'Best of TBH Politoons'
Jeff Crook
Lincoln Quotes
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Donna St. George: The Forgotten Families (washingtonpost.com)
Grandparents Raising Slain Soldiers' Children Are Denied A Government Benefit Intended to Sustain the Bereaved.
George Lakoff: Bush: It's Escalation, Stupid (AlterNet.org)
The media and progressives' ability to reframe Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq has changed the public's perception of Republicans' Iraq agenda.
AFN Selects Colmes to Replace Franken (talkingradio.blogspot.com)
Bad news continues afflict the lib talk format. First we hear, this week, that two more lib talk stations will likely be flipping formats --KCTC in Sacramento (on Monday) and KPFT in Fresno (in about two months). Now we learn that the Armed Forces Network will be replacing Al Franken's spot of their line-up with "Fox's liberal punching bag", Alan Colmes. Yes, the AFN overlooked the top ten syndicated liberal hosts on the radio, and selected someone who is generally dispised by lib talk listeners.
Planting the future (guardian.co.uk)
Wangari Maathai's environmental activism in Kenya has earned her a Nobel peace prize - and a number of powerful enemies. Stuart Jeffries meets her.
Kathy Freston: Vegetarian is the New Prius (huffingtonpost.com)
President Herbert Hoover promised "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." With warnings about global warming reaching feverish levels, many are having second thoughts about all those cars. It seems they should instead be worrying about the chickens.
Kathy Freston: A Few More 'Inconvenient Truths' (huffingtonpost.com)
The report released today by the world's leading climate scientists made no bones about it: global warming is happening in a big way and it is very likely man-made. So, if we are indeed the bulk of the problem, we ought to step up and start doing things differently. Now.
Joel Stein: I was a Reaganite think-tanker (latimes.com)
The cushy life and Gipper worship at Stanford's conservative Hoover Institution.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and mid-summer hot.
Bankruptcy Judge Approves Sale
Air America Radio
A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Friday approved the sale of Air America, the politically liberal talk-radio network launched by comedian Al Franken, to an investment group led by New York real estate mogul Stephen L. Green for $4.28 million.
The approval comes just as Air America, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October last year, had run out of money and exhausted its court-sanctioned borrowing authority, lawyers for the radio venture said.
Under the purchase plan approved by Judge Robert Drain, Green-controlled investment entity Green Family Media LLC would repay the $3.25 million Air America has borrowed since October, provide $500,000 in cash and repay $526,000 owed on the network's lease of its corporate headquarters in New York.
Air America Radio
Defends Obscene Gesture
Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin, who was a headliner at the 2001 inauguration ball for resident George W. Bush, has a message for the American commander in chief about war.
At a recent concert, the 35-year-old singer stuck up his middle finger when he sang the president's name in his song "Asignatura Pendiente," which includes the words, "a photo with Bush." The gesture last Friday prompted cheers from thousands of fans in the San Juan stadium.
On Thursday, the Puerto Rican heartthrob repeated his criticism of the Iraq war and explained his changed position on Bush.
"My convictions of peace and life go beyond any government and political agenda and as long as I have a voice onstage and offstage, I will always condemn war and those who promulgate it," Martin said about his action in an e-mail statement sent to The Associated Press via a spokesman.
Ricky Martin
Renewals
Faux
Fox has given early pickups to "House" and "Bones," handing out full-season orders to both drama series for 2007-08.
"House," which airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays, has been renewed for a fourth season, while "Bones," which airs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, will be back for a third installment.
Both series have benefited recently from Fox's megahit reality series "American Idol," which serves as a lead-in to "House" and a lead-out to "Bones."
Faux
Serbian Statue
Johnny Weissmuller
A tiny Serbian hamlet on the border with Romania has launched an initiative to build a monument to Johnny Weissmuller, the late actor famed for his role as "Tarzan."
Weissmuller, a five-time Olympic swimming gold-medallist, was born in 1904 in the village of Medja, in the Banat region that straddles the two countries but was then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He died in 1984.
