John W. Dean weighs in
"John Dean says the Bush team's leaks are even viler than his former boss's -- and that Plame and Wilson should file a civil suit." -- Salon.com (John W. Dean served as counsel to President Nixon from 1970 to 1973)
photo: Salon.com
Poverty: also a four-letter word
"A parents group on Thursday accused the ABC television network of violating broadcast decency standards when it failed to censor all profanity uttered during the recent Live 8 concert, an event held to draw attention to poverty in poor countries." -- Reuters, (reporting on Tim Winters from the Parents Television Council complaining about a swear word uttered during a song by The Who in the East Coast feed. It was edited out of the West Coast feed.)
Cooter offended by new Dukes movie
Actor Ben Jones, organizer of
DukeFest 2005 (
see photo) wrote an open letter to fans on his web site,
cootersplace.com, urging them to skip the
feature film remake of Dukes of Hazard (AS IF the original series is some sort of masterpiece or something.)
"From all I have seen and heard, the "Dukes" movie is a sleazy insult to all of us who have cared about the "Dukes of Hazzard" for so long ... ," Jones wrote. "Unless they clean it up before the August 5th release date I would strongly recommend that true blue Dukes fans hold their noses and pass this one up."
Bible theme park wins charity status in Florida
"Orange County Property Appraiser Bill Donegan is deciding whether to appeal the judge's decision, saying that the park is different to other churches. 'None of those that I know charge $30 admission," he observed. "It's a business.'"-- BBC News
Press Briefings Gone Wild
So what I hear you saying is that the investigation is...ongoing?
PBS: "Painfully well-balanced"
"Big Bird is not in favor of affirmative action. Bert and Ernie are not gay. Miss Piggy is not a feminist. "The Three Tenors," "Antiques Roadshow," "Masterpiece Theater," "Wall Street Week" and nature programs do not have a political agenda. "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" is biased in favor of boring, old, white guys who appear on painfully well-balanced panels."-- Molly Ivans,
"Destroying PBS" June 20, 2005
A few words from London
"Three hours later, at home, delayed text messages start to arrive. "Get out of town." "Don't use public transport." "There are bombs on the buses." --
greenfairy.comRead the full entry here.
Reporter jailed
"Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have shield laws protecting reporters from having to identify their confidential sources, though there is no federal protection. Congress is considering a bill, however, and Cooper and others involved in the case have urged passage." -- Pete Yost, Associated Press (AP photo)
L'amour des jeux
I was in Paris earlier this summer, and
the city was buzzing with the expectation it would be selected to host the 2012 Olympic Games. They spent millions on a
campaign to enthuse their countrymen and prove their worthiness. You could not look anywhere without seeing some trace of the campaign.
Paris really needed this. They were favored to win and few in the city, including me, expected they would be eating crow today. They lost out to rival London, despite (or because of?) the fact they sent
Celine Dion and others to represent them ahead of the decision in Singapore. London sent
David Beckham to represent
their campaign. I rest my case.
Broad stripes, bright stars
Josh Benton, proprietor of
crabwalk.com, has posted this shoegazer's version of the
Star Spangled Banner. It's from the lovely
Sufjan Stevens and gives a thoughtful new spin to something we've heard a million times.
You say you want a revolution
Measured by modern standards (November 2000 to present), I probably don't meet the criteria to be labeled a "Patriot." What gives me the most pride is the spirit behind the creation of our country. It's an amazing story. Unfortunately, too much distance has come between the founders' intentions and where we stand today.
It took a revolution to liberate the colonies. Not everybody was on board with the idea of independence, but the revolution sprung from necessity. Revolution is a sexy word, but it doesn't get much play these days. Or does it?
Some may claim James Dyson's
yellow vacuum is a revolution in the world of suction-producing appliances. Being able to clean your toilet and then flush
the brush is a bit revolutionary. The word, you see, has lost its mojo. It's been left in the care of advertising copywriters until we decide we need it again.
Are you sure you want a revolution?
"John Dean says the Bush team's leaks are even viler than his former boss's -- and that Plame and Wilson should file a civil suit." -- Salon.com (John W. Dean served as counsel to President Nixon from 1970 to 1973) photo: Salon.com
So what I hear you saying is that the investigation is...ongoing?
"Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have shield laws protecting reporters from having to identify their confidential sources, though there is no federal protection. Congress is considering a bill, however, and Cooper and others involved in the case have urged passage." -- Pete Yost, Associated Press (AP photo)
