Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: Tom discusses an academic paper on economics, but it's more interesting than it sounds (Tucson Weekly)
I recently stumbled across an academic paper that is stunningly counterintuitive. One of the most widely held beliefs in America-one held by virtually all Republicans and even a fair amount of Democrats-is that the Republican Party is the party better capable of dealing with the economy. This, apparently, is not only false, it's absolutely, 100 percent false.
Tom Danehy: Following up on his cover story, Tom talks to Frank Antenori about education (Tucson Weekly)
I spoke with former State Senator Frank Antenori last week. Actually, that's not entirely true. He spoke to me-really fast and for what seemed like a really long time without a break. I wonder if Army Special Forces training is like what the Navy SEALs get, because he can go a long time without taking a breath.
Chris Bucholz: 5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Government Spending (Cracked)
… most of the analogies that we try to make between government finances and our own personal finances are grossly inappropriate. In the end, shockingly few people understand what the government actually does with its money, and even our ability to read the news is grossly limited.
JM McNab: 7 Famous Artists You Didn't Know Were Horrible Sellouts (Cracked)
Even the greatest artists of all time occasionally produce something they're not proud of, because no one in history has ever batted 1000. The only difference is, unlike that time you drunkenly hit on your friend's cousin at Ruby Tuesday, an artist's embarrassing shame lives on forever in bargain bins and flea markets across the world. And, you know, on the Internet ...
"INCREDIBLE MOZART RAP (To inspire teenagers)" (YouTube)
Two minutes of good advice. And Mozart.
"Ceza - Türk Marşı (Turkish March)" (YouTube)
Mozart in Turkish.
Leo Benedictus: The sorry state of celebrities' tax affairs (Guardian)
As Gary Barlow returns to Twitter to apologise, we translate his and other celebrities' outpourings on tax.
Why most Britons lose more than £400 every year (Guardian)
A poor understanding of financial jargon leaves people in Britain seriously out of pocket, according to a survey. And more than half of those asked didn't even know what a loan was.
Paul Lester: "The Jacksons: 'We had police escorts - but there weren't enough police'" (Guardian)
The Jacksons relive key moments in their dazzling career: bomb threats, seven-storey stage sets - and the time Marlon's nephew showed Michael how to Moonwalk.
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"Doug's Most Shared Facebook Post" Today
wrote:
took the day off.
has retired.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
David
Thanks, Dave!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny, but cooler.
Ironic Warning
Really
"When you hear something on a partisan-driven program, do not believe it!" Bill O'Reilly told his audience on Wednesday.
No, he wasn't talking about his own show. He was talking about frenemy Jon Stewart, who had accused him of being more outraged about the media coverage of Michael Brown's death than about the death itself.
Maybe that was because O'Reilly cut his vacation short to deliver an incensed rant about the "race hustlers" who he said (without irony) were acting like a "lynch mob" towards Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot Brown. But O'Reilly insisted that, since he'd also said he was sorry Brown was dead, Stewart was smearing him.
"Distortions are how some people make a living," he warned his viewers.
O'Really
Goes Ear-To-Ear With Disney
deadmau5
Electro musician deadmau5 has launched a David v Goliath challenge to entertainment giant Disney, in a dispute over similarities between his mouse-ears logo and the world-famous Mickey trademark.
"Lawyer up, mickey," said the Canadian artist on his Twitter feed, vowing not to be "bullied" after Disney filed a legal document opposing his application to trademark his own logo in the United States.
He told his nearly 3 million Twitter followers: "Disney thinks you might confuse an established electronic musician/performer with a cartoon mouse. That's how stupid they think you are."
According to his lawyers, Disney filed a 171-page "trademark opposition proceeding" Tuesday against deadmau5's application to trademark his logo, which he made in June last year to the US Patent and Trademark Office.
deadmau5
Auction
Waylon Jennings
A collection of outlaw country singer Waylon Jennings' belongings will go on public auction this fall, including a rare 1958 motorcycle originally owned by Buddy Holly and locks of Willie Nelson's braided hair.
New York City-based auction house Guernsey's will hold the auction of over 2,000 items Oct. 5 at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. Jennings' widow, Jessi Colter, said she was first approached by the auction house about selling the motorcycle, a red Ariel Cyclone.
Jennings, who died in 2002 at age 64, started his career playing in Holly's band. He had been set to fly on the plane that crashed in 1959, killing Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, but he gave up his seat at the last minute.
Members of the Crickets gave the motorcycle to Jennings as a birthday gift and he kept the prized possession in his living room.
Jennings later teamed up with Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Nelson in The Highwaymen. The original contract forming the country supergroup, signed by all four members, is also up for sale. The braids were a gift from Nelson who cut them off as a sign of support for Jennings' sobriety.
Waylon Jennings
Mental Illness
American Scientists
In 1961, the police department in Inglewood, Calif., put out a scare film titled "Boys Beware" as a warning to teen boys about older predatory homosexuals. In the knowing voiceover, the officer warns that men like the character Ralph, who offer hitchiking teens rides and compliments, could have ulterior motives, and an ailment.
