New Bond: B(I) Spy

Daniel Craig wants his next Bond flic to involve the suave superspy in a gay interlude. Further, Craig is interested in doing a full frontal nude scene for his male and female fans. He stated, "Why not? I think in this day and age, fans would have accepted it." If his studio bosses give in to the new Bond's suggestions, I have a feeling the vaunted franchise will have finally jumped the proverbial shark. Will Brosnan be back?

Cf. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/29112006/364/craig-wants-gay-bond-scene.html.

Judge: Show 'em the Money!

U.S. District Judge James Roberton ruled yesterday that the federal government discriminates against the visually challenged by printing paper money that is uniform in feeling, size, etc. and thereby violates the Rehabilitation Act which bars bias on the basis of disability. He mandated that the U.S. Treasury implement a way for the blind to distinguish between the denominations of bills. (Formerly, these currency certificates were not uniform but were made so in 1929 in an attempt to lower costs and discourage counterfeiting.) Judge Robertson noted that of the 180 countries that print paper currency only the U.S. makes no distinction in size or color: he added that  over 100 vary the size of the bills of differing value and that every other national issuer has some method for the visually impaired to recognize the value of a bill. The government has ten days from the judgment to appeal.

Cf. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/11/28/D8LMC4600.html.

Madonna's Fall

Madonna's Confessions tour special on NBC failed miserably as it finished fourth in its time spot last Wednesday. Her pre-Thanksgiving turkey was bested by Jericho (CBS), Show Me (ABC), and Cheaper by the Dozen (FOX). To make matters worse for the Detroit diva, Madonna's votary Brit seems to have a new mentor in Paris.

Cf. http://contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/madonna%20concert%20special%20fails%20to%20score%20ratings_1014772.

Girls Talk: Guys "Think"

Femmes talk almost thrice as much as their male counterparts according to Dr. Luan Brizendine, author of The Female Mind. This self-professed feminist states that the differences between the female and male brain explain why women do so. According to Brizendine, females devote more brain cells to chatting and the very act of conversing initiates an inundation of brain chemicals that give women a high akin to heroin. She said, "Women have an eight-lane superhighway for processing emotion, while men have a small country road." However, Brizendine said that whereas men have an international airport for sex thoughts (with their brain "sex processor" that is twice as large in men as in women), "women have an airfield nearby that lands small and private planes." In fact, she observed that a woman tends to think of sex once a day whereas a man does so every 52 seconds on average.

Cf. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=419040&in_page_id=1879.

Happy ThanXgiving!

On this special day dedicated to giving thanks for the benevolence and beneficence of God from Whom every good and perfect gift emanates, I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving with your family, friends, and proverbial neighbors. Isn't it wonderful to have a holiday that puts aside the commercialism and materialism of contemporary culture and allows its celebrants just to appreciate, love, and enjoy? Thank God for His goodness, your kith and kin for their love, and others for their "random acts of kindness."

Bush Jinxed

The Western world laughed and progressive Indonesians groaned as shaman Ki Gendeng Pamungkas put a santau, or curse, on President Bush in Bongor, Indonesia. The witch doctor imbibed a potent potation concocted with the bloods of a sacrificed goat, a slaughtered black crow, and a slain snake and imprecated POTUS. The voodoo practitioner said, "I don't hate Americans, but I don't like Bush" and added, "The devil is with me today."

As Bush returned to the States, the hex that didn't meet its mark in its intended venue (Bogor Presidential Palace, where Bush met with Indonesian Prez Yudhoyono) seemed to fall on the presidential entourage in Hawaii and even onto his daughter Barbara's governmental posse in Argentina. First, the acting director of the White House Travel Office was mugged and beaten by three thugs in Waikiki as he left a nightclub alone: after being found in a pool of blood by friends, he was treated by paramedics and taken to the Queen's Medical Center. Later, three of Bush's police motorcycle escorts crasheded on rainy, slippery Honolulu roads: two are in serious condition at the Queen's Medical Center, and the third is in good condition. Moreover, his daughter Barbara's purse and cell phone were stolen at a restaurant in Buenos Aires even though she had Secret Service agents in tow. To top it off, a Secret Service agent on advance detail for Barbara got badly beaten in a brawl after a tear in the town.

Of course, Bush's shellacking in the November elections preceded the black magic curse.

Cf. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=230807; http://www.wtop.com/?sid=977070&nid=456; http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Nov/21/br/br5187469032.html; and http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/11/first_daughter_.html.

Bringing Brit Back

UPDATE: K-Fed's divorce lawyer claims, "There is not a sex video of Kevin and Britney in existence." Brit's reps had no immediate response.

Cf. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2006-11-21T234751Z_01_N21431273_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRITNEY.xml&src=rss&rpc=22.

After sending her career into the toilet with her marriage to K-Fed and birthing two of his spawn, Britney is apparently trying to rescucitate it by ditching her backup dancer hubby, possibly preempting him by releasing the sex tape, partying with satyr sweetie Paris, and, perhaps, pondering a Vegas comeback a la Elvis. Does the pop princess still have it? With her latest choice of friends, she seems to realize that Malawi Madonna is no longer a muse to immulate but possibly to immolate. After getting some career intervention from her mom, it appears that she may be ready to reassert herself on the contemporary cultural stage with former Mouseketeer mates Christina and Justin.

Cf. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3873170a5620,00.html; http://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/britney-hangs-with-paris-drops-pants-in-public; http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Nov-08-Wed-2006/news/10688806.html; and http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2006-11-16#celeb7.

Dems Humble Pelosi

Democrats handed putative Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) an humbling loss this morning. Spurning her endorsement letter, telephone calls and personal entreaties to support Jack Murtha (D-PA), they elected his opponent Steny Hoyer (D-MD) with an overwhelming vote of 149 to 86. In Pelosi's first public attempt to influence her colleagues in her new leadership role, she futilely tried to depose her rival Hoyer, the number two Democrat in the House, for her man Murtha. (In 2001, Murtha had run Pelosi's successful campaign against Hoyer for House Minority Whip.) Murtha has been dogged by ethical problems since his taped role in the Abscam scandal through his earmarks favoring KSA Consulting, a company which featured his brother Kit as a senior partner until his retirement this summer. His defeated can be attributed in no small part to the many liberals, conservatives, and good government advocates who view Murtha as an ethically challenged Congressman and as a politician at home in a "culture of corruption." Now will Pelosi still elevate Alcee Hastings (D-FL) to the chairmanship of the House intelligence committee? (Hastings is the federal judge who was impeached by a Democratic House on bribery charges.

Cf. http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110009248; http://www.rollcall.com/issues/1_1/breakingnews/15974-1.html; Fox News Live (10:58 a.m CT); and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111501339.html.

Feds Eye Reid

Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz of ABC New's Blottter report that a source close to the federal prosecution investigation of public corruption pertaining to Jack Abramoff indicates that newly chosen Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is one of the members of Congress that has been allegedly implicated. ("Six to eight seriously corrupt Democratic senators" and an ever larger number of Congressional Republicans have been implicated by Abramoff according to sources near the fed investigation.) Reportedly, Abramoff has claimed that Reid agreed to help him with Indian gaming matters and that more than $30,000 in campaign contributions from Abramoff clients had been requested by Reid. Reid spokesman Jim Manley stated, "We have no idea what Abramoff is telling prosecutors to save his skin, but I do know that these kind of old allegations are completely ridiculous and untrue." Have the voters exchanged one "culture of corruption" for another?

Cf. http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/11/abramoff_report_1.html.

Senator Lott Back

UPDATE (11/15/06): Lott won his Senate Minority Whip race against Alexander by a squeaker vote of 25 to 24, according to Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA). He will be second in command to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who won his post unanimously.

Cf. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/11/15/D8LDJE9G1.html.

Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) officially announced last night his run for Minority Whip in the U.S. Senate after being banished to his political Moab after impolitic remarks he made at a 2002 birthday party feting Strom Thurmond (R-SC). The former Senate Majority Leader said that he thought America would be better off if the 1948 Dixiecrat presidential nominee and erstwhile segregationalist Thurmond would have won. His remarks created a firestorm among those offended by his comments and others who also saw the opportunity to take down the GOP leader who was "making nice" with Daschle and Clinton.

Cf. http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/111406/lott.html.

Pelosi Backs Murtha: Win/Win for GOP

Putative Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has given the GOP a win/win situation with her endorsement of Jack Murtha (D-PA) in a letter to her fellow Democratic representatives. N.B. Murtha was a key supporter of Pelosi's successful bid for Minority Whip in 2001 against Steny Hoyer (D-MD). The Hoyer/Murtha battle for the second most powerful Democratic post in the House pits an Abscam-tainted anti-war Murtha and stalwart Pelosi ally against racially insensitive moderate Hoyer and one-time rival of the first woman, Californian, and Italian-American slated to win the Speakership.  If Hoyer wins, Pelosi loses credibility and clout if she fails in her first attempt to publicly exercise power over her colleagues. If Murtha wins, the Dems appear even more dangerously dovish on Iraq and the war on terrorism.

Cf. http://www.rollcall.com/issues/1_1/breakingnews/15974-1.html.

Germany to Judge America?

After the US resurrected and rebuilt the nation that gave the world Hitler and slaughtered six million Jews and, approximately a quarter million Gypsies (or Roma), Germany's top prosecutor is seeking to file criminal charges against U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, AG Alberto Gonzales, erstwhile CIA chief George Tenet, and other top U.S. armed forces and civilians for alleged abuses at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) and Abu Ghraib (Iraq). If this nation with arrogated "universal jurisdiction" tries to try any of the aforementioned American public servants, then, perhaps, the U.S. should withdraw all of its forces and tell Putin that his regrets about East Germany leaving the Russian orbit are well founded. Let Germany coalition with Chirac and his fellow French fighters.

Cf. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1557842,00.html and http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/gypsies.html.

Maher Intimates Mehlman Gay

On Larry King Live, politically correct Bill Maher threatened to out some prominent people who run the GOP this Friday night. After King asked, "You will name them?", Maher said, "I wouldn't be the first: I'd get sued if I were the first. (Republican Chairman) Ken Mehlman. Ok, there's one I think people have talked about: I don't think he's denied it." King responded, "I never heard that: I'm walking around in a fog." Maher answered,  "Maybe you don't go to the same bathhouse I do, Larry." I guess the gay/lesbian community feels safe and secure around Maher as long as their thoughts and acts are in sync with his.

Cf. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/11/08/censored-by-cnn-bill-mah_n_33701.html.

Jews, Muslims Up on Capitol Hill

The number of Jews on Capitol Hill increased to an all-time high with the results of Tuesday's elections. In the Senate, their sum expanded from 11 to 13 with the additions of Bernie Sanders (Vermont-I) and Benjamin Cardin (Maryland-D). In the House, their tally rose from 26 to 30 despite the loss of Sanders and Cardin from their ranks. Muslims got their first representative in Congress as Minnesotans chose their first black member of Congress with the election of Democrat Keith Ellison.

Cf. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3326053,00.html.

I read an article on this in the Jerusalem Post yesterday but I couldn't find it today. Be careful: when I searched for it today, a David Duke website was at the top of the list.

Coz, Accuser Settle

Bill Cosby settled a lawsuit brought by Andrea Constand, a Canadian woman, who accused the famous comedian of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his Philly home in early 2004. She also alleged that Cosby had assaulted at least ten other women. Cosby spokesman David Brokaw commented, "Ms. Constand and Mr. Cosby have resolved their differences, and therefore the litigation has been dismissed." Prosecutors had decided earlier not to prosecute Cosby on their judgment that the evidence was insufficient.

Cf. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2006-11-08T210105Z_01_N08412834_RTRUKOC_0_US-LEISURE-COSBY.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-R2-Today-7.

Bush Replaces Rummy

The day after voters handed Republicans a stinging rebuke in no small part for the messy, protracted aftermath of a successful deposal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, President Bush replaced Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with former CIA chief Robert Gates. President Bush acknowledged that the Iraqi situation had contributed to Republican losses. However, he indicated that he had planned before Election Day to replace Rumsfeld with Gates if both concurred. The alacrity with which he did so underscored the veracity of Bush's assertion: nevertheless, conjecture has been made that Rumsfeld's replacement may have been merely the activation of a contingency plan if the Dems won. Regardless, the action post election sends an olive branch to Pelosi and the other new power players on Capitol Hill.

Cf. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/youdecide2006/index.html.

Dems Take House: NOW Senate

UPDATE #2: Allen Concedes: Reid Celebrates

Cf. ABC News Radio.

UPDATE: AP News Alert: Dems take Senate with Webb victory. Newly Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut will be feeling his oats when he attends the next Democratic caucus.

Cf. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/11/08/D8L98GMG0.html.

Republicans lost the House of Representatives and may yet lose the Senate in yesterday's off-year elections. To control the House, 218 votes are needed: thus far, Democrats have surpassed that number by 5 and are poised to gain more. (Republicans have 185.) To control the Senate, 51 votes are needed: thus far, Democrats have 47 seats, Republicans 48, and Independents 2. (Since the two Independents caucus with the Democrats, the Democrats have effectively 49.) The yet undecided states are Montana and Virginia and both may be subject to a recount. In order to maintain control of the Senate, Republicans only need to keep one of the states whereas Democrats must win both to wrest control from the GOP. The reason that the GOP needs only to get a tie to still control the Senate is because the Vice President (the presiding officer of the Senate) votes in case of a tie.

