Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: Yet again, Tom discusses his distaste for vote-by-mail elections (Tucson Weekly)
Do you know how many illegal votes were cast in the recently completed vote-by-mail primary election in the city of Tucson? Well, neither does anybody connected with the city of Tucson. And you know what else? They apparently don't care, because voting by mail saves money!
Andrew Tobias: Patriots Paid Taxes
The "greatest generation" paid a top rate of 90% in federal income tax (36% on long-term capital gains). Most people, not being rich, paid nowhere near that top rate, of course, and no one is suggesting anything like that rate today - nor should they. But we had World War II to fight back then, and then to pay off over the ensuing 35 years as we got our war debt back down to a reasonable levels. Which reasonable level Reagan, Bush, and Bush blew back out of the water with massive tax giveaways mostly to the wealthy.
Lynn Sweet: "Ten giant U.S. companies avoiding income taxes: Sen. Bernie Sanders list" (Sun-Times)
1) Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009. Exxon not only paid no federal income taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings. …
Undocumented Immigrants Paid $11.2 Billion In Taxes While GE Paid Nothing (thinkprogress.org)
... there was much outrage over the fact that General Electric, despite making $14.2 billion in profits, paid zero U.S. taxes in 2010. General Electric actually received tax credits of $3.2 billion from American taxpayers.
Jim Hightower: Billions in profits, zero in taxes
Let's play, "Scamming the System!" It's the exciting and richly rewarding game that allows every American to use offshore income shelters and a labyrinth of loopholes to dodge their tax responsibilities. To get in the game, all you need is a few dozen tax lawyers, a flock of lobbyists, and an office in the Cayman Islands.
Carole Cadwalladr: "Jimmy Carter: 'We never dropped a bomb. We never fired a bullet. We never went to war'" (Guardian)
He may live a modest life in a one-horse town, but Jimmy Carter, now 86, retains his global vision. And 30 years after leaving the White House, the peanut farmer turned president is still a man on mission. In Plains, Georgia, we found the 39th US president full of energy… and determined to make a difference.
THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT
Summarized for easy understanding.
Susan Estrich: The 27 Percent (Creators Syndicate)
I've joined a new and growing minority. In fact, in New York City, we are practically a majority (about 47 percent), although nationally, we stand at 27 percent. We're the people who live alone.
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
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Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Big, juicy marine layer.
Mercedes Brings $260,000 For Joplin Schools
Sheryl Crow
An anonymous couple whose $130,000 bid won singer Sheryl Crow's 1959 Mercedes convertible in an auction for tornado-damaged schools in Joplin, Missouri, has donated $130,000 more to the cause.
The couple bought the white Mercedes 190SL convertible at an August 22 auction in California along with one of Crow's Gibson guitars, two concert tickets and a photo opportunity with the star.
Their winning bid exceeded the car's estimated value of $50,000 to $80,000, and the couple decided to match it with a donation, according to the Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri, which is raising money for Joplin schools.
The couple has chosen to remain anonymous.
Sheryl Crow
83 Percent Of America!
Global Warming
More Americans than last year believe the world is warming and the change is likely influenced by the Republican presidential debates, a Reuters/Ipsos poll said on Thursday.
The percentage of Americans who believe the Earth has been warming rose to 83 percent from 75 percent last year in the poll conducted Sept 8-12.
Republican presidential candidates, aside from Jon Huntsman, have mostly blasted the idea that emissions from burning fossil fuels and other human actions are warming the planet.
The current front-runner, Texas Governor Rick Perry (R-Dumb But Pretty), has accused scientists of manipulating climate data while Michele Bachmann (R-Pretty But Dumb) has said climate change is a hoax.
Global Warming
Hangs On To Emmy Record
Cloris Leachman
Actress Cloris Leachman already holds the record for most Emmys won by an actor -- male or female -- with a total of nine.
She had a chance to top herself at last week's Creative Arts Emmy ceremony, set to air this Saturday on ReelzChannel, for her guest-starring role on "Raising Hope." Leachman plays the only occasionally lucid Maw Maw on the Fox sitcom, which also earned star Martha Plimpton a nomination for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series.
The 85-year-old Leachman has won one Daytime and eight Primetime Emmy awards, but - spoiler alert - she lost out on her 10th trophy to "Glee" guest actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Leachman, whose first credits date back to the late 1940s, is perhaps best known for her work on the '70s sitcom classic "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." She said the Emmys have been cause for a friendly competition between her and her "MTM" costars, fellow multiple winners Moore and Ed Asner.
