'Best of TBH Politoons'
Reader Comment
Pershing Square Rally
Marty,
Our teachers had a blast at the Pershing Square Rally! We were so impressed with how well it was organized. I'm sure that the media will make the most of this and hopefully the public will realize how dangerous the Governator is to public education. If he gets what he wants, it could be the death of Unions, too.
Another rally that didn't make the news was held in Upland, CA. Many of our teachers went to that as well. It was also well organized and had a great deal of support.
The rally in Sacramento was expected to be double that of Pershing Square. Pershing Square had more than twice as many participants as originally expected.
Marian
Thanks, Marian!
How wonderfully exciting!
KABC reported that there were over 10,000 protesters in Pershing Square - that's pretty impressive.
Too bad they ended the report with a sound bite from the freshly-botoxed, orange-tinted, steroid-addled Austrian.
And why does he need 2 passports?
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Molly Ivins: Duck and cover time (Creators Syndicate)
"Members, I'm a Christian and a proud Christian. I read the good book and do my best to live by it. I have never read the verse where it says, 'Gay people can't marry.'" -- Senfronia Thompson, a black representative from Houston.
Tillman Family Blasts Army (The Cincinnati Post; Posted on beliefnet.com)
Former NFL player Pat Tillman's family is lashing out against the Army, saying that the military's investigations into Tillman's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan last year were a sham and that Army efforts to cover up the truth have made it harder for them to deal with their loss.
Robert Scheer: A Hypocritical Church's Sex Lessons (AlterNet)
The pope has minimized priests' crimes while wagging a finger at gays.
Sanford Pinsker: Better than a dead grandmother (irascibleprofessor.com)
I must admit that the student's story had me on the edge of my chair, not only because the story was so riveting in its own right but also because it raised the specter of tragedy in ways I did not normally associate with college teaching.
Dougall Fraser: Bells Are Ringing! (beliefnet.com)
What really goes on behind a psychic hotline? Confessions of a talented--and tired--telephone psychic.
Tom Tomorrow: Cartoon
Another Rant
Avery Ant
AVERY ON PHARMACY FENCERS
Drug Companies "R" Them
Brand New -- This Summer's 10 Hottest Books! (See Below)
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny & seasonal.
Was so plumber-fixated last night didn't get around to commenting on '
Lost'. The highlights:
The obnoxious science teacher
(who only appeared in the previous episode) exploded in the opening minutes, leaving a bazooka-bubble-gum-pink residue on the
hunky doctor's back.
Butt pirates kidnap little Walt
off the raft. And while a dingo didn't eat the yet-unnamed baby (who eventually was named Aaron), he was kidnapped by
Ambassador Delen (AKA: the crazy French woman)
, but she gave him back. And Hobbit-Boy
has a virgin Mary full of heroin. Guess it'll make a fine rattle for baby Aaron.
The Stepfather
, Hurley
& Dr. Stud
blow open the mysterious hatch, revealing a long, deep shaft into oblivion.
RERUNs Saturday night on ABC.
Here's a wonderfully creepy clip of Tom Cruise on Oprah.
Upsets Bugman
'Law & Order'
U.S. House of Representative Majority Leader Tom DeLay accused NBC on Thursday of slurring his name by including an unflattering reference to him on the NBC police drama "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
DeLay's name surfaced on Wednesday night on the show's season finale, which centered on the fictional slayings of two judges by suspected right-wing extremists.
In the episode, police are frustrated by a lack of clues, leading one officer to quip, "Maybe we should put out an APB (all-points-bulletin) for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt."
In a letter to NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker, DeLay wrote: "This manipulation of my name and trivialization of the sensitive issue of judicial security represents a reckless disregard for the suffering initiated by recent tragedies and a great disservice to public discourse."
Producer Dick Wolf, creator of the "Law & Order" franchise, took a swipe at DeLay in his own statement on Thursday, saying, "I ... congratulate Congressman DeLay for switching the spotlight from his own problems to an episode of a TV show."
'Law & Order'
New Exhibit Features Favorite Music
Clinton Library
Saxophones were an informal trademark for America's first rock 'n' roll president, but a new exhibit at Bill Clinton's library shows a much broader range of musical connections, from Bono to B.B. King, even from an Eritrean lute to a Czech recorder.
