“Before there were the Jews, there was The Odyssey.”

That message graced an Oregon movie marquee showing Christopher Nolan’s new film mere days ago. 

What does it mean? Does it reek of antisemitism, shock value or historical illiteracy?

Something else?

Perhaps most of all – why would the theater owners put the message up in the first place given the stunning rise in antisemitism in both the U.S. and abroad?

*OUTRAGEOUS: The Theater Sign That Somehow Made The Odyssey About Jews — Opinion*

It seems that antisemitism is rearing its ugly head everywhere you look, popping up, for example, at a theater sign in Oregon promoting The Odyssey, a film released Friday based on the Greek poet… pic.twitter.com/zbQASuSxkT

— (((IsraelMatzav))) (@IsraelMatzav) July 19, 2026

The folks behind Lake Theater & Cafe in downtown Lake Oswego, south of downtown Portland, like to share unique messages on their marquee. And, in one recent case, they showed their ideological hand.

The theater began screening the Amazon documentary “Melania” earlier this year with this caustic quip. 

“To defeat your enemy, you must know them. Melania starts Friday.”

Subtle.

RELATED: THIS COMIC PUSHES FREE SPEECH TO THE BREAKING POINT

It’s free speech, of course, and it’s also disrespectful to its audience. If you hate the First Lady, you wouldn’t buy a ticket for “Melania.” Isn’t that enough? Apparently not.

It’s a sign of the times, an attempt to politicize every aspect of our lives.

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That FLOTUS jibe suggests the ideological bent behind the “jews” marquee statement. While the Right is flirting with antisemitism on the pundit level, the Left has a massive issue in that regard.

A Hasan Piker-sized problem. Just ask Sen. John Fetterman.

Now, this?

The message could be interpreted in different ways, but let’s do a quick thought experiment. Swap out “the jews” and add any other group.

Say “black people.”

Would that theater get mostly ignored for sharing that kind of messaging? Or would the freakout go national, with calls for apologies and statements issued by the actors in the film itself?

“I am horrified by the bigoted nature of that movie marquee. That kind of rhetoric has no place in our society.” A-list actor’s official response to the controversy.

Instead, this story got little traction in the media and none of the film’s stars chose to comment on the matter. And, naturally, the theater owners have kept quiet about the matter rather than issuing a hostage-style apology.

Why?

Could it be that antisemitism is now mainstream, and no actor feels the need to speak out about it? Remember how Hollywood rallied around stars canceled for being pro-Israel or simply being Jewish, like singer Matisyahu, author Brett Gelman and Michael Rapaport?

Oh, wait. That never happened.

One local paper published a strongly worded condemnation of the marquee. Will more news outlets follow? Don’t bet on it.

That’s a depressing sign of the times.

What do you think the marquee message meant? Would you run such a message if you owned that theater?

The post Why ‘Odyssey’ Theater’s Bizarre Jewish Message Matters appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

At the Wall Street Journal, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) explains why she will be voting against Donald Trump's ill-considered and disingenuous attempt to federalize and overhaul American elections.

Many of her objections sound like those I raised in March, only greatly exaggerated by Alaska's peculiarities as new, far-flung state with a very low population density:

Or maybe you're a fisherman in Unalaska, out on the Aleutian Islands. The flight to Anchorage -- the closest election office, some 800 miles away -- would cost about $1,500 round-trip. You would also need a hotel, cabs and food while in Anchorage because it would be impossible to fly in, register and return home the same day.

These examples assume you have on hand the documents necessary to prove your citizenship. But take one more: You are an 85-year-old Native elder born in your parents' house, 18 years before statehood. Getting a certified copy of your birth certificate, especially if you have never had one before, would be incredibly difficult.

Previous comparisons of this proposal to a new poll tax are tame compared to the above.

But the fun doesn't stop there: Murkowski notes a few other whoppers most people probably have never heard of:

I've also asked for the effective date of the legislation to be pushed back to give all states enough time for implementation. As written, the bill would take effect immediately -- but it is unreasonable to expect immediate compliance.

This bill would force many states to modify their election laws. Some legislatures might need special sessions to do that. Thousands of local jurisdictions would have to implement new processes and find workers willing to risk being personally sued. Under the bill's private right of action, individuals or groups could sue election officials if they believe verification requirements aren't being strictly enforced.

Even if federal resources are provided through the budget reconciliation process to help facilitate these changes, it will take weeks or months for those dollars to arrive and much longer to overhaul state voting processes. [bold added]

Does the Trump Administration want to suppress voting? Is it grossly incompetent? Both?

Whatever the answer, if there is a bill that should be Dead on Arrival, this is it.

I recommend reading the whole thing.

-- CAV

The AI boom is just the latest chapter in mankind’s upward rise that began with the Industrial Revolution and the power loom more than two centuries ago.

 

"Stop saying 'free.' 

"Start saying 'funded by taxpayers.'   

"Thank you."

~ The Moderate Case

Larry David doesn’t know when to quit.

And that isn’t such a bad thing, at least on paper.

The 79-year-old funny man said, ‘goodbye’ to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in 2024 after 12 mostly solid seasons. He’s fabulously wealthy thanks to that program, plus all those “Seinfeld” residuals.

David co-created the iconic NBC show.

He doesn’t need the money, and his cranky alter ego suggests the “fame” part of celebrity isn’t a top priority.

David still felt the need to star in a new show for HBO Max, one that examines American history through a very Larry David-style lens.

“Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.”

The show, co-produced by the Obamas, debuted to tepid critical reviews. The finished product, to be blunt, is bad.

Pretty, pretty bad, at least from the sketches this critic has endured.

Yet was there a secondary reason to create such a program? We’ve already seen an extended skit for the show that doubled as an anti-Trump screed.

The HBO sketch show ‘Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness’ surprised us all this weekend. https://t.co/Nmx74ujWqL

— Esquire (@esquire) July 6, 2026

That one recruited the late Rob Reiner, in his final acting appearance, to mock President Donald Trump via a historical re-creation.

The bit proved pure clapter – a sketch meant to inspire applause, not actual chuckles. Painful barely describes it, all the more so given Reiner’s cruel fate.

Now, we’re learning of “Life” sketch that takes a not-remotely-veiled swipe at another GOP target. That’s Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

The sketch in question finds David playing Dora, the mother of Jonas Salk. The character gets into a fight with a neighbor who takes a strong anti-vaccine stance. It’s akin to people on the Right questioning modern vaccines after being lied to during the COVID-19 epidemic.

A good satirist might use that as a launching point for humor. Not David. He weaponized the skit to call out RKF Jr. by name.

“Drop dead, Bobby,” says Dora. “You should die a dog’s death! You don’t know anything about science, you’re not a doctor. God help us all if some idiot, some moron, ever put you in charge. That would be a dark day for humanity I can tell you that.”

Had David and co. made a sly allusion to modern figures, even those uniformly on the Right, it might have been witty. Funny. Ripe.

Instead, he and his partners decided to go for a crude, obvious approach. That technique turns what might have been humorous into something else.

And it’s certainly not funny.

David could be resting on his sizable laurels right now. Instead, he’s committed himself to a weak tea comedy series that seems to exist to settle political scores.

Except David isn’t a politician. And both Trump and Kennedy are the ones in power.

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