Striking Surgically w/ 2,000-lb. Bombs

After days of Israeli shelling, the city and life I have known no longer exist.

An almost bomb by bomb report, from an AP reporter who lives in Gaza City, on the concern for civilians demonstrated by the Israeli "Defense" Forces. There are no individual gems to extract, but the totality of the story makes it worth a read, even for mouth-breathing lip-readers. 

And the story on the Gaza Strip: 25 miles long, six to nine miles long, w/ 1,400,000 prisoners inhabitants, caught between AmeriKKKa's client states Israel & Egypt & the Mediterranean Sea, w/ essentially nowhere to go. We'd refer to it as an open-air prison, but that would be awfully glib.

No Hope, No Future, No Nothing

The NYT wraps up the yr. from their perspective. Here's something chilling, the

Top 10 Viewed Features of 2008 on NYTimes.com
(Between Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Wednesday, December 31, 2008)

We will assume that they meant "10 most viewed features," but English is out, & we'll be stuck w/ the phrase "Top Ten" for the rest of eternity. Thanks, Letterman.

1. Politics: Lose the BlackBerry? Yes He Can, Maybe
2. N.Y. / Region: For an Aspiring Singer, A Harsher Spotlight
3. N.Y. / Region: Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring
4. Television: 'Idol' Judge Admits Rehearsal Guided Her
5. Politics: For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk
6. Well: The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating
7. City Room: The Death of Heath Ledger
8. Rich: The Terrorist Barack Hussein Obama
9. Politics: Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes
10. Media & Advertising: Revealing Photo Threatens a Major Disney Franchise

What's so chilling? That this is the kind of crap that the people who search out The NYT want to read. Morons making dance-offs & the like number one in the telebision hit parade is one thing, but even accounting for pretentious a-holes & the like, one has a bit of an expectation that the typical ... Oh, never fucking mind. This nation, this species, is devolving faster that we can perceive. We mean, the number one political story is B. O. having to give up his Blackberry?

Photographic Indication of Why The United Snakes Is So Fucked

If Johnson, Nixon, Ford & Reagan (all four of whom deserved to be corpses long before they were — Are you listening, Secret Service?) had been there, we'd have a picture perfect example of not only what's wrong w/ this country but your entire species. Seriously, under which fucking rocks did you sheep find these bastards? And note how Jimmy Carter is staying as far away from the other bastards as he can. About a foot of the proverbial daylight.

Beaver Flash Up-Date

Here it takes Mlle. Coulter almost a minute before letting Matt Lauer see her goodies.Maybe getting up so early two days in a row had her off her awful little game. Note the absolute insincerity w/ which she greeted both Lauer & Harry Smith.

Rubber Soul Redux (UPDATED)

See? There's a guy in a butcher apron ("Satan?") & a bunch of dolls.UP-DATE (7 January 2009 @1835): In the comments, reader Snarla kindly provides translation of the Arabic in the photos. Thank you, Snarla!!

Chubby Checker: A Good Day One Yr., A Bad Day The Next

On Jan. 7, 1950, country performer Hank Snow made his Grand Ole Opry debut.In 1954, Muddy Waters recorded "Hoochie Coochie Man" in Chicago.In 1955, singer Marian Anderson made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.In 1962, "The Twist" by Chubby Checker hit No. 1 on the pop charts for a second time. It had previously hit No. 1 in 1960 for seven weeks.In 1963, singer Gary "US" Bonds sued Chubby Checker for $100,000, claiming that Checker plagiarized his hit "Quarter To Three" for Checker's song "Dancin' Party." The suit was settled out of court.In 1970, neighbors of New York land owner Max Yasgur sued him for $35,000 for property damage caused by people who attended the Woodstock festival. It's estimated more than 450,000 people attended the three-day event.
In 1974, James Taylor and Carly Simon had their second child, Sarah Martin, in New York.
In 1992, singer Debbie Gibson made her Broadway debut in "Les Miserables". She played the part of Eponine.
In 1994, Nirvana played their last U. S. show, at the Seattle Arena.
In 1997, Lionel Hampton's New York apartment caught fire and burned nearly everything he owned. Hampton escaped the fire unhurt. [And went on to die five yrs. later. — Ed.]
Associated Press

7 January

Wednesday, 07 January 2009

Today in history

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 7, the seventh day of 2009. There are 358 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: Jan. 7, 1789, the first U.S. presidential election was held. Americans voted for electors who, a month later, chose George Washington to be the nation's first president. On this date: 1608, an accidental fire devastated the Jamestown settlement in the Virginia colony. 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei began observing three of Jupiter's moons. 1800, the 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore, was born in Summerhill, N.Y. 1927, commercial transatlantic telephone service was inaugurated between New York and London. 1942, the Japanese siege of Bataan began during World War II. 1949, George C. Marshall resigned as U.S. Secretary of State, effective Jan. 20. President Harry S. Truman chose Dean Acheson to succeed him. 1959, the United States recognized the new government of Cuba, six days after Fidel Castro led the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista. 1972, Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William H. Rehnquist were sworn in as the 99th and 100th members of the U.S. Supreme Court. 1979, Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government. 1989, Emperor Hirohito of Japan died in Tokyo at age 87; he was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Akihito. Ten years ago: For the second time in history, an impeached American president went on trial before the Senate. President Bill Clinton faced charges of perjury and obstruction of justice; he was acquitted. Five years ago: President George W. Bush proposed legal status, at least temporarily, for millions of illegal immigrants working in the U.S. Swedish actress Ingrid Thulin died in Stockholm at age 77. One year ago: The Pentagon reported an Iranian fleet of high-speed boats charged at and threatened to blow up a three-ship U.S. Navy convoy passing near Iranian waters, then vanished as the American ship commanders were preparing to open fire. In Baghdad, the head of a key U.S.-backed Sunni group was killed in a double suicide bombing that claimed at least 11 other lives. Second-ranked LSU defeated No. 1 Ohio State, 38-24, in the BCS championship game played in New Orleans. Philip Agee, a renegade CIA agent whose naming of operatives led to a law against exposing spies, died in Cuba at age 72. Today's Birthdays: Singer Kenny Loggins is 61. Actress Erin Gray is 59. Actor Sammo Hung is 57. Actor David Caruso is 53. "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric is 52. Country singer David Lee Murphy is 50. Rock musician Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go's) is 50.Actor David Marciano is 49. Actress Hallie Todd is 47. Actor Nicolas Cage is 45. Singer-songwriter John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting) is 44. Actor Doug E. Doug is 39. Actor Kevin Rahm is 38. Country singer-musician John Rich is 35. Actor Dustin Diamond is 32. Thought for Today: "I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American author (1906-2001). The Associated Press

Place Your Bets Now!

