Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

It's Saturday morning, I just had a delightful bagel and grape yogurt, so I think it's definitely time to start investigating the links that we might have missed throughout the week.  Let's dive into some stories, shall we?

On Entertainment...

-Melissa McCarthy charmed Jon Stewart (though really, who doesn't she charm?) with a dress made entirely of his face.  I gotta say, it's becoming harder and harder to tell whether Letterman or Jon Stewart is having the classier sendoff, though I do agree with Carl Reiner that James Corden seems to be pretty spectacular amongst the new crop of hosts.  Also, since I love trivia, did you know that Carl Reiner is the only person ever to have appeared on every incarnation of The Tonight Show?

-In other Melissa McCarthy-related news, the Gilmore Girls cast will be reuniting!  Though McCarthy won't be there to represent Suki (since she's opening a movie, though I hope she does a video tribute or something), Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Kelly Bishop, and pretty much all of Stars Hollow will be there for the ATX festival.  Video of the event will be on Entertainment Weekly so make sure to check it out if you're, like me, a huge fan of the series.

-In honor of Testament of Youth (can't wait!), IndieWire did a countdown of fifteen of the best romantic period dramas, which is almost certainly my favorite cinematic genre.  While I loved the inclusion of a few films (including the brilliant Piano and my beloved English Patient), I always think IndieWire lists tend to lean a little bit too modern (even though the period romantic epic is more of a recent film genre-let's not forget that something like Waterloo Bridge and Brief Encounter were actually taking place at that time).  Still, skipping Reds and Titanic?  Unacceptable.

On Politics...

Beau and Joe Biden

-Obviously the biggest story of the week in American politics was the death of former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden.  The son of the Vice President, Beau was the first son of a president or vice president to die in office since Patrick Kennedy passed away two days after his birth in 1963.  While whenever something like this happens, it's usually accompanied by stock statements of support and prayers, I have to admit that it feels a lot more personal this time.  Joe Biden, for all of his foibles and fumbles with the press, is probably one of the most personally popular people in Washington-it's not just Democrats but Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Orrin Hatch who genuinely seem to like him.  I always tell the story about how I had a photo of Joe Biden hanging up in my room when I was growing up, which just goes to show how much I've always liked him (I was a boy in rural Minnesota and he was the junior senator from Delaware at the time, so there wasn't a particularly obvious reason to connect us).  My thoughts go out to Biden, whose life has been too touched by tragedy.

-Nancy Pelosi continues to do a tight-rope act surrounding the trade bill that is trying to make it through Congress with almost no support from her caucus.  Pelosi and Steny Hoyer are not whipping the bill, which is likely to give them some cover from both the unions and the White House for now, though there's still the major question of whether Pelosi, an ardent supporter of both Labor and President Obama will vote for or against the bill.  It's rare that a bill like this would be so in question so quickly before the vote.  The Democrats appear to be rightfully furious at the AFL-CIO either way right now, as the organization has been lacking in fundraising and appear likely to skip out in helping Democrats in 2016, instead targeting Democrats like Rep. Ami Bera in primaries instead.  This isn't going to sit well with the caucus, I'm guessing (at least if the Tea Party's reception with the establishment GOP has been any indication).

-Democrats in Indiana smell blood in the water after Mike Pence's recent religious freedom bill and his general handling of eduction in the state. State Superintendent Glenda Ritz became the third prominent Democrat (along with former House Speaker John Gregg and State Sen. Karen Tallian) to enter the race for 2016 this past week.  Ritz was largely unknown before her shock upset win in 2012, when she beat the incumbent State Superintendent by rallying teachers.  Ritz and Pence have become bitter arch-rivals since, so expect this race to get nasty if she wins the primary, though it's hard to tell how that will go as many expected Gregg (who nearly beat Pence in 2012) to be the frontrunner, though Ritz already has statewide victory experience.  We'll probably get a bit more into this race later next week with a State of the Governors article.

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

-I can no longer handle the trailers to Robert Zemeckis' new film The Walk.

YouTube Video of the Week...

-I have watched this SuperFruit video at least a twenty times since Tuesday.  Mitch and my husband Scott take on Hip-Hop songs and turn them into Broadway-worthy ballads.  What they do with Rihanna...just watch, it's hilarious and wonderful (slighlty NSFW, so put the headphones on if you're at the office):

Just One More...

-I am in LOVE with this idea for the 2016 presidential elections-a Science Debate for all of the candidates where the topics are all focused on science (in a similar fashion to the domestic vs. foreign affairs style debates that the presidential candidates occasionally focus in on).  Imagine getting candidates to actually discuss climate change, space exploration, medical research, and scientific education in a debate forum!  I wholeheartedly encourage you to sign the petition.