Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Ted Rall: TRIUMPH OF THE SWILL
The Motion Picture Academy's choice of "The Hurt Locker" as best film of 2009 is a sad commentary on the movie business as well as America's unwillingness to face the ugly truth about itself nearly a decade after 9/11.
Andy Kroll: Welcome to America, Sucker (commondreams.org)
Ponzi Nation: How Get-Rich-Quick Crime Came to Define an Era
HECTOR TOBAR: He's still able to bank on family (latimes.com)
Raul Menjivar's income from installing hardwood floors went away, but his caring parents didn't. They've become his life raft as he studies to become a teacher.
Andrew Tobias: How to Invest Your Last $10,000 (nymag.com)
". . . I will keep most of my own money in a ridiculously diversified portfolio of unglamorous securities. Now, about you . . ."
Daniel Engber: Fat Kids (slate.com)
Get ready for a new front in the war on obesity.
Kathy Freston: A High Protein Diet Won't Make You Lose Weight Long Term: In Fact, It May Make You Fatter (huffingtonpost.com)
KF: It's widely believed that people lose weight fastest on a high protein diet. True?
Dr. Dean Ornish: Initially, they may lose more weight because they are losing water weight. But by the end the year, the weight usually returns. In general, slower weight loss by eating more healthfully is more sustainable. Slow but steady wins the race.
Marilynn Preston: Summer Alert! The Shady Side of Sunscreens (creators.com)
Summertime is fun-in-the-sun time, and for many of us, that's a very good thing. Our body needs sunlight. Mine does, that's for sure. Too much sun is a no-no, I know, but too little is also risky and contributes to a sickly pallor and a variety of diseases and disorders.
Felice Prager: Enthusiasm (irascibleprofessor.com)
When we told our relatives we were moving to Arizona, they balked at our decision and told us that our children would be subjected to Arizona's inferior schools with lower standards. They said that by moving away from New York, the full potential of our two sons never would be realized. Much to their dismay, our sons' schools produced two very bright adults who can match wits with anyone from the big city.
Dahlia Lithwick: Why Has a Divided America Taken Gay Rights Seriously? (slate.com)
A philosopher credits the power of imagination.
"Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America" by Richard Benjamin: A review by Darryl Lorenzo Wellington
Between 2007 and 2009, the young African-American political commentator Rich Benjamin spent much of his time living a suburban fantasy -- posing as a home buyer researching high-end properties, living in fashionable condominiums and gated communities, and studying with professional trainers to sharpen his golf game. His foray into enclaves of wealth and comfort might seem a mere vacation if it weren't also a sociological study.
"Reality Hunger: A Manifesto" by David Shields: A review by Debra Gwartney
Somerset Maugham is said to have once announced: "There are three rules for writing a good novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." This is a quip contemporary writer David Shields might appreciate, feeling, as Shields does, that the literary novel's relevance has passed.
Alex Ross: Time to show our appreciation for classical music (guardian.co.uk)
It's one of the great ironies of the classical concert experience - the most explosive, exhilarating music is often greeted by total silence. Let our applause be heard, says 'New Yorker' critic Alex Ross.
Rock Toons
Caricatures of Rock Stars.
[Darenet]
Robert Anton Wilson
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Moore of the same, or not?' Edition
Michael Moore wants President Obama to replace Chief-of-Staff, Rahm Emanual, with... Michael Moore... Moore has penned an open letter to 'The Man' writing...
"Dear President Obama, I understand you may be looking to replace Rahm Emanuel as your chief of staff. I would like to humbly offer myself, yours truly, as his replacement..." Welcome to MichaelMoore.com.
That begs the question...
How well do think Michael Moore would do as Obama's Chief-of-Staff?
A.) Better than Rahm...
B.) Worse than Rahm...
C.) It wouldn't make a whit of difference who it is, we're doomed - doomed I say, any way ya cut the cards, dagnabbit!
Send your response to
replied:
Saturday Bonus Question
'Who's This?'
Who's this?
It's Betty White!
Photo courtesy National Enquirer, March 15, 2010
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Thanks, 'Justice' Roberts
BadtotheboneBob
Oh My
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, cool spring day.
Caught The T.A.M.I. Show (1964) on KOCE, PBS for behind the Orange Curtain.
Long, long time ago, had a roommate who was a certifiable groupie, and all-round-music fanatic.
She had seen The T.A.M.I. Show (1964) in it's original theatrical run, and she'd bring it up every chance she got.
Tonight I understand why.
In one show there're the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye (backed by Martha & the Vandellas), Lesley Gore, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Jan & Dean, Billy J. Kramer and more...
Leon Russell & Glen Campbell are part of the house band.
And, Teri Garr & Toni Basil are part of the dance ensemble.
PBS' begging interludes aside, it's a fabulous show & worth checking out.
Likely To Shut China Site
Google
Talks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world's largest search engine, is now "99.9 percent" certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times said on Saturday.
It said in a report on its website Google had drawn up detailed plans for closing its Chinese search engine.
