Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Langston Hughes: Let America Be America Again (Poets.org)
Let America be America again. / Let it be the dream it used to be. / Let it be the pioneer on the plain / Seeking a home where he himself is free.
Marc Dion: Where's the Outrage? (Creators Syndicate)
I'm not sure who we'll be 50 years from now, when I am gently rotting in the ground, but it is my hope we'll continue to outrage those standards of conduct we see as crushing people's lives. The Nazis, though, I hope a lot of us continue to be outraged by Nazis. And I can tell you right now that I never want to use a public bathroom with a Nazi, no matter what their sexual preference.
Ted Rall: 8 Ways to Fix America's Messed-Up Presidential Elections (Creators Syndicate)
If you cannot pass a simple test about the U.S. and its political system, you should not be allowed to run. We've had too many idiot presidents already. What is the Second Amendment? What is the capital of Puerto Rico? Which branch of government may declare war? How many members are there in Congress? Ten questions. You must correctly answer seven.
Connie Schultz: If You're Running for President, You Should Be Talking to Journalists (Creators Syndicate)
Virtually all presidential candidates - and plenty of congressional candidates, too - regularly treat journalists as vermin to dodge and mislead. This is as true of Democrats as it is Republicans. That's disappointing - that's not the word I want to use - but I can't say I'm surprised. This disdain for journalists is increasingly common in the very people who have always needed our coverage to reach voters.
Froma Harrop: Pelosi Is Right on Impeachment. Not Now and Probably Never (Creators Syndicate)
Nancy Pelosi has urged Democrats not to dive into impeaching President Donald Trump. Democrats, listen to her. "He's not worth it," she said. Yes, he's a scourge on our democracy. Yes, he has almost certainly done deeds qualifying him for removal from office (though we await slam-dunk evidence). Thing is, Trump's lifelong mission has been to make every conversation in America all about Donald Trump. Should an impeachment process get underway, it will be even more about Donald Trump. And what would happen to the agenda of the Democrats' new House majority? It would vanish in the pandemonium.
Froma Harrop: Scant Economic Joy in Mudville (Creators Syndicate)
The American people have been ordered to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the economic recovery. Note the lack of balloons, however, and that the marching bands have their feet up. President Donald Trump, of course, is a brass section unto himself. He's been trumpeting the "Trump economy," even though nearly eight of those 10 years were under Barack Obama.
Mark Shields: Memo to Democrats: 2020 Is Not 2018 (Creators Syndicate)
… before Democrats start picking out their inaugural ball outfits for Jan. 20, 2021, they would be wise to remember that two years after President Bill Clinton lost 52 Democratic House seats in his first midterm, he became the first Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to win a second term. Ronald Reagan had earlier bounced back after a midterm in which Republican congressional candidates won barely 43 percent of the national vote and only 38 percent of House seats to win a smashing 49-state re-election landslide victory just two Novembers later.
Leonore Skenazy: The Admissions Scandal Explained: Childhood As College Prep (Creators Syndicate)
Today's parents are stalked by the twin fears that their kids will be kidnapped, raped and eaten - or not get into Harvard. When either of those fears reaches a boiling point, parents do crazy things. I once got a letter from a 15-year-old whose parents wouldn't let him out of the house, even to walk to the school bus stop: "My dad says I could be 'abducted or killed.'" So while he was allowed to play video games at home, eat snacks and watch TV, he could not take a ball to the park. "I don't want my kids, if I ever even have kids, to live like me at all," he wrote.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• At the Chicago Herald-Examiner, John J. "Jack" McPhaul once worked with a female reporter who was dedicated to meeting deadlines. Once, they were working together on a murder case. They waited for a coroner to finish his work on the murder victim so they could report on the findings. Their deadline for the first edition was fast approaching, and growing impatient she walked into the coroner's office. A moment later, the coroner appeared and beckoned to Mr. McPhaul. Two bodies were lying down. One was the murder victim; the other was the female reporter. Mr. McPhaul asked what had happened, and the coroner replied, "She tapped me on the shoulder, and when I turned it was just in time to catch her. Out like a light. Guess the job was a little messier than she had expected." The female reporter regained consciousness, looked at Mr. McPhaul, and said, "Jack McPhaul, if you ever tell a soul, I'll kill you."
