Old political axiom from Harry Truman: When your opponent
is self-destructing, try not to get in the way.New political axiom for the sleaziest administration on
record: Kick 'em when they're down before they wiggle out of
it.
If the ramifications weren't so serious, the news of the last
few months would be fun to talk about.
You might think that the Democrats would be making political hay
while the harsh sun of truth is shining on the Republicans. Some, to
be sure, as people are having buyer's remorse about George W. Bush.
The Oct. 13, 2005 NBC/WSJ poll has Bush's
approval ratings among African-Americans at 2%. Perhaps only
Condi Rice has nice things to say about him. The 2% is within the
margin of error of the poll, so it's possible even Dr. Rice has
abandoned him and he has no support among blacks. It makes me
wonder: Why is Bush's overall approval rating as high as 40%. Just
who the heck is stupid enough to still believe anything ol' No
Balls Bush has to say? The Democrats need to come out swinging, to
demand accountability, to protect our troops and the homefront, to
ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. The few Democrats who
are calling for the Republicans to answer real questions are
routinely shoved into the back pages of the conservative news media.
John Kerry, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy and other brave honorable public
servants have spoken out. But they make a small headline, perhaps
buried, while the right-wing spin control makes headlines above the
fold.
The problem is twofold: First, that these scandals aren't
merely political power-grabbing, these charges involve taxpayer money
and national security and a complete disrespect for our liberal
American values. Our brave American soldiers are dying because Bush
and the religious right are sure they know better than the
will of the people. Republicans simply don't believe in Democracy,
and conservatives don't believe in America. As 9/11 proved yet again,
the conviction of misplaced faith is identical to the conviction of
faith. The American system works when individuals have faith and
government has accountability. The Republicans system reverses the
American system in a despicable way: Individuals are held up to
ridicule while government has a malleable brand of faith.
Second, that we have a
hopelessly compliant news media who has been so cowed by the
right-wing slime machine that they just repeat conservative talking
points as if they were the real debate. No one holds our "elected"
officials accountable. Most of the guests are either extreme
right-wing Republicans or moderate Democrats. The talking heads sound
like playground bullies from third grade. Conservatives are ruled by
their sphincters.
Right now, the GOP slime machine is out in full force, attempting
to smear prosecutors and backpedalling on the charges filed. "He's
not guilty, besides, his crime was minor." Don't let them get away
with managing the debate.
If even three of the five indictments so far lead to convictions,
that will make Lewis "Scooter" Libby a bigger traitor than Alger
Hiss, who was convicted on two
counts of perjury. Not the original charge of espionage, it
should be noted, so Libby fares worse on that bit of spin too.
Further, Hiss' charges were more than a little circumstantial and his
guilt is still being debated. I might also point out that The Soviet
Union was our ally in WWII, and so helping defeat Hitler and Nazi
Germany was more important than removing Saddam Hussein from power.
(You can hear the conservative's sphincters clench just thinking
about it...)
The comparison of Scooter Libby to Alger Hiss is not perfect, and
much depends on his convictions, if any, but I think it's a fair
counter argument to the GOP slime machine. Whether you think Hiss is
guilty or not, the fact remains that on his watch Hitler was defeated
and the Soviet Union was contained. And the fact remains that on
Libby's watch the US went to war under false pretenses and Osama bin
Laden escaped and the threat from Al Queda is growing.
You can usually tell what the Republicans are up to by what they
accuse the Democrats of doing. So listen carefully... and don't let
them get away with lying.
Here are a few useful phrases to sling back at dittoheads:
These aren't major charges. He wasn't even indicted
for leaking the name of the CIA agent.
a) So, you're soft on crime?
b) So you agree that Alger Hiss was railroaded?
c) Perjury and Obstruction of Justice aren't major
crimes in what legal system?
He's innocent until proven guilty.
So, you've flip-flopped your position? Or do you finally
agree that the Clinton administration was squeaky clean: Lots of
politically motivated charges, no convictions on any serious charges.
Remember Whitewater? Didn't think so. (And then don't let them get
away with only talking about Clinton, keep bringing the subject back
to Libby and Rove and Bush and co.)
The prosecutor is politicizing crime.
Why didn't these indictments come down a year ago, before
we "re-elected" these lying scumbags?
