Here’s a Sunday evening open thread — I’m definitely watching True Detective, but we don’t have to talk about that.

Lee Stranahan, formerly with Breitbart “News”

When Daily Caller wingnuts deliver a smackdown to Breitbart “News” wingnuts, we all win!

The Daily Caller’s Betsy Rothstein gives us a look into the Breitbart sleaze pit, as Texas weirdo Lee Stranahan is first re-hired, then re-fired by the jolly elves who run the site Andrew built.

And these are some very jolly fellows indeed. When Stranahan first tried to get his job back after his snit fit walk-out:

Fast forward five months later. It’s February, Stranahan is broke and looking for work. He’s told through Darby that Bannon says he can possibly return, but only if he comes “bellycrawling” back to the site. Meaning, begging will be required. Stranahan says Bannon now denies ever saying it.

And Stranahan found himself on the receiving end of another bit of editorial pranksmanship:

At most news organizations, if a journalist wants out, your bosses don’t want you there. Who wants to keep someone who doesn’t want to be there? At a place like Politico, they might badmouth you for awhile, whispering that the person was never that good, no big loss. But at Breitbart, whispering would be kind. Here they use legal measures to make you stay until they are good and ready to dump you.

Last week Stranahan was working under Darby, the Texas “bureau” chief. But by the week’s end declared that he would not work with Stranahan. He killed one of his stories - (this one) - and insisted he wouldn’t publish any more. Hours later, Stranahan says, he was fired.

OK, now that’s sounding kind of harsh, wouldn’t you agree? If they’re dishing out this kind of abuse, Breitbart “News” must at least be paying their writers decent fees, right? Why else would anyone want to work with them?

Stranahan is among the old school Breitbartians, the ones who miss Andrew Breitbart desperately and don’t like what the new regime under the site’s “Executive Chairman” Steve Bannon has become. But that’s all a side story. This one has everything do with Darby, Stranahan’s supervisor in the Breitbart “Texas” bureau, where Stranahan had been employed as a contributor since last month, earning $100 per story.

Sure, they may all be complete a-holes who treat employees like serfs, but at least they pay a pittance for the privilege!

Right wing journalism at its finest, folks.

Oh, and on Twitter, I’ve been seeing some tweets like these as the wingnutosphere begins lining up to smear Stranahan (not that he doesn’t deserve it):

.@Stranahan raised thousands of dollars four/five years ago to produce films on Little Green Footballs and homeschooling. I can't find them.

— Donny Ferguson (@DonnyFerguson) March 9, 2014

What? You mean Lee Stranahan ripped you off by promising a hit piece on … little old me?

Looks like you got played, suckers.

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“Promentory”, acoustic version from the original soundtrack of “The Last Of The Mohicans” (based on Dougie MacLean’s “The Gael”), arranged and performed by Luca Stricagnoli on three guitars (Standard, Baritone and 7 String) made by Davide Serracini. The bass line is played using a violin bow.

Luca Stricagnoli (guitarist): it-it.facebook.com
Davide Serracini (luthier): serracini.it
Luca Pedroni (recording): lucapedroni.it
Video by pazart.it

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This is my final project from Vancouver Film School’s 3D animation program. With Malaise I wanted to do a project that was both visually exciting and a demonstration of my abilities as an animator. The look of the piece was influenced by an array of old sci-fi classics ranging from Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris to Jean-Claude Forest’s Barbarella. For the feel and tone of the film it was to Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise that I drew inspiration from. I wanted to pursue a slightly more realistic route for the animation so I researched live action movie footage, live reference as well as more recent CG efforts from America and Japan to help achieve to type of movement I desired. This project was a labor of love and I thank everyone who helped bring it to the screen. Enjoy the show!

A few of the many special moments from this year’s CPAC, courtesy of the new embed feature of Getty Images.

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NATIONAL HARBOR, MD - MARCH 08: An exhibitor plays a video game in their booth during the 41st annual Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord International Hotel and Conference Center on March 8, 2014 in National Harbor, Maryland. The conference, a project of the American Conservative Union, brings together conservatives polticians, pundits and voters for three days of speeches and workshops. (Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)