'Best of TBH Politoons'
From Purple Gene
BAD JOKE
THIS IS FROM DAVID....
QUESTION: WHAT DO YOU CALL THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION??????????????
ANSWER: "CHIMP CHANGE" !!!!
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Andrew Tobias: The Democrats' "First 100 Hour Plan" (andrewtobias.com)
Here's some details:
* Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."
* Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
* Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step.
* Cut the interest rate on student loans in half.
* Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.
* All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit
Jonathan S. Landay: Cheney confirms that detainees were subjected to water-boarding (McClatchy Newspapers)
Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al-Qaida suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called "water-boarding," which creates a sensation of drowning.
Time to speak up (guardian.co.uk)
It's 39 years since abortion was legalised in this country [Britain], yet these days it's rarely discussed without mention of 'shame', 'mental trauma' or 'viability'. With pro-lifers dominating the debate, and even leftwingers describing abortion as a 'necessary evil', women's hard-won rights could soon be under threat. In an introduction to an eight-page special, Zoe Williams asks: are we just going to roll over?
America's abortion battlefield (guardian.co.uk)
Things may not be perfect in Britain, but they are far worse in the US. Suzanne Goldenberg reports from the front line in South Dakota.
The doctor said to me: 'Couldn't you just go through with the pregnancy?' (guardian.co.uk)
Nine women share their personal stories of abortion.
Molly Ivins: Rush Limbaugh's Sleaze Campaign
For misinformation and cruelty, not to mention plain bad manners, it is so hard to beat Rush Limbaugh.
Joshua Holland: Why Republicans Are Running from Bush At Election Time (alternet.org)
Bush's White House is going down in flames, and the Republican machine is doing everything it can to keep "conservatism" from burning along with it.
Stay the Course? (youtube.com)
Video Record of Busheviks Repeating "Stay the Course" in Iraq and Then Denying It
List of Members of 109th Congress Being Looked at by DoJ (talkingpointsmemo.com)
Contributor Comment
Punctuation in the computer age
Marty:
I sympathize with Sally P; all the Manuals of Style say to put
punctuation before the closing quote mark. But that never looked
natural to me, and the precision required when typing in computer
commands forever changed how we handle literal quotes.
If your password is BARTCOPE, then this sentence would be wrong:
Type in "BARTCOPE."
You would have to say:
Type in "BARTCOPE".
URLs have to be exact. Why not exact quotes?
Similarly, movies have all sorts of punctuation in them, and a
precise listing is required. In her example, the name of the movie
is NOT "Dirty Dancing,", but "Dirty Dancing". Yes, that looks weird,
but it is more precise.
Quotes are quotes and punctuation is punctuation. Rules for each
should be different.
I never figured out why punctuation was inside the quote marks
anyway. A stop or a comma can change the whole meaning of a
sentence. Few people get ellipses within quotes right, and I don't
hear much complaining. Further, the rules for quote marks are
inconsistent: in a multi-paragraph quote, the quote marks start
every paragraph but only end the final paragraph. I think this
convention works fine, and points out that the need for clarity
outweighs the need for the placement of punctuation marks.
The need for precision has changed the rules of style. This is not a
new concept: See the Hofstadter cite below, from 1979.
TTFN,
Baron Dave
--
"Punctuation which belongs to the sentence and not to the string
under discussion will go outside of the quotes, as logic dictates.
For example, the first letter of this sentence is 'F', while the
first letter of 'this sentence' is 't'." -- Douglas R. Hofstadter.
Godel, Escher Bach; footnote p. 47
Thanks, Baron Dave!
From Purple Gene
bad joke
QUESTION: WHAT DO YOU CALL A JAZZ SAXAPHONE PLAYING CRIMINAL CLERGYMAN???????
ANSWER: "FELONIUS MONK" !!!!!
Conributor Comment
Re: Punctuation
Marty,
Your reader Sally P. is mistaken. The rule about the comma always
coming before the end quotation mark is a rule of American English
and is not true in the other varieties of English. The same applies
to the rule that the period must always come before the closing quotation mark.
Elsewhere - and this is the way I learned it in school in South
Africa - the comma or period precedes the quotation mark only if it
is part of what's being quoted; otherwise, it follows the quotation
mark. That rule actually seems to be gaining ground in the U.S.
lately; I believe grammarians call it "logical punctuation", but I
could well be wrong about that.
Anyway, if the AP report originated in London, it was probably
written by someone who learned the same rule I did.
