'TBH Politoons'
Today
Erin Hart Show
Erin is filling in for Jay Marvin on Boulder's Progressive Talk, AM760.net today, from 5am to 9am (pdt) - (six to nine for you Coloradans).
Guests include Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who will talk about his new book, "Crimes Against Nature".
And we will check in with Marty (or is it Martha?) of Bartcop.com
about tasty links of the week.
And Saturday and Sunday nights on 710 KIRO, 9pm to 1am (pdt),
we will cover Traitorgate, Downing
Street, Roberts and all the progressive news fit to talk.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Kamla Bhasin: One Thousand Women for Peace (India Together. Posted on Alternet)
Giving the Nobel Peace prize collectively to 1,000 women would state loudly and clearly that peace cannot be achieved by one individual.
Rebecca Meiser: Bitter Pill (clevescene.com)
Ohio doctors and pharmacists are looking out for you. Unless you need the morning-after pill.
Rep. Lynn Woolsey: The Progressive Promise (inthesetimes.com)
We are in the midst of a progressive awakening in this country. In my 12 years in Washington, I have never been more confident and optimistic about the future of progressive politics.
Molly Ivins : Plamegate illustrates pattern of deception in Bush administration (Creators Syndicate)
Attacking an opponent's wife is standard operating procedure for Rove.
Jean G. Fitzpatrick : Wild About Harry Potter (.beliefnet.com)
Without fantasy, we lose our capacity to approach God with the trust, wonder and honesty of children.
Lois Lowry: Frequently Asked Questions
If I become an author, will I get rich?
No. If that is your goal, you should think about becoming an orthodontist.
Hans Christian Andersen
Kids' Lit: Authors and Illustrators
Roald Dahl
Contributor Recommendation
Southern Gothic Online
Literature? Oh, we have both kinds - Southern and Gothic!
The July issue of Southern Gothic
is now online. New fiction by Chris Fahrenthold and Patsy Covington, and new poetry by L. Ward Abel, Peg Duthie, David Galef, Kelle Groom, John Hubbard, Ian Kreiger, Corey Mesler and Wm. J. Wilson. Please stop by and take a look, and tell all your friends!
We need fiction and poetry for the next issue.
While you're there, stop by the Submissions page and check out our non-theme themes: September is the Football issue, naturally, and November is the Death issue. Plus we have an ongoing theme of Sherlock in the South, for all you aspiring Sherlockians.
Jeff Crook
Editor, Southern Gothic Online
Reader Recommendation
Loser (Version 2.0)
SleepWalker recommends:
Found at Behind The Election: Bush Cheated 04
Loser (Version 2.0) - the Flash
Loser (Version 2.0) - MP3
Purple Gene Reviews
'Riding Giants'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still hot & humid - my least favorite weather.
Gotta get up too early, but for a good cause (see the Erin Hart blurb above).
Makes Appearance Following Illness
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt, diagnosed with a mild case of viral meningitis and released from the hospital last week, accepted a $250,000 check on behalf of the Film Foundation Inc. at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif.
A still-blond Pitt, wearing a white jacket and shirt, pretended to pocket the check after the presentation. The HFPA's annual installation luncheon honoring its 2005-2006 slate of officers was held Wednesday at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
The HFPA, which presents the annual Golden Globe Awards, announced more than $1 million in financial grants to film schools and non-profit organizations.
Other stars attending the event included Kevin Bacon, Jesse Bradford, Peter Falk, America Ferrera, Sally Field, Emmy Rossum and Ziyi Zhang.
Brad Pitt
Claims Gay Attitude
`Desperate Housewives'
Two days after being lavished with Emmy nominations for "Desperate Housewives," series creator Marc Cherry appeared before an especially appreciative gathering: Outfest 2005, a gay and lesbian film festival.
At Outfest, he and the program were celebrated with a panel discussion, billed as "Queer is Just a Frame of Mind on Wisteria Lane," that included star Marcia Cross and members of the writing and producing staff.
That "Desperate Housewives" carries what one audience member called "a gay vibe" wasn't the goal, Cherry said, but he conceded the show inevitably reflects his personality.
