Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Charles Murray: Are Too Many People Going to College? (american.com)
When corporations downsize, they lay off mediocre managers before they lay off top electricians. When the economy gets soft, top electricians can find work when mediocre managers cannot. Low-level management jobs can often be outsourced to India, whereas electricians' jobs cannot.
STEFAN KANFER: In Living Black-and-White (city-journal.org)
The old classics retain a vitality and beauty that color can't provide.
20 QUESTIONS: Howard Blum (popmatters.com)
Bestselling author, Vanity Fair contributing editor, and New York Times award-winning investigative reporter Howard Blum chats with PopMatters 20 Questions about Bob Dylan, Melville's Ishmael, and a bit of a Mafioso affinity.
Malinda Lo: A Quickie With Lena Headey (afterellen.com)
The star of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" talks about the iconic role.
Michael Jensen: "Neil Patrick Harris makes it look easy: Our exclusive interview" (afterelton.com)
The out actor on gay panic humor, his nude scene, his dream role, and much more!
Brandon Voss: "Big Gay Following: Molly Shannon" (advocate.com)
SNL starlet Molly Shannon returns to the small screen in the American adaptation of the hit Australian show Kath & Kim.
Roger Ebert: Rourke ready to climb off mat with 'Wrestler'
Mickey Rourke is back. The legendary tough guy in 1980s movies like "9? Weeks," "Barfly" and "Year of the Dragon" has never been away. He's been working steadily, with 16 movies just since 2000 -- but his title role in "The Wrestler" is arguably his best career performance and could win him an Oscar nomination.
Roger Ebert: An incident at Toronto
I think the guy was wrong. A film critic of all people should be respectful of the sight-lines of fellow audience members. But in one way I feel sorry for him. He had no idea who was behind him when he smacked me. Now it looked like he was picking on poor me. I have had my problems, but I promise you I am plenty hearty enough to withstand a smack, and quite happy, after the smack, to tap him again. I had to see those subtitles. There was no pain. The incident is over. Peace.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Activism (athensnews.com)
The year 2007 will be remembered in part for the protests of monks against the military dictatorship in Burma. It may also be remembered for a very unusual protest by international women, who discovered that in Burmese society macho soldier types believe that they must not come in contact with female undergarments. This has led to the formation of the international women's protest called "Panties for Peace," which may sound satiric but is deadly serious. Women all over the world sent their panties to Burmese embassies all over the world to protest the Burmese military's treatment of the Burmese monks.
For example, American women sent their panties to the Burmese embassy in the United States, which is located in Washington, D.C.
The Weekly Poll
'Informed Voter' Edition...
On August 25th The Democratic National Convention released the official platform.
Click here: 2008 Democratic Party Platform - (WARNING: pdf format)
This week's poll is...
What changes, if any, would you make to this platform?
A.) None. It is fine as it is...
B.) I would include __________...
C.) I would not have included __________...
D.) I would alter this particular position __________...
Remember Pollfans, an informed voter, is a happy voter!
BadtotheBoneBob
Send your response to BadtotheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
answered:
Just A Small Town Mayor
Garner St. John
Hi Marty -
Small-town Mayor Garner St. John is in the midst of re-election and facing a lot of the same issues the national candidates.
The latest video at the You Tubes.
Visit the website.
If you click on "Donate" it leads to his ex-wife's attack site.
thanks
The Vote Garner Team
Photo from Marsha
Mystery Bug
Marty:
Reader Suggestion
White Privilege
Marty -
For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
For the rest: This is Your Nation on White Privilege by Tim Wise
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast and cool most of the day.
Kennedy Center Honors
George Carlin
Jon Stewart, Bill Maher and Margaret Cho are among an all-star lineup of entertainers who will honor the late comedian George Carlin at this year's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
The prize was announced just before Carlin's death in June. It will be awarded during a tribute performance November 10th at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. The program announced Tuesday will be aired later on PBS stations.
Others who will honor Carlin include Garry Shandling, Lily Tomlin, Denis Leary, Joan Rivers, Lewis Black and Richard Belzer.
The prize is being awarded posthumously for the first time in its 11-year history.
George Carlin
Discouraged By Health Care Focus
Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards said Tuesday she is discouraged that health care is falling on the nation's list of priorities and critiqued the plans of both leading presidential candidates.
"I'm more discouraged than I was before," she said during a talk at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. "Shame on us if we don't take the momentum - even with all the other things that are happening - and translate it into a policy."
Edwards said she sparred with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama over his health care policy, which mandates insurance for children but doesn't require coverage for adults.
And she had almost nothing good to say about the health care plan of Republican hopeful John McCain, charging that it would simply lower costs by forcing bare-bones policies.
Elizabeth Edwards
Wants Justice For Gurkhas
Joanna Lumley
Actress Joanna Lumley brought a touch of showbiz glamour to the High Court as she joined Gurkhas in their battle for the right to settle in Britain.
