'Best of TBH Politoons'
Weekly Link
The Humor Gazette
By John Breneman
Rather goes out in a blaze of "courage"
Ironic that Dan Rather, whose most colorful Ratherism involved "walking through
a furnace in a gasoline suit," saw his career end in a crackling hickory fire
of self-immolation.
Rather goes down as a trailblazer in the age of media superstars projecting
themselves into the story, a shoot-from-the-hip anchor who went gunning for his
own version of Watergate and wound up with Rathergate. The reporter who famously
talked trash with Nixon got burned when he dug for dirt on Bush.
In retrospect, he didn't need documents as phony as a Michael Jackson's nose to
make the point that President Bush's National Guard record is lamer than a
three-legged armadillo.
Rather survived his stint as a war correspondent in Vietnam only to be done in
decades later by friendly fire, his career killed by his own carelessness. He
took aim at the president, but his bulletin missed its mark and buried itself
deep in his own foot.
This grave blunder left the anchorman with about as much credibility as a
president blowing hokum about weapons of mass destruction.
For the rest:
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
JAMES GRANT: Five Years Later and Still Floating (NY Times)
TODAY marks the fifth anniversary of the peak of the great millennial stock market
Paul Krugman: Slanting Social Security
(Click on "Columns," then on "Slanting Social Security."
Many people involved in the debate over Social Security's future worry that the 2005 trustees' report will be slanted in favor of privatization.
Violet Carberry: Manic Succession (City Paper)
In His New Book, Johns Hopkins Psychologist John D. Gartner Delivers a Surprising Diagnosis to the Whole Country: The American Spirit is Actually a Mental Disorder
DAN KENNEDY: He stoops to conquer (Boston Phoenix)
Is Jon Stewart too smart for his own good? Not as long as he keeps up the dick jokes.
Michael Giltz: How they handled the gay rumor (The Advocate)
Marcia Cross is not alone: Many celebrities have had gay rumors swirl about them.
The Church of Reality
Reader Review
"Lost"
The only reason I started to watch "Lost" was to see Dominic Monaghan ,in
his next role after playing Meriadoc in "Lord of the Rings". I liked his
acting on the British show "Hetty Wainthrop" also and was expecting to see
a crappy TV show that would die an ignominious death in short order.
I'm glad I did because the show is a more than a "whodunnit" but more of a
what the f*%# is going on it" with lots of loose ends and threads.
Mira Furlan from B5 adds a nice touch.
It does have some problems such as being obviously shot in Hawaii and
Hurley not losing weight after all that time eating non processed foods,
but the overall quality is refreshing.
Paul
Thanks, Paul!
Monkey Mail
Re: BartCop E
Hey Marty!
I found your page, Man! KEWL!! If anyone wants to know why 80% of America's counties voted for Bush, all they have to do is look at your page and see the nutsos that supported Kerry! I wonder if any of your posters have an IQ that exceeds 40?
And remember, Kerry, (the great intellect), had LOWER academic scores than the guy you think is an idiot! HA! (But, of course that's just part of the Halliburton conspiracy, isn't it?) Thank God Bush won …. AGAIN!
What a bunch of Demo loonies! Hey, watch out for the black helicopters, OK? (I can sell you an aluminum hat if you think it will help).
Cheers, mate! Good luck evolving into a more intelligent voter… who knows, in a few million years, you too may advance to the level of…. REPUBLICAN!
Caoimhín
Hey Caoimhín -
80% of the counties - WTF? Votes in the US are counted by state. You do understand the difference between counties & states, don't you?
Kerry enlisted - no strings for special privilege were invoked. Funny there has only been 1 person who served in the Texas Air National Guard - ever - who received a commission without OCS. One would think such a mighty warrior would gladly present his DD-214 (like John Kerry did) as proof of his sterling conduct and
leadership qualities. But, no, because IOKIYAR (also known as the Joe Scarborough rule) - It's OK If You're A Republican.
Why do you think liberals are the tin foil/black helicopter crowd? That's as silly as saying men in kilts are gay.
What's with wishing me to evolve? You do understand that with the new rules, republicans are no longer allowed to believe in evolution or deficits.
So, Caoimhín (Pronounced: KEE-veen, KWEE-vin - Original Irish form of KEVIN)
, thanks for the note, but so long as America operates like some sabre-rattling Robin-Hood-in-reverse, with my son's future sold to the highest bidder, I will remain a member of the loyal opposition.
Cheers back at you, and, please remember, there may be hope for you - any man who appreciates fine beer & bagpipes can't be all bad.
XOXOXO,
~ Marty
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Foggy morning, sunny afternoon, early return of more fog.
ABC Edits Out Fox News
'Boston Legal'
When the ABC drama "Boston Legal" takes on the issue of alleged media bias in Sunday's episode, it doesn't name names - specifically Fox News Channel.
In the original script, a high school principal blocks Fox News from being aired on campus television sets because he considers the channel biased and inflammatory, according to the network.
But ABC asked executive producer and writer David E. Kelley to remove references to Fox; instead, there is criticism of TV news in general and one network, which is unidentified, in particular.
The "Boston Legal" episode retains a reference to "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," filmmaker Robert Greenwald's documentary accusing Fox News of Republican bias.
ABC rejected Greenwald's attempt to buy commercial time during the episode. That was because it contained repeated references to a competitor, ABC spokesman Kevin Brockman said Thursday.
'Boston Legal'
Winding Down Acting Career
Paul Newman
Paul Newman, the movie legend whose piercing blue eyes have lit up screens for five decades, says he'll give up the activities he once described as his two great passions - acting and motor racing.
