'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Andre Coleman: Dennis Kucinich's Uphill Fight (pasadenaweekly.com)
The underdog Democratic presidential candidate seems to keep going no matter what.
Take the Presidential Politics Survey (positivepress.com)
Who should you really support? Here at Attitude Media we don't believe the American Presidential election should be decided by personality, or gender, or who has the best sound bites. If you agree with us that issues matter, then take the following objectively designed short survey to see which of the leading candidates most agree with your position on a wide variety of issues - and also who least agrees with those positions - you may be surprised!
Jim Hightower: CLOGGING UP CONGRESS (jimhightower.com)
To the Democratic leaders of congress, I can only say: Heck of a job! In less than six months, the top Democrats, have squandered the outpouring of public support gained from last year's congressional elections.
Fostering Love (curvemag.com)
With over half a million children in the foster care system, why are some so intent on keeping LGBT potential parents away?
Germaine Greer: Magic wands (guardian.co.uk)
I love it when TV shows feature great works of art. But why don't they tell us who made them?
Josh Aterovis: Interview with William Sledd (afterelton.com)
Ask A Gay Man's fashion guru William Sledd talks about making the leap from YouTube to Bravo, his sudden fame, and why some gay men hate him.
Steven Frank: Battles Rage Over Children's Books With Gay Themes (afterelton.com)
Books for kids with gay content are under attack.
Meet Mr Mayhem (guardian.co.uk)
One minute he was walking in Cornwall. The next he was directing Harry Potter. David Yates talks sex and quidditch with Stuart Jeffries.
J.D. Disalvatore Tells It Like It Is (afterellen.com)
The out filmmaker on why you should watch those bad lesbian movies.
Karman Kregloe: Best. Lesbian. Summer. Ever. (afterellen.com)
It's officially summer. That means there's not much on TV except reality shows (unless you have pay cable, and how many lesbians have that?), and the megaplexes are chock full of testosterone-heavy blockbusters. But forget about the heterosexual cultural majority! There's plenty of dykey entertainment out there that you can put together to make this the Best. Lesbian. Summer. Ever.
Unconservative Listening (makethemaccountable.com)
Reader Comment
Not in Kansas
Not in Kansas anymore!
Bush Overrules US Judicial System, Frees Libby, Can We Say Fascism Now?
So that's the Democracy we're supposed to believe in? Maybe we'll sleep through all that, just like Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, WMD's, Reduced Veteran Benefits, VA Hostpital situation, The War on Terror itself, 911, Depleted Uranium, Saddam's Execution, and a shitload of other things that go on each and every single day to where I can put enough etc.. etc.. in to even make sense.
Of course we'd all rather forget and stay asleep, huh?
If you're not outraged you haven't been paying attention!
-Steve M.
Thanks, Steve!
Steve's old website was dickeatsbush.com
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Hotter than yesterday.
Letter Pulled From Auction
Mohandas Gandhi
One of the last letters written by Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi has been pulled from a London auction so it can be acquired by the government of India, Christie's auction house said Monday.
Christie's had earlier insisted that the six-page document, which was to go on auction as part of a larger collection Tuesday, would be sold despite India's protests.
But the collection's executors reconsidered, agreeing to withdraw the letter and hand it to the Indian government, Christie's said in a statement. The auction house did not give further details on the arrangement.
Gandhi wrote the letter, which had been expected to sell for up to $24,000, 19 days before his assassination in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist in January 1948. Addressed to an Indian magazine, it pleaded for tolerance toward India's Muslim population.
Mohandas Gandhi
Doctor Who's Christmas Special
Kylie Minogue
Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue will join the cast of British science-fiction TV drama Doctor Who for a special Christmas episode, the BBC said on Tuesday.
Britain's public-funded broadcaster said Minogue, 39, would play a "major lead role" alongside Dr Who actor David Tennant.
The hour-long episode, "Voyage of the Damned," will start filming in Cardiff, Wales, in July.
Kylie Minogue
Voice Of Magna Carta Exhibit
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones, whose rich baritone gave life to sinister villain Darth Vader of the "Star Wars" movies, will help open an exhibit featuring the Magna Carta at the National Constitution Center on Tuesday.
The 76-year-old actor will recite the Declaration of Independence at the "Magna Carta: Foundation of Freedom" exhibit one day before the Fourth of July.
Besides the Magna Carta, the 1215 document that helped inspire the Declaration of Independence, the center also features a signed Emancipation Proclamation and a printing of the U.S. Constitution.
James Earl Jones
Dracula's Castle for Sale
Romania
An heir of Romania's former royal family put "Dracula's Castle" in Transylvania up for sale Monday, hoping to secure a buyer who will respect "the property and its history," a U.S.-based investment company said.
The Bran Castle, perched on a cliff near Brasov in mountainous central Romania, is a top tourist attraction because of its ties to Prince Vlad the Impaler, the warlord whose cruelty inspired Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, "Dracula."
Legend has it that Vlad, who earned his nickname because of the way he tortured his enemies, spent one night in the 1400s at the castle.
Bran Castle was built in the 14th century to serve as a fortress to protect against the invading Ottoman Turks. The royal family moved into the castle in the 1920s, living there until the communist regime confiscated it from Princess Ileana in 1948.
Romania
SchillingBridge Winery & MicroBrewery
Git-R-Done Beer
Git-R-Done beer, named for comedian Larry the Cable Guy's famous catchphrase, was launched Saturday by SchillingBridge Winery & MicroBrewery, from the small town where the 44-year-old actor-comedian grew up.
The owners of the small family winery say the light beer is made from high-quality ingredients with more "flavor and body" than popular corporate beers.
The Schillings proposed the new beer to the comedian, whose real name is Dan Whitney.
Sharon Schilling said Whitney visited the winery in July 2005 to accept the offer wearing a pair of shorts and a sleeveless camouflage shirt.
Git-R-Done Beer
6-Month Jail Term
Mordechai Vanunu
An Israeli court on Monday sentenced Mordechai Vanunu, who in 2004 completed an 18-year prison term for spilling nuclear secrets, to six more months behind bars after he violated a ban on speaking to foreigners.
Israel has barred Vanunu from traveling abroad and monitored his movements since he left jail, alleging that he has more details on the Dimona atomic reactor to divulge. Vanunu denies that but says he will pursue anti-nuclear activities.
The court, which also handed Vanunu a six-month suspended sentence, held off on jailing him to allow for appeals. Vanunu's lawyer, Michael Sfard, said he had until September 9 to decide on a course of action but hinted he might not fight the prison time.
Vanunu's April conviction centered around comments to U.S., British, Australian and French media in which he said Israel assembled hydrogen and neutron bombs at the Dimona reactor and was annually producing 40 kilos (88 lb) of plutonium, enough to make 10 atom bombs.
Mordechai Vanunu
Wife Wants A Divorce
Criss Angel
Criss Angel's wife says the magic has gone from their marriage and she now wants to make him vanish from her life.
Angel, known for his "Mindfreak" show on the A&E network, subdued his sometimes flashy look for a court hearing Friday. But he flashed a bit of humor during a break, gesturing toward his estranged wife's lawyer and saying, "I can make him disappear."
Angel, whose real name is Christopher Sarantakos, and his wife, Joanne, 37, married five years ago, after a decade of dating, according to her lawyer, Dominic Barbara. But the magician kept his marriage quiet and then deserted his wife as he became famous and hasn't given her "a cent" of his millions, Barbara said.
The 39-year-old punky illusionist dedicated his latest stunt - a seeming escape from a box encased in concrete and suspended 40 feet above the ground near Manhattan's Time Square on June 5 - to "Shrek the Third" star Cameron Diaz. But he demurred when asked whether they were dating, telling AP Radio News they were "good friends."
Criss Angel
Lakshmi - Rushdie
Divorce
The three-year marriage of Salman Rushdie and Padma Lakshmi has ended, their publicists said Monday. "Salman Rushdie has agreed to divorce his wife, Padma Lakshmi, because of her desire to end their marriage," his representative, Jin Auh, said in a statement. "He asks that the media respect his privacy at this difficult time."
Besides "The Satanic Verses," Rushdie's novels include "The Moor's Last Sigh" and "Midnight's Children," a Booker Prize winner and one of the most highly praised books of the past quarter century.
Lakshmi is the host of Bravo's "Top Chef" and the author of the cookbook "Easy Exotic." She starred in the 2006 ABC miniseries "The Ten Commandments."
Divorce
Dog-Food Can Fetches $305
Paris Hilton
An empty can of gourmet dog food taken from Paris Hilton's trash fetched $305 in an eBay auction. The sellers were from the Web site HollywoodStarTrash.com, which also listed several other Hilton items for sale on eBay.
A used toothbrush sold for $305; two envelopes sent to her while she was in jail sold for $510; and a Coke can pulled from her trash went for $51.
The organic gourmet dog food was produced by Party Animal Inc., and can be found in about 150 stores in Southern California and about 40 in New York. It can also be bought through the company's Web site.
Paris Hilton
In Memory
Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills, the Brooklyn-born opera diva who was a global icon of can-do American culture with her dazzling voice, bubbly personality and management moxie in the arts world, died Monday of cancer, her manager said. She was 78. It had been revealed just last month that Sills was gravely ill with inoperable lung cancer. She died about 9 p.m. Monday, said her manager, Edgar Vincent.
Beyond the music world, Sills gained fans worldwide with a style that matched her childhood nickname, Bubbles. The relaxed, red-haired diva appeared frequently on "The Tonight Show," "The Muppet Show" and in televised performances with her friend Carol Burnett.
Born Belle Miriam Silverman in Brooklyn, she quickly became Bubbles, an endearment coined by the doctor who delivered her, noting that she was born blowing a bubble of spit from her little mouth.
Fast-forward to 1947, when the same mouth produced vocal glory for her operatic stage debut in Philadelphia in a bit role in Bizet's "Carmen." Sills became a star with the New York City Opera, where she first performed in 1955 in Johann Strauss Jr.'s "Die Fledermaus." She was acclaimed for performances in such operas as Douglas Moore's "The Ballad of Baby Doe," Massenet's "Manon" and Handel's "Giulio Cesare," and the roles of three Tudor queens in works by Gaetano Donizetti.
Beverly Sills
In Memory
Art Stevens
Longtime Disney animator Art Stevens, who began his studio career working on "Fantasia" and went on to co-direct "The Fox and the Hound" and "The Rescuers," has died. He was 92.
In his early years at Disney, Stewart was an "in-betweener," who created the drawings that made the characters move on the screen after the main animator had outlined the scene. He worked on "Fantasia," "Bambi" and other 1940s features before becoming a full-fledged animator with the 1953 film "Peter Pan."
Among Stevens' other credits as an animator were "101 Dalmatians," "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day," "Robin Hood," "Mary Poppins" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks."
He co-directed the 1977 film "The Rescuers" and co-produced and co-directed "The Fox and the Hound," which became Disney's highest-grossing film when it was released in 1981.
Stevens also worked on the Academy Award-winning Disney shorts "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" and "It's Tough to Be a Bird," and he helped animate the title sequences for live-action features such as "Freaky Friday" and "The North Avenue Irregulars."
Art Stevens
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