Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

It's been a long week (oddly enough for a short week) and I'm guessing you as well as I need a break from it.  Let's do that by taking a look at some of this week's articles:

In Entertainment...

My husband, Russell Tovey

Telegraph: In probably the most disgusting news you didn't have a chance to read yet this week, Leila Hatami (who was brilliant in A Separation-see it now), had to apologize to the people of Iran for kissing Cannes President Gilles Jacob.  You really need to read the article to get a sense of how truly oppressive and ghastly this is in what seems like something that was completely innocent (a simple peck on the cheek?!?).

Playbill: In anticipation of the Tony Awards, Playbill went through a list of ten performers that are 75% of the way to the EGOT, but are still missing the Tony (and they give advice on how to land the award).  Names like Kate Winslet and Robin Williams you probably know, but I think that Cher (who is also on this list) doing Mame is a brilliant idea and Scott Rudin should get on it.

IndieWire: We get a rundown of how female filmmakers can make movies that actually make huge bank for Hollywood.  Yes, and thank you.  I think it's ridiculous how female directors so rarely get put on tentpole and major blockbuster releases.

Instagram: I am not going to link to the thousand and one articles about the Russell Tovey workout Instagram photos because it makes me feel like a pervert (albeit one with excellent taste).  However, I do want to link to Russell's Instagram feed, because it is probably my favorite (I also follow him on Twitter).  If you don't know who Russell is, get thyself to your HBO Go and start watching the first season of Looking and prepare yourself for a series of major crushes.  If you don't have HBO Go, this link will probably help you in your path to a more Russell-centric life.

In Politics...

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Daily Beast: A fascinating look at Sen. Claire McCaskill's long fight against sexual assault and work in both her professional and political careers to protect victims.  The article doesn't mince words both on McCaskill's complicated relationship with the Clintons (she's a Hillary endorser, but has gotten into some spars with them in the past) and Kirsten Gillibrand (whom she had a competing military sexual assault bill with in the past year).  As you may remember, earlier this week McCaskill was named the site's favorite current senator, so this is turning into a bit of a Claire! week on The Many Rantings of John.

Mother Jones: This is one of the more terrifying stories I've seen in a long time in regard to politics.  One of the things that I really cannot stand is a story like this is how can Government Integrity Fund still be allowed to spend money on ads after they broke the law in 2012 with the Josh Mandel campaign?  It is petrifying that a group can exceed the legal limits on campaign contributions and nothing seems to happen.  Why isn't someone on their staff in jail, or at least the group should be dissolved from donating to political campaigns and forming PAC's in the future?  Absolutely despicable.  And there's absolutely no reason why the donations to this political organization should remain secret-if you want to give to a political campaign, those donations should be on public record. Donating large sums of money privately has nothing to do with the first amendment.

Politico: David Lampo continues to beat the drum for Republicans endorsing gay marriage or risking irrelevance.  This seems to be the big battle cry right now-gay marriage is likely going to be one of those social issues that essentially disappears (unlike, say the death penalty or abortion), in a similar manner of civil rights.  Things like ENDA and even gay adoption will probably be longer-lasting issues than gay marriage, which the conservative right has suffered a defeat on at this point.

Just One More...

Deadspin: This has been all around the news lately, but have you heard how apparently no one wants to host the 2022 Winter Games?  I think that there's got to be some sort of compromise here, as the utter ridiculousness that was the cost of the Sochi Games (upwards of $50 billion) is completely and totally stupid.  The IOC needs to either step in and have the games alternate sites in continents (it's silly to build these parks and then never use them again) or at least figure out a way to temper the costs.  It's a pity that a site like Salt Lake City or Turin or Nagano (recent hosts) isn't making a second bid-they already have the facilities, after all.