'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Comment
A Tale of Two Visits
For those who still want to say that there is no difference between
Republicans and Democrats let me tell you the tale of two visits.
The state of West Virginia is once again a battlefield. The prize is the
few electorial votes that can be picked up.
A couple of weeks ago Laura 'Pickles' Bush
came to town for a visit. I work 2 blocks from where her
great photo op was staged. I could see the SS (secret service) fan out with
the Charleston Police Dept and secure a one block radius around the place.
Cars were rerouted, people had to show id just to go to their hotel rooms
and heaven forbid if you were a protester. The whole of the downtown
section was snarled up for the rest of the day. It took me almost an hour
to get out of town after work. I found out later people had to be bussed in
for the photo op because of "security".
Yesterday Teresa Heinz-Kerry came to town. She had a photo op in the same
building as Pickles did but traffic wasn't tied up. The few protesters who
showed up were only stopped from blocking the enterence to the building. It
took me 10 minutes to get out of the downtown section.
BUT Ms Heinz-Kerry
also had a second photo op at Humpries Pine Room on the west side. Here she
met with families who have loved ones stationed abroad. I was not aware of
this photo op and drove right by Humphries to go to my dad's house. There
were no blocked roads and even the limos were parked around back as there
is a no parking zone in front.
As I read about this later I thought massive security vs consideration.
If you can't tell the difference between the 2 sides maybe you should vote
for Nader. You'd just be screwing yourself.
Michael H
Dissent is not Terrorism
Freedom is not Legislated
Thanks, Michael!
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
A little overcast this morning, followed by a mild & sunny afternoon.
Did the CostCo - Farmer's Market loop. Strawberries are almost done for the season, but apricots, little green plums & cherries have appeared.
Martha Stewart poses with Sesame Street Muppet 'Elmo' during The Sesame Workshop's Second Annual Benefit Gala, in New York, on June 2, 2004.
Photo by Albert Ferreira
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Keynote Speech Launches Book Tour
Bill Clinton
The keynote speaker at BookExpo America, publishing's annual national convention, Bill Clinton was here to promote his memoir, "My Life," which comes out June 22 with a first printing of 1.5 million.
It was not the most efficient of promotional events. Clinton began 30 minutes behind schedule and spoke for 45 minutes, 25 minutes longer than expected. But he left to the same noisy approval as when he arrived - a standing ovation. And he showed the knack for summing up a 950-page book in a couple of sentences.
"When I was a young man, getting out of law school, I said one of the goals I had in life was to write a great book," he explained. "I have no earthly idea if it's a great book. But it's a pretty good story."
Clinton promised a thorough, even-handed book, with fond portraits of such former foes as Bob Dole and the first President Bush. But he acknowledged "My Life" revived unwanted feelings, saying that memories of Kenneth Starr, the special prosecutor whose investigation led to his impeachment, made him so angry he couldn't write for four hours.
Bill Clinton
Praises UN Role in Iraq
Wesley Clark
Former US general and erstwhile presidential candidate Wesley Clark said he hoped the UN's role in the formation of a new government in Iraq would be a model for the future.
"I'm glad (UN envoy Lakhdar) Brahimi and (UN Secretary General) Kofi Annan have been involved and I hope this will set a pattern for future activities," Clark told a press conference while on a visit to Bucharest.
"I'd long called for the US and other nations to ask for UN engagement. They are doing that now and hopefully this will be constructive," he said.
"Although I opposed the decision to go to war with Iraq at the time, that's in the past and now we are faced with the reality and it's important to bring in as many countries as possible to share the burden and help the Iraqi people understand this is not an American occupation," Clark said.
Wesley Clark
HarperCollins Gets Rights to Book
Seymour Hersh
If you think journalist Seymour Hersh is done pillorying the Bush administration, think again.
Hersh, the journalist for The New Yorker widely credited with revealing the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, has signed on with HarperCollins Publishers to write a book about his pursuit of the story, the company said.
The details of the deal were not disclosed, but the book, to be titled "Chain of Command" is expected to be published in the fall.
Seymour Hersh
People hold rainbow-colored flags as hundreds of people participate in a gay pride parade, in downtown Jerusalem Thursday June 3, 2004.
