'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
FROMA HARROP: The Mandates Are the Message (creators.com)
The Cleveland debate ends, and presto, the MSNBC boys pop up to discuss "who won." Chris Matthews complains of "a lot of back and forth about health care, which I find almost absurd given the fact that we don't have a national health care plan."
SUSAN ESTRICH: Friendship in the Fourth Estate (creators.com)
A funny thing is about to happen to Barack Obama. No matter how much he thinks he's ready for it, he isn't. No matter how many people warn him, he'll be surprised. And hurt. And angry. His friends in the press are about to turn on him. They may not even know it yet, but they will.
Deborah Emin: Why Dennis Kucinich Still Matters (Huffington Post; Posted on alternet.org)
Dennis Kucinich does not treat politics like a popularity contest. He is a voice for the people and ideas that we need to repair this country.
Jim Hightower: A LITTLE PAPER DIGS OUT BIG STORIES (jimhightower.com)
To learn what's really going on in our mixed up world, it helps to have such indefatigable and trusted diggers for truth as those who write for The Texas Observer. In the past, this little paper has been the home of such muckraking editors as Ronnie Dugger, Molly Ivins - and even me. Editors come and go, but the Observer just keeps digging, breaking national stories that big-name media powers miss - or avoid.
Mark Morford: How to hate Barack Obama (sfgate.com)
Right now, deep in the GOP dungeons, they're planning their racist, disgraceful assault. Whatever will it be? (sfgate.com)
Joel Stein: A little something for the ladies (latimes.com)
Will a female vice president really satisfy women? Of course not. But what does?
Erin Chan Ding: And now it's time for a little soft Rock (Detroit Free Press; Posted on popmatters.com)
Even Chris Rock feels flickers of burnout.
ADAM WILLIAMS: "Dear Planet Earth: An Interview with Sebastian Bach" (popmatters.com)
Through reality shows, theater appearances, and Hep Alien, the enthusiastic Bach keeps his focus (and his funding) on his music, even if the industry is a bitchslap.
Michael Hamersly: Yet another Marley - Ky-Mani - makes his mark in music (McClatchy Newspapers; Posted on popmatters.com)
Reggae singer Bob Marley's sons have honored his life, legacy and philosophy for the past 15 years with their annual Caribbean Fest concert in Miami. Stars who have graced the stage over the years include Santana, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, IndiA.Arie, Erykah Badu, Hootie and the Blowfish, DMX, Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, Toots and the Maytals, Mos Def, Foxy Brown, Maxi Priest and Morgan Heritage.
David Menconi: Tift Merritt has a new address, a new album and a new outlook (McClatchy Newspapers; Posted on popmatters.com)
Tift Merritt strolls toward the Hudson River in her quiet West Village neighborhood. Having moved here just a few months earlier, the North Carolina singer-songwriter is a newcomer to this tree-lined street with a century-old bohemian heritage.
Roger Ebert: "John Huston: 'It's as bad to be ahead of your time as behind it'" (from 1975)
John Huston has come up for the day from Puerto Vallarta, the sleepy little Mexican beach town he converted into a tourist industry by filming "Night of the Iguana" there.
Cartoon: The "Usefulness" of Bottled Water
Cartoon: Modern Medicine and creationism
nailed it with:
Marty's New Computer Fund Update
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Reader Comment
Re: rick dancer
Hi marty,
As a resident of Eugene Oregon, it was interesting to see your link to the Rick Dancer story. I, of course, am supporting Vicki Walker for Sec of State because she is a smart and compassionate woman. (side note -- I almost didn't use the word "compassionate" because bush sr. gave it such a bad taste).
But even if there wasn't a good opponent to Dancer, I still wouldn't vote for him. The Chambers are SO right wing, they make McCain look like the radical left. The KEZI news (which is the station that Dancer is on) has always leaned right, so much so that it's a wonder they don't fall over. And Dancer has been a big part of that slant. The news the ABC-affiliated KEZI station broadcasts is anything but fair, often presenting only one point of view (the right-wing POV)
When I first moved to Eugene, I didn't know one station from another and I found in the morning, there was a very pleasant weather/newsman on KEZI, Al Peterson. Very amusing and a good way to start a day. But KEZI just fired him one day and when I asked why, they refused to answer. No explanation, not even a "he's not with us anymore" mention on the air.
