I don't go to the movies much these days, partly because everything is on Netflix or can be procured elsewhere. But also because movie theaters have lost their appeal: they are like empty temples to a deity who has long departed.

And then there is a general sense of movie fatigue: of what has been called 'superhero fatigue', but also romantic comedy fatigue, and action movie fatigue, and fatigue of just about every genre that Hollywood produces. Hollywood movies don't have the communal appeal that they used to, and the creative spirit has moved to TV. Television today is more expansive, daring, darker, and has richer, broader narratives.

That is not to say that cinema is dead. It is just sleeping. Certainly there are some diamonds in the trash heap of modern movies. Like Joker.

Things have gotten very strange, and they're going to keep getting stranger. Patterns are dissolving faster and faster, and the little emperors who've built their empires on those patterns are having to work harder and harder to hold it all together. Buckle up.

It has been firmly established beyond any doubt that it is now literally impossible for an American political figure to vocally oppose US warmongering without being labeled a Russian agent.

All the faux humanitarian concerns we've heard from the political/media class about what's happening in Syria are completely invalidated by their total indifference to what's happening in Yemen.

It sure is interesting how you never, ever see bipartisan cries of humanitarian concerns across the entire US political/media class unless it benefits the globe-spanning forever war. How cool would it be if even one time the political/media class united across partisan lines to forcefully advocate for a humanitarian foreign policy involving charity, food, indigenous rights, or literally any other humanitarian agenda besides military mass murder? Whenever there's talk of withdrawing US troops from any region anywhere, the political/media class begins shrieking that this will (A) hurt humanitarian interests, and (B) hurt US hegemony. Their real concern is B, and B has nothing to do with A. But they're treated as one thing.

A Massachusetts Democrat is pushing a bill that would make it a crime to maliciously call someone a "bitch" within the commonwealth.

Foul-mouthed individuals who are found guilty under a bill introduced by Democratic representative Daniel J. Hunt would face a $150 maximum fine for the first offense, while repeat offenders would face up to six months' imprisonment, a $200 fine, or both. If enacted, "bitch" would be the only word in the English language to receive such special consideration in Massachusetts.

Hunt introduced "An Act regarding the use of offensive words" in May. The proposed law would specify that the use of the word "bitch" satisfied the "offensive and disorderly acts or language" requirement in existing disorderly conduct law.

"A person who uses the word 'bitch' directed at another person to accost, annoy, degrade or demean the other person shall be considered to be a disorderly person," the bill says. "A violation of this subsection may be reported by the person to whom the offensive language was directed at or by any witness to such incident."

Touching scenes played out amidst massive protest rallies in Lebanon as several protesters embraced dewy-eyed soldiers during the standoff. The public anger was earlier sparked by plans for tax hikes.

A video, posted on social media, shows two protesters comforting a soldier in full gear, who appears to be overwhelmed by emotion as he stands securing the perimeter. They gently pat the man on the cheek and shoulders.

A state-sponsored Ukrainian ultra-nationalist paramilitary unit with neo-Nazi roots has accused a group of US lawmakers of slander after they suggested it should be listed as a terrorist organization.

The notorious Ukrainian paramilitary group Azov took offense after 40 US Democratic representatives called it just that in a letter to the State Department. Led by Max Rose (D-NY), the lawmakers asked why a "violent white supremacist" group "that openly welcomes neo-Nazis into its ranks" has still not been officially listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the US government.

They wrote that the shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand had ties with Azov and "routinely wore a neo-Nazi symbol associated with them." The massacre, which left 51 people dead, directly inspired the recent mass shootings in Poway, California and El Paso, Texas, the lawmakers said, accusing Azov of "radicalizing" American citizens.

The link between Azov and acts of terror in America is clear.