Photo by Oded Balilty
Joining CNBC As Commentator
Rev. Al Sharpton
Rev. Al Sharpton is joining CNBC as a political commentator for its coverage of the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions, the network announced Thursday.
The outspoken civil rights leader and former candidate for the 2004 presidential nomination will share his views on "Capital Report," "Dennis Miller" and the new "McEnroe" (scheduled to premiere in July), among other CNBC shows.
Rev. Al Sharpton
Crafts New Image As Lovable Loser
Gray Davis
Seven months after being bounced from office by a movie star, former Gov. Gray Davis - known to most voters as a humorless, cardboard-stiff policy wonk - has found a new career on TV as a lovable loser.
The 61-year-old Davis appears in a new promotional spot CBS created for advertisers after Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" and other network problems. Davis appears commiserating with disgraced baseball star Pete Rose and other down-on-their-luck celebrities.
"You guys think you had a bad year?" Davis tells the group. "I was replaced by the guy who starred in `Conan the Barbarian.'"
For mmore, Gray Davis
Celebs Urge More Aid
Africa
Jude Law, U2 frontman Bono and Coldplay singer Chris Martin are among a host of celebrities who have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair requesting more aid money for the world's poorest countries.
The letter, also signed by Helen Mirren, Colin Firth, Joseph Fiennes and Minnie Driver, is intended to reach the government as it determines British aid budgets for the next three years.
Justin Forsyth, policy director of Oxfam, said millions of people in Africa are still living in absolute poverty, some 20 years after the Ethiopian famine.
Africa
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
All-Female Cast
'Much Ado About Nothing'
It wouldn't have happened in Shakespeare's day -- women on stage in his theater in one of his plays. Not only that, but women playing men!
But that has not deterred the all-female cast of the comedy "Much Ado About Nothing," being staged at London's Globe Theater, who work on the premise that women can portray men better than men can play women.
The play, part of the Star-Crossed Lovers season at the Globe -- a lovingly rebuilt replica standing 100 yards from the original site of Shakespeare's own theater destroyed by fire in 1613 -- runs to the end of June.
'Much Ado About Nothing'
Amish supporters wait outside the Allegheny Courthouse during preliminary hearing for Judith Wilson in Pittsburgh, Pa., Thursday, June 3, 2004. Wilson, a midwife from Butler County, was ordered to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of an infant boy who died after a complicated breech birth at his parent's home.
Photo by John Heller
Hosting Guitar Festival
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton will host a three-day festival this weekend featuring 60 guitarists, including B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Joe Walsh, J.J. Cale, Bo Diddley, James Taylor, Jimmie Vaughan and Vince Gill.
More than two years in the making, the event is "the biggest undertaking we've ever done," said Peter Jackson, Clapton's tour manager since 1978. "It just got bigger and bigger and bigger. It's a celebration of the guitar," he said.
Proceeds go to Crossroads Centre, the nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center Clapton founded on the Caribbean island of Antigua, where he maintains a residence.
Eric Clapton
Estate Goes on Sale in NY
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn's wedding dress and other items from her estate will be auctioned next week at Sotheby's, in a sale the New York auction house expects will bring in about $1 million.
The highly unusual dress, worn by Hepburn at her 1928 marriage to Ludlow Ogden Smith, is fashioned from crushed white velvet with antique gold embroidery and is expected to sell for up to $3,500. The pair split after six years and the four-time Oscar winner never remarried.
Proceeds will go to Hepburn's family. Her four Oscar statues will be donated elsewhere.
Katharine Hepburn
To Perform in China
Whitney Houston
Fresh out of drug rehabilitation, six-time Grammy winner Whitney Houston is scheduled to perform in China next month, state-controlled China News Service reported.
Authorities, which reportedly have given the go-ahead for a concert in Shanghai on July 22, did not appear to have made their approval conditional on any particular requirements with regards to the pop diva's outfit or behavior.
Whitney Houston
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Settles Promoter Lawsuit
Clear Channel
Radio and concert promotions giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. has settled an antitrust lawsuit filed by an independent Denver promoter.
Nobody in Particular Presents Inc. filed a lawsuit in 2001 alleging that Clear Channel tried to monopolize the promotions business in Colorado by withholding airplay from musicians who booked shows through other promoters.
