'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Michael Moore: "It's the War," Says Iowa to Hillary -- And a "Happy Blue Year" To All! (michaelmoore.com)
There was no doubt about it. The message from Iowa tonight was simple, but deafening: If you're a candidate for President, and you voted for the war, you lose. And if you voted and voted and voted for the war -- and never once showed any remorse -- you really lose.
Paul Krugman: Dealing With the Dragon (nytimes.com)
It's a very good bet that the biggest foreign policy issues for the next president will involve the Far East rather than the Middle East.
TOM Danehy: The Iowa caucus is here, so let the electoral insanity begin! (ucsonweekly.com)
And so it begins, today across Iowa, the ridiculously truncated caucus/primary season leading to one of the most important presidential elections of the past several decades.
SUSAN ESTRICH: Why Iowa? (creators.com)
Why so much attention to a small state that has such a modest record in picking nominees, an even more modest record in picking presidents, and that rarely plays the decisive role of Florida, Ohio or California in the general election?
Connie Tuttle: Why are Burger King and Goldman Sachs fighting a tiny increase in wages for tomato pickers? (tucsonweekly.com)
If saturated fat, e-coli, high caloric counts and the idea of eating flesh aren't sufficient to keep people away from Burger King, maybe the fact that the fast-food purveyor is giving the corporate finger to better wages for tomato pickers is enough.
Eric Weiner: Finding your happy place (latimes.com)
Forget that inner journey: Some countries are actually more contented than others.
DR. DAVID LIPSCHITZ: Make Rational Resolutions To Live a Fit, Healthier Life (creators.com)
This year will be a big year for me: I turn 65, receive my Medicare card and become officially "elderly." For me and every baby boomer, now is the time to stick to those New Year's resolutions to stay fit and healthy. Remember, health is much more than "getting into shape," diet, exercise or an apple a day; it's paying attention to every aspect of your life. Consider these 10 resolutions that will make the rest of your life healthier, happier and more meaningful...
FROMA HARROP: The Jamie Lynn Business Model (creators.com)
The world knows that Jamie Lynn Spears has turned up 16 and pregnant. What makes this newsworthy is that she starred as the nice girl on "Zoey 101," a Nickelodeon show aimed at "tweens" ages 9 to 14. Jamie Lynn was supposed to be the smart, sensible alternative to her older sister, Britney Spears. She was "the good one."
JOEL STEIN: And you don't want to know what's going to happen to Britney (latimes.com)
How right were my 2007 predictions? Let's just say they included oil at $100 a barrel, the sub-prime meltdown and racist outbursts from Don Imus, Bill O'Reilly and Tom Hanks. Trust me, today is going to be a bad day for Hanks.
Len Righi: Hoots & Hellmouth: Yin and Yang and acoustic music (The Morning Call: Posted on Popmatters.com)
A couple of years ago, before they were reborn as acoustic act Hoots & Hellmouth, Sean Hoots and Andrew Gray had grown weary of what Hoots calls "the rock `n' roll game."
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Got a bit of rain, but nothing like the frustrated-comedians-masquerading-as-TV-weather-forecasters predicted.
Gets Posthumous Star
Elizabeth Montgomery
A posthumous star honoring "Bewitched" star Elizabeth Montgomery was unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a rainy Friday ceremony.
Montgomery "is probably in the heavens laughing at us as we stand in the rain," said honorary Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant.
She died in 1995 at age 62. Among those attending the ceremony was her widower, actor Robert Foxworth.
Elizabeth Montgomery
Gets Key To NYC
Letterman's Beard
Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed "Late Show" host David Letterman back to the air after a two-month hiatus by presenting a key to the city Thursday to the show's latest character - Letterman's beard.
"I wanted to present a key to the city," Bloomberg said, holding a case with the symbolic honor.
Letterman thanked him, but Bloomberg said it wasn't for him.
"This is for your beard," the mayor said.
Letterman's Beard
Won't Cross Lines At Globes
SAG
Golden Globe-nominated actors are expected to snub the awards in support of striking Hollywood writers, the actors union said Friday.
After canvassing nominees over the past several weeks, Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement, "there appears to be unanimous agreement that these actors will not cross" the picket lines to present or accept an award.
The Writers Guild of America had refused to grant a waiver to allow its members to work on the Globes, the People's Choice Awards and the prestigious Academy Awards.
SAG
Cuts 3 From Presidential "Debates"
ABC
Saturday's prime-time presidential debates from New Hampshire will be less crowded because ABC News is excluding GOP candidate Duncan Hunter and Democrats Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.