To the skirl of bagpipes playing Cock o' The North, she walked through a guard of honour of Gurkhas in their traditional hats to the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice in London's Strand.
The Ab Fab star then knelt before two veteran Gurkha VC holders in wheelchairs to offer her best wishes in their test case being brought by five Gurkhas and a widow.
"I want to see justice done," she told Lachhiman Gurung, 91, and Tul Bahadur Pun, 86, who served with her father during the Second World War in Burma.
Joanna Lumley
Musical Christmas Special
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert will host his own Christmas special this year, Comedy Central announced Tuesday.
"A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!" will air Nov. 23 as a one-hour special.
It will be a musical special featuring John Legend, Elvis Costello, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Feist - and "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, who's slated to sing a duet with Colbert of a song simply titled "Hanukkah." (The song Colbert is to sing with Nelson appears to be a version of "The Little Drummer Boy" - called "Little Dealer Boy.")
Most of the special's songs have been written by "Daily Show" executive producer David Javerbaum and Fountains of Wayne's bassist Adam Schlesinger.
Stephen Colbert
Moves Up SNL Exit
Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler is about to birth herself a baby and a new TV show, and she's now decided to kick Saturday Night Live to the curb sooner than expected.
Although it was widely known that Poehler would leave the late-night sketch show after this season, no timetable had been announced. But NBC confirmed today to E! News that Poehler would not be back after she breaks for maternity leave in a few weeks.
Poelher's due to become a real-life baby mama in October. After she takes a brief hiatus (presumably to teach husband Will Arnett the ins and outs of diaper changing), she will go straight to work on her new, still untitled mockumentary show from the producers of The Office.
Poelher, who turns 37 today, joined Saturday Night Live in 2001 as a featured performer and became the first comic since Eddie Murphy to be promoted to full-time cast member in her first season.
Amy Poehler
Enter Lottery For Bleacher Seats
Oscars
Movie fans eager to see their idols up close will be able to enter a lottery for seats along the red carpet on Oscar night, it was announced today.
Beginning Sept. 22 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time, movie buffs and star-gazers can enter an online lottery conducted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a chance to win one of 300 available seats along the 500-foot-long walkway in front of the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
The lottery will be open for one week only. Applications can only be made online, at www.oscars.org/bleachers.
Applicants can register for up to four seats, but only one form will be accepted per person or group.
Oscars
Breaks Sales Record
Damien Hirst
A sale of pickled sharks, butterfly paintings and other pieces by provocative British artist Damien Hirst has raised $198 million, silencing his doubters and defying the global economic gloom.
Sotheby's auction house said the total for the two-day sale was a record for an auction of works by a single artist.
Sotheby's said the total smashed the $20 million record for an auction of works of a single artist set in 1993 for 88 works by Pablo Picasso.
The most successful of the so-called "Young British Artists" who came to prominence in the 1990s, Hirst is famous for eye-catching works redolent of death and decay - pickled animals, rotting cows' heads, diamond-encrusted skulls. He employs a large staff to help him make his works, and some critics had suggested his prolific output was devaluing the work.
Damien Hirst
Widow Commissions Sixth Book
Hitchhiker's Guide
A children's author has been commissioned to write the first posthumous instalment to the best-selling Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series.
Mostly Harmless, the fifth and last Hitchhiker book, was written by its creator Douglas Adams 16 years ago. Now the author's widow, Jane Belson, has given her approval to the plan by publisher Penguin to resurrect the hapless Arthur Dent in a sixth book, entitled And Another Thing...
The novel will be written by Eoin Colfer, best known for Artemis Fowl, the best-selling titles about a teenage criminal mastermind who wreaks havoc in this world and the next.
Colfer, 43, was a primary school teacher in Ireland before he secured the largest ever advance for a children's novel by an unknown author.
Hitchhiker's Guide
Suddenly Scraps Statement
Bunny Pants
With little explanation, Resident Bush on Tuesday scrapped a statement he planned to give on the tumultuous financial markets, abandoning any press coverage of his meeting with key economic advisers as more developments roiled Wall Street.
As announced by the White House, Bush was scheduled to make comments to a pool of reporters after huddling with a key financial working group led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Its members include Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other key government figures in the field of commerce.
Yet after the session began, the White House told the press never mind. Spokesman Tony Fratto said only: "We decided it would be best to limit public comment about markets today." He declined to offer any explanation about why limiting Bush comment would be best, or why on this particular day.
After the session, White House press secretary Dana Perino offered only a one-sentence description of the session. She confirmed that Bush had been briefed by his working group on financial markets and said the president appreciated "their work to strengthen and stabilize the markets."
Bunny Pants
Science Says...
