'TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Robert Scheer: The Big Lie Technique
Under Bush's watch, we not only suffered the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks while he snoozed, but he has failed to capture the perpetrator of those attacks and has given al Qaeda a powerful base in Iraq from which to terrorize. And this is the guy who dares tell his critics they are weakening our country.
Paul Krugman: Health Economics 101 (The New York Times; posted on topplebush.com)
Several readers have asked me a good question: we rely on free markets to deliver most goods and services, so why shouldn't we do the same thing for health care? Some correspondents were belligerent, others honestly curious. Either way, they deserve an answer.
Jim Emerson: The Mart You Love to Hate
Because Wal-Mart (preposterously) says it cannot afford to pay a living American wage to its stateside employees, or offer them benefits packages they can afford on a Wal-Mart hourly paycheck, even full-time employees (74 percent of all employees are "full-time" -- that's 28 hours a week in billable hours in Wal-Mart time, not 40, and NO OVERTIME allowed!) are told to apply for welfare, food-stamps, Medicaid and other tax-supported government public assistance programs. Consequently, Greenwald estimates, we pay over $1.5 billion a year, basically to subsidise Wal-Mart's sub-standard wages and benefits. That's the richest company in the world, we're talking about.
DAN SAVAGE: Can I Get a Little Privacy? (nytimes.com)
Liberals . . . love the right to privacy because we believe adults should have access to birth control, abortion services and pornography as well as the right to engage in gay sex. Social conservatives hate the right to privacy for the very same reason, as they seek to regulate private behaviors from access to birth control to masturbation. (Think I'm kidding about masturbation? In Justice Antonin Scalia's dissent in Lawrence v. Texas, he wrote that the majority's decision called into question the legality of state laws against "masturbation, adultery, fornication.")
Annalee Newitz: Won't Somebody Think of the Pings? (AlterNet. Posted on alternet.org)
VeriSign's ping empire will be just another step along the road to an Internet broadcasting world that's as corrupt as the off-line one.
Brian Miller: Hogwarts and Hormones: The dancing lessons are as scary as the dragons for our pubescent wizards (seattleweekly.com)
WHEN DID THEY add gym class at Hogwarts? The kids there are starting to look downright buff and sexy in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (which opens Friday, Nov. 18, at the Oak Tree and other theaters).
Scott Renshaw: Spells Like Teen Spirit
J. K. Rowling's mega-selling series of books has been talked about for any number of reasons-its pop culture ubiquity; its ability to make a generation of video game and iPod junkies actually read; its alleged unhealthy influence on those same readers by dealing with the occult. What has often been lost is how unflinching the author has been in addressing the sometimes perilous touchstones of her characters' growth from precocious 11-year-olds into teenagers. Director Mike Newell's (Four Weddings and a Funeral) version of the fourth book keeps a surprisingly tight focus on the unnerving, dark, appropriately PG-13-rated changes in Harry's world as he wrestles with transformations that have nothing to do with magic.
ROGER EBERT: How I gave Oprah her start
Ever since Oprah Winfrey revealed on her 20th anniversary program Monday that I was the person who first suggested she go into syndication, I have been flooded with requests for interviews.
RICHARD ROEPER: Seacrest proves capable of filling Big Guy's shoes (suntimes.com)
Yet with all those moneymaking endeavors, the man who avoided military service during Vietnam because of a pilonidal cyst doesn't simply donate subscriptions -- he sells them to listeners for $49.95 and THEN passes on the subscriptions to the troops. Using the war to line your silk pockets? Oriceless.
Jim Phillips: Story-telling columnist packs 500 of them into his new book (athensnews.com)
One thing you can say for David Bruce: He'll never be at a loss for a good story. He's got, as they say, a million of 'em.
Hubert's Poetry Corner
REMEMBERING '96
FEELING NOSTALGIC!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, hot & dry.
Watched 'South Park' - the 'Tom Cruise is in the closet' episode. OMG - it's quite surprising no suits have been filed - yet. It repeats at midnight tonight (EST).
I'm scheduled on the Erin Hart Show Sunday night on
710 KIRO. Audio streams live online.
PA Congressman John Murtha was kicking chickenhawk ass yesterday - here's the transcript and
here's the video.
Performing on TBS Special
Triumph
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog doesn't just bark out zingers and smoke cigars - he worries about global warming. So the R-rated hand puppet will be one of the performers for TBS' two-hour "Earth to America" special 8 p.m. EST Sunday.
Robert Smigel, the heavy hand up Triumph's behind, recently talked to The Associated Press in character, explaining that this isn't the first time he's been politically active. He says he's also very passionate about "declaring cats second-class citizens."
