A political ad created by director Spike Lee features Susan Sarandon, Alan Cumming, Rosario Dawson, and other celebrities urging New York Democrats to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders in Tuesday’s primary. Released by the Sanders campaign on Saturday, the five-minute video starts with Lee himself calling on New Yorkers to “Wake up!” and support Sanders’ White House bid. Activist-entertainer Harry Belafonte then describes the United States as “the most powerful nation in the world.” Belafonte adds: “The way in which we treat many of our citizens is a shameful display of our power.” Later in the video, actress Susan Sarandon rails against student loan debt: “Education is a right, not a privilege.” Scottish actor Alan Cumming calls for free universal health care. Rosario Dawson, who was arrested last Friday during a Democracy Spring protest in Washington, D.C., then declared: “We need you New Yorkers, don’t be just liking us online, you gotta get in line. It’s time vote. Show up.” The video also features Shaun King, who was “excommunicated” by Black Lives Matter after left-wing activists tweeted about an alleged mismanagement of funds. Erica Garner and Cesar Vargas also discuss “police brutality,” a nationwide $15 minimum wage, and echoing Sanders’ stump comments about
Author: Kipp Jones
Melissa Joan Hart Calls for Tolerance: ‘If a Christian’s Right is Subordinate to All Other Rights, It’s Not a Right at All’
Former teen witch Melissa Joan Hart, star of the film God’s Not Dead 2, told ABC’s Paula Faris that Christians are as deserving of tolerance as people from other religions on Thursday’s Good Morning America. In the film, the one-time Sabrina, the Teenage Witch actress, now 39, plays Christian teacher Grace Wesley, who is suspended from her job after she answers a student’s question about Jesus in class. Hart described her role as “challenging.” “In this case, she’s an introvert… a woman who stands by her faith,” Hart said. “She wasn’t raised with a faith ,and so she comes to her own beliefs, and grows her own faith, and then she has to stand by that conviction and [be] kind of unwavering.” Faris asked: “This is all about separation of church and state. In this particular movie the teacher is being persecuted because of her faith because of a question she was asked in class. Why do you think it’s an important conversation to have right now in 2016?” “There shouldn’t be any one religion represented in anything. But at the same time, we need to be tolerant of all religions,” Hart answered. “If a Christian’s right is subordinate to all
Scarlett Johansson Slams Talk of Defunding Planned Parenthood as ‘Nuts’: ‘We’re Moving Backward’
Hollywood actress and pro-choice activist Scarlett Johansson says any talk about cutting funding to controversial abortion provider Planned Parenthood is “nuts.” In an exclusive interview for the upcoming May issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, Johansson, 31, discusses using Planned Parenthood’s services, saying that with country facing issues such as terrorism and “global warming,” a conversation about defunding Planned Parenthood is evidence “we’re moving backward.” “There are countries at war, there’s terrorism, global warming, and we’re like, ‘We should definitely cut the budget for Planned Parenthood. Let’s take away the availability of women’s health initiatives!’” she said. “It’s nuts. We’re talking about preventing cervical and breast cancers.” Johansson adds: “Growing up, I used [Planned Parenthood’s] services. All my girlfriends did—not just for birth control but for Pap smears and breast exams. You read about the rise of back-alley abortions, women having to mutilate themselves and teenagers having to seek help in unsafe conditions, and for what?!” “We’re moving backward when we’re supposed to be moving forward,” she added Planned Parenthood again came scrutiny last year after videos recorded in secret by David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress allegedly showed the organization’s personnel negotiating the sale of the livers, lungs, hearts and other organs of aborted babies.
Watch: Ellen DeGeneres Blasts Mississippi Religious Freedom Law as the ‘Definition of Discrimination’
Daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres slammed Mississippi’s new religious freedom law as “the definition of discrimination” on Wednesday, saying “I was fired for being gay and I know what it feels like.” House Bill 1523, which was signed by Gov. Phil Bryant on Tuesday, allows religious groups and private businesses to refuse service to members of the LGBT community based on “sincerely held” religious beliefs. DeGeneres, who is a lesbian, criticized Bryant’s signing the bill on her show as an issue of “human rights” that could lead to widespread discrimination against gays and lesbians. My thoughts on Mississippi. https://t.co/zpxX5Swwh2 — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) April 7, 2016 The Ellen host said the new law “might sound good because the word ‘freedom’ is in it, but here’s what it means: Under the law, if you say for religious reasons you can ‘deny gay people marriage, adoption and foster care services; fire or refuse to employ them; and decline to rent or sell them property.’” “Now, I’m not a political person, I’m really not. But this is not politics, this is human rights,” she said. “I mean, and when I see something wrong, I have to talk about it. It’s the same thing that I