Trial had been set for August. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
Clear Channel still faces an antitrust lawsuit in Chicago filed by Jam Productions, one of the nation's largest independent promoters, over the promotion of motor sports. Trial is scheduled for November.
Clear Channel
Lava from Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park crosses the beach to enter the Pacific Ocean at dawn Wednesday, June 2, 2004, in Volcano, Hawaii.
Photo by David Jordan
Childhood Home for Sale
Martha Stewart
For sale: three-story Colonial situated in homey bedroom community just 12 miles from New York City. Amenities include mature fig trees planted by Martha Stewart and a holly bush she and her father pruned in the shape of a cone.
The house that Stewart (born Martha Kostyra) grew up in - at 86 Elm Place - went on the market Tuesday. The three-bedroom, 1,922-square-foot house, built in 1930, can be yours for $549,000.
The Kostyras bought the house when Stewart was 3, and she lived there through high school. The decorating diva hasn't lived there in years. Stewart's mother sold it to the present owners in 1987.
Martha Stewart
Fox, NBC to Air Interviews
O.J. Simpson
Ten years after the double murder for which he was acquitted but left a virtual pariah, O.J. Simpson says in a television interview that he is angry at his slain ex-wife and hopes to star in a new TV reality show.
Excerpts of the interview, conducted in a Florida hotel and set to air next Monday on Fox News' "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," were released by the cable channel on Thursday.
"There are things that she could be doing with the kids better than I, you know? When, it's emotional stuff, especially with my daughter, I am angry with her," Simpson said of his former wife. "I am angry that she found herself hanging out with the group of -- who are these people?"
Asked by Van Susteren about reports of his involvement in an upcoming reality show, Simpson said, "it's a takeoff on something called 'Punk'd,"' an MTV hidden-camera show featuring Ashton Kutcher pranks on celebrities. "It's me doing gags as Juice ... what they call 'juicing' people." Simpson earned the nickname Juice during his legendary career as a running back in the National Football League.
O.J. Simpson
What is believed to be the heart of Louis XVII, the 10-year-old heir to France's throne who died in the Paris fortified Temple prison on June 8, 1795, is seen in a carved jar in this photo released by French historian Philippe Delorme, Wednesday, June 2, 2004. The heart, that was cut from Louis XVII's body following a tradition of keeping royal hearts separate from their bodies, will be placed next June 8 in France's royal crypt of the Saint-Denis basilica, north of Paris, now that genetic tests have satisfied historians and the government that the tiny petrified heart passed down through the centuries is almost certainly the real thing.
Photo by Philippe Delorme
1810 Memoirs To Be Republished
Jeffrey Brace
The last time Jeffrey Brace saw his parents was in western Africa as he headed to the river for a swim with friends.
"My mother pressed me to her breast, and warned me of the dangers of the waters, for she knew no other," Brace recalled in his memoir. His father placed his own formal cap on his son's head and told him, "return before the setting of our great father the sun." Brace, 16, never returned home. The danger was not from the waters, but from English slave traders.
So began Brace's life as a slave in 1758. It ended many years later in freedom, on a farm in Vermont.
His story was recounted in a memoir published in St. Albans, Vt., in 1810. A new edition of The Blind African Slave; Or, Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace will be published this fall by the University of Wisconsin Press.
For a lot more, Jeffrey Brace
Cheese Artist Makes Bed of Ham
Cosimo Cavallaro
An artist best known for decorative cheese has broadened his palette, or palate, to ham. Cosimo Cavallaro, who once repainted a New York hotel room in melted mozzarella, has covered a bed in processed ham. "I feel like I am back in my mother's deli," the artist said Thursday.
His installation in a street-level gallery space of the Roger Smith Hotel in midtown Manhattan involved slicing 312 pounds of ham and tossing the meat on top of a four-poster bed. The installation, which took 3 1/2 hours, will be kept in the air-conditioned room for two days.
Despite his training in an Italian art school, he said he had rejected Prosciutto - "It would have been pompous." He also shelved an idea to do ham and eggs as "too pretentious, too thought out."
Cosimo Cavallaro
Two two week-old wolf cubs play in a zoo in the southern Russian town of Stavropol June 1, 2004. The cubs, part of a litter of eight, were shown to the public for the first time on Tuesday.
Photo by Eduard Kornienko
'The Osbournes'
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