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Coming soon to your MTV - a show on white privilege.
"White People," a documentary hosted by illegal immigrant journalist Jose Antonio Vargas (not to be confused with Antonio Fargas, who played "Huggy Bear" on the 1970s TV series "Starsky and Hutch"), offers up young white Americans tearing up on camera over their "white privilege" and "what they've done in America."
The show, according to a trailer promo for the program, features white people upset about how they are desperate not to appear "racist" or be the type who "offend people."
American Indians even get into the fray, telling Vargas that European settlers did not save their country.
"They are the ones who invaded," the host says, apparently not getting the irony of his status. "They are the ones who took."
YouTube, where you can watch the trailer, has gotten twice as many "thumbs down" reactions as "thumbs up."
"I'm black," one respondent wrote, and "even I know this show is straight up racist. Only because it's stereotyping white people; all white individuals are not like that."
There was no report as to whether other races will ask MTV for equal time.
Spouse-ifying the language
You knew it had to come from California.
Lois Capps, a Democratic U.S. House member from the Golden State, has introduced The Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act, which would eliminate the words "husband" and "wife" from federal law and replace them by "gender-neutral" words like "spouse" or "married couple."
The move, she said, was the "next step" to reflect "the equality of all marriages" following the U.S. Supreme Court's approval last month of same-sex marriage.
Capps, thinking ahead (wink, wink), also would update U.S. code to make it illegal to threaten the president's spouse. The law now states it's illegal to threaten the president's wife but says nothing about the president's husband, she said.
"The Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act recognizes that the words in our laws have meaning," she said, "and can continue to reflect prejudice and discrimination even when rendered null by our highest courts."
Not The Times' 'Truth'
Apparently when it comes to truth in book sales, it all depends on whose truth you're talking about.
A new book by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a declared candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2016, sold more copies - 11,854 - in its first week than "all but two of the [New York] Times' bestselling titles," according to Politico. But, "A Time for Truth" will not appear on the newspaper's list of top-selling books.
The newspaper confirmed to the book's publisher, HarperCollins, that it will exclude the book from its best-sellers' list because it did not meet the "standard" for the list. It said the list-makers take more into account than just book sales and later went on to allege Cruz bulk-bought his books to drive up the sales.
The Cruz campaign came out swinging at that, terming the allegation a lie and calling on the newspaper to release its evidence.
"Demonstrate that your charge isn't simply a naked fabrication, designed to cover up your own partisan agenda," Cruz campaign spokesman Rick Tyler said. "And, if you cannot do so, then issue a public apology to Senator Cruz and HarperCollins editor Adam Bellow for making false charges against them."
Open mouth, insert foot
Will Keith Olbermann ever learn?
The former sports correspondent-turned political pundit-turned sports correspondent has lost his job again.
Olbermann went to work at ESPN in 1992 but left the sports network in 1997 after his suspension following an unapproved appearance on "The Daily Show."
An unabashed liberal, he later went to work as an anchor for far left MSNBC, but even that network fired him in January 2011. He followed that with a stint on the Current TV channel, with essentially a continuation of his MSNBC show, but just over a year later he was fired for "serial, material breach of contract."
Back at ESPN, he had been told, according to The Hollywood Reporter, to stop giving "commentary" if he wanted his contract renewed. His recent commentaries had blasted the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, in the wake of the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal.
But Olbermann couldn't keep his mouth closed, and the network refused to renew his contract.
"Keith is a tremendous talent who has consistently done timely, entertaining and thought-provoking work since returning to ESPN," the network's statement read. "While the show's content was distinctive and extremely high quality, we ultimately made a business decision to move in another direction. We wish Keith nothing but the best and trust that his skill and ability will lead him to another promising endeavor."
In other words, good riddance.