'Best of TBH Politoons'
But Untrue
Strangely Believable
During his Senate confirmation hearing, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales avoiding explaining a memo in which he defended horsewhipping troublesome children (see Fact of the Day for 1/4/05) by restricting the definition of horsewhipping to instances of aggressive corporal punishment when a horse is present
~Jeff Crook
Jeff Crook is the Ceci Connolly of the Left - J. Howard Tuft
Strangely Believable but Untrue is now available online at the Untrue Fact of the Day web calendar. Help spread disinformation and misunderstanding by sharing this with your friends and enemies.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Sandra Steingraber: How Mercury-Tainted Tuna Damages Fetal Brains
Last spring, I received a tantalizing invitation from the editor of Childbirth Forum: write a story on mercury in fish and the resulting risks to pregnant women. This was a topic dear to my heart. During the four years I researched fetal toxicology at Cornell University, I had become alarmed about the breach between what the scientific community knows about the effects of prenatal mercury exposure (a lot) and what the general public knows (very little).
Associated Press: Australian Terror Suspect Alleges He was Tortured While Detained in Egypt
An Australian terror suspect being held at Guantanamo Bay has alleged he was tortured with dogs and electrodes while being interrogated in Egypt, it was reported Thursday. Mamdouh Habib, a 48-year-old Egyptian-born father of four from Sydney, was arrested in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border three weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Grist Magazine: An interview with Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists
The Bush administration is gearing up to push for second-term priorities -- including an energy bill, power-plant emissions legislation, and amendments to the Endangered Species Act -- under a cloud of accusations that it has manipulated federal scientific research on these and other issues to support its agenda. These arguments have been voiced most prominently by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonpartisan advocacy organization that issued a statement in 2004 charging the White House with "[m]isrepresenting and suppressing scientific knowledge for political purposes."
ROGER EBERT: The masterpieces You Missed
Among my favorite directors, Yasujiro Ozu is always near the top of a list including Buster Keaton, Welles, Fellini, Herzog, Scorsese and Hitchcock. Because he was considered "too Japanese" for export, Ozu was almost unknown in the West at the time of his death. Ironically, his world of middle-class life, of parents and children, of marriage and family life, now seems one of the most universal.
Freethought Quizzes
1) What Do You Really Know About The Bible?
50 questions to test your biblical knowledge
2) What Do You Know About The Separation of State and Church?
21 questions to test your knowlege of America's valued principle
Freedom from Religion
Radio Left
Watch MoveON's Gonzales Ad (And Donate)
Reader Comment
Re: Robert Blake
Marty:
Isn't it odd that witnesses in the Blake trial have repeatedly testified that they quickly noted that Blake's concern and post-death "sorrow" for his wife didn't appear at all genuine, meaning HE CAN'T ACT. Watch any rerun episode of Baretta and fail to come to the same conclusion.
Actually, he did a decent job in the Little Rascals.
EJ2E
Thanks, Ed!
He was also good in 'In Cold Blood', too. And always an interesting guest on 'Tomorrow' with
Tom Snyder.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
More rain.
Was so overcast that downtown Long Beach wasn't visible from Signal Hill.
Tax Dollar$ At Work
Armstrong Williams
The Bush administration paid a prominent commentator to promote the No Child Left Behind schools law to fellow blacks and to give the education secretary media time, records show.
A company run by Armstrong Williams, the syndicated commentator, was paid $240,000 by the Education Department. The goal was to deliver positive messages about Bush's education overhaul, using Williams' broad reach with minorities.
The contract required Williams' company, the Graham Williams Group, to produce radio and TV ads that feature one-minute "reads" by Education Secretary Rod Paige. The deal also allowed Paige and other department officials to appear as studio guests with Williams.
Williams, one of the leading black conservative voices in the country, was also to use his influence with other black journalists to get them to talk about No Child Left Behind.
"There is no defense for using taxpayer dollars to pay journalists for 'fake news' and favorable coverage of a federal program," said Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, a liberal group that has tracked the department's spending.
Armstrong Williams
Blue Screen O'Death At CES
Bill Gates
Bill Gates's legendary luck failed him during his keynote presentation at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
His demonstration of Microsoft Media Center crashed during the presentation on integrating digital photography, and later a Microsoft product manager failed to access the internet with a Tablet PC.
A new game, Forza Motor Sport, also triggered the dreaded Windows blue screen of death.
The presentation started on a jokey theme, with late-night TV host Conan O'Brien presenting a mock version of his own show and a video diary of his and Bill's 'lost weekend' in Las Vegas.
