'Best of TBH Politoons'
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Dick Eats Bush
Reader Suggestion
good songwriting
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Ana Radelat: Thousands of troops say they won't fight (Gannett News Service; Posted on airforcetimes.com)
Swept up by a wave of patriotism after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Chris Magaoay joined the Marine Corps in November 2004. The newly married Magaoay thought a military career would allow him to continue his college education, help his country and set his life on the right path.
Hendrik Hertzberg: THE "IC" FACTOR (newyorker.com)
What is the name of a certain political part in the United States-not the one which controls the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government but the other one, which doesn't?
SABRINA TAVERNISE: Charity Wins Deep Loyalty for Hezbollah
TYRE, Lebanon, Aug. 5 - Hezbollah paid for his wife's Caesarean section. It brought olive oil, sugar and nuts when he lost his job and even covered the cost of an operation on his broken nose.
Michael Shedlock: Is Housing Bottoming Out? (globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
... realistically this is just the start of the decline in the numbers that will reported for the next 6-8 months (at least). I am in the field everyday with buyers, sellers, flippers, homeowners, builders, the subs that are out of work, and the mortgage brokers and title companies that are slow as molasses. I see it. I hear it. I live it, and now I am sweating it. We are in more trouble than I thought a month or two ago.
Annalee Newitz: Blog Menace (AlterNet.org)
There's a new threat to free speech, and it comes from the software that lets you read blogs.
Matthew Taylor: Should students take it easier? (guardian.co.uk)
The traditional image of the layabout student who struggles to get up in time for the afternoon showing of Neighbours has been under fire for some time.
Keith Plocek: Without a Trace (houstonpress.com)
Professional death cleaners are hired to disinfect, deodorize and make it seem like it never happened
Tom Engelhardt: The Hiroshima Stories We Can't Tell (Tomdispatch.com. Posted on AlterNet.org)
The Earth was knocked off its axis with America's atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 61 years ago. In some ways, we haven't yet recovered.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Acting (athensnews.com)
British actor and theater manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm once met a man who was carrying a grandfather clock. Sir Herbert asked him, "My good man, why not carry a watch?"
Another One
Adventures With Hotlinkers
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Pleasant sunny day, but supposed to get hot, again.
No new flags.
Wants To Visit Iraq With Hillary
Lindsay Lohan
Apparently a bit tired of her party-girl image, Lindsay Lohan says she wants to go to Iraq with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and entertain American troops there.
The 20-year old actress and pop singer said she hoped to emulate Marilyn Monroe, who performed shows for about 100,000 troops stationed in Korea in 1954.
A spokesman for the senator offered a slightly different take on Lohan's contact with the New York Democrat's office.
"It was suggested to her that if she wanted to go, she could pursue doing so through the USO," said spokesman Philippe Reines.
Lindsay Lohan
Dutch Rub
U2
Irish rock band U2 has transferred part of its multi-million-euro business empire out of Ireland due to changes in tax laws there, a British newspaper has said.
In a report from Dublin, the Daily Telegraph said Tuesday the band had moved part of its publishing company U2 Limited to the same Dutch finance house used by the Rolling Stones because royalties are virtually tax-free in the Netherlands.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the band -- whose frontman Bono campaigns against global poverty -- made the move in response to Ireland imposing a 250,000-euro (170,000-pound, 321,000-dollar) cap on tax-free incomes.
Last week, it was widely reported in Britain that the Rolling Stones paid only 1.6 percent in tax on earnings of 81.3 million pounds last year by using offshore trusts and companies, including one in the Netherlands.
U2
Paramount Contract Lapses
Tom Cruise
The Hollywood studio that bankrolls his films is not backing any more Tom Cruise movies until he agrees to a significant pay cut.
The 44-year-old actor is eager to get back to work to put behind him disappointments such as Mission: Impossible III, but last week his 13-year deal with the Paramount studio was allowed to lapse. Executives say Cruise faces a "financial adjustment and reality check" before he can continue his illustrious career.
Cruise is not the only star to suffer as Hollywood bosses cut jobs and get tough with expensive talent. Jim Carrey, Mike Myers and Reese Witherspoon are all "on holiday" with no immediate films in prospect, while Brad Pitt recently took a pay cut to play Jesse James.
Studios are feeling more bullish because many northern summer hits, from Cars to Superman Returns, have been driven by strong scripts and computer effects rather than celebrities.