"The moment you put a woman in an evening gown mowing the lawn, it's just gay," said Cherry, referring to a slapstick scene with actress Eva Longoria. "It's kind of just what makes me laugh. A lot of my gay brethren get the joke."
`Desperate Housewives'
Charity Benefits
'Jen and Ben Baby Shower Night'
More than 400 items donated by baseball fans at a mock shower for mom-to-be Jennifer Garner and husband Ben Affleck are going to a "baby pantry" that helps low-income parents in southern West Virginia.
Garner and Affleck didn't attend the "Jen and Ben Baby Shower Night" held earlier this month at a West Virginia Power minor league baseball game in Charleston, where Garner grew up.
Nancy Thomas, who runs the Starting Points center at Falls View Presbyterian Church, about 33 miles east of Charleston, said the items will keep the pantry going for a long time.
Thomas said she has written a letter to Garner to thank her, too.
"She may not have appreciated the shower or felt good about people using her name. But I want her to know what a difference this will make in the lives of so many people."
'Jen and Ben Baby Shower Night'
Wonka Not Based On Michael Jackson
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp, star of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, says he didn't base his Willy Wonka character on Michael Jackson - and is surprised that some people see a resemblance.
"A few people have mentioned it, and it kind of took me by surprise. I really didn't expect that," Depp told reporters recently, according to AP Radio. "Michael Jackson was not a sort of ingredient or inspiration for the character at all."
Depp said he based the way Wonka speaks on children's show hosts he remembers from his childhood. "How odd it was the way that they spoke," the 42-year-old actor said. "That bizarre, musical cadence to their speech pattern."
Johnny Depp
Hospital News
Courtney Love
Rock singer Courtney Love was taken by ambulance to a Los Angeles hospital on Wednesday night after complaining of feeling faint, but she was discharged soon after, her spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Love, 41, was attending an entertainment industry gathering at the landmark Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel when she felt ill, publicist Jill Fritzo said in an e-mail message.
"She was at a party, felt faint, went out for air, a friend called an ambulance for precaution, they took her to the hospital and she was released immediately," Fritzo said.
Courtney Love
Rigging Rumors
'Dancing With the Stars'
Did ABC rig 'Dancing With the Stars' to favor lead-footed General Hospital starlet Kelly Monaco? In what's surely the lamest scandal of recent months, fans of the reality TV dance-off have been crying foul since the show's main attraction, John O'Hurley (AKA Seinfeld's J. Peterman), was handed second place in the July 6th finale.
The hubbub began when O'Hurley-whose smooth moves and unexpected sprezzatura helped draw more than 22 million viewers to the season's closer-reportedly blamed his loss on a mysterious "agenda." What supposed agenda was he referring to? Apparently, a plot by ABC to juice General Hospital's slipping ratings, a source close to the show says.
"ABC had nothing to gain by letting John O'Hurley win, even though he was clearly the favorite and the best dancer," says the source. "Kelly winning, on the other hand, directly impacts ABC's ratings." As if that weren't enough corporate synergy for one show, during her crowning, Monaco announced she was goin' to Disneyworld!-the flagship theme park of ABC's corporate parent.
'Dancing With the Stars'
Mrs. Greenspan Is Miffed
Andrea Mitchell
Andrea Mitchell said she felt angry and humiliated after Sudanese bodyguards dragged her out of a room Thursday for questioning President Omar el-Bashir about his involvement in the country's violence.
Large, gun-toting guards painfully wrenched the 5-foot-3 Mitchell's arm behind her. She was freed after U.S. officials accompanying Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice complained.
Mitchell, NBC News' diplomatic correspondent, was part of a press contingent following Rice on her visit to the war-torn African country.
Andrea Mitchell
Diaz Signature Likely Forged
John Rutter
A man who took topless photos of Cameron Diaz acknowledged that someone had likely faked her signature on a form that purportedly gave him ownership of the pictures - but it wasn't him.
Under cross-examination Wednesday, photographer John Rutter repeatedly said he couldn't remember the exact circumstances leading up to a June 2003 meeting with the star actress, in which he tried to sell the 1992 photos to her for $3.5 million. Diaz suspected blackmail and quickly contacted authorities.
