'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Jim Hightower: Corporate Shakedown Artists (AlterNet)
Using a scam called "location incentives," major corporations that plan to open a new facility routinely bilk millions of dollars from us taxpayers to subsidize their move.
Victor Navasky: Breaking the Barrier (Columbia Journalism Review. Posted on Alternet)
In an excerpt from his new book, Victor Navasky poses the question that bedevils all small magazines and others who challenge the national complacency: How, given the media glut, do you break through and communicate the terrible truth?
Mark Taylor-Canfield: Education, Not Ammunition (WireTap. Posted on Alternet)
Summer is typically the most active military enlistment season, but the growing student counter-recruitment movement is working hard to keep youth in schools.
Ben Bradley: Howard Dean speaks out in Chicago (abclocal.go.com)
"My view is FOX News is a propaganda outlet for the Republican Party and I don't comment on FOX News," Dean said. That was in response to vice president Dick Cheney calling Howard Dean "over the top" on Fox News on Sunday.
David Bruce: Wise Up: Death ((The Athens News)
British actress Hermione Gingold once was asked if her most recent of several husbands was dead. She replied, "That's a matter of opinion."
Alice in Wonderland
Socialclass.org
Another Rant
Avery Ant
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The 'June Gloom' is hanging tough & I'm grateful.
Seem to be coming down with the kid's cold. Ack.
Creates Stir on Iran Assignment
Sean Penn
Sean Penn has left a wake of excited fans and bewildered clerics around the Iranian capital while on a special assignment for the San Francisco Chronicle to cover Friday's presidential elections.
His trip has offered Iranian photographers the rare taste of paparazzi-style celebrity hunting. Iran has a highly respected domestic film industry that has won countless international awards, but few Hollywood stars have visited since the Islamic Revolution.
Given a press credential by Chronicle Executive Editor Phil Bronstein, Penn visited neighboring Iraq in late November 2003, shortly before Saddam Hussein was captured. He wrote a series of stories for the newspaper.
Sean Penn
Radio-Television News Directors Association
Edward R. Murrow Awards
It's been a tough year for CBS News, with the departure of anchor Dan Rather and the cancellation of "60 Minutes Wednesday," but on Monday it got some good news from the legacy of its pioneer, Edward R. Murrow.
CBS News topped some of the biggest categories in the Edward R. Murrow Awards, which are handed out annually by the Radio-Television News Directors Assn. Its seven awards -- including five for radio -- were the most among any network.
The honors were led by the Overall Excellence Award, which was given to CBS News for the third consecutive year. CBS News also received honors for "The Early Show" coverage of the Breslan school hostage drama.
The awards will be handed out in October in New York.
Edward R. Murrow Awards
Efforts Intensify to End Gay Soldier-Ban
Robert Stout
Critics of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy are gaining new allies, including a few conservative congressmen and a West Point professor, as they press on multiple fronts to overturn the ban on out-of-the-closet gays and lesbians in the armed forces.
As part of their strategy, opponents of the policy are now highlighting the ongoing struggles of Army and Marine recruiters. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network say in a new report that many highly trained specialists - including combat engineers and linguists - are being discharged involuntarily while the Pentagon "is facing extreme challenges in recruiting and retaining troops."
Among the recently discharged soldiers is Robert Stout of Utica, Ohio, who was wounded while serving in Iraq and wanted to remain in the Army as an openly gay soldier. He is scheduled to visit Washington this week to lobby for repeal of the ban.
For a lot more, Robert Stout
Puto Signs Deal With Fox News
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera, who has been a war correspondent and host of his own weekend show on Fox News Channel, said Tuesday he had signed a four-year contract to stay at the network.
Rivera gave few details, other than to say he "got a promotion."
The network confirmed it had re-signed Rivera, naming him correspondent-at-large. Rivera will keep his Saturday evening show "At Large."
Geraldo Rivera
Withdraws Tickets for Live 8 Concert
EBay
EBay Inc. said Tuesday it will stop posters from selling tickets for the Live 8 concert on July 2.
Tickets for the much-sought-after show, intended to raise the profile of poverty in Africa, were being sold for inflated prices on eBay, angering concert organizer Bob Geldof. The musician urged a boycott of the auctioneer, accusing it of "sick profiteering."
EBay managing director Doug McCallum said the company had decided to take the tickets down.