Beginning Saturday, visitors at the Clinton Presidential Library will get to see a reproduction of parts of a White House music room built for Clinton, samples from his eclectic CD collection and video of him playing in the Arkansas All-State Band as a teenager.
The Clinton Library is closing in on its first-year goal of 300,000 visitors in just over six months. During a preview tour of the "World of Music" exhibit Thursday, library director David Alsobrook said it's important to keep things fresh with rotating exhibits.
Musical memorabilia in the new exhibit include a recorder Clinton received from former Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel and a kerar, a lute-like instrument, presented by the people of Eritrea. Presidential guests often gave Clinton saxophones, a handful of which are part of the library's permanent exhibit.
A whole wall is dedicated to Clinton's childhood idol, Elvis Presley, and includes stamps from the African nation of Chad depicting an imaginary jam session featuring Elvis and a saxophone-toting Clinton.
Clinton Library
Touring U.S.
George Galloway
Maverick British lawmaker George Galloway, who captured headlines this month during a fiery Senate appearance, plans on continuing his anti-war theme during a summer speaking tour of the United States.
Galloway appeared after the Senate committee released documents it claimed showed he and other international figures received valuable oil allocations from Saddam as a reward for opposing U.N. sanctions on Iraq. Galloway allegedly received 20 million barrels' worth between 2000 and 2003.
He vehemently denied the accusations and went on to accuse the U.S. of crimes in Iraq.
Galloway said his talks would focus on America "and the way in which the United States has dragged us into disaster."
George Galloway
Civil Engineer Project
Question Authorities
For more than four years - steadily, seriously, and with the unsentimental rigor for which we love them - civil engineers have been studying the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, sifting the tragedy for its lessons. And it turns out that one of the lessons is: Disobey authority. In a connected world, ordinary people often have access to better information than officials do.
Proof can be found in the 298-page draft report issued in April by the National Institute on Standards and Technology called Occupant Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications. (In layman's terms, that's who got out of the buildings, how they got out, and why.) It's an eloquent document, in many ways. The report confirms a chilling fact that was widely covered in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. After both buildings were burning, many calls to 911 resulted in advice to stay put and wait for rescue. Also, occupants of the towers had been trained to use the stairs, not the elevators, in case of evacuation.
Fortunately, this advice was mostly ignored. According to the engineers, use of elevators in the early phase of the evacuation, along with the decision to not stay put, saved roughly 2,500 lives. This disobedience had nothing to do with panic. The report documents how evacuees stopped to help the injured and assist the mobility-impaired, even to give emotional comfort. Not panic but what disaster experts call reasoned flight ruled the day.
In fact, the people inside the towers were better informed and far more knowledgeable than emergency operators far from the scene. While walking down the stairs, they answered their cell phones and glanced at their BlackBerries, learning from friends that there had been a terrorist attack and that the Pentagon had also been hit. News of what was happening passed by word of mouth, and fellow workers pressed hesitating colleagues to continue their exit.
Question Authorities
Pro-Gay Column Costs Minister Pulpit
Rev. Jeff Falter
The congregation of Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church in Elkins, W.Va., has voted to fire its minister after he wrote a column for the local daily, the Inter-Mountain, supporting gay rights.
"Gay and lesbian Christians are no different than the rest of us," the Rev. Jeff Falter wrote in a Feb. 26 article. "They deserve full equality in the church and in society, for they are my brothers and sisters, people for whom Christ died."
That message led members to vote 100-72 on Sunday to request that the Presbytery of West Virginia dismiss Falter effective next Wednesday.
Rev. Jeff Falter
Creating Trading Cards
Wayans Brothers
Yo mama's so poor, you asked for a PlayStation and she took you to the bus station and said, "Go ahead, play."
That's the kind of humor you'll find in a new trading card game created by Shawn, Marlon and Keenen Ivory Wayans, based on an old neighborhood pastime: "Yo mama" jokes.
"The Dozens" is played with cards that come with a sticker and a piece of bubble gum. Players score points by one-upping each other with the funniest jokes.
The cards, manufactured by Topps, are supplemented with a cell phone version created by Bonus Mobile. The cards will be available on an exclusive basis at Blockbuster video stores for 60 days starting June 1 and at other retail outlets after that.