Organized by Larry David's wife, Laurie David, the program will also feature Will Ferrell, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robin Williams and Leonardo DiCaprio among others.
Triumph
Introducing 3-D Episode of 'Medium'
Rod Serling
The November 21 broadcast of "Medium," starring Patricia Arquette as a psychic crime-solver, will feature several spooky three-dimensional effects, and the network is distributing millions of 3-D glasses, most of them through TV Guide magazine, ahead of the episode.
The most novel element of the broadcast for those viewers without glasses, perhaps, will be the 45-second opening sequence in which Sterling is "reanimated" by altering a film clip from "The Twilight Zone," the often-creepy sci-fi anthology he hosted on CBS during the 1960s.
About two-thirds into the sequence, Serling will appear in 3-D.
Rod Serling
Brings Attention to Orphan Crisis
Angelina Jolie
Actress Angelina Jolie used her star power Thursday to draw attention to a new law assisting the world's orphans and to push for funding.
The law, the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act, was signed last week by resident Bush. It directs the government to evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. assistance aimed at the more than 143 million orphans living in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean. It also directs Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to appoint a special adviser to work on the crisis.
But the law still needs to be backed up by $340 million in funding, said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. That's about one-tenth of what the U.S. is expected to devote to the global AIDS crisis this year. Many orphans lost one or both of their parents to AIDS.
Angelina Jolie
Star on Hollywood Walk
Dennis Quaid
When Dennis Quaid landed in Hollywood 30 years ago, he took a stroll by the stars on the Walk of Fame. On Wednesday, the actor got a star of his own.
About 300 friends and co-workers, including Topher Grace, Quaid's co-star in the film "In Good Company," attended the ceremony.
Dennis Quaid
British Music Hall of Fame
Ozzy Osbourne
Wildman rocker Ozzy Osbourne stunned fans at the British Music Hall of Fame by flashing his bottom at startled onlookers in the hope of livening things up a bit.
The star was performing with his heavy metal band Black Sabbath to mark their induction.
Pink Floyd, The Who, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, Eurythmics, Aretha Franklin and Joy Division/New Order were also inducted.
Seeking to inject a bit of rock-and-roll mayhem, Osbourne told the assembled guests: "I've seen more life at a f---ing wake", before dropping his jeans and mooning the crowd.
The trick worked and guests at north London's Alexandra Palace -- including Osbourne's wife Sharon and children Jack and Kelly -- gave him a standing ovation.
For a lot more, Ozzy Osbourne
Eastwood, Lear & Corman To Be Honored
Producers Guild
The Producers Guild of America went ahead and made his day, choosing Clint Eastwood as the recipient of its highest honor.
Eastwood will receive the Milestone Award for his contributions to the entertainment industry, it was announced Wednesday.
Roger Corman and Norman Lear also will receive honors at the Guild's 15th Annual PGA Awards.
Nominees for producer of the year will be announced Jan. 4. The 15th Annual PGA Awards will be presented Jan. 22.
Producers Guild
Producing Academy Awards
Gil Cates
Emmy Award-winning producer Gil Cates will take on his 13th Academy Awards for the February telecast.
Choosing a host will be the first job for Cates, whom the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named as the show's producer Wednesday. A decision is likely in the next few weeks, said show publicist Toni Thompson.
The 77th annual Academy Awards will air Feb. 27 on ABC (8 p.m. ET), live from the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
Gil Cates
Starter Marriage With Minor
Kimberly Stewart
Kimberly Stewart will wed Talan Torriero, one of the stars of the MTV reality series "Laguna Beach." Stewart, the 26-year-old daughter of singer Rod Stewart, and Torriero, 19, are engaged, People magazine reported Thursday. Torriero's spokesman, Jack Ketsoyan, confirmed the couple's plans to the magazine.
Stewart and Torriero, who have been dating for several weeks, were recently in the news as the back seat passengers of Paris Hilton when she was involved in a minor car accident Nov. 9. No one was hurt and police said no one was cited after the mishap.
Kimberly Stewart
On The Run In Vietnam
Gary Glitter
Authorities said Thursday they are searching for former British rock star Gary Glitter over his alleged relationship with a Vietnamese teenager.
The 61-year-old Glitter, who rose to fame with a glam rock act in the 1970s, is perhaps most known for "Rock and Roll (Part 2)," which is still frequently played at sporting events.
Glitter was convicted in Britain in 1999 of possessing child pornography and served half of a four-month jail sentence before being released. He remains on Britain's sex offenders register.
He later went to Cambodia and was permanently expelled in 2002, though Cambodian officials did not specify his crime or file charges.