For more, Bill Gates
Gets Statue in Cemetery
Johnny Ramone
Late punk guitarist Johnny Ramone is being immortalized with a bronze statue at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Ramone, co-founder and guitarist of The Ramones, was 55 when he died of prostate cancer on Sept. 15, 2004, at his Los Angeles home. The statue is near the grave of bandmate Dee Dee Ramone, who died of a drug overdose in 2002.
The Johnny Ramone monument, created by artist Wayne Toth, shows Ramone playing his Mosrite guitar and it features the words, "If a man can judge success by how many great friends he has, then I have been very successful - Johnny Ramone."
Ramone's widow Linda will unveil the statue Jan. 14 during a two-hour afternoon public ceremony featuring testimonials from friends. Johnny Ramone was cremated and his wife has the ashes, spokesman Jason Padgitt said Thursday.
Johnny Ramone
Crossed Out
'Crossfire'
Three months after comedian Jon Stewart attacked its format and sparred with co-host Tucker Carlson, "Crossfire" has become a casualty of the evolving CNN.
The right-left slugfest, aired live weekdays from Washington, will lose its half-hour spot to be folded perhaps into "Inside Politics" as a kinder, gentler discourse and much shorter. CNN-U.S. President Jonathan Klein said it seemed like it was time to do something different with "Crossfire," which has been on the air since 1982.
"People screaming at each other adds a lot of heat but not much light," Klein said.
'Crossfire'
Cirque du Soleil
The Beatles
The Beatles are off to join the circus in Las Vegas, and it all started with George Harrison's passion for Formula One motor racing.
After a three-year courtship with Cirque du Soleil, the world's most famous band have agreed for the first time to collaborate on a stage show with the world's biggest circus.
Surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have signed up along with the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison.
Producer George Martin, known as the Fifth Beatle, will be musical director for the show being staged in a custom-built $100 million theater at the Mirage casino on the Las Vegas strip.
The Beatles
Faux Standards Nixes Ad
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney's bare end zone won't be part of the Super Bowl advertising blitz, Fox TV said Friday. The network rejected a cold remedy commercial that includes a brief shot of the 84-year-old actor's behind, said Fox Sports spokesman Lou D'Ermilio.
"Our standards department reviewed the ad, and it was deemed inappropriate for broadcast television," he said. The commercial for the over-the-counter product Airborne is set in a sauna and depicts Rooney panicking when someone coughs. His towel drops as he rushes out, revealing his rear.
Rooney, whose films include the Andy Hardy series and "National Velvet," said he was disappointed by Fox's move and hoped the network would reconsider.
"I would never do anything that's in bad taste. ... I've been a family entertainer all my life," Rooney told The Associated Press. "We're not selling sex, we're selling a health product."
Mickey Rooney
Split
Aniston - Pitt
Hollywood glamour couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have split, Pitt's longtime publicist confirmed Friday.
"We would like to announce that after seven years together we have decided to formally separate," the couple said in a joint statement released by Pitt's publicist Cindy Guagenti. "For those who follow these sorts of things, we would like to explain that our separation is not the result of any speculation reported by the tabloid media. This decision is the result of much thoughtful consideration."
The couple didn't indicate if they planned to file for divorce, and Guagenti declined to comment beyond the statement, which also said, "We happily remain committed and caring friends with great love and admiration for one another."
Aniston - Pitt
Said to Accidentally Shoot Woman
Phil Spector
Rock music producer Phil Spector initially told police he accidentally shot actress Lana Clarkson, though he has since changed his story to suggest she committed suicide, according to newly released grand jury transcripts.
Alhambra police Officer Beatrice Rodriguez testified before the grand jury that Spector told officers at his home, "What's wrong with you guys? What are you doing? I didn't mean to shoot her. It was an accident."
The transcripts include testimony from police, women who said they had been previously threatened by Spector, and friends of Clarkson.
Phil Spector
Joins Celebrity Big Brother
Germaine Greer
Australian writer Germaine Greer, whose radical book The Female Eunuch provided intellectual fuel for the 1970s women's movement, has agreed to spend two weeks locked in a house with an underwear model, a teenage musician, a drug-loving dancer and the ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone on the British show Celebrity Big Brother.
"I've got to strike a blow for the old ladies," 65-year-old Greer said before entering the camera-studded house on Thursday.
She has hitherto appeared unimpressed with reality TV. Watching reality shows, Greer wrote in 2001, "is about as dignified as looking through the keyhole in your teenage child's bedroom door. To do it occasionally would be shameful; to get hooked on it is downright depraved."
Germaine Greer
Drummer Arrested in Texas
Los Lonely Boys
The drummer for the Los Lonely Boys was arrested Thursday along with his wife on a marijuana possession charge after police searched their home, authorities said.