This essay really needs to be longer, with a more comprehensive
list of GOP political correctness and how to counter their lies. But
I don't get paid as well as Rush/Rove/Coulter/Scooter et al.
Countering a media spin campaign funded by Big Oil must take place
from the ground up.
George W. Bush just doesn't give a damn. He, and the idiot
ideologues he surrounds himself with, are only in it for money and
power. He doesn't care about -- isn't aware of -- the real problems
facing the country. Anytime a real issue comes up, he just runs away,
then lies about it.
With Judith Miller pretty much proving that journalism
in any real sense is dead, it's up to us humorists to tell the real
story, even if we have to do it from a rather odd perspective. The Onion has
consistently skewered everyone and everything, and isn't about to
take a threat lying down. A "real" story, from the CNN site: White
House to Onion: Stop Using Seal. The Onion's response: Laura
Bush: I Just
Wish I Could Stop Shitting Blood. Was this a direct reponse to
the bullying, uncaring Bush administration's un-American stomping on
the First Amendment? I dunno, but more power to 'em.
--////
"Punctuation which belongs to the sentence and not to the string
under discussion will go outside of the quotes, as logic dictates.
For example, the first letter of this sentence is 'F', while the
first letter of 'this sentence' is 't'.." -- "" -- Douglas R. Hofstadter.
Godel, Escher Bach; footnote p. 47"
Linda Hoffman Kimball: The Christian Lessons of Halloween (beliefnet.com)
How pleasant to have three 12-year-olds appear at my door, whack their chests, and have their shirts suddenly turn red with bloody gore. Never mind the cute little fairy princesses marching up the sidewalk just in front of of Hannibal Lechter.
Sean Abley: Jason, you bitch (advocate.com)
This book is so heavy in both content and actual poundage, it could be used as a bludgeon if you felt the need to take out a camp counselor or two.
Malinda Lo: Review of Henry and June (afterellen.com)
Henry and June (1990), based on writer Anais Nin's diaries about her erotic awakening, is perhaps best known for being the first movie to earn an NC-17 rating, and for Uma Thurman's performance as one-half of a married couple who unwittingly become involved with the same woman.
Roger Ebert: Answer Man
As long as there is a great movie unseen or a great book unread, I will continue to be unable to find the time to play video games.
V. Gene Robinson: Giving away our fears (advocate.com)
How can we rebel against those who would paralyze us with fear? We can open our wallets and give, out Episcopal bishop V. Gene Robinson told a recent philanthropy conference in West Hollywood
Phillip Seymour Hoffman has been warming up for the role of Truman Capote for a long time! I remember the impression he left as Scotty J. in the movie "Boogie Nights" (1997)…he was the guy that had a crush on the Porn Star Dirk Diggler. He had a small but memorable part as Freddie Miles in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1997). He was weird and creepy as Dean Trumbell in "Punch-http://imdb.com/title/tt0272338/Drunk Love" (2002). He played the Quirky Dan in "Owning Mahowny" (2003). And then the casting call went out for the movie "Capote" …about the extremely talented weird and quirky gay playwright and playboy and the tortured author of the true life Novel "In Cold Blood" …..bingo …Hoffman!
It's also funny that at the same time, the actress chosen to play the part of Truman's childhood friend and author of the book "To Kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee, was working her way up through weird and quirky roles. Catherine Keener played Maxine in the oddball movie "Being John Malkovich" (1999). She played Nora in the strange "Death to Smoochy" (2002). Even this year she was Trish in the screwball comedy "The 40 Year Old Virgin" (2005). And the casting call went out and Catherine was chosen for the part of Lee.
The movie "Capote" is all about the writing of the incredible book "In Cold Blood". Truman Capote had written "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and was a celebrity in his own right. Doing screenplays and drinking and smoking with all the stars (including Marilyn Monroe). One morning he was reading a newspaper and clipped out an article about a family of 4 who was murdered in a remote farm community in Kansas. With money from his publisher at New Yorker Magazine (they expected an article from Capote) and Harper Lee as his bodyguard, he set out to tell the story of how the townspeople were handling the tragedy. What happened when he got there changed Truman Capote profoundly and subsequently popular writing as well.
