“Fox News, you should be proud of yourself for the past 25 years. You’ve brought half this country together, against the other half. Who else has done that?”

Point taken, Desi Lydic. The Daily Show comedian has gone full-steam lately with her parody-filled “Foxplains” rants, in which she skewers stereotypical Fox News devotees. Granted, the stereotype isn’t so stereotypical these days when one considers that Seth Meyers called out Fox News for pushing horse medicine as a COVID cure. And in the above video, Lydic deftly bounces between deranged subjects of perceived obsession (like Malia Obama’s college transcript and Common visiting the White House) with the satire pouring full steam.

All of this is aimed, of course, at the Comedy Central show’s faux-saluting of the conservative cable news network, following The Daily Show‘s video that “celebrates” Fox News’ “25 years of sexual harassment” with on-air lines from Bill O’Reilly and more, years after O’Reilly’s ousting (after 20 years of tenure there) amid revelations that he paid out over $30 million for sexual harassment settlements.

Likewise, Desi does not skirt that issue here. “The looney libs say that Fox News built their empire on sexism, but that’s ridiculous,” she ranted. “Would Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to women who used to work at Fox News if they were sexist?” Hello!” To that point, Gretchen Carlson received a $20 million settlement after she sued former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment), and Carlson took a swing at O’Reilly while declaring, “Nobody pays $32 million for false allegations.”

Back to the above video: it must be noted that Fox News’ website took aim at Desi last week, following her “LEAKED” faux-audition for Meghan McCain’s recently vacated The View seat. Clearly, she’s striking a nerve. Watch that video below.

This article originally appeared on 05.30.15

Men struggle to comprehend the pressures women feel. The same is true of women!

Gah! We’ll never get along.

This conversation between comedian Neal Brennan and Amy Poehler is a pretty good example of how hard it can be to figure life out sometimes.

Neal, the genius who co-created “Chappelle’s Show,” sat down with Amy for his show “The Approval Matrix.” The topic? WHAT are men supposed to be now? Cool? Adorkable? Both? Neither?

It’s maddening, dealing with constantly opposing messages about how to be and how to act.

And Amy, in all her hospitable magical greatness, is straight-up like, “Yeah, bro, welcome to the party! We’ve been here a looong time.”

GIFset via amypoehler.tumblr.com.

“This feeling that you’re having right now — which it’s like, ‘I have to be all things,’ — it’s a feeling that women have everyday in their whole lives. So you’re just starting to experience it now. … I’m glad you’re finally experiencing it as a white male.”

Yass, queen! A magical combo of speaking your truth and inviting your friends to the party. That sounds like Amy.

And she follows her own advice.

GIFset via DrunkKnope.

“If you can speak about what you care about to a person you disagree with, without denigrating them or insulting them, then you may actually be heard.”

GIF via DrunkKnope.

Living up to arbitrary and impossible standards is nothing new, but now that we’re all in the same boat … let’s rock the boat! Together!

Ladies and dudes, rocking the boat together. I like that.

Here’s the full video:

This article originally appeared on 06.26.13.

Patrick Stewart often talks about his childhood and the torment his father put him and his mother through. However, how he answered this vulnerable and brave fan’s question is one of the most eloquent, passionate responses about domestic violence I’ve ever seen. WARNING: At 2:40, he’s going to break your heart a little.

You can read more about Heather Skye’s hug with Captain Picard at her blog.

This article originally appeared on 02.28.20

Robert Bush Sr. is an avid outdoorsman who runs a Facebook page called “Bob’s Pennsylvania Wildlife Camera.”

He set up a secret camera on a log that lays across a steam to capture footage of all the different animals that walked across it. The result is a relaxing video featuring all sorts of wildlife including a black bear, chipmunk, coyote, turkey, and great horned owl.

You may have noticed the video is called “The Log 2.” Well, here’s the original.

This article originally appeared on 01.24.20

In June 2015 The Supreme Court of the United States declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.

The legalization of gay marriage granted over 1100 statutory provisions to same-sex couples, many of them granting rights and privileges previously only afforded to heterosexual couples.

