'Best Of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Weekly Review
HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW
October 21, 2003
Resident George W. Bush traveled to Asia and gave a speech
in Manila comparing Iraq to the Philippines, a former U.S.
colony that was "liberated" from Spain in 1898 and occupied
for 48 years. Bush said that the Philippines, which he
called "the oldest democracy in Asia," should be seen as the
model for a new democratic Iraq, and then quickly left the
country because of security concerns.
George Akerlof, a
Nobel laureate in economics, described the Bush
Administration's budget policies as "a form of looting."
The
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended Lt. Gen. William
Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for
intelligence and war-fighting support, who was videotaped
making a number of impolite comments about Islam.
Boykin was
also videotaped propounding a new theory of American
electoral politics: "Why is this man [George W. Bush] in the
White House?" he asked in a speech. "The majority of
Americans didn't vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell
you this morning that he's in the White House because God
put him there for a time such as this."
Continued at www.harpers.org/weekly-review
--Roger D. Hodge
Reader Suggestion
Re: Blumrich on Rush
Sometimes (only when extremely drunk) I wish Rush's shows were available in
the UK so I could laugh at him. Thanks to Eric Blumrich, I can get a
condensed
summary of Rush's show. The
current Bushflash home page contains a
rant
from Eric about Rush that is also worth reading.
I don't know what language is used in the title bar for the Rush animation
but my guess is that it is not complimentary to Rush Limbo.
Brian deF
Thanks, Brian!
from Mark
Dr Paul?
That's *Doctor* Man of the Year
In the first place, this isn't quite logical. Dr. Paul
is saying it wasn't enough for the antiwar folks to
know the invasion was a bad idea. They also had to
know exactly which unintended consequence would be
most adverse to receive any credit at all. Thanks
Professor Paul. That's an interesting grading system
you've got there.
Further, leaving aside the tangential adjective
"most", Wolfowitz's talking point is demonstrably
incorrect. ... more ...
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another too toasty day.
Starting to see commercials on local TV from the 'energy' companies - saying that they're going to 'help us achieve long term rate stability.' Sounds like there's a new round of
deregulating coming our way.
That reminds me I need to pick up an industrial-size can o' Crisco at CostCo.
Tonight, Wednesday, CBS opens the night with '60 Minutes II', followed by a FRESH 'King Of Queen's, then a FRESH
'Becker', followed by a FRESH 'Brotherhood Of Poland, NH'.
On a RERUN Dave are Ben Stiller and Elvis Costello. (RERUNs all week)
On a RERUN Craiggers are Tom Selleck, Andy Roddick, and the Cure. (RERUNs all week)
NBC is supposed to start the night with a FRESH 'Ed', followed by a FRESH 'West Wing', then a FRESH
'Law & Order'. I bet they dump the FRESH stuff & air old crappy RERUNs because they think everybody is watching the World Series. *'s.
On a RERUN Jay are Catherine Zeta-Jones, Gov. Howard Dean, and Lyle Lovett. (RERUNs all week)
On a RERUN Conan are Antonio Banderas, Zoe Saldana, and Big Sandy and his Fly Rite Boys. (RERUNs all week)
On a RERUN Carson Daly are Wanda Sykes, Nada Surf, and John Reznikoff. (RERUNs all week)
ABC begins the evening with a FRESH 'My Wife & Kids', followed by a FRESH 'It's All Relative', then a FRESH
'The Bachelor', followed by a FRESH 'Karen Sisco'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Eddie Griffin and Bobby Flay, with this week's guest co-host Anthony Anderson.
The WB offers a FRESH 'Smallville', followed by a FRESH 'Angel'.
Faux has game 4 of the 'World Series' - 'Simpsons', 'King Of The Hill', and 'King Of Queens' RERUNs for the left coast, again.
UPN has a RERUN 'Enterprise', followed by a RERUN 'Jake 2.0'.
A&E has 'Biography' (Christina Onassis), 'American Justice', and another 'American Justice'.
AMC offers the movie 'Airport 1975', followed by the movie 'Earthquake', then the movie 'Cassandra Crossing'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Walters;
[7pm] 'Ground Force' - South Wales;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Wandsworth;
[8pm] 'Homefront in the Garden' - Eltham;
[8:30pm] 'Homefront in the Garden' - Rickmansworth;
[9pm] 'My Hero' - Episode 3;
[9:40pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 3;
[10:20pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 4;
[11pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Gillian Anderson;
[11:30pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Isaac Hayes;
[ 12am] 'My Hero' - Episode 3;
[12:40am] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 3;
[1:20am] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 4;
[2am] 'Homefront in the Garden' - Eltham;
[2:30am] 'Homefront in the Garden' - Rickmansworth;
[3am] 'So Graham Norton' - Gillian Anderson;
[3:30am] 'So Graham Norton' - Isaac Hayes;
[4am] 'My Hero' - Episode 3;
[4:40am] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 3;
[5:20am] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 4 and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'West Wing', followed by the movie 'The Man In The Moon', then 'West Wing', and another 'West Wing'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Walter Isaacson.
History is all 'Modern Marvels' all night.
SciFi has the movie 'The Rage: Carrie 2', followed by the movie 'Beetlejuice', then the movie 'Dark Backward'.
TCM pays tribute to Constance Bennett (today would have been her 99th birthday) all morning, spends the afternoon
celebrating the fabulous Joan Fontaine (she was born 86 years ago today, with the name Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland), and the
night features people on the run.
[6am] 'Sin Takes A Holiday' (1932);
[7:30am] 'Our Betters' (1933);
[9am] 'After Office Hours' (1935);
[10:30am] 'The Unsuspected' (1947);
[12:30pm] 'Until They Sail' (1957);
[2:30pm] 'Beyond A Reasonable Doubt' (1956);
[4pm] 'Born To Be Bad' (1950);
[5:30pm] 'Rebecca' (1940);
[8pm] 'The Sugarland Express' (1974);
[10pm] 'North By Northwest' (1959);
[12:30am] 'Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest' (2000);
[1:30am] 'Logan's Run' (1976);
[3:30am] 'The Defiant Ones' (1958) and
[5:30am] 'Festival of Shorts #25' (2000). (ALL TIMES EDT)
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) accompanied by Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio (R) visits the presidential palace of Belem in Lisbon October 21, 2003. Bill Clinton is on a one-day visit to Portugal to participate in a conference about globalization.
Photo by Jose Manuel Ribeiro
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Airs 'Meet the Governor' Clips
David Letterman
In contrast to the "Tonight" show — Arnold Schwarzenegger's unofficial late-night venue — David Letterman is airing material that would make most politicians consider a career change.
Over the past week, Letterman's "Meet the Governor" segment has rolled old footage of the incoming California governor grasping a woman's buttocks, smoking marijuana and grinning goofily dressed in an Indian outfit.
There's no political motivation; Letterman just wants to be funny, said Rob Burnett, executive producer of Letterman's "Late Show."
Burnett has worked with Letterman for 18 years and said he has "no idea" who his boss votes for or what party he supports.
For a lot more, and a joke break down, David Letterman
Attacks Bush In Open Letter
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp has lashed out at resident George W. Bush and America's foreign policy. In an open letter he co-wrote with his wife Elaine, Mellencamp blasts the powers that be for demonizing as "anti-American and unpatriotic" anyone who questions the policies of the U.S. government and the war in Iraq Mellencamp uses words and phrases like "systematically lied to," "the political 'hijacking' of Iraq," "this misadventure," and "the globe's leading bully. Arrogant and thoughtless" to describe the current situation, before writing, "Now, each day, as the dust settles and the truth slowly surfaces, more and more people come to the inevitable conclusion of what a debacle this whole war was."
Mellencamp ends the letter by suggesting that people should learn a lesson from the recent election in California: "The Governor of California was removed from office based on finance troubles. And yet George W. Bush has lied to us, failed to keep our own borders secure, entered a war under false pretense, endangered lives, and created financial chaos. How is it that he hasn't been recalled?...The fight for freedom in this country has been long, painful, and ongoing. It is time to take back our country. Take it back from political agendas, corporate greed, and overall manipulation. It is time to take action here in our land, in our own schools, neighborhoods, farms, and businesses. We have been lied to and terrorized by our own government, and it is time to take action. Now is the time to come together."
John Mellencamp
For the Full Text of John & Elaine Mellencamp's Open Letter, click here.
Man With An Opinion
George Clooney
Hollywood actor George Clooney says American society is too prudish -- one of the reasons why he would not follow his fellow actor Arnold Schwarzenegger into politics, he said in a published German magazine interview.
He told Woman magazine that Schwarzenegger's win this month in the California governorship race showed that candidates could only be successful in American politics if they denied things they did in earlier life.
Clooney, a lifelong Democrat, also underscored his opposition to the US-led war in Iraq.