Once Capote meets with the special agent in charge of the case Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper - "Lone Star" (1996) - "American Beauty" (1999) - "Adaptation" (2002) he goes to the house where the killings occurred…then to one of the children's high school to interview friends and finally to the morgue where he brashly takes a peak inside the caskets to morbidly view the results of shotguns to the head! But the whole story changes after the two murderers are arrested outside of Las Vegas. Capote flies back to Kansas to meet the 2 men in their cells. Capote is interested in Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr. - "Menace II Society" (1993) - "One Tough Bastard" (1995) - "The Replacement Killers" (1998) the brooding sensitive killer and becomes obsessed with him…and actually seems to become friends……getting both men better legal representation…which ends up working against Capote because his whole idea for the book is to now get inside the heads of the men and what happened that night…..but when they get a stay of execution they don't want to tell Truman the truth!
"Capote" is compelling and convincing look at an incredibly strange individual…..who through his agonizing journey wrote a masterpiece that changed literature forever! Finally, the weird and quirky Phillip Seymour Hoffman, has hit a home run with his amazing acting……completely consuming the screen with all the vocal oddities and physical gestures that were a trademark of Truman Capote
Purple Gene give "Capote" 10 half smoked but wholly savored cigarette butts out of 10 for giving us a complex and captivating account of this weird and quirky genius.
Last night I tripped over one of the cats while trying to answer the front door. Didn't fall down, but my right hip was trying to point the same direction as my knee.
Walking kinda funny today.
No new flags.
Tonight, Monday:
CBS opens the night with a RERUN'King Of Queens', followed by a RERUN'How I Met Your Mother', then a RERUN'2½ Men', followed by a RERUN'Out Of Practice', then a RERUN'CSI: The 2nd One'.
On a RERUNDave (from 10/11/05) are Woody Harrelson and Fiona Apple.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Sharon Stone, Marisa Jaret Winokur, and Franz Ferdinand.
NBC begins the night with a RERUN'Medium', followed by another RERUN'Medium', then yet another RERUN'Medium'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are Rosario Dawson, Ozzy Osbourne, and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley
On a RERUNConan (from 9/29/05) are Jessica Alba, Jeff Garlin, and Sheryl Crow.
On a RERUNCarson Daly are Patricia Arquette and David Banner.
ABC starts the night on the East Coast with a RERUN'Wife Swap', followed by the LIVE'MNF Football', where the Ravens visit Pittsburgh.
On the left coast, the night starts with the LIVE'MNF Football', where the Ravens still visit Pittsburgh, followed by some local filler crap, then the RERUN'Wife Swap'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Mike Tyson and Bobby Brown.
The WB offers a FRESH'7th Heaven', followed by a FRESH'Related'.
Faux has a RERUN'Prison Break', followed by a FRESH'Prison Break'.
UPN has a RERUN'One On One', followed by a RERUN'All Of Us', then a RERUN'Girlfriends', followed by a RERUN'Half & Half'.
A&E has 'The Secret Life Of Vampires', 'Star Wars: Empire Of Dreams', and a FRESH'Criss Angel: Mind Freak'.
AMC offers the movie 'Halloween: Resurrection', followed by the movie 'Scream 2', then the movie 'Halloween 4: Michael Myers'.
BBC -
[2pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - Royle Episode 13;
[5pm] 'Monarch of the Glen' - Episode 2;
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[7pm] 'The Benny Hill Show;
[9pm] 'Murphy's Law' - Episode 2;
[10pm] 'Viva Blackpool' - Episode 2;
[11pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - Royle Episode 13;
[1am] 'Murphy's Law' - Episode 2;
[2am] 'Teen Angels' - Teen Angels;
[2am] 'Viva Blackpool' - Episode 2;
[3am] 'Rebus' - The Hanging Garden;
[5am] 'Murder In Mind' - Murder In Mind - Series 2;
[6am] 'BBC World News. (ALL TIMES EST)
Comedy Central has the movie 'Scary Movie 2', an old 'Jon Stewart', an old 'Colbert Report', 'Drew Carey's Green Screen Show', 'South Park', 'Blue Collar TV', and another 'Blue Collar TV'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is D.L. Hughley.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report is Monica Crowley.
Scheduled on a FRESHAdam Carolla is Marilyn Manson.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Houdini: Unlocking The Mystery', and 'Russian Roswell'.
