Outrageous

Happy Thanskgiv -- Oh Never Mind

A Thanksgiving re-enactment and mini-history from some kids, via Landline TV.

Bob Dylan Does Christmas?

And I sure do like it.

Polka. Party. Christmas. Fighting ....

What's not to like? Watch the full video right here.

Religion In America 2009

NOTE: Cathy notes in the comments that Aunt B.'s post today on America and religion is decidedly more crazy-dangerous than weird.

Morristown Bankruptcy Looms Large

City officials have been trying hard to duck and cover from massive waste and abuse in taxing and spending and there seems to be no end in sight - taxpayers will likely be slammed again with ever higher taxes during a crushing recession and double-digit unemployment. Worse, elected officials flee from accountability - they've been lumping all blame on a parade of city administrators who serve a few years, set all fiscal policy, and when it becomes impossible to ignore the problems, they boot the administrator and seek a new one. Yet, there are zero changes in how city policies are created and implemented, once again protecting those elected to city council from blame.

Starting in 2007, the city raised property taxes by 40 cents, then cut them after voters were told if they okayed a sales tax increase, the property tax increase would be less. Backed into a corner, voters gave the city the okay to raise sales taxes to the highest limit possible. But the increase took place at the moment the economy fell hard.

Sewer and water rates are also on a multi-year phase of ever-rising increases as the city tries to repair and replace a system that has been overwhelmed for at least a decade or more. The city is currently facing massive fines from the Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation, whose recent survey of the sewer system noted over 50 sewage overflows over the course of a single year and flow meters which were not working for that entire time. City officials said they had never heard of any problems at all until October of this year.

City employees got more bad news last night - there's an expected $900,000 shortfall already in the budget for '09-'10 which the city recently approved, so layoffs and cuts must take place. Bankruptcy is the word on most people's minds, but few are willing to say it.

Reports finally are hitting the Knoxville media - WBIR, WVLT and WATE news are on the story. As for local news reports ... there are too few until after problems reach the levels where hard decisions and votes are before elected officials and city residents. With council meetings held at 4 p.m. and not broadcast on local government channels, very few residents know what's been taking place -- or perhaps they simply assume all is well and seldom attend meetings.

Attorney, blogger and former County Commissioner Linda Noe has been trying to follow the financial mismanagement, such as a recent discovery of an illegal transfer of $2.5 million in city funds, for quite a while now -- she says of the most recent cuts:

"To make up a projected budget shortfall of approximately $900,000, the cuts by various departments included a reducton in hours for many city employees, vacant positions left unfilled or changed to part-time, and the elimination of the positions of two newly-hired firefighters who had just recently been sent for training.

Voting "no" on the cuts were Gene Brooks and Claude Jinks. All others (Bob Garrett, Mayor Sami Barile, Claude Jinks, Doc Rooney, and Frank McGuffin) voted yes.

After the cutting was done, Interim Administrator Wampler asked that the council consider at a future date a number of ways of raising more money for the city. Among the proposals put on the table were raising the hotel-motel tax (which will have to be approved locally, sent to Nashville as part of a private act, and then passed again locally with a 2/3 majority), garbage pick-up charges, and eliminating recycling pick-up and having people deliver their recyclables to convenience centers instead."

She also notes the ongoing federal lawsuit against the city and Koch Foods in Greeneville, but again, local news coverage is virtually non-existent.

The city is also wrestling with a debt of over $70 million, yet eagerly announce a new airport terminal as the "Front Door to the City".

Indeed, job creation and city attract-ability are vital to the financial success of all concerned -- but it sure looks to me like the house and the roof are about to collapse too.

Sarah Palin and The 'Twilight' Cult

I think there's a strong link between the popularity of the "Twilight" vampire novels and movies and Alaska's Sarah Palin.

I can't completely nail it down for you - it's this weird mixture of fantasy, immortality, sexuality, power and powerlessness. And heaps of plain old-fashioned shlock. It's about not just escaping reality but abandoning it, seeing it only as a hopeless realm and instead creating a fantasy of brilliant and daring success to call Home.

