Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Krystal Ball: Why does Lena Dunham scare conservative men so much? (MSNBC)
Krystal Ball gives her take on the National Review's recent cover story on Lena Dunham, saying the magazine is "terrified" of the "Girls" star.
Eleanor Clift: Why Voters Are So Totally Checked Out (Daily Beast)
So much for polls: "Walmart moms" in two states with hard-fought Senate elections say they'll make up their minds the night before Election Day.
Tom Danehy: This year's election is making Tom feel some feelings (Tucson Weekly)
I haven't been this bummed out about an upcoming election since 1994 when Newt Gingrich hatched his Contract on America and created a stampede of knuckleheads, ne'er-do-wells and nincompoops into the House of Representatives.
Viv Groskop: It's not unreasonable to ask where the real Renée Zellweger has gone (Guardian)
The change seems shocking as she's best known for playing a character who looks nothing like her.
Arthur House: The real cyborgs - in-depth feature about people merging with machines (Telegraph)
Forget wearable tech. The pioneers of our "post-human" future are implanting technology in to their bodies and brains. Should we stop them or join them?
Muspar: 6 Bullshit Facts About Psychology That Everyone Believes (Cracked)
Psychology is one of those subjects that everybody likes to think they know something about. We love to go around diagnosing our friends and co-workers, both to make sense of the world and to make ourselves feel like we're smarter than they are. But like any science that makes its way into the pop culture, a lot of the "common sense" statements we hear every day are so wrong that they border on raving idiocy. Such as...
"5 Ways Society Is Sexist Against Men (and How We Can Fix It)" (Cracked)
Society is obsessed with women's issues, but men have problems too. And with the growing influence of feminism, things are just getting worse and worse for the male of our species: after all, it's called "feminism," not "everyoneism."
Oliver Burkeman: "How to be fitter, happier and more successful: stop dreaming and start getting real" (Guardian)
You can't always get what you want, but if you try some negative thinking, you might get that promotion you actually need.
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wrote:
took the day off.
is semi-retired.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Suggestion
must post
Hey Marty
This is quite profound and right to the point!
Potty-Mouthed Princesses Drop F-Bombs for Feminism by FCKH8.com - YouTube
Dale
Thanks, Dale!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Comment
Re: Projection
Love the cartoon yesterday about Republicans constantly pushing to curb voter fraud when they're the ones arrested and disqualified for voter fraud. Makes them sort of like those serial killers who write the police begging them to "stop me now before I kill again."
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
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
Sunny and warm.
49.9% Stake In BBC America
AMC
AMC Networks Inc. said Thursday it will pay $200 million to acquire a stake in BBC America.
The entertainment company known for shows such as "The Walking Dead" and "Mad Men" will have a 49.9 per cent equity stake in the cable channel that is home of shows such as "Doctor Who" and "Orphan Black."
BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corp., will retain 50.1 per cent ownership. The BBC said in a statement the partnership will help it reach new audiences in the U.S., strengthen BBC America, while creating opportunities for the U.K.'s "creative community."
New York-based AMC will have operational control of BBC America and manage it as a stand-alone channel, adding to its portfolio that also includes AMC, IFC and SundanceTV.
AMC
Retrans Fight Delays Review
FCC
ABC, CBS, NBC, Viacom, Discovery and Fox are fighting with the FCC to keep totally secret any details of their retransmission payments from cable and satellite systems. The fight is prompting the FCC to put a temporary hold on its timetable for completing a review of Comcast's $45 billion deal for Time Warner Cable.
The FCC's Media Bureau on Tuesday announced it stopped the informal 180-day daedline the agency has to review to review Comcast's deal for the second time. According to the FCC, the agency now is on day 85 of the clock.
Broadcasters were willing to provide information about the retransmission payments they get from cable and satellite providers to the Justice Department, but they opposed the FCC getting the information. They feared retransmission data provided in secret would get to competitors and prove a barrier in future retransmission negotiations. They warned the FCC that providing the information would cause "irreparable harm."
While competitors get no access to Justice Department documents, at the FCC a deal's opponents get to see much of the confidential information that is provided the agency and then can use that data in their arguments opposing the deal. The only requirement is data must be kept confidential in public filings.
FCC
Reporter Quits Chicago Sun-Times
Dave McKinney
A veteran Illinois political reporter quit his job at the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday and accused the newspaper of bowing to pressure from Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner by removing him from the campaign beat.
Dave McKinney, a 19-year veteran of the paper who covered the state capital, said in his resignation letter that the paper reassigned him after the Rauner campaign accused him of a conflict of interest, which he denies.
The Rauner campaign had asked the Sun-Times to disclose McKinney's marriage to a Democratic party consultant when it ran the reporter's story on allegations Rauner, a wealthy businessman, threatened a former executive at one of his companies.
