Monday, June 30, 2003

Comic voice emerges for Bush re-election

As a long time fan I would be remiss if I did not note with sad disappointment the Republicanization of Dennis Miller.

Sure, we knew all along he wasn't a Hollywood liberal. But he always had this fascinating libertarian streak to him. I seriously thought the Libertarians should look at him as a candidate.

In the long run, how comfortable is the party of the Christian Coalition going to be with Mr. Four Letter Word? And how comfortable is he going to be with them?

And a Danny Goldberg moment: if Dennis had offered to do a Democratic event, would we have taken him up on it? More likely we would have thrown it back in his face, scared of alienating cultural conservatives who don't support us anyway...

Sunday, June 29, 2003

Hollywood Loses Katharine Hepburn

But in the end, there were at least two things Hepburn never regretted--her love for Tracy, and her non-love of the media that covered the two of them, separately and together, for decades.

"Death will be a great relief," she once said. "No more interviews."

Saturday, June 28, 2003

'Wiseguy' Henry Hill Writes Guide to NYC4061483

In his guide, Hill reveals that Scorsese never let him meet with Ray Liotta, his on-screen alter ego. "He didn't want me to influence him whatsoever," writes Hill.

Robert De Niro, in contrast, endlessly quizzed Hill for insights into the character based on Jimmy "The Gent" Burke...



Thursday, June 26, 2003

Senator wants to crack down on lewd broadcasts4061483

Fritz Hollings obviously hasn't grown since he was on the Tipper hearings committee:

"I wouldn't publicly repeat that language, indecency and filth myself," Hollings said. "He ought never to have a license again."
American Gays Hail Ruling, Look to Marriage

"This is a great day for liberty. I think this is a clear evidence ... America isn't really homophobic. It just use to think it was supposed to be" - Barney Frank

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

ctnow.com: POLITICS: SPEAKING OF LIEBERMAN

I couldn't have made this one up:

"At a symposium following the film, Bush media adviser Mark McKinnon said that he and another adviser recommended Lieberman as a running mate in 2000 ... for BUSH. McKinnon said that the supposition was that integrity would be big in the 2000 election, and 'if the question was values,' Lieberman was the answer..."

Monday, June 23, 2003

For Liberals, It's Morning in America - Shock jocks are the progressive answer to Rush Limbaugh. By Marc Fisher

I decided to re-blog this. Re-read it in the context of Danny Goldberg's book.
Chicago Tribune | 1 court retirement could tip balance

Here comes the Holy War, or "in the words of one Republican lawyer, a 'death cage match'...":


"Although the fevered talk of a possible retirement at the Supreme Court has centered on Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, sources knowledgeable about the court are quietly speculating that John Paul Stevens, the oldest and arguably most liberal justice, is considering stepping down..."
Jackson Wants Democrats to Focus on South (washingtonpost.com)

Now here's a Southern Strategy I like:

"Jackson said Southern states shouldn't be ceded to President Bush because they have large black populations that tend to support Democrats. "They gave up the fight," he said of the Gore campaign..."

Sunday, June 22, 2003

Sharon: Israel Can Continue Expanding Settlements

Here's MY peace plan:

Cut off every dime to these bastards until the Palestinians have a country.

Saturday, June 21, 2003

Chicken pox added to mandatory list

"Chicken pox vaccinations are now required for children entering school or child care, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced Friday. The new rule was approved by the Iowa Legislature and signed by Gov. Tom Vilsack this spring..."

That was going to be my first bill if I had won that election.

Friday, June 20, 2003

ABCNEWS.com : Feds Follow Canada Marijuana Proposal

"Paul Kennedy, senior assistant deputy solicitor general for Canada noted while marijuana enters the U.S., cocaine and guns tend to travel north..." so who's got the worse end of that, eh?

First gay marriage, now this. Bush and Ashcroft must be having seizures.

Thursday, June 19, 2003

Wired News: Orrin Hatch: Software Pirate?

Republican hypocrisy watch:

"Hatch himself is using unlicensed software on his official website, which presumably would qualify his computer to be smoked by the system he proposes..."

Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Southern Baptists start gay initiative

Meanwhile, in America:

"The Southern Baptist Convention announced a new initiative Tuesday to convince gays that they can become heterosexual if they accept Jesus Christ as their savior and reject their “sinful, destructive lifestyle....”

O, CA-na-DA...
Canadian Government to Allow Gay Marriage

Now that's a nice present for Pride Week.

"The announcement means the government decided against appealing recent court rulings that declared the nation's definition of marriage as unconstitutional because it specified the union of a man and woman..."

I find myself blogging way more Fox News items that I ever thought likely.
Hatch Takes Aim at Illegal Downloading

Scary Republican Idea Of The Week:

"He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, then destroy their computer. "If we can find some way to do this without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that," Hatch said. "If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines. If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think they would realize" the seriousness of their actions, he said..."