Cloris Leachman
Most Dangerous Celeb In Cyberspace
Heidi Klum
Supermodel and TV host Heidi Klum was named on Thursday as the most dangerous celebrity in cyberspace, inviting malware and viruses to flourish on computers.
Internet security firm McAfee said searching for downloads and screensavers for the "Project Runaway" judge and former Victoria's Secret model runs a nearly one in 10 chance of landing on a malicious website with spyware, spam, phishing and other viruses designed to steal personal information.
McAfee said cyber criminals often used the name of popular celebrities to lure people to websites that are laden with malicious software.
It said singers and sports stars tended to be safer searches than movie stars and models. Cameron Diaz topped the cyberspace danger list in 2010, and was No. 2 this year.
Heidi Klum
Dr. Oz, Fearmonger
Apple Juice
The federal Food and Drug Administration and a leading doctor are disputing suggestions by television show host Dr. Mehmet Oz that trace amounts of arsenic in many apple juice products pose a health concern.
Oz said on "The Dr. Oz. Show" Wednesday that testing by a New Jersey lab has found what he implied are concerning levels of arsenic in many juices.
However, the FDA says the lab methods were not appropriate and that its own tests show much lower arsenic levels. The agency warned the show's producers in advance that their testing was misleading.
Dr. Richard Besser, former acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also scolded Oz Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America" show for scaring consumers with what Besser called an "extremely irresponsible" report, like "yelling 'Fire!' in a movie theater."
Apple Juice
Vaccine Comments Toxic
Mrs. Bachmann
No matter how much the U.S. medical community repudiates the suggestion by presidential candidate Michele Bachmann that a vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) is dangerous, doctors fear the damage has already been done.
Physicians are bracing for more parents to refuse the HPV vaccine, which protects against the most common cause of cervical cancer, for their daughters.
They say the comments by the Republican candidate will only stoke growing and unfounded fears about a whole class of common immunizations needed to fight disease.
"There are people out there who, because of this kind of misinformation, aren't going to get their daughter immunized," said Dr. Kenneth Alexander, a pediatric infectious disease expert at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Mrs. Bachmann
For Proof Of Mrs. Bachmann's HPV Story
$10,000
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-No Gaydar)'s story about a woman who claimed that her daughter suffered "mental retardation" after receiving a vaccine against HPV could fetch the woman's family thousands of dollars. But the family can only collect if Bachmann or the unnamed woman can prove the story is true.
Two bioethics professors have offered to pay more than $10,000 for medical records that prove the anecdote Bachmann told after Monday night's Republican presidential debate is true, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports
Steven Miles, a U of M bioethics professor, said that he'll give $1,000 if the medical records of the woman from Bachmann's story are released and can be viewed by a medical professional.
His offer was upped by his former boss from the University of Minnesota, Art Caplan, who is now director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics. Caplan said he would match Miles' challenge and offered $10,000 for proof of the HPV vaccine victim.
Bachmann told the story after she criticized opponent Texas Gov. Rick Perry for using an executive order in 2007 to mandate that all girls entering the sixth grade receive a vaccination against the Human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer. The Texas legislature overturned the mandate and the policy was never enacted.
$10,000
Digital Library
Google
Lawyers for authors, publishers and Google on Thursday bought themselves more time to reach a deal to create the world's largest digital library, telling a judge they were making progress in settlement talks but had agreed to proceed toward a trial of the 6-year-old copyright case on a slow track.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan approved a pretrial schedule that calls for written submissions and depositions that extend into next summer, but he made it clear that he would prefer a settlement and offered to help the parties in their talks if it might help. He called the amount of time in the schedule "generous but acceptable." No trial date was set.
Chin in March rejected a $125 million deal after the original agreement drew hundreds of objections from Google rivals, consumer watchdogs, academic experts, literary agents, the Department of Justice and even foreign governments.
After the hearing, the Association of American Publishers put out a statement in which its president and chief executive, Tom Allen, said the publishers "have made good progress toward a settlement" with the Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc.
Google
To Collect Award Two Years Later
Roman Polanski
Director Roman Polanski is to collect an award from the Zurich Film Festival intended for him in 2009, when he was arrested en route to the ceremony on charges related to a sex crime more than 30 years ago, organizers said on Thursday.