The house in which Weissmuller was born still exists, and several members of his family were buried in the local cemetery, said Kosnic, adding a family descendant, Tereza Stojanovic, lives in the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Johnny Weissmuller
TBS Series
Frank Caliendo
TBS has handed a series order to "The Frank Show," a late-night sketch comedy show starring comedian Frank Caliendo.
The cable network has picked up eight episodes of the show, which will join TBS' late-night block in the second half.
"Frank" will be shot in front of a live audience and will include pretaped segments shot on location that will utilize Caliendo's impersonation skills. Caliendo's opening monologue as well as the many of the sketches will feature the comedian's commentaries on current events and pop culture.
Frank Caliendo
Not Big In North Dakota
Bono
Bono has plenty of fans. But don't count North Dakota lawmakers among them.
Lawmakers in the House defeated a resolution 58-35 Thursday to honor the U2 frontman for his advocacy of debt relief for Third World countries, saying the Irish rocker had no connection to the state.
Fargo state Rep. Scot Kelsh, who sponsored the measure, said he got the idea for the resolution from a magazine published by the National Conference of State Legislatures, which mentioned that no state at the time had approved a resolution to honor the singer.
Rep. Gil Herbel, a Republican, said he initially thought the resolution referred to Sonny Bono, the former singer, Republican congressman and husband of Cher.
Bono
Loses Extradition Battle
Duane "Dog" Chapman
A federal court has cleared the way for TV bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman to be extradited to face charges in Mexico, but the decision can still be appealed.
Norma Jara, a spokeswoman for the second district court in Guadalajara, said Thursday the court rejected Chapman's injunction request, ruling there was no reason not to try him on charges he illegally arrested Max Factor makeup heir and convicted rapist Andrew Luster in 2003.
Once Chapman has been formally notified of the decision, he has five days to file an appeal that could block his extradition.
Duane "Dog" Chapman
Arrested In Florida
Foxy Brown
Rapper Foxy Brown was arrested in Florida and held overnight for battery and obstruction of justice, according to the arrest record and local newspaper reports on Friday.
Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, was detained at a Pembroke Pines beauty-supply shop on Thursday night after a disturbance there, The Miami Herald newspaper said.
The arrest record of the Broward Sheriff's Office said she was held on $1,500 bail for the two offenses. It gave no further details.
Foxy Brown
Upstages Germaine Greer
Steve Irwin
Croc hunter Steve Irwin has had the last laugh on his main critic Germaine Greer -- with his portrait replacing that of the outspoken feminist at Australia's National Portrait Gallery.
Greer generated a storm of outrage when she said the animal world had finally taken its revenge on the self-proclaimed wildlife warrior when he was killed by a stingray in September.
The Canberra gallery said Greer's portrait had been taken down last week as part of a regular rotation of works and dispatched to the basement.
"It does look fabulously ironic, but there was no agenda behind it," National Portrait Gallery spokesman David Edghill told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
Steve Irwin
Will Bring Disaster
Year of The Pig
Sunday marks the start of the Chinese New Year and it's a lucky one for those starting out in life. But the rest of us are in for a rough ride. Expect epidemics, disasters and violence in much of the world.
"The Year of the Pig will not be very peaceful," said Hong Kong feng shui master Raymond Lo.
Ronald Reagan was a pig. So are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Woody Allen and Elton John. Not to mention Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Pig years can be turbulent because they are dominated by fire and water, conflicting elements that tend to cause havoc, Lo said.
Year of The Pig
U.S. Rejects Investigator's Visit Request
Guantanamo
A European investigator probing alleged CIA abuses of detainees said on Friday the United States has refused his request to visit the controversial U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to talk to inmates.
Council of Europe investigator Dick Marty had planned to travel to Guantanamo with Manfred Nowak, United Nations special rapporteur for torture, to question detainees about reports they were earlier held in secret prisons in Europe.
"If I cannot speak freely with detainees -- as I understand from the American reply -- such a visit would be pointless," Marty said in a statement.
Guantanamo
Charged With DUI
Nicole Richie
Nicole Richie was charged Friday with misdemeanor driving under the influence. In addition to the single count, the case contains an allegation that Richie had a prior misdemeanor DUI conviction in June 2003, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said.
The California vehicle code specifies that if convicted of DUI twice within 10 years, a person can be sentenced to between 90 days and a year in jail, fined between $390 and $1,000, and have driving privileges suspended.
Arraignment was scheduled for Feb. 21 in suburban Glendale Superior Court. Richie, who starred in the TV reality show "The Simple Life" with Paris Hilton, does not have to appear because it is a misdemeanor case.
Nicole Richie
Disney Suit Settled
Winnie the Pooh
A federal judge in Los Angeles has rejected a Walt Disney Co.-backed attempt to strip rights to the "Winnie the Pooh" character from the estate of long-time Pooh licensee Stephen Slesinger, according to court documents made public on Friday.
In a written order issued on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper granted the Slesingers' motion to dismiss the case, in which the granddaughters of Pooh author A.A. Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard, sued to terminate the Slesingers' rights to the character and reassign them to Disney.
Disney was not a party to the case, but the company paid legal expenses for both women, according to Disney's attorney Daniel Petrocelli.
Winnie the Pooh
TV Coverage Of Trial
Phil Spector
The murder trial of rock `n' roll producer Phil Spector will be televised, a judge ordered Friday, saying it is time for the justice system to get beyond the O.J. Simpson trial.
"We have to get by that case," said Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler. "There's going to come a time that it will be commonplace to televise trials. If it had not been for Simpson, we'd be there now."
The judge ruled on requests by electronic news media to allow gavel-to-gavel coverage. Fidler said only jury selection will not be televised.
Phil Spector
In Memory
Robert Adler
Robert Adler, who won an Emmy Award along with fellow engineer Eugene Polley for the TV remote that made couch potatoship possible, died Thursday of heart failure at a Boise nursing home at 93, Zenith Electronics Corp. said Friday.
In his six-decade career with Zenith, Adler was a prolific inventor, earning more than 180 U.S. patents. He was best known for his 1956 Zenith Space Command remote control, which helped make TV a truly sedentary pastime.
Adler joined Zenith's research division in 1941 after earning a doctorate in physics from the University of Vienna. He retired as research vice-president in 1979, and served as a technical consultant until 1999, when Zenith merged with LG Electronics Inc.
Adler is survived by his wife, Ingrid.
Robert Adler
In Memory
Loren Grey
Loren Grey, son of popular Western author Zane Grey who oversaw his father's legacy and was a longtime professor of psychology at Cal State Northridge, has died. He was 91.
For the last 30 years of his life, Loren Grey served as president of Zane Grey Inc., which managed his father's work and the use of his name.
Loren Grey wrote "Zane Grey: A Photographic Odyssey," a 1985 coffee table book that chronicled his father's travels, and the younger Grey's name appeared on a series of ghostwritten novels featuring characters from his father's most famous book, "Riders of the Purple Sage."
He also wrote several books in the field of educational psychology, including "Discipline Without Fear: Child Training During the Early School Years." Grey taught the subject at Cal State Northridge for 23 years until his retirement in 1985.
He is survived by three daughters: Jo Grey, Jerilyn Grey and Susan Wallace.
Loren Grey
In Memory
Ryan Larkin
Ryan Larkin, the acclaimed National Film Board animator whose struggle with drug and alcohol problems was the subject of an Oscar-winning animated short two years ago, has died following a battle with cancer.
Larkin, who was himself nominated for an Academy Award in 1969 for his psychedelic animated short "Walking," died on Wednesday in St-Hyacinthe, Que. He was 63.
Larkin was a celebrated animator and filmmaker who was just 19 when he started working for the National Film Board of Canada in 1963. His work during his 14 years with the film board earned him dozens of awards around the world.
But Larkin later succumbed to a combination of creative block and alcohol and cocaine problems, taking to the streets of Montreal as a panhandler. He was propelled back into the spotlight in 2004 as the subject of "Ryan," a digitally animated tribute by Canadian animator Chris Landreth.
Recently, Larkin staged something of a comeback doing work for MTV Canada. He crafted three five-second bumpers - branded station identifications that run into or out of commercials on the cable channel.
Ryan Larkin
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