Tickets began appearing on eBay shortly after recipients began learning by text that they had been successful.
EBay
Ex-Wife of Artie Shaw Sues
Evelyn Keyes
The ex-wife of the late Artie Shaw is suing the bandleader's estate, claiming Shaw owed her $150,000 when he died nearly six months ago.
Actress Evelyn Keyes filed a Superior Court lawsuit last week claiming she loaned Shaw the money when he was in financial straits and needed cash to sue movie studios and recording companies.
The Keyes breach-of-contract lawsuit against lawyer A. Edward Ezor, a representative of Shaw's estate and trustee of the Artie Shaw Foundation and the Artie Shaw Living Trust, seeks more than $1 million. Keyes was married to Shaw from 1957 to 1985.
A contract signed by Keyes and Shaw indicated their wills would "leave our entire estates to each other," the lawsuit said.
Evelyn Keyes
Board Approves Split
Viacom
Viacom Inc., the media conglomerate that owns CBS and MTV, said Tuesday that its board had unanimously approved a plan to split the company into two separate entities, one focusing on broadcast television and the other on cable networks.
Viacom said the split will occur in the first quarter of 2006. Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone will be chairman and controlling shareholder of the companies, which will both be based in New York.
The company said the separation will be made through a tax-free spinoff, meaning that holders of Viacom shares will receive shares of a new company called CBS Corp., that will include the CBS and UPN networks, a group of TV stations as well as a major radio and outdoor advertising group.
Viacom
Settles Suits
Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds and a former girlfriend have agreed to settle lawsuits they filed against each other in November, according to lawyers for both sides.
Pamela Seals, 49, sued the "Boogie Nights" actor for abuse and broken promises one day after Reynolds sued her, alleging that she was threatening to falsely accuse him of abuse if he didn't pay millions of dollars in extortion.
On Monday, Seals' California lawyer, Marvin Gross, said the case was "settled to everyone's satisfaction" and that the agreement takes care of both the Florida and California cases.
Burt Reynolds
Turns 25
Pac-Man
For a video game, Pac-Man is getting downright old. The ghost-wary hero with an insatiable appetite for dots turns 25 this month.
From the early 1980s "Pac-Mania" to today's endless sequels and rip-offs, the original master of maze management remains a bright yellow circle on the cultural radar.
But there was more to Pac-Man's broad appeal than eating dots and dodging on-screen archrivals Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde.
Billy Williams, the first and only person known to play a perfect game of Pac-Man (he racked up a score of 3,333,360 after clearing all 256 levels in more than six hours in 1999, according to video game record keepers Twin Galaxies) says Pac's popularity was in its nonviolent simplicity.
Pac-Man
Crashes Into Alaska Home
Fish-Toting Eagle
A bald eagle crashed through a window of a home and landed in the living room, scattering broken glass, feathers and a salmon carcass across the floor. Homeowner Jean Stack heard the crash and initially wondered if someone had thrown a dead fish through the window.
But then she heard her neighbor, Kurt Haskin, yelling. He saw the whole thing from his deck.
"It just grenaded that window," Haskin said. "The window didn't even slow it down."
When she reached the living room she found glass from one end of the room to the other. "There was this huge fish carcass right where my dog usually slept," she said. "It didn't have a head. It was at least two feet long - just the back bone and the tail."
There were feathers about eight feet into the room, she said.
Fish-Toting Eagle
$chwarzenegger Jeered
Ahnold
Politics followed Gov. Arnold "2-Passports" $chwarzenegger (R-$chlampe) to his alma mater Tuesday, where he was jeered relentlessly by protesters while delivering a commencement speech.
His address to 600 graduates in blue robes and caps at Santa Monica College turned into an exercise in perseverance, as virtually his every word was accompanied by catcalls, howls and piercing whistles from the audience of several thousand people watching the graduation.
$chwarzenegger's face appeared to redden during the 15-minute speech, but he ignored the shouting while recalling his days as a student in the early 1970s and, later, his work as a bodybuilder and actor.
At least 200 protesters gathered by the entrance to the college's outdoor stadium where the ceremony was held. They ridiculed $chwarzengger's education policies and plans to hold a special election later this year. Meanwhile, other protesters were scattered around the stadium and on nearby streets.
$chwarzenegger left the stage almost immediately after his speech, speeding across the infield in a golf cart surrounded by sprinting security guards. Across the field, he pulled up toward a waiting SUV and a large steel gate was closed behind him.
Ahnold
Basic Cable Networks
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of June 6-12. Each ratings point represents 1,096,000 households. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses.
1. NBA Playoffs: Detroit vs. Miami (Monday, 8:20 p.m.), TNT, 6.2, 6.75 million homes.
2. "Into the West" (Friday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 4.0, 4.43 million homes.
3. "WWE Raw Zone" (Monday, 10 p.m.), Spike, 3.1, 3.35 million homes.
4. "2005 MTV Movie Awards" (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.), MTV, 3.0, 3.27 million homes.
5. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), Spike, 2.9, 3.16 million homes.
6. "NBA Playoff Pregame Show" (Monday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.8, 3.03 million homes.
7. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.6, 2.88 million homes.
8. "Into the West" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.6, 2.85 million homes.
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.75 million homes.
10. Movie: "School's Out" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.75 million homes.
10. "Law & Order" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 2.5, 2.75 million homes.
12. "The 4400" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), USA, 2.5, 2.73 million homes.
13. "Into the West" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.5, 2.72 million homes.
14. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.7 million homes.
15. Movie: "Go Figure" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 2.4, 2.58 million homes.
Ratings
Prime-Time Nielsen
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for June 6-12. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (15) "Dancing With The Stars," ABC, 15.1 million viewers.
2. (1) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 12.7 million viewers.
3. (11) "Two And a Half Men," CBS, 11.5 million viewers.
4. (X) "Two And a Half Men" (Monday-10 p.m.), CBS, 11.4 million viewers.
5. (X) "Primetime Live Special Edition (Tuesday)," ABC, 11.2 million viewers.
6. (X) "Two And a Half Men" (Monday-9 p.m.), CBS, 11.1 million viewers.
7. (X) "Two And a Half Men,"(Monday-10:30 p.m.) CBS, 10.9 million viewers.
8. (X) " NBA Finals Game 2: Detroit at San Antonio," ABC, 10.7 million viewers.
9. (X) "NBA Finals Game 1: Detroit at San Antonio," ABC, 10.6 million viewers.
10. (20) "60 Minutes," CBS, 10.3 million viewers.
11. (24) "NCIS," CBS, 10.3 million viewers.
12. (X) "Two And a Half Men (Monday-8:30 p.m.)," CBS, 10 million viewers.
13. (22) "Law & Order," NBC, 9.6 million viewers.
14. (17) "Cold Case," CBS, 9.5 million viewers.
15. (31) "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," NBC, 9.4 million viewers.
16. (27) "House," Fox, 9.3 million viewers.
17. (18) "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC, 9.3 million viewers.
18. (X) "Everybody Loves Raymond" (Monday-8 p.m.), CBS, 9.1 million viewers.
19. (22) "CSI: NY," CBS, 9.1 million viewers.
20. (32) "Crossing Jordan," NBC, 8.7 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Isabelle 'Sis' Lennon Miller
Isabelle "Sis" Lennon Miller, mother of the Lennon Sisters who starred on Lawrence Welk's popular TV show in the 1950s, died May 1. She was 85.
The Lennon Sisters - Dee Dee, Peggy, Kathy and Janet - made their national debut with Welk on his Christmas program in 1955. The girls - then 16, 14, 12 and 9 - soon became one of Welk's most popular acts. They split from him in the late 1960s, and eventually had their own television show with Jimmy Durante.
Miller was the mother of 12, including one daughter who died previously. Three of her sons and a daughter-in-law are also entertainers singing in Branson, and a son-in-law and grandsons perform as a rock band.
Isabelle 'Sis' Lennon Miller
In Memory
David Sutherland
David Sutherland, an illustrator whose images helped lead the fantasy role-playing game "Dungeons & Dragons" to success in the late 1970s and 1980s, died June 6 of chronic liver failure. He was 56.
Sutherland died at his home in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
His illustrations include the famed scene of a dragon, a wizard and a bow-flexing knight on the first "D&D" boxed set that brought the game into the mainstream. Images on the covers of "Dungeon Masters Guide" and "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual," were his as well. Sutherland also worked as TSR's artistic director.
David Sutherland