Cf. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/youdecide2006/index.html.

Rather Funny

In a delightful twist, Dan Rather, disgraced former CBS Evening News anchor, will continue his 44-year personal record of covering elections going: he will be analyzing the news on Comedy Central's Indecision 2006 special at 10:00 p.m. tonight with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. "Some viewers won't be able to tell the difference," said Bob Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television (Syracuse University). Rather known for his folksy, quirky illustrations or "Ratherisms" has given much comedic fodder to late night talk show hosts, such as Leno and Letterman. He once commented, "This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach." Of course, many saw Rather's discredited story on Bush's National Guard service and his stubborn refusal to disavow it as dark humor that manifested a manic animosity toward conservatives in general and the Bushes in particular. Rather assessed his decision to join the Comedy Central crew tonight, stating, "It's a risk, I guess, but what the hell."

Cf. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/magazine/daily/15946250.htm.

Faith Unhinged

Faith Hill's persona as a sweet, beautiful wife and mother took a hit last night at the Country Music Awards. When Carrie Underwood was awarded Female Vocalist of the Year, Faith became unhinged: she looked straight into the camera and said, "I won," and then she stormed off in disgust. Faith, no need to throw a temper tantrum: you're supposed to be a Southern lady.

If you want to see the video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYh8shXJ7PI. (However, the video is a bit messed up: Fox and Friends had a clean clip on the morning and may put it on their site.)

Saddam Guilty: Death by Hanging

Saddam Hussein was found guilty this morning of the 1982 killings of 148 Shiites in Dujail in response to an assasination attempt on the deposed dictator. The Iraqi criminal court of crimes against humanity sentenced Saddam to hang until dead. Saddam has the right to appeal but he must be executed within 30 days if the appellate court upholds the verdict (according to an Iraqi judicial source). Upon hearing the sentence, Saddam shook the Koran and wagged his finger at the judge as he exclaimed, "Allahu Akbar (Allah is great!) Long live the nation!"

President Bush stated, "Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law: It is a major achievement for Iraq's young democracy and its constitutional government." Abbas Khalaf, Sadam loyalist and former Iraqi ambassador to Russia, said that the court proceedings were "a purely political trial." Vitaya Visetrat, a Thai academic and Islamic expert opined, "The hanging of Saddam Hussein will turn to hell for the Americans."

Cf. http://www.bangkokpost.net/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=114012; http://www.bangkokpost.net/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=114014; and http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13550448,00.html.

Tag: Not It!

Willett Elementary School (south of Boston) has banned kids from playing tag, touch football, and other unmonitored chase games. Officials fear that the school will be held liable for any injuries that the children may suffer when engaged in these sports during recess. (Elementary schools in Spokane, WA, and in Cheyenne, WY, have also banned tag, and a Charleston, SC, suburban school has banned all unsupervised contact sports.) Even though the disallowals of contact sports such as tag, touch football, and dodge ball are ridiculed by many conservatives, these sports do allow the victimization of weak children by strong ones often with the tacit, and not so tacit, encouragement of callous coaches. If schools continue to allow such unsupervised sports, they should be held fully liable for any foreseen or reasonably foreseen harm that the children under their care incur.

Cf. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2581504.

Heinz (Kerry) Slow Bad

After advising CA collegians that if you don't study hard, you'll end up in Iraq, Teresa's hubby has finally "apologized." After initially saying that he did not apologize to anyone and saying that his remark was a "botched joke," Kerry finally expressed his regret to the soldiers, their families, and any American that took offense from a "misinterpretation" of his remarks. Hillary swiftly slammed Kerry's comments as inappropriate, TN Democratic senatorial candidate Harold Ford quickly called on Kerry to apologize, and Kerry smartly cancelled campaign appearances on behalf of Democratic candidates for the House and the Senate. His take on the military reminds one of his expressed beliefs in the 2006 presidential campaign that U.S. soldiers were terrorizing women and children in the dead of night in Iraq coupled with his 1972 U.S. Congressional race questionnaire submission to anti-war group, Massachusetts Political Action for Peace, that a volunteer army would consist of the poor and of people of color and would be susceptible to commit war crimes. The Catsup Queen's patrician spouse should get out of his ivory tower and mingle with his benighted plebes that decide to serve their country without regard to their economic, social, racial, or credal status.

Cf. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061102/D8L4QH580.html.