• Cerys Matthews was the lead singer of Catatonia and now records solo albums. One of her best friends is fellow Welsh singer Tom Jones, who gave her the best advice she has ever received-and followed: "Tom Jones told me not to drink before going on stage. You grow up with all these myths about rock 'n' roll behavior, even if the stars are on a rollercoaster to hell. His advice was so simple, but it really does work." She had her most embarrassing moment on stage in the days before Mr. Jones gave her this advice, when she fell over a monitor during a concert in Germany. She remembers, "I might have got away with it if I hadn't been mid-note." Ms. Matthews has thought about death, as all of us have, and she would like to be remembered "with a good sentence on a gravestone. I'm still working out what it would say. Gravestones are like Twitter-you need something short that will amuse people."
• Linda Ronstadt has sung some operetta and opera. For example, she has sung the role of Mabel in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. Doing this was hard work because she wasn't used to acting while singing. For example, during rehearsals she sometimes did not understand where to walk. A few times, at the end of a song in rehearsal she found herself standing in the place marked off for the orchestra pit. Co-star Kevin Kline also once pointed out to her during a rehearsal, "This is Gilbert and Sullivan, Linda-you can't say, 'Git!'" She also worked in La Bohemewith some other people who were new to opera. One musician even was heard asking during an early rehearsal, "Isn't there any dialogue in this show?"
• Actor Michael Landon seldom ate breakfast or lunch; instead, he would eat supper and often add a late-night snack. One night, at around 1 a.m. he made himself a plate of spaghetti and took it to his and his wife's bedroom, but discovered that he had forgotten the grated cheese. He put the plate of spaghetti, which was covered with tomato sauce, on the bed and left to get the grated cheese. His wife turned over in bed and woke up when her hand hit the plate of spaghetti. She turned on the light, looked at her hand, saw what she thought was blood, and started screaming. Michael ran to the bedroom and calmed her down.
• In 1958, when Larry King first left Brooklyn and went to South Florida, he hit John F. Kennedy's car. Senator Kennedy was pretty steamed about it, saying, "How could you? Early Sunday morning, no traffic, not a cloud in the sky, I'm parked-how could you run into me?" Unfortunately, Mr. King did not have a good excuse-he had simply been gawking at the fancy Palm Beach boutiques. Mr. Kennedy did offer to forget about the accident-if Mr. King promised to vote for him in the Presidential election. Mr. King did, and Mr. Kennedy drove away-after telling Mr. King, "Stay waaay behind me."
• During the filming of The Wizard of Oz, a few mishaps occurred. For example, the teacher who taught child actors thought that the adult midgets who performed as the Munchkins were children and tried to round them up and take them to school. And one wardrobe lady asked an adult little person to undress, saying, "I have a little one just like you at home." When the little person undressed, she realized from the physical evidence that she was in the presence of an adult male.
• In 2006, six weeks after Melissa Rivers, the daughter of Joan Rivers, had given birth, she attended a televised event (with a celebrity red carpet) at which someone looked at her and asked her when her baby was due. Fortunately, George Clooney came up to her. Melissa says, "He put his arm around me and said I looked amazing. That made me feel so much better."
• A career in opera can end quickly. French mezzo Simone Berriaux once choked on a peppercorn while eating a beefsteak. Although she coughed repeatedly, she could not dislodge the peppercorn from beside her vocal cords. The next morning a surgeon removed the peppercorn, but it had damaged her vocal cords so badly that she was forced to retire from opera.
• As a student, Arthur Mitchell once happily danced a Military Tap Salute at his public school; unfortunately, midway through the number, he forgot his routine. He handled it well. He simply told the audience, "You'll have to excuse me. It could happen to anyone. It's because I'm not a professional." (Later, of course, he became a professional.)
• Not all good deeds work out. For a performance by ballerina Maria Tallchief and the New York City Ballet, Japanese stagehands waxed the stage floor. Of course, this resulted in dancers slipping, sliding, and falling. After that one ruinous performance, the stage floor was restored to its usual scuffed lack of splendor.
• On one occasion, Alicia Markova, while dancing in the role of Giselle, started to pull some lilies from the stage, only to discover that the stagehands had mistakenly nailed them down. With a mighty effort, she wrenched them free, then continued to dance.
• David Byrne, former front man for the Talking Heads, is a cyclist. In 2008, he crashed on West 14th Street in New York City. Two police officers arrived and asked him two questions: 1) Were you drinking? and 2) Are you David Byrne? Both questions had the same answer: yes.
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Steps In As Fake Melania
Christine Baranski
Stephen Colbert is determined to get to the bottom of #FakeMelania once and for all. On Friday, The Late Show host welcomed not one, but two different Melania Trump impersonators to find out what's really going on with all those First Lady body double conspiracy theories.