Wayans Brothers
Just for Laughs Comedy Festival
Montreal
Jim Belushi, Dame Edna and Eddie Izzard will provide some comic relief at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal (July 14-24).
Also on the lineup are Greg Proops, one-person shows by Tommy Tiernan and Judy Gold, a tribute to British humor, and panels revolving around "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "SpongeBob SquarePants."
Belushi and Dame Edna will each host two of this year's six JFL galas. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and improv favorites Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie will host another one, with the final gala set to serve as a tribute to Britcom.
Hosted by U.K. comedian Lenny Henry, the Britcom gala night also will feature such imports as Lee Mack (Fox's "Sketch Show"), the Hollow Men (Comedy Central) and up-and-comer Noel Fielding.
Montreal
Exit New Series
Actresses
Several high-profile actresses have been let go from shows freshly picked up by UPN, Fox, NBC and the WB, days after the networks unveiled their fall lineups to advertisers.
Shannen Doherty, star of UPN's new comedy "Love, Inc.," will not be on the show when it premieres in the fall.
At Fox, Rachael Leigh Cook is departing the new drama series "Head Cases." The show stars Chris O'Donnell as a successful lawyer with a nervous breakdown who teams up with a lawyer with an anger problem (Adam Goldberg).
Two actresses, Sarah Clarke of "24" fame and Leonor Varela, are said to be leaving NBC's high-profile new drama, the Pentagon-set "E-Ring." In the pilot, which stars Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper, Clarke played the wife of Bratt's character, while Varela played a lieutenant colonel. Both roles are now being reconceived, sources said.
At the WB, Laura San Giacomo ("Just Shoot Me") is no longer part of the cast of the "Related," a drama that revolves around four adult sisters in New York. The other actresses are Jennifer Esposito, Lizzy Caplan and Laura Breckenridge.
At UPN, Sara Foster, who co-starred in the pilot for "South Beach," will not continue on the midseason drama.
The ongoing shuffling of female characters is not limited to new series. Sasha Alexander is leaving the CBS crime drama "NCIS," while Monica Potter and Rhona Mitra are departing ABC's "Boston Legal."
Actresses
1969 Stabbing Case Closed
Altamont
Nearly 36 years after a man was stabbed to death during a Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway, investigators have closed the case, dismissing a theory that a second Hells Angel took part in the killing.
Meredith Hunter, 18, was killed during the free concert on Dec. 6, 1969. The show, which drew an estimated 300,000 people, was billed as the "Woodstock of the West," but the death helped bring to an end the image of the peace-and-love '60s. The concert, and the stabbing, were captured on film in the 1970 documentary "Gimme Shelter."
Alan Passaro was acquitted after a jury concluded he acted in self-defense because Hunter was carrying a gun. But there had been rumors over the years that a second unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, and the case remained open.
But Alameda County sheriff's Sgt. Scott Dudek said Wednesday that after a renewed investigation over the past two years, authorities concluded that Passaro, who died in 1985, was the only person to stab Hunter and did so only after Hunter pointed a gun at the stage.
Altamont
Networks Prepare Reality Flood
Summer
With your favorite television series hibernating for the summer, television networks are uncorking a flood of reality programming.
Summer starts soon; the WB begins its heavily promoted "Beauty & the Geek" on June 1. As the title suggests, the series takes some socially challenged smart guys and couples them up with dimwitted lookers. The couple that works best together in various contests could share $250,000, and who knows what else?
Other new series in the works:
_"Hell's Kitchen" stars tightly wound British chef Gordon Ramsay, who's opening a new Los Angeles restaurant and chooses between contestants who want to cook there. Premieres May 30 on Fox.
_"Dancing With the Stars" will pair six celebrities, like boxer Evander Holyfield, with professional dancers to compete in a ballroom dancing contest. Premieres June 1 on ABC.
_"Hit Me Baby" exhumes has-been music stars who try to show a live audience they still have what it takes. The Knack, Vanilla Ice, Cameo, Tiffany, Wang Chung, Loverboy and Arrested Development are among the acts competing for charity in the NBC series, which premieres June 2.
_"The Scholar" will feature bright students competing for a college scholarship they might not otherwise be able to afford. No, they won't have to eat bugs: they have to show book smarts, compete in oral exams and defend themselves to an Ivy League scholarship committee. Starts June 6 on ABC.