"Ralph was sick, a sickness that was not visible like smallpox, but no less dangerous and contagious. A sickness of the mind. You see, Ralph was a homosexual," the narrator says.
With the classification of homosexuality as a mental disease struck from the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973 and, more recently, with conversion therapy outlawed in California, it would seem that the era of gayness being considered an ailment to be treated in padded cells is long over.
However, the classification of "homosexuality-related psychological disorders" is alive and well in the World Health Organization's directory of standard medical reporting, known as the International Classification of Diseases. That's something American doctors are fighting to change.
The WHO's disease directory is the standard diagnostic tool used by doctors and hospitals in countries around the world to systematically track health conditions and their mortality rates, and it gets sporadic updates to include new and emerging illnesses.
American Scientists
'Sorry' For Comments
Cee Lo Green
Grammy-winning US singer Cee Lo Green has apologized for comments on Twitter about rape, made just after he was put on probation for giving a woman ecstasy before going back to her hotel.
Green also deleted the offending tweets from his Twitter account, although his apology too drew criticism.
"People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!" he wrote in one of the controversial tweets widely cited by US media after he was sentenced last week to three years' probation, 360 hours of community service and 52 drug addiction classes.
Another read: "When someone brakes on a home there is broken glass where is your plausible proof that anyone was raped."
Cee Lo Green
Slow-Motion Disaster
U.S. Shores
Chincoteague is the gateway to a national wildlife refuge blessed with a stunning mile-long beach - a major tourist draw and source of big business for the community.
But the beach has been disappearing at an average rate of 10 to 22 feet a year, as a warming planet and other forces lift sea levels. The access road and parking lot have been rebuilt five times in the past decade because of coastal flooding, at a total cost of $3 million.
Officials who run Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge say they face a losing battle against rising sea levels. In 2010, they proposed to move the beach to a safer spot, shrink the parking lot, and shuttle in tourists by bus.
The town revolted. Chincoteague wants the federal government to continue to rebuild rather than retreat. Four years on, after a series of angry public meetings, the sea keeps eating the shore, and the government keeps spending to fix the damage.
The people of Chincoteague are engaged in a battle at the water's edge against rising seas. All along U.S. shores, people, businesses and governments are confronting rising seas not as a future possibility. For them, the ocean's rise is a troubling everyday reality.
U.S. Shores
Darth Speech
Wyoming
Former Vice President and unindicted war criminal Dick Cheney (R-Marksman) can be a polarizing figure even six years out of office.
The Wyoming State Bar invited Cheney, a prominent Republican with deep Wyoming ties, to be keynote speaker at its annual convention next week. Some lawyers are objecting - both to Cheney's selection and to how the bar announced his appearance.
The state bar is a quasi-governmental entity that administers the legal profession using some taxpayer money. In its announcement of Cheney's speech, it published an unedited biography submitted by Cheney in which he criticized President Barack Obama, saying he weakened the United States' security posture.
The biography submitted by Cheney noted that he and former resident George W. Bush left office in January 2009.
"Shortly thereafter, President Obama began to dismantle the security policies that had kept the nation safe," the Cheney biography stated. "His policy decisions have led to a reversal of the gains America made in the war on terror in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, and a weakening of America across the globe."
Wyoming
Adult Obesity
US
Poor eating and exercise habits have kept obesity rates high in the United States, said a report Thursday that found increases in six states and no decreases across the nation.
The problem is particularly acute among the poor and in the African-American community, said the "State of Obesity" report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health.
The report found statistically significant increases in the obesity rates in six states -- Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Tennessee and Wyoming.
In every American state, at least one in five people is obese.
The highest obesity rates were seen in Mississippi and West Virginia, each at 35.1 percent.
US
Warding Off Evil
India
Many people have asked for a hand in marriage, but what about a paw? This sounds like a whole new spin on the tradition of prearranged marriages in some countries.
In a remote part of India, young Mangli Munda is marrying a stray dog to fight off evil spirits that her family believes she has. The dog was found by the woman's father. The big wedding was taken care of by the 18-year-old's parents, to the dismay of the wife-to-be. Munda wasn't pleased with her parents' selection of a groom, saying, "I am not happy with this marriage."
If you think Munda's father was solely to blame for this unusual arrangement, he wasn't. Munda's mother was adamant about the need for her daughter to get hitched to the hound named Sheru. The pooch even arrived stylin' and profilin' as most grooms often do - chauffeured in a car. Munda's mother mentioned, "We have to spend money on this wedding. That is the only way we can get rid of her bad luck and ensure the benevolence of the village."
But Munda won't have to love and honor her husband all the days of her life. The relationship isn't legally binding, which will probably keep this bride from going barking mad.
India
In Memory
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers, the raucous, acid-tongued comedian who crashed the male-dominated realm of late-night talk shows and turned Hollywood red carpets into danger zones for badly dressed celebrities, died Thursday. She was 81.