How long will it take for Ann Coulter to flash Harry Smith?
About 15 secs. Media-savvy Ann knows to wait for the long shot.

94th Richest Man in World Loses Money, Kills Self. What Took You So Long, Jerk?

Hey, look!! REAL schadenfreude in Germany! We're enjoying this prick's misfortune/death. Bleeding-heart sob-sisters who whine, "Oh, but the poor man's family, have you no compassion?" are correct. We've very little compassion for humans. And his family either chose to be his family (probably due to his wealth) or still carry his filthy capitalist genes. No mercy, we say!!

Phoenix & Maricopa County: Shithole of Fascism That Doesn't Work

Egomaniacal publicity hound Joe Arpaio. Is he the sheriff? We can't be sure. Note tiny gun tie tack. Matches his shrunken pecker."America's Toughest Sheriff" is revealed as the load of phony crap that he is. By the Goldwater Institute, hardly a group of bleeding-heart criminal coddlers.

Says The Times:

The Goldwater report must bring some comfort to the residents of Maricopa County who have spent years raising the alarm about Sheriff Arpaio, with little effect outside Arizona.

Not to pile on (much) but what exactly has been the effect inside Arizona, if the stupid bastard is being elected over & over? (Elected to a fifth term in November.) Why do these reports never come out soon enough to affect elections? The Goldwater Inst. report is dated 2 December 2008. They couldn't have put it out a couple of mos. earlier, to bring about democratic change? Guess not. Assholes. 

There's No Business Like Show ... (Any More & Irving Berlin's Estate Sues Your Ass Off, So...)

On Jan. 6, 1957, Elvis Presley made his last appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show." He was on screen for more than 20 minutes, singing "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel," among other songs.
In 1963, "Wild Kingdom" premiered on NBC.
Forty-five years ago, in 1964, the Rolling Stones began their first British tour as a headliner. The Ronettes were the opening act.In 1977, EMI canceled its contract with the Sex Pistols, only three months after signing the band.
In 1980, Georgeanna Tillman Gordon of The Marvelettes died in Detroit after a long illness. She was 46.
In 1993, jazz great Dizzy Gillespie died of pancreatic cancer in Englewood, New Jersey. He was 75. The entertainment world also lost dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who was 54. And bassist Bill Wyman confirmed he was quitting the Rolling Stones. He told a TV interviewer in England that he wanted to pursue other music and business projects.
In 2005, singer Lou Rawls died in Los Angeles after fighting lung and brain cancer. He was 72. Also, singer Pink married motorcross racer Carey Hart in Costa Rica. They have since separated.
Associated Press

6 January Throughout The Interminable Span of Human Existence

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, the sixth day of 2009. There are 359 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
In 1838, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail gave the first successful public demonstration of their telegraph, in Morristown, N.J.
On this date:
In 1540, England's King Henry VIII married his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. (The marriage lasted about six months.)
Two hundred & fifty years ago, in 1759, George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis were married in New Kent County, Va.
In 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state.
Ninety years ago, in 1919, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, died in Oyster Bay, N.Y., at age 60.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his State of the Union address, outlined a goal of "Four Freedoms": Freedom of speech and expression; the freedom of people to worship God in their own way; freedom from want; freedom from fear.
In 1942, the Pan American Airways Pacific Clipper arrived in New York more than a month after leaving California and following a westward route.
In 1945, George Herbert Walker Bush married Barbara Pierce in Rye, N.Y. [Oh, man. A time machine, a gun, & a few bullets; then a much, much better world. — Ed.]
In 1967, U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Deckhouse Five, an offensive in the Mekong River delta.
In 1982, truck driver William G. Bonin was convicted in Los Angeles of 10 of the "Freeway Killer" slayings of young men and boys. Bonin was later convicted of four other killings; he was executed in 1996.)
In 1994, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the leg by an assailant at Cobo Arena in Detroit; four men, including Jeff Gillooly, ex-husband of Kerrigan's rival, Tonya Harding, were later sentenced to prison for their roles in the attack; Harding, who denied advance knowledge of the attack, received probation after pleading guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution.
Ten years ago: The 106th Congress convened with Dennis Hastert taking over as the new House speaker. Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, would marry his longtime girlfriend, public relations executive Sophie Rhys-Jones, later in the year.
Five years ago: Thirteen children and two adults were killed in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province by a time-bomb concealed in an apple cart on a street regularly used by U.S. military patrols. A design consisting of two reflecting pools and a paved stone field was chosen for the World Trade Center memorial in New York. Mijailo Mijailovic confessed to the fatal stabbing of Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh in September 2003. Hitting star Paul Molitor and reliever Dennis Eckersley were elected to baseball's Hall of Fame.
One year ago: In a video posted on the Internet, Al-Qaida's American spokesman, Adam Gadahn, urged fighters to meet President Bush with bombs during his upcoming Mideast visit. Mikhail Saakashvili won a second term as Georgia's president.
Today's Birthdays: Pollster Louis Harris is 88. Bluegrass performer Earl Scruggs is 85. Author E.L. Doctorow is 78. Actress Bonnie Franklin is 65. Musician Joey, the CowPolka King (Riders in the Sky) is 60. Rock singer-musician Kim Wilson (The Fabulous Thunderbirds) is 58. Singer Jett Williams is 56. Rock musician Malcolm Young (AC-DC) is 56. Actor-comedian Rowan Atkinson is 54. Golfer Nancy Lopez is 52. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kathy Sledge is 50. TV chef Nigella Lawson is 49. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eric Williams (BLACKstreet) is 49. Movie director John Singleton is 41. TV personality Julie Chen (CBS' "The Early Show") is 39.[Ms. Chen has the sex w/ her boss, CBS Pres. Les Moonves. Unless one or the other has wised up. — Ed.] 
Thought for Today: "What this generation was bred to at television's knees was not wisdom, but cynicism." — Pauline Kael, American movie critic (1919-2001)

The American People: Too Stupid to Know Whom to Hate Unless Hollywood Tells Them

Sure, you'd think an outright "AmeriKKKans are dicks & I hate them" statement like that was coming from the left (We're pretty much the only "left" left, what w/ our former comrades selling out to corporate bail-out interests & centrist Obama. Not only do we hate AmeriKKKans, we think they're stupid dicks!)

But the title's bit of a fudge, a "shorter," if you will. The sentiment? 

Hollywood is no longer an American industry. And it took a prolonged war in which the studios and most of the stars didn't show up to fight for America to draw attention to this hard truth.

American corporations, the FBI, the CIA and elected U.S. officials are the bad guys in flicks these days. Radical Islamists are seldom vilified while the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are smeared too often.

Boy Howdy, ain't that the truth!! Why, Real America will never got over its mad infatuation w/ Osama bin Laden until Hollywood makes a few movies pointing out what a douchebag he is. 

And wouldn't you know it, someone is going to turn Hollywood around single-handedly! Who, you ask? Who will save us from Sean Penn & Meryl Streep? Why, it's Andrew Breitbart, who seems to run a low-rent, West Coast version of the Drudge Report. And he's going to do it w/ a website! (Maybe someone should mention to him that this whole "movie" thing is about to go the way of the recording industry, & if he wants to teach AmeriKKKans whom to hate he might try getting into this "new media" crap we keep hearing about. But that would spoil our fun.)

It's called "Big Hollywood." Box office receipts? It's got 'em.

In the period since Sept. 11, 2001, international box office receipts have steadily exceeded domestic numbers. Film financing now usually begins with international investors and creative decisions are crafted to geopolitical sensibilities rarely simpatico with our own.

Big Hollywood box office analyst Steve Mason will explore these trends and be the first national reporter to crunch the movie numbers throughout the week. Politicians need to pay attention to the results as close as studio executives. Or elections beware.

"Elections beware" indeed. We're guessing that if Breitbart doesn't trust the great unwashed American public to hate appropriately w/o instruction, he certainly would be opposed to free elections.

Maybe some scripts dealing w/ the horrors of democracy ("Elected uh whut?") will come out of Big Hollywood & its appeal to the secret fascists w/in Hollywood. (Screenplays are all we'll ever see out of this, as the chance of any heavy-handed horseshit from these morons getting "greenlit" is slim to none, as the "creative decisions" are not "crafted to geopolitical sensibilities rarely simpatico with our own," but are more along the lines of: "more car chases & shit blowing up, less lines of already cliched dialogue we'll just have to spend money dubbing."

Hidden amid the "dissent is patriotic" glitterati are thousands of deeply concerned artists and industry players who have mostly privately and sadly watched Hollywood reflect ideals that are not their own.

Non-left-leaning writers, producers, directors and "below the line" members of the creative community will slowly begin to tell "flyover country" that their values are shared - even in glitzy Los Angeles. In fact, to foreshadow its big message, Big Hollywood will be an invitation to aspiring conservatives to drop their political dreams for the grueling Hollywood grind.

No shit. Hollywood's "values" (profit) are so out of touch w/ Real America that there were no movie ticket purchases over the holidays. Not a DVD has been rented or purchased since 2004. The only telebision channels watched any more are RFD-TV & CMT. "Non-left-leaning," (i. e., un-creative, authoritarian-mind set) writers, producers & directors are going to cure this problem. Sure they are. Because "patrotism" means following orders, not dissenting. 

And here's the real story behind Breitbart & his "Big Hollywood:" 

Most heartbroken by this cultural and financial sea change are those who ply in the powerful trade of make-believe, who got into show business, for among other reasons, to carry on Hollywood's patriotic mission. It's hard to believe, but not everyone in the business thinks Sean Penn is a gonzo genius.

Most people who can tell about these things do think that Mr. Penn is a pretty good actor, if not a genius (Can that be applied to play-acting?) & let his political peccadilloes go. It would be nice if that worked for the rightists of Hollywood, but as we said, most of them being of the authoritarian mind-set, they just aren't that good w/ thinking for themselves, coming up w/ anything not tired, hackneyed & traditional. And we can be damn sure no one thinks Breitbart is a genius, or even a typist. (For example, one "plies" a trade or business. One does not "ply" in the [...] trade of." This colorful misuse of language may indicate he's not as authoritarian as he is just stupid. 

And we can feel the stupid rising. The final example:

If conservatives don't figure out popular culture soon, the movement will die a deserving death. If Hollywood liberals can't learn how to play well with those with whom they disagree, Big Hollywood will have a field day at their close-minded and intolerant expense. The days of open bullying in the marketplace of ideas are nearing their end.

Consider this a warning.

Editor in Chief John Nolte is veteran of the film blog world, and a director in his own right. His love of the best of Hollywood - yes, there still is great product - will keep the readers and the writers enthusiastic about the future.

I will be writing and recruiting like the madman that I am.

Hollywood may not be completely anti-American yet, but it is certainly no longer pro-American. And no one has put up a public fight to change that.

Until now.

Oooh, what a bad ass!! (How many Jolly Rogers on his blog?) No more "open bullying." They'll be keeping it on the down low from here on. Once they issue the stern warning.

"Big Talk for a Dude Who Wears a Dress"

We thank Joey deVilla for saving this for us:The title's been stolen from Mr. deVilla as well, & he spotted Pope HitlerYouth's "leering sideways glance" (Jesus, so to speak, look at it!) for us.

"Und Du Bist Mein SOFA"

Hey, something at the Daily Beast worth reading, we think, based on a (quick) scan. More interested in what Bush has done that's bad, wrong & un-constitutional than in what a pair of academics think Pres.-in-just-a-few-days Obama should do, however.

And it's been well established by precedent that nothing a president does is "illegal." So what actual difference will it make that

As of New Year’s Day, ongoing combat in Iraq is illegal under US law [?]

No difference at all, that's what. It's 5 January today. Haven't yet heard of arrest warrants being issued. Is there a judge out there who has the intestinal fortitude, desire to honor her/his constitutional oath, or whatever to issue an injunction? Thought not. Wimps. 

And something at The New York Times not worth the read, we're sure, but dealing w/ the same issues of the Senate & treaty approval. It's by two of the finest specimens of the AmeriKKKan legal system, & by "specimens" we do mean bug-like things that should be kept in jars (oxygen optional). The authors? Why, John R. Bolton & John NMI Yoo, who are not worried about Bush signing illegal shit w/ al-Maliki, but instead are scared that 

the new president and Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, led by the legal academics in whose circles they have long traveled, contemplate binding down American power and interests in a dense web of treaties and international bureaucracies.

Yes, they typed it. And are ignorant or paranoid enough to believe it.  

Get On Board The Love Train, Only $69.95 + Shipping & Handling

Sure, you've seen & heard about the commemorative plates & the collectible coins, but you haven't seen this yet, have you?We're waiting for the first funny guy or gal to make a B. O.-styled lawn jockey. Laugh if you will, but you read it here first! Still laughing?
It's the Civil War Confederate Express Electric Train Collection! ("Collection" means they send you a new car every so often & charge you for it, since you were enough of a sucker to give them your card no. when you paid the $70.00 for the engine, etc., shown above.) 

Wknd. Cartoon Round-Up

And here are some cartoon characters being rounded-up by Homeland Security.

Celeb Divorce & Annulment, 5 January Style

In 1965, The Supremes recorded "Stop! In the Name Of Love."
In 1970, "All My Children" premiered on ABC.
In 1975, "The Wiz," an all-black musical version of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," opened on Broadway.
In 1978, the Sex Pistols began its first tour of the US Less than two weeks after the first show in Atlanta, the tour was over and the band had broken up. [America can do that to you. So can touring. But touring in America? Whew! — Ed.]
In 1979, musician Charles Mingus died in Mexico of Lou Gehrig's disease.In 1983, Everything But The Girl made their concert debut as a duo at the Institute for Contemporary Arts in London.
In 1984, John Lennon's single "Nobody Told Me" was released.
In 1988, Madonna filed for divorce from actor Sean Penn.
In 1989, actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was kicked off a Delta Air Lines flight bcause she refused to keep her two dogs in their travel kennels. She was escorted from the plane in Atlanta during a stopover on her way to Palm Beach, Florida.
In 1990, the movie "Born On The Fourth Of July," starring Tom Cruise, opened nationwide.
In 1991, actress Barbara Eden married for the third time. The wedding was held in San Francisco, where she stayed for a brief honeymoon. [Who the fuck did she marry, the Anonymous Invisible Man? — Ed.]
In 1998, singer-turned-politician Sonny Bono died when he slammed into a tree while skiing at a resort near the Nevada-California border. He was 62.
In 2004, Britney Spears' marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander was annulled. They had been married 55 hours.

Associated Press

5 January in History

By The Associated Press The Associated Press – Tue Dec 30, 12:26 pm ET
Today is Monday, Jan. 5, the fifth day of 2009. There are 360 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan. 5, 1896, an Austrian newspaper, Wiener Presse, reported the discovery by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen of a type of radiation that came to be known as "X-rays."
On this date:
In 1781, a British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Va.
In 1809, the Treaty of the Dardanelles, which ended the Anglo-Turkish War, was concluded by the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire.
In 1895, French Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, convicted of treason, was publicly stripped of his rank. (He was ultimately vindicated.)
In 1925, Nellie T. Ross became governor of Wyoming; she was the first female governor in U.S. history. (She succeeded Frank E. Lucas, who had served as acting governor following the death of Ross' husband, William B. Ross.)
In 1933, the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, died in Northampton, Mass., at age 60.
In 1949, in his State of the Union address, President Harry S. Truman labeled his administration the Fair Deal.
In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed assistance to countries to help them resist Communist aggression; this became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine.
In 1970, Joseph A. Yablonski, an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency of the United Mine Workers of America, was found murdered with his wife and daughter at their Clarksville, Pa., home. UMW President Anthony Boyle and three others were convicted of the killings.
In 1994, Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, died in Boston at age 81.
In 1998, Sonny Bono, the 1960's pop star-turned-politician, was killed when he struck a tree while skiing in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; he was 62.
Ten years ago: Four U.S. Air Force and Navy jets fired on, and missed, four Iraqi MiGs testing the "no-fly" zone over southern Iraq in the first such air confrontation in more than six years.
Five years ago: Foreigners arriving at U.S. airports were photographed and had their fingerprints scanned in the start of a government effort to keep terrorists out of the country. NASA released a 3-D, black-and-white panoramic picture of the bleak surface of Mars snapped by the newly landed rover Spirit. China confirmed its first SARS case since an outbreak was contained in July 2003. After 14 years of denials, Pete Rose publicly admitted that he'd bet on baseball while manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Baseball pitcher Tug McGraw died near Nashville, Tenn., at age 59.
One year ago: Republican Mitt Romney won the Wyoming caucuses, picking up eight delegates; in a debate three days before the New Hampshire primary, Romney clashed with Mike Huckabee on foreign policy and John McCain on immigration. In a Democratic faceoff, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton accused campaign rival Barack Obama of changing his positions on health care and "a number of issues." A Piper Navajo Chieftain airplane crashed off Kodiak island in southern Alaska, killing six people. A canal breach in Fernley, Nev., flooded about 600 homes. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady won The Associated Press 2007 NFL MVP award.
Today's Birthdays: Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale is 81. Actor Robert Duvall is 78. Football Hall-of-Fame coach Chuck Noll is 77. King Juan Carlos of Spain is 71. Talk show host Charlie Rose is 67. Actress-director Diane Keaton is 63. Actor Ted Lange is 61. Rhythm-and-blues musician George "Funky" Brown (Kool and the Gang) is 60. Rock musician Chris Stein (Blondie) is 59. Actress Pamela Sue Martin is 56. Singer Iris Dement is 48. Actor Ricky Paull Goldin is 44. Rock musician Kate Schellenbach (Luscious Jackson) is 43. Actress Heather Paige Kent is 40. Rock singer Marilyn Manson is 40. Actress January Jones is 31.Thought for Today: "The most certain sign of being born with great qualities is to be born without envy." — Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680). [Fuck, we wish we'd said that. — Ed.]

"The GreatestStupidest Nation on God's Green Earth"

Never let it be said that the American people do not have their priorities straight. If someone's on telebision a lot, they want that someone right next door to them.

Palin ended 2008 with a striking run of personal successes in high-profile popularity polls. According to a poll by Gallup she was the second most admired woman of the year, after Hillary Clinton. Time magazine chose her as the world’s fourth most influential person, behind Barack Obama, Henry Paulson of the US Treasury and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.

Last week she triumphed in an annual poll, commissioned by a property website, as the person Americans would most like to have as their neighbour. She finished ahead of Oprah Winfrey, the television chat show queen, and Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer.

Gawd doesn't know what a "property" website is. let alone what sort of idiots view & vote there. Neither do we. But "property?" We can imagine.

And the liberal elite bias of TIME. Placing Gov. Palin a mere fourth among the world's most influential people. Of course she's more influential than Putin, or twenty or thirty other heads of state, for example. (No, we don't mean other goobernators.) 

Anyway, a limebag in NYC reports for The Sunday Times that Sarah is ready to rock (based on reading newspapers & making a phone call or two, it seems) in 2012, & that there are those who think her "style" will enable her to take on President B. O. Much attention is paid to TeamSarah.org, & its 60,000 alleged members.

We wonder if Tony Allen-Mills actually visited TeamSarah. 

Oddly enough, we just went there. You can't look at anything beyond what is referred to as "above the fold" w/o signing up. And while that's one way to increase "membership," the real reason for registration is that many of Sarah's fans were posting some, shall we say, offensive, comments about the ethnicity of various American political figures. Note the first & fourth items.  

First: "The Recent 'Framing' Attempt"
Shorter: I hold in my hand a list of ninety secret terrorists plotting to leave rude messages on our site & make us look bad. Note that I put the word "framing" in quotation marks, in case we're full of it.

Fourth:

Calling on Team Sarah Members to uphold the dignity of our community
As many of you know, Team Sarah is a project of the Susan B. Anthony List, an organization founded in 1992 and named after the suffragette who fought for women's rights and against slavery. Susan B. Anthony possessed the core values and convictions that embraced all human rights and human dignity. She stood up for rights for slaves, women, and unborn children. She lived out her values consistently, as does Sarah Palin. She lived with backbone and determination and confidence. So does Sarah Pal… Continue

Shorter: Please stop calling Obama a "nigger" in our forums & comments; if the nigger-lovers catch on we won't look good.

NB: There were racist comments there long before this alleged "framing" conspiracy. Indeed, where the hell do you think the "framers" (if they exist) got the idea?

"He May Be A Bastard, But He's Our Bast ..."

As mentioned earlier, it's bad enough for the Bush Admin. to have the guy the purple-fingered illiterates elected to run the colony mouthing off & playing kissy face w/ the Persians, but when Iwad Allawi, who was actually installed as the Iraqi prime minister by the Bush Admin. in 2004, starts bitching & moaning, well...

"Yes, Bush's policies failed utterly," said Allawi, describing the U.S. administration that once backed him. "Utter failure. Failure of U.S. domestic and foreign policy, including fighting terrorism and economic policy."

"His insistence on names like 'democracy' and 'open elections', without giving attention to political stability, was a big mistake. It cast shadows on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Egypt, and I believe this will be remembered in history as President Bush's policy," he said.

We can only hope so.

Robots: Threat, Menace, or Both?

The author of this "AmeriKKKan military power will solve all the big problems of the world!" piece seems to be pro-robot.

We can use robots to stop genocide, he implies, because no AmeriKKKans will be harmed in the production of the film. Taking oil, worth the expenditure of AmeriKKKan lives. Saving lives, not worth the oil, let alone the lives.

Within a decade, the Army will field armed robots with intellects that possess, as H.G. Wells put it, "minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic."

Let us dwell on "unsympathetic." These killers will be utterly without remorse or pity when confronting the enemy. That's something new. In 1947, military historian S.L.A. Marshall published "Men Against Fire," which documented the fundamental difference between real soldiers and movie soldiers: Most real soldiers will not shoot at the enemy. Most won't even discharge their weapons, and most of the rest do no more than spray bullets in the enemy's general direction. These findings remain controversial, but the hundreds of thousands of bullets expended in Iraq for every enemy combatant killed suggests that it's not too far off the mark.

Only a few troops, perhaps 1 percent, will actually direct aimed fire at the enemy with the intent to kill. These troops are treasured, and set apart, and called snipers.

Armed robots will all be snipers. Stone-cold killers, every one of them. They will aim with inhuman precision and fire without human hesitation. They will not need bonuses to enlist or housing for their families or expensive training ranges or retirement payments. Commanders will order them onto battlefields that would mean certain death for humans, knowing that the worst to come is a trip to the shop for repairs. The writing of condolence letters would become a lost art.

Sound good? No more Darfurs? No more acting out of colonialism & capitalism at their finest? Not bloody likely. We'd suggest these robot soldiers will increase genocide, police actions, etc.

No, we don't think the robots will gain self-awareness, go mad, & start killing humans. Imagine, however, the ease w/ which a general sitting in his nicely furnished Pentagon office can type a few lines into the "Death to You Name 'Em" app on his iPhone, & have the "stone-cold robot killers" march into a picket line & put the UAW in its place forever, to mention but one of the almost infinite possibilities for totalitarian repression.

Even w/ a "professional" military, as opposed to draftees, it might be hard to get personnel to slaughter on a wholesale basis. "Cool unsympathetic intellects" that will follow any orders in the hands of cool unsympathetic killers who might give any orders is not this American's idea of a "robotic American peace."

Entertainment History — January 4: Death, Divorce & Domino

On Jan. 4, 1953, thousands of people attended the funeral of country star Hank Williams in Montgomery, Alabama. He had died of a heart attack a few days earlier.
In 1954, Elvis Presley met Sam Phillips of Sun Records at the Memphis Recording Service. Phillips got Elvis' address and phone number to contact him later about a formal recording session.
In 1957, Fats Domino recorded "I'm Walkin'" in New Orleans.In 1966, the last episode of "Rawhide" aired on CBS. [Forcing Clint Eastwood to get some real work. — Ed.]
In 1976, Mal Evans, the former road manager for The Beatles, was shot and killed by police at his Los Angeles home. Authorities said Evans had refused to surrender a gun he was holding. At the time of his death, Evans was working on a memoir of his time with The Beatles.
In 1984, Van Halen released their "1984" album.
In 1986, former Thin Lizzy singer Phil Lynott died in a London hospital of heart failure and pneumonia.
In 2000, Ted Turner and Jane Fonda announced they were divorcing after eight years of marriage. On that same day, "Scary Spice" Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls announced she and husband Jimmy Gulzar were splitting after 15 months of marriage.
Associated Press

4 January in History

Today is Sunday, Jan. 4, the fourth day of 2009. There are 361 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
Two hundred years ago, on Jan. 4, 1809, Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille raised-dot reading system for the blind, was born in Coupvray, France.
On this date:
In 1821, the first native-born American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, died in Emmitsburg, Md.
In 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th state.
In 1904, the Supreme Court, in Gonzalez v. Williams, ruled that Puerto Ricans were not aliens and could enter the United States freely; however, the court stopped short of declaring them U.S. citizens.
In 1948, Burma (now called Myanmar) became independent of British rule.
In 1951, during the Korean War, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces recaptured the city of Seoul.
In 1960, Nobel Prize-winning French author Albert Camus died in an automobile accident at age 46.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined the goals of his "Great Society" in his State of the Union Address. Poet T.S. Eliot died in London at age 76.
In 1974, President Richard M. Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
In 1987, 16 people were killed when an Amtrak train bound from Washington to Boston collided with Conrail locomotives that had crossed into its path from a side track in Chase, Md. In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected the first female speaker of the House as Democrats took control of Congress.
Ten years ago: Europe's new currency, the euro, got off to a strong start on its first trading day, rising against the dollar on world currency markets. Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura took the oath of office as Minnesota's governor.
Five years ago: In Iowa, seven of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls participated in a feisty, first debate of the election year. Afghans approved a new constitution. Georgians overwhelmingly elected Mikhail Saakashvili president, two months after he'd led protests that forced Eduard Shevardnadze to step down. Louisiana State University won college football's Sugar Bowl, defeating Oklahoma 21-14.
One year ago: The government reported that the nation's jobless rate hit 5 percent in December 2007, a two-year high, fanning recession fears. Howling winds, pelting rain and heavy snow pummeled California. Britney Spears lost custody of her two sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline a day after police and paramedics were called to her home.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Barbara Rush is 82. Football Hall-of-Fame coach Don Shula is 79. Actress Dyan Cannon is 72. Opera singer Grace Bumbry is 72. Author-historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is 66. Country singer Kathy Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 54. Actress Ann Magnuson is 53.Rock musician Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division) is 53. Country singer Patty Loveless is 52. Rock singer Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) is 49. Actor Patrick Cassidy is 47. Actor Dave Foley is 46. Singer-musician Cait O'Riordan is 44. Actress Julia Ormond is 44. Tennis player Guy Forget is 44. Country singer Deana Carter is 43. Rock musician Benjamin Darvill (Crash Test Dummies) is 42.
Thought for Today: "Sometimes history takes things into its own hands." — Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court justice (1908-1993).

Memories ... Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

© MMIX The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

We don't see why not. It's a compilation of G. W. Bush's stupider recorded statements, all of which are in the public domain. Stop us if you can, you bastards.

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - September 2000, explaining his energy policies at an event in Michigan.

Non-Ammunition/Shoe Shots of the Yr.

From España, & the lovely Sophia, we rec'd. this photo of dangerous lightning.Lightning is also popular w/ the sort of person who might vote in an MSNBC* on-line poll for photo of the yr. This was numero uno, of the Chaiten volcano in Chile, attracting lightning like an American flagpole. By Carlos Gutierrez of the Patagonia Press. Congrats, Carlos!
*As always, it stands for: Mighty Sorry, No Body Cares.

Annals of Political Idiocy: Republican Nose Spites Republican Face

Ron Brownstein, who reported from Washington for the L. A. Times for some time before leaving the sinking ship like all the other reporter rats, has some ideas about the grumpy old cracker Jesustard assholeRepublican party's future. 

It is what you (probably) wanted to hear: The G. Old Party is digging itself into a hole it may never crawl out of. Keep sticking to those "principles," boys & occasional girl. All that capitalistic, discredited by the end of the 20th century garbage will certainly take you to the top of the AmeriKKKan heap, because this is a center-right nation.

[T]he party's loss of regional and ideological equilibrium can reinforce itself. Because Republicans from swing and Democratic-leaning states now constitute such a distinct minority in the party caucus, they lack the numbers to prevent it from adopting positions unpopular with their voters. The caucus majority can impose a direction that solidifies the party where it is already strong but further endangers the minority.

This isn't the first time a party has fallen into this debilitating cycle. The classic example came after 1854 when Congress approved the Kansas-Nebraska Act, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise that had limited slavery's spread in the territories. Until then, congressional Democrats were divided closely between Northern and Southern members. But the backlash against the Kansas-Nebraska Act destabilized that balance by provoking severe losses for Northern Democrats; as Southerners gained the advantage in the Democratic caucus, they repeatedly identified the party with pro-slavery policies that further undercut Northern Democrats already struggling against the emerging Republican Party. As the late David M. Potter recounted in his magisterial history of the 1850s, The Impending Crisis, the House's Northern Democrats didn't entirely recover until the New Deal.

We're stuck w/ a complex political system, to put it mildly, but political (not Social) Darwinism will deal the Party of Bush its deserved death-whimper. Into the dustbin o' history w/ you lot! Siddown over there. That's right, next to the Whigs!

Today's Mental Health

Techno-Rape

Not sure if it's technology that inspires the crime, but there's no question that technology can bust it, if you're so fucking stupid & twisted as to record the evidence. 

In general, we'd not bring up this sort of nastiness ('though we might to make a point about athletes) but we had to mention the name of one of the accused.  

The third suspect, Luster Ditto Lewis, 20, of Irvine, turned himself in Friday and was arraigned.

Somewhere On The Axis Between "Infantile" & "Juvenile"

Ukraine warns EU of 'serious gas problems' in 10 days

"Serious gas problems." Heh-heh.

Wait, it's not funny. There could be a fucking war over this, for all we know. (That's certainly what our nihilist inner child would like.)

"It's not just a threat but a reality, they are stealing gas from the pipelines and underground facilities," Medvedev said after talks later Saturday in Berlin.

He said negotiating with Ukrainians was "like having a talk with people from the planet Mars."

Oh, great. Another of these "Our opponents are not human & we can't talk to them, let alone reason w/ them" deals that are so popular these days. 

"You Won't Have Dick NixonG. W. Bush To Kick Around Any More"

jurrassicpork of "Welcome Back to Pottersville" has been pimping his web log again. This time it's worth it ('Cause it's simple pictures, yet we all know their worth.) as mr. pork seems to have more time on his hands (or more patience) than this typist, enabling him to locate, copy & paste photos as if there were no tomorrow. (And there may not be a tomorrow.) Sample above.

Triumph of the Will Over Kwanzaa

Photo courtesy anncoulter.com. No comment.Ann Coulter:

Fresh off my triumph over Kwanzaa, I thought I'd mention a couple of other facts that some of us are forced to keep repeating because liberals refuse to learn.

We've no idea what this "triumph over Kwanzaa" is (other than a delusion of some sort) but the idea itself is as ridiculous as winning the "war on terror." Or the "war on X-mess."

We aren't going to see what her "other facts" are (Does she think she used "facts" in her triumph over Kwanzaa?) but maybe conservatives should learn the "facts" of 4 November 2008 before they start repeating themselves.

U. S. Incompetence in Iraq

Note to the Bush Admin.:

You fucking morons. When imposing "democracy" on an oil-rich nation, be sure the strongman you put in is both willing & able to do your bidding. Not someone like the Shi'ite weakling who went to visit the terrorist madmen in Iran this wknd.