David Dvorkin
dvorkin.com
Blog
Thanks, David!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, hot, dry and windy.
NBC Rejects Ads For Film
Dixie Chicks
Citing its policy barring ads dealing with "public controversy," the NBC network said on Friday it rejected a TV commercial for a new film documenting the furor over the Dixie Chicks' criticism of resident George W. Bush.
Ads for the documentary "Shut Up & Sing" also were rebuffed by the smaller CW network, though local affiliates of all five major broadcasters, including NBC and CW, ran promotional spots for the film in New York and Los Angeles, the two cities where it opened on Friday.
The ad features footage of lead singer Natalie Maines declaring during a London concert in March 2003 that the band was "ashamed" to come from the same state -- Texas -- as Bush.
"It's a sad commentary about the level of fear in our society that a movie about a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech is now itself being blacklisted by corporate America," studio co-owner Harvey Weinstein said in a statement.
Dixie Chicks
Honoured In Port Hope
Farley Mowat
Farley Mowat planned to rest and drink vodka to prepare for a weekend event honouring him in this southeastern Ontario town an hour's drive from Toronto.
"I've got a hell of a cold, but I want to make sure I'm there," the award-winning author said in an interview from his home.
The event in question is the unveiling of a monument built by Port Hope residents over the Thanksgiving long weekend and based on a prominent feature from one of Mowat's recent novels.
The 85-year-old author has long been a popular local character due in large part to his strongly held opinions on environmental matters.
His preoccupation with wildlife and conservation has figured prominently throughout his literary career in such novels as "Lost in the Barrens" and "Never Cry Wolf."
Farley Mowat
Ailing Cartoonist Talks Again
Scott Adams
A balding, bespectacled working stiff inexplicably loses his voice - except when speaking in rhyme or pinching his nose.
It may sound like a farcical plot for a popular cartoon satirizing American office culture, but "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams says he recovered less than a week ago from just such an affliction.
Adams, 49, appears to be a rare example of someone who has largely - but not totally - recovered from Spasmodic Dysphonia, a mysterious disease in which parts of the brain controlling speech shut down or go haywire. As many as 30,000 Americans are afflicted, typically in their 40s and 50s, experts say.
One of the most peculiar aspects of SD is that victims are typically unable to have intimate conversations in their normal voice. Yet they can speak under different circumstances, such as immediately after sneezing or laughing, or in an exaggerated falsetto or baritone, or while reciting poetry, according to SD support groups.
Scott Adams
Strike Looms In Canada
U.S. Productions
A strike threat looms over U.S. film and TV shoots in Canada after local actors said Thursday they could form picket lines to fend off North American producers' demands for steep pay cuts.
Negotiations on a new Independent Production Agreement between ACTRA, representing 21,000 domestic performers, and Canadian and U.S. producers broke off Wednesday, with workers urging that a mediator help end an apparent impasse.
Talks on a new production pact got off to a rocky start Monday when actors were asked to take pay cuts of 10%-25% for minimum daily rates paid on film and TV productions shot here.
The North American producers' opening gambit also included proposed reductions in overtime rates, turnaround times and producer contributions to insurance and retirement accounts, according to ACTRA.
U.S. Productions
Shows Bias
FCC
U.S. broadcast regulators on Thursday rejected a complaint by California Gov. Arnold $chwarzenegger's Democratic rival, who demanded equal time on NBC TV stations after $chwarzenegger appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
The Federal Communications Commission ruled that, because $chwarzenegger's guest spot on the show qualified as a "bona fide news interview," NBC was not required to extend a similar invitation to Democrat Phil Angelides.
News interviews are an exception to federal rules that generally require broadcast outlets to give opposing political candidates equal time.
A spokesman for Angelides, who is trailing $chwarzenegger in the polls, called the FCC's seven-page ruling politically motivated.
FCC
Thursday Night
NBC
NBC is bringing back its trademark two-hour comedy block on Thursdays with freshman "30 Rock" and medical veteran "Scrubs" joining "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office."
Meanwhile, another new NBC comedy, "Twenty Good Years," starring John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor, is being pulled off the schedule after a low-rated first two weeks .
"30 Rock" will be first to join the Thursday lineup November 16 for a supersize night of 40-minute episodes of "Earl," "Office" and "30 Rock" leading into "ER."
