'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Comment
Re: General Franks
Hell, Marty,
Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution Will Survive WMD Attack
Gen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government.
I'm really gettin' creeped out.
Chris
Thanks, Chris!
Although, technically speaking, hasn't most of the Constitution already been trashed?
Reader Link
Accident Footage
from Mark
Wolfenheimer's Disease
Dr. Paul seems to be having some cognitive decline.
You've seen the signs ... more
Selected Saturday Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast, breezy day.
Got the turkey today - usually don't pick one up this early, but with the grocery strike, and not wanting a 20+ birdzilla, seemed the right thing to do.
The guests have been asked to vote for what kind of pie should be served. The choices are apple, cherry, pecan, pumpkin or mincemeat.
Tonight, Saturday, CBS begins the night with '48 Hours', followed by a FRESH 'Hack', then a FRESH 'The District'.
NBC continues its dismal trend of nothing but RERUNs Saturday night - first up, a RERUN 'Las Vegas', followed by a RERUN
'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', then a RERUN 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
Keeping with the theme, 'SNL' is a RERUN, with Halle Berry hosting & Britney Spears as the musical act.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH made-for-tv-movie 'Eloise At Christmastime', followed by a RERUN 'America's Funniest Home Videos'.
The WB offers the movie 'The Santa Clause'.
Faux has the usual 'Cops', 'Cops', then 'America's Most Wanted'.
MAD TV is FRESH, with Kathy Griffin hosting.
UPN has the movie 'Father Of The Bride: Part II'.
A&E has 'City Confidential', 'American Justice', 'Cold Case Files', and 'John & Carolyn: Portrait Of A Marriage'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Longest Day', followed by the movie 'The Shootist', then the movie 'In Harm's Way'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 4;
[6:40pm] 'My Hero' - Christmas;
[7:20pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 5;
[8pm] 'Red Cap' - Cover Story;
[9pm] 'Cambridge Spies' - Episode 4;
[10pm] 'Cambridge Spies' - Episode 5;
[11pm] 'Dead Ringers' - Episode 3;
[11:30pm] 'Dead Ringers' - Episode 2;
[12am] 'Red Cap' - Cover Story;
[1am] 'Cambridge Spies' - Episode 4;
[2am] 'Cambridge Spies' - Episode 5;
[3am] 'Dead Ringers' - Episode 3;
[3:30am] 'Dead Ringers' - Episode 2;
[4am] 'The Vice' - Lovesick; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Queer Eye', followed by the movie 'Highlander', then the movie 'Highlander', again.
History has 'Image Of An Assassination', followed by 'JFK: A Presidency Revealed'.
SciFi has the movie 'Code Red: The Rubicon Conspiracy', followed by the movie 'Sasquatch', then the movie 'Primal Force'.
TCM -
6am] 'Tortilla Flat' (1942);
[8am] 'The Mask Of Dimitrios' (1944);
[10am] 'The Way West' (1967);
[12:15pm] 'Village Of The Damned' (1960);
[2pm] 'From The Earth To The Moon' (1958);
[4pm] 'The Young Savages' (1961);
[6pm] 'Johnny Belinda' (1948);
[8pm] 'Spartacus' (1960);
[11:30pm] 'Quo Vadis' (1951);
[2:30am] 'Last Days Of Pompeii' (1935); and
[4:30am] 'China Seas' (1935). (ALL TIMES EST)
Former US president Bill Clinton in India.
Photo by Sebastian D'Souza
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
List of Favorite Books
Bill Clinton
Ah, nothing like curling up in front of the fireplace with 21 of President Clinton's favorite books.
To coincide with the opening of a Clinton Library-related exhibit of books and gifts he received while president, Clinton has released a list of his 21 favorite books — from his wife's "Living History" to Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" to Thomas a Kempis' "The Imitation of Christ."
The entire list of Clinton's favorite books, listed alphabetically by author:
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," Maya Angelou.
