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Skimm for January 15th

Skimm’d over pizza, white wine, and politics.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“None” – What Florida police initially listed as Nick Carter’s occupation. The Backstreet Boy was arrested in Key West after a bar fight. Guess we know who does not sing “Larger Than Life” at karaoke.

SEEING RED

THE STORY

Last night, the GOP candidates went on “Maury” – aka their sixth debate — and said ‘President Obama is NOT the (founding) father.’

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Things got feisty. The Fox Business moderators used their indoor voices. The candidates did not. What was on their minds? The economy, and why Obama’s wrong to say the US has the ‘strongest in the world.’ Gun control, and why Obama’s recent executive actions are horrible, no good, very bad. ISIS , and why the US needs a new strategy stat. Hillz, and why she’d be going ‘back and forth between the courthouse and the White House’ if elected. Ouch.

WHO SAID WHAT?

Gov. John Kasich (OH)…as in Karate Kid Kasich is still talking with his hands. He thinks Americans should eat a balanced budget for breakfast, and he wants to be the one to serve it to them. Which, conveniently, he’s already done before.

Gov. Chris Christie (NJ)…as in Mr. Tough Love Gov. He responded to criticism that he’s been flip-flopping on issues like education by huffing, puffing, and reminding everyone that governors are held accountable for everything they do — unlike others. Lookin’ at you, Marco Rubio. “You blew it.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (FL)...as in the one who’s convinced Obama wants to take away your guns. He says the Second Amendment is a right, not an option, and terrorist groups like ISIS are buying guns on the black market — not at gun shows. Cue the applause.

Donald Trump…as in the one who has lots of Muslim friends. Canadian friends, not so much. He “didn’t care” about Ted Cruz before he started gaining in the polls . Now, Trump’s got some serious questions about whether Canada-born Cruz can even run for prez. PS, don’t mess with Trump’s NYC values.

Sen. Ted Cruz (TX)…as in the one who consciously uncoupled from the Donald last night. He studied his flash cards HARD on questions about loans from big banks, and shade from the Donald about where he was born, eh. Btw, you won’t see him wearing an ‘I <3 NY’ shirt anytime soon.

Ben Carson...as in the one who power napped in between questions. In response to how he’d deal with threats to the US, he said something about “dirty bombs” the electrical grid, and the “exo-atmosphere.” The name’s Carson, Ben Carson.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (FL)...as in the one whose smile says ‘halp.’ He says mental health needs to be the focus when dealing with gun violence. And he thinks Trump’s comments on banning Muslims are “unhinged” — especially since the Kurds are our BFFs in the fight against ISIS.

theSKIMM

T-17 days until the Iowa caucuses (first big 2016 event). There are still seven candidates on the main stage, but it’s looking more and more like this is the Trump vs. Cruz show.

THE *: In case you missed it — and you probably did — the Dems are debating on Sunday. On a long weekend. Since they haven’t been doing much talking, we’re letting you do it for them with Skimm Libs. Have at it.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU HEAR CHATTER ABOUT FOURSQUARE...

Here’s who will be checking in at the Oscars. The noms were announced yesterday. Time to drag yourself to “The Revenant.” Leo’s wilderness survival movie got 12 noms, and might finally (finally) land him a statue. “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the post-apocalyptic movie starring Charlize is apparently more than a two-hour video game. It got 10 noms including Best Pic. Lesbian lovers Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara picked up noms for “Carol.” J.Law is on the ballot. Again. Who won’t have to prep acceptance speeches? Aaron Sorkin and Quentin Tarantino. They got shut out for their “Steve Jobs” and “Hateful Eight” screenplays. Ridley Scott. The Academy dropped a bunch of noms on “The Martian,” but said ‘pass’ to giving him a shot at Best Director. And any actor who isn’t white. For the second year, there is basically zero diversity on the ballot. Which should at least give host Chris Rock some material to work with.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO SAYS ‘WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA’ WHILE TRYING TO LIFT A HEAVY BAG…

Sorry for your loss. Yesterday, 69-year-old actor Alan Rickman died after a battle with cancer. You know him as Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” movies, Hans Gruber in “Die Hard,” Colonel Brandon in “Sense and Sensibility,” and the guy who bought the necklace in “Love Actually.” He started his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later performed on Broadway. Yesterday, JK Rowling tweeted to Rickman’s family, saying “We have all lost a great talent. They have lost part of their hearts.” And then The New Yorker made everyone tear up with this cartoon.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO’S SEEN CELINE IN CONCERT FIVE TIMES…

She could use some love. Yesterday, the singer’s 73-year-old husband Rene Angelil passed away from cancer. Angelil discovered Dion and was her longtime manager, and the couple had three young kids together. In a recent interview, Dion said her husband wanted to die in her arms. All the feels.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO JUST SIGNED UP FOR A MARATHON...

You planning on going all natural? Yesterday, an anti-doping commission reported that – not only is there a “culture of cheating” in Russian track and field – but the people in charge of policing the athletes are cheating too. The report accuses the international governing body of track and field of knowing that Russian athletes were doping, and doing basically nothing to stop it. On top of that, these officials were apparently blackmailing athletes and taking bribes in exchange for covering up drug test results. Cute. This comes after Russian track and field athletes were banned from international competition last year. PS – if all of this isn’t cleared up by summer, these athletes could be shut out of the Rio Olympics.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO WANTS TO GO TO A HACKATHON…

Broadway is for nerds too.

THING TO KNOW

401k: Tax code speak for the money you’re saving for retirement. Short term buzzkill, long-term buzz. After you set up your 401k, you can set it up so that cash money gets automatically added from every paycheck. Congrats, this is usually tax-free until you retire. And bonus: lots of companies “match” (up to a certain percentage) what their employees put into their 401ks. So the more you set aside now, the more you’ll be able to go big later on.

SKIMM READS

“The Longest Night” by Andria Williams

Think “Army Wives” meets “Serial” meets your perfect long weekend read. About an army base with a lot of love triangles, and a cover-up.

SKIMM WINE

Skimm’ologist says: this rose has a little watermelon, a little cherry, and a lot of good vibes to go with your read.

PROGRAMMING NOTE

There will be no Skimm on Monday because of MLK Jr. Day. See you back here on Tuesday.

SKIMM SHARE

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

*indicates Skimm’bassador. Treat yo’self.

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