This fairy weakling bullshit must not be allowed to stand. The United Snakes owns & operates the "nation" of Iraq, & one of the many, often-changing rationalizations for AmeriKKKa spending billions of dollars & the lives of a few thousand suckers who enlisted in the armed forces is so we may use Iraq to do anything we want in order to control our oil.

Therefore, this sort of thing

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Iran's Arabic news channel on Friday that Iraq "will not let Iraq be a launching ground to threaten any country," Al-Alam said on its website.

is not to be tolerated, whether from AmeriKKKa-hating leftists here or our employees overseas. We demand that President Bush demand the resignation of al-Maliki immediately, & throw him in Gitmo for ... ever. That will show the next Iraqi "leader" that we mean business. (Literally. Oil business.)

Will Elder vs. Some Punk-Ass Chump

From David Hajdu, the dilrod who doesn't like John Zorn, an "appreciation" of Will Elder, who is accused by Mr. Hajdu of being & remaining "juvenile" & "immature." Fuck you & the mature, adult horse you rode in on, Hajdu.

As you're so mature & sophisticated, Dave, why don't you finish shoving the Rod Of Upright- & Uptightness all the way up your ass & start reviewing the symphony & other, more "adult," aesthetic activities, keeping your aestheic fascism away from the popular arts? Asswipe.

Invasion!

Armored Column Seen Moving Into Gaza

Israeli television showed a column of tanks moving into the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, in what appeared to be the beginning of a ground offensive against Hamas. The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse reported that Israeli defense officials were confirming the movement of ground forces into Gaza.

Read more.

In Which We Destroy Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg's Last Chance At The NY Senate Seat (UPDATED)

UPDATED (3 January 2008 @ 1800): In the interest of gaining more hits, we type Ms. Kennedy's name w/o her husband's name hanging from it: Caroline Kennedy. We'll note that,  much as Mrs. Clinton became "Hillary" when running for the Senate seat CK now wants, so Ms. Kennedy-Schlossberg has become simply "Caroline Kennedy" in her search for power.

Today's Boring Birthdays: 3 January

Record producer Sir George Martin is 83. Actor Robert Loggia is 79. Actor Dabney Coleman is 77. Journalist-author Betty Rollin is 73. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Bobby Hull is 70. Singer-songwriter-producer Van Dyke Parks is 66. Musician Stephen Stills is 64. Rock musician John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) is 63. Actress Victoria Principal is 59. Actor-director Mel Gibson is 53. Actress Shannon Sturges is 41. Jazz musician James Carter is 40. Contemporary Christian singer Nichole Nordeman is 37. Actor Jason Marsden is 34. Actress Danica McKellar is 34. 
Associated Press

Celebrity Boredom

On January third, 1967, Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys refused to be sworn in after receiving a US Army draft notice. Wilson said he was a conscientious objector.

In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Two Virgins" record sleeve, which showed them posing nude, was declared pornographic in New Jersey. Police seized copies of the album.
In 1970, members of The Beatles recorded their last song together, "I Me Mine." George Harrison later used that title for his autobiography. Also in 1970, singer Davy Jones announced he was leaving The Monkees,a year after Peter Tork quit the group.
In 1974, Bob Dylan and The Band opened a brief tour. Several dates were recorded for a live album.
In 1989, country legend Johnny Cash was released from a Nashville hospital two weeks after undergoing double-bypass heart surgery. At the time, he said he had no plans to cancel any of his tour dates that year. Also in 1989, "The Arsenio Hall Show" made its premiere on Fox.
In 1991, the sit-com "Blossom" premiered on NBC.
In 1992, singer Jim Kerr of Simple Minds married actress Patsy Kensit in London. They have since split up.
In 2004, Britney Spears married childhood friend Jason Alexander in a spur-of-the-moment wedding in Las Vegas. The marriage lasted 55 hours before they got it annulled.
Associated Press

362 & Counting

Today is Saturday, Jan. 3, the 3rd day of 2009. There are 362 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan. 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation.
On this date:
In 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X. [Caused, as you certainly recall, by Luther's firm stand against Catholic anti-Semitism. — Ed.]
In 1777, General George Washington's army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, N.J.
In 1868, the Meiji Restoration re-established the authority of Japan's emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as shoguns. [How'd Tojo get in then? Is somebody keeping an eye on these yellow devils now? — Ed.]
In 1909, Danish-American comedian Victor Borge was born in Copenhagen.
In 1938, the March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was organized.
In 1947, congressional proceedings were televised for the first time as viewers in Washington, Philadelphia and New York got to see some of the opening ceremonies of the 80th Congress.
In 1949, in a pair of rulings, the US Supreme Court said that states had the right to ban closed shops.
In 1961, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.
In 1990, ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to US forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission.
In 1993, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a historic nuclear missile-reduction treaty in Moscow.
Ten years ago: Chicagoans dug out from their biggest snowstorm in more than 30 years. Israeli authorities detained, and later expelled, 14 members of Concerned Christians, a Denver-based cult which Israeli officials feared was plotting violence in Jerusalem to bring about the Second Coming of Christ. [Cult? Sounds mainstream Xian to us. — Ed.]
Five years ago: A Boeing 737 owned by Egyptian charter tour operator Flash Airlines crashed into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people aboard, most of them French tourists. NASA's Mars rover, Spirit, touched down on Mars.
One year ago: Barack Obama won Democratic caucuses in Iowa, while Mike Huckabee won Republican caucuses. [Where are those two now? — Ed.] After nearly 27 years in prison, Texas inmate Charles Chatman was set free by a judge because of new DNA evidence showing he'd been wrongly convicted of rape. Pop star Britney Spears was hospitalized after a child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline resulted in an hours-long standoff with police. The Kansas Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl, defeating Virginia Tech 24-21.
Associated Press

That About Which We Could Not Possibly Care Any Fucking Less

The tragic to him, his family & friends death of John Travolta's son. Doesn't mean shit to us, & will have no effect whatsoever on the lives of the billions world-wide who've been exposed to this non-story.

WARNING: Non-Adult, "Cute," Even, Content

Mute this. (Not that you won't have muted the instant the advert appears.) It's much more amusing w/o the network dilrod narrating.

The following story, "Competitive TV Watching," may be amusing as well. Or it could suck. We're not going to pre- (or post-) judice ourselves or others by watching it.

Representation or Death!!

Continuing our discussions of the world of art, we direct your attention to the Art Renewal Center, where not only will you know what is art, but you will like it.

Keep Watching The Skies

Are we under attack? Should we make like the IDF & start shooting back?

... one or more meteors that slammed into North America.