IFC -
[6AM] A Bay of Blood (1971);
[7:30AM] At The IFC Center (2005);
[8AM] The Sweet Hereafter (1997);
[10AM] The Chateau (2001);
[11:45AM] Short: Shame No More (1999);
[12PM] Being Human (1993);
[2:15PM] The Sweet Hereafter (1997);
[4:15PM] The Chateau (2001);
[6PM] Being Human (1993);
[8:15PM] IFC in Theaters (2005);
[8:30PM] IFC October Premiere Shorts (2005);
[9PM] Wendigo (2001);
[11PM] Maniac (1980);
[1AM] Wendigo (2001);
[3AM] Maniac (1980);
[5AM] Murder By Numbers (2001). (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has the movie 'Cherry Falls', followed by the movie 'Jeepers Creepers', and 'Ghost Hunters Halloween'.
Sundance -
[7AM] The Al Franken Show: (10/28/05);
[8AM] Time Out;
[10:15AM] Mott Music;
[10:45AM] Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness;
[11AM] The Al Franken Show: (10/28/05);
[12PM] Aftershock;
[12:25PM] Investigation Into the Invisible World;
[1:50PM] Disbelief;
[3:30PM] Mott Music;
[4PM] Trembling Before G-d;
[5:30PM] Far From War: Chechnya, The Endless War;
[6:30PM] TransGeneration: Episode 6;
[7PM] The Take;
[8:30PM] Aftershock;
[9PM] Investigation Into the Invisible World;
[10:30PM] Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me;
[12:45AM] Audition;
[2:45AM] The Hidden;
[4:30AM] The Eye. (ALL TIMES EST)
Linda Ronstadt (R) and Emmy Lou Harris perform at the19th annual Bridge School Benefit Concert in Mountain View, California October 29, 2005. The Bridge School is a non-profit educational organization for children with severe speech and physical impairments.
Photo by Kimberly White
Call it a "deadication." Jerry Garcia's hometown has named a 600-seat amphitheater in his memory. On the bill for the grand opening Saturday were Jefferson Starship, David Gans and master of ceremonies Wavy Gravy, who, like Garcia, has been honored with his own flavor of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.
The amphitheater is located in a park in the same neighborhood where Garcia grew up and started his strumming.
On Wednesday, some of The Grateful Dead guitarist's artwork was installed at San Francisco City Hall as part of an inaugural exhibit for a new gallery. The exhibit includes drawings from Garcia's childhood and days as a student at The California School of the Arts.
Actress Catherine O'Hara (L) and actor Harry Shearer, two of the voice talents from the Walt Disney Pictures animated film 'Chicken Little' pose at a party following the film's premiere in Hollywood October 30, 2005. The film opens in the United States November 4.
Photo by Fred Prouser
Willie Nelson opened up his Central Texas ranch and private golf course on Sunday, raising an estimated $170,000 for his friend Kinky Friedman, an independent candidate for Texas governor.
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, also an independent, joined supporters for lunch and golf.
Friedman needs as much as $5 million just to get his name on the ballot next year, managers say. But Friedman cited Ventura's success in Minnesota as proof that he can defy conventional wisdom and become the first independent governor in Texas since Sam Houston.
Longtime Nelson buddies Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver entertained the crowd of about 250 people.
Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon said her outspoken stance against the US-led war in Iraq never hurt her career, and that the only thing Hollywood cannot forgive is "getting old and ugly".
Longtime activist Sarandon, 59, told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that even as she was getting hate mail and death threats over her opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the offers for film roles kept coming in.
"I have worked more than ever before since the protests against the Iraq war," she was quoted as saying, in comments published in German.
"The only thing that is unforgivable (in Hollywood) is when you get old and ugly."
A white suit belonging to John Lennon that he wore on the album cover of "Abbey Road" sold for $118,000 at an auction while the Austin Princess he drove in the movie "Imagine" went for $150,000.
Anthony Pugliese of World Films in Del Ray, Fla., bought the suit, and the automobile was bought by a private Japanese investor, said Darren Julien, president of Julien's Auctions, the firm holding Saturday's auction in Las Vegas.
Pugliese also bought the jacket Lennon wore in "Imagine" for $32,000, Julien said.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis (L), dressed as a magician, poses with director and actor Rob Reiner at the 12th annual Dream Halloween fundraiser sponsored by the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation in Santa Monica October 29, 2005. Reiner received the foundation's Ribbon of Dreams award for his work on behalf of children's issues.
