how best to deploy Biden himself in the home stretch, operatives and elected officials have called on Barack Obama, First Lady Jill Biden, and Stacey Abrams to campaign for McAuliffe, in part because they acknowledge his loss would create waves of commentary about Democrats electoral struggles in the Biden era. (McAuliffes roughly eight-point lead in the FiveThirtyEight polling average in early August had shrunk to less than three points as of mid-October.)

More substantively, though, theyre concerned that it might actually be true: White House aides have focused on the race in recent weeks, asking for regular updates from the ground, not least because they see the contest as the first genuinely competitive race in an important state where voters will, directly or indirectly, render a verdict on Democrats handling of the pandemic. Furthermore, they see McAuliffes fate as directly tied to that of Bidens legislative priorities on Capitol Hill, even if the measures currently mired in negotiations are beside the point in most Virginia voters eyes. If Democratic wrangling over Bidens agenda on Capitol Hill fails at the end of October, they believe, it could be a huge blow to McAuliffes pitch of competent Democratic leadership with the election so soon after. Conversely, a McAuliffe loss in early November could doom Bidens further legislative pushes if it spooks marginal Democrats in Congress, people close to Biden and McAuliffe both fear.

The issue is that while Virginia has trended Democratic for more than a decade now, this years electorate is projected by local strategists to be the most conservative one in years, befitting the states long-standing tendency to elect a governor from the opposite party of the president. McAuliffe, who won in 2013 after Obamas re-election, is the lone politician to have bucked that trend in the past half-century.

Youngkin, meanwhile, has been trying to focus his bases attention on local curricula, using the specter of critical race theory in particular to rile up conservatives and attract some parents in the heavily suburban state who are less enthused by his calls to audit its voting machines. What nobody saw coming is the visceral reaction suburban parents would have to the school issues, and the big question on everybodys mind is whether, in the post-Trump era, these local issues that are getting so much attention energize the pro-Youngkin voters more than the pro-McAuliffe voters, said John Whitbeck, a former state GOP chairman. Youngkin is riding an issue he wouldve been riding anyway: Every Republican thats running in a suburban district, or a place thats trending blue like Virginia, is going to run on education.

Whats not yet obvious is whether this can be a winning issue, targeted at the kind of swingy suburban voters who once dominated Virginia politics, if its coming from a place of right-wing anger. Theres no question that Republican voters are enthusiastic about voting. The question is: Are there enough of them in Virginia to outweigh Democrats showing up in an off-year election? said Josh Schwerin, a former long-time McAuliffe aide. No one in or close to either the McAuliffe camp or the White House has denied that parents of all ideological stripes entered the fall extremely nervous about the coming school year after 17 months of pandemic education, but their public pronouncements suggest they think this latest wave of conservative curriculum talk is a fad and far less relevant than COVID-based schooling fears, even if its a potentially powerful one with some voters.

After a few days of Youngkin promoting McAuliffes statement that parents shouldnt be telling schools what to teach, the Democrat replied with an ad warning that Youngkin would cut school budgets. Republicans always find something to gin up their outrage machine, said Schwerin. Im old enough to remember when the crisis for 2022 was going to be @POTUS failure to open schools, White House chief of staff Ron Klain tweeted earlier this week, pointing to a report that 96 percent of the nations public schools have reopened in person. (The two operations are close: McAuliffes campaign manager, a longtime senior Democratic aide in the state, ran Virginia for Biden, and Biden himself offered McAuliffe a job as his presidential campaigns finance chairman back in 2019.)

Ever since Obama won Virginia in 2008, statewide races there have been shadowed by questions of just how much the states rapid suburbanization, especially outside of D.C., has changed its politics. Every four years, polls tighten in the final weeks. And, so far, every four years Democrats have won. The margins have at times been far too close for comfort when McAuliffe won in 2013, it was by less than 3 points and the states most recent electoral tradition is for the closing days to feature a mind-numbingly dumb sideshow that pundits cast as a game-changer. (On the morning of the 2017 vote that elected Ralph Northam, a Morning Joe panel unanimously predicted his loss and pointed to the release of former DNC chair Donna Braziles book about the 2016 election as a sign of Democratic discord that would doom him.) Even the most recent big-picture question is predictable: Can Democrats win without Trump on the ballot? The races of 2017 and 2018 provided an answer (yes, clearly), but still it lingers on cable and Twitter.

Yet McAuliffes closing message is recognizable, predictable, and understandable, too.

When he voted early this month, he was surrounded by campaign signs proclaiming, simply, YOUNGKIN = TRUMP, and his recent ads about Youngkins theoretical education cuts featured not just Betsy DeVos but Trump, too, as have a huge range of his spots and campaign-trail lines about his opponent. Trump himself hasnt visited the state for Youngkin, but McAuliffe has been transparent about trying to lure the ex-presidentfor months now, as well as highlighting every time he mentions Youngkin.

In a state where Trump remains unpopular he lost it by six points in 2016 and ten in 2020 theres nothing surprising about it, even to Republicans. When I was chairman of the party, I asked my executive director, When are [Democrats] gonna stop campaigning on the war on women? And he said, When it stops working, Whitbeck said. If McAuliffe loses, we may see the end of the Trump bogeyman every Democrat has rolled out for four years. If he wins, theyre going to keep using it.

Last week, Trump argued in a statement that no Republican should vote until the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 was resolved. This was roughly an hour and a half before the kickoff of a Richmond rally that Steve Bannon was headlining for Youngkins ticket. The event began with a pledge of allegiance to an American flag that, the organizers said, was present at the Capitol riot, which they called a peaceful rally with Donald J. Trump. Youngkin didnt show, and his running mate, Winsome Sears, whod been billed as a speaker, left before the speeches started.

But Republicans secretary-of-state candidate earned a standing ovation for insisting to the crowd that Donald Trump won, which was shortly before Trump himself called in to deem Youngkin a great gentleman and to gin up the crowd by insisting we won in 2020, the most corrupt election in the history of our country, probably one of the most corrupt anywhere, but were gonna win it again. That, in turn, was just before state senator Amanda Chase, whom Youngkin beat in the primary but has recently embraced on the trail, called for the return and gold plat[ing] of Virginias Confederate monuments.

Within minutes, McAuliffes campaign account was tweeting about the event, making sure as many voters knew about it as possible. Not long after the rally ended, he was sharing video from it. The next morning, he called a press conference, just in case anyone still hadnt heard about it.

Later that day, Youngkin tried distancing himself from the event, insisting there is no room for violence when asked about the flag. This was too little, too late: McAuliffes campaign had already posted a new ad with footage from the previous evening.

Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world.

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Virginias Election Is Breaking the Rules - New York Magazine

Build Back Better?

My house is nearly a century old. Its balloon frame is built with true dimensional lumber and rests on a rubble foundation. Wood sash windows with pulleys and weights still adorn the house, but, at some point in time, were augmented with storm windows, and the cedar shakes were covered with aluminum siding.

This well-built structure was constructed with the materials and codes of that era. Over the years, owners have updated its systems and made improvements. What once was a coal-fed boiler is now an efficient natural gas system. The knob and tube wiring was replaced with insulated copper wiring and circuit breakers. Heat pumps now help with climate control, and insulation reduces air leaks. Modern appliances assist with everyday chores.

This home has the elegance of history and the comfort and efficiency of today. Never did any owner have to build back to make it better. Never was it razed so that it could be brought up to par with modernity. In nearly a century, it has remained standing with improvements throughout the years.

I am bewildered by Joe Bidens Build Back Better. Why, when our Constitution is the bedrock of our society, when this nation has evolved from slavery to civil rights, from one-room schoolhouses to universities, from stagecoaches to space shuttles, must we destroy everything? Why teach our children that their ancestors are bad when they have created such a wonderful place for us to live? We can always be better, but why must we destroy it all to do so?

The countries that have done this to themselves are much worse off than before. This administration is following the same path as Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela and a host of other totalitarian regimes. The devastation in those nations was so complete that it has taken generations to build back any semblance of a civil society, if one exists at all. None have but a fraction of the freedoms and prosperity that we now enjoy. Why destroy it?

Jim Dixon, Waltham

The travesty on Mass and Cass is an everyday reminder of how utterly incompetent government at all levels has become. Politicians have become so obsessed with political correctness that they would literally rather have people die on the street than criminalize addiction. Sheriff Tomkins has suggested what any reasonable person with an ounce of common sense would suggest get the people off the street into an unused building that is readily available and use the tens (or is it hundreds) of millions of unspent COVID funds to get them proper help. Why in the world is this so complicated? Politicians like Michelle Wu should stop having a conversation and get to work.

Brian Miller, Boston

This team has a rookie quarterback and should be 5-1 but the defense cant stop anyone. Steve Belichick cant make the tackles but hes putting them in their situations. Maybe he doesnt know what hes doing.

Stephen Lynch, Middleton

Continued here:

Letters to the editor - Boston Herald

When the social media mob and some in traditional media come to cancelanyone (usually those on the political right),the reaction often results in an apology from that person. And that apology is primarily driven not by remorsebut byfear.

Thankfully,in the name of all that is sane and sober, Dave Chappelle themost fearless comedian of the 21st century,and certainly no conservative is pushing back on attempts to cancel him.Why did he become a target? His comedy isdeemedtoo offensive, too farover the line, no laughing matter, because heridicules trans-people along with just about every other group in America today in"The Closer,"his latest Netflixspecial.The 48-year-old Emmy-winner also had the audacity to defend "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, anothertarget of woke warriors on social mediabecause of her views on gender identity.

"Theycanceled J.K. Rowling my God, hesaid. "Effectively, she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as (expletive), they started calling her a TERF," an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.

Im Team TERF. I agree. I agree, man. Gender is a fact, headded.

Those and othercommentsprovoked abacklash, most notablyfromJaclyn Moore, who publicly announced her decision to leave Netflix after serving as the executive producer of the streaming giant's "Dear White People."

"I love so many of the people Ive worked with at Netflix, shetweeted after detailing her own gender transition in a passionate post. Brilliant people and executives who have been collaborative and fought for important art, Moore continued. [But] I will not work with them as long as they continue to put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content.

CNN, perhapspredictably, jumped into the mix, too,with severalon-airsegments on the matter, including onethat attemptedto indict Chappelle for future transgender fatalities while featuring guests urging a boycott of Netflix.

"Let's talk about the data and the harm that you're noting because the National Black Justice Coalition says that this year, quote. 'is on track to be the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States and the majority of whom are black transgender people.' What do you think needs to be done to address that," guest anchor Boris Sanchez asked Lina Bradford, a transgender D.J. andactress.

"People might want to look into where it is youre getting your content from, Bradford replied. You know, dont go to comedians and maybe not give your money to a conglomerate that's very insensitive to a community, but yet okay to take that coin."

An opinion piece from the network also somehow tied Chappelle to who else? Donald TrumpDonald TrumpTrump goes after Cassidy after saying he wouldn't support him for president in 2024 Jan. 6 panel lays out criminal contempt case against Bannon Hillicon Valley Presented by Xerox Agencies sound alarm over ransomware targeting agriculture groups MORE.

"That's not to say Chappelle doesn't have a right to run his mouth," writes @claycane. "It cuts both ways, but it's critical to remember that unlike the communities who bear the brunt of his jokes, Chappelle is in no way powerless. https://t.co/V6uaYpOBPD

On cue, NPR and GLAADspoke out as well.

Dave Chappelle's brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities. Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don't support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree. https://t.co/yOIyT54819

NBC News reported that Chappelle was facing "swift backlash" for the routine, with said swift backlash coming from random tweets from random people with relatively few followers. The Spectator's Stephen MillerStephen MillerDave Chappelle refuses to be cancelled White House orders release of Trump records to Jan. 6 committee Far-left bullies resort to harassing, shaming Kyrsten Sinema it won't work MORE, anastute observer of media, argued (correctly) that the news organizationwas"searching for outrage" to create a story.

The story cites 3 tweets, one from an account they call "a Twitter user" with 200 followers.

If a news story simply cites you as "one twitter user said.." your opinion isn't newsworthy. It's irrelevant.

Facebook is not the problem https://t.co/R8f3xFtieo

If a news outlet cites "one Twitter user said.." that is NBC going and searching for outrage. That is the journalist searching for any random account upset about Chappelle. That is NBC attempting to create a story where there isn't one. Facebook. Is. Not. The. Problem.

Instead of apologizing, or groveling, ortrying to appease a mob only interested in ending careers.Chappelle is pushing back in Chappelle-esquefashion. "If this is what being canceled is like, I love it. I don't know what to tell you, except I'm a bad mother-(expletive)," he declared during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in L.A., earning a standing ovation in the process.

F Twitter. F NBC News, ABC News, all these stupid-ass networks, he reportedly said. Im not talking to them. Im talking to you. This is real life.

Netflix is standing by its star.

Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long-standing deal with him, Netflix's co-CEO TedSarandos wrote. His last special Sticks & Stones, also controversial, is our most-watched, stickiest and most award-winning stand-up special to date.

As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, Sarandos continued.

Here's a bet: There won't be any mass cancellation of Netflix accounts. In fact, Netflix will likely gain subscriptions, becausewhat's hot or trending on Twitter calling for boycotts and cancellations look much worse than they everreallyare. The outrage comes and goes like the tide. The outrage is sound and fury, usually signifying nothing.

Another all-timecomedygreat and star of the best TV show ever, JerrySeinfeld, warned about political correctness destroyingcomedy back in 2015. "They just want to use these words Thats racist.' Thats sexist, Thats prejudice. They dont even know what the fk theyre talking about," Seinfeld told ESPN.

I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that," he later added. "But everyone else is kind of, with their calculating isthis the exact right mix? I think thats, to me, its anti-comedy. Its more about PC-nonsense.

Bingo.

Netflix is standing by Chappelle. Chappelle is blistering his critics.

Good for them.To both, nothing is considered too politically incorrect. Or out of bounds.

That's kinda the point of comedy.

But in 2021, we have "right" speech and "wrong"speech determined by the judge and jury that is the Twitter mob and traditional media.Now that's comedy, albeit of the unintentional variety.

A line has to be drawnsomewherein this craziness that is cancel culture. Thisappears to be it.

JoeConchais a media and politics columnist for The Hill and a Fox News contributor.

Originally posted here:

Dave Chappelle refuses to be cancelled | TheHill - The Hill

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) If you want to run for a Grand Haven city offices, you need to meet a few qualifications, like being over the age of 21 and being a registered voter in the city.

To drill that down even more, Section 4.2.of the city charter reads: An elected official has to be a resident of the city or of territory annexed to the city, for at least six months immediately preceding his election or appointment, if a person be appointed to fill a vacancy in an elective office.

But what if it was her election not his?

It says he and his for all of the offices of the city and all of the officers of the city. Why would we refer to them in the male form of the pronoun? City Manager Pat McGinnis said.

While most ballots for the fast approaching Nov. 2 election wont include any major state races, there are some interesting local questions facing voters. In Grand Haven, voters are being asked to neutralize gender references in the city charter.

Scroll through the city charter and youll find dozens of male references. Changing it is not just a matter of political correctness, McGinnis said its just not accurate as it is now.

During our staff meeting this morning there were 15 of us around the table: seven women and eight men, McGinnis said.

That would have been 15 men and no women in 1959, when Grand Havens charter was written.

I was happy to look around the table and see that my peers are almost evenly balanced, and I think its time that my citys founding document ought to reflect that reality, McGinnis said.

A charter is a living document. As times change, it has been updated with various amendments. On Nov. 2, voters will be asked to amend it again to eliminate gender-based pronouns.

The ballot question reads:

Grand Haven City Council proposes that gender biased pronouns in the City Charter (such as he/she, his/hers, him/her) be deleted and replaced with gender neutral pronouns (such as they/their/them).

Older charters with outdated language are nothing new to communities. But most often, the gender problem is fixed with a statement.

That (common statement) says all references to the male gender in this document or in these documents shall include any gender, McGinnis said.

He believes Grand Haven charter amendment is a better fix.

I think theres a leadership issue here of are we making a statement that gender equity is an important concern for us, McGinnis said. And we ought to be leaders in that area and not followers.

Grand Haven voters will also decide on a charter amendment eliminating the requirement that the city attorney be present at all city council meetings, and another that will allow changes to obsolete sections of the charter.

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Ballot proposal would replace he with they in Grand Have n city charter - WOODTV.com

Hispanic Heritage Month came to a close last week, but as with many specifically heritage-based holidays, this shouldnt mean that the sentiments promoted need to cease. Especially in Los Angeles, learning about and celebrating Latin culture is important year round if we are to understand many of our neighborhoods and the people who inhabit them (and used to inhabit them before gentrification). After the controversy in January of last year over the novel American Dirt, we think its more important than ever to highlight Latin authors and subjects that get it right. We purposefully do so here and now to make a point as compassionate human beings we shouldnt need a month to be reminded of or recognize other cultures and their contributions to American life. From actors to artists to activists, we offer this handy list of new and new-ish books to buy or check out (the library remains a wonderful resource- use it!) now. We encourage readers to add these titles to your gift lists for friends and family too, Latin or not.

Boyle Heights- How a Los Angeles Neighborhood Became the Future of American Democracy

Tracing the evolution of Boyle Heights and how the region in L.A. has evolved as different immigrant groups have come and gone, bringing their unique culture and customs with them, this great book explores how its inhabitants have sought to maintain their cultural identity as well. USC professor George J. Sanchez illustrates how the neighborhood has influenced ethnic politics as a model for diversity, and more importantly, unity.

We interviewed legendary the Danny Trejo as few years ago and was inspired by his story, which saw him go from convict to movie star. But even then, we knew wed only just scratched the surface of his story. His new book lays it all out and as it is told to co-writer/fellow actor Donal Logue, it has a raw and conversational tone that holds nothing back. The Pacoima-based actor is not only a badass, hes funny, smart and inspirational with the kind of insight and wisdom that comes with a hard life, lessons learned and ultimately, multiple success in entertainment and the food industry. As a Latino, we are proud call him one of ours and this book shows why. (On another note: we just got word that Trejo will be honored with a wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Hollywood at the end of the month. Congrats Amigo!)

Perhaps nothing has divided the Latin community as much as the terminology we prefer. Older people of Latin-American descent have a real distain for the label Latinx especially when white media uses it to seem woke. But Vice News/Telemundo reporter Paola Ramos just might change some of these mindsets with this book. She shares her personal perspective as an LGBTQ+ person and how her coming-out corresponded with the terms popularity, which for queer people, is less about performative political correctness and more about rejection of gender roles and unquestioned conformity in how we use language.

Editor Margarita Longorias collection of short stories, poems and more from acclaimed YA writers is a must have if you want to understand the Mexican-American experience in a creative and real way. Its written for a young audience but its expressive insight is easily accessible for all.

Profiling 50 POC artists and entrepreneurs breaking boundaries with their work, Jasmin Hernandez of Gallery Gurls, celebrates queer, trans, nonbinary, and BIWOC visionaries from Los Angeles, New York and more. From the subjects creative process to personal challenges to actions and intents for changing the world, its a compelling collection thatll give you hope for an inclusive future.

The complexities of racial identity are explored by Laura E. Gomez, an expert on the topic who posits that Latinos influence on culture is bigger than anyone has acknowledged. Latin people have reached over a third of Americas population but beyond demographics, views on immigration and societal roles in this country continue to hold us back. Racism exists, and for Latinos, its literally, figuratively, psychologically and politically, beyond a Black and white issue. This book attempts to get to the bottom of the problem.

Razabilly- Transforming Sights, Sounds, and History in the Los Angeles Latina/o Rockabilly Scene

This look at Los Angeles Latin rockabilly enthusiasts explores the communitys connection to 50s and early 60s aesthetics, style and music. We may not have seen it reflected much on TV or film of the time (for save Richie Valens and West Side Story) but La Razas influence on mid-century pop culture was always there, making the modern scene more a trend. Author Nicolas F. Centino enlightens us with history, which focuses on L.A.s scene and vital venuesthe 90s resurgence including Rudolphos in Frogtown/Silver Lake.

As Hispanic History Month began, we also covered three beautiful books about our culture (Nuestra Cultura), all pertaining to Los Angeles Latin community and its rich sense of style and expression, including Street Writers, Cruise Night and L.A. Graffiti Black Book.

Read the cover story HERE.

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Keep Appreciation for Hispanic Heritage Alive With These Great Books - L.A. Weekly

Near the end of Mel Brookss History of the World Part 1, just as the King of France and his consorts are about to feel the wrath of the guillotine, a Roman slave, played by Gregory Hines, rides in from an earlier segment in a chariot, drawn by a horse named Miracle.

Its Miracle! Mel Brooks exclaims.

And thats exactly how I felt yesterday when I read the news that Hulu has commissioned an eight-part variety series called History of the World Part II. History of the World Part I appeared 40 years ago. Mel Brooks is 95 years old. Pretty much everyone else involved in that movie is dead: Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey, certainly Sid Caesar, Dom DeLuise, Jackie Mason. Orson Welles was thenarrator,for pitys sake! Of the major cast members, only Pamela Stephenson, who is a psychiatrist in Beverly Hills, still walks among us. Besides Mel Brooks, that is.

Id been feeling despair about my old-school comedy tastes up until when I heard the History of the World news. Over the weekend, the New York Post re-published a Commentary essay from David Zucker, in which he laments that our current woke environment would make it impossible for him to see a green-light for his movie Airplane! today. He bemoaned the joy-killing Twitter elite who kill any even mildly offensive joke in the womb. He might as well have been writing my eulogy when he said:

Im a perpetually frustrated person whos annoyed and bored by the dullness that everyone else seems to tolerate so easily. I have a rage against mildness, against playing it safe, against political correctness. Jokes are my defense against normalcy, and as a comedy writer, if Im not teetering on the edge of offending someone, then Im not doing my job. Because I know that people get themselves stuck in a rut when they take things too seriously.

I posted that piece up on my Facebook feed. Most people agreed with me that Airplane! is an all-time classic, though I found someone else arguing that its irrelevant and that only people who are emotionally 12 years old could like it. Guilty as charged, I guess. It left me thinking, even if people did like comedy from that era, that it was no longer possible in our present-day environment where touchy feelings can end peoples careers.

Maybe Im not emotionally 12 years old, but I still like the comedy from when I was a kid. I was nine when Airplane! appeared, and I was 11 when Brooks released History of the World Part I, the last of his golden age of movie parodies, though I guess you could make an argument for Spaceballs as well. Brooks created an epically ridiculous journey through history, with a showstopping Spanish Inquisition musical number in the middle, a comic tour de force, featuring dancing monks and swimming nuns and Jew torture, that only Every Sperm Is Sacred from Monty Pythons Meaning of Life can equal.

Thats some of the most baldfacedly offensive shit ever put on screen, and its also possible the funniest scene in cinematic history. In History of the World Part I, Mel Brooks mocks the Jews, he makes fun of gay people, he is sexist, racist, and totally crude. The movie begins with a minute-long scene of ape-men jerking off. And its amazing.

Unlike David Zucker, whos a known conservative and therefore evil, liberal tastemakers continue to love Mel Brooks. The list of show runners and co-writers include my more or less contemporaries Nick Kroll and Ike Barinholtz. Ive seen what those guys do for comedy. Its highly possible that theyll keep the ratio of boob and dick jokes high. Most of all, its highly possible that well finally get to see the long-awaited extended cut of Jews In Space.

Here comes History of the World Part 2. Aneight-partsequel to one of the greatest comedy movies of all time. In this political and cultural climate, where offending anyone can lead to immediate career death. It truly is a miracle.

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History of the World Part 1 is Getting a Sequel - Book and Film Globe

AstonRep Theatre Company will welcome back audiences this fall with a revival of Yasmina Reza's frenetic dark comedy God of Carnage, translated by Christopher Hampton and co-directed by directed by Derek Bertelsen* and Robert Tobin*.

God of Carnage will play November 12 - December 12, 2021 at The Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at http://www.astonrep.com or by calling (773) 828-9129. The press opening is Saturday, November 13 at 7:30 pm.

Please note: all patrons will need to provide proof of vaccination when picking up tickets and wear a mask inside the venue during the performance. Please visit AstonRep's safety page for additional COVID-related information.

The cast includes Maggie Antonijevic, Mike Newquist, Erin Kathleen O'Brien* and Mark Tacderas.

Two high-strung couples, Alan and Annette Raleigh and Michael and Veronica Novak, decide to meet one evening for a civilized discussion about a playground altercation between their two young sons. What follows is a comically explosive downhill slide from polite, political correctness to full-on character assassination. A no-holds-barred look at what happens when the littlest things end up pushing us completely over the edge.

God of Carnage co-directors Derek Bertelsen and Robert Tobin comment, "We at AstonRep are excited to go back to our roots to produce this though provoking and timeless play, which we also presented nine seasons ago. With a new cast and new venue, this seems like the perfect script for us as we get back to producing live theatre again."

The production team includes Jeremiah Barr* (scenic/props design, technical director), Uriel Gomez (costume design), Becca Venable (lighting design), Robert Tobin* (sound design), Samantha Barr* (production manager) and Heather Branham (stage manager).

*Denotes AstonRep Company Members.

The rest is here:

AstonRep Theatre Presents GOD OF CARNAGE At The Edge Theater - Broadway World