There’s a small, but growing contingent of moviegoers who find that, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe expands, it gets proportionately more empty. The explosions may be getting bigger, the chase scenes more dramatic, and the villains more powerful, but the heart seems to be leaving the franchise––at least according to these critics. This video explains that the origins of movie crossovers almost universally have something in common: money. Crossovers, it suggests, are basically money grabs. 

Jullian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, was granted asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London back in 2012. He’s been living there ever since, and as you might imagine things are getting a little tense in such close quarters. Ecuador recently wrote a memo mostly about Assange’s communications with the outside world. They’ve forbidden him from publishing anything that jeopardizes Ecuador’s relations with other countries. But they’ve also asked him to start cleaning his bathroom and cleaning up after his cat. 

Recently, Elizabeth Warren finally decided to release DNA tests that prove she has American Indian ancestry. We recently posted about this, opining that

Warren is playing her 5% American Indian ancestry like that means something significant––which it does not, since she was hardly raised in the harsh conditions of a reservation or suffered racial discrimination based on her skin color. She didn’t hear first-hand stories about frontier violence against indigenous peoples on her grandfather’s knee. It’s a political maneuver. 

It seems that the Cherokee nation agrees: 

“A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship. Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person’s ancestors were indigenous to North or South America. Sovereign tribal nations set their own legal requirements for citizenship, and while DNA tests can be used to determine lineage, such as paternity to an individual, it is not evidence for tribal affiliation. Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong. It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is prove. Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage.”

– Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin, Jr.

Donald Trump ran for president on promises of reduced taxes. He kept those promises, and predictably, the government had to borrow more money to cover its spending. From the AP: 

The Treasury Department said Monday that the deficit climbed $113 billion from fiscal 2017. Debt will likely worsen in the coming years with the Trump administration expecting the deficit to top $1 trillion in 2019, nearly matching the $1.1 trillion imbalance from 2012.

So despite economic growth, the deficit is still growing. 

The Tacoma Narrows bridge went down in history for being, well, terrible. This video explains how such a terrible bridge got built in the first place––read: budget considerations––and what was done to fix it––read: basically nothing. The video also explains why there was so much footage of the bridge rocking. Basically, the rocking bridge became a tourist attraction. Fortunately, only a few cars were on the bridge when it started to collapse. The people in the cars managed to get out, but there was a dog in one of the cars that couldn’t get out, despite rescue attempts. 

A technician doing maintenance on a Vulcan Cannon accidentally opened fire on a fully loaded, but thankfully empty, F-16. The fuel and ammunition quickly caught fire, and the jet was destroyed. Fortunately, no one was hurt. It’s hard to tell how to categorize an event like this. Is it a terrible accident? Or is it a lucky escape for the people nearby? Or is it an embarrassing event for the American military? Maybe it’s like something out of a bad comedy movie? Or maybe it’s just all of the above.

For many Americans, climate change is such an obvious problem that it is incomprehensible that anyone wouldn’t want to work to stop it. This video helps get to the bottom of why Republicans, corporations, and the media are intentionally failing to address climate change by looking at the actual benefits they receive from doing so. The video also examines some of the tactics that people use to try to discredit climate change––which also helps point to how they benefit. 

Most of the world believes that the Saudi Arabian government orchestrated the alleged torture and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This widely-held international opinion has led to fears that Saudi Arabia will be slammed with sanctions by countries, and many big-named businesses have already severed ties with the country. As a result, “The main stock market index in Riyadh fell as much as 7% on Sunday and billions of dollars were wiped off the value of leading Saudi companies. The index recovered some ground later to close 3.5% down.”

Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner Blake Fischer recently went on a hunting trip. Like any real man would do, he used a bow to hunt––and he hunted an entire family of baboons. He inexplicably thought that everyone would think his kill was pretty cool, but that was not the case. Other wildlife officials have called for his resignation, since his actions put hunting in general in a bad light. 

Donald Trump has called Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas” for years, a derisive insult referencing her claim to have American Indian ancestry. Recently, Warren released genetic proof that she has 5% American Indian genes from between six and ten generations back. Trump and his allies don’t care about the proof. Warren reminded Trump of his promise to pay her one million dollars if she could provide proof. 

Does anyone else find this whole issue despicable on both parts? Warren is playing her 5% American Indian ancestry like that means something significant––which it does not, since she was hardly raised in the harsh conditions of a reservation or suffered racial discrimination based on her skin color. She didn’t hear first-hand stories about frontier violence against indigenous peoples on her grandfather’s knee. It’s a political maneuver. Trump, meanwhile, is being a punk, but what else is new there?

The Kavanaugh hearings were a nightmare. Even in the intensely partisan environment, both sides have agreed upon that. This video does not weigh in on whether Kavanaugh should have been confirmed, whether the hearings were political ploys, or anything political at all for that matter. Instead, a lawyer weighs in on the legal issues of the the case

Saudi Arabia has been all over the news recently for the apparent murder of an anti-Saudi journalist. The murder was so brazen, so public, and so cruel (the journalist was allegedly tortured) that observers comment that the Saudi king would only order such a thing if he knew that he would not be punished. This John Oliver segment looks at the relationship between the Saudi government and the United States, and particularly the Trump administration, to see why they should feel so confident.