'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Baron Dave Romm
Martin Luther King
By Baron Dave Romm
There's no question Martin Luther King was a hero. He fought bravely in the face of tremendous right-wing opposition. The racists hated everything he did, and he was successful because the naked truth was exposed. Modelling his actions after Gandhi, King's non-violent marches and protests brought the conservative establishment to its knees. He didn't win all the battles and there are still battles to be fought, but he won his war, and because of him more people are free. Indeed, because of him and the many others who fought for equality, America is a better, stronger place. The expansion of the 80s and 90s was made possible, in large part, because of the educated workers who wouldn't have reached their potential without the Great Society. A larger pool of qualified entrepreneurs and experienced workers fueled growth and productivity gains. (I suspect you won't hear that analysis on Lou Dobbs...)
There's no question Martin Luther King had the frailties of being human. He liked to party, especially when he was the Guest of Honor. It's claimed he liked women, especially when they threw themselves at him. He cut a few corners in the race to the promised land. How much of his alleged extracurricular activities are exaggerations planted by his enemies is hard to say. What we can say for sure is that his private life didn't hinder his life's work. What he did behind closed doors in no way diminishes his accomplishments when the spotlight was on.
J. Edgar Hoover's FBI presaged the amount of personal data that we now let accumulate willingly. We have a great deal of information about almost anyone about almost anything. Credit rating, school record, employment history, medical history... and your childhood friend's snarky comment about you. Your essays, pictures, letters... and later writing that shows you've matured just doesn't count. If you grow up, the mud slingers call it a "flip flop". You have no secrets. Your life is transparent.
The Patriot Act is just the latest assault on our private life. You are guilty until proven innocent. Welcome to the 21st Century.
Bush Lite may have used the only solution: Pretend you're not the same person. Be Born Again, and wash your sins away. Your past doesn't count. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks. The apple DOES fall far from the tree. If you can fake it well enough, of course. If you're sincere in remaking yourself, a certain degree of humility and pride is unmistakable. Too many people are like George W: A Born Again Asshole. Yeah, that's what Jesus had in mind. George.
So what can you do? You can't unwrite your blogs, get a better score on your third grade spelling test, control what your old girlfriends say. Well, you can grin and bear it. Few of us are pure, and I don't trust those who claim sainthood. Show your scars proudly.
You can try to show your path to the present. F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American life. In a three act play, the third act is Development, showing how the characters change from the set-up in the first act to the denouement in the third. Henry Hyde claimed a "youthful indiscretion" about his affair, which lasted until he was 46. That left him free to criticize Bill Clinton, by the double standard of right wing moral relativists. Apparently, being Republican Senator doesn't require being an adult. Only Democrats are held to a high standard.
You can make yourself a lesser target. That is, not run for public office or do anything that might attract the attention of the self-proclaimed moralists and greedy gossipmongers. The result of relentless mud-slinging by Newt and Rush and Drudge is that few people with integrity bother to seek office while too many with no shame just sell out in their rise to power.
You can leave. Noted libertarian Robert A. Heinlein said (through one of his characters), "When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere." It's pretty clear that George W. Bush is the equivalent of Heinlein's Nehemiah Scudder. Things are bad and they are only likely to get worse. This is why we need a manned colony on Mars.
You can fight your way through. Martin Luther King Jr. didn't let the mudslinging stop his quest. He didn't let his past interfere with his vision of the future. No pain, no gain. Stay the course. We can, and we must, continue the struggle. I may not have his courage or his stamina, but King is an inspiration.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is more than a day off to remember an individual who fought to victory in racial politics. Today we honor a man of courage in the face of adversity; a proud liberal fighting against the repression of conservatives. We know he wasn't perfect, and we know he was a hero. He accomplished a great deal in his too-short life.
Hatemongers whine over MLK Day because they are the losers. Real Americans love MLK Day because all of us are the winners. Have pride in America and don't give up. Don't be an asshole, vote Democrat.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E , and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
from Mark
'We Have Always Been At War...'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still better than usual weather.
The kid really likes his 'Zoo Tycoon' - today he had exhibits with yeti, Nessies from Loch Ness, &
I see Eggboy is trying to make a deal out of Howard Dean's wife being Dr. Steinberg. Not that
Mrs. Schwarzenegger got a free pass...