The Oscar-winning director, who holds dual French and Polish citizenship, was arrested at the request of the United States when he flew into Switzerland on September 26, 2009, when he was due to pick up a lifetime achievement award.
The tribute ceremony will be followed by the world premiere of a non-fiction film, but no further details will be released before the official screening on September 27, organizers said in a statement.
His arrest in Switzerland in 2009 prompted an outcry in the global film industry and in political circles in France, where he has been a long-time resident, with directors from Woody Allen to Martin Scorsese and Jean-Luc Godard expressing support for the Polish-French artist.
Roman Polanski
Awoken By Naked Nan With Fudgesicle
Nicolas Cage
For actor Nicolas Cage, making the new thriller movie "Trespass" hit close to home.
Cage, at the Toronto film festival along with director Joel Schumacher promoting the film about a home invasion, said that he has actually lived through the nightmare in real life.
"It was two in the morning. I was living in Orange County at the time and was asleep with my wife. My two-year old at the time was in another room. I opened my eyes and there was a naked man wearing my leather jacket eating a Fudgesicle in front of my bed," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"I know it sounds funny ... but it was horrifying."
Cage said the ordeal ended after he talked the man out of the house and police arrived. He did not press charges, as the man had mental problems, but Cage, who now lives in Nassau, Bahamas, said he could not stay in the house after that.
Nicolas Cage
Rationalizes Magic Escape Clause
Marion "Pat" Robertson
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson (R-Money Changer In The Temple) told his "700 Club" viewers that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer's is justifiable because the disease is "a kind of death."
During the portion of the show where the one-time Republican presidential candidate takes questions from viewers, Robertson was asked what advice a man should give to a friend who began seeing another woman after his wife started suffering from the incurable neurological disorder.
"I know it sounds cruel, but if he's going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her," Robertson said.
Terry Meeuwsen, Robertson's co-host, asked him about couples' marriage vows to take care of each other "for better or for worse" and "in sickness and in health."
"If you respect that vow, you say 'til death do us part,'" Robertson said during the Tuesday broadcast. "This is a kind of death."
Marion "Pat" Robertson
Mysterious Light Over Southwest
Fireball
A brilliant light seen darting across the Southwest night sky was most likely a piece of asteroid that entered Earth's atmosphere, a NASA scientist said Thursday.
Scores of people from Southern California to Arizona reported to local authorities and media outlets Wednesday that they saw the light hurtle quickly from west to east at around 7:45 p.m. PDT. Many described the light as bluish-green and others as yellow and orange. Some captured video of the object.
Don Yeomans, who heads NASA's Near-Earth Object Program, said he was convinced it was a fireball - a fragment of an asteroid the size of a baseball or basketball that hit the atmosphere and disintegrated before reaching the ground.
This natural phenomenon tends to happen on a weekly basis, but usually occurs over the ocean where no one can see.
Fireball
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Sept. 5-11. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. "The Closer" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 5.36 million homes, 7.17 million viewers.
2. College Football: Notre Dame at Michigan (Saturday, 8:17 p.m.), ESPN, 5.11 million homes, 7.54 million viewers.
3. "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 5.05 million homes, 6.8 million viewers.
4. "Rizzoli & Isles" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNT, 5.03 million homes, 6.68 million viewers.
5. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10:30 p.m.), History, 4.17 million homes, 6.02 million viewers.
6. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10 p.m.), History, 4.08 million homes, 6.08 million viewers.
7. Republican Presidential Debate (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), MSNBC, 3.95 million homes, 5.41 million viewers.
8. "Storage Wars" (Wednesday, 10:30 p.m.), A&E, 3.7 million homes, 5.33 million viewers.
9. "Sons of Anarchy" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), FX, 3.41 million homes, 4.92 million viewers.
10. "Storage Wars" (Wednesday, 10 p.m.), A&E, 3.4 million homes, 4.93 million viewers.
11. College Football: Miami at Maryland (Monday, 7:55 p.m.), 3.27 million homes, 4.39 million viewers.
12. "True Blood" (Sunday, 9:04 p.m.), HBO, 3.25 million homes, 5.05 million viewers.
13. "American Pickers" (Monday, 9 p.m.), History, 3.19 million homes, 4.78 million viewers.
14. "Burn Notice" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.14 million homes, 4.39 million viewers.
15. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.03 million homes, 4.22 million viewers.
Ratings
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