Tom Cruise
Ashes To Africa
Tupac Shakur
The ashes of Tupac Shakur are to be taken to Africa by his mother, on the 10th anniversary of the rapper's death, where she will meet Nelson Mandela.
Afeni Shakur is planning to travel to Soweto in South Africa next month for a week-long visit. Along with her son's ashes, Afeni is taking Tupac's sister, Gloria Cox, and his daughter, Set Shakur, on the trip, which along with the Mandela meeting will also feature a tour of South African hospitals and orphanages.
Tupac Shakur
Hospital News
Roger Ebert
Film critic Roger Ebert was recovering from minor surgery related to his battle with cancer, his wife said in statement posted on his Web site Monday.
Chaz Ebert wrote that "last night Roger had minor surgery" but "doctors remain optimistic about his recovery."
Ebert's wife added that Sunday's surgery would delay the start of his physical therapy for only a few days, but did not provide details on the procedure. A message seeking further comment was left at the offices of the movie review program "Ebert & Roeper."
Roger Ebert
Baby News
Stone - Savage
Fred Savage, former child star of ABC's "The Wonder Years," is now a father to a baby boy.
The actor's wife, Jennifer Lynn Stone, gave birth to the 6-pound, 13-ounce child in Los Angeles on Saturday night, Savage's agency, Creative Arts Agency, confirmed Monday.
Savage, who turned 30 on July 9, played happy-go-lucky Kevin Arnold on "The Wonder Years" from 1988-1993.
Stone - Savage
County Refuses To Release Tapes
Mel Gibson
Authorities have refused to release video and audio tapes of Mel Gibson's drunken driving arrest, saying the material is part of an "investigatory file" and exempt from the California Public Records Act.
TMZ, a celebrity news Web site, had asked Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca for tapes of the incident in which Gibson uttered obscenity-laced, anti-Semitic comments.
TMZ argued that the tapes should be seen and heard by the public to assess whether the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department gave Gibson preferential treatment.
Harvey Levin, who runs TMZ, said he would wait to see "how the case plays out."
Mel Gibson
Settles `Rocky' Films Lawsuit
Sylvester Stallone
Chuck Wepner has ended his bid to get compensation from Sylvester Stallone for using him as the inspiration for his "Rocky" movies.
Lawyers for Wepner and Stallone filed notice in U.S. District Court last week that they have settled the 2003 lawsuit for undisclosed terms.
Wepner had maintained that although he was the inspiration for Stallone's Rocky Balboa character, the actor never made good on promises that he would get payment.
The former heavyweight boxer claimed Stallone improperly used his name to promote the "Rocky" films, while Stallone countered that Wepner had already benefited by making public appearances as "the real Rocky."
Sylvester Stallone
Sues 2 Entertainment Firms
Jerry Lewis
Comedian Jerry Lewis filed a $2.3 million lawsuit against two entertainment companies, claiming he is owed money over a proposed remake of his 1961 movie "The Errand Boy."
The lawsuit said Lewis and JAS Productions Inc. entered into an agreement with Hollywood Pictures in 1996 that gave the film company an option to remake "The Errand Boy."
Between 1999 and 2001, Hollywood assigned its rights to Spyglass, which never made the movie but prepared a screenplay and hired script writers, according to the lawsuit.
Jerry Lewis
Reality Show Broadway Prize
'Grease'
The T-Birds and the Pink Ladies of "Grease" are coming back to Broadway, where producers are turning to a reality television show to cast the lead roles.
NBC said on Tuesday it will broadcast a talent show titled "You're the One That We Want" -- a play on a hit song from the show -- in which viewers can vote for singers to play the roles of the naive new girl in town, Sandy Dumbrowski, and Danny Zuko, the tough gang leader with a soft center.
The show, produced by Britain's BBC Worldwide Productions, follows the model of the BBC's "How Do I Solve A Problem Like Maria?" in which Julie Andrews wannabes compete to star in a new production of "The Sound of Music" to open late this year.
'Grease'
Joining Faux News
Dennis Miller
52-year-old comedian Dennis Miller, who has voiced his support for resident Bush and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, will talk politics as a contributor on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes," network spokeswoman Dana Klinghoffer told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Miller starts Sept. 13.
He will also provide commentary on the Fox News Web site, Klinghoffer said.
Dennis Miller
Triggers Two Civil Suits
Pellicano Scandal
A pair of potentially major new civil suits have been filed in the wake of revelations involving Anthony Pellicano, the disgraced private investigator accused of wiretapping and obtaining the confidential records of movie stars, journalists and business executives.