"Meditations," Marcus Aurelius.
"The Denial of Death," Ernest Becker.
"Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963," Taylor Branch.
"Living History," Hillary Rodham Clinton. "Lincoln," David Herbert Donald.
"The Four Quartets," T.S. Eliot.
"Invisible Man," Ralph Ellison.
"The Way of the World: From the Dawn of Civilizations to the Eve of the Twenty-First Century," David Fromkin.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude," Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
"The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes," Seamus Heaney.
"King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa," Adam Hochschild.
"The Imitation of Christ," Thomas a Kempis. "Homage to Catalonia," George Orwell.
"The Evolution of Civilizations: An Introduction to Historical Analysis," Carroll Quigley.
"Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics," Reinhold Niebuhr.
"The Confessions of Nat Turner," William Styron.
"Politics as a Vocation," Max Weber.
"You Can't Go Home Again," Thomas Wolfe.
"Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny," Robert Wright.
"The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats," William Butler Yeats.
Bill Clinton
Set to Air After 'The Reagans'
Propaganda Panel
Showtime has assembled a panel of experts for a companion program to its upcoming movie "The Reagans," which was dumped by CBS after vocal criticism of the film's content.
A roundtable discussion concerning the film's fairness and accuracy will feature Marvin Kalb, senior fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center for the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University; Martin Anderson, a former economic advisor to Ronald Reagan; Carl Sferrazza Anthony, one of the film's producers; Lou Cannon, who authored five books about Reagan's life; and Linda Chavez, a political analyst at Fox News.
"Controversy: The Reagans" will air the day after the Nov. 30 debut of the film.
Propaganda Panel
Entertainer Liza Minelli is helped out of a bier after getting carried to the stage to present the award for 'Biggest Gay Hero' category to Queer Eye Fabe Five during taping of 'VH1 Big in 2003' awards ceremony Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003, at the Universal Amphitheater, in Universal City, Calif.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian
Dixie Chick Still Speaking Her Mind
Natalie Maines
Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines, whose criticism of resident Bush last spring led to boycotts of the group's music, still has a lot to say about the war in Iraq.
"I think people were misled and I think people are fighting a war that they didn't know they were going to be fighting," Maines said Friday on NBC's Today Show. "And I think they were misled by people who should have been asking questions and weren't."
Maines said Friday she did not feel vindicated by how the war has unfolded: "I would have liked to have been proven wrong."
Natalie Maines
Dixie Chicks
Speaks Out Against Global Warming
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio is using his fame to call on elected officials to reduce American dependence on oil and slow down global warming.
The 29-year-old actor and conservationist narrated an online film called "Global Warning" as part of an Internet campaign organized by Global Green USA, an affiliate of Green Cross International.
The campaign, which began Thursday, urges people to oppose the energy bill that's under debate in Congress by signing a "Pledge of Allegiance to American Energy Independence." The bill would provide $23 billion in tax incentives and includes measures to produce more coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power.
Leonardo DiCaprio
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
First Guitar Sold at Auction
George Harrison
George Harrison's first guitar — "a real cheapo" his parents gave him — has sold at auction for more than $469,200.
The guitar was part of an annual Beatles sale by music memorabilia firm Cooper Owen, conducted Thursday at the Hard Rock Cafe in London. Bids were taken at the cafe, by phone and on the Internet.
Harrison's father spent about $5.95 for the Dutch-made Egmond guitar. In The Beatles Anthology book, Harrison described it as "a real cheapo, horrible little guitar but it was OK at the time."
George Harrison
Shop assistant Natalya Butova holds a chocolate portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a chocolate shop in Moscow, Friday, Nov. 21, 2003. The portrait is made out of a 1.5 kilogram slab of solid white chocolate and various types of chocolate have been painted on top to make a realistic portrait. The cost of the portrait made by chocolate-makers Konfael is about $700.