I've been trying to read the first "Twilight" book but it's slow going. Perhaps if I were 13 years old, it would seem to contain some kind of wisdom. But it just kind of bores me, seems kind of whiney, and why the heck would a 90 year old vampire want to hang out at high school? Don't get my wrong - I'll read all kinds of shlocky fiction - like the not-very-good-but-to-me-enjoyable series of Repairman Jack novels by F. Paul Wilson. I've read 5 or 6 of them and like them all, but I know it's like a bad bag full of drive-thru cheeseburgers.

A few things link Palin and the adventures of Bella -- like the way Palin keeps reacting to the childish antics of 19-year-old Levi Johnston, her grandbaby's daddy. And the way Palin writes about herself on Facebook. It's as if Palin sees Levi as one of the Bad Vampires rather than the Good Vampires Bella bonds with. And of course, there was the recent Oprah shows with "Twilight" creator Stephenie Meyer on Nov. 13th and Palin on the following show on Nov. 16th.

Here's a simple experiment - read an excerpt from Palin's book here and then read an excerpt from "Twilight" here. Reads like the same tortured adolescence to me.

Congress Dances To Billionaire Fiddlers

Congressional debate on most legislation is often mingled with information provided by lobbyists - hardly a news flash to folks who follow politics. Still, a few recent examples show the members of Congress from both parties make sure that the info they include in the record of their debate shine a bright light on a dark reality - they represent the will and demands of lobbyists and not of the residents of their districts.

Steve Benen at Washington Monthly points to a report that 42 members of Congress, 22 Republicans and 20 Democrats, made sure that words written by lobbyists for Genentech, a subsidiary of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, and given to congressmen which were then offered in the recent House "debate" on health care reforms.

"Now, don't necessarily expect tomorrow's "Daily Show" to have a segment featuring dozens of lawmakers repeating the identical lobbyist-written words over and over again. That's not quite how this worked.

The Congressional Record includes the transcript of what lawmakers said on the House floor, but members are also able to submit written statements that "revise and extend" their remarks. It's here where lawmakers submitted Genentech's preferred statements for the record. As Karen Tumulty noted, it lets the "lobbyists' paymasters" know that "they are getting good return on their investment."

What's noteworthy here is that it's "unusual for so many revisions and extensions to match up word for word. It is even more unusual to find clear evidence that the statements originated with lobbyists."

Note to congressional offices: if you're going to copy and paste someone else's homework, make more of an effort to pretend otherwise.

Asked about the statements, a lobbyist close to Genentech told the NYT's Robert Pear, "This happens all the time."

In another post by Benen, he cites an email from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is funding a report aimed at derailing passage of the health reform legislation by claiming economic disaster if such legislation is passed - even though the CoC already has the conclusions of their "study" ready to go to members of the Senate.

"... the Chamber's memo already points to the agreed-upon conclusion of the economic review that does not yet exist. From its email: "The economist will then circulate a sign-on letter to hundreds of other economists saying that the bill will kill jobs and hurt the economy. We will then be able to use this open letter to produce advertisements, and as a powerful lobbying and grass-roots document."

The Chamber's James Gelfand, who wrote the memo, said the proposal for the trumped-up economic study was "suggested by our Congressional allies." It was unclear as to who those "allies" are, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that congressional Republicans asked the Chamber of Commerce to help kill health care reform with this spurious study.

It's not exactly a plan that screams "credible, independent analysis."

If this seems vaguely familiar, it was only a month ago that a dubious study by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) was released, in the hopes of derailing the health care reform effort. It wasn't long before it was exposed as something of a political sham.

White House Deputy Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said the email is "proof positive that the opponents of health reform will not let the facts get in the way of their efforts to defend to the status quo that has been so profitable for the insurance companies."

(According the always dubious "reporting" at FOX, the US Chamber boasts 3 million members -- but the truth FOX ignored was that really their membership is closer to 360,000. But once the falsehood gets played up by FOX, most faithful viewers get another bogus talking point that President Obama is one of them there evil Socialists. Given that the US Chamber is one of the largest lobbying groups in Washington, they hold a huge amount of authority - none of it based on the demands of the average voter in elections.)