The Republican debate will include Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. It starts at 7 p.m. EST.
Shortly after that 90-minute forum, Democrats Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Bill Richardson will take the stage at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.
ABC said it believed its rules were inclusive, while also ensuring viewers get a thorough look at the probable next president.
ABC
Files Complaint
Dennis Kucinich
Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich filed a complaint with the FCC on Friday after ABC News excluded him, fellow Democrat Mike Gravel and Republican Duncan Hunter from its prime-time debates on Saturday.
Kucinich argued that ABC is violating equal-time provisions by keeping him out of the debate and noted that ABC's parent Walt Disney Co. had contributed to campaigns involving the four Democrats who were invited.
"ABC should not be the first primary," the Ohio congressman said in papers filed at the Federal Communications Commission.
Dennis Kucinich
Stresses Evolution's Importance
U.S. National Academy of Sciences
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences on Thursday issued a spirited defense of evolution as the bedrock principle of modern biology, arguing that it, not creationism, must be taught in public school science classes.
The academy, which operates under a mandate from Congress to advise the government on science and technology matters, issued the report at a time when the theory of evolution, first offered in the 19th century, faces renewed attack by some religious conservatives.
Creationism, based on the explanation offered in the Bible, and the related idea of "intelligent design" are not science and, as such, should not be taught in public school science classrooms, according to the report.
U.S. National Academy of Sciences
Tops List Of Most-Liked Celebs
Reese Witherspoon
For its E-Score Celebrity survey, E-Poll Market Research asked more than 1,100 people ages 13 and older whom they found the most appealing, confident, glamorous, interesting and over-exposed, among other qualities.
Reese Witherspoon, 30, who has been in the spotlight since winning an Oscar for playing country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line," topped the list with a personal appeal rating of 74 percent, followed by former "Friends" TV star Jennifer Aniston at 70 percent.
Meanwhile Angelina Jolie, who is now the companion of Aniston's ex-husband Brad Pitt, was the No. 3 most appealing celebrity at 53 percent.
Actress/singer Jennifer Lopez was behind her with a 52 percent rating, while Katie Holmes followed at 32 percent and behind her was former Spice Girl Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham in the No. 6 position with a rating of 28 percent.
Reese Witherspoon
Baby News
Jackson Phillip Kaufman
Poppy Montgomery and her boyfriend, Adam Kaufman, welcomed a son, Jackson Phillip Kaufman, on Dec. 23.
The baby was born in Los Angeles and weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, Montgomery's publicist, Jennifer Shoucair, said Friday. He is the couple's first child.
Jackson Phillip Kaufman
Hospital News
Dorothy Hamill
Olympic gold medalist Dorothy Hamill is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Hamill said in a statement Friday that she is being treated at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. The prognosis is favorable, but the 51-year-old Hamill said she will miss some of the "Broadway on Ice" tour while she is having treatment.
Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano, one of Hamill's good friends, will fill in for her, beginning Saturday night in Sarasota, Fla. Hamill said she hopes to rejoin the tour in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where it has shows Jan. 16-17.
Hamill is one of seven U.S. women to win the Olympic gold medal. She also was a three-time U.S. champion and won the world title in 1976, and she has been inducted into both the U.S. and World Figure Skating halls of fame.
Dorothy Hamill
Hospital News
Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills, who had surgery for prostate cancer on his 63rd birthday, will remain hospitalized until Saturday, his publicist said Friday.
"Stephen is still in the hospital and will be released tomorrow. ... But, he is doing extremely well. Doctors wanted to keep him in for an extra night," publicist Michael Jensen said.
Stills had initially hoped to be released on Friday.
Stephen Stills
Sues John Yoo Over Memos
Jose Padilla
Convicted terrorism conspirator Jose Padilla sued a key architect of the Bush administration's counterterrorism policies Friday, claiming the official's legal arguments led to Padilla's alleged mistreatment and illegal detention at a Navy brig.
The lawsuit claims that John Yoo, a former senior Justice Department official, wrote several legal memos that led resident Bush to designate Padilla as an enemy combatant shortly after the U.S. citizen was arrested in May 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on suspicion of involvement in an al-Qaida plot.
Yoo at the time was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel, which provided many of the main legal justifications for Bush administration policy on treatment of terror detainees.
The lawsuit, filed by Padilla and his mother, Estela Lebron, asks only $1 in damages, seeking mainly a judgment declaring that the policies violated the Constitution.