Tonight, Monday, CBS opens the night with a RERUN 'Yes, Dear', followed by a RERUN 'Still Standing',
then a RERUN 'Raymond', followed by a RERUN '2½ Men', then a RERUN 'CSI: Miami'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey and Al Green.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Rev. Al Sharpton, Stephen Baldwin, and Death Cab for Cutie.
NBC starts the night with a FRESH 'Fear Factor', followed by another FRESH 'Fear Factor' (starts 1 minute before the top of the hour),
then a FRESH 'Average Joe: Hawaii' (starts 1 minute before the top of the hour).
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Kelly Ripa, Simon Cowell, and Liz Phair.
On a traditional Monday night RERUN Conan (from 11/4/03), are Patrick Stewart, Regina Hall, and the Strokes.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Jennifer Connelly, Tom Welling, and David Banner.
ABC begins the night with the movie 'Meet The Parents', followed by the 'special' - 'In Style Celebrity Weddings'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Al Michaels and Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, with this week's guest co-host Super Dave Osborne.
The WB offers a FRESH '7th Heaven', followed by a FRESH 'Everwood'.
Faux has the Season Premiere of 'American Idol', followed by the Series Premiere of 'My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance'.
UPN has a RERUN 'The Parkers', followed by a RERUN 'Eve', then a RERUN 'Girlfriends', followed by a
RERUN 'Half & Half'.
A&E has 'American Justice', 'House Of Dreams', a FRESH 'House Of Dreams', a FRESH 'Airline', and another
FRESH 'Airline'.
AMC offers the movie 'Risky Business', followed by the movie 'Midnight Run', then a FRESH 'AMC Project' (a convention for celebrity impersonators), followed by another
FRESH 'AMC Project' (talent agent).
BBC -
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Banham;
[7pm] 'House Invaders' - Northfield;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Camberwell;
[8pm] 'Murder in Mind' - Cornershop;
[9pm] 'Wire in the Blood' - Still She Cries;
[11pm] 'Murder in Mind' - Cornershop;
[12am] 'Wire in the Blood' - Still She Cries;
[2am] 'House Invaders' - Northfield;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - Camberwell;
[3am] 'Wire in the Blood' - Still She Cries;
[5am] 'Murder in Mind' - Cornershop; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'West Wing', followed by the movie 'La Bamba'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie', 'South Park' then 'Kevin James: Sweat'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Philip Seymour Hoffman.
History has 'Horrors Of Hussein', 'Hunt For Osama-Saddam', then 'Barbarians'.
SciFi is all 'Stargate SG-1' all night.
SPIKE has a marathon of all the 'Star Trek' movies all day.
TCM pays homage to kings all day.
[6am] 'Cattle King' (1963);
[8am] 'King Of Kings' (1961);
[11am] 'Kings Go Forth' (1958);
[1pm] 'Kings Row' (1942) [WARNING: stars Ronald Reagan] ;
[3:30pm] 'A King in New York' (1957);
[5:30pm] 'The Man Who Would Be King' (1975);
[8pm] 'Midnight' (1939);
[10pm] 'The Catered Affair' (1956);
[12am] 'On the Town' (1949);
[2am] 'Harvey' (1950);
[4am] 'Taxi!' (1932);
[5:30am] 'MGM Parade Show #21' (1955). (ALL TIMES EST)
Actress Kim Novak arrives for a screening of the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film 'Vertigo' in which she starred, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, January 17, 2004.
Photo by Lucy Nicholson
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Didn't Have Time for '60 Minutes'
Bill Clinton
Those "60 Minutes" debates between former President Clinton and Bob Dole failed partly because Clinton was writing a book and didn't have time to concentrate on the show, the program's executive producer says.
"It didn't work because Bill Clinton is so involved in writing his book he never could give us the time," said Don Hewitt, "60 Minutes" founder, who is stepping down as executive producer in May after 35 years.
Dole wasn't as good a TV performer as Clinton, but "he was ready to give us as much time as we needed because he didn't have anything to do," Hewitt said.