Film producer Aaron Russo ("Wise Guys," "Trading Places") is suing the city of Beverly Hills and former Beverly Hills detective Craig Stevens, accusing the defendants of illegally sharing private police files with Pellicano. And Monika Zsibrita, a professional model once involved in a flap with actor-comedian Chris Rock, is among the plaintiffs filing suit against the city of Los Angeles and former police officer Mark Arneson, alleging similar behavior.
The Russo suit, filed Monday in state Superior Court in Los Angeles, relates to a previous legal squabble involving Russo and a New York-based investor, Adam Sender, for whom Pellicano was working at the time. It charges that Stevens, at Pellicano's request, improperly accessed the Beverly Hills Police Department computer system to obtain criminal histories and other law-enforcement information about individuals Pellicano was investigating.
Pellicano Scandal
18th Anniversary
Burma
Pro-democracy activists quietly commemorated the 18th anniversary Tuesday of uprisings in Myanmar that cost thousands of lives and propelled opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi into prominence.
The ruling junta also expanded a roadblock outside Suu Kyi's home, where she has been confined for more than 10 of the past 17 years.
On Aug. 8, 1988, demonstrations against the 26-year military dictatorship spread across the country, then known as Burma. The uprising toppled dictator Ne Win, but a new crop of generals seized power in September 1988 after brutally crushing the nationwide demonstrations, gunning down crowds and arresting protesters.
The junta called elections in 1990 but refused to recognize the landslide victory of Suu Kyi's party. Suu Kyi, 61, who won the 1991 Nobel peace prize, was last detained in May 2003 after her motorcade was attacked in northern Myanmar by a pro-junta mob.
Burma
Trivia Game Show For NBC
Bob Saget
Actor-comedian Bob Saget has signed a deal to host NBC's game show "1 Versus 100," his first such gig since his successful seven-year turn at the helm of ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos."
Based on a popular international format, "1 Versus 100" is a trivia contest pitting one player against a group of 100 people for a chance to win a multimillion-dollar cash prize.
Saget recently wrapped the feature mockumentary "Farce of the Penguins," which he wrote, directed and produced. The film is being released by indie distributor ThinkFilms ('The Aristocrats'). .
Bob Saget
Hank Sr.'s Mentor
Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne
In Oakwood Cemetery, signs direct the faithful and the curious to the much-visited burial site of country music legend Hank Williams Sr., a monument that includes depictions of his hat and boots.
A few miles away, the man who taught Hank to play the guitar lies in an obscure, uncertain grave.
A 9-foot-tall white marble stone at the entrance to Lincoln Cemetery announces that Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne is buried somewhere in the cemetery. And among the crowded headstones, some of which are overturned, a historical marker signals the general area of Tee-Tot's resting place.
Tee-Tot was a black street performer who taught the young Williams to play the guitar in the 1930s.
Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne
Prime-Time Nielsen
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for July 31-Aug. 06. Top 20 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. (7) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 11.22 million viewers.
2. (6) "Without a Trace," CBS, 10.66 million viewers.
3. (X) NFL Exhibition: Oakland vs. Philadelphia (Sunday), NBC, 10.56 million viewers.
4. (43) "America's Got Talent," NBC, 10.53 million viewers.
5. (16) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 10.08 million viewers.
6. (X) "NFL Pregame Show" (Sunday) NBC, 9.88 million viewers.
7. (3) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 9.79 million viewers.
8. (56) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Wednesday), Fox, 9.39 million viewers.
9. (6) "Without a Trace," (Sunday), CBS, 9.23 million viewers.
10. (24) "60 Minutes," CBS, 8.98 million viewers.
11. (21) "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 8.92 million viewers.
12. (22) "Cold Case," CBS, 8.73 million viewers.
13. (59) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Thursday), Fox, 8.35 million viewers.
14. (29) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 8.07 million viewers.
15. (62) "How I Met Your Mother," CBS, 8.01 million viewers.
16. (98) "America's Got Talent" (Thursday), NBC, 7.94 million viewers.
17. (20) "CSI: NY," CBS, 7.85 million viewers.
18. (105) "Hell's Kitchen," Fox, 7.84 million viewers.
19. (36) "Law & Order," NBC, 7.68 million viewers.
20. (75) "48 Hours Mystery" (Tuesday), CBS, 7.65 million viewers.
Ratings
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