Jose Padilla
Picks Blu-Ray Over HD-DVD
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment said Friday it will release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format, becoming the latest studio to reject the rival HD DVD technology and further complicating the high-definition landscape for consumers.
Warner Bros., owned by Time Warner Inc., was the only remaining studio releasing high-definition DVDs in both formats.
It is the fifth studio to back Blu-ray, developed by Sony Corp. Only two support the HD DVD format, developed by Toshiba Corp.
Both formats deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound. But they are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players, which means consumers seeking top-quality playback face a dilemma.
Warner Bros.
K-Fed Gets Kids
Britney Spears
Britney Spears was derailed yet again in her struggle to get her life back on track, losing custody of her two sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline. A court commissioner Friday gave sole physical and legal custody of the former couple's two little boys to Federline and suspended the troubled pop star's visitation rights.
Spears was hauled away from her home to a hospital by paramedics a day before, after police had to intervene when she refused to return the children to Federline after a court-monitored visit.
Commissioner Scott Gordon ordered another hearing to be held Jan. 14.
Britney Spears
Next Strike?
Directors Guild of America
The Directors Guild of America has begun casual contract talks with the studios, and an announcement of formal negotiations appears likely within the coming week, a step that ensures the writers strike will persist for some time.
With its focus turned to the DGA talks, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) has little incentive to seek an accommodation with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which has been on strike since November 5.
The situation still could implode if the AMPTP fails to assure DGA brass that the union will be rewarded for entering early contract talks. The DGA is under contract through June 30, but the guild has a history of negotiating new contracts about six months early and has signaled an interest in commencing formal talks soon.
Directors Guild of America
Told To Reduce Impact
Navy Sonar
A federal judge ordered the Navy on Thursday to adopt measures that would lessen the impact of sonar on whales and other marine life during exercises near Southern California.
The preliminary injunction issued Thursday requires the Navy to create a 12-nautical-mile no-sonar zone along the coast and have trained lookouts watch for marine mammals before and during exercises. Sonar should be shut down when mammals are spotted within 2,200 yards.
Cmdr. Jeff Davis said the Navy does not believe the ruling "struck the right balance between national security and environmental concerns."
Navy Sonar
Quits One Laptop Per Child Program
Intel
Citing disagreements with the organization, Intel Corp. said Thursday it has abandoned the One Laptop Per Child program, dealing a big blow to the ambitious project seeking to bring millions of low-cost laptops to children in developing countries.
The fallout ends a long-simmering spat that began even before the Santa Clara-based chipmaker joined the OLPC board in July, agreeing to contribute money and technical expertise. It also comes only a few days before the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where a prototype of an OLPC-designed laptop using an Intel chip was slated to debut.
Intel decided to quit the nonprofit project and the OLPC board because the two reached a "philosophical impasse," Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said. Meanwhile, Intel will continue with its own inexpensive laptop design called the Classmate, which it is marketing in some of the same emerging markets OLPC has targeted.
Intel
Draws Few Viewers
Fox Business
Rupert Murdoch's upstart Fox Business Network drew an estimated 6,000 average weekday viewers in its first few months on U.S. cable television, far behind entrenched rival CNBC, according to early ratings estimates obtained by Reuters.
CNBC, which has been on the air for nearly two decades, brought in an estimated 283,000 viewers on an average weekday in the same period, according to results tabulated by Nielsen Media Research for clients.
The Fox numbers show that the network still is a long way from striking distance of CNBC, which is available to more households through deals with cable operators.
Fox Business
In Memory
Joyce Carlson
Joyce Carlson, a Disney artist who helped create the idyllic universe of singing children at "It's a Small World" rides across the globe, died Wednesday. She was 84.
In a 56-year career with Disney, Carlson went from delivering paints and brushes to animators to inking films herself, but it was her work on "It's a Small World" that is witnessed by millions of visitors each year.
Carlson was among the creators of a miniature prototype of "It's a Small World" for the 1964 World's Fair in New York and subsequently helped bring the attraction to each of its permanent locations: Florida, California, Toyko, Paris and Hong Kong.
Born in Racine, Wis., on March 16, 1923, Carlson moved with her family to southern California in 1938. Within six months of joining Walt Disney Studios, she was working on "Cinderella," "Peter Pan" and other animated features over 16 years.
She retired in 2000 and was given a window in her honor on Main Street at Walt Disney World in Florida. It reads, "Dolls by Miss Joyce, Dollmaker for the World."
Joyce Carlson
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