Politicians

Fans of "Justified" have a solid date to return to Harlan County: Jan. 17. FX announced its mid-season schedule Monday, opening with the Season 3 premiere of the neo-Western "Justified" on Jan. 17. The animated spy comedy "Archer" will begin its third season two days later on Jan. 19, and will be paired with a new animated comedy called "Unsupervised. " "Justified" ended its second season with Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) going back to his illegal ways by making a play for the Bennett clan's criminal enterprises, and thus putting him in conflict with his old buddy, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant)

One Englewood resident is hoping a film fest can be one weapon in the fight against Chicago violence. Mark Harris, the man behind the second annual Englewood Film Festival, wants to send a positive message with the Oct. 26-28 event. "Our message is that there is a way out, and violence doesn't have to be the answer," he said. "I think art can change a life. " After receiving virtually no support from local businesses, politicians or community leaders leading up to last year's festival, Harris has turned to the internet for help funding the fest.

Sonya Blade, the blonde badass from the “Mortal Kombat” video game, wants a seat on a county board in a Chicago suburb. Scratch that. The former Playboy model who played Sonya, Kerri Branson, is running for  Kane County Board. And she's not embarrassed to chat up her video game past, which recently exploded onto gaming websites like Kotaku. “I thought once the public got wind of it, they might be a little bit interested,” Branson admitted. “I was actually hoping that somehthing like this may happen, so even if I don't win, I might create awareness for some of the issues [I support]

2012 already feels different than past years. With the alleged Mayan apocalypse predictions looming closer, with the future of the country soon to be in the hands of an uncertain figure, with activism and the Occupy movement shaking things up, change is certainly present on people's minds and faces. But here comes old man winter, in extraordinary fashion, bringing days of snow just after days of spring-like weather. Even the weather seems uncertain. The seemingly obvious certainties, like winter, four more years of Obama, and the decline of these left-wing yahoos that compose the Occupy crowd, don't seem so certain anymore.

To catch up with climate week, check out these previous posts on the heat of 2012 , the commitment to warming , and tax-and-dividend policy . I'm ending this week-long series of posts on climate change with two pleas, the first of which is to Justin Bieber. Biebs, look buddy, I saw you on the cover of the same Rolling Stone in which Bill McKibben wrote his piece on the terrifying new math of global warming . I think there's an opportunity here. What's the rest of your life going to be, man?

Many have noted the unabashed liberalness of Obama's second inauguration speech, while conservatives are sending death threats to poor John Dickerson of Slate for suggesting that Obama must now go to war with Republicans if he wants any hope of advancing an ambitious second term agenda that supposedly includes gun control, climate change, and immigration reform. The fundamental problem being that the House Republicans have no interest in any of these issues and the Democrats do not have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate anyway.

Some might think Hollywood is one vast stretch of liberal-leaning actors, singers and power-brokers. But RedEye turned up a few names of celebs who've supported conservative policies, parties or candidates to add to GOP mainstays such as Stephen Baldwin, Ben Stein - and, of course, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Angie Harmon: The "Rizzoli and Isles" actress talked to talk show host Chelsea Handler last year about being Republican and having gay friends. Dennis Miller: Last month on his program, the comedian and radio host lent his support to Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.

Imagine if national politics were a Bears game. The Democratic Senate is the elusive running back, the Republican House of Representatives is the loud and brash wide receiver and President Obama is the quarterback who makes it all come together. They may not all get along in the locker room, but they're on the same team. And don't look now, but it's late in the fourth quarter and the home team is down by a touchdown. You thought the Bears had a hard time scoring 7 against Kansas City on Sunday?

It was two days before DB Burkeman's sticker-history exhibit was set to debut, and there was still a lot to do. Burkeman, a London-born DJ, and his project manager of two days, Ned White, stood around plexiglass sheets, using a gummy tape to avoid damaging the delicate artwork and attaching dozens of Radiohead stickers, from the band's first album release in the early 1990s to today.  The Radiohead stickers are just a fraction of Burkeman's collection...

Chicagoans - along with the rest of the nation - took time to remember Don Cornelius, the honey-voiced host of "Soul Train," after reports of his death surfaced Wednesday morning. "Don Cornelius is a cultural artifact in America," said Che "Rhymefest" Smith, a Chicago-based musician and former aldermanic candidate. "He's also a pioneer of black television and the building of community through music. " Cornelius' impact, and the impact of "Soul Train," which got its start in a tiny WCIU studio in the Chicago Board of Trade building in 1970, was undeniable.