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The Hollywood trade paper Variety wrapped up the year with its film critics, and it was surprising to read how several liberal-pleasing films were taken to ask for their artistic failings.

Perhaps the most eye-opening was Peter Debruge whapping Michael Moore. "An embarrassment to America, Michael Moore’s latest editorial cartoon of a documentary is as sloppy as its author’s appearance (easily twice his Bowling for Columbine heft). Unlike his earlier, urgent wake-up-call docs, Where to Invade Next cherry-picks aspects in which other countries can be made to appear more progressive than the States, while conveniently overlooking the limitations of each grass-is-greener locale. At the base, it’s a fine idea, implying the humility to ask what we can learn from others, though Moore is a boorish ambassador at best, and his disingenuous approach undermines his own argument."

During the darkest days of communism, Romanians had something to brighten their oppressed existence—illicit American movie parties.

Under Nicolae Ceausescu’s dictatorship, the Eastern European country had very little contact with the West. But thanks to Teodor Zamfir who was willing to smuggle VHS tapes, and his translator Ilina Nistor who dubbed them, over 3000 movies made it over to Romania between 1985 and 1989. Millions of lives were changed and uplifted as a result. 

At Salon, Amanda Marcotte, one of America’s leading deniers that babies are somehow involved in abortions, turned her talent for dehumanizing people to Twitchy for mocking Hollywood writer-director Joss Whedon’s volunteering to put his money behind Planned Parenthood.

"Twitchy, a site started by Michelle Malkin, portrays itself as a news site, but in reality, its main purpose is harnessing the masses of bitter, angry right wingers online and turning them into an army of social media flying monkeys."

If Paul Waldman had wanted to put the main argument of his Monday American Prospect column in Obamaesque terms, he might have written that conservative opponents of political correctness have gotten bitter and are clinging to their supposed right (and maybe even their duty) to act like jerks.

“For today's Republican, if people think you're a jerk then you must be doing something right, and the political correctness charge has become an all-purpose answer to criticism of any sort,” contended Waldman. “You say my beliefs are abominable? Take your political correctness and shove it! It's a way to pose as a brave truth-teller, even if all that's actually happening is that people are pointing out that you're a brave crap-teller.”

ABC’s World News Tonight arrived on the political scene eleven minutes into the newscast on Wednesday – but still hyped a “war” Donald Trump declared against the Clintons. David Muir warned of Trump’s “new assault,” and Cecelia Vega warned of his “hurling his harshest words yet,” that Bill Clinton was “one of the great abusers of the world.”

Muir noted “there are many pointing to what Trump has said” about Monica Lewinsky in the past. Vega also made sure to note over tabloid visuals “the twice-divorced billionaire, opening up his own private life to scrutiny, too.” ABC showed a reporter asking Trump “Are your own personal indiscretions fair game?”

In September, President Barack Obama "committed the U.S. to a new blueprint to eliminate poverty and hunger around the world" in a speech at a United Nations "global summit." A review of his speech's transcript indicates that while he acknowledged the ugly reality that "800 million men, women and children are scraping by on less than $1.25 a day," he made no mention of the fact that just three decades ago, the percentage of humanity in that condition was many time times greater.

A Washington Post item on October 5 reported, per the World Bank, that less than 10 percent of the world's population is in extreme poverty" for the first time ever. Both Obama and the Post failed to give credit where credit is due, namely to the Industrial Revolution and capitalism. In an Investor's Business Daily column last week, Terry Jones set the record straight (links are in original; bolds are mine):

Last December, Lebron James took a stand on a controversial issue involving race and the police when he wore an “I Can’t Breathe” shirt during warm-ups prior to an NBA game.This December, however, the “social conscience” movement on Twitter didn’t ask Lebron to stand. They asked him to sit.