"I stand by that. It was the dumbest thing that my country could have done. As an actor in the public eye, I have a responsibility. I see myself as a spokesman for all those who have the same opinion," he said, in comments published in German.
George Clooney
Urges Safeguards on Media Concentration
Barry Diller
Regulators should establish safeguards so that at least 20 to 30 percent of media remains outside the control of the "oligarchs" that will otherwise end up with near total control of the industry, media mogul Barry Diller said on Tuesday.
Diller, who now heads InterActiveCorp after a career of deal-making in the entertainment industry, said it was inevitable that five or six major media corporations would come together in blocs controlling both content and delivery.
But Diller said the marketplace needed "pretty good rulemaking that sets up appropriate safeguards for independent voices" and urged standards that ensure 20 percent to 30 percent of media is free of major corporate control.
Barry Diller
Reggae star Jimmy Cliff listens after recieving the Order of Merit, Jamaica's third highest national honour, Monday, Oct. 20, 2003 in Kingston, Jamaica. He recieved the honour for his outstanding contribution to Jamaica music and film industry. ``It's great to be appreciated by your own,'' Cliff, 55, said Monday after accepting the medal. Several of his songs, including ``The Harder They Come'' and ``Many Rivers to Cross,'' are considered reggae classics.
Photo by Collin Reid
Music Campaign To Raise AIDS Awareness In Africa
Nelson Mandela
South Africa's former president, Nelson Mandela, launched a worldwide campaign that will culminate in a star-studded concert in Cape Town in November to raise awareness about AIDS in Africa.
The 46664 Campaign -- using Mandela's prison number under apartheid -- calls on all governments to declare a global AIDS emergency and will include Bono of the pop band U2 and US singer Beyonce Knowles.
Explaining why he wanted his prison number to be used, Mandela said: "'46664' was my prison number for 18 years when I was in prison on Robben Island. I was known as just a number. Millions of people today infected with AIDS are just that, a number," he said.
Nelson Mandela
Will Specifies Home for Paris Review
George Plimpton
George Plimpton has left the bulk of his $5.5 million estate to his wife and children and expressed a wish for the Paris Review literary journal to continue operating out of his Manhattan apartment.
In papers filed Monday in Surrogate Court in Manhattan, Plimpton said that "it is my wish and hope that the space in my apartment ... which is currently made available rent free to the Paris Review shall continue to be made available without charge for so long as reasonably possible."
Plimpton, who died last month at age 76, helped found the journal in 1953 with an aim to emphasize literature over literary criticism. Plimpton edited the magazine until his death. No replacement has been named; in 2000, a foundation was established to ensure the magazine would continue after Plimpton.
George Plimpton
Books 3 Years in Vegas
Elton John
Elton John has signed on for a three-year, 75-show run at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. John's engagement kicks off Feb. 13 in the theater, built to accommodate a lavish Celine Dion production that will call the venue home for at least three years.
Tickets for John's first series of shows, Feb. 13-22 in the Colosseum, go on sale Oct. 22 via the Caesars Palace box office, Ticketmaster and 1-888-4-ELTONJ (1-888-435-8665). Seats are priced at $250, $175 and $100.
John's performances will not alter the show schedule for Dion's "A New Day..." During breaks in that show's run, the Colosseum has already hosted performances by Gloria Estefan, Jerry Seinfeld, Mariah Carey and Tim McGraw.
Elton John
The Stage Musical
'Lord of the Rings'
Indian composer A.R. Rahman and a Finnish folk troupe have been commissioned to write songs for a musical stage version of "The Lord of the Rings," the show's producer announced Tuesday.
Rahman, a veteran Bollywood songwriter who scored the Andrew Lloyd Webber-produced musical "Bombay Dreams," will collaborate with the group Varttina on the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein's fantasy trilogy, which has spawned a hit film series.
The "Lord of the Rings" musical is scheduled to open in London in spring 2005. Wallace has said the production is budgeted at $13 million, which would make it the most expensive musical in West End history.
'Lord of the Rings'
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
'Surreal Life 2'
Tammy Faye & Ron Jeremy
Former televangelist wife Tammy Faye Messner and porn legend Ron Jeremy are Hollywood Hills mansion housemates for nearly two weeks in WB's "Surreal Life 2" which began taping on Monday.
The odd couple share the house and act as house hosts for 11 days. They will have four other roommates — rapper Vanilla Ice, "ChiPs" actor Erik Estrada, former "Baywatch" actress Traci Bingham and "Real World: Las Vegas" cast member Trishelle. They will also have a celebrity guest move in each week.