Bill Clinton
Honored by King Center
Bono
As a teenager in Ireland, when violence and unrest were escalating because of the conflict over Northern Ireland, U2 front man Bono longed for the voice of reason from somebody such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
"We despaired for the lack of vision of the kind Dr. King gave to people in the South," Bono said Saturday before accepting one of the highest honors from the King Center, the organization founded by King's widow, Coretta Scott King.
"When Dr. King spoke about having a dream, he wasn't just talking about an American dream. It can be an African dream, an Irish dream," Bono said. "That's why I'm excited to be here."
Bono
Hopes For A Shared Future
Arundhati Roy
Indian writer Arundhati Roy, who wants an ongoing anti-globalisation conference to launch a campaign to shut down US companies, said she hoped resident George W. Bush would share the fate of the captured Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"If Saddam Hussein deserves to be humiliated and have his fillings counted and his hair checked for lice on primetime TV, then so does George Bush," Roy told about 100 people at a leftist convention on the sidelines of the World Social Forum.
"To applaud the US army's capture of Saddam Hussein and therefore justify its invasion and occupation of Iraq is like deifying Jack the Ripper for disemboweling the Boston Strangler," Roy said.
Arundhati Roy
Supporters of the international environmental organization Greenpeace recreate Pablo Picasso's 'Amnistia' on South Beach in Miami, Florida, January 17, 2004. Some 1,500 people participated in one of the largest living art projects ever. Greenpeace hired John Quigley from Los Angeles, California to reproduce Picasso's 'Amnistia'.
Photo by Robert Visser
The Next Big Merger?
NewsCorp & Clear Channel
By John Gorman
I have no privileged or insider information . It's strictly a hunch that the next major media mega-merger will be Lowry Mays' Clear Channel with Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp. Let's hope this never happens.
Clear Channel CEO Lowry Mays believes that America is studded with small- and medium-market radio stations that have been kept alive well past their viability. The only means of saving these troubled properties is to turn them into direct slaves of stations in larger markets. Why do you really need community radio stations between Erie and Cleveland, or Cleveland and Columbus, or Cleveland and Toledo? It's cheaper to network their biggest market stations everywhere. With Prophet, Clear Channel's wholly owned computer system, local commercials can be inserted without the stink of a live human. Think of all the jobs and minimum wages Clear Channel saves.
For a frightening read, NewsCorp & Clear Channel
Thanks, Fred!
Four Freshman Series
CBS Renews
CBS renewed four of its freshman series for a second season. Sitcom "Two and a Half Men" and dramas "Cold Case," "Joan of Arcadia" and "Navy NCIS" got the early nods from CBS Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves, who made the announcement at CBS's Television Critics Association session today in Hollywood.
CBS also ordered a ninth and tenth season of reality hit "Survivor," immediately following a session on "Survivor: All Stars" with host Jeff Probst and executive producer Mark Burnett.
The freshman series pickups combined with well performing sophomore series "CSI: Miami," "Without a Trace" and "Still Standing" had Mr. Moonves touting the fact that CBS has seven young successful series that will be on the schedule for years to come.
CBS Renews
Cancelled
'Jake 2.0'
The freshman drama Jake 2.0, which followed up Star Trek: Enterprise on Wednesday night, has been cancelled. Variety reported today that production had been halted on the show. Reruns of America's Next Top Model, which airs on Tuesdays at 9pm Eastern time, will be taking the place of Jake 2.0 at 9pm on Wednesdays.
Jake 2.0 struggled in the ratings. The show debuted with a 4.2 rating/6 share, lower than last season's The Twilight Zone, which opened with a 4.6/7. The last airing of Jake 2.0, a rerun on January 7th, attracted only 1.52 million viewers and landed in last place for the week of January 5th at #119.
'Jake 2.0'
UPDATED FOR 2004!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Too Sexy for Chinese Television
'Friends'
The hit American sitcom "Friends" may prove too risque for Chinese television.
All television in China is government-controlled, and China Central Television had planned to begin airing "Friends" this year. Staff are trying to edit out the sex talk, but "we will face many problems in translation and abridgment," said Qin Mingxin of CCTV's entertainment unit in an article on the Web site of the Communist Party's People's Daily.
