Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Andrew Tobias: THE "MANDATE"
I checked Politico's tally of each Senate race and, using all my fingers and toes, came up with just under 23 million Republican votes. So just over 7% of every living American voted for Republican policies (anti-Ebola, anti-Obamacare-yet-pro-KYnext-which-is-the-same-thing, etc.).
Robert Evans, Luke T. Harrington, Nick Yarris, Calix Reneau: 6 Horrifying Things You Learn as an Inmate on Death Row (Cracked)
Approximately every convict on death row insists that it's all a big misunderstanding or a frame job, but for some of them, that shit is true: Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, almost 8,000 convicts have been sentenced to die in the United States. Of those, about 1,400 have actually been executed, while about 140 have been exonerated by DNA evidence after their trial. So, yeah, sometimes the system does just screw people over.
Adam Gopnik: Laugh Factory (New Yorker)
How Bob Hope made a career in comedy.
Eddie Deezen: Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
A cult movie classic? A piece of Americana? A vintage slice of the '60's? Uh, I guess if you want to be diplomatic you could describe the movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine in all of these ways.
Tom Danehy: A story about Tom's daughter, engineering; puns and a basketball game (Tucson Weekly)
Far too many people I run into mistakenly believe that I sit around the house all day, writing. Nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, I don't write every day. That would be crazy. Writing every day would make me, like, a writer. I learned very early on that I wasn't going to become a Serious Writer. I don't drink; I don't use drugs; I'm not a necrophiliac. There was no way I was going to be screwed up enough to be a great writer.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Celebrities (Athens News)
When Ted Shawn met Ruth St. Denis for the first time, he was in her home, waiting for her to appear. Suddenly, he heard a clomping on the stairs, and he thought to himself, "Not even a maid should be permitted to make such a racket in this temple, in this home of a goddess." The clomper then walked up to Mr. Shawn and held out her hand - it was Miss Ruth.
Carry the Light to the World
"A solar flashlight really doesn't seem to most like the best or most appropriate response to human suffering, and yet my hope is that when people are finished watching this video, they'll understand why it's actually one of the most powerful relief items that can be distributed, and one that has a huge domino effect." - Carry The Light founder Stacey Bent
Pass the Salt (YouTube)
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce's Blog
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David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
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came out of semi-retirement to reply:
took the day off.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Team Coco
CONAN
Chuck Todd shares what a quick wit President Obama has.
(Select Nations Only)
Chuck Todd reveals why he thinks Jeb Bush won't be the GOP's 2016 presidential nominee.
(Select Nations Only)
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
Overcast day, a bit of rain overnight.
Defends Song
John Fogerty
John Fogerty has staunchly defended fellow rockers Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl for performing his anti-war anthem "Fortunate Son" at a concert for US veterans after outrage among some conservatives.
Springsteen was among an array of stars who performed before hundreds of thousands of people Tuesday on Washington's National Mall at "The Concert for Valor" honoring America's veterans.
Joined by Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame and Southern folk rocker Zac Brown, Springsteen performed the 1969 song "Fortunate Son" by Fogerty's Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The rendition at the Veterans' Day concert drew fire from some draft-dodging conservatives. The Weekly Standard magazine, on its blog, called the song a "terrible choice" for an "ostensibly pro-military" concert.
But Fogerty, who was drafted during the Vietnam War and served in the Army reserves, stood by the choice of "Fortunate Son" and said he was "proud that the song still has resonance."
John Fogerty
Faces Criminal Charges
Vegan Mom
Eating less meat can do good things for your health and the environment. But for Sarah Markham, a mother in Seminole County, Fla., refusing to feed her baby formula that she believed contained animal by-products has had dire consequences. She was arrested, lost custody of her son for several months, and faces charges of child neglect.
Markham's ordeal began in June when she took her son Caleb to a pediatrician for a checkup. The new mother was breast-feeding, but the baby, who was 12 days old, had lost 10 percent of his birth weight. As a result, the doctor told Markham to take the infant to the hospital. He also prescribed formula as a supplement.
Markham ignored those instructions and instead chose to go buy organic soy formula and head home. Once the doctor discovered that she hadn't taken Caleb to the hospital, the police were sent to Markham's house. The mom was arrested and charged, and Caleb was taken into protective custody. Caleb was later placed with his grandparents, who live outside the county, which meant that the vegan mother was only able to see her son during supervised visits once or twice a week.
On Wednesday a local judge reunited the baby and his mom and dismissed the Seminole County Child Protective Services' claim that Markham is an unfit mother. However, the criminal charges haven't been thrown out.
"There's no case, there's no abuse, there's no neglect, there's simply a doctor who has been challenged by a mother and he didn't like it," Bo Markham, Caleb's grandfather, told WFTV.com about the situation.
