'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Baron Dave Romm
Memorial Day Impeachment Watch
By Baron Dave Romm
The French were right. Indeed, after the asinine attempt to impose the wrong name on good ol' American-invented French Toast, I'm really tempted to return the favor: George W. French. Colin Paris. And so on.
But that's just for amusement. The real issue, the impeachable offense, is that the Deserter In Chief lied to you, he lied to me, he lied to the world, and he lied to our troops about the situation in Iraq. Our brave men and women were put in danger because of the greed and hypocrisy of the Bush administration. And, incidentally, proving me right yet again: The minute Bush's approval ratings slid under 50%, we were at war. Prepare for an October Surprise in 2004.
Not everyone is as stupid as Bush's supporters or as gullible as the dittoheads who spend more time listening to hate radio than they spend with their families. Sometimes, the truth comes out. Here are a few links. And, since many of the Bush links have a way of "disappearing" from the net, I'm going to quote several paragraphs in addition to providing the link to the full article.
Bush
lied to our troops. Iraq never had nukes, and everybody knew
what Bush was saying was a lie but let him go anyway. Nicholas B.
Kristof in the NY Times 5/6/03:
The truth about Jessica: The real story behind Private Lynch's "rescue", from The Guardian 5/15/03:
(Let's just pause here to reiterate what when on. For cynical propaganda reasons, the Bush administration kept a severely wounded American soldier in enemy territory for two days while they prepared their fake rescue, firing at her when she tried to return home without a camera watching. Anyone who supports our men and women in uniform should be demanding the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld and the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. -- DR)
Bush Endorsed Forgery about Iraq Nuclear Program, by Seymore M. Hersh. One of the best political commentaries is not on the net, as least for long. Perhaps next week I'll type in some of the other comments from The New Yorker, which, like salon.com, can be maddening in their attempt to be balanced in the face of lies and deceit. But in the meantime, here are excerpts of Hersh's article from the 3/31/03 issue, archived on Refuse and Resist.
Selective Intelligence, by Seymore M. Hersh. Here are excerpts of Hersh's article from the 5/6/03 New Yorker, archived on Common Dreams.
The hypocrisy of Bush's photo-op onboard The USS Lincoln. As usual, Joe Conason's salon.com pieces are worth the subscription. This 5/2/03 article, with many links, includes Bush bringing up his own AWOL, keeping the sailors at sea without leave for too long and how he slashed military benefits and medical care.
Character Witness, Bush's lies and Republican deception of the last 8 months, by Peter Beinart posted 5/22/03 for the 6/02 issue of The New Republic:
And let's not forget the disgraceful remarks by Trent Lott, Rick Santorum and Arlon Lindner. These are not good people. The shame of being a conservative has never been greater.
On this Memorial Day where we honor our fallen defenders, we must look at how the Bush administration has betrayed their trust and their memory. Where is the outrage?
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here, and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio here (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air, and I'm collecting extra-weird stuff for a possible CD compilation.
He's Been Busy!
The Worried Shrimp
Selected Monday Reading
from that Mad Cat, JD
A Monday Double-Header!
The Worried Shrimp
Reader Link
'Letters' To Salon
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The morning fog still hadn't burned off by 4pm when we pulled into Long Beach.
We ended up going to Kingman, AZ, and had a better time than anticipated.
Didn't find the 'UFO' crash site the kid longed to see, but we did meet some very nice people who let us look at their home that's built like a UFO - well, more like a geodesic dome on a stick, but it worked for us
My highlight was getting carded for a 6-pack of beer at K-Mart. Figured the clerk was probably operating with an altered consciousness - I've been 'legal' for better than half my life at this point - but, it sure gave us something to laugh about the rest of the day.
Tonight, Monday, CBS starts the night with a RERUN 'King Of Queens', followed by a RERUN 'Yes, Dear', then a
RERUN 'Raymond', followed by a RERUN 'Still Standing', and then a RERUN 'CSI: Miami'.
On a RERUN Dave are Charlize Theron, Sue Johanson, Wilco, and the Minus 5.
On a RERUN Craiggers are John Cusack, Method Man, and Bowling for Soup.
NBC begins the evening with a RERUN 'The Making Of Fear Factor', followed by a RERUN 'Fear Factor', and
then a RERUN 'Psychic Secrets Revealed'.
On a RERUN Jay are Hugh Jackman, 4-year-old political whiz Abby Julo, and Jimmy Buffett.
On a RERUN Conan are Alison Janney, Ryan Seacrest, and Sean Paul.
On a RERUN Carson Daly (from 4/23/03), are Jim Courier, and Seether.
ABC fills the night with the movie 'The Horse Whisperer'.
On a RERUN Jimmy Kimmel (from 3/6/03), are Roseanne and Jared Fogle, with guest co-host Sarah Silverman.
The WB offers a RERUN '7th Heaven', followed by a RERUN 'Everwood'.
Faux has a RERUN 'Simpsons', followed by a RERUN 'King Of The Hill', then a RERUN
'That 70's Show', and finally, a RERUN 'Malcolm'.
UPN offers a RERUN 'The Parkers', followed by a RERUN 'One On One', then a RERUN
'Girlfriends', followed by a RERUN 'Half & Half'.
Comedy Central offers a FRESH 'Daily Show With Jon Stewart' - 'Iraq: A Look Baq primetime special' (10 PM/9 central).
RERUN
FRESH
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Jenna Bush, daughter of U.S. President George W. Bush and first lady, Laura Bush, walks towards Air Force One in Waco, Texas, May 25, 2003. The first couple spent the weekend on their Central Texas ranch in Crawford.
Photo by Larry Downing
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year
Matt Groening
Matt Groening, creator of America's favorite animated family, "The Simpsons," was named Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year at the 2003 Reuben Awards.
Darby Conley won best newspaper comic for his strip, "Get Fuzzy," which details the adventures of Rob Wilco, a single ad executive, and his temperamental cat Buckeye and gentle dog Satchel.
The 57th annual award ceremony was held Saturday at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. It featured presenters and past Reuben winners such as "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams, "Doonesbury" creator Gary Trudeau, and Cathy Guisewite, creator of "Cathy".
Matt Groening
Reuben Awards
Hollywood Honors Once-Blacklisted Actress
Betty Garrett
Betty Garrett, the once-blacklisted actress who co-starred as Edna Babish on the TV sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Friday's ceremony marked Garrett's 84th birthday, and friends including actors Jeff and Beau Bridges attended to help her celebrate.
Garrett also appeared in the sitcom "All in the Family" as the chatty friend of Edith Bunker. On "Laverne & Shirley," Garrett played a landlady who married Laverne's father.
In movies, she co-starred with Frank Sinatra in the 1949 films "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and "On the Town."
Garrett and her late husband Larry Parks were both blacklisted during the McCarthy era for their interest in communism in the early 1950s.
Betty Garrett
John Warlick, 78, left, and William Sloan, 81, both of Dayton, Ohio, sit at the controls of a Wright 'B' Flyer replica after landing at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J., after their 28-minute flight around the Statue of Liberty, Sunday, May 25, 2003. Their flight commemorates the 1909 flight made by Wilbur Wright around the statue and promotes 'Inventing Flight,' marking the 100th anniversary of powered flight and Ohio's Bicentennial.
Photo by Rich Schultz
THE FICTIONAL WAR ON TERRORISM
By Ted Rall
We've killed thousands of Muslims and taken over two of their countries. We're spending billions of dollars to make it easier for our government to spy on us. But we haven't caught Osama, Al Qaeda is doing better than ever and airport security is still a sick joke. So when are Americans going to demand a real war on terrorism?
Recent suicide bombings in Riyadh and Casablanca proved with bloody eloquence that Al Qaeda and similar extremist groups are anything but "on the run," as George W. Bush puts it. Bush's tactics are a 100 percent failure, yet his band of clueless Christian soldiers continues to go after mosquitoes with shotguns. "So far," Bush furiously spun after the latest round of attacks, "nearly one-half of Al Qaeda's senior operatives have been captured or killed," promising to "remain on the hunt until they are all brought to justice."
Can Bush really be this stupid?
For the rest, THE FICTIONAL WAR ON TERRORISM - by Ted Rall
Challenges New Hampshire Graduates
Meryl Streep
Speaking to graduates Saturday at the University of New Hampshire, Meryl Streep made them laugh, offered inspiration, even sang a bit and challenged them to change the world.
To the female graduates, she presented her own example of helping break the gender barriers in education — Streep attended a drama class at Dartmouth College after graduating from Vassar College.
She then urged male graduates, who included her nephew, to help shatter the glass ceiling that holds many women back from top positions in business and politics, and urged all the graduates to maintain optimism as they forge ahead.
"Put blinders on to those things that conspire to hold you back, especially the ones in your own head," she said. "Guard your good mood. Listen to music every day, joke and love and read more for fun, especially poetry."
Meryl Streep
Plays Vienna AIDS Benefit
Elton John
G-stings and feathers replaced staid gray suits and power ties at Vienna City Hall and Elton John sang a song dedicated to a friend who died of AIDS, as the Austrian capital's Life Ball rollicked into the early hours Sunday.
First held 10 years ago, the annual event is now among the largest and most colorful charity galas in the world dedicated to raising funds to fight AIDS.
The dress code ranged from tuxedoes to little more than body paint — and everything in between. Glitter was abundant. So were outlandish head dresses that sometimes blocked the view of outside on-stage events.
John, who sang "For The Boy In The Red Shoes" and accepted a check for more than $533,000 for his AIDS foundation to support projects in Africa, had top billing in a field of international and European stars that also included singer Taylor Dayne, Neal Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and actor Udo Kier.
Elton John
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Guitarist Goes Public with Crohn's
Mike McCready
Some rock stars run offstage into the arms of a beautiful woman, but Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready often finds himself running ... right to the bathroom.
McCready, 37, has suffered for more than 15 years from the debilitating stomach disorder Crohn's disease. He went public with his story May 13, when he spoke at the Northwest Chapter of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's (CCFA) third annual Many Faces of Hope luncheon in Seattle.
During his speech, the artist related a particularly embarrassing incident to demonstrate how Crohn's can strike at any time. "Playing onstage, I'm always aware of where the bathrooms are," he admits. "When Crohn's hits, I have to run, or it won't be pretty. It happened when we opened up for the Rolling Stones in 1997 in Oakland .
"It was our first show with them," McCready continues. "Five minutes before we went on, I went up to (Pearl Jam frontman) Eddie (Vedder) and I said, 'Look man, can we play 'Sometimes'? -- which is a slower song that I'm not really on. I was in pain. I went running offstage looking for a bathroom, and there wasn't one. Then, all of a sudden, there was one. It was a honeybucket. I heard my band play that song from inside a portable toilet!"
Mike McCready
Former U.S. president George Bush visits with race girls prior to the start of the 87th Indianapolis 500, May 25, 2003.
Photo by Kirk Debrunner
Takes on Late-Night TV
Orlando Jones
Lenny Kravitz. The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.
This eclectic lineup is not just the jump-start of the June 16 premiere of FX Network's "The Orlando Jones Show." It is also a portent of Jones' pledge to open the door to a multi-racial music world generally not seen -- or addressed -- on late-night TV.
"Many celebrities in music, spoken word, TV, and film don't have a place on Leno, Letterman, Conan, or Kimmel," the actor/comedian/writer says. "No one wants to sit on the sofa with Missy Elliott and talk. Where are Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Fishbone, or OutKast?
The half-hour weeknight series (11 p.m. ET/PT) is executive-produced by Eddie Feldmann and Erwin Stoff. Grammy Award-winning producer Dallas Austin (Pink, Usher, Madonna, TLC) is the music director. DJ Ruckus, who spins for clubs like Los Angeles' Deep and Miami's Cru, adds turntable accompaniment.
Orlando Jones
Cast Performs Free Concert
'A Mighty Wind'
The faux folkies from the film "A Mighty Wind" came to life off-screen for a free concert at the Getty Center museum.
The fictional groups — the divorced romantic duo of Mitch & Mickey, the corny traditionalist Folksmen and the ultra-perky New Main Street Singers — were created by director Christopher Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy.
Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean make up the Folksmen, whose songs include "Blood on the Coal," which combines the folk-music cliches of a train wreck and a coal mine disaster. The three have also appeared on film and in concert as the metal-rock parody group Spinal Tap from the 1984 film "This Is Spinal Tap."
Other performers at Friday's Getty concert included Levy and Catherine O'Hara as Mitch & Mickey, and John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch and Parker Posey as young members of the nine-person New Main Street Singers.
'A Mighty Wind'
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Disney Dumps 'Lizzie'
Hilary Duff
Walt Disney Co. and Hilary Duff, star of the Disney Channel's hit "Lizzie McGuire" comedy TV show and a recently released Disney movie of the same name, have split up, a spokeswoman for the entertainment giant said on Saturday.
Disney and the 15-year-old actress were "going their separate ways" following failed talks over the direction of Duff's career, the spokeswoman told Reuters.
A Disney Channel spokesman said there were no plans to produce new episodes of the "Lizzie McGuire" show, but said the cable network plans to continue broadcasting the program.
Hilary Duff
South Korean curator Martin Shim looks at a wooden sculpture symbolizing a man's sexual organ at the Asia Eros Museum in Seoul May 23, 2003. South Korea's first sex museum, which has a collection of 300 kinds of Asian sex antiques, will officially open this Saturday in central Seoul.
Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon
First Woman Atop Everest
Junko Tabei
Junko Tabei says it was hard enough to complete the first conquest of Mount Everest by a woman 28 years ago, but first she had another mountain to climb -- overcoming male chauvinism and the gender gap in Japan, which was deeply rooted in society.
The 63-year-old still-active Japanese climber is among the key guests attending a series of ceremonies in Kathmandu this week to celebrate the 50th anniversary on May 29 of the first successful ascent of the world's highest peak by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa.
Tabei's bravery and determination paid off in the end, and her name was added to Everest's Hall of Fame as the first woman to climb to the roof of the world, which she accomplished via the Southeast Ridge route.
For a lot more, Junko Tabei
Marries, Again
Serial Philanderer
The weather outside was damp and dismal, but the bride and groom were radiant as former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani returned to New York's official mayoral residence to marry his girlfriend, Judith Nathan, on Saturday.
Security was tight and reporters were barred from the wedding, which was attended by 400 guests, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, New York Yankees baseball great Yogi Berra, media magnate Rupert Murdoch and property tycoon Donald Trump.
The bride wore an oyster-colored, silk gown by Vera Wang with a scooped halter and crystal and pearl beading. Her hair was knotted at the back and she wore tear-drop earrings and a tiara. She carried a bouquet of her favorite flower, pansies. There was an eight-tier wedding cake with fresh raspberries.
It was Giuliani's third marriage and Nathan's second. Giuliani paid for wedding.
Nathan, a former nurse who was divorced in 1992, has been at Giuliani's side for the past three years as he battled prostate cancer. The illness was the Republican mayor's stated reason for withdrawing from the race for a U.S. Senate seat in 2000, an election won by Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Giuliani's first marriage, to his second cousin Regina Peruggi, was annulled after 14 years on grounds that they had not received a dispensation to marry from the Catholic Church. His next marriage, to television host Donna Hanover, lasted 20 years, ending in July after he agreed to pay her $6.8 million.
The couple separated in May 2000 after Giuliani's relationship with Nathan became public. Later that year Giuliani, charging "cruel and inhuman" treatment, enraged Hanover by announcing that he was suing for divorce without bothering to tell her about it first. Hanover countered by accusing Giuliani of "open and notorious adultery."
Serial Philanderer
First Saudi Woman Pilot
Hanadi Hindi
Saudi Arabia's first woman pilot hopes all women in the conservative Islamic kingdom will one day have the freedom she now enjoys.
Wearing a scarf and a pilot's shirt and trousers, Hanadi Hindi shyly admits she found it difficult to make the transition from a veiled, sheltered life in Saudi Arabia to a much less restrictive routine in Jordan, where she is in training.
Hindi, 24, comes from a very religious family from Mecca, home to the holiest of Islamic shrines.
Her eyes fill with tears as she mentions her father, who had always wanted to become a pilot himself.
He encouraged Hindi to break with centuries-old traditions and live his dream, brushing off harsh criticism from relatives and friends and sending her to Jordan's Mideast Aviation Academy where she studies flying with two other women and 70 men.
For the rest, Hanadi Hindi
In Memory
Rachel Kempson
Rachel Kempson, an actress who appeared with many of Britain's leading theater companies and became the matriarch of the Redgrave acting dynasty, has died at age 92.
The Redgraves' three generations of talent include Kempson's husband, Michael Redgrave, children Vanessa, Lynn and Corin Redgrave, and granddaughter Natasha Richardson.
Kempson died Saturday of natural causes while staying at Richardson's home in Millbrook, N.Y. Corin Redgrave said his mother would be remembered as a "shiningly beautiful woman both in face and in spirit" and "an inspiration to her children and grandchildren."
Born May 28, 1910, in Dartmouth, England, Kempson dreamed of a career in acting and made her professional stage debut at Stratford in 1933, playing Hero in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." She went on to appear with companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the English Stage Company and the Old Vic.
Kempson married Michael Redgrave, one of the leading actors of his generation, in 1935. She became Lady Redgrave when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1959.
Despite Redgrave's bisexuality and occasional affairs, their marriage endured until his death in 1985, four months before the couple's 50th wedding anniversary.
"The fact that I loved Michael so much meant that I was sure I could overcome his difficulties. I would have done anything for him," Kempson wrote in her 1986 autobiography, "A Family and Its Fortunes."
Kempson appeared in many films, sometimes with other members of the Redgrave clan. She appeared opposite her husband in "The Captive Heart," with daughter Lynn in "Tom Jones" — directed by Vanessa's husband, Tony Richardson — and alongside Vanessa and Corin in "The Charge of the Light Brigade."
In the 1980s she played Lady Manners in the British television series "The Jewel in the Crown."
Kempson is survived by her three children and 10 grandchildren, who besides Natasha include actresses Joely Richardson and Jemma Redgrave.
Both Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave currently are appearing in plays in New York — Vanessa portraying Mary Tyrone in the Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night," while Lynn stars off-Broadway in Alan Bennett's "Talking Heads."
Granddaughter Natasha Richardson is also currently on stage, starring in a London revival of Ibsen's "The Lady from the Sea" at the Almeida Theatre.
Kempson's funeral will be Thursday at St. Peter's Church in Lithgow, N.Y.
Rachel Kempson
A Manchurian tiger cub is given to a staff member of Children's Hospital in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province Saturday, May 24, 2003. The 10-hour-old tiger cub was born in the World Window Park in Changsha. Her mother refused to feed her. So, it was raised at the hospital.
Photo by Li Ga
'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