Tammy Faye & Ron Jeremy
Dutch archeologists work on an ancient Roman Barge which was dug up in the town of Woerden in the center of the Netherlands, October 21, 2003. The barge, dating from around 100 AD, was dug up in the center of the Dutch town which was once the location of the Roman military settlement Castellum Laurium and a trading outpost on the banks of the Rhine. Archaeologists said on Tuesday the ship, equipped with oars, was a unique find that explains how imperial Rome defended itself on its northern frontiers.
Photo by Michael Kooren
Tabloid Publisher Interested
New York Magazine
The publisher of the National Enquirer and Star supermarket tabloids may be about to embark on an upscale shopping spree.
Tabloid publisher American Media Inc. wants to buy New York magazine, the flagship publication of Primedia Inc., American Media's chairman and chief executive said on Tuesday.
New York magazine was launched as an upscale glossy by legendary editor Clay Felker in 1968 and inspired similar city magazines around the country. Although it has struggled in recent years, it is still seen as having a cachet that could allow it to fetch up to $80 million.
New York Magazine
Visits Chicken of the Sea
Jessica Simpson
Pop star Jessica Simpson said she won't be confusing tuna and chicken any time soon, especially after dropping in on a Chicken of the Sea company staff meeting.
On a recent episode of her MTV reality show "Newlyweds," Simpson didn't know if she was having chicken or fish while she was eating "Chicken of the Sea" tuna. Company officials heard about the gaffe and aimed to set Simpson straight.
"We wanted to bring her down and make sure she understood the difference, and told her the story of how the brand name originated," Chicken of the Sea senior vice president of marketing Don George said Monday. He said he would love to talk with Simpson about her becoming a company spokeswoman.
Jessica Simpson
David Gest Sues for $10M
Liza Minnelli
Producer David Gest sued Liza Minnelli for $10 million Tuesday, accusing his estranged wife of alcohol-fueled violence that caused neurological damage and headaches.
Gest, 50, alleges in court papers that Minnelli, 57, flew into drunken rages on several occasions on both sides of the Atlantic, insulting and striking him.
Gest's lawyer, Raoul Felder, said his client suffered neurological damage and headaches from the alleged attacks, and is staying at a rehabilitation clinic in Honolulu.
Liza Minnelli
May Sue Government for UFO Documents
SCI FI Channel
The truth is out there, and the SCI FI Channel is determined to find it, even if that means suing NASA, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army and Air Force for documents related to unidentified flying objects.
SCI FI, a cable channel that airs fictional programming such as Battlestar Galactica, as well as documentaries that explore the line between fact and science fiction, is part of a group pressuring the federal government to de-classify UFO information.
Last year SCI FI joined forces with an investigative journalist, a Washington, DC law firm, and former President Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, to gain release of documents relating to an incident it calls "the new Roswell," a UFO sighting in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania in 1965.
For more, SCI FI Channel
Expects Death in a Decade
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson says hepatitis C, which she was diagnosed with in 2001, will probably kill her in a decade.
"I think I've got a good 10 years left in me, which is sad, too. Maybe 15, if I'm lucky," Anderson tells Us Weekly magazine in a first-person story for the Nov. 3 issue.
Anderson isn't taking interferon, the injectable drug hepatitis patients often use. Her homeopathic doctor, Wendy Hewland, tells the magazine she "made a single remedy specifically for Pam" that Anderson is using as an alternative form of medicine.
Pamela Anderson
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Comic Strip Coming to TV
Luann
Luann will leap from newspaper comic pages to television. The rights to a live-action half-hour TV show based on the Luann comic strip have been acquired by dick clark productions, inc., the firm's Nicole Raffanello and Larry Klein disclosed Tuesday.
Since 1985, Luann comics have chronicled the turbulent life of a teenage girl "dealing with the euphoric highs and devastating lows of that awful, awesome phase — adolescence," the production company said.
Luann
David Pickerell, master distiller for Maker's Mark, carries water to be boiled as he and other master distillers gather on the archaeology site of George Washington's distillery, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2003, in Mount Vernon, Va. The liquor industry's top tasters are attempting to recreate the founding father's popular whiskey recipe.
Photo by Kevin Wolf
George Washington's
Whiskey Recipe
The recipe, or "mash bill," calls for: 65 percent rye, 30 percent corn and 5 percent malted barley.
First, grind the grains into a coarse meal. Then, mix the rye and corn in a wood vessel called a "hog's head." Add hot and cold water, and stick your hand in the mash to make sure it isn't too hot. If it doesn't burn, the temperature is just right. Add barley and stir.
Cool the mixture down a bit more, and add yeast. Let the mixture ferment for a few days.
Pour the mixture into a copper still, and let it boil. The alcohol will vaporize and condense, flowing out of a tube, also known as a worm.
Collect the liquid and run it through the copper still one more time. After that, you'll have finished whiskey.
Washington barreled his whiskey and sold it immediately. These days, distillers age it for a few years to improve its taste.
Source: Jim Beam master distiller Jerry Dalton.
Whiskey Recipe
Threaten Push for Media Rules Vote
Democrats
U.S. House of Representatives' Democrats on Tuesday threatened to force a vote aimed at restoring stricter media ownership limits if Republican leaders there refuse to schedule a vote.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey said he would try to round up the necessary 218 signatures on a petition to force a vote on a measure he has introduced that would roll back new limits that would permit media conglomerates to buy more television stations and own multiple media outlets in a market.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert has not scheduled a vote on the Senate resolution but Hinchey said if it was not put on the calendar, he would seek the 218 signatures needed to force a vote on his identical measure, a rare move.
The New York Democrat has already garnered 190 signatures on a letter urging Hastert to permit a vote, including eight Republicans. Hinchey promised more backing.
Democrats
Says Destiny's Child Stole Song
Terrence "T-Robb" Robinson
A 32-year-old producer has filed a $200 million lawsuit against Beyonce Knowles, her father and fellow members of Destiny's Child, alleging they stole his music for the hit song "Survivor."
Terrence "T-Robb" Robinson, a Miami-based producer, claims he produced a song called "Glorious" in June 2000 and provided it to Mathew Knowles, Beyonce's father and manager, later that year in October.
This is the second lawsuit sparked by the "Survivor" song. Last year, two former members of the group sued Destiny's Child, claiming the song included derisive comments about them. The lawsuit was later settled.
Terrence "T-Robb" Robinson
Court Settles Bluesman's Estate
Robert Johnson
The Mississippi Supreme Court has ended a legal battle over the photographs and songs of bluesman Robert Johnson, saying his son is the sole heir to the royalties.
Johnson died in Leflore County in 1938 at age 27 without leaving a will. He died nearly penniless, but his music now enjoys international acclaim and has stacked up royalties.
The musician's illegitimate son, 71-year-old retired gravel truck driver Claud Johnson, said he was unsure what the latest court ruling will mean to him.
Claud Johnson's birth certificate names R.L. Johnson as his father, and Johnson, who lives in Copiah County south of Jackson, had always been told he was Johnson's son.
For a lot more, Robert Johnson
www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id134
xroads.virginia.edu/7/8MUSIC/rjhome.html
Wants Her Child Back
Courtney Love
Courtney Love appeared in juvenile court on Thursday (October 16), to try and convince a judge that she is fit to care for her child, according to E! Online. Frances Bean Cobain, the 11-year-old daughter of Love and late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, was taken from Love and placed in the custody of her paternal grandmother, after Love was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance on October 2. No decision was reached at Thursday's hearing.
Love was quoted in the New York Daily News as saying that on October 10, she was admitted against her will to Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California. Authorities were reportedly concerned that she planned to kill herself, and admitted her under a Californian law--the infamous "5150"--that allows authorities to hold individuals considered to be a danger to themselves or others for a 72-hour period.
She spent 24 hours at Las Encinas, according to the Daily News, before walking out and reportedly asking people in private residences for help. She claims a man in a guitar store finally drove her home.
Courtney Love
In Memory
Margaret Murie
Conservationist Margaret "Mardy" Murie, considered by many the mother of the modern conservation movement, died Sunday. She was 101.
Murie died at her ranch in Grand Teton National Park.
Murie and her late husband Olaus, a wildlife biologist, are credited with playing a pivotal role in the enactment of the 1964 Wilderness Act and creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Murie recruited former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas to help persuade President Eisenhower to set aside 8 million acres in Alaska as a wildlife range. The area was later expanded to 19 million acres and renamed the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1980.
Murie also helped found the Grand Teton Science School in Jackson,
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 from President Clinton.
Margaret Murie
Red panda bear cubs Ping and Pong peer from their enclosure at Eichberg zoo in Switzerland October 15, 2003. The zoo participates in an international breeding programme of pandas which are threatened by extinction.
Photo by Daniel Ammann
'The Osbournes'
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