And lobbying influence is growing and growing - Open Secrets website notes there are currently some 13,000-plus active lobbyists in Washington, which means your Congressman or Senator will be speaking to and communicating with hundreds if not thousands of them daily. I'd say about 1,000 voters would need to contact that elected official each day on any one issue to counter the influence of lobbyists. And not just email or call them, they'd need to actually speak face-to-face and that just isn't happening.

Open Secrets also notes that so far in 2009 over $2.5 billion has been spent on lobbying Congress - and that's separate dollars from those supplied by campaign contributions. Here's a graphic on the recent trends via Open Secrets:

Total Lobbying Spending

1998 $1.44 Billion 1999 $1.44 Billion 2000 $1.56 Billion 2001 $1.64 Billion 2002 $1.82 Billion 2003 $2.05 Billion 2004 $2.18 Billion 2005 $2.43 Billion 2006 $2.62 Billion 2007 $2.86 Billion 2008 $3.30 Billion 2009 $2.50 Billion

Number of Lobbyists*

1998 10,641 1999 13,233 2000 12,702 2001 12,046 2002 12,324 2003 13,134 2004 13,364 2005 14,329 2006 14,659 2007 15,131 2008 14,808 2009 13,428

*The number of unique, registered lobbyists who have actively lobbied.

It's worth noting the massive power that providing or withholding information on issues vital to the average person can have literal life and death consequences.

Just last week at RoaneViews, they pointed to an EPA report kept secret for 7 years on the health risks to people who live near coal ash storage sites, such as the one operated by TVA in Kingston which broke apart and spent billions of gallons of toxic waste into the landscape. The report included the estimation that those living near such sites have a 1 in 50 chance of developing cancer. But that kind of public information would be bad news for the coal-fired energy business, so it was kept quiet. Now that hearings and legislation are underway to create actual standards for how such dangerous sites are constructed and monitored, the information is provided to the public.

Thankfully, more and more accurate information is available online on how Congress works and who they are working for -- but it's a monumental task to counter the effects of billions of dollars and armies of lobbyists whose goals are not driven by how best to serve the public. Too often, the public is distracted by the dog and pony show known as The Media while the real work and the real influence lives large.

When The Legend Becomes Fact, Print The Legend

A comedy show is often the thorn which punctures the party balloons which masquerade as "news". Jon Stewart this week popped the delusional -- scratch that - the lies - dumped onto the airwaves via Sean Hannity's show on FoxNews for faking it when describing the rally -- scratch that - the press conference - Republicans held to oppose a vote on reforming and re-writing laws about health care in America.

Hannity aired fake footage of that rally/press conference and Stewart called him on it. Hannity was forced to apologize to viewers - though he stopped short of vowing to ensure such fakes are to be absent from now on. (Maybe he was just distracted, all busy organizing his Conservative Dating Service, Hannidate.)

Writer and blogger pegged the real problem of such fakery:

"Jon Stewart and his outstanding team of "Daily Show" producers and writers not only "get" the importance of media manipulation and propaganda, but they can take it a step farther because they also have something that most bloggers do not --resources. Their access to large film libraries is what helps them to take down Fox, CNBC, and all the other media types (and politicians, too) when they say the polar opposite of what they were saying a year ago or even a month ago.

You know who else has those kinds of resources? Mainstream, big media newsrooms. But big media pathologically refuses to think of itself as a part of the national narrative, even as the millions of people who watch Jon Stewart or read your top political blogs know better. And until we in the old media can comprehend that, the new media will continue to leave us in the dust. So will the "fake" media.

Rather than the oddity Hannity wanted to place this incident among, Fox producers have used crowds before to add outrage their "reporting", part of the same "rally" Fox promoted in praise of the power of Glenn Beck.

Distorting news is simply part of the news philosophy of FoxNews.