The newspaper cited a person familiar with the company's thinking as saying that, while a decision could be made very soon, Google was likely to take some time to follow through with its plans.
That would be in order to bring about an orderly closure as the company takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by authorities, it said.
Google
Native Government May Become Reality
Hawaii
Their kingdom long ago overthrown, Native Hawaiians seeking redress are closer than they've ever been to reclaiming a piece of Hawaii.
Native Hawaiians are the last remaining indigenous group in the United States that hasn't been allowed to establish their own government, a right already extended to Alaska Natives and 564 Native American tribes.
With a final vote pending in the U.S. Senate and Hawaii-born President Barack Obama on their side, the nation's 400,000 Native Hawaiians could earn federal recognition as soon as this month - and the land, money and power that comes with it. They measure passed the U.S. House last month.
Many Native Hawaiians believe this process could help right the wrongs perpetuated since their kingdom was overthrown in 1893. The also point to the hundreds of thousands who died from diseases spread by foreign explorers before the kingdom fell.
Hawaii
Marks 40 Years Of Western Swing
Asleep at the Wheel
When Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson started a band in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, he had no idea that 40 years later he would still be at the helm of one of America's most adventurous musical outfits.
During a four-decade career, the band has earned nine Grammy Awards, launched a critically acclaimed theatrical production, performed with everyone from Willie Nelson to President Obama to the Fort Worth Symphony, released more than 25 albums and had an airport roadhouse named after its frontman.
"At times it feels like it was yesterday and at times it feels like a hundred years ago," Benson says. "If I look back to 1969 when I quit college and said, 'This is what we're going to do,' it's hard for me to believe that it all happened way beyond my expectations."
Asleep at the Wheel will celebrate the band's history, as well as Benson's 59th birthday, at his annual invitation-only birthday bash March 16 in Austin, during the South by Southwest conference.
Asleep at the Wheel
Returned To Egypt
Sarcophagus
A 3,000-year-old ornately painted coffin arrived back in Egypt on Saturday, 125 years after it was smuggled out the country, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said.
Hawass, who accompanied the casket home from the United States, told reporters negotiations to bring the ancient artifact home had taken a year and half.
"The sarcophagus dates back to the 21st dynasty (1081-931 BC), a period for which we have relatively few antiquities," Hawass said, highlighting the rarity of such a piece.
The coffin, which is painted with inscriptions to help its occupant in the afterlife, was handed over to Hawass during a ceremony at the National Geographic Society in Washington on Wednesday.
Sarcophagus
Didn't Ask, Didn't Tell, Discharged
Jene Newsome
Jene Newsome played by the rules as an Air Force sergeant: She never told anyone in the military she was a lesbian. The 28-year-old's honorable discharge under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy came only after police officers in Rapid City, S.D., saw an Iowa marriage certificate in her home and told the nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base.
Newsome and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against the western South Dakota police department, claiming the officers violated her privacy when they informed the military about her sexual orientation. The case also highlights concerns over the ability of third parties to "out" service members, especially as the Pentagon has started reviewing the 1993 "don't ask, don't tell" law.
"I played by 'don't ask, don't tell,'" Newsome told The Associated Press by telephone.
As the review is under way, officials were also expected to suggest ways to relax enforcement that may include minimizing cases of third-party outings. In particular, Gates has suggested that the military might not have to expel someone whose sexual orientation was revealed by a third party out of vindictiveness or suspect motives.
Jene Newsome
Where Wingnuts Rule
Texas
A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade.
Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state. Curriculum standards also will describe the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic," rather than "democratic," and students will be required to study the decline in value of the U.S. dollar, including the abandonment of the gold standard.
Following three days of impassioned and acrimonious debate, the board gave preliminary approval to the new standards with a 10-5 party line vote. A final vote is expected in May, after a public comment period that could produce additional amendments and arguments.
Decisions by the board - made up of lawyers, a dentist and a weekly newspaper publisher among others - can affect textbook content nationwide because Texas is one of publishers' biggest clients.
Ultraconservatives wielded their power over hundreds of subjects this week, introducing and rejecting amendments on everything from the civil rights movement to global politics. Hostilities flared and prompted a walkout Thursday by one of the board's most prominent Democrats, Mary Helen Berlanga of Corpus Christi, who accused her colleagues of "whitewashing" curriculum standards.
Texas
Child Abuse Claims Sweep Europe
Catholic Church
It often starts as a voice in the wilderness, but can swell into an entire nation's demand for truth. From Ireland to Germany, Europe's many victims of child abuse in the Roman Catholic church are finally breaking social taboos and confronting the clergy to face its demons.
Ireland was the first in Europe to confront the church's worldwide custom of shielding pedophile priests from the law and public scandal. Now that legacy of suppressed childhood horror is being confronted in other parts of the Continent - nowhere more poignantly than in Germany, the homeland of Pope Benedict XVI.
The recent spread of claims into the Netherlands, Austria and Italy has analysts and churchmen wondering how deep the scandal runs, which nation will be touched next, and whether a tide of lawsuits will force European dioceses to declare bankruptcy like their American cousins.