After the decision, President Barack Obama said the ruling will “strengthen all of our communities” by offering dignity and equal status to all same-sex couples and their families.

He called it a “victory for America.”

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However, the law didn’t just benefit same-sex couples who want to get married, it also had a dramatic affect on LGBT youth. Two years after the legalization of gay marriage, the suicide attempt rate among LGBT youth declined significantly according to the Associated Press.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for U.S. teens. LGBT teens are five times more likely to make an attempt than their straight peers.

The study was conducted with over 26,000 LGBT youth participants in the 32 states where gay marriage was legalized up through the 2015 Supreme Court decision. The study found that suicide attempt rates dropped 7% among all students and 14% among gay kids after same-sex marriage was legalized in each state.

Part of the drop in suicide attempts by kids who didn’t publicly identify that they were gay could be because they were closeted or questioning.

There was no change in states where same-sex marriage wasn’t legalized.

While the change in suicide attempts doesn’t prove there’s a direct connection, researchers believe that the law made LGBT kids feel “more hopeful for the future.” They also believe the measures increased tolerance among their straight peers while reducing the stigmatization felt by gay kids.

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A study out of Denmark and Sweden published in 2019 found similar results among married gay couples.

Same-sex marriage was made legal in 2009 in Sweden and 2012 in Denmark.

The study found that couples in same-sex unions saw a 46% decline in suicide suicide, compared to 28% of those in heterosexual unions.

“Although suicide rates in the general populations of Denmark and Sweden have been decreasing in recent decades, the rate for those living in same-sex marriage declined at a steeper pace, which has not been noted previously,” researchers noted.

These studies show the power that societal recognition can have on stigmatized minority groups. When one is protected by the “law of the land” it means a lot more than what happens in a courtroom or at city hall.

It shows that you are accepted by the community and protected by those in power. For to love flourish — whether it’s loving oneself or sharing it with a partner — first it must first be protected.

This article originally appeared on 11.08.19

Christina Hunger, 26, is a speech-language pathologist in San Diego, California who believes that “everyone deserves a voice.”

Hunger works with one- and two-year-old children, many of which use adaptive devices to communicate. So she wondered what would happen if she taught her two-month-old puppy, a Catahoula/Blue Heeler named Stella, to do the same.

“If dogs can understand words we say to them, shouldn’t they be able to say words to us? Can dogs use AAC to communicate with humans?” she wondered.

Hunger and her fiancé Jake started simply by creating a button that said “outside” and then pressed it every time they said the word or opened the door. After a few weeks, every time Hunger said “outside,” Stella looked at the button.

RELATED: Woman who took animal shelter kill rate from 100% to 0% wins $35,000 ‘Unsung Hero’ award

Soon, Stella began to step on the button every time she wanted to go outside.

They soon added more buttons that say “eat,” “water,” “play,” “walk,” “no,” “come,” “help,” “bye,” and “love you.”

“Every day I spent time using Stella’s buttons to talk with her and teach her words just as I would in speech therapy sessions with children,” she wrote on her blog.

“Instead of rewarding Stella with a treat for using a button, we responded to her communication by acknowledging her message and responding accordingly. Stella’s voice and opinions matter just as our own do,” she continued.

If Stella’s water bowl is empty, she says “water.” If she wants to play tug of war, she says, “play.” She even began to tell friends “bye” if they put on their jackets by the door.

Stella soon learned to combine different words to make phrases.

One afternoon, shortly after daylight savings, she began saying “eat” at 3:00 pm. When Hunger didn’t respond with food, she said,”love you no” and walked out of the room.

RELATED: Video captures the incredible moment a homeless man and his beloved dog are reunited

Today, Stella has learned over 29 words and can combine up to five at a time to make a phrase or sentence.

“The way she uses words to communicate and the words she’s combining is really similar to a 2-year-old child,” Hunger says of her blog.

She believes her work has the potential to transform the bond between humans and dogs.

“I think how important dogs are to their humans,” Hunger says. “I just imagine how much deeper the bond will be.”

Stella asking to play ball outside.

Stella clearly wants some more breakfast.

After a fun day at the beach, Stella wants to go back.

Stella telling Hunger that she doesn’t want her to leave to work.

CHICAGO – Ayo Dosunmu isn’t sure where he’s going to watch the Bears game yet, but he knows what he’s doing after. He and the family are having Sunday dinner, like they do every weekend, and on the menu tonight is a seafood boil. Simply put, it’s good to be home. It’s been a whirlwind ride for the rookie, who rode an impressive prep career into an All-American tenure at Illinois. It culminated in a storybook moment when he was drafted by Chicago in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft.

Dosunmu, who got an apartment with his brother near the Bulls’ practice facility, gets the chance to explore the city he’s always been around, but through a different light.

“I’m looking at the city in a different perspective, but I pretty much still feel the same about it,” Dosunmu says from a coffee shop in the West Loop. “It’s still a great city. It’s just different in the aspect of me now being more living on my own, having to provide for myself in that aspect.”

It’s a different Bulls team overall from a few months ago, and that’s something that’s exciting for the entire city of Chicago, including the Second City native they acquired with the 38th pick in July. Between the deadline deal for Nikola Vucevic and the high-profile additions of DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso, the buzz around the team has reached a fever pitch. Success isn’t just a goal, it’s an ultimatum. And Dosunmu couldn’t be more excited.

“I think it’s a feeling of excitement knowing that I get to start my journey with something I love to do, in my home city, in my hometown,” Dosunmu says. “That’s what makes the challenge even more fun because you go through the tough times, you start as a rookie, and then you just try to work yourself up. And that’s what I want to do, just try to get better each day. So then ultimately, I look back at my career and I’ll be like, ‘I had a ball in my city.’”

Before he starts that journey, Dosunmu took Dime through his Top 5 sneakers of all time, with a quick breakdown of what he loves so much about each.

1. Concord 11s

I like the way they look and I like even the way Jordan, how he played in them. So just the fashion and the colorway. I think that’s a very classic sneaker.

2. Flu Game 12s

I like the meaning of the shoe. He wore those in a flu game when he was sick. That’s one of the most extraordinary games. And me being a basketball junkie, that was a crazy time.

3. Off-White Michigan Dunks

I went to Illinois, so I like the Michigan ones just because we used to always beat them. So it just reminds me of Michigan.

4. Off-White University Red Dunks

They’re Off-White similar to the Michigan ones, but they’re red and black. I like that colorway a lot.

5. Space Jam 11s

Classic. The history behind them. I didn’t watch [the new Space Jam] though, I’m not really into cartoons.

Barbara Corcoran might want to leave the comedy to the experts. On Thursday, the real estate maven and Shark Tank investor launched an out-of-nowhere slam against The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg’s weight—and lived to regret it.

On Thursday morning, The View’s panelists were talking about their love of the Good American denim brand and how they fit every type of body. When Goldberg, an Oscar-winning comedian-actress, asked her co-hosts whether they thought the jean company made a pair for her “COVID [butt],” they all concurred. Until, seemingly out of nowhere, Corcoran decided to chime in with: “And when you get finished with those jeans and decide you don’t like them, give them to me. I’m gonna make two pairs.”

Corcoran gave herself a good chuckle with that zinger. The rest of The View co-hosts? Not as much. (For her part, Whoopi just looked downright confused and annoyed.)

After taking time to reflect on her comment, and remove her foot from her mouth, Corcoran has now made a very public apology to Goldberg for her comment.

As Daily Beast reports, Corcoran took to Twitter later in the day on Thursday to apologize for her comments. After assuring viewers that she has known Whoopi for years and that the comedian has a “phenomenal sense of humor,” Corcoran also noted that she “made a joke at Whoopi’s expense, which I now realize wasn’t funny. For anyone who I may have offended unintentionally, I just want to say that I really am very sorry.”

You can watch Corcoran’s apology below. Now if we could only get her to apologize for that denim blazer/bathrobe she’s wearing…

(Via Daily Beast)

Guessing a puzzle wrong on Wheel of Fortune happens, but on Thursday night’s episode, it was especially brutal for a contestant named Melanie who missed not one, but two puzzles that weren’t exactly brain teasers. After coming out of the gate strong and boasting about wrapping her college degree with a 4.0 GPA in just three years, things quickly went south for her as she whiffed on an answer to a very recognizable tune. Via TVInsider:

When trying to figure out the answer to the puzzle, “_ _ L _ Y G O O _ F E L L O W,” Fisher buzzed in and said, “Jolly GOOF fellow.” Safe to say, that was quite the goof. Obviously, the correct answer was “Jolly GOOD fellow,” which fellow contestant J.R. Browning answered moments after Fisher’s blunder.

Whether this was nerves or a brief brain wipe, Wheel Watchers on social media couldn’t believe it, and the reactions started pouring in with people noting how awkward the blooper was after she had just touted her grade point average:

Here’s the thing: She did it again. With only the letters “O” and “V” missing for the phrase “wolves and sheep,” she guessed “wilkes and sheep,” which isn’t even a thing. What the heck is a wilkes? That second blunder earned her another round of reactions on Twitter:

However, despite her embarrassing goofs, she got the last laugh in all of this, as she went on to win the episode and walk away with $20,000, even after failing to solve the Final Puzzle. Naturally, this raised an important question: Just how hard is Wheel of Fortune, really, and why aren’t more of us trying out for it?

(Via TVInsider)

Bam Margera has made a career out of doing dumb things, but going after the people who helped make him a household name might be the riskiest thing he has ever done. Ever since being fired from Jackass Forever, Margera has turned what could have been a private affair into a very public battle. In August, the 42-year-old filed a lawsuit against Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze, and Paramount, claiming that he had been subjected to “inhumane treatment” due to his substance abuse issues. As part of the suit, Margera is attempting to stop the release of Jackass Forever.

Now, as The Wrap reports, Paramount has filed a response to Margera’s “baseless” (their words) lawsuit, which it claims is “riddled with outright lies.”

The official reason for Margera’s sacking is that he couldn’t stick to the agreed-upon “wellness and sobriety program” that had been laid out for him as a condition of his employment. Margera was officially fired from the upcoming film on August 20, 2020, and the situation between Bam and his longtime friends and co-Jackasses has only become more contentious. As The Wrap writes:

“The studio pushed back and denied many of Margera’s claims, including accusations that Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville and director Jeff Tremaine ‘accosted him’ in a rehab facility and forced him to sign a ‘draconian sobriety contract,’ that he was forced to sign a talent contract with Paramount and, among the most explosive of Margera’s claims, that the studio hired a doctor who forced him to take a ‘cocktail of pills.’ Margera also said that he was fired after testing positive for Adderall, which he claimed in the suit was prescribed for him, but the studio’s response says Margera ‘admitted’ that ‘he bought it off the street.’”

In June 2021, after Margera began issuing threats against Tremaine—plus Tremaine’s wife and children—the Jackass co-creator was granted a three-year restraining order against Margera.

Following that episode, Paramount’s filing states that:

“Then, with no remorse or acceptance of responsibility for the damage he was causing his former partners, friends, and himself, Margera filed this baseless, manifestly dishonest lawsuit, which threatens to enjoin the upcoming release of Jackass Forever. Apparently, Margera has decided that because he blew his opportunity to be in the film, the Defendants should not be allowed to release it, and the public should not be allowed to see it. Enough is enough.”

In August, Margera issued his own statement about his reasons behind the suit, saying:

“I am pissed-off, angry, hurt, and shattered that Johnny [Knoxville], Jeff [Tremaine], Spike [Jonze] and the studios and producers ripped off my creativity, content, and stunts to make this movie, fired me without justification, and refuse to pay for my work; I created this franchise before any of these guys ever got involved. My lawsuit isn’t just about compensation. It’s about treating people with mental health and addiction issues in an honest manner and not taking advantage of their disabilities to rip them off.”

For their part, according to Paramount’s filing, Knoxville, Tremaine, and Jonze all considered Margera “a close friend” and tied the wellness clause into his Jackass Forever contract because they firmly believed that, due to his substance abuse problems, Margera’s “life was in danger.”

Jackass Forever is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on February 4, 2022.

(Via The Wrap)