'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Richard Roeper: Support the troops, scorn the war? Why not?
Some people say you can't support the troops while opposing the war. I say why not? Why can't you throw all your prayers and support behind the Americans in Iraq, while still believing the war itself is wrong and we should get out of there ASAP?
Froma Harrop: The Campaign: Long but Boring (creators.com)
Are you thoroughly bored yet by the presidential campaign? Your civic score will lose no points if you say "yes" to the question and "no" to the growing tedium of Decision 2008. The most overrated recent event has to be the Iowa Republican Straw Poll...
Mark Morford: Thank God You Are Not Karl Rove (sfgate.com)
You have many things for which you can be deeply grateful. Here is one of the biggest.
Ted Rall: "Shame: China's Most Valuable Export"
Corrupt Chinese officials face execution while CEOs who mess up commit suicide -- is there something we can learn?
Jim Hightower: YOUR TOILET TISSUE ALLOCATION (jimhightower.com)
It has taken years of secret research, consultations with focus groups, and trial-and-error engineering work - but, at last, the corporate scientists have come up with the answer we've all been anxiously awaiting: five sheets.
Annalee Newitz: Should Achivists Go Paperless?
A digital junkie makes the case for staying with paper.
Joel Stein: Just for the record (latimes.com)
OK Hollywood, here are the dos and don'ts of the celebrity profile.
Froma Harrop: New Yorkers Need This Unreality Check (creators.com)
Weird and downtrodden, but prime Brooklyn oceanfront, Coney Island as we know it may soon vanish. A developer wants to replace the people's carnival with hotels, retail and time-share units. You might as well try to turn Britney Spears into Grace Kelly. The threat of such a makeover has traumatized preservationists and the many fans of seedy Americana. This is war.
In Debt We Trust (popmatters.com)
This film is worth the cost (you can charge it on Amazon.com), as it will get you thinking about your personal budget - and you should be thinking about your personal budget.
Reader Suggestion
Impeachment Websites
Marty,
I know it's been a while since I've written but I wanted to check in with some Impeachment Sites. We're about to embark on something important. Using the Jefferson Manual, we're about to introduce a fully citizen's impeachment. Go to this site to learn more:
alexandriaadvocatesalliance.blogspot.com/ Scroll down a little.
This site is maintained by a Parlimentarian and former Kent State Professor named Ed Dickau.
Here is another of his sites:
courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/>
Also I wanted to show you my site for our grass roots movement:
peaceandaccountability.com Check out the video section, second one down where several Veterans for Peace are holding the flag upside down in front of Senator Warner.
I'm taking my camera on September 15th and I promise to get some pictures for you, in the meantime, check out the events section for A28 to see our photos from the Impeach event there. We also post a video of our Town Hall Forum on the website (scroll down - it's below Tony's video).
I'll try to be better at staying in touch!
Peace and Impeach!
Nancy Maynard
Thanks, Nancy!
Always look forward to hearing from you!
Reader Comment
Russian Psychedelic Shack
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Not quite as hot as yesterday, but still pretty freaking hot & humid.
Reports From Iraq
'The Daily Show'
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," whose phony news coverage has long included phony "remotes" from war-torn Iraq, will be reporting from Iraq for real next week.
Giving its green screen a temporary rest, the Comedy Central series will air "Operation Silent Thunder: `The Daily Show' in Iraq," several onsite dispatches filed by Senior War Correspondent Rob Riggle.
Riggle will provide what the network calls "in-depth coverage and insights from the front lines." Scheduled to be back in New York this weekend, he begins his reports as soon as Monday.
While in Iraq, Riggle performed for U.S. troops with fellow comedians Horatio Sanz, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer as part of an entertainment tour titled "Operation Feel the Heat."
'The Daily Show'
Feds Pay $80,000
Anti-Bush T-Shirts
A couple arrested at a rally after refusing to cover T-shirts that bore anti-resident Bush slogans settled their lawsuit against the federal government for $80,000, the American Civil Liberties Union announced Thursday.
Nicole and Jeffery Rank of Corpus Christi, Texas, were handcuffed and removed from the July 4, 2004, rally at the state Capitol, where Bush gave a speech. A judge dismissed trespassing charges against them, and an order closing the case was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Charleston.