It may be useful to open this topic with an anecdote. Some ten years ago, I found myself in an after-dinner conversation, lubricated by wine, with an American who had been educated at an Ivy League college and was then teaching in Europe. As our conversation drifted toward matters of life, marriage and children, I was initially surprised by his statement that whomever he had married, the outcome in terms of where they lived, what type of house they owned, what kind of holidays and entertainment they would enjoy, and even what colleges their children would attend would be practically the same. His reasoning was as follows: "When I went to [Ivy League institution], I knew that I would marry a woman I met there. Women also knew the same thing. We all knew that our pool of desirable marriage candidates would never be as vast again. And then whomever I married would be a specimen of the same genre: They were all well-educated, smart women who came from the same social class, read the same novels and newspapers, dressed the same, had the same preferences about restaurants, hiking, places to live, cars to drive and people to see, as well about how to take care of the kids and what schools they should attend. It really made almost no difference socially whom among them I married."

And then he added, "I was not aware of that at the time, but I can surely see it now."

The story struck me then and stayed in my mind for a long time. It contradicted the cherished myths that we are all deeply different, unique individuals, and that personal decisions such as marriage, which have to do with love and preferences, matter a lot and have a big effect on the rest of our lives. What my friend was saying was precisely the opposite: He could have fallen in love with A, or B, or C, or D, and ultimately would have ended up in virtually the same house, in the same affluent neighborhood — whether in Washington, D.C., Chicago or Los Angeles — with a similar set of friends and interests, and with children going to similar schools and playing the same games. And his story made a lot of sense.

Kathy Zhu is no shrinking violet, but at least she puts her own name on her controversial statements.

The University of Michigan student, a Chinese immigrant and loud booster of President Trump, told her 162,000 Twitter followers Tuesday morning that fliers had been posted around campus branding her a "white supremacist."

The flier includes a face shot of Zhu wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat and making the "OK" sign, which the Anti-Defamation League claims was "falsely" turned into a "hate symbol" by 4chan users two years ago.

"Michigan, we have white supremacists on campus," the flier reads. "They can be dangerous." Below the photo of Zhu is an image apparently taken from the "Unite the Right" march at the University of Virginia in 2017.

"This is complete slander and incites violence towards me," she tweeted. "Being a trump supporter does not make me a white supremacist. I'm also asian if you [social justice warriors] can't tell."

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau celebrates his narrow election victory as a success. Yet, in fact, he managed to stay in power largely thanks to the complicated Canadian electoral system ... and a lack of competition.

"You have sent us back to Ottawa, you have given us a clear mandate," Justin Trudeau told a crowd at his campaign headquarters in Montreal, Quebec.These aren't the words of a man who recognizes that voters stripped him of a majority, including a net loss of 30 seats in his home province.

Judging from the mood and words at Trudeau's 'victory' party, one could be forgiven for not knowing that his Liberals lost over 1 million votes compared to 2015, or that their share of the popular vote around the country plummeted by over 6 points.

It would be nearly impossible to know you were celebrating the win for the party that actually got the second largest number of votes! The numbers obviously tell a different story, in addition to numerous other indications from election night that show Canadians are not happy with JT.

Social justice warriors are up in arms over everything and anything these days, except for those issues that matter most to average Americans, like economic inequality, affordable healthcare, and even poverty.

Once upon a time in America, being a Democrat and a liberal actually meant something. It meant, as well as other things, advocating on behalf of economic outcasts who, for one reason or another, tumbled through the gaping cracks of a dog-eat-dog capitalist system that is not known for taking prisoners.

In his 1957 book 'America as a Civilization,' the late journalist Max Lerner described a liberal as someone who has "a passion for battle - against the 'octopus' of the big corporations... for wage-and-hour legislation, for women's rights, for social security."

Those days of true political activism are long gone.

Project Veritas has been a thorn in the side of CNN ever since they started releasing hidden camera video recordings last week. However, things just got taken to an entirely new level after today's bombshell leak.

Earlier today, Project Veritas rocked the fake news network by exposing their disgusting attitude towards sexual harassment and assault that has allegedly occurred involving top CNN executives.

Here's more from Project Veritas: