March 1, 2011 · 7:36 pm

John Edwards Is Out of Sight, but Not for Long – NYTimes.com

The next chapter of this sad saga is yet to come….

This is an unending soap opera….

Almost a Shakespearean tragedy…

Or at least, a modern “Dynasty”….

Or probably more like “Flamingo Road”….

Over the past few weeks, people in this tight-knit university community have not seen much of John Edwards.

They used to. He would hang out on a metal stool at Bowbarr, a short walk from the environmentally friendly condominium complex where he moved after details of an extramarital affair sent him from the family home.

He would swing into Crook’s Corner, a legendary Southern restaurant, for an order of fried oysters to go, talking to anyone around and looking like the polished but approachable Democratic presidential candidate he once was.

After his estranged wife, Elizabeth Edwards, died of cancer in early December, the chef at Crook’s Corner, Bill Smith, would slip in an extra dessert for their children.

“We all just feel for him, no matter what he’s done,” Mr. Smith said. “And you know there is more to come.”

That “more” is the possibility that a federal grand jury in Raleigh could soon hand up an indictment against him in a case centering on campaign finance practices.

One issue is whether Mr. Edwards knew that some of the millions of dollars given by at least two wealthy donors was being used to help support — and hide, some contend — Rielle Hunter, the campaign videographer with whom he had a prolonged affair, and the daughter they conceived.

The money used to support Ms. Hunter could be considered campaign contributions if prosecutors can show that Mr. Edwards helped orchestrate donations for that purpose, or that he knew the money would be used to keep the affair hidden so it would not hurt his 2008 presidential candidacy.

Much More:   John Edwards Is Out of Sight, but Not for Long – NYTimes.com.

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March 1, 2011 · 6:37 pm

Scott Mendelson: Oscar 2011: Don’t Blame James Franco and Anne Hathaway, Blame the Writers

Excellent article on Sunday’s Oscar fiasco…

This is exactly what I was saying during the show…

All the writers and producers of this year’s show should be bared for life from participating in future Oscar telecasts….

James Franco and Anne Hathaway did what they could with what they had where they were, to paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt.

They just didn’t have much to work with….

Last year, I wrote a post-Oscar essay that got me quoted in Time Magazine. This year I have no such profundities to offer. But let me simply say that while this truly was the worst Oscar telecast in at least as long as I’ve been watching (since I was just short of 12-years-old in 1992), the blame lies not with the hosts, but with the material. Many have commented that James Franco all but started the show with a stunning display of apathy and disinterest. While we can all joke about whether he was stoned, or whether he was thinking about one of the 6,000 other activities he is currently involved in, the truth may be much simpler: Franco probably saw the material that had been written for him and Ms. Hathaway, and he damnwell knew he was in for a rough ride. So while Franco seemingly tuned out, Hathaway did the opposite, going absolutely for-broke, refusing to go down without a fight. But while Anne Hathaway and James Franco are excellent actors (and their hosting last night does not change that), not everyone can make lemonade out of lemons.

For whatever reason, the writers of Sunday night’s events seemed to think that everyone’s favorite part of an awards show is the part where two mismatched presenters ramble through poorly-scripted banter and make painful attempts to appear charming and flirtatious. Because, with few exceptions, the entire show was one piece of awkward banter after another. The whole show reeked of older writers attempting to appeal to younger viewers, with little-to-no idea how to do that. Because if there is anything that young kids love, it’s being pandered or condescended to. No, awkward references to smart-phone apps, Auto-Tunes, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and “the Internet” are not going to appear hip/cool to the young kids. And bringing Halle Berry onstage to memorialize Lena Horne is only to make it that much more noticeable that not a single minority was nominated for a major award last night. And spoiling the finales of several nominated films (True Grit, Toy Story 3, The King’s Speech) doesn’t inspire viewers to check those films out later. You want to try appealing to the young kids, first of all, try not leaving Corey Haim off your “In Memoriam” tribute. Second of all, and this gets me back to my original point, try giving the kids an entertaining show with jokes that were actually clever and reward those who actually followed the movie business with any amount of verve.

MORE:   Scott Mendelson: Oscar 2011: Don’t Blame James Franco and Anne Hathaway, Blame the Writers.

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February 28, 2011 · 8:53 pm

James Franco Skips Out On His Own Party After Critically-Panned Hosting Gig | Radar Online

I always thought he was one smart guy…

He knows when to walk away…

And get out of town…

James Franco reportedly didn’t show up for his own post-Oscars party at Los Angeles’ Supper Club Sunday, as the dashing star, possibly upset by his performance on the show, tweeted a pic from his private jet while leaving the City of Angels.

“Goodbye L.A.,” Franco wrote in one pic from aboard his plane, and in another wrote, “It was fun! Time to jet back to class.”

While Franco’s bash was attended by stars such as his Pineapple Express co-star Seth Rogen and two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, an insider at the affair summarized it as a “bust “, according to usmagazine.com.

via James Franco Skips Out On His Own Party After Critically-Panned Hosting Gig | Radar Online.

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February 28, 2011 · 8:46 pm

Jane Russell: A Tribute

Jane Russell just passed away…

May she rest in peace and be remembered fondly….

With Marilyn Monroe, in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”:

And an even more inspiring clip from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”:

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February 28, 2011 · 8:06 pm

Is Virginia Republican Congressman Robert Hurt a Vampire?

Just wondering…

Look closely….

Un-retouched picture from his Official Newsletter…

It would explain so much…

He, at least, might want to get a more observant press person…

Or this may just be an attempt to appeal to younger voters- the “Twilight” crowd…

Robert Hurt-R-Va-05

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February 28, 2011 · 7:53 pm

Raleigh No. 3 in Gay Parents – NewsObserver.com

This kind of blows the old Jesse Helms image of North Carolina to hell…

Thank God!

From the Raleigh News and Observer:

Raleigh is one of the highest-ranked metropolitan areas in the nation for gay parents. Nearly one-third of the same-sex couples who live here are raising children under the age of 18.

The American Community Survey says Raleigh has the third-highest percentage of same-sex couples with kids among metro areas that have a population of more than 1 million. San Antonio is first, with 33.9 percent of same-sex couples raising children, and Jacksonville, Fla., is second, with 32.4 percent.

Southern cities tended to rank high in the survey, which was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and used population and housing data collected between 2005 and 2009.

Gary Gates, a senior research fellow at UCLA Law School, said he thinks the traditionally conservative South has more gay parents because people in the region tend to come out later in life, often after marrying and having children in heterosexual relationships.

Some cities with the highest concentrations of gays, such as San Francisco, aren’t ranked that high when it comes to same-sex couples with children, Gates said.

Ian Palmquist, executive director of Equality North Carolina, a gay rights organization, was not surprised to hear Raleigh ranked so high.

“Gay people from the more rural communities move to the Triangle because it is much more friendly and more supportive,” he said. “We know there are many same-sex couples raising children in North Carolina.”

Palmquist added that the same things that make North Carolina appealing to heterosexual couples also make it a good choice for same-sex couples.

via Raleigh No. 3 in gay parents – Family – NewsObserver.com.

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February 28, 2011 · 7:44 pm

New Budget Campaign Asks ‘What Would Jesus Cut?’ — CNN.com

I don’t agree with Jim Wallis on everything, but he’s doing some great work here….

A coalition of progressive Christian leaders has taken out a full-page ad that asks “What would Jesus cut?” in Monday’s edition of Politico, the opening salvo in what the leaders say will be a broader campaign to prevent cuts for the poor and international aid programs amid the budget battle raging in Washington.

“They’re talking about cutting bed nets for malaria and leaving every piece of military spending untouched,” said the Rev. Jim Wallis, who leads the Christian group Sojourners, referring to Republican spending proposals for the rest of this year.

“Are we saying that every piece of military equipment is more important than bed nets, children’s health and nutrition for low-income families?” said Wallis, whose group paid for Monday’s ad. “If so they should be ashamed of themselves.”

The ad and the broader campaign are aimed mostly at a spending measure passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives that cuts $61 billion from current spending levels, including cuts to Head Start, the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program and international aid programs.

Senate Democrats consider those cuts draconian and won’t pass them.

The faith leaders behind the “What would Jesus cut” campaign are also lobbying the Obama administration to forego proposed cuts to programs like college grants and heating assistance to low-income Americans in the 2012 federal budget.

via New budget campaign asks ‘What would Jesus cut?’ – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs.

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February 28, 2011 · 7:41 pm

Eric Cantor Dismisses Report That GOP Plan Would Cause Job Loss

These people are criminally misguided, at best….

More likely, they don’t want an economic recovery in hopes it will make it easier to beat President Obama next year…

And they certainly don’t want more Public Employees…

Another possibility is that they are simply evil….

WASHINGTON — Two weeks after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed a question about the possibility of the lower chamber’s spending bill killing government jobs with the words “so be it,” Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) offered similar sentiments.

The Republican plan to cut $61 billion from current spending levels would take a heavy toll on employment, destroying 700,000 jobs by 2012, according to an independent economic analysis by Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics. The study, released on Monday, predicted that the GOP bill would slow economic growth by 0.5 percentage points this year.

In his weekly Capitol briefing with reporters, Cantor acknowledged that the Republican stopgap budget bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, might increase unemployment. But he argued that the government should not be creating jobs if that means creating greater deficits.

via Eric Cantor Dismisses Report That GOP Plan Would Cause Job Loss.

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February 28, 2011 · 7:36 pm

How to Build a Progressive Tea Party | The Nation

Great article from Johann Hari at “The Nation”

Imagine a parallel universe where the Great Crash of 2008 was followed by a Tea Party of a very different kind. Enraged citizens gather in every city, week after week—to demand the government finally regulate the behavior of corporations and the superrich, and force them to start paying taxes. The protesters shut down the shops and offices of the companies that have most aggressively ripped off the country. The swelling movement is made up of everyone from teenagers to pensioners. They surround branches of the banks that caused this crash and force them to close, with banners saying, You As people see their fellow citizens acting in self-defense, these tax-the-rich protests spread to even the most conservative parts of the country. It becomes the most-discussed subject on Twitter. Even right-wing media outlets, sensing a startling effect on the public mood, begin to praise the uprising, and dig up damning facts on the tax dodgers.

Instead of the fake populism of the Tea Party, there is a movement based on real populism. It shows that there is an alternative to making the poor and the middle class pay for a crisis caused by the rich. It shifts the national conversation. Instead of letting the government cut our services and increase our taxes, the people demand that it cut the endless and lavish aid for the rich and make them pay the massive sums they dodge in taxes.

This may sound like a fantasy—but it has all happened. The name of this parallel universe is Britain.

More:   How to Build a Progressive Tea Party | The Nation.

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February 28, 2011 · 7:30 pm

Daily Kos: WI-Gov: Buyer’s remorse for Scott Walker

People seem to be starting to wake up…

At least in Wisconsin…

From DailyKos:

I always love these sorts of “do-over” polls, and PPP has a particularly good one:

We’ll have our full poll on the Wisconsin conflict out tomorrow but here’s the most interesting finding: if voters in the state could do it over today they’d support defeated Democratic nominee Tom Barrett over Scott Walker by a 52-45 margin.

Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee, of course lost to Walker, by a very similar spread, 52-47. Tom Jensen identifies two important shifts: First, respondents in union households (about a third of the sample) now prefer Barrett by a 64-33 margin, but when asked how they voted in 2008, only went to Barrett 54-40. You gotta wonder about that one-third of union household voters who still support Walker… but nonetheless, this is a big shift, and Walker is doing wonders when it comes to energizing our side.

 

MORE:   Daily Kos: WI-Gov: Buyer’s remorse for Scott Walker.

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