BPA
A major study links a chemical widely used in plastic products, including baby bottles, to health problems in humans like heart disease and diabetes, but U.S. regulators said on Tuesday they still believe it is safe.
The chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, is commonly used in plastic food and beverage containers and in the coating of food cans.
Until now, environmental and consumer activists who have questioned the safety of BPA have relied on animal studies.
But the study by British researchers in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that among 1,455 U.S. adults, those with the highest levels of BPA were more likely to have heart disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities than those with the lowest levels.
BPA
Trade Group Defends Plastic
FDA
With scientists at odds about the risks of a chemical found in plastic baby bottles, metal cans and other food packaging, the government on Tuesday gave consumers some tips on how to reduce their exposure to BPA even as it said the substance is safe.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee met as a major study linked bisphenol A to possible risks of heart disease and diabetes. The scientific debate could drag on for years.
"Right now, our tentative conclusion is that it's safe, so we're not recommending any change in habits," said Laura Tarantino, head of the FDA's office of food additive safety. But she acknowledged, "there are a number of things people can do to lower their exposure."
For example, consumers can avoid plastic containers imprinted with the recycling number '7,' as many of those contain BPA. Or, Tarantino said, they can avoid warming food in such containers, as heat helps to release the chemical.
FDA
Always Room For Another Repug
Jeanine Pirro
John Roberts (R-corporately insane), Clarence Thomas (R-religiously insane) or Ruth Bader Ginsburg don't immediately come to mind when many daytime TV viewers rate their favorite jurists. Think Judy Sheindlin, Joe Brown or Marilyn Milian.
For that audience, Jeanine Pirro is an important appointment.
The former suburban New York district attorney will join the crowded field of TV justice shows Monday, when "Judge Jeanine Pirro" premieres on the CW network. She'll try to settle small claims disputes in an entertaining fashion for an hour each weekday.
A big future in New York Republican politics had seemed Pirro's destiny, but she was handicapped by a husband who was convicted of tax fraud. (They've since separated.) Before losing to Cuomo, her brief bid to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton went up in flames.
Jeanine Pirro
Reporters Sue
Los Angeles Times
A group of current and former Los Angeles Times reporters sued their boss Sam Zell on Tuesday seeking to remove him and his close business associates from their parent company's board of directors.
The class action filed in a federal court in California claims the Chicago-based real estate billionaire -- who is chief executive of Tribune Co, which owns the Times -- has damaged the company's reputation and business since taking its reins last December.
After the takeover, Tribune became privately held with an employee stock ownership plan owning most of the company. But the contentious deal involved borrowing against Tribune's existing assets, which increased debt to $13 billion.
The deal that gave Zell control of Tribune also established a mechanism by which he can acquire 40 percent of the $8 billion company at $500 million. The plaintiffs call the deal "a scam" and say it puts at risk the employee owners' interests, including their retirement plans.
Los Angeles Times
Hitching A Ride
Ty Pennington
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" host Ty Pennington found himself in an extreme situation - out of gas and standing next to his vehicle along a Michigan highway at night.
Pennington ran out of gas in Newport, between Detroit and Toledo, Ohio, where he was filming an episode of his show.
Diane Grassley told The Monroe Evening News that she was driving her 16-year-old daughter to a bonfire party on Saturday night when they noticed a man standing next to a Chevrolet Suburban.
"He acted as if he was embarrassed," Diane Grassley said. "He asked if we could give him a ride to get gas."
Ty Pennington
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Sept. 8-14. 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) "Sunday Night Football" (Pittsburgh at Cleveland), NBC, 17.83 million viewers.
2. (29) "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 13.56 million viewers.
3. (20) "60 Minutes," CBS, 12.54 million viewers.
4. (139) "Saturday Night Football" (Ohio State at USC), ABC, 11.94 million viewers.
5. (29) "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday), NBC, 11.70 million viewers.
6. (14) "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday), NBC, 11.61 million viewers.
7. (65) "Football Night in America," NBC, 10.85 million viewers.
8. (X) "America's Got Talent" (Thursday), NBC, 9.83 million viewers.
9. (20) "Deal or No Deal," NBC, 9.65 million viewers.
10. (16) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 9.18 million viewers.
11. (57) "Bones," Fox, 9.15 million viewers.
12. (X) "Fringe," Fox, 9.13 million viewers.
13. (10) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 9.04 million viewers.
14. (82) "Flashpoint," CBS, 8.68 million viewers.
15. (25) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 8.37 million viewers.
16. (126) "20/20" (Friday), ABC, 8.07 million viewers.
17. (210) "Saturday Night Football Pre-Game," ABC, 7.86 million viewers.
18. (110) "Big Brother 10" (Thursday), CBS, 7.82 million viewers.
19. (38) "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC, 7.61 million viewers.
20. (102) "America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC, 7.51 million viewers.
Ratings
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