Rutter also testified that he initially thought the signature on a model release form he showed Diaz was authentic, adding he was simply giving the "Shrek" and "There's Something About Mary" star "right of first refusal" before he sold the photos to someone else.
Asked repeatedly by Deputy District Attorney David Walgren whether he now believes the signature is fake, Rutter said several times, "It looks like that."
John Rutter
Breached Contract
Ashanti
Grammy-winning singer Ashanti hit a sour note with a federal jury, which concluded Thursday she owes $630,000 to her first producer for breach of contract.
The singer was not in court when the jury returned its verdict in favor of Genard Parker, who worked with Ashanti in 1996 and 1997 when she was 16.
Ashanti testified during the four-day trial that Parker did not live up to the terms of their deal as he helped her create music in a home studio that was so crude she sang in the bathroom.
Parker, now of Ellenwood, Ga., said after the verdict that he wished the singer and her mother well and had nothing bad to say about them "though they had plenty of negative things to say about me."
Ashanti
More Unpopular Than Ever
Ahnold
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's approval rating dropped to a new low even before a controversy developed about his hefty side income from fitness magazines, according to a poll released on Thursday.
Only 34 percent of adult Californians approve of the job Schwarzenegger is doing as governor, compared with 51 percent who disapprove, according to a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.
The institute conducted its poll of 2,502 California adult residents in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese from June 28 through July 12.
The Public Policy Institute of California said its survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.
Ahnold
Republican Family Values
Don Sherwood
Rep. Don Sherwood, R-Pa., admitted in court papers filed Thursday that he had an affair with a Maryland woman for five years, but he denied abusing her, as she claimed in a $5.5 million civil suit.
The court papers were filed by Sherwood in response to the lawsuit filed last month by Cynthia Ore, 29, of Rockville, Md. In it, she alleges that he assaulted and struck her on several occasions.
Sherwood, 64, denied in Thursday's filing that Ore lived at his Capitol Hill apartment, as she had claimed in her suit. He said the affair ended Sept. 15, 2004 - the day police were called to his apartment after Ore dialed 911.
Sherwood, a married millionaire with three daughters, is a four-term congressman.
Don Sherwood
Her Work Is Done
Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert, who has presided over a sometimes bitterly divided Screen Actors Guild during the past four years, announced Thursday she won't seek a third term as president.
"It is no big secret that there are problems within the leadership of SAG. There are rifts that may very well be irreparable," Gilbert, 41, said in a statement. "All of that aside, I still believe the Screen Actor's Guild was, is and will always be the most powerful performers union in the world and I want the future leaders of my beloved union to know that I will be watching them - like a hawk."
"The past four years have been remarkable, at times frustrating, but incredibly rewarding," Mrs. Boxleitner said.
Melissa Gilbert
Recommended Reading
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"
The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.
"Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!"
From here the story looked liked it would end quite badly for the shepherd boy, and he certainly would have come to a sticky end were it not for a sudden stroke of genius.
He looked to his sheep, and then to the flock of villagers, who had come running so readily to his aid. He considered the crook in his hand, and the power he wielded with it. He then held that crook aloft and pointed his finger at the nearest villager.
"Are you seriously questioning the existence of wolves?" he cried.
"But there are no wolves h..." began the villager.
"You see? You see? He said it himself! This man would have you think that wolves simply do not exist! Surely you all recall that wolves once attacked a nearby village!"
For the rest, The Boy Who Cried Wolf
In Memory
Charles Chibitty
Charles Chibitty, the last survivor of the Comanche code talkers who used their native language to transmit messages for the Allies in Europe during World War II, has died. He was 83.
The group of Comanche Indians from the Lawton area were selected for special duty in the U.S. Army to provide the Allies with a language that the Germans could not decipher. Like the larger group of Navajo Indians who performed a similar service in the Pacific theater, the Comanches were dubbed "code talkers."
"It's strange, but growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my native language at school," Chibitty said in 2002. "Later my country asked me to. My language helped win the war and that makes me very proud. Very proud."
Chibitty was born Nov. 20, 1921, near Medicine Park and attended high school at Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kan. He enlisted in 1941.
In 1999, Chibitty received the Knowlton Award, which recognizes individuals for outstanding intelligence work, during a ceremony at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.
Charles Chibitty
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