"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. " (via)

UT Football Salaries Vs. Academic Cuts

A report in the USA Today - which is often to newspapers what Highlights magazine is to homework - has a story tracking the ever expanding salaries for athletic programs at the expense of academics. One of the schools mentioned is the University of Tennessee --

"USA TODAY's first comprehensive look at the salaries of assistant coaches finds many approaching and even exceeding presidents' compensation and most eclipsing that of full professors. At the top: The $1.2 million Tennessee is paying defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, an NFL veteran who returned to college football to work for his son, head coach Lane Kiffin.

---

"At least 66 football assistants, including more than two dozen in the Southeastern Conference, make $300,000 or more, and USA TODAY found that perks once reserved for head coaches are commonplace: multiyear and rollover deals, supplemental income from TV and radio, performance bonuses, retention bonuses, cars, complimentary tickets and country club memberships.

Tennessee's nine assistants earn an average of more than $369,000; Texas' better than $327,000."

---

"Of the 60-plus assistants USA TODAY found making $300,000 or more this season, 29 are in the SEC and 15 in the Big 12. Tennessee became a pacesetter, handing its head coaching job to Lane Kiffin, who in turn recruited a who's who staff of assistants and paid them accordingly.

"I really think you have to spend money to make money," the younger Kiffin says. "When you go out, get those coaches, that's going to translate into recruiting, winning, ticket sales, your team doing better, (and) I don't think you ever ask those questions again."

He cites Alabama's rise under Nick Saban, who is making $3.9 million this year. "When he was hired ... every article was, 'I can't believe how much we paid Nick Saban at Alabama,' " Kiffin says. "Well, guess what? Nobody writes about it anymore because they win. So when we start winning, nobody is going to write about how much we pay our assistant coaches because, in turn, we're going to make a lot more money by them being there. I don't think it's a big deal."

He smiles. "And I took a lot less so we'd have money for them."

Meanwhile, the cash-strapped UT system warily eyes the expiration of federal stimulus money and the prospect of trimming 500 jobs in two years, two-thirds of them on its Knoxville campus. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, chairman of the system's board of trustees, expressed discomfort earlier this year, telling the Associated Press, "When your neighbor's enduring hard times is not the time to flash your Cadillac in the driveway."

The Volunteers athletics department is one of the few able to give its university a financial lift, contributing $10.35 million to the school and university system in September and pledging an additional $1 million a year for the next 15 years.

Still, budget figures show that while athletics salaries and benefits are expected to rise 12% this year, the money Tennessee will spend on academic salaries is projected to fall (from $127.68 million in 2008-09 to $127.18 million)."

See Also:
Michael Silence's take on winning and losing seasons at the Big Orange.

Tea Party Protesters Depend on Government-Run Healthcare

As a few thousand folks lined up to hear the Republican congressmen (most of whom were absent from actual committee votes on public policy) last week, some of those anti-healthcare bill protesters needed some emergency medical help from - gasp!! - government operated medicine providers.

One person suffered a heart attack and several others also needed medical care -- all of it provided by government medical personnel. Other protesters denouncing government-run healthcare likewise benefited from a service they despise, though none refused medical assistance from the Office of Attending Physicians who are always on hand to treat elected officials.

As for the work of the OAP:


"Services offered by the Office of the Attending Physician include physicals and routine examinations, on-site X-rays and lab work, physical therapy and referrals to medical specialists from military hospitals and private medical practices. According to congressional budget records, the office is staffed by at least four Navy doctors as well as at least a dozen medical and X-ray technicians, nurses and a pharmacist.

Sources said when specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress.

---

"Members of Congress do not pay for the individual services they receive at the OAP, nor do they submit claims through their federal employee health insurance policies. Instead, members pay a flat, annual fee of $503 for all the care they receive. The rest of the cost of their care, sources said, is subsidized by taxpayers.

Last year, Congress appropriated more than $3 million to reimburse the Navy for staff salaries at the office. Next year's budget allocates $3.8 million for the office, including more than half a million dollars to upgrade the Office's radiology suite. Sources said additional money to operate the office is included in the Navy's annual budget.