Beginning November 30, the four single-camera comedies will take over their new regular slots: "Earl" and "Office" staying put at 8 and 8:30, followed by "Scrubs" at 9 and "30 Rock" at 9:30 p.m. For "Scrubs," it will mark a return to Thursdays, where it aired behind "Friends" during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons.
NBC
Denies Plans For 9th Marriage
Elizabeth Taylor
Actress Elizabeth Taylor on Thursday denied media reports that she was planning to marry for the 9th time.
Taylor, 74, is being linked romantically with artist and photographer Firooz Zahedi -- who in the mid-1970s became the star's personal photographer on her film projects.
Responding to what she called stories "regarding my private life and future plans," Taylor described Zahedi as "an old and dear friend."
But she added in a statement: "We are not, have never been and will never be romantically involved. My private life and my plans, at this time remain private."
Elizabeth Taylor
Co-Hosting New Year's Eve
Dick Clark
As he did last year, Dick Clark will co-host the annual "New Year's Rockin' Eve." The former "American Bandstand" host, now 76, will join Ryan Seacrest and musical guest Christina Aguilera to ring in 2007 before a national TV audience of millions. Clark missed the show two years ago when he suffered a stroke but returned to the holiday staple last New Year's Eve.
Seacrest, the 31-year-old host of "American Idol," handled co-hosting duties last year and is expected to eventually succeed Clark as the show's host.
Dick Clark
Arrested At Bob Hope
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was arrested at 3:45 p.m. Thursday at Bob Hope Airport, police said. Snoop Dogg posted $35,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in court Dec. 12.
Airport police officers stopped Snoop Dogg at a loading zone for a vehicle code violation. When officers searched the vehicle they found a gun and marijuana, police said.
The Orange County district attorney's office has been considering charges against Snoop Dogg after authorities last month discovered a 21-inch collapsible baton in his bags as he boarded a New York-bound flight from John Wayne International Airport.
Snoop Dogg
Snoop would be wise to avoid airports named after dead Republicans...
'The Times They Are A-Changin'' Panned
Bob Dylan
A new musical set to the songs of Bob Dylan has left critics disappointed and fans disillusioned with the iconic musician's decision to allow his songs to be set on the stage.
"The Times They Are A-Changin'," which made its Broadway debut on Thursday night, was conceived and choreographed by Twyla Tharp, who transformed Billy Joel's songs into the Tony-award winning "Movin' Out" which enjoyed a successful three-year run on Broadway.
But reviews for the Dylan show found critics saying Tharp's concept, which presents Dylan's songs as a fable about a struggling circus, did little justice to the vivid imagery of the musician's lyrics.
"Mr. Dylan is one of the greatest songwriters of the postwar era and Ms. Tharp one of its most admired choreographers, so how bad could it be," wrote The Wall Street Journal's Terry Teachout. "Now I know: 'The Times They Are A-Changin' is so bad that it makes you forget how good the songs are."
Bob Dylan
Berlin To Stage Canceled Opera
Idomeneo
A Berlin opera house said on Friday it would after all stage a Mozart opera in which the severed head of the Prophet Mohammad is seen, after police reversed their earlier view that it posed a security risk.
"Those in charge of the decision over whether to stage the Mozart opera Idomeneo ... have decided to aim for two performances this year," the Berlin-based Deutsche Oper said in a statement.
Deutsche Oper said the earliest the production could be staged was in December, but it did not mention any dates.
Idomeneo
National Library of Ireland Exhibit
William Butler Yeats
The poems of William Butler Yeats are among the best known in the English language but the man himself has proved less easy to pin down -- until now.
The National Library of Ireland has spent two years putting together an exhibition about the Nobel Prize-winning Irishman that looks into every corner of his complex life.
The most comprehensive collection of Yeats material ever staged comprises rare photographs, original manuscripts, private letters -- even the poet's early school reports.
William Butler Yeats
War Profiteers
Halliburton
The Halliburton subsidiary that provides food, shelter and other logistics to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan exploited federal regulations to hide details on its contract performance, according to a report released Friday.
The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction found that Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root Services routinely marked all information it gave to the government as proprietary, whether it was or not. The government promises not to disclose proprietary data so a company's most valuable information is not divulged to its competitors.
By marking all information proprietary - including such normally releasable data as labor rates - the company abused federal regulations, the report says.
In effect, Kellogg, Brown & Root turned the regulations "into a mechanism to prevent the government from releasing normally transparent information, thus potentially hindering competition and oversight."
Halliburton
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