Holy Unknown

The Departed (2006) is Martin Scorsese's intense crime thriller about a treacherous double-game between the Massachusetts State Police and the Irish mob. Rookie cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes deep undercover to infiltrate a syndicate led by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), unaware that the mob has embedded their own mole, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), within the police department. With both sides hunting a traitor, both men face a frantic race to unmask each other before their covers are fatally blown. Leonardo DiCaprio pursued the role of Billy Costigan after years of wanting to work with Scorsese again. Matt Damon was cast after Scorsese saw him as a natural fit for Sullivan’s clean-cut exterior masking corruption. Mark Wahlberg’s role as Dignam was expanded after rehearsals proved how sharply his profane delivery cut through scenes. Jack Nicholson shaped Costello into an unpredictable menace, introducing unscripted props—like a real handgun—to rattle his co-stars. ...

By Cody Andrus  I was a proud, devout conservative for 40 years of my life. I voted for Bush twice. I never voted for Obama. I spent 8 years writing conservative columns for a newspaper. I planned to vote for Trump over Hillary. But when the Billy Bush recording surfaced I decided to show an ounce of class and not vote for either candidate. When Trump won I was defensive of him for 4 years. I liked that he didn’t “put up with any crap with the media.” He might not be perfect but he was getting things done, etc. All the usual stuff. My feelings changed on January 6th. This is when I saw the true colors of (the vast majority of) conservatives. I realized for the first time that these wacky liberals I’ve complained about my whole life are now the reasonable ones. And (the vast majority of) conservatives simply don’t stand for anything. If you keep up with the news and consider yourself a well-informed person and you’re okay with what Trump did on January 6th, there is something fundam...