"This settlement is a real victory not only for our clients but for the First Amendment," said Andrew Schneider, executive director of the ACLU of West Virginia. "As a result of the Ranks' courageous stand, public officials will think twice before they eject peaceful protesters from public events for exercising their right to dissent."
The front of the Ranks' homemade T-shirts bore the international symbol for "no" superimposed over the word "Bush." The back of Nicole Rank's T-shirt said "Love America, Hate Bush." On the back of Jeffery Rank's T-shirt was the message "Regime Change Starts at Home."
Anti-Bush T-Shirts
Major Re-Write
Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin was gay.
Why should that be so uncomfortable to read? Why is it so difficult to write? Why are we still so jittery even about raising the issue in purportedly liberal-minded Hollywood, in 2007?
Griffin, who died of prostate cancer Sunday at 82, stayed in the closet throughout his life. Perhaps he figured it was preferable to remain the object of gossip rather than live openly as "one of them."
But how tremendously sad it is that a man of Merv's renown, of his gregarious nature and social dexterity, would feel compelled to endure such a stealthy double life even as the gay community's clout, and its levels of acceptance and equality, rose steadily from the ashes of ignorance.
What a powerful message Griffin might have sent had he squired his male companions around town rather than Eva Gabor, his longtime good friend and platonic public pal. Imagine the amount of good Merv could have done as a well-respected, hugely successful, beloved and uncloseted gay man in embodying a positive image.
For the rest - Merv Griffin
The Original Story
Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin was gay.
There. Is that plain enough for ya? No gossip, no scandal, no snickering behind the back. Just reality. Why should that be so uncomfortable to contemplate? Why is it so difficult to write? Why are we still so jittery even about raising the issue in purportedly liberal-minded Hollywood, in 2007? We can refer to it casually in conversation without a second thought, but the mainstream media still somehow remains trapped in the Dark Ages as relates to the gay label. Even in the capital of entertainment -- in a business where homosexuality isn't exactly a rare phenomenon -- it's still spoken of in hushed tones or, more often, not at all.
Maybe that helps explain why Griffin, who died Sunday at 82 from prostate cancer, stayed inside the closet throughout his life. Perhaps he figured it was preferable to remain the object of rumor and smug ridicule rather than live openly as "one of them." But how tremendously sad that a man of Merv's considerable gifts, of his gregarious nature and social dexterity, would feel compelled to endure such a stealthy double-life even as the gay community's clout, and its levels of acceptance and equality, rose steadily from the ashes of ignorance.
I'm not at all insinuating that Griffin had a responsibility to come out. That was up to him and him alone.
But what a powerful message Griffin might have sent had he squired his male companions around town rather than Eva Gabor, his longtime good friend and platonic public pal. Imagine the amount of good Merv could have done as a well-respected, hugely successful, beloved and uncloseted gay man in embodying a positive image.
For the rest - Past Deadline: Griffin never revealed man behind the curtain
Autographs Sold For £1,400
Beatles
Autographs by The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe and serial killer John Reginald Christie have gone under the hammer.
Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, said the sale brought together "one of the greatest pop groups, one of the greatest icons, and one of the most infamous serial killers of all time".
A script from television show Juke Box Jury, signed in pencil by the Fab Four, fetched £1,400.
A Yorkshire collector out-bid two competitors for the script, dated around 1963, from The Empire Theatre, Liverpool.
Beatles
Ferrari Auctioned For $2.31M
Steve McQueen
A classic Ferrari once owned by Steve McQueen sold for $2.31 million Thursday night at auction.
An anonymous car collector who placed a bid by phone bought the 1963 Ferrari Berlinetta Lusso during an auction that drew 800 people to the Monterey Jet Center and attracted spirited bidding, said Christie's spokesman Rik Pike.
The sale price was greater than the estimated pre-sale price of $800,000 to $1.2 million, Pike said.
McQueen, who starred in such 1960s films as "The Great Escape," "Bullitt," "Le Mans" and "The Thomas Crown Affair," got the Ferrari as a gift from his first wife, Neile Adams. The actor, who also raced cars, special-ordered the Lusso's brown metallic paint and beige leather interior.