First, Colbert was joined by Laura Benanti, who's all but perfected her Melania impersonation. "It makes no sense. How can there be two Melania Trumps? Think about it! Doesn't it seem crazy that there is even one?" Benanti joked. She was of course referring to the memes that arose after Donald Trump was spotted with what many people thought might be a Melania lookalike.
"Why would anyone impersonate Melania Trump? For what? Attention? Applause?" Benanti's Trump asked. "Besides it takes some Tony award-winning actor to pull off this role." Benanti won a Tony in 2008.
"If I was going to use a double, it would be in private when a Donald knocks on my bedroom door," Benanti's Trump added. "When he knocks on my door and he asks for a presidential briefing. It's over in two minutes and he spends the whole time confused."
At that point, Benanti was replaced by another Tony award-winning actress-none other than Christine Baranski. "Yes it's me, the first and only First Lady," she said. "You can't get rid of me no matter how hard I try," Baranski's Trump said before Colbert pointed out how different she looked than the earlier version. "Just like the media to focus on my appearance instead of the important work I do," she quipped. When it came time to talk about her husband, Baranski's Trump got a bit emotional. "I am married to Donald Trump and we are in.... oh I can't do this," she said before storming off.
Christine Baranski
Surprises Small Hollywood Venue
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga's first gig since she wow'd the Academy Awards took place last week just a few blocks away from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, getting much less attention than the worldwide broadcast.
The Black Rabbit Rose, a tiny venue on nearby Hudson Street that has a speakeasy vibe and usually hosts magic shows, saw a surprise Gaga performance of Frank Sinatra songs on Thursday night.
"I'm here to ruin the party. I'm so sorry," Gaga said to the small audience. She then launched into Sinatra's Call Me Irresponsible, followed by Fly Me To The Moon. Both are songs she regularly performs in her Las Vegas residency.
"My whole life, you know, I've been called irresponsible," she said before her first song. "It doesn't make me so mad because it's kind of true… and I like to hear the truth."
Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst is the host of Thursday night at the Black Rabbit.
Lady Gaga
No Credited Director
Wonder Park
Have you heard of Wonder Park, Paramount Pictures' latest animated foray into the world of talkative animals? It wouldn't be terribly shocking if you hadn't: The film has been met with a lukewarm reception at best and the marketing was pretty light, sans a few last-minute ad spots and a mobile game from Pixowl. It might've helped if the director had taken some time to spread the good word about their latest project, right?
In the curious case of Wonder Park, that would have been a little difficult. By the time the film had reached audiences, no director had been credited. Alan Smithee, the famed pseudonym attached to cinema's disowned darlings, hasn't even stepped in to to take credit. So is there a secret director or is this simply the first film to direct itself into existence?
Well, there may actually be a good reason for the omission. Back in January, when the film was originally titled Amusement Park, then-director Dylan Brown was fired from the project after multiple complaints of "inappropriate and unwanted behavior."
By this time, the film was well into production - possibly finished - and slated for a March release. This, mind you, came after Jeffrey Tambor, who was originally part of the cast, was replaced due to his own set of harassment complaints.
There you go. No ghost director, although it might have made for a more interesting final product.
Wonder Park
Preempted
'Judge Jeanine'
Judge Jeanine will have to find justice at a later date.
Jeanine Pirro's weekly Fox News Channel program Justice with Judge Jeanine is being replaced tonight at 9 p.m. with a repeat the documentary Scandalous: The Trial of William Kennedy Smith, according to a programming guide on the network's website.
"We're not commenting on internal scheduling matters," a Fox News spokesperson told Deadline Saturday, but would not comment further.
The development comes after FNC condemned remarks Pirro made last Saturday that seemed to question the national loyalty of Minnesota's Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and other Muslim women who wear hijabs.
Referring to Omar, who is a practicing Muslim, Pirro said: "Think about it - Omar wears a hijab. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?"
'Judge Jeanine'
Probes Possible Poisoning
Italy
Italy prosecutors have opened an investigation into the possible poisoning death of a Moroccan model who was a key witness in the trial against ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi over his infamous "bunga bunga" parties.
Imane Fadil, 34, died March 1 at a Milan-area hospital, where she had been treated since Jan. 29 for exhibiting "symptoms of poisoning," Milan prosecutor Francesco Greco said, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
In 2012, Fadil had told reporters that she feared for her safety after telling prosecutors investigating possible witness tampering in the case that she was offered money in exchange for her silence about what went on at Berlusconi's parties.
Berlusconi was initially convicted of charges that he paid for sex with an underage woman at the sex-fueled "bunga bunga" parties, and used his influence to cover it up. He was ultimately acquitted by Italy's highest court in 2015.