Fans need not despair just yet. The iconic star of "The Hustler" and "Cool Hand Luke" says he plans to make one last film - "for good luck."
He won't say what it is, but hints that a long-rumored reunion with Robert Redford, his co-star in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting," may yet happen.
Paul Newman
On Call for NBC Until 2008
'ER'
The life span of NBC's venerable medical drama "ER" is about to be extended by at least two more years, through the 2007-08 season, sources said.
NBC is understood to be finalizing a deal to order two more seasons of the drama series. An NBC spokeswoman declined comment on the matter late Thursday, as did a rep for Warner Bros. TV, which produces the show.
NBC's current contract for the show already ran through the upcoming 2005-06 season. The new pact will cover the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, sources said.
'ER'
Spike TV Won't Stay in Ring
WWE
One of cable's top-rated series is down for the count at Spike TV.
The Viacom-owned cable channel said late Thursday that it has terminated negotiations with World Wrestling Entertainment over primetime powerhouse "WWE Raw" as well as several other WWE-branded series.
The end of negotiations means one of cable's most-watched programs over the past decade is up for grabs after five years at Spike TV. The two-hour "Raw" was the highest-rated program on cable this past week among viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research. Its 2.1 rating was enough to make it the only nonbroadcast series to place among the top 100 shows for the week ending March 6 (finishing 79th).
Despite "Raw's" high ratings, sources said Spike TV was balking at paying an increase in license fees that would have cost Viacom an estimated $40 million per year. The WWE delivers 260 hours of programing 52 weeks per year, including weekend series "Heat," "Velocity" and "Experience."
WWE
Cameraman Sues King World After 9/11 Trauma
Daniel Higgins
A cameraman has sued leading TV syndicator King World Productions, claiming the company wrongly tried to fire him after the trauma of filming the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, left him unable to work.
Daniel Higgins claims his treatment by King World after the company sent him to cover the events of 9/11 and subsequent war in Afghanistan constitutes discrimination under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act and state law.
Higgins, of Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey, suffered an episode of post-traumatic stress disorder on Dec. 8, 2002, causing him to "relive" the events of 9/11, not just remember them, according to the suit, filed in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey.
Higgins was sent to the World Trade Center immediately after the North Tower was hit by a jetliner, and he filmed all the events of 9/11 at Ground Zero, including "unspeakable" footage, according to court papers.
Daniel Higgins
Gets Jail For DUI
Michael Bergin
Actor Michael Bergin, who claimed in a book that he had an affair with John F. Kennedy Jr.'s wife shortly after she was married, has been sentenced to a month in jail for drunk driving.
He pleaded no contest to a felony drunken driving charge. The charge stemmed from a July 2004 accident in West Hollywood that injured a woman who was inline skating.
Bergin was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Richard A. Stone to 30 days in jail and three years' probation, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.
Under the plea agreement, a second felony drunken driving charge was dismissed.
Michael Bergin
Judge Lifts Jokes Gag Order
Jay Leno
The judge in the Michael Jackson trial delivered the punch line Friday that Jay Leno has been wanting to hear: The comedian is allowed to crack jokes at Jackson's expense.
Judge Rodney S. Melville made his ruling about Leno as he clarified a gag order preventing everyone involved in the case from discussing it. Leno has been subpoenaed to testify at the trial, and the comedian feared that the order would apply to his monologues on "The Tonight Show."
"I am not attempting to prevent anybody from making a living in the normal way that they make their living," the judge ruled, adding that Leno may not talk about the specific things to which he is a witness.
Jay Leno
FBI Closes Investigation
Notorious B.I.G
The FBI has closed its investigation into the 1997 murder of rap star Notorious B.I.G., abandoning the theory that a rogue police officer may have been involved in the slaying.
The case was closed after federal prosecutors reviewed the evidence and concluded there was no basis for prosecution, Louis J. Caprino Jr., acting head of the criminal division of the FBI's Los Angeles office, said in Friday's editions of the Los Angeles Times.
Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was shot to death in March 1997 in front of hundreds of witnesses as he left a music industry party in Los Angeles.
FBI officials abandoned the probe in January after learning the lead agent on the case had talked with lawyers for Notorious B.I.G.'s mother, who is suing the Los Angeles Police Department for allegedly covering up police involvement in her son's slaying.
Voletta Wallace's suit, which seeks unspecified damages, is scheduled to go to trial April 12 in federal court in Los Angeles.
FBI officials said the lawsuit had nothing to do with the decision to end the investigation.
Notorious B.I.G
In Memory
Dave Allen
Dave Allen, the irreverent Irish comedian who delivered his routines sitting on a stool with a cigarette and drink in hand, has died at the age of 68, his agent said Friday.
Allen's agent, Vivienne Clore, said Allen died in his sleep at his home in west London on Thursday. The cause of death was not given. Born David Tynan O'Mahoney in 1936, Allen grew up in Dublin and moved to Britain at the age of 21.
He made his British television debut on the British Broadcasting Corp.'s New Faces program in 1959.
He proved a hit with the British public and in 1969 the BBC launched the Dave Allen Show, a variety show with sketches, guest stars and musical numbers.
This was followed by Dave Allen At Large, which ran from 1971 to 1990 before he moved to Independent Television for the Dave Allen Show, which launched in 1993.
Allen made his acting debut in Alan Bennett's One Fine Day in 1979.
Allen is survived by his wife Karin and three children. Funeral details were not immediately available.
Dave Allen