McKinney said in his resignation letter, posted on his personal blog, that his wife is contractually barred from consulting on the gubernatorial race. A disclosure of conflict of interest would have been untrue, he added.
The newspaper last week reversed a three-year policy of not endorsing political candidates. Its lone endorsement of the 2014 campaign was of Rauner for governor.
Dave McKinney
Kirkus Prize
Roz Chast
Roz Chast is having a busy awards season.
The New Yorker cartoonist is one of three winners of the inaugural Kirkus Prize, presented by the literary publication Kirkus Reviews and worth $50,000 for each winner, making it among the country's richest honours for books. Chast's award, announced Thursday night, was for her graphic memoir about her parents, "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" The memoir is already among the nominees for the National Book Awards, with winners to be revealed next month,
Chast's Kirkus award was for best nonfiction release. Lily King's novel "Euphoria," based in part on the life of anthropologist Margaret Mead, was cited for fiction and Kate Samworth's "Aviary Wonders Inc." for young people's literature.
Roz Chast
Takes Over 'Late Late Show' March 9
James Corden
CBS has set March 9 for the debut of James Corden as host of "The Late Late Show."
Corden is replacing Craig Ferguson, who after a decade in the host chair exits Dec. 18. The show will continue to originate from Los Angeles.
Corden, a 36-year-old British star, won a Tony Award in 2012 for his role in the play "One Man, Two Guvnors" and appeared in the recent film "Begin Again" with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. He hosts a sports-oriented game show in Britain, and also acts in and writes the BBC series "The Wrong Mans."
His arrival is part of CBS's late-night overhaul, which also next year will see David Letterman depart "Late Show" (which airs an hour earlier), to be replaced by Stephen Colbert.
James Corden
Adds Episodes
ABC
ABC has padded the episode orders for comedies "The Goldbergs," "Black-ish" and six other shows as the Alphabet surveys its needs following a solid start to the 2014-15 season.
"The Goldbergs", the Sony Pictures TV family comedy in its sophomore season, has added two episodes for a total of 24. ABC Studios' "Black-ish" is also upped by two segs for a total of 24, as are comedies "Modern Family" and "The Middle" from 20th Century Fox TV and Warner Bros. TV, respectively.
ABC Studios' Grey's Anatomy" also climbs by two episodes to 24. ABC Studios' "Resurrection" got one additional episode for a total of 14 so far, while the studio's stalwart "Castle" and "Once Upon a Time" also grew by one episode apiece for a total of 23.
ABC
CBS Trims Season 15 Order
CSI: The Original One
CSI's current season will fall a tad short.
TVLine has learned exclusively that CBS has trimmed the venerable procedural's Season 15 episode order from 22 to 18.
I'm told the decision was more about inventory than ratings. In addition to spin-off CSI: Cyber, which is slated to assume CSI's Sunday-at-10 perch later this season, CBS also has Vince Gilligan's Battle Creek and a seventh season of The Mentalist waiting in the wings.
CSI's move to Sundays at 10/9c has produced decent results: Although the show is down double-digits from its Season 14 average (when it aired Wednesdays at 10), it's maintaining the time period's year-ago average in viewers and adults 18-49.
CSI: The Original One
Pastor H8
Marion "Pat" Robertson
A day after his
controversial comments about AIDS were obliterated by Anderson Cooper, televangelist Pat Robertson called gay rights activists "terrorists."
On his Christian Broadcasting Network show on Wednesday, Robertson blasted Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who is gay, for issuing subpoenas to five prominent pastors who had opposed a new anti-discrimination law.
"These people are terrorists, they're radicals, and they're extremists," Robertson told "700 Club" viewers. "No Christian in his right mind would ever try to enforce somebody against their belief or else suffer jail. Now they did that during the Inquisition. It was horrible. It was a black mark on our history, but it isn't being done now. There's no Christian group I know of anywhere in the world that would force somebody to do something contrary to their deep-held religious beliefs or else face criminal penalties, but that's what the homosexuals are trying to do here in America and I think it's time pastors stand up and fight this monstrous thing."
Earlier this month, Robertson was asked by a "700 Club" viewer if he should be concerned about traveling to Kenya in light of the Ebola outbreak. The 84-year-old televangelist replied that there was no need to worry about Ebola in Kenya. But he added: "You have to be careful about AIDS. The towels could have AIDS."
Marion "Pat" Robertson
High Court Orders Election Postponed
Navajo
The top court on the largest American Indian reservation ordered tribal election officials Thursday to postpone the Navajo Nation's presidential election and immediately reprint ballots without the name of a candidate who was disqualified in a language fluency case.
The Navajo Supreme Court's decision was the result of a petition to enforce a disqualification order against Chris Deschene, whose campaign was overshadowed by a debate about the role the Navajo language plays in the tribe's culture and tradition.