Rivers died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, surrounded by family and close friends, daughter Melissa Rivers said. She was hospitalized Aug. 28 after going into cardiac arrest in a doctor's office following a routine procedure. The New York state health department is investigating the circumstances.
Fashion and acting were the early dreams of the woman who grew up as a self-described "fatty," but it was humor that paid the bills and ultimately made Rivers a star. She refused to cede the spotlight as the decades passed, working vigorously until her death.
"I have never wanted to be a day less than I am," she said in a 2013 interview with The Associated Press. "People say, 'I wish I were 30 again.' Nahhh! I'm very happy HERE. It's great. It gets better and better. And then, of course, we die," she quipped.
Rivers' style was hard-driving from the start and her material only got sharper. She was ready to slam anyone. A favored target was Elizabeth Taylor's weight ("her favorite food is seconds"), but the comedian kept current with verbal assaults on Miley Cyrus and other newcomers.
Rivers had originally entered show business with the dream of being an actress, but comedy was a way to pay the bills while she auditioned for dramatic roles. "Somebody said, 'You can make six dollars standing up in a club,'" she told the AP, "and I said, 'Here I go!' It was better than typing all day."
In the early 1960s, comedy was a man's game and the only women comics she could look to were Totie Fields and Phyllis Diller. But she worked her way up from local clubs in New York until, in 1965, she landed her big break on "The Tonight Show" after numerous rejections. "God, you're funny. You're going to be a star," host Johnny Carson told her after she had rocked the audience with laughter.
Her nightclub career prospered and by late that year she had recorded her first comedy album, "Joan Rivers Presents Mr. Phyllis and Other Funny Stories." Her personal life picked up as well: She met British producer Edgar Rosenberg and they married after a four-day courtship.
Rivers hosted a morning talk show on NBC in 1968 and, the next year, made her Las Vegas debut with female comedians still a relative rarity.
In 1978, she wrote, directed and co-starred in the movie "Rabbit Test." It had an intriguing premise - Billy Crystal as a man who gets pregnant - but was poorly received. In 1983, though, she scored a coup when she was named permanent guest host for Carson on "Tonight."
Although she drew good ratings, NBC hesitated in renewing her contract three years later. Fledgling network Fox jumped in with an offer of her own late-night show.
She launched "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers" on Fox in 1986, but the venture lasted just a season and came at a heavy price: Carson cut ties with her when she surprised him by becoming a competitor.
Her show was gone in a year and she would declare that she had been "raped" by Fox; three months later, her husband was found dead.
It took two years to get her career going again, and then she didn't stop. Rivers appeared at clubs and on TV shows including "Hollywood Squares." She appeared on Broadway and released more comedy albums and books, most recently "Diary of a Mad Diva."
She was born Joan Molinsky in Brooklyn to Russian immigrants Meyer Molinsky, a doctor, and Beatrice. Rivers had a privileged upbringing but struggled with weight - she was a self-proclaimed "fatty" as a child - and recalled using make-believe as an escape. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College in 1954, she went to work as a department store fashion co-ordinator before she turned to comedy clubs. She had a six-month marriage to Jimmy Sanger.
In recent years, Rivers was a familiar face on TV shopping channel QVC, hawking her line of jewelry, and won the reality show "Celebrity Apprentice" by beating out her bitter adversary, poker champ Annie Duke. In 2010, she was featured in the documentary "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work."
She never let age, or anything, make her sentimental. Earlier in 2014, she got inked: a half-inch-tall tattoo, "6M," on the inside of her arm representing 6 million Jews killed in the Nazi Holocaust. In 2013, she brashly pledged to work "forever."
Survivors include her daughter, Melissa and a grandson, Cooper.
Joan Rivers
In Memory
Gustavo Cerati
Argentine rock star Gustavo Cerati died on Thursday, four years after a stroke put him in a coma and ended the career of one of Latin America's most influential musicians.
The 55-year old was the former lead singer of the Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, which was among the most popular groups in the Spanish-speaking world in the 1980s and 1990s.
Cerati was born on August 11, 1959, in Buenos Aires and formed his first band before the age of 10. Many of the melodies recorded during his childhood became the inspiration for songs later played by Soda Stereo.
Cerati met band members Charly Alberti and Hector "Zeta" Bosio during their college years when they began swapping records of artists such as The Police, XTC and Elvis Costello.
They formed Soda, as the band was known to fans, in 1982, just as Argentina was emerging from a long and brutal military dictatorship. Their first album, a fresh sound with heavy influences of new wave and punk, was released in 1984.
Soda Stereo broke up in 1997, but Cerati continued a successful solo career until he suffered a stroke following a 2010 performance in Venezuela.
Cerati died from a respiratory arrest at the ALCLA hospital in Buenos Aires, director Gustavo Barbalace said. He thanked the singer's mother Lilian for remaining by her son's side for four years and never losing faith that one day he would return to life.
Cerati won several accolades, including several Latin Grammys and MTV music awards.
Gustavo Cerati
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