Vegan Mom
Tribes To Receive
Yellowstone Bison
A group of Yellowstone National Park bison is due to finally arrive at a permanent home on a northeastern Montana American Indian reservation on Thursday, almost a decade after they were captured and spared from slaughter.
About 100 of the 138 animals were loaded onto trucks late Wednesday to travel overnight to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes.
Yellowstone's bison are highly prized for their pure genes. Yet thousands have been killed during their winter migrations under a government-sponsored program meant to protect livestock outside the park from the disease brucellosis, which many bison carry.
Earlier attempts to relocate the animals failed, in part because of opposition from livestock interests. They had been held since 2010 on CNN founder Ted Turner's ranch near Bozeman. As compensation for caring for the animals, Turner gets to keep 75 percent of their offspring, or 179 bison.
Yellowstone Bison
Cancelled By TNT After 3 Seasons
'Perception'
On the heels of TNT canceling Franklin & Bash earlier this week, the network has opted not to continue another procedural, Perception, as TNT is undergoing a brand evolution under new topper Kevin Reilly. Perception, from ABC Studios starred Eric McCormack as a talented but eccentric neuropsychiatrist enlisted by the FBI to assist in solving some of its most complex cases in Chicago. While down 9% from Season 2, Perception still drew a very respectable 2.8 million viewers in Live+Same Day for the summer portion of the current third season, which resumes in February. Perception opened its fourth season with 3.1 million viewers vs. 1.25 million for the opener of Franklin & Bash's most recent fourth season.
TNT has been moving toward an edgier fare while keeping some of its biggest procedurals around. "We are going to get edgier, we are going to get louder, and we are going to get more dual (male-female), but we also have an existing audience, we have an existing fan base with a lot of our very popular shows," Turner Broadcasting's David Levy said this month. "It's an evolution, a bridge-type process that will take place as opposed to a turnaround." Both Franklin & Bash and Perception hailed from outside studios.
'Perception'
Sheriff Pays Ransom
Tennessee
The Dickson County Sheriff's Office in Middle Tennessee ended up paying a ransom after a malicious computer program blocked access to their files.
Detective Jeff McCliss told WTVF-TV that malware on a computer locked the agency's case files, which included autopsy reports, witness statements and crime scene photos. He says the malware, called "Cryptowall," doesn't tamper with files on a computer, but keeps them locked until a ransom is paid.
After consulting with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, McCliss said the agency determined the only way to get their files back was to pay the asking price: $500 in bitcoins.
Officials think the malware came from an ad someone in the department clicked on. McCliss says it doesn't appear that the office was targeted.
Tennessee
FBI Letter Urges Suicide
Martin Luther King
The release of a newly discovered, uncensored 1964 letter from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., urging him, in graphic language, to kill himself, has experts on contemporary race relations pointing to a glass both half empty and half full.
A heavily redacted version of the missive, sent to Dr. King just days before he was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and threatening to expose King's extra-marital affairs, is well-known to historians. But the full extent of the racist and abusive language had not been available until now. Yale historian Beverly Gage discovered the note in the National Archives while researching a book on J. Edgar Hoover. The New York Times published it on Wednesday.
"This is a good moment to see just how much things have changed since the 1960s," says historian Jerald Podair, who teaches courses on race relations at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. The note was authorized by then-director J. Edgar Hoover and clearly shows the animosity and abusive tactics the agency was willing to authorize to not just discredit but destroy the civil rights leader.
The degrading and insulting language in the letter also shows that, while some elements of the race dialogue in the US have softened, in fundamentally important ways, they have not changed, says Neal Lester, a professor of English who also teaches courses on race relations at Arizona State University. The note refers to King as a "beast," he says.
Such animalizing of the African-American continues today, Professor Lester adds. As recently as the 2012 presidential reelection campaign, some anti-Obama campaign paraphernalia included references to both the president and Michelle Obama as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees.
Martin Luther King
Tar Babies?
Haley Barbour
Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour acknowledges he used the term "tar babies" to describe President Barack Obama's policies, but says "neither the context nor the connotation was intended to offend."
The website Politico first reported Barbour made the remark during a Nov. 6 conference call with clients of the Washington lobbying firm he founded, BGR.
In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Thursday, Barbour said that during a question-and-answer session on the call, someone asked if Democrats will run from or embrace Obama's policies and record in 2016. He said that's when he used the term to describe a difficult situation.
"There have been people who used the term tar baby as a subtle way to belittle African-Americans. But in this instance, Gov. Barbour's statement was simply partisan rhetoric that any politically astute person is entitled to use," state Sen. Kenny Wayne Jones said. "Gov. Barbour could have chosen more politically acceptable words to describe my president's policies, but that's not the Haley I know."