That could explain the extinction of mammoths, saber-tooth tigers and maybe even the first human inhabitants of the Americas, the scientists report in Friday’s issue of the journal Science.

At this stage in our descent to the worm food phase of existence, we've realized that the onlyone of the few things keeping us going is the desire to exist long enough to see our little planet get a good hard whacking from a cosmic object; an asteroid, a comet, a large chunk of green cheese fallen from the moon, anything random & nihilistic. As always, patience is a virtue, as we probably aren't at a good time in the cycle for first-hand observation, yet we hope.

Today In Entertainment History — January 2: Death & Disappearance

In 1971, George Harrison became the first former Beatle to hit number one on the US album chart, with "All Things Must Pass."
In 1974, singer Tex Ritter died of a heart attack in Nashville at the age of 68.
In 1979, thirty years ago [!!! — Ed.] former Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious went on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. He didn't live to hear the verdict. He died a month later.
In 1983, the musical play "Annie," based on the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip, closed on Broadway after 2,377 performances.
In 1990, actor Alan Hale, best known as the skipper on "Gilligan's Island,"died of cancer. His ashes were scattered at sea.
In 1997, guitarist Randy California of Spirit disappeared after being caught in a current off the coast of Hawaii. [Did he ever re-appear? — Ed.]
Associated Press

Undated -- Today in History

Today is Friday, Jan. 2, the 2nd day of 2009. There are 363 days left in the year. [This is just going to grind on interminably, isn't it? — Ed.]
Today's Highlight in History:
Fifty years ago, on Jan. 2, 1959, the Soviet Union launched its space probe Luna 1, the first manmade object to fly past the moon, its apparent intended target. [Oops! — Ed.]
On this date:
In 1492, Muhammad XII, the sultan of Granada, the last Arab stronghold in Spain, surrendered to Spanish forces.
In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the US Constitution.
In 1900, Secretary of State John Hay announced the "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China.
Eighty years ago, in 1929, the United States and Canada reached agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls.
In 1935, Bruno Hauptmann went on trial in Flemington, N.J., on charges of kidnapping and murdering the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (Hauptmann was found guilty, and executed.)
In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.
In 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In 1965, the New York Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath to a contract reportedly worth $427,000.
Thirty-five years ago, in 1974, President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles-an-hour (however, federal speed limits were abolished in 1995).
In 2006, a methane gas explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia claimed the lives of 12 miners, but one miner, Randal McCloy, Jr., was eventually rescued.
Ten years ago: A U.N.-chartered cargo plane carrying nine people was downed in Angola's central highland war zone; there were no survivors.
Five years ago: Insurgents shot down a US helicopter west of Baghdad, killing one soldier. British flights to Washington and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were canceled as a security precaution. The NASA spacecraft Stardust flew through the halo of the distant comet Wild 2.
One year ago: The Justice Department opened a full criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes. Pakistan pushed back parliamentary elections until Feb. 18, 2008 -- a six-week delay prompted by rioting that followed the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Oil prices soared to $100 a barrel for the first time. Late-night talk shows returned to the air two months into a writers strike. (David Letterman and Craig Ferguson had interim agreements allowing writers to work on their shows; Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel returned without theirs.)
Associated Press

Today's Birthdays January 2 (They Walk Among Us)

Today's Birthdays: Country musician Harold Bradley is 83. TV host Jack Hanna is 62. Actress Wendy Phillips is 57. Actress Gabrielle Carteris is 48. Movie director Todd Haynes is 48. Actress Tia Carrere is 42. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 41. Model Christy Turlington is 40. Actor Taye Diggs is 38. [Has anyone ever heard of the following twenty- & thirty-nothings? — Ed.]
Rock musician Scott Underwood (Train) is 38. Rock singer Doug Robb (Hoobastank) is 34. Actor Dax Shepard is 34. Actress Paz Vega is 33. Country musician Chris Hartman is 31. Rock musician Jerry DePizzo Jr. (O.A.R.) is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kelton Kessee (IMX) is 28. Actress Kate Bosworth is 26.
Associated Press

Guns, Booze, A New Year & Nazi Regalia Not Always Best Mixture: Yes Or No?

From the New Year's Morbidity File:

Police kill man dressed as German soldier in U-District
Seattle police shot and killed an armed man dressed in a World War II-era Nazi uniform early this morning in the University District.

Police searching the apartment after the incident found the large collection of German military regalia and a lot of alcohol, Kappel said.

Today In Entertainment History — January 1: Fucking Nothing

In 1950, Sam Phillips opened his first recording studio, the Memphis Recording Service.
In 1953, country star Hank Williams died of a heart attack brought on by alcohol. The year before, he had been fired from the Grand Ole Opry because of his drinking. Williams was 29.
In 1960, Johnny Cash played his first concert for inmates, at a show at San Quentin Prison in California. Future country star Merle Haggard was in the audience, serving time for burglary. [Small world, huh? — Ed.]
In 1962, The Beatles failed their first audition in London. Decca Records instead signed Brian Poole and The Tremeloes.
In 1980, Queen Elizabeth made singer Cliff Richard a member of the Order of the British Empire.
In 1985, VH1 went on the air. Its first video was Marvin Gaye's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
In 1992, Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians played what was perhaps its smallest New Year's concert. The crowd consisted of about 100 people on a sidewalk in Hickory, North Carolina. The band's concert at a local hall had been canceled due to poor ticket sales.
In 1993, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" made its premiere on CBS.
In 1995, Rod Stewart set a new record for the largest attendance for an open-air concert. Three-and-a-half million people turned out for his New Year's concert in Rio de Janeiro.In 1997, Bryant Gumbel anchored his last "Today" show broadcast. He was replaced by Matt Lauer.
In 1999, actress Alyssa Milano married singer Cinjun Tate of Remy Zero. She filed for divorce eleven months later.
In 2002, Eric Clapton married Melia McEnery at a church in London. He was 56, she was 25. At the same ceremony, their six-month-old daughter was baptized, along with Clapton's 16-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
In 2005, Motley Crue singer Vince Neil dropped an expletive while wishing drummer Tommy Lee a happy New Year shortly after midnight during a live broadcast of NBC's "The Tonight Show." Motley Crue later sued NBC, claiming the network banned them to placate the FCC.
In 2008, Eddie Murphy married Tracey Edmonds, the ex-wife of Babyface, on a private island off Bora Bora. [We don't give two hoots when people we know that we have to talk to get married. How/why can/does anyone give a shit about tee vee actors &/or has-beens from shit bands marrying? — Ed.]
Associated Press