I stopped watching KEZI at that point. However Mr. Peterson is now back on the local air waves as the weather/newsman on the station I do watch, KVAL (the CBS affilliate) which broadcasts a much more balanced newscast.
I know this is long but I just had to comment on Dancer and to thank you for posting it so more people can see what he is -- a Fox-wannabe who now wants to actually run for office. Dancer is someone who has had NO political experience and he's running for Sec. of State??? Horse hockey.
thanks
ducks
Thanks, ducks!
This is a prime example of why we used to have the Fairness Doctrine.
You know, back before politically reprehensible foxes were put in charge of giving away the hen house.
Back when the airwaves were owned by the citizens, and the FCC mandated public interest, convenience and necessity.
Ah, memories. That's all that's left.
Purple Gene Reviews
"Trapped in the Closet"
Purple Gene's mini review of the Hip Hopera/rap musical soap/ serial video series "Trapped in the Closet". Directed by R. Kelly and Jim Swaffield
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast and cool.
Holds Storm Victim Benefit
Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Judd knows what the people of Tennessee went through the night the tornadoes hit - because she took cover from them herself.
Her children Elijah and Grace hid in a storage area under the stairs when the storms swept through this month, and she hung on outside their cubbyhole as the winds shook the house, the country singer said.
"Our road looks like a war zone. It's pretty bad," said Judd, who headlined a benefit concert Friday for residents affected by the tornado.
The concert was held in Leiper's Fork and raised more than $17,000, said organizer Lynn Fox, who also performed with his group The Fox Brothers.
Wynonna Judd
Makes Case For Hillary
Jack Nicholson
He was The Joker in Batman, but Jack Nicholson says he wasn't fooling around when he said in "A Few Good Men" that there was nothing sexier than saluting a woman.
Nicholson, who is backing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, took his endorsement to the Internet on Saturday with a humorous collection of clips that put his support into the mouths of his most film famous characters.
"And now folks, it's time for who do you trust. Hubba, hubba, hubba. Money, money, money," Nicholson, as The Joker, asks his audience in the video titled "Jack and Hill."
Then he goes on to make it clear he puts his in Clinton. He also makes it clear he isn't happy with the current administration.
The video, which debuted early Saturday on YouTube and other file-sharing services was put together with help from director Rob Reiner, said "Jack and Hill" spokesman Yusuf K. Robb.
Jack Nicholson
The YouTubes - Jack Nicholson endorses Hillary,
The YouTubes - Jack Nicholson's voter call ,
The YouTubes - Nicholson Endorses hillary 'Nurse Ratched' clinton,
The YouTubes - Tina vs Jack For Hillary , and
The YouTubes - Jack Nicholson's Hillary Clinton Ad .
Brazil Celebrates
Bossa Nova
Rio de Janeiro celebrated Saturday the 50th anniversary of bossa nova, the unique Brazilian cocktail of jazz and samba that inspired generations of musicians with hits such as "Girl from Ipanema."
The picturesque city organized a free concert on its iconic Ipanema beach with bossa nova pioneers and musicians influenced by the genre, which was born out the melodies strummed by legendary guitarist Joao Gilberto in 1958.
His revolutionary sound reached a worldwide audience in 1963 with the release of "Girl from Ipanema," which was written by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes and performed by Joao and Astrud Gilberto along with American saxophone player Stan Getz.
Bossa Nova
Judge Restores Website
Wikileaks
A US federal district court judge on Friday rescinded a controversial order that disabled wikileaks.org, a website designed to give whistleblowers a forum for posting materials of public concern.
Judge Jeffrey White cited concerns about First Amendment rights, the effectiveness of disabling the wikileaks.org domain name, and the court's own jurisdiction over the case as reasons to dissolve his previous orders.
Earlier this month, White ordered wikileaks.org shut down at the request of a Swiss bank and its Cayman Islands subsidiary.
Wikileaks
Burned By Belgian Book
French Literati
The duped French book-editor and film-producer of a faked Belgian Holocaust memoir scrambled Friday to put a brave face on the deception, which saw the best-selling book made into the movie "Surviving With Wolves."
The book of the same name recounted the incredible tale of a young Jewish girl whose parents were deported from Brussels by the Nazis during World War II and who then crossed Europe with a wild wolf pack who had adopted her.
But a Belgian newspaper revealed on Thursday that the author of the original autobiography, 70-year old Misha Defonseca, had made the memoir up -- and was in fact not even Jewish.