Photo by Misha Japaridze
Judge Orders Trial on Topless Photos
Cameron Diaz
A photographer who allegedly used topless photos of Cameron Diaz in an attempt to extort $3.3 million from her must stand trial, a judge ruled.
John Rutter of Los Angeles is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 8 on felony charges of attempted extortion, attempted grand theft, forgery and perjury.
"This wasn't simply a case of someone calling and saying, 'Hey, I just came across these photos from 11 years ago, do you want them?'" Superior Court Judge Michael Luros said Thursday. "This was someone saying, 'Pay me $3 million or else.'"
Rutter's attorney, Ron Richards, said his client had a signed release and the right to sell the pictures, which were taken during a 1992 photo session.
Cameron Diaz
Reaches Settlement Over Topless Photos
Jennifer Aniston
"Friends" star Jennifer Aniston has reached a $550,000 settlement with a man she accused of illegally distributing photographs of her sunbathing topless, her publicist said Thursday.
Aniston, 34, also settled a lawsuit in 2002 against two magazines that published the photos. Details of that settlement were confidential.
The photos appeared in European magazines before being circulated in 1999 in Celebrity Skin and High Society.
Jennifer Aniston
To Celebrate 80th Birthday
Bob Barker
Bob Barker, the host of the longest-running game show in television will preside over "The Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular," a CBS special airing at 8 p.m. EST on Dec. 13, a day after Barker's actual birthday.
Barker will be joined by guests Larry King and Chuck Norris, who taught Barker karate before becoming a star in "Walker, Texas Ranger."
Videotaped greetings will air from actors on other CBS shows, including Ray Romano, David James Elliott, Catherine Bell, Ted Danson and Charlie Sheen.
Bob Barker
Estate Reaches Settlement With IRS
John Denver
The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to refund money to the estate of singer John Denver in a settlement over a tax dispute, the estate's attorney said.
Attorney John DeBruyn said the dispute involved the valuation the IRS had attributed to Denver's Windstar Productions Partnership and Windstar Records Inc. DeBruyn declined to elaborate.
The Denver Business Journal reported on its Web site Thursday that the IRS had sought $1.5 million from the estate and will refund $594,674. The settlement was reached in U.S. Tax Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 5, the newspaper said.
John Denver
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Displaying Kennedy Exhibit
Warhol Museum
In the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination, Andy Warhol took images of a smiling first lady in a pillbox hat and contrasted them on blue, gold and gray panels to images of her as a stoic widow.
To Warhol, Jacqueline Kennedy's image captured the sorrow of a nation. He honored her with hundreds of silkscreen portraits akin to holy cards.
Warhol's Jackie portraits will be displayed as part of the museum's newest exhibit titled "November 22, 1963: Image, Memory, Myth," which opens Saturday on the 40th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination. The show, featuring images of John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father's casket and the grainy stills of a home movie shot by Abraham Zapruder capturing the entire assassination, was done in collaboration with The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas.
Warhol Museum
The Andy Warhol Museum
The Sixth Floor Museum
'I Think I Killed Somebody'
Phil Spector
Legendary record producer Phil Spector, charged with murder in the shooting death of an actress at his hilltop mansion, told his chauffeur that night that he thought he had "killed somebody," according to a police report.
Popular music's one-time whiz kid, whose Wall of Sound brought a symphonic feeling to rock 'n' roll, was charged Thursday with murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson.
Spector, who has been free on $1 million bail, was also charged with personally using a handgun in commission of a crime, an enhancement that could add more time to a sentence if he is convicted.
Phil Spector
To China Next Year
`Friends'
The Chinese state broadcaster, China Central Television, will begin broadcasting the popular NBC sitcom "Friends" to the world's biggest potential audience next year, the Beijing Star Daily newspaper reported in Friday's editions.
In Chinese, the show will be called "laoyouji" — "Old Friends' Story."