Ringo Garza, 23, and Lenora Garza, 24, were booked on $1,000 bail Thursday morning and released shortly after, according to jail records.
Authorities said the search was conducted after two women filed a police report a day earlier after a night of drinking at the couple's home. The women filed the report at a hospital. Further information about the report wasn't available.
Los Lonely Boys
Actress Pleads Guilty
Tracey Gold Marshall
Former "Growing Pains" child star Tracey Gold pleaded guilty to driving drunk when her sport utility vehicle overturned, hurting her husband and two of her three children.
Tracey Gold Marshall, 35, sobbed as she stood before a Superior Court judge Thursday and heard the charges against her - one count of felony drunken driving causing injury to her husband and two allegations that she caused injury to two of her sons.
She will be sentenced March 21. The crimes could lead to a five-year prison term, although Deputy District Attorney John Vanarelli said she would likely be placed on probation because it was her first drunken driving offense.
Tracey Gold Marshall
SUV Accident
Aaron Carter
Aaron Carter managed to escape serious injury Thursday when the teen pop singer's luxury sport utility vehicle erupted into flames in a bizarre accident, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Carter, 17, was driving his 2004 Cadillac Escalade north to Orlando at about 12:30 a.m. when a mattress came loose from the cargo bed of a delivery truck in front of him, said his spokesman, Brad Zeifman.
Carter drove over the mattress, which got stuck under the sport utility vehicle and caught fire, probably from the heat of the exhaust system. The singer pulled over and escaped the vehicle, then watched it explode in flames, Zeifman said. A friend traveling with him also escaped.
Aaron Carter
Buys Land From Rumsfeld
Julia Roberts
With newly born twins, it looks like Julia Roberts needs some extra space. The actress has bought 32 acres of Taos, N.M., real estate from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, People magazine reports.
According to the magazine, since taking up part-time residence in New Mexico in 1995, Roberts has bought other pieces of property adjacent to hers. The plot purchased from Rumsfeld in an area of Taos known as Des Montes neighbors the 80 acres Roberts already owns.
Rumsfeld, though, still owns other real estate holdings in Taos, including several houses.
Julia Roberts
Testifies in Wildlife Case
Ronnie Dunn
Country music star Ronnie Dunn testified that he killed a 12-point buck while hunting with an Indiana farmer on trial for allegedly violating wildlife laws.
Dunn, of the country duo Brooks & Dunn, said in court Tuesday that the trip to Russell G. Bellar's farm in fall 2002 was his first hunting experience.
Bellar pointed out the buck to him, said Dunn, who then used a rifle to kill the animal. Dunn said he never obtained a state deer hunting license.
Bellar's former property manager testified Monday that the farm owner charged hunters $4,000 to $20,000 per buck.
Ronnie Dunn
Sues Gene Simmons
Georgeann Walsh Ward
A woman who says she is a former girlfriend of KISS rocker Gene Simmons is suing him for slander, saying the bass guitarist made her sound like a "sex-addicted nymphomaniac" during a "rockumentary" on VH-1 television.
Georgeann Walsh Ward, 53, of Chester, N.Y., says in court papers that a photo of her appeared 11 times during the report on KISS, shown on the network several times in July and August, while Simmons claimed to have had sexual encounters with 4,600 women.
Ward, married with a 21-year-old son, said she met Simmons at a concert in October 1972 when she was 21. For the next three years through fall of 1975, she says in court papers, they were in what she believed was "an exclusive, monogamous, romantic relationship."
During much of the time they were together, Ward's court papers say, Simmons was a college student and then a sixth-grade teacher "until the success of KISS propelled him out of the classroom and out of plaintiff's life."
Georgeann Walsh Ward
Homes a Tough Sell
Frank Lloyd Wright
Imagine having a dream home in a private, peaceful, bucolic setting - and being unable to sell it because it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Some owners of one-of-a-kind houses conceived by the iconic architect are discovering it's not easy selling them in an era when cathedral ceilings and easy commutes are on the wish lists of many prospective purchasers.
But the sellers are also concerned about finding the right Wright buyers - ones who will cherish, not demolish, his creations.
For a lot more, Frank Lloyd Wright
Public Funeral Scheduled Sunday
Artie Shaw
A funeral will be held Sunday for clarinetist and jazz great Artie Shaw.
The funeral will be in the chapel at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, Shaw's personal assistant, Larry Rose, said Thursday.
Red Buttons and Shaw's orchestra director Dick Johnson are expected to be among those attending the public service.
Artie Shaw
