Baron Dave Romm
Live from Mpls
Baron Dave Romm is an accredited journalist for the RNC!
Watch his LiveJournal for updates.
The Weekly Poll
The current question:
Who would make the best Secretary of State when (not if) Obama takes the helm in January 2009?
A. Hillary Clinton
B. Zbigniew Brzezinski
C. Bill Richardson
D. Chris Dodd
E. Evan Bayh
F. Your choice
Send your response to BadtotheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Emily Wilson: A Review of Sophocles' Ajax by John Tipton (The Nation; Posted on powells.com)
Human civilization is premised on the idea that human beings should not kill one another. But in war, killing other people must somehow become acceptable -- morally, legally and psychologically. One way to achieve this is to imagine the enemy in nonhuman terms. "They," our opponents, must be as unlike us as possible: we can kill them if we see them as demons, foreigners, heretics, dots on the radar screen -- or, most common, as animals.
John Jameson: 70 Is the New 40 (advocate.com)
The first out gay man to win the Mr. America title, in 1973, Jim Morris is going stronger than ever, working as a personal trainer in L.A.'s Marina del Rey and posing, magnificently, for our photo portfolio "The Naked Truth" -- at age 73! Truly raising the bar on the concept of aging gracefully, Jim talks frankly about gays and self-perception, his vegan diet, steroids, and his wild night with Elton John, John Lennon, and Divine.
CathMath: Diablo Cody's "Binge Thinking" is just what we need (afterellen.com)
The screenwriter is one of few females with the forum to discuss pop culture.
Brian Juergens: Interview with "Hamlet 2" director Andrew Fleming (afterelton.com)
The gay filmmaker behind "Threesome" and "The Craft" talks about his latest film.
Roger Ebert: Hamlet and Jesus return in rockin' musical sequel (3 stars)
The problem with a sequel to "Hamlet" is that everybody interesting is dead by the end. That doesn't discourage Dana Marschz, a Tucson high school drama teacher, from trying to save the school's theater program with a sequel named "Hamlet 2." The shop class builds him a time machine, and he brings back the dead characters, plus Jesus, Einstein and the very much alive Hillary Clinton. Music is by the Tucson Gay Men's Chorus.
Juliette Binoche: Q and A (guardian.co.uk)
'My biggest disappointment? That I wasn't able to share my life with someone.'
Marjorie Kase: Interview With Margaret Cho (afterellen.com)
The queer comedian talks about her new VH1 reality show.
Janeane Garofalo is keeping busy this hot American summer (afterellen.com)
The comedian performs all three nights of Bumbershoot this weekend and has two new films coming out this year.
Ross von Metzke: "Kristin Chenoweth, Meet Tina" (advocate.com)
Chipper, scene-stealing Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth is a coat of many colors. Case in point: Her just-viraled spoof of A&E's Intervention, which finds Kristin, decked out in her "sunshine day" best, singing about meth addiction to a down-on-his-luck gay addict. Courtesy of the folks who brought the world Paris Hilton the politician.
Betty Bowers: The Newt Gingrich School of Disposable Starter-Wives (Video)
I pray that this rude, rare intrusion of inconvenient facts doesn't cause anyone to go pilfering through country club lockers in search of barbiturates. But I am rather grateful that no one on the Left has thought to apply a tactic we used against the even-less deserving target, John Kerry: That is, to point out that John McCain he is an opportunistic gigolo.
Funny or Die
Contributor Suggestion
BadtotheboneBob
Reader Comment
Mother-In-Law Quote
"I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain."
-- Faye Palin, the mother-in-law of Gov. Sarah Palin, quoted by the New York Daily News
Willow
Thanks, Willow!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and on the cool side.
Visits Afghanistan
Jude Law
British actor Jude Law called Monday for all parties in Afghanistan's conflict to observe a "Peace Day" on September 21 as part of a global campaign for ceasefires and non-violence.
Law, ambassador for the Peace One Day project set up in 1999 by British filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, was in the war-wracked country to promote its aims and show a film about events that marked the campaign in 2007.
"What we hope to do... is to remind all parties that it is happening and see then what happens through negotiations," Law told a press conference in Kabul.
Describing the world as being in a "disastrous state," Law said the Peace Day project aimed to encourage all sides -- "whether they are fighting for change, killing for change" -- to "pause."
Jude Law
Canada's Walk of Fame
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox may have become a U.S. citizen a few years back, but when it came to the recent Beijing Olympics, the Edmonton-born actor was cheering for the Canucks all the way.
"In my heart, I'm a Canadian, I'll always be a Canadian," he said in a recent telephone interview from Long Island, New York.
Fox's Canadian ties will be on full display this weekend when he is officially inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. The honour was initially announced in 2000 but Fox was not on hand for the ceremony.
"I'm most blown away by the company I'm in. It's really cool. Steve Nash, kd lang, Bryan Adams," he said, referring to fellow honorees.
Michael J. Fox
Particle Physics Rap
Kate McAlpine
Who says science doesn't turn people on? Kate McAlpine is a rising star on YouTube for her rap performance - about high-energy particle physics.
Her performance has drawn a half-million views so far on YouTube.
The 23-year-old Michigan State University graduate and science writer raps about the Large Hadron Collider, the groundbreaking particle accelerator that has been built in a 17-mile circular tunnel at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland.
"Rap and physics are culturally miles apart," McAlpine, a science writer at CERN, wrote to the Lansing State Journal in an e-mail last week, "and I find it amusing to try and throw them together."
McAlpine received permission to film herself and friends dancing in the caverns and tunnels where the experiments will take place.
Kate McAlpine
Half-Sisters Ace Cousin
Bayreuth Festival
The dramatic struggle played out backstage, pitting the great-grandchildren of composer Richard Wagner for control of the legendary festival dedicated to his music.
When the curtain rose Monday, half-sisters Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier had been chosen to succeed their father, Wolfgang, at the helm of the Bayreuth Festival, bringing the verve of youth and steady hand of experience to an event legendary among opera connoisseurs.
The 24-member board sided with the half-sisters over their cousin Nike Wagner, who mounted a surprise bid just a week ago with renowned Belgian director Gerard Mortier, after a power struggle that stretched on like a Wagnerian opera but more closely resembled Shakespeare's "King Lear."
89-year-old Wolfgang Wagner, has led the festival since 1951, when he revived it after a World War II hiatus with his brother Wieland - Nike's father.
Bayreuth Festival
Hospital News
Dalai Lama
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was discharged from a Mumbai hospital on Monday, four days after being admitted with stomach pain, but said he still needs plenty of rest.
The 73-year-old Nobel peace laureate smiled and waved as he emerged from Mumbai's private Lilavati Hospital, an AFP photographer said. He shook hands with hospital staff before leaving in a bullet-proof car.
The Dalai Lama's spokesman, Tenzin Takhla, has said he has cancelled all engagements for three weeks and would now spend several days resting in Mumbai.
Dalai Lama
Mishandled Classified Data
Alberto Gonzales
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales mishandled highly classified notes about a secret counterterror program, but not on purpose, according to a memo by his legal team.
The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, acknowledges that Gonzales improperly stored notes about the program and might have taken them home at one point.
Gonzales' lawyers wrote in their memo that there is no evidence the security breach resulted in secret information being viewed or otherwise exposed to anyone who was not authorized.
The classified notes focus on a March 2004 meeting with congressional leaders about a national security program that was about to expire. Efforts to renew the program sparked an intense Bush administration debate that played out at the hospital bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Alberto Gonzales
Record Turnout
Reed Dance
Tens of thousands of virgin maidens danced Monday for Swaziland's King Mswati III in a traditional reed dance at Ludzidzini palace outside the capital Mbabane.
The final day of the annual dance attracted a record 70,000 girls, some of them as young as six years of age.
King Mswati has 13 wifes, and he could pick another from among the dancers.
In 2005 the monarch triggered an outcry when he selected a 17-year-old to be his 13th wife just days after he ended an official ban on sex for girls younger than 18.
The bare-breasted maidens -- led by the king's own daughters -- sang and chanted traditional songs before thousands of spectators and tourists who gathered at a sports field outside the palace.
Reed Dance
Raises Record $65 Million
Lewis Telethon
Jerry Lewis raised a record $65 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in his annual Labor Day telethon, a benefit that also made a pitch for those inconvenienced by Hurricane Gustav.
The 2008 haul for the 43rd annual fundraising blitz was $1.2 million more than last year's total.
Lewis said he was prepared not to exceed the 2007 number because of the sluggish economy.
Lewis Telethon
Profits Über Alles
Genentech
What does a company do when there's anecdotal evidence that two of its drugs are equally effective in treating a leading cause of blindness in the elderly, one costing patients $60 per treatment and the other $2,000?
In the case of Genentech Inc., nothing.
The company declined to seek federal approval for the cheaper drug, Avastin, to treat the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. Nor would it help finance - or cooperate with - a National Eye Institute study comparing the effectiveness and safety of Avastin, a cancer drug, and the more expensive eye drug, Lucentis.
The financial stakes stemming from the study are huge. Medicare officials estimate there could be 50,000 or more additional cases of macular degeneration a year. Treating just one year's worth of new patients with Lucentis would cost $1.2 billion a year, compared with $60 million if they're treated with Avastin, Medicare officials said.
Genentech
Summertime Blues
Hollywood
The lucrative summer moviegoing season in North America ended on a lackluster note on Monday as ticket sales limped to a new record while attendance slumped to a three-year low.
The U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend, which marks the traditional end of summer, was led for a third round by "Tropic Thunder." Ben Stiller's Hollywood satire earned an estimated $14.3 million during the four-day period. It marks the lowest tally for a Labor Day holiday chart-topper since 2004, when the martial-arts film "Hero" opened to $11.5 million.
The overall picture for summer was not particularly shiny, with a 4 percent rise in the average U.S. ticket price to $7.16 saving the day for the movie industry.
Among the summer duds were Warner Bros.' $120 million family adventure "Speed Racer" and virtually everything released by Fox, including "Space Chimps," "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" and the Eddie Murphy comedy "Meet Dave."
Hollywood
In Memory
Edwin Guthman
Edwin O. Guthman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was on the infamous "enemies list" prepared by aides of President Richard Nixon and who served as press secretary to Robert F. Kennedy, has died at 89.
"Ed Guthman was not only a great friend, but a great journalist," Paul Conrad, a longtime political cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times, said Monday. "He was the only person I ever tore up a cartoon for."
Guthman was the Los Angeles Times' national editor from 1965 to 1977, then served for a decade as editorial page editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1950 for his stories in The Seattle Times on the Washington Legislature's Un-American Activities Committee. His reporting cleared a University of Washington professor of allegations that he was a Communist supporter.
Guthman was press secretary for Attorney General and later Sen. Robert F. Kennedy from 1961 to '65.
A Kennedy loyalist in his private life, Guthman wrote or edited four books about Kennedy. And he always wore a tie clip that President John Kennedy had given him, according to the USC Annenberg School for Communication.
In 1971, Guthman was the third name on a 20-name list of political opponents singled out for harassment in a memo sent from Nixon aide Charles Colson to aide John Dean.
He was a journalism professor and senior lecturer at the University of Southern California from 1987 until his retirement last year.
Born Aug. 11, 1919, in Seattle, Guthman attended the University of Washington and worked as a reporter for the Seattle Star before he was drafted in World War II. He served in North Africa and Italy, was wounded, and received the Purple Heart and the Silver Star.
Guthman is survived by three sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.
Edwin Guthman
In Memory
Sheldon Keller
Sheldon Keller, a writer who collaborated with Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner on the 1950s sketch comedy show "Caesar's Hour" and wrote variety shows for Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren and other stars, died Monday. He was 85.
A son of Polish immigrants, Keller moved from Chicago to New York in the early 1950s to pursue a career in comedy. He found success in 1955 when he joined the renowned writing staff that worked on Sid Caesar's television show, a spinoff of the popular program "Your Show of Shows."
He also wrote variety shows for such stars as Sinatra, Dick Van Dyke, Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore. He won an Emmy for a show he wrote for Carol Channing.
Keller also had a successful career as a composer and songwriter and performed in a jazz band with actors George Segal and Conrad Janis.
Sheldon Keller
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