On Monday, President Obama nominated former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) to serve as secretary of defense. Hagel, who spent more than a decade in Washington, has attracted criticism from Democrats for his outspoken views — but also from Republicans, many of whom were alienated by his repeated criticisms of the Bush administration in the years before President Obama's 2008 election. Here, an exploration of Hagel's "Republican exile," written while he was still in the Senate:
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This week, Piers Morgan introduced much of the nation to radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who had helped to promote a petition designed to get Morgan deported over his views on gun control. Jones' appearance made national news, as he shouted down Morgan during his ferocious pro-gun rant. But Rolling Stone readers first had the opportunity to meet Jones in March 2011, when the magazine ran a profile on him after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' shooter, Jared Lee Lougher, was widely reported to be a devotee of the Jones-produced film Loose Change, which makes the case that 9/11 was an inside job by the U.S. government:
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The United States in the midst of a particularly nasty flu season, with 29 states reporting outbreaks that range from high to severe. But as millions of Americans stay home sick, how seriously should the disease be taken? A provocative look at 2009's swine flu panic, which failed to become the "dire emergency" predicted by the World Health Organization:
On Thursday, Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone announced the nominees for the 85th annual Academy Awards, which will air on Feb. 24. The nominees mix was the usual list of shoo-ins, surprises, and snubs — but with so many possible contenders, how does a film or filmmaker earn their place on the venerable nominee list. A 2010 analysis of the Oscar campaigning process, which largely determines which films and actors take home Oscar gold each year:
On Sunday, HBO is set to premiere the second season of Girls, a buzzy dramedy by creator and star Lena Dunham. Over the past year Girls has attracted both praise and criticism for its narrow depiction of twenty-something life, as its four central characters narcissistically fumble their way through their personal and professional lives in Brooklyn. Is this contemporary young adulthood? An exploration of the diverse lives of twenty-somethings:
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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.