_"Fire Me ... Please" films two people starting new jobs on the same day doing everything they can to be fired by midday. The person who wins will earn more than he could ever hope for from the job. Starts June 7 on CBS.
_"The Cut" brings 16 aspiring fashion designers to compete for a job with Tommy Hilfiger. The winner gets the opportunity to design a fashion collection under Hilfiger's label. Starts June 9 on CBS.
_"I Want to Be a Hilton." Fox still has Paris, but NBC has matriarch Kathy Hilton guiding 14 young contestants through the New York society scene. Whoever emerges as the winner of Hilton's contests gets to live the live of a rich person for a year. Debuts June 21.
_"The Princes of Malibu" is an Osbournes-style show that follows music producer David Foster, his new wife and adult stepsons Brandon and Brody Jenner, who move into Foster's 22-acre waterfront estate. The Fox series premieres July 10.
_"Rock Star: INXS." Super-producer Mark Burnett is behind this contest, where amateur singers compete for a job with the Australian rock band INXS, whose former singer Michael Hutchence died in 1997. The winner goes on tour and records an album with the band. Premieres July 11 on CBS, which will air the show three times a week until it's done.
_"Brat Camp," a remake of a popular British series, send six out-of-control teens to a boot-camp style program in the Oregon wilderness. The ABC series premieres July 13.
_"So You Think You Can Dance." Fox failed miserably with an attempt to hold a junior version of "American Idol," so now that show's creators are trying a dance version. You know the drill: embarrassing tryouts, pressure-filled performances and, finally, a winner. Starts July 20.
_"The Law Firm" on NBC is produced by David E. Kelley, who with "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal" is familiar with fictional lawyers. This show takes actual lawyers trying actual cases in front of judges and juries. Trial attorney Roy Black is the host for the series, which starts July 28.
_"Meet Mister Mom" sends stay-at-home moms on vacation and leaves clueless dads in charge of the house. Mom gets to watch the fun on closed-circuit TV. NBC, premieres Aug. 2.
_"Tommy Lee Goes to College" trails the photogenic rock star as he enrolls in the University of Nebraska - trying out for the marching band and cramming for exams. It starts Aug. 16 on NBC. No word on whether Lee will talk about the lawsuit he and his bandmates in Motley Crue filed this week against the network for barring them from NBC shows.
_"Welcome to the Neighborhood" brings prospective new families into a suburban cul-de-sac. The white families who live there now have their preconceptions tested with potential neighbors that include gay, minority and heavily tattooed couples. The winning family gets to move in. The ABC series doesn't have a premiere date yet.
_"Are You the Girl" chronicles the search for a new partner for Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, the two surviving members of TLC after the death of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. They're looking to start a new group, and the search will be seen on UPN. No premiere date has been set.
If that's not enough, existing reality series like "Renovate My Family" (Fox), "Big Brother" (CBS), "Average Joe" (NBC) and "Wife Swap" (ABC) return with new episodes.
New scripted series will be scarce. However, ABC has the six-hour period piece "Empire," about ancient Roman rivals trying to succeed Julius Caesar starting June 28.
Summer
Loses in Three-Day Tourney
Ken Jennings
Maybe Ken Jennings isn't so tough after all. The "Jeopardy!" brainiac met his match this week, losing a three-day tournament of champions from the game show and a $2 million prize to Brad Rutter of Lancaster, Pa.
Rutter was hardly intimidated by Jennings' 74-game winning streak in the game show last year. He beat Jennings in all three individual games, and his final total of $62,000 easily eclipsed Jennings' $34,599.
Rutter, a former record store clerk, won more than $1 million on "Jeopardy!" in 2002, and whipped several other former champions to earn the right to face Jennings. He is host of his own local quiz show in Pennsylvania.
Ken Jennings
Fight Judge's Order
Divorced Wiccans
A Wiccan activist and his ex-wife are challenging a court's order that they must protect their 9-year-old son from what it calls their "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals."
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union has appealed the stipulation written into the couple's divorce order, saying it is unconstitutionally vague because it does not define mainstream religion.
