Clinton VS Bush
24-Aug-05
Bill Clinton approval rating when he left office was 66%. On the day of his impeachment (12/19/98), when supposedly regular Americans were disgusted by his actions, his approval rating was even higher. It was 72%.
George Bush’s approval rating this week is exactly half what President Clinton’s was on the day Clinton was impeached.
Crazy.
Costas Condemns ‘Sports’ Poker As Crock
23-Aug-05
THE POKER craze apparently has not moved Bob Costas.
On his HBO show, he said, “I hold in my hand the New York Times, and in the sports section, their new regular column on poker. … Now at the risk of alienating degenerates from coast to coast, I must say I find it hard to get worked up over a sport that boasts all the pageantry and magic of Saturday night at my Uncle Murray’s basement. …
“Meanwhile, your 18-year-old kid is somehow hooked on this mind-numbing fare and has blown most of next semester’s tuition payment on an online game of Texas Hold’Em.
“Look, poker is not a sport. … Put it on the Game Show Network and let Chuck Woolery host it.”
Unlike earlier wars, nearly all Arlington National Cemetery gravestones for troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are inscribed with the slogan-like operation names the Pentagon selected to promote public support for the conflicts.
Families of fallen soldiers and Marines are being told they have the option to have the government-furnished headstones engraved with “Operation Enduring Freedom” or “Operation Iraqi Freedom” at no extra charge, whether they are buried in Arlington or elsewhere. A mock-up shown to many families includes the operation names.
The vast majority of military gravestones from other eras are inscribed with just the basic, required information: name, rank, military branch, date of death and, if applicable, the war and foreign country in which the person served.
Families are supposed to have final approval over what goes on the tombstones. That hasn’t always happened.
Nadia and Robert McCaffrey, whose son Patrick was killed in Iraq in June 2004, said “Operation Iraqi Freedom” ended up on his government- supplied headstone in Oceanside, Calif., without family approval.
“I was a little taken aback,” Robert McCaffrey said, describing his reaction when he first saw the operation name on Patrick’s tombstone. “They certainly didn’t ask my wife; they didn’t ask me.” He said Patrick’s widow told him she had not been asked either.
“In one way, I feel it’s taking advantage to a small degree,” McCaffrey said. “Patrick did not want to be there, that is a definite fact.”
The owner of the company that has been making gravestones for Arlington and other national cemeteries for nearly two decades is uncomfortable, too.
“It just seems a little brazen that that’s put on stones,” said Jeff Martell, owner of Granite Industries of Vermont. “It seems like it might be connected to politics.”
HBO announced yesterday that it will air an additional eight episodes of “The Sopranos,” to debut in January 2007. These episodes will be in addition to the 12 to air for the show’s sixth season, which is slated to launch in March 2006.
HBO’s strategy is to stretch out the Emmy-winning mob drama’s swan-song season over many months, much as it did with “Sex and the City.” HBO aired 12 episodes of that show from June-September 2003 and the final eight in January-February 2004.
“We are obviously delighted that we will be able to extend ‘The Sopranos’ series beyond its slated 12 episodes,” Chris Albrecht, HBO chairman and CEO said in a statement. “When something is as remarkable as ‘The Sopranos,’ our audience would like to see it continue as long as possible; so we are thrilled that David Chase felt there are more stories to be told.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, it was unclear whether the extended-season plan would trigger new contract negotiations with series star James Gandolfini, who set a salary benchmark for actors toiling in the cable realm with his last contract renegotiation.
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11-Aug-05
Nightline had a great program on Intelligent Design and Evolution. One Good Move has the video.
Trailer For Jesus Is Magic
11-Aug-05
Sarah Silverman brings the crazy funny. Check out the trailer for her movie “Jesus Is Magic”.
Cindy appeared with Keith tonight. Crooks and Liars has the video.
Ali G Done
11-Aug-05
Booyakasha! Today is a sad day for lovers of the unique brand of humor made famous by Sacha Baron Cohen, who portrays characters like Bruno, Borat and, of course, British hip-hop legend Ali G.
After first gaining acclaim for his characters on British television, Cohen brought his show stateside for two masterful seasons of Da Ali G Show on HBO.
Up until now, there has been very little news as to when and if a third season of Ali G might be happening. Currently Cohen is hard at work on a Borat movie.
IGN FilmForce caught up with one of the Ali G writers and former star of the acclaimed Freaks and Geeks, Seth Rogan, at the recent press day for 40 Year Old Virgin. As the interview wound to a close, I asked Rogan what he had planned for the third season of Ali G. His answer was an unfortunate surprise: “There is no third season. It’s over. The show is over.”
And with that, Ali G fans everywhere are encouraged to “Keep it real” and hope for the best with the Borat movie. “Respeck!”
http://filmforce.ign.com/
Aproval Of Iraq War Falls To 38%
05-Aug-05
Approval of Bush’s handling of Iraq, which had been hovering in the low- to mid-40s most of the year, dipped to 38%. Midwesterners and young women and men with a high school education or less were most likely to abandon Bush on his handling of Iraq in the last six months.
American troops have suffered heavy casualties in Iraq in recent days. On Wednesday, 14 Marines were killed in the Euphrates River valley in the worst roadside bombing targeting Americans since the war began in March 2003.