Floodgates opened for Irish complaints that have topped 15,000 in this country of 4 million. Three government-ordered investigations have shocked and disgusted the nation, which has footed most of the bill to settle legal claims topping euro1 billion (nearly $1.5 billion).
Catholic Church
Resigns After Hot Tub Confession
Kevin Garn
Utah's House majority leader resigned from the Legislature Saturday, two days after acknowledging he paid a woman $150,000 to keep quiet about a nude hot-tubbing incident that took place a quarter century ago when she was a teenager.
Republican Rep. Kevin Garn's Thursday night confession came in a speech before House colleagues and stunned this conservative state. On Saturday, he apologized in an e-mail to House Speaker David Clark for becoming a distraction.
Garn, 55, acknowledged the indiscretion with the legal minor immediately after the Legislature adjourned for the session.
Lawmakers responded with a standing ovation for his honesty and embraced him - a move some found offensive given the nature of what Garn was saying. In hindsight, the ovation may not have been the best move, but it shouldn't be misconstrued to indicate support for unethical behavior, Clark said Saturday.
Kevin Garn
Wash Up On Calif. Beaches
Sea Lion Pups
Marine mammal experts say dozens of hungry and sick sea lion pups have washed up on Southern California beaches this winter and many have died at rescue centers.
Veterinarian Richard Evans said Thursday that the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach has treated 27 skinny pups since December, but only 11 have survived.
Evans says nine of the 12 pups now at his center are in critical condition, "just skin and bones."
Rescuers say the El Nino ocean warming makes the sea lions' prey, squid and fish, scarce.
Sea Lion Pups
Internet Agency Delays Porn Decision
No .xxx Yet
Porn Web sites can't park themselves at a ".xxx" address quite yet.
A global Internet oversight agency on Friday deferred a decision until June on whether to create a ".xxx" Internet suffix as an online red-light district.
The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, initiated a 70-day process of consultations on a domain that could help parents block access to porn sites. Use of the ".xxx" suffix would be voluntary, though, and would not keep such content entirely away from minors.
Backers of ".xxx" have billed the proposal as a way for the adult-entertainment industry to clean up its act, though some porn sites worry that governments would wind up mandating its use, and religious groups are concerned it would legitimize porn sites.
Skeptics also note that porn sites would likely keep their existing ".com" storefronts, even as they set up shop in the new ".xxx" domain name, thereby giving people even more ways to find pornography online.
No .xxx Yet
Conservative States Vs, Liberal States
Family Values
Ask most people about the differences between families who live in "red" (conservative) states and "blue" (liberal) states, and you'll hear a common refrain: Massachusetts and California are hotbeds of divorce and teen pregnancy, while Nebraska and Texas are havens of virtue and stability.
The reality is quite different. And the evidence should force all of us - conservative and liberal alike - to think carefully about the policies we set to help American families thrive in the 21st century.
According to a new federal study, women with a college education are much more likely to be married than are women who have never graduated from high school. And men and women who married after the age of 25 have lower divorce rates than couples who were married at younger ages.
In the United States, states that emphasize abstinence-only education, limit public subsidies of contraception, restrict access to abortion - and, yes, oppose gay marriage - have higher teen birth and divorce rates.
Yet the failure of the family values movement simply produces another round of moral panic and calls for more draconian restrictions. The most destructive have been those that marginalize the next generation. The latest studies show that as the economy has gone south, teen and nonmarital births and abortions have all increased. This indicates that contraception has become less available and pregnant women more desperate about their futures. Employment figures also demonstrate that male employment has fallen even further than female employment, making youthful weddings that much riskier.
Family Values
In Memory
Jean Ferrat
Jean Ferrat, a French singer-songwriter whose communist views saw many of his compositions banned from broadcast in the 1960s, died on Saturday, officials said. He was 79.
As prolific as he was discreet, Ferrat wrote and performed about 200 songs which reflected his political views, his affection for the poet and novelist Louis Aragon, and his love for his adopted Ardeche region.
Born in a Parisian suburb as Jean Tenenbaum, the moustachioed Ferrat traced his left-wing sympathies to a communist resistance fighter who saved him during the Nazi occupation of France in World War II.
His father was not so lucky: a Jewish emigre from Russia, the elder Tenenbaum was deported to Auschwitz when his son was 11, never to return.
Ferrat sang with a deep, soft voice, but songs like "Potemkine" (Potemkin) and "Ma France" (My France) were banned from the airwaves in the 1960s, a period when the French government kept a firm hand on radio and television.
In 1967, Ferrat -- who never performed in Soviet-controlled eastern Europe -- travelled to Cuba, returning with a song called "Cuba si" (Yes Cuba) in which he described the island under Fidel Castro as "poor" but "free".
Despite his left-wing views, Ferrat never joined the French Communist Party member, and in a 1980 song titled "Bilan" (Toll) he distanced himself from its favorable view of the Soviet Union and "zealous Stalinists".
Jean Ferrat
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