"I had thought the play focused on friendship, but after a careful preview I found each episode had something to do with sex," Qin said.
'Friends'
A runner passes frosty trees on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail during a cold day Saturday, Jan. 17, 2004, in Anchorage, Alaska. Temperatures as low as twenty below zero are expected in south-central Alaska through Sunday reports the National Weather Service.
Photo by Matt Hage
New UPN Show
'Amish in the City'
The UPN television network is preparing a reality series that follows Amish teenagers having their first experiences with modern conveniences and outside society, part of a religious rite of passage that tests their faith.
Network executives are informally calling it "Amish in the City," although they said Sunday the title will likely change.
At age 16, Amish youngsters are allowed to break free of the religion's strict code of conduct to decide whether they want to be baptized as adults. During the period of "rumspringa," a Pennsylvania Dutch term that means "running around," they often date, drink, drive cars and move away from their homes.
Amish in the City
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Defends Michael Jackson
Uri Geller
Psychic Uri Geller defended his friend Michael Jackson on Sunday, saying the pop singer denied under hypnosis three years ago that he had sexually abused children.
Geller, best known for his claimed telekinetic ability to bend spoons, told Israel's Army Radio that he hypnotized Jackson when the two were alone in a recording studio at an undisclosed location.
"I'm a good hypnotist, and I know who is trying to mislead me ... " he said. "I can see straight into the subject's eyes ... (Jackson) didn't fool me, I'm absolutely sure of it."
Uri Geller
Russian Orthodox priests look at a boy emerging from the water in a cross-shaped hole in the ice on the Moscow River, after he was blessed by a priest on Epiphany, in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2004. Thousands of Russian Orthodox Church followers plunged into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. Water that is blessed by a cleric on Epiphany is considered holy and pure until next year's celebration, and is believed to have special powers of protection and healing. The temperature in Moscow was about -1 C (31 F) on Sunday. orthodox_011084
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'Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why the Media Didn't Tell You'
Paul Waldman
Conservatives have long complained about the media's "liberal bias." Increasingly, liberals claim that much of the media actually tilts right. Whatever the truth, political and media analyst Paul Waldman declares a fundamental difference: liberals in the media tend to at least pursue objectivity while conservatives rarely bother. And resident Bush, he told E&P, effectively exploits this gap. "Most reporters who are liberal," he said, "will bend over backwards to prove that their work is not biased."
In fact, Waldman's new book, "Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why the Media Didn't Tell You," published by Sourcebooks Inc. on Thursday, was inspired, he said, by e-mails he sent (as early as 2000) to friends and family asserting that the media was letting Bush get away with so much.
Waldman, the former associate director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, now works as executive editor for The Gadflyer (gadflyer.com), a politically progressive Web magazine which will make its debut in March. He left Annenberg earlier this year because he felt it was "inappropriate for me to be there" considering the large amounts of non-partisan scholarly work he did for the center, as well as his wish to focus more on The Gadflyer.
For the rest, Paul Waldman
* ADULT *
For Men Only
'Waiting for Godot'
The German publisher of Samuel Beckett's masterpiece "Waiting for Godot" has banned a theatre from putting on the play because women were cast in key roles, a theatre official said.
"This manner of defending the holy grail is a bad joke," theatre director Gerhard Hess, in the northern state of Lower Saxony.
He said the S. Fischer Verlag publishing house had defended the move by saying it was made out of respect for Beckett's wishes that women never perform in the absurdist masterpiece.
'Waiting for Godot'
In Memory
Ernest Hendon
Ernest Hendon, the last living survivor of the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study, has died. He was 96.
Attorney Fred Gray, who represented victims of the study in a federal lawsuit, released a statement Sunday saying Hendon died Friday. Gray could not immediately be reached for further comment.
Hendon was one of 623 men who unwittingly participated in the experiment by the U.S. Public Health Service to examine the effects of untreated syphilis on a group of Macon County black men from 1932 to 1972.
The men were not told they had the disease and in 1972 filed suit. The government agreed to provide free medical care and $9 million in payments to the victims and their families.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton apologized to the study participants. Hendon did not attend the ceremony, but observed the apology over a special satellite feed to Tuskegee.
Ernest Hendon
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'The Osbournes'
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