Gary Glitter
FCC Commissioner Plans To Leave
Kathleen Abernathy
Kathleen Abernathy, a Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission, said on Thursday she plans to leave her post on December 9 after 4 1/2 years at the agency.
The Bush administration has yet to name Abernathy's successor at the five-member agency, which regulates the communications and media industries. The FCC is typically split 3-2 in favor of the political party occupying the White House.
Abernathy's term expired last year, but she has been allowed to remain at the FCC until Congress adjourns this year. Before joining the agency in 2001, she worked at BroadBand Office Communications Inc. and at U.S. West Inc., which was acquired by Qwest Communications International Inc.
Kathleen Abernathy
Farewell Party
Ted Koppel
Less than a week before he departs the airwaves, "Nightline" host Ted Koppel celebrated his 42 years at ABC News Wednesday with a party attended by several hundred colleagues, rivals and family members.
Among the attendees at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts were Barbara Walters, Dan Rather, Tim Russert, Charlie Gibson, new "Nightline" co-anchor Cynthia McFadden, former Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee, Gwen Ifill, Bob Schieffer, Sam Donaldson, Bob Woodruff and Chris Bury, as well as Peter Jennings' widow, Kaycee Freed.
Ted Koppel
Lead Poisoning?
Ludwig van Beethoven
An analysis of skull fragments from German composer Ludwig van Beethoven confirms he suffered from lead poisoning for many years, a possible cause for his dour demeanor, researchers said on Thursday.
"Beethoven had hoped that some day it would be revealed why he acted the way he did," said Paul Kaufmann, the owner of the skull fragments who loaned them to the Center for Beethoven Studies in San Jose, California.
Analysis in the late 1990s from a lock of Beethoven's hair indicated that he had lead poisoning at the time of his death, but the latest skull analysis revealed that the condition existed over a long period of time.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Opening Nevada 'Stud Farm'
Heidi Fleiss
Former "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss, whose previous career running a call-girl ring landed her in prison, is returning to the world's oldest profession -- to open a Nevada brothel catering to women.
Fleiss said on Thursday she has struck a deal with a licensed brothel owner in Nevada, where prostitution is legal, to turn one of his three establishments, the Cherry Patch, into a glitzy new bordello that she will rename "Heidi Fleiss' Stud Farm."
She plans to remodel the building, located outside the town of Pahrump, Nevada, west of Las Vegas near the California border, with skylights, marble tiling, palm trees and waterfalls, and hopes to reopen the business within two months.
Heidi Fleiss
Murder Attempt
'Gutsy Radish'
A giant white radish that won the hearts of a Japanese town by valiantly growing through the urban asphalt was in intensive care at a town hall in western Japan on Thursday after being slashed by an unknown assailant.
The "daikon" radish, shaped like a giant carrot, first made the news months ago when it was noticed poking up through asphalt along a roadside in the town of Aioi, population 33,289.
This week local residents, who had nicknamed the vegetable "Gutsy Radish," were shocked -- and in some cases moved to tears -- when they found it had been decapitated.
Asked why the radish -- more often found on Japanese dinner tables as a garnish, pickle or in "oden" stew -- had so many fans, town spokesman Jiro Matsuo said: "People discouraged by tough times were cheered by its tenacity and strong will to live."
'Gutsy Radish'
Religion Tops Science
FDA
Last year, when the Food and Drug Administration rejected an application to let the "morning-after pill" be sold without a prescription, eyebrows were raised.
More than 70 leading medical and public health groups had said that the pill, which can prevent a pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of having sex, is safe and should be available over the counter.
Now, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office reports that the FDA's review of the application was highly unusual, confirming suspicions that the process was tainted by politics. Specifically, the politics of religion and morality. In effect, groups that believe use of the pill constitutes abortion and encourages promiscuity were able to impose their views on everyone else. In a nation founded on values of religious freedom and personal choice, that's an outrage.
For the rest - FDA
14,000 Pounds A Bottle
Rare Whisky
For connoisseurs with the pocket, British drinks giant Diageo is selling a Johnnie Walker whisky blend at 14,000 pounds a bottle to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Scotsman who created the world's best-selling whisky brand.
The group which distills one-third of the world's scotch has selected Scotland's best whiskies, all over 30 years old and some as old as 70 years old, to create its 1805 anniversary pack -- containing just one bottle -- to be sold to the world's most discerning drinkers.
The world's largest alcoholic drinks company, which also makes Smirnoff vodka and Guinness beer, is selling just 200 bottles of the high-priced spirit to spice up interest in whisky in the run up to the Chistmas.
Rare Whisky
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