'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Jim Hightower: GOVERNMENT OF, BY, AND FOR THE BUSHITES (jimhightower.com)
In 2005, Ken Mehlman, one of George W's top political advisors, addressed this thought to the federal goverment's worker bees: "One of the things that can happen in Washington when you work in an agency is that you forget who sent you there." Yes, Ken... good point! Public employees work for the people, right? Well... not quite. Mehlman went on to explain his thought: "And it's important to remind people that you're George Bush people.... If there's one empire I want built, it's the George Bush Empire." Oh.
Every generation does better? Don't count on it (msnbc.msn.com)
A generation ago, American men in their thirties had median annual incomes of about $40,000 compared with men of the same age who now make about $35,000 a year, adjusted for inflation. That's a 12.5 percent drop between 1974 and 2004, according to the report from the Pew Charitable Trusts' Economic Mobility ProjectŠ To be sure, household incomes rose during the same period, but only because there are more full-time working women, the report said.
Richard Roeper: What exactly did teen write that was illegal? (suntimes.com)
Even as McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi dropped the charges Wednesday against the high school student who wrote an alarming essay containing fantasies of specific violence and necrophilia, he said the arrest and the case were legitimate.
PAUL KRUGMAN: Immigrants and Politics (The New York Times)
A piece of advice for progressives trying to figure out where they stand on immigration reform: it's the political economy, stupid. Analyzing the direct economic gains and losses from proposed reform isn't enough. You also have to think about how the reform would affect the future political environment.
Daniel Fierman: Ready for Moore? (Entertainment Weekly; Posted on michaelmoore.com)
He bashed Bush before it was a pastime. Now he hits health care with ''Sicko.'' Love him or hate him, there's only one Michael Moore.
Susan Sontag: Regarding the Torture of Others (New York Times; Posted on truthout.org)
For a long time - at least six decades - photographs have laid down the tracks of how important conflicts are judged and remembered. The Western memory museum is now mostly a visual one. Photographs have an insuperable power to determine what we recall of events, and it now seems probable that the defining association of people everywhere with the war that the United States launched preemptively in Iraq last year will be photographs of the torture of Iraqi prisoners by Americans in the most infamous of Saddam Hussein's prisons, Abu Ghraib.
David Rieff: Remembering Susan Sontag (vqronline.org)
In thinking of my mother now, more than a year after her death, I often find myself dwelling on that startling phrase in Auden's great memorial poem for Yeats-words that both sum up what small immortality artistic accomplishment sometimes can confer and are, simultaneously, such an extraordinary euphemism for extinction. Once dead, Yeats, Auden writes, "became his admirers."
Mark Morford: Why Are You So Incredibly Drunk? (sfgate.com)
What is it about public displays of extreme, staggering wastedness? Is it fun?
Bruce David: Country Rock (No Relation to David Bruce; garageband.com)
Purple Gene Reviews
'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another 'May Gray' morning, and a sunny, breezy afternoon.
Campaign Tunes Not So Simple
Theme Songs
Choosing a theme song for a political campaign may sound fun but can produce plenty of sour notes.
Using videos posted on the YouTube Web site, Sen. Clinton has asked viewers to vote for a campaign song, with the winner to be picked soon. More than 130,000 votes have been cast since mid-May, the campaign said.
The finalists are "Suddenly I See," by K.T. Tunstall, "Rock This Country!" by Shania Twain, "Beautiful Day" by U2, "Get Ready" by The Temptations and Smash Mouth's cover of the Neil Diamond song "I'm a Believer."
The search has prompted a chorus of less-than-complimentary and silly suggestions from television pundits, bloggers and Internet Hillary-haters, whose offerings include "Maneater" by Hall & Oates, "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" by The Smiths and "Bitch" by the Rolling Stones.
Theme Songs
Eric Idle's Oratorio
'Not The Messiah'
Monty Python is taking over the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with silly songs and a very naughty boy named Brian.
Eric Idle's cheeky oratorio "Not The Messiah" makes its world premiere this week with the comic's Canadian cousin at the helm conducting the unconventional piece.
Referencing both the Python film "Life of Brian" and Handel's reverent masterpiece "Messiah," the symphonic performance is a natural companion to the goofy 1979 film in which a simple boy is born on the same night and same street as Jesus Christ, says Idle.
'Not The Messiah'
Half Genetic
Political Preference
Whether you prefer Rush Limbaugh or Keith Olbermann has to do with your genes and your psychology, according to a new study.
People who are more conscientious and prefer order, structure and closure in their lives tend to be more conservative, whereas creative people who are open to new experiences tend to be more politically liberal, says John Jost, a psychologist at New York University who conducted an overview of previous studies involving a total of more than 22,000 participants from 12 countries.
But that psychological profile only pulls half the weight when it comes to determining people's politics, his review showed. The other half is genetic, as is revealed in studies of twins and their political bent, Jost says.
Political Preference
Book Burning Protest
Tom Wayne
Tom Wayne amassed thousands of books in a warehouse during the 10 years he has run his used book store, Prospero's Books. His collection ranges from best sellers like Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October" and Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities," to obscure titles like a bound report from the Fourth Pan-American Conference held in Buenos Aires in 1910. But wanting to thin out his collection, he found he couldn't even give away books to libraries or thrift shops, which said they were full. So on Sunday, Wayne began burning his books protest what he sees as society's diminishing support for the printed word.
"This is the funeral pyre for thought in America today," Wayne told spectators outside his bookstore as he lit the first batch of books.
The fire blazed for about 50 minutes before the Kansas City Fire Department put it out because Wayne didn't have a permit to burn them.
Wayne said next time he will get a permit. He said he envisions monthly bonfires until his supply - estimated at 20,000 books - is exhausted.
Tom Wayne
Studio Fire
WABC-TV
WABC-TV was back on the air Monday morning after a fire damaged equipment in its Manhattan studios and filled the building with thick smoke just before the start of an evening broadcast.
No one was injured, and the fire was quickly put out, but the smoke forced an evacuation that knocked out programming a few minutes before the 11 p.m. Sunday newscast. The station's viewers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were left with a black screen or color bars.
The fire started when a studio light burst and a curtain caught fire, said Kenny Plotnik, the station's news director. The sprinklers went off and smoke inundated the building as about 50 staff members evacuated. A spokesman for the New York Fire Department said the cause was under investigation.
WABC-TV
Poland Probing
Teletubbies
Poland's conservative government took its drive to curb what it sees as homosexual propaganda to the small screen on Monday, taking aim at Tinky Winky and the other Teletubbies.
Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told a local magazine published on Monday she was concerned the popular BBC children's show promoted homosexuality.
In comments reminiscent of criticism by the late U.S. evangelist Jerry Falwell, she was quoted as saying: "I noticed (Tinky Winky) has a lady's purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy."
Polish Education Minister Roman Giertych has proposed laws sacking teachers who promote "homosexual lifestyle" and banning "homo-agitation" in schools.
Teletubbies
New Species Discovered
Limbless Lizard
An Indian zoologist said Monday he has found a new species of limbless lizard in a forested area in the country's east. "Preliminary scientific study reveals that the lizard belongs to the genus Sepsophis," said Sushil Kumar Dutta, who led a team of researchers from "Vasundhra," a non-governmental organization, and the North Orissa University.
The newly found 7-inch long lizard looks like a scaly, small snake, Dutta said. "It prefers to live in a cool retreat, soft soil and below stones."
"The lizard is new to science and is an important discovery. It is not found anywhere else in the world," Dutta told The Associated Press. He is the head of the zoology department of the North Orissa University in the eastern Indian town of Baripada.
Limbless Lizard
On Drugs
Bugs
Tiny drain flies infested 70 pounds of seized khat - an illegal, leafy drug - being held as evidence by Erie police, and they tried to infest the rest of the evidence room.
"We had no idea this stuff could carry bugs," said police Lt. Mike Nolan. "It's a relatively new drug around here, so it's a learning process for all of us."
The drug can be chewed or smoked and is common in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, but relatively uncommon in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Even though the trial hadn't started, an Erie County judge agreed to allow the drug to be burned by police, and an exterminator was brought in to rid storage room of the bugs.
Bugs
In Memory
Gretchen Wyler
Gretchen Wyler, a veteran Broadway actress who enjoyed a second career on television and was a leading animal rights activist, died Sunday. She was 75.
Wyler's theatrical career spanned 50 years, including parts on Broadway in the original "Guys and Dolls," "Silk Stockings," "Damn Yankees," "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Sly Fox" with George C. Scott.
She was a regular on the short-lived 1970s CBS television series "On Our Own," spent a season on "Dallas" and made guest appearances on a number of shows including "Friends," "Judging Amy" and "Providence."
Wyler began her crusade for animal rights in 1966 after witnessing poor conditions at a New York shelter. Wyler managed the shelter for 10 years and in 1970 became the first woman member of the board of directors of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
She formed The Ark Trust in 1991 and ran the organization until it joined forces with the Humane Society in 2002. Last year she retired as vice president of the Humane Society in Hollywood.
In 1986 she created the Genesis Awards, which honors the media and entertainment industry for shining a spotlight on animal cruelty. This year, the first Gretchen Wyler Award was bestowed on Paul McCartney, for a lifetime of activism for animals.
Gretchen Wyler
In Memory
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly, the Tony Award winner who later became known for his ribald appearances on the "Tonight Show" and various game shows, has died. He was 76.
Reilly died Friday in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia, his partner, Patrick Hughes, told the New York Times.
Reilly began his career in New York City, taking acting classes at a studio with Steve McQueen, Geraldine Page and Hal Holbrook. In 1962, he appeared on Broadway as Bud Frump in the original Broadway production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." The role won Reilly a Tony Award.
He was nominated for a Tony again for playing Cornelius in "Hello, Dolly!" In 1997 he received another nomination for directing Julie Harris and Charles Durning in a revival of "The Gin Game."
After moving to Hollywood in 1960s he appeared as the nervous Claymore Gregg on TV's "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" and as a featured guest on "The Dean Martin Show."
He gained fame by becoming what he described as a "game show fixture" in the 1970s and 80s. He was a regular on programs like "Match Game" and "Hollywood Squares," often wearing giant glasses and colorful suits with ascots.
His larger-than-life persona and affinity for double-entendres also landed him on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson more than 95 times.
His final work was an autobiographical one-man show, "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly," about his family life growing up in the Bronx. The title grew out of the fact that when he would act out as a child, his mother would often admonish him to "save it for the stage."
The stage show was made into the 2006 feature film called "The Life of Reilly."
Reilly's openly gay television persona was ahead of its time, and sometimes stood in his way. He recalled a network executive telling him "they don't let queers on television."
Charles Nelson Reilly
In Memory
Joerg Immendorff
German expressionist artist Joerg Immendorff, famous for his surreal and provocative paintings and sculptures, died on Monday at age 61 in Duesseldorf after a long illness, his wife Oda Jaune-Immendorff said.
A leading German artist famed for his work as well as his flamboyant lifestyle, Immendorff was diagnosed in 1998 with degenerative amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
He was born in June 1945, when Germany lay in ruins after World War Two. Much of Immendorff's art addressed the enduring impact of that conflict on German postwar identity.
Immendorff left secondary school in 1963 at the age of 17 to begin his studies at the Art Academy in Duesseldorf. His art adopted an increasingly radical tone in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his "Lidl" concept -- a nonsensical artistic parody.
Immendorff went on to create his most celebrated work, the "Cafe Deutschland" series, between 1977-82 that dealt with the Cold War division of Germany.
Immendorff became an art professor in Frankfurt in 1989 and later Duesseldorf in 1997, where he had been kicked out as a student years before.
Immendorff's personal life made headlines in 2003 when Duesseldorf police detained him during a cocaine-fuelled orgy with several prostitutes at a luxury hotel.
He admitted at his trial in 2004 that he had organized 27 other orgies between 2001 and 2003. He was sentenced to 11 months probation and a 150,000 euro fine. He had first been suspended from the university but then reinstated.
Joerg Immendorff
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