Thomas Jones, a Wiccan activist who has coordinated Pagan Pride Day in Indianapolis for six years, said he and his ex-wife, Tammy Bristol, were stunned by the order. Neither parent has taken their son to any Wiccan rituals since it was issued, he said.
In the order, the parents were "directed to take such steps as are needed to shelter Archer from involvement and observation of these non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals." The judge let the wording stand.
For more, Divorced Wiccans
World-Record 124-Pounder Dies
Blue Catfish
A record 124-pound blue catfish caught earlier this week by an Illinois man fishing in the Mississippi River died on its way to the Cabela's Outfitter store where it was to go on display.
Tim Pruitt, 33, of Godfrey, Ill., caught the world-record blue catfish early Sunday near Alton.
The fish, measuring 58 inches long and 44 inches around, was kept alive and was to be displayed in a tank at Cabela's in Kansas City, Kan., but it died en route to the store.
Blue Catfish
Permafrost Thaw
Alaska
A warming climate has heated much of Alaska's permafrost to temperatures just below freezing and drastic changes are expected in the coming decades as that layer of frozen soil thaws, a prominent scientist said on Wednesday.
Vladimir Romanovsky, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute said the impact is already apparent. In Fairbanks a path has buckled into undulating waves, houses are slumping into thawed ground and stands of birch trees are toppling as dying forested areas melt into swamps.
Over the past 30 years, soil temperatures have risen 1 degree to 3 degrees Celsius, according to Romanovsky's study. Along the trans-Alaska pipeline, the permafrost temperatures rose by 0.6 degrees to 1.5 degrees Celsius in 20 years.
Because permafrost holds methane, the thaw will also accelerate the climate-warming greenhouse effect created by gases in the atmosphere "This methane will be released into the atmosphere, adding directly to the greenhouse gases," Romanovsky said.
Alaska
Archaeologists Offer Taste
Pompeii
Sauces made from fermented fish entrails. A quiche-like pastry shell filled with bay leaves and ricotta cheese. For dessert, peaches with aromatic cumin and honey.
Those tastes may not be for everyone's palate, but the specialties of ancient Pompeii are being revived for a month at the site of the ruins by a research project intended to give new insights into how the Romans lived.
Pompeii's busiest restaurant was buried with the rest of the prosperous city when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79. The eruption killed thousands of people, but a 20-foot-deep cocoon of volcanic ash kept the city almost intact, providing precious information on domestic life in the ancient world.
Researchers have tried to revive the city's food by replanting - in the restaurant's garden and in other open spaces - the fruits and vegetables that were part of the Roman diet: figs and olives, plums and grapes, as well as poppy, broom (a flowery bush), bramble (a prickly shrub), and mallow (an herb).
Pompeii
Extinct Wildflower Found
Mount Diablo Buckwheat
A flower long thought to be extinct was rediscovered in a California state park - more than six decades after it was last seen, scientists said Wednesday.
The pink wildflower Eriogonom truncatum, known as the Mount Diablo buckwheat, was found in a remote section of a Contra Costa County park about 30 miles east of San Francisco. The plant resembles baby's breath used in floral arrangements.
The wildflower was discovered by a Berkeley graduate student pursuing a doctorate in integrative biology. "Once I realized that it was the Mount Diablo buckwheat I was in shock so I pretended it wasn't there and continued with my other work," said Michael Park, 35.
Mount Diablo Buckwheat
In Memory
Stephen Elliott
Stephen Elliott, a character actor who had recurring roles on the "Dallas" and "Falcon Crest" television series and played a villain in the movie "Arthur," died Saturday. He was 86.
Elliott died of congestive heart failure at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, his family said.
Elliott appeared in dozens of television shows and motion pictures and had his greatest success after he reached 50. He generally portrayed judges, doctors and other authority figures.
He was Judge Harold Aldrich on several episodes of "Chicago Hope," Manny Schecter on "St. Elsewhere," Scotty Demarest on "Dallas" and Douglas Channing on "Falcon Crest."
Elliott, who was born Elliott Pershing Stitzel in 1918 in New York, studied acting at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse before serving in the merchant marine in World War II.
After returning, he made his Broadway debut in 1945 in "The Tempest."
Elliott's work in a 1967 Broadway revival of "Marat/Sade" earned him a Tony Award nomination.
Stephen Elliott