Photo by Fred Prouser
Famed French actor Gerard Depardieu says in a newspaper interview that he's ending his film career - and swears he wasn't drunk when he said it.
"I'm in the process of stopping filming," the portly, Oscar-nominated actor was quoted as saying in weekly Le Parisien Dimanche. "I'm a guy who's leaving! A guy who's not drunk. For once."
"I have nothing to lose," the 56-year-old star said. "I have done 170 films. I have nothing left to prove. I am not going to hang on like a jerk."
Los Angeles' historic Olympic Auditorium has featured some historic fights in its day, but none might have matched the raucous proceedings sparked by Saturday night's "Waking of the Dead" show.
Featuring a triple bill of L.A. punk luminaries Suicidal Tendencies, the Germs and Fear, the night's undusting of musical legacies featured as much offstage spark as it did onstage fire.
No fewer than three melees erupted on the floor, prompting an announcement that Suicidal Tendencies wouldn't take the stage unless order was restored. In a fitting tribute to the band, the fighting stopped.
In a fitting close, police in riot gear closed the streets surrounding the Olympic after the show. Judging from the proceedings, punk rock is alive and well.
Anna Pederson, 2, peeks inside a pumpkin as she looks over the pumpkin wall in Charlotte, N.C., Friday Oct. 28, 2005. Last year's display was part street art, part political theater _ a giant wall of pro-Kerry and anti-Bush pumpkins that became a rallying spot for Democratic partisans in a Republican city at the climax of last year's presidential campaign. A year later, the Great Pumpkin Wall is back _ a block of 400 pumpkins set on eight levels of shelving, reaching 12 feet into the sky and stretching 50 feet wide.
Photo by Chuck Burton
Be ye warned! There's a pirate ship headed for the high seas. When the Volvo Ocean Race starts Nov. 12 from Vigo, Spain, the sloop with the skull and crossed cutlasses on the sails will stand out from the rest of the fleet. The Black Pearl.
Disney is backing the only U.S. entry in the 31,250-mile, nine-leg, around-the-world race that attracts only the hardiest of scabrous dogs, who must dodge icebergs in the Southern Ocean and navigate the Doldrums and even the Bermuda Triangle.
This is anything but a Mickey Mouse project. It's been estimated that sponsoring a Volvo campaign costs between $15 million and $18 million.
Mongolia acrobats perform at the Tenth China Wuqiao International Circus Festival in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei province on October 30, 2005. Wuqiao in Hebei province is a place that has long history of circus and acrobatics. About 300 acrobats from 16 countries joined in the festival that runs from October 29 to November 6, sources said. Picture taken October 30, 2005.
Geraldo Rivera is returning to daily syndicated television, but not to the world of flying chairs, broken noses and transvestite makeovers.
His news program "Geraldo at Large" debuts Monday, and the star attraction describes it as an action-oriented half-hour similar to the weekend program he was doing at Fox News Channel.
A man in traditional Bavarian clothes jumps during the unofficial traditional Bavarian Folk Dance 'Schuhplattln' World Championships in Munich, Germany October 30, 2005.
Photo by Michaela Rehle
The Rev. Kyle Lake, 33, was standing in water up to his shoulder in a baptismal at University Baptist Church when he was electrocuted, said Jamie Dudley, a church business administrator and wife of another pastor there.
Doctors in the congregation performed chest compressions, she said. Lake was taken by ambulance to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, where nursing supervisor Pat Mahl said he was pronounced dead.
Pastors at University Baptist Church routinely use a microphone during baptisms, Dudley said.
About 800 people attended the morning service, which was larger than normal because it was homecoming weekend at nearby Baylor University, Dudley said.
Chimpanzee play with a pumpkin with a Halloween face carved on it at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, Monday, Oct. 31, 2005. The zoo's Behavioral Biologist Margaret Hawkins carved the pumpkins under a program to introduce new foods and scents to exhibits to stimulate the animals.
Photo by Mark Baker
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
The idea is to have fun.
Do you have something to say?
Anything that increased your blood pressure, or, even better,
amused or entertained?
Do you have a great album no one's heard?
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican musicians?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
(In other words, submissions are welcome.)
Send mail to Marty
( SuprmChaos at yahoo dot com )