Now both the book is likely to be re-classified as fiction and the movie will have to have the phrase "Based on a true story" removed from its credits.
French Literati
Goodbye New Line Cinema
Time Warner
Media giant Time Warner Inc. said Thursday its Warner Bros. Entertainment studio would absorb its New Line Cinema unit, an independent studio that redistributed quirky films like "Reefer Madness" and went on to make blockbusters like "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
New Line founder Robert Shaye and his co-chief executive, Michael Lynne, decided to leave the 40-year-old studio but were discussing possible future business deals with the conglomerate.
New Line will maintain separate development, production and marketing departments but will integrate those functions with its new parent division to cut costs and improve profitability, Time Warner said.
Time Warner
Relishes Propaganda Role
Egg Boy
Known for bringing tabloid journalism to the Internet, the Drudge Report has made waves again by revealing Britain's Prince Harry was deployed to Afghanistan.
Drudge Report's exclusive on Thursday on Prince Harry's posting in southern Afghanistan shattered a news blackout deal that had held for 10 weeks. British media and some foreign news organizations had agreed not to reveal the British royal's deployment to the volatile Helmand province.
The site is the brainchild of Matt 'Egg Boy' Drudge, a former supermarket employee who became "the most influential journalist propagandist in the United States" in the words of conservative commentator Pat Buchanan.
In 1996, he had his first major exclusive, reporting that Representative Jack Kemp would be Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole's running mate.
Egg Boy
Actor Sentenced
James Barbour
A Broadway actor who played the beast in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" was sentenced Friday to 60 days in jail and three years' probation for sexual encounters with a 15-year-old drama student.
James Barbour pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal to two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, admitting he fondled the student when she visited him alone backstage in his dressing room in June 2001, while he was starring on Broadway in "Jane Eyre."
The 41-year-old actor also acknowledged that the teen visited him the next month at his Manhattan apartment, where more sexual contact occurred. He told Judge Micki Scherer he knew then that she was 15.
The actor had faced charges of criminal sex act in the third degree, a felony punishable by as many as four years in prison, before the deal.
James Barbour
Children Sue Sony For Royalties
Conway Twitty
The children of the late Conway Twitty have sued Sony/ATV for a share of royalties and publishing copyrights for the country artist's music.
The lawsuit filed in chancery court this week claims the children didn't understand the agreement when Twitty sold his music publishing and sound recording interests to Sony-Tree in March 1990, three years before he died.
But his widow, Dee Jenkins, disagreed with Twitty's children, who are from a previous marriage. They fought a 14-year legal battle over his estate after his death, which the children eventually lost.
The children could get more than $100,000 a year from the recordings if they were to get the copyrights back, says Rose Palermo, a lawyer for his estate, who added that she was concerned about the claims in the lawsuit.
Conway Twitty
End Of The Road
Independent Truckers
Trucker Robert Griffith is on the road three weeks out of four, pulling oversize loads like crane booms, railroad ties and air conditioning ducts. One of his biggest worries: How he'll find the money to buy his daughter a prom dress.
As the cost of diesel doubled over the last four years, his take-home pay has plummeted, from $50,000 to $11,000 last year. He's literally burning money; he spent $64,000 on diesel in the last eight months. Since he canceled his satellite radio, he's on citizens band radio constantly (handle: Instigator) talking about what needs to change so truckers like him can survive.
No more $150 family outings to Shogun sushi. No more weekly washes for his Western Star 4900 EX truck. No more health insurance for him and his family.
Trucking's owner-operators, the self-employed drivers who haul everything from Hummers to hay, are suffering. Many say they're running on the edge of bankruptcy, about to disappear unless they get help. While a wave of trucking failures now might be invisible to consumers, when the economy rebounds, it would push up shipping rates, helping increase prices.
Independent Truckers
Closing 'Scientific' Whaling Loophole
Australia
Australia said Saturday it hoped to close a loophole in International Whaling Commission (IWC) rules that allows Japan to conduct whaling as long as it is carried out for scientific research.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett said Australia would present a proposal to an IWC meeting in London next week setting out new rules for scientific programmes carried out under commission rules.
He said the new rules would favour non-lethal methods and strengthen IWC supervision of whale research, making it a collaborative international effort rather than having individual countries carry out their own programmes.
Japan kills up to 1,000 whales annually under its scientific programme, although it concedes most of the meat ends up on dinner plates.
Australia
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