'Best of TBH Politoons'
Freshly Updated!
Dick Eats Bush
He's Back!
Rackjite
I am back (in teal).
Blog - Bubba and Me
Website - Rackjite.com
RJ
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"One thing I can give George W. Bush, he is at least smarter
than anyone who voted for him." rackjite.com
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Gavyn Davies: How many have died in Iraq? (guardian.co.uk)
If these higher estimates of the initial death rate are right, then the number of additional deaths caused by the war would fall to 319,000 - less than half the John Hopkins team claimed, but still many times greater than anything admitted by the invading coalition.
William Rivers Pitt: Like the Mafia, Only Dumber (truthout.org)
Bear in mind, as you peruse the following roll call, that these guys are getting busted for this stuff while their party has absolute control over the House, the Senate, the White House and the Justice Department. Huffington Post columnist Stephen Elliot pegged it recently when he wrote, "The fact is if you control the Senate, the White House, and the courts, and you're still getting busted for bribery, stalking children, and money laundering, then something is really sick at the Republican core."
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman: A loaves & fishes/Holy Ghost victory for the GOP in November? (smirkingchimp.com)
In Ohio alone, four election boards have already eliminated some 500,000 voters since the 2000 election---ten percent of the state's electorate---from the registration rolls in four Democratic counties. No similar purges have occurred in rural Republican counties. The Democrats have said or done very little about it.
Lorinda Bullock: Young Blacks Are The Most Politically Engaged, Study Says (New America Media; Posted on wiretapmag.org)
Think America's youth are nothing more than a bunch of lazy and ungrateful text-messaging, mall-dwelling, iPod-blasting brats? Think again.
Laurence M. Vance: No, You Can't Have My Daughter (lewrockwell.com)
I previously wrote about the fifty-four female American soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. Nine of them were in the National Guard. That number is now up to sixty, including a member of the National Guard, Sgt. Denise A. Lannaman, 46, of Bayside, N.Y., who died on October 1 from a non-combat related incident. Of all the places for a young American woman to die, a battlefield in Iraq certainly shouldn't be one of them.
Mark Morford: Dead Iraqis, Just Like Jelly Beans (sfgate.com)
To date, 2,763 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq (not counting over 20,000 who've been wounded, maimed, crippled -- thinking about them just makes Bush's head hurt. I mean, how do you count the damaged jelly beans? You can't!). In contrast, 2,973 died in the Sept. 11 attack.
Elitist snob, doyen of art critics (telegraph.co.uk)
One day in the late 1950s Robert Hughes was sitting in the offices of the Observer, an Australian magazine modelled on the London Spectator for which he did drawings and occasionally a book review, when the editor burst into the room and announced, 'I've just fired the art critic.' He followed this with a question: 'Anyone here know anything about art?' There was silence. The editor's eye fell on the youthful Hughes. 'You're the cartoonist,' he snapped, 'You ought to know something about art. Good. Well, now you're the f------ art critic.' And thus was his life's vocation decided.
Anthony Quinn reviews Things I Didn't Know: a Memoir by Robert Hughes (telegraph.co.uk)
Since Robert Hughes has written with such formidable confidence about art, Australia, Barcelona, political correctness - about pretty much anything that has taken his fancy, in fact - the title of his memoir strikes a surprisingly modest chord. One always imagined that the things Robert Hughes didn't know would not, in his own bullish estimation, be worth discovering.
Joyce Carol Oates: Margaret Atwood's Tale (nybooks.com)
The daughter of an entomologist at the University of Toronto, with a master's degree in Victorian literature from Harvard (1962), Atwood would seem to have an instinct for taxonomy; for the casting of a cold but not unsympathetic eye upon the strategies by which individuals present themselves to others in order to confirm their identity or, simply, like the desperate captive in The Handmaid's Tale, her most widely read novel, to survive.
Geoffrey O'Brien: The Jimmy Stewart Story (nybooks.com)
In 1955 Look magazine declared Jimmy Stewart the most popular movie star on the planet. He starred in three films that year, all directed by Anthony Mann-The Far Country, Strategic Air Command, and The Man from Laramie -and the year before had enjoyed particular success in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window.