Steve McQueen
Dentist Buys Crown
Elvis Presley
A dentist has purchased an unusual bit of Elvis memorabilia - a porcelain crown that covered a gap in the King's teeth and the plaster mold used to make it.
"He had nice teeth," said Dr. Jim McCarthy, 58. "From a dentist's point of view, I find it interesting."
McCarthy received the crown this week from the son of the dentist who made it. The crown came with affidavits from the dentist's family and a signed letter from Elvis' manager, Joe Esposito.
Lewis Weiss, 59, said Elvis Presley lived next door to his grandmother in Memphis, Tenn. His father, Henry Weiss was the Presley family dentist.
Elvis Presley
Says FBI Probe Ruined Career
Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal, whose action movies once were major box-office attractions, believes false allegations by FBI agents ruined his career, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
The comments in the Times are the first Seagal has made publicly about an investigation begun some five years ago by the FBI into accusations he intimidated a reporter and had ties to organized crime.
The FBI investigation stemmed from Seagal's ties to former private detective Anthony Pellicano, who once was employed by many Hollywood stars, directors and producers, but is now in federal prison awaiting trial on wire-tapping and other charges.
The Pellicano investigation dates to 2002 when a free-lance reporter for the Los Angeles Times found a dead fish, a red rose and a note saying "Stop!" on her car. At the time, the reporter was researching Seagal and a former business partner.
Steven Seagal
Dogs' Role Uncertain In Death
Jacob Adams
A man who died at the home of action star Ving Rhames most likely did not die from bites from Rhames' dogs, county coroner's officials said Friday.
Jacob Adams, 40, was living on Rhames' Brentwood property as a caretaker for the actor's dogs when he was bitten Aug. 3, police said.
The medical examiner who conducted Adams' autopsy Aug. 7 said the bite abrasions and lacerations on the man's body were most likely nonfatal, said Capt. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
An exact cause of death was still unknown pending a toxicology report to be released in about six weeks, he said.
Jacob Adams
Professor Found Guilty
John J. Donovan
A judge on Friday found a former professor at the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology guilty of shooting himself and trying to shift blame to his son as part of a long-running family feud.
The case revolved around a night in December 2005 when John J. Donovan, who taught business for three decades at the famed U.S. science and technology university, called police to allege that two men with Russian accents had shot him as he sat in his minivan.
As police investigated the case, they found some evidence that seemed to contradict that claim.
Donovan, who had a bullet wound in his side when police found him, said he survived the attack because a large metal belt buckle had deflected some of the shots. The belt bore bullet marks but a doctor who examined him did not find injuries that would have been expected if Donovan been wearing it while it was hit, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said he shot himself and planned to pin the attack on his oldest son, James Donovan. The Donovan family has been entangled in a dispute over real estate for years.
John J. Donovan
Defamation Lawsuit Thrown Out
'DJ Star'
A judge threw out Friday a lawsuit accusing a city councilman of defaming a fired DJ by calling him a "pedophile" for sex-laced rants about a rival's young daughter.
DJ Star, whose real name is Troi Torain, was briefly charged with child endangerment and fired from WWPR's "Star & Buc Wild Morning Show" last year after making remarks about the wife and 4-year-old daughter of Hot 97 DJ Raashaun Casey.
Councilman John Liu denounced Torain in press conferences and television interviews, calling him a "pedophile" and a "lunatic" who should be "terminated from the face of the Earth," according to court papers.
Torain sued Liu a year ago for $55 million, saying his reputation was permanently damaged. But U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels said Liu's comments could not be seen as factual to most listeners and viewers, a key to a defamation claim.
'DJ Star'
Arrested In North Carolina
Uncle Kracker
Uncle Kracker, a former disc jockey for Kid Rock, was arrested early Friday on a second-degree sex offense charge, authorities said.
Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue said a 26-year-old woman alleged that a man had committed a sexual act against her at the Ess Lounge, a downtown nightclub.
Kracker, 33, was arrested at a hotel in suburban Cary. He was being held at the Wake County Jail on a $5 million bond, Sughrue said.
Sughrue said police had obtained a warrant charging Kracker with second-degree forcible sex offense.
Uncle Kracker
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