China has been increasing its Western programming in recent years. The first American television series to be bought by Chinese TV was "The Man From Atlantis," starring Patrick Duffy. It premiered in China in early 1980.
`Friends'
God-Daughter Comes To Jackson's Defence
Nicole Richie
Michael Jackson's god-daughter came to the besieged pop icon's defence, saying that she and pals often slept in the same room with him and that nothing sexual or strange took place.
Nicole Richie, 22, the daughter of singer Lionel Richie, said she spent much of her childhood at Jackson's Neverland Ranch, and insisted that if the "King of Pop" had acted inappropriately, she would have told her parents.
"You know, a group of us would all sleep in the same room," she told the "Access Hollywood" entertainment television show.
"It was like, absolutely nothing more than just an adult kind of wanting to be a kid again. Just, you know, enjoying the company of children," she said of her superstar god-father who is accused of molesting a young boy.
Nicole Richie
Flips Off 'Taboo' Haters
Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell gave her opinion of theater critics by thrusting her middle fingers in the air while delivering impromptu remarks at Thursday night's performance of "Taboo," the widely panned musical she is producing.
O'Donnell, a comedian and former TV talk show host, mingled with the Plymouth Theater crowd during intermission, autographing programs. As she made her way to her third-row seat, some audience members called out to her, and the commotion built into a round of applause.
"And if there are any critics out there ..." she said as she flipped the double-bird to answer those who called the show a turkey.
O'Donnell, through her publicist Cindi Berger, on Friday denied making the gesture.
Rosie O'Donnell
Dominate British Display
Faberge Imperial Eggs
Four jewel-encrusted Easter eggs dominate a lavish display of works by Russian Imperial jeweler Carl Faberge that went on public display in Buckingham Palace Friday.
The four eggs -- three of which were commissioned by Czar Nicholas II and are among only 50 Imperial Eggs ever made -- are included in 300 Faberge works from the Royal Collection that will be on display until March next year.
"This is the largest collection in the world and contains the largest array of different pieces," exhibition curator Caroline de Guitaut told Reuters.
For a lot more, Faberge Imperial Eggs
In Memory
Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Brandis, who from an early age appeared in a string of roles on television, commercials and film, including the starring role in 1991's "The Neverending Story 2: The Next Chapter" and two seasons on Steven Spielberg's "SeaQuest DSV," has died. He was 27.
The county coroner's office is investigating the Nov. 12 death, which was reported by the Los Angeles Police Department as a possible suicide, Lt. Ed Winter of the coroner's Investigations Bureau said Thursday.
The coroner performed an autopsy but the cause of death will not be announced until the results of blood and toxicology tests are returned. The investigation could take as long as four to six weeks.
Police said a friend of Brandis called 911 from the actor's apartment just before midnight on Nov. 11 to report Brandis had attempted suicide. Paramedics transported Brandis to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but he died the next day, police Detective Gene Parshall said.
Brandis started his career in commercials and on television, landing a recurring role on the soap "One Life to Live" at age six. After moving with his family to Los Angeles at age nine, he made guest appearances on such shows as "L.A. Law," "Who's the Boss?" and "Murder, She Wrote."
Other film credits included the Rodney Dangerfield comedy "Ladybugs," and the martial arts comedy "Sidekicks" with Chuck Norris, and a small part in the 2002 film "Hart's War," starring Bruce Willis.
Brandis also starred as crew member Lucas Wolenczek in the underwater sci-fi series "SeaQuest DSV," a role that garnered him a Young Artists Award in 1993 and helped turn him into a teen idol.
Jonathan Brandis
A Florida manatee chomps down on a head of green leaf lettuce at Sea World San Diego's Manatee Rescue, Friday, Nov. 21, 2003. Besides green leaf lettuce, manatees received romaine lettuce, cabbage, spinach and other tasty treats in honor of Thanksgiving.
Photo by Mike Aguilera
'The Osbournes'
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