In 2008, 240 members paid the annual fee, though some sources say congressmen who didn't pay the fee were rarely prevented from using OAP services"

Funny, but even elected officials who attended the rally say they love the medical care they receive while on Captiol Hill:

"On a related note, I can't help but wonder how many of the lawmakers who spoke at yesterday's rally also like to stop by the Office of the Attending Physician -- the elaborate, government-run health care office conveniently located between the House and Senate chambers, staffed with a team of medical professionals who are "standing by, on-call and ready to provide Congress with some of the country's best and most efficient government-run health care."

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), for example, hates government-run, taxpayer-subsidized health care, but he just loves the Office of the Attending Physician on the Hill.

I don't imagine this came up during yesterday's speeches. I wonder why."

Meet Michael Alvis and Buy His Book

I've been most fortunate living here in East TN to have made so many good friends with folks who are also talented artists. It might seem odd to some, but there has always been this very strong and powerful community of artists in our area and it's my pleasure to introduce another to you today.

Michael Alvis currently teaches photography at Carson-Newman College, my alma mater, and he's also a skilled painter too. We became friend when I was a student in the early 1980s and we soon found a shared passion - watching movies. This was back in the day when VCRs were top-loaders and we shelled out way to much money for movie rentals as we would rent massive stacks of videotapes and go on marathon runs which might last for 24 hours or more likely for 48 or 72 hours at a stretch.

Michael is from Rogersville, but has traveled far and wide - visiting every state in our country as well as living for several years in Japan. He was there again this summer and taking pictures of a place and a people which he truly loves. He has now collected some of his favorites for a book, titled "Japan {Shashin}" which is now on sale and you can preview the book here at this website.

I urge you to spend some time looking at the book, and hey, the holidays are about to begin so why not buy a copy or two or three for friends? And here, take a look at some of the other books Michael has for sale too -- you'll see much to enjoy and much to buy, so buy it!!

Michael creates images which I really enjoy - he has this knack for capturing images of our world which are sometimes on the edges of our daily perspectives, sometimes are right in front of us and he makes those images unique. Here, another book I really like is called "Dog Trade", a collection of photos which are all signs - hand-written signs, abandoned signs, and other signs of human life. A sample is below from his online gallery via the C-N Art Department:


Most every day of my post college life was surely shaped by the many hours and days I spent at the Art building at Carson-Newman. No, I was no Art Major, but the people and the ideas I encountered there have been a constant inspiration. Michael and others who call the Art Department home - Department Chairman David Underwood, Artist-In-Residence William Houston, and David's wife Susan Underwood, who is the Creative Writing professor at C-N - are also my friends and folks who made my life much better.

The image below is a portrait of Michael Alvis, and a cover to one of his books, made from the many images he captured in Japan with his camera. Now go and buy his work.

Camera Obscura: 'War, Inc." Rips Outsourced Warfare; Sundance Festival In Tennessee

Creating a satire on your own culture is a doubled-bladed dagger. Satirists seldom become lionized or praised for their efforts as pointing out failures and dangers and the ridiculous presence of deluded emperors wearing invisible clothes tends to invoke more embarrassment than wisdom or appreciation.

Sometimes greatness is achieved - most readers and critics still applaud Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" or "MASH" - the one made by Richard Hooker/Robert Altman and not by Alan Alda. Ripping into warfare means taking a huge risk and in cinema the best effort in the last 50 years remains Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove", though perhaps because the fear of nuclear warfare far is a wise human response. Plus, Doctor S. was made with truly talented folks.

This week I finally got to see the movie "War, Inc." which was produced, co-written and starring John Cusack, and released (briefly) in 2008. The movie that daringly tackles the current war being waged in Iraq and Afghanistan, though audiences and studios approach such fare with enormous reluctance.

No doubt, the comedy of errors and horrors by which we were led into these wars is ripe for ridicule. Still, lives are lost in those campaigns daily and is likely to continue for a long time to come. Give Cusack points for trying and carefully negotiