Welcome to The Now

 Another powerful video/writing from Chris Hedges:

 

  Via CNN : President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing this month on gun crime and tax convictions, marking a reversal as he prepares to leave office. “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” he said in a statement. It is a “full and unconditional pardon,” according to a copy of the executive grant of clemency. This official grant of clemency cannot be rescinded by President-elect Donald Trump. By pardoning his son, Joe Biden has reneged on a public promise that he made repeatedly before and after dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. The president and his top White House spokesperson have said unequivocally, including after Trump won the 2024 election, that he would not pardon Hunter Biden or commute his sentence. The pardon means Hunter Biden won’t be sentenced for his crimes, and it eliminates any chance of his being sent to prison, which was a possibility. Once the judges overseeing his cases are notified of t...

 

 

  Very touching .

At least that's what this writer suggests as a reason for Will Smith's "After Earth" getting less-than stellar reviews.  I think this particular case -like most really- has a few layers: Will Smith is obviously trying to transfer some of his star-power to his son Jaden . Why not? Every good parent wants their child to succeed. However, Jaden isn't Will, and Jaden's "cute kid phase" is pretty much done, leaving him at "awkward teen phase" (see Frankie Muniz). The harsh truth is: unless a cute kid turns into a cute teenager right away, their movie appeal will wane. Will Smith hasn't been making movies on a regular like he used too . Back in the day, I used to wonder why then up-and-coming rap artist DMX was making a new album like every 14 months. But then a strange thing happened: he took about two years off and when he came back, the niche he had created and profited on was filled by others. Then I got it: in the entertainment biz,...

And to be honest I don't wanna spoil anything by going into too much detail .

17-year-old with possible drug problem yells at grandmother, gets shot eight times .

There are still some people in the military who just don't get it . Why don't any of the bobblehead pundits talk about these sorts of things when stories of "criminals from broken homes" pop up?

...or know someone who does, you should read this .

Can it be that only yesterday the big freakout was that this girl was wearing a shirt with a peace sign on it ? How quickly things escalate .

Normally, I would find someone like Levi Johnston to be as newsworthy as Meagan McCain or Liz Cheney (which is to say, "not newsworthy"). But every now and then such pseudo-celebrities, such "right-place, right-timers" manage (purely by association) to add some substance to a story that is considered by most (or at least the papers) to be newsworthy. This is one of those times . ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The former fiance of Gov. Sarah Palin's 18-year-old daughter says he thinks he knows why the Alaska governor is resigning — concerns over money. Levi Johnston, 19, whose wedding to Bristol Palin was called off earlier this year, says he believes the governor is resigning over personal finances. Johnston says he lived with the Palin family from early December to the second week in January. He claims he heard the governor several times say how nice it would be to take advantage of the lucrative deals that were being offered, including a reality show and a book. "I ...

That's what it would have to take to ask your parents pay off your mistress .

Sigh . BROWNSBURG, Indiana - An Indiana man arrested Monday night was accused of stabbing his estranged wife to death while his two daughters, 12 and 8, hid in a closet. Authorities said the older girl called police and told a dispatcher, "Daddy killed Mommy." Joseph L. Warnock, 41, was arrested about 9 p.m. in the same neighborhood of Brownsburg where he had once lived with his wife, Angela Warnock, 38, said Lt. Roger Call of the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department. The wife was found stabbed in her bed at home on Sunday night. Investigators say the couple was going through a divorce and she had a protective order requiring him to stay away from her and their daughters.

Lack of economic knowledge and bad timing seem to run in the McCain family.

Really . WASILLA, Alaska -- Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, the teenage daughter of Gov. Sarah Palin, have broken off their engagement, he said Wednesday, about 2 1/2 months after the couple had a baby. Johnston, 19, told The Associated Press that he and 18-year-old Bristol Palin mutually decided "a while ago" to end their relationship. He declined to elaborate as he stood outside his family's home in Wasilla, about 40 miles north of Anchorage. Kinda sad to see the kids call it quits, but this whole storyline highlights some things: Politics played some part in this relationship; The whole "family values" mantra is in a murky place when you talk about the Palin family; Abstinence, while interesting in theory, can't survive long in a world that pushes sex 24/7. Right, FoxNews ?

...that history can repeat itself. Meet Pierce Bush: It's like looking into a mirror of the future, ain't it?

In a medical sense, the odds are one in 13 million of this happening : HELENA, Mont. - A 35-year-old Canadian woman has given birth to rare identical quadruplets, hospital officials said Thursday. Karen Jepp of Calgary, Alberta, delivered Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia by Caesarian section Sunday afternoon at Benefis Healthcare hospital in Great Falls, Mont., said Amy Astin, the hospital's director of community and government relations. All of the girls seem to be healthy, but Ms. Jepp still has a way to go, assuming that she wants to match the Duggars family .

I have to say that this is a true committment to family: The Duggars have had child #17 , and don't plan on stopping.