By Mark | February 28, 2005
I was looking into recent comments made by actress Jena Elfman (something about her goal in life being to clear the planet of an alien species known as body thetans), when I stumbled across this interesting little page about Beck Hanson’s life-long relationship with Scientology. It’s pretty interesting stuff. Even if it’s only half-true, it makes me feel sorry for the guy. (Of course, it could be worse. Instead of believing in the lurking threat of body thetans he could share the beliefs of Kid Rock.)
By Mark | February 28, 2005
The Bush administration’s move to privatize/destroy Social Security isn’t without precedent. No, conservative extremists have tried to roll back the New Deal before. In 1934, there was a Congressional inquiry into a plot by conservative industrialists to force FDR from the oval office. Unfortunately for the conspirators, Marine General, Smedley Butler came forward and foiled their plans… And lest you forget why some on the far right would see FDR as a threat, here he is in his own words.
By Mark | February 27, 2005
Yesterday, I posted my idea for Linette’s tattoo. (It involved using the image of “Man and Woman” sent onboard the Pioneer 10 spacecraft… Scroll back a few posts to see it.) Well, reader Ken Boyd saw room for improvement. What you see here is his suggestion. As you’ll notice, not only did he substitute my head, but he generously lengthened the penis! If Linette doesn’t get this tattoo, I think it should be grounds for divorce.
By Mark | February 27, 2005
So, it’s been a few weeks now and it still doesn’t seem as though the Gannon story is getting much traction in the corporate news. Even the sex angle wasn’t enough to draw them in. Here’s a clip from a Salon article on the matter:
Ordinarily, revelations that a former male prostitute, using an alias (Jeff Gannon) and working for a phony news organization, was ushered into the White House — without undergoing a full-blown security background check — in order to pose softball questions to administration officials would qualify as news by any recent Beltway standard. Yet as of Thursday, ABC News, which produces “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight With Peter Jennings,” “Nightline,” “This Week,” “20/20” and “Primetime Live,” has not reported one word about the three-week-running scandal. Neither has CBS News (“The Early Show,” “The CBS Evening News,” “60 Minutes,” “60 Minutes Wednesday” and “Face the Nation”). NBC and its entire family of morning, evening and weekend news programs have addressed the story only three times. Asked about the lack of coverage, a spokesperson for ABC did not return calls seeking comment, while a CBS spokeswoman said executives were unavailable to discuss the network’s coverage.
If you’re curious as to why your favorite network isn’t covering this story, send them an email and ask.
By Mark | February 27, 2005
Linette and I went and saw the new Alexander Payne film “Sideways” this afternoon while her parents watched Clementine. We saw it at a new theater in Canton called the Emagine. The coolest thing about the place was that they had full bar service. And there’s nothing like being able to guzzle really strong drinks at noon, during a film about a guy so taken with the grape that he upends a communal spit bucket into his mouth at a wine tasting… Word on the street is that Sideways is responsible for a nationwide run on Pinot Noir, the favorite drink of the film’s protagonist. (No word yet as to whether the film has also led to a run on “Barely Legal,” the favorite magazine of the same character.)