Haley Barbour
Texass Anti-Choice Activists Move In
Planned Parenthood
An antiabortion group is taking over the lease on a building that used to house an abortion clinic, turning it into a new headquarters for the pro-life movement. Last week, the Bryan, Texas-based organization 40 Days for Life announced that a facility offering care to pregnant women that doesn't include termination will set up shop on the former site of a Planned Parenthood clinic.
A 2013 antiabortion law forced Planned Parenthood to close facilities across Texas. Now the 40 Days for Life headquarters will have its own Care Net-affiliated pregnancy center. With an explicit aim of preventing abortions, Care Net, a nationwide network of antiabortion pregnancy centers, says they offer "practical help, emotional support, and information about their pregnancy options." Planned Parenthood calls these centers "fake clinics run by people who are antiabortion."
The past year has been a pretty rotten one for abortion access, which means it's been a boon to antiabortion activists. 40 Days for Life, which began 10 years ago in Bryan, put out a statement announcing that it was taking over in Texas and claimed to have enlisted hundreds of thousands of volunteers to protest dozens of abortion clinics around the world.
The law was a doozy. It banned abortion after 20 weeks, limited access to prescription abortion drugs such as mifepristone, also know as RU-486, required doctors performing the procedure to have hospital-admitting privileges, and forced abortion clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers. Planned Parenthood announced the Bryan clinic was closing hours after Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed the legislation, saying the nonprofit couldn't afford to convert the clinic into an ambulatory surgical center.
Planned Parenthood
Victim's Family Doesn't Want Segment Aired
"48 Hours"
The family of a woman murdered while vacationing in Mexico wants CBS not to air a prison diary made by the man accused of the crime for fear it will make him a sympathetic figure.
But CBS said Wednesday it is going ahead and insists that its "48 Hours" episode Saturday on the case of former "Survivor" producer Bruce Beresford-Redman is balanced.
Bruce Beresford-Redman has been in a Mexican jail since February 2012 as the case grinds on. He maintains his innocence.
The Emmy-nominated producer was given a small camera by "48 Hours" and asked to document his life in prison. Mexican prison authorities permitted the camera, CBS said.
Susan Zirinsky, executive producer of "48 Hours," said the intention was not to paint Beresford-Redman in a sympathetic light, but to give viewers a glimpse of what life is like in a foreign justice system. A former CBS television producer seemed well qualified to capture the moments, she said.
"48 Hours"
To Pay Pacific Northwest Wheat Farmers
Monsanto
Monsanto Co. said Wednesday it will pay nearly $2.4 million to settle a dispute with farmers in the Pacific Northwest over genetically modified wheat.
No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming, but it was found in Oregon in 2013.
That discovery prompted Japan and South Korea to temporarily suspend some wheat orders, and the European Union called for more rigorous testing of U.S. shipments.
Agriculture Department officials said the modified wheat discovered in the Oregon field is the same strain as a genetically modified wheat that was designed to be herbicide-resistant and was tested by seed giant Monsanto a decade ago but never approved.
The USDA said in September that it believes the genetically modified wheat in Oregon was the result of an isolated incident and that there is no evidence of that wheat in commerce. The report said the government still doesn't know how the modified seeds got into the fields.
Monsanto
Top 20
Concert Tours
The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
1. (1) One Direction; $6,058,097; $84.06.
2. (2) Paul McCartney; $3,175,961; $130.86.
3. (3) Katy Perry; $1,763,882; $102.55.
4. (5) Luke Bryan; $1,477,379; $52.93.
5. (4) Bruno Mars; $1,324,679; $81.11.
6. (6) Rod Stewart/Santana; $1,173,683; $102.84.
7. (7) Marc Anthony; $1,170,987; $104.43.
8. (8) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; $992,317; $91.17.
9. (10) Zac Brown Band; $936,847; $52.38.
10. (9) Jason Aldean; $826,456; $42.63.
11. (12) Motley Crue; $797,029; $53.24.
12. (New) Linkin Park/Thirty Seconds To Mars; $774,225; $53.57.
13. (13) Blake Shelton; $768,263; $46.19.
14. (14) Eric Church; $669,447; $50.44.
15. (New) Alejandro Fernandez; $664,984; $78.17.
16. (New) The Black Keys; $631,666; $60.69.
17. (16) Marco Antonio Solis; $532,407; $92.85.
18. (17) Miranda Lambert; $528,946; $34.25.
19. (18) Brad Paisley; $511,930; $35.47.
20. (19) Rascal Flatts; $504,313; $33.53.
Concert Tours
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