A lower court had blocked Deschene from seeking the tribe's top elected post after he refused to show whether he could speak Navajo fluently, a requirement for presidential candidates under tribal law.
Deschene has said he's proficient in the language. He refused to take a fluency test or answer questions in a deposition and a hearing, saying it was unfair that he be singled out and tested on his language ability.
The Navajo language is a defining part of the tribe's culture. More people speak it than any other single American Indian language, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Navajo
Cockfighting Romanian Princess Sentenced
Oregon
A princess fifth in line for the Romanian throne and her husband who admitted running a cockfighting ring in rural Oregon have both sentenced to probation and ordered to forfeit $200,000 from the sale of the property, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.
Irina Walker and her husband John Walker pleaded guilty in July to one count of running an illegal gambling operation with at a barn-like structure on their ranch in Irrigon, near the Washington state border, where they held cockfighting "derbies."
Prosecutors said the cockfighting events came complete with a chef cooking Mexican food and alcoholic drinks. They said the Walkers charged attendees $20, while participants paid $1,000 to enter up to five roosters in fights.
As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that saw additional charges dropped, the couple admitted to financing, supervising and owning the cockfighting venture during 2012 and 2013.
They were each sentenced on Wednesday to three years probation, according to prosecutors and court documents. The Walkers also agreed to sell the ranch where the fights were held and forfeit $200,000 worth of proceeds. They were allowed to keep a smaller parcel where they lived.
Oregon
Our Enlightened Ally
Saudi Arabia
Female drivers in Saudi Arabia will be dealt with "strictly", authorities said on Thursday before a right-to-drive campaign culminates at the weekend.
The kingdom is the world's only country where women are not allowed to operate cars.
Activists said in early October they were revving up their campaign using social media.
But the interior ministry said it will "strictly implement" measures against anyone who "contributes in any manner or by any acts, towards providing violators with the opportunity to undermine the social cohesion".
Saudi women still need permission from a male guardian to work and marry, while restaurants are divided into "family sections" and separate areas for single men.
Saudi Arabia
Lawyer Fees
Alabama
An Alabama man who sued over being hit and kicked by police after leading them on a high-speed chase will get $1,000 in a settlement with the city of Birmingham, while his attorneys will take in $459,000, officials said Wednesday.
The incident gained public attention with the release of a 2008 video of police officers punching and kicking Anthony Warren as he lay on the ground after leading them on a roughly 20-minute high-speed chase.
Warren is serving a 20-year sentence for attempted murder stemming from his running over a police officer during the chase, in which he also hit a school bus and a patrol car before crashing and being ejected from his vehicle.
Under the terms of the settlement of Warren's 2009 federal suit, in which he accused five Birmingham police officers of excessive force, his attorneys will receive $100,000 for expenses and $359,000 in fees, said Michael Choy, an attorney representing the officers on behalf of the city.
The city settled to avoid further litigation and the risk of a higher payout, Choy said.
Alabama
Wrongly Airs Contentious Ad
KTVA
An Anchorage television station has taken full blame for accidentally airing a commercial for U.S. Sen. Mark Begich that the campaign had pulled because it had sparked outrage.
"One-hundred percent our error," said Andy Tierney, the national sales manager for CBS affiliate KTVA.
The snafu caused the commercial to be aired during the "Daybreak" morning news program, reigniting a contentious subject in the waning days of the campaign. Republicans see Begich's seat as vulnerable and key to their hopes of picking up six seats to gain control of the Senate.
Tierney said the commercial mix-up came as an operator put in the wrong code for a different Begich commercial into the station's computer system. The two ads have similar codes, and the wrong one was put in.
"It was complete operator error on our part," Tierney said. "The Begich campaign had nothing to do with it."
KTVA
Ghostly Cosmic Glow
Zodiacal Light
As we approach Halloween, the cosmos has its own celestial treat in store for keen-eyed sky-watchers.
Just before dawn across the entire Northern Hemisphere for the next two weeks, observers can view a faint cone of light extending halfway up the eastern sky for about an hour before local sunrise.
That ghostly glow is called zodiacal light, and can be most easily observed from deep in the countryside, away from the light pollution of cities. You may have already seen it but mistaken it for high-altitude clouds or just the lights of a distant city on the eastern horizon.
Ancient Romans thought this spooky haze was far-off campfires just past their horizon, while the Greeks thought it was the byproduct of distant volcanic explosions. By the 12th century the thinking was that it was simply the first hint of the coming dawn. In fact, Persian astronomer, mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam made reference to it as "false dawn" in his poem The Rubaiyat.
Today we know that the zodiacal light is actually caused by a fortuitous geometrical alignment between the Earth and sun and countless grains of microscopic interplanetary dust spread out within the ecliptic or flat plane of the inner solar system out to the orbit of Mars and toward Jupiter.
Zodiacal Light
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