Monday, June 16, 2003

Salon.com Books | How the left lost teen spirit

More Danny Goldberg. It's worth the Salon ad.
Exile gone mainstream

Anyone else heard the eponymous "Liz Phair" yet?

sigh... I remember how I felt the day I was at the college radio station, eagerly broke open "Cut The Crap" by the Clash... and then played it.

I waited five years for this?

Six weeks ago, I heard the lead cut "Extraordinary" on one of the WB teeny bopper shows. Unknowing, I asked my stepdaughter who it was - and she actually thought it was Avril Lavigne! Obviously The Matrix production team captured their sound again.

Somehow if I had imagined a Liz Phair song about underwear, it would have been a lot better than the one she actually wrote. And the best she can say about a fling with a younger guy is "rock me all night"? Did she consult the cliche dictionary? And she even throws in a self-referential lyric, eeew.

Oh, and here's the big insight on male-female relations: "it's a war, and nothin's gonna change." This from the woman who wrote "Fuck And Run"?

This is the funny part : she gets her first ever TipperSticker on this one. How Tipper and Joe Lieberman ever missed Exile In Guyville I'll never know. (Actually, I think I do: Liz is a cute white girl with an upscale college-rock demographic, and not a metal mutant or a gangsta rapper. Notice how she gets the Mark of Quality only when she makes the Big Grab For The Hearts And Minds Of The Mainstream?) The song in question, officially titled "H.W.C." (someone somewhere wimped out and didn't spell it out) is much, uh, breezier than one would have expected.

Conventional industry wisdom, June 2003: Exile was a fluke. Maybe Eponymous will be a big hit and some innocent kids will be forever corrupted by the lyrics to "Flower." That, and only that, gives me hope.

Off to play the "Girlysound" bootlegs it took me three months to download...

The good news is, like me, Liz is single again. If Nicole Kidman never calls, I have a backup plan... well, maybe not after this post. Wait, Liz, maybe it'll grow on me...
Sparse crowd at 'draft Gore' rally

Ha, ha, ha ha, ha...

"A rally to drum up support for a presidential run by former vice president Al Gore drew a sparse crowd of just over 100 people..."

Friday, June 13, 2003

Sopranos: Season 6?

"David Chase is talking to HBO about the possibility of doing a sixth season. (The show's fifth season is currently in production and is slated to debut in early 2004.) Meanwhile, James Gandolfini has taken a giant step towards repairing his image in the wake of his very public salary renegotiation with HBO earlier this year. The Emmy winner, who recently received an advance on his share of the Sopranos profits from the network, reportedly handed out $500,000 in checks to more than a dozen of his fellow cast members..."

Wednesday, June 11, 2003

E! Online News - "Sopranos" Shelf-Life Extended?

"David Chase hinted that the fifth season could extend beyond the planned 13 episodes..."

The bad news:

"Extra episodes could mean the hit HBO show won't be back on the air until February or March 2004..." Madon'! that's a long time!


Musical guests join Zevon's final album

"Fortunately, I have a studio in my apartment. So I'm going to be able to stagger into that thing pretty much when the hearse is idling at the curb..."



Chicago Tribune | Springer Senate bid not just talk

JER-RY! JER-RY! JER-RY!

"Talk-show host Jerry Springer on Tuesday moved a step closer toward a U.S. Senate bid, announcing the creation of an exploratory campaign committee in Ohio..."

Springer exploratory committee site

Sunday, June 08, 2003

Bush's Scorched-Earth Campaign

"The presidency's real goal is to disable the Democratic opposition, once and for all..."

An interesting read that explains a lot.

Wednesday, June 04, 2003

It's Official

As of 1:24 PM:

"In the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Iowa
in re: the marriage of John Charles Deeth and Laura Renee Deeth,
Decree of Dissolution of Marriage..."

Nice to have something to remember the day by rather than Tiananmen Square...

Monday, June 02, 2003

Welcome, new Democrat

Citing the continued intolerance of Republicans on gay issues, a New Hampshire state representative switched over to the Democratic Party last Friday.

"We are hated, we are marginalized, and are basically unwanted by a party that has forsaken the principles of Abraham Lincoln and become dominated by a right wing that falls far short of representing mainstream America," said Rep. Corey Corbin, D-Rockingham.

Corbin has joined the Elected Officials Caucus of the National Stonewall Democrats...


Gossip Archive Front Page

Hey, the MSNBC gossip quiz left me off the list:


5. This man was linked with Nicole Kidman -- but she has denied anything romantic exists between them.

a) Russell Crowe
b) Jim Carrey
c) Ewan McGregor
d) Iain Glen
e) hunky Esquire writer Tom Junod
f) Jude Law
g) Rapper Q-Tip
h) Toby Maguire
i) Adrien Brody
j) All of the above