Fadil had testified against Berlusconi during the initial trial, and then with two other women had sought civil damages in a spinoff investigation over allegations that Berlusconi paid witnesses for their silence. That trial is ongoing.
Italy
Items Removed From Children's Museum
Michael Jackson
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, located two hours away from the Jackson family's hometown of Gary, Indiana, has removed a pair of Michael Jackson items from display following allegations of child sex abuse in the documentary Leaving Neverland.
One of Jackson's iconic gloves and fedoras, purchased at auction in 2017, as well as an autographed Jackson poster were on display at the children's museum until this month, when curators decided to remove the items following the premiere of Leaving Neverland, the Indianapolis Star reports.
"When we put together exhibitions, we look at the objects and their association with high-profile people. Obviously, we want to put stories in front of our visitors (showing) people of high character," the museum's director of collections Chris Carron told the newspaper.
Jackson visited the museum in 1990, around the same time he befriended an Indianapolis teenager named Ryan White who was diagnosed with HIV following a blood transfusion. When White died that year, Jackson attended the funeral.
Michael Jackson
Dormant Viruses Activate
Spaceflight
Herpes viruses reactivate in more than half of crew aboard Space Shuttle and International Space Station missions, according to NASA research published in Frontiers in Microbiology. While only a small proportion develop symptoms, virus reactivation rates increase with spaceflight duration and could present a significant health risk on missions to Mars and beyond.
NASA's rapid viral detection systems and ongoing treatment research are beginning to safeguard astronauts - and immunocompromised patients on Earth, too.
To study the physiological impact of spaceflight, Mehta and colleagues analyze saliva, blood and urine samples collected from astronauts before, during and after spaceflight.
"During spaceflight there is a rise in secretion of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which are known to suppress the immune system. In keeping with this, we find that astronaut's immune cells - particularly those that normally suppress and eliminate viruses - become less effective during spaceflight and sometimes for up to 60 days after."
"To date, 47 out of 89 (53%) astronauts on short space shuttle flights, and 14 out of 23 (61%) on longer ISS missions shed herpes viruses in their saliva or urine samples," reports Mehta. "These frequencies - as well as the quantity - of viral shedding are markedly higher than in samples from before or after flight, or from matched healthy controls."
Spaceflight
Russia & Ukraine Locked in Legal Dispute
Ancient Gold
Ukraine and Russia are locked in another heated battle over Crimea.
But this dispute is playing out in court, with the two neighbors locked in a legal fight over a precious collection of gold artifacts from the disputed peninsula.
The collection includes ancient jewelry, gems, helmets and scabbards from four museums in Crimea. It was on loan to a museum in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam in 2014 - around the same time Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
Five years later, the rare archaeological finds are still caught in the middle as both the Ukrainian government and Crimean museums claim ownership.
The exhibition included items originating from four museums in Crimea and one museum in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
Ancient Gold
NASA Finally Opening Sample
Moon Rocks
When NASA brought rock samples back from the moon, scientists at the space agency were aware that science would keep advancing.
So some of the samples brought back were preserved and never brought into contact with Earth's atmosphere (or frozen in helium) for 50 years.
Now NASA is to open the rock samples, and analyse them using technologies far beyond those available to scientists in 1972.
One unopened sample was collected by the Apollo 17 mission, the last to put human boots on the lunar surface and the only to have a geologist onboard.
One of these samples has never been in contact with Earth's atmosphere, and some have been frozen or stored in helium since collection.
Moon Rocks
In Memory
Tom Hatten
Tom Hatten, a former actor, announcer and KTLA host died Saturday at age 92, the Los Angeles television station reported. The station said it learned of Hatten's passing from his longtime friend and former KTLA producer, Joe Quasarano.
Hatten joined the station as an announcer in 1952. He went on to host the children's show Popeye and Friends from 1976 to 1988, and KTLA's Family Film Festival from 1978 to 1992.
The longtime broadcaster also kept local residents informed about Hollywood, as an entertainment editor at KNX 1070 News Radio from 1978 to 2007.
Born on Nov. 14, 1926 in Jamestown, North Dakota, Hatten served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and used benefits from the G.I. Bill to attend the Pasadena Playhouse.
In addition to his broadcast career, Hatten appeared on six episodes of Gomer Pyle: USMC in the 1960s, according to his IMDb page. He played a military officer in the television series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Hogan's Heroes, and had roles in the 1985 film Spies Like Us and Sweet Charity in 1969.
Hatten is survived by his longtime partner, Pete Menifee, as well as several nieces and nephews.
Tom Hatten
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