Volunteer for the Democratic Party (democrats.org)
Magic: The Microwave of Death (Video)
Hubert's Poetry Corner
THE IMMORTALITY OF GEORGE W. BUSH
HOW AND WHY?
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and dry. Lots of static electricity, too.
Bob Seger, Anita Baker Booked
World Series
Michigan natives Bob Seger and Anita Baker will sing before the first two games of the World Series at Comerica Park.
The Detroit Tigers said Thursday that Seger will perform "America the Beautiful" before Game 1, scheduled for Saturday night. Tigers greats Al Kaline and Willie Horton, accompanied by club owner Mike Ilitch, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Baker, a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, will perform the national anthem before Game 2 on Sunday. Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson, manager of the 1984 World Series champion Tigers, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
World Series
Complete Works Go Online
Charles Darwin
The complete works of one of history's greatest scientists, Charles Darwin, are being published online.
The project run by Cambridge University has digitised some 50,000 pages of text and 40,000 images of original publications - all of it searchable.
The resource is aimed at serious scholars, but can be used by anyone with an interest in Darwin and his theory on the evolution of life.
Charles Darwin
The complete work of Charles Darwin
'Grey's Anatomy'
T.R. Knight
"Grey's Anatomy" star T.R. Knight says he's gay, but hopes people don't consider that "the most interesting part of me." The 33-year-old actor addressed rumors of his sexuality in a statement to People magazine Thursday.
"I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there," Knight's statement read. "While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."
Knight plays Dr. George O'Malley on the popular ABC drama. A former stage actor, his television credits also include "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
T.R. Knight
Kazakh Official Extends Invitation
Borat
A top Kazakh official has an invitation for the British comedian whose depiction of a homophobic, misogynistic, English-mangling Kazakh journalist has outraged the Central Asian nation: Come visit.
Deputy Foreign Minister Rakhat Aliyev said in an interview that he understands why Kazakhs are unhappy about Sacha Baron Cohen's character, Borat.
"But we must have a sense of humor and respect other people's freedom of creativity," Aliyev was quoted as saying by Kazakhstan Today.
"It's useless to offend an artist and threaten to sue him," Aliyev was quoted as saying. "It will only further damage the country's reputation and make Borat even more popular."
Borat
Celebrates 80th Birthday
Chuck Berry
Bill Clinton was not among the standing-room-only crowd of fans at a Chuck Berry concert here, but the former U.S. president sent birthday greetings to the rock 'n' roll pioneer as he celebrated his 80th birthday.
"I've loved your music for nearly half a century," Clinton wrote in a letter read aloud before Berry came on stage at Blueberry Hill nightclub Wednesday night.
"Our lives are richer, our music more memorable, and our artistic legacy greater because of you, and I'm glad to have this opportunity to salute you for truly being an American treasure."
Chuck Berry
Wedding Plans
Jaime Pressly
Jaime Pressly got a surprise this weekend - an engagement ring. The blonde bombshell actress, known for her Emmy-nominated role as the trash-talking Joy on NBC's "My Name is Earl," is engaged to her boyfriend, DJ Eric Cubiche, her publicist confirmed Thursday.
"It's a beautiful ring," publicist Megan Pope said. "They've been dating about a year and a half, and have been friends for nine years."
Jaime Pressly
Wedding Plans
Gina Lollobrigida
Gina Lollobrigida, once dubbed "the most beautiful woman in the world" after the title of one of her movies, is getting married to a man 34 years her junior.
Lollobrigida said she met her husband to be, Javier Rigau y Rafols of Barcelona, Spain, at a party in Monte-Carlo and the two have been dating for 22 years.
The diva, who in Italy is affectionately nicknamed "La Lollo," told Spain's Hola' magazine, which first reported her wedding plans, that "I have always had a weakness for younger men because they are generous and have no complexes."
Gina Lollobrigida
Pleads No Contest
Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor drunken driving and drug possession charges resulting from a July accident in which he crashed his car into a mailbox.
Superior Court Judge John Doyle sentenced the 18-year-old actor to three years probation and ordered Osment to spend 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education program, as well as attend at least 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a six-month period.
Osment, who didn't attend the court hearing, also must pay $1,500 in fines.
Haley Joel Osment
Rome Film Fest Snub
Sophia Loren
Rome failed to invite its own doyenne of cinema Sophia Loren to its big new film festival -- and looked to make good by asking her to come next year instead.
Loren confirmed in a statement that she would be "honored and pleased" to play a central role in next year's festival.
Loren's decision to accept the invitation for the second RomaCinemaFest had been the subject of speculation for several days, ever since Italian Parliament member Alessandra Mussolini -- granddaughter of Italy's fascist dictator and Loren's niece -- blasted festival organizers for excluding the actress.
Sophia Loren
Settles Payola Case
CBS
CBS Radio and the state of New York have reached a settlement involving the broadcasting of certain songs in return for rewards.
According to Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, CBS Radio will make a payment of up to $2 million to New York non-profit entities to fund music education and appreciation programs.
The broadcaster also agreed to stop taking payments and other inducements from record labels in exchange for airplay and to implement a system to detect future abuses.
CBS
Cutting 700 Jobs
NBC
NBC Universal announced Thursday it will cut 700 jobs, abandon MSNBC's New Jersey headquarters and shift spending from traditional broadcast TV to digital entertainment, reflecting both hard times at the network and changing times in the media world.
The company announced no format changes for MSNBC, which has run third behind Fox News Channel and CNN in cable news for much of its 10-year history.
In a reflection the network can no longer support high programming costs in an atmosphere of diminishing advertising revenue, NBC said it would no longer show expensive scripted comedies or dramas during the first hour of prime-time at 8 p.m.
NBC's cost-saving plan involves laying off people from the company's 11 news divisions, including on-air talent, but no details were immediately available.
NBC
10 Episode Pickup
'1 vs. 100'
NBC has picked up 10 additional episodes of its promising new game show "1 vs. 100," and also ordered six more scripts from its critically praised but low-rated rookie drama "Friday Night Lights."
The 10-episode pickup for "100" brings the order for the quiz show to 15 episodes. In its premiere last Friday, the show, hosted by Bob Saget, dominated the competition with 12.6 million viewers.
"100" originally was scheduled to move to its regular Friday 8 p.m. slot this week, leading in to the season premiere of "Las Vegas." NBC has decided to keep the game show in the 9 p.m. period behind "Deal or No Deal" for another week, pushing the season debut of "Las Vegas" to October 27.
'1 vs. 100'
Sues Over Lennon Royalties
Yoko Ono
John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has filed a $10 million lawsuit against her late husband's old record company accusing them of cheating his estate out of his royalties.
In a three-page lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court and made public on Wednesday, Ono alleges that Capitol Records and its parent company EMI Group PLC not only stiffed the estate out of millions from Lennon's solo records by under-reporting royalties but that they were dishonest in their accounting statements.
The suit offers no specific details other than asking for at least $10 million plus interest.
Yoko Ono
Court Delays Decision
Bono
The Irish High Court said on Thursday it would decide at a later date whether a former U2 stylist would be allowed to keep souvenirs from the rock group, including a pair of Bono's trousers and his Stetson hat.
U2 -- whose lead member is prominent in a worldwide campaign against poverty -- sued Lola Cashman last year for the return of mementos she said had been given as presents when she worked with them in the 1980s.
In a judgment last year Judge Matthew Deery described as "unlikely" Cashman's claim that the items were gifts, and accepted there was a strict protocol in relation to the archiving of the band's working wardrobe.
Bono
Point Of International Law
Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross said that a controversial new anti-terror law approved by resident George W. Bush this week undermined international humanitarian law.
ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger warned that the Military Commissions Act "disrupts" part of the Geneva Conventions that are regarded as "elementary considerations of humanity".
The new law signed by Bush on Tuesday allows secret overseas CIA prisons, harsh interrogation practices and military trials as weapons against suspected terrorists.
The measure, which US lawmakers approved last month after a bitter election-year debate over national security and civil liberties, also allows the United States to detain alleged terrorists indefinitely, US officials said.
Red Cross
Direct-To-Video Series
R.L. Stine
Universal Studios is bolstering its presence in the increasingly lucrative direct-to-video arena with a new line of original movies based on the novels of children's author R.L. Stine.
The initial release in the new "R.L. Stine Presents" series, the family thriller "Don't Think About It," begins principal photography Wednesday and is set to come out in time for Halloween 2007. It stars Emily Osment (Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana").
Stine's books, including the popular "Goosebumps" series, have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. Future installments in the "R.L. Stine Presents" DVD line will be based on the best-selling horror anthology "The Haunting Hour."
R.L. Stine
Social Event
Dine With Your Dog Day
"Desperate Housewives" actress Nicollette Sheridan and "Exorcist" head-turner Linda Blair were supposed to eat dog food during an event promoting "Dine With Your Dog Day." "This is not 'Fear Factor,'" Sheridan said Thursday, balking at the idea of downing dog food.
Blair also declined, explaining she's a vegetarian. But "Little House on the Prairie" actress Melissa Gilbert and Ross the Intern from "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" were game and scooped up helpings of doggie morsels.
Former "Eight is Enough" TV patriarch Dick Van Patten, whose Natural Balance dog food company was behind the event, said he wanted to show dog lovers how delicious pet chow can be.
Dine With Your Dog Day
May Be Declining
Pollinators
Bees and other important pollinators such as birds and bats may be on the decline in the United States, putting crops and other plants at risk, experts reported on Wednesday.
The report said two of the three U.S. bat species are now listed as endangered.
Butterfly species that pollinate plants and flowers are declining. The report said bird species known to pollinate plants may also be threatened or declining. No studies have been made to determine whether a species of wasp that pollinates figs is endangered, it said.
Pollinators
Numbers Rising Fast
Ocean Dead Zones
The number of "dead zones" in the world's oceans may have increased by a third in just two years, threatening fish stocks and the people who depend on them, the U.N. Environment Program said on Thursday.
Fertilizers, sewage, fossil fuel burning and other pollutants have led to a doubling in the number of oxygen-deficient coastal areas every decade since the 1960s.
Now experts estimate there are 200 so-called ocean dead zones, compared with 150 two years ago.
Ocean Dead Zones
Cable Networks
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Oct. 9-15. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses.
1. NFL Football: Baltimore vs. Denver (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), ESPN, 9.45 million homes, 12.5 million viewers.
2. "Flavor of Love 2" (Sunday, 10 p.m.), VH1, 4.85 million homes, 7.51 million viewers.
3. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.83 million homes, 5.46 million viewers.
4. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.65 million homes, 5.41 million viewers.
5. College Football: Florida vs. Auburn (Saturday, 7:38 p.m.), ESPN, 3.63 million homes, 5.17 million viewers.
6. "Hannah Montana" (Monday, 7:30 p.m.), Disney, 3.32 million homes, 4.31 million viewers.
7. "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" (Friday, 8:30 p.m.), Disney, 3.09 million homes, 4.08 million viewers.
8. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.06 million homes, 3.82 million viewers.
9. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 8 p.m.), USA, 2.98 million homes, 4.16 million viewers.
10. Movie: "Monsters, Inc." (Friday, 9 p.m.), Disney, 2.95 million homes, 4.19 million viewers.
11. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.95 million homes, 3.73 million viewers.
12. "Celebrity Paranormal" (Sunday, 11:30 p.m.), VH1, 2.89 million homes, 4.15 million viewers.
13. Movie: "Mom's Got a Date With a Vampire" (Monday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 2.85 million homes, 3.96 million viewers.
14. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.85 million homes, 3.78 million viewers.
15. "UFC Final Chapter" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.), Spike, 2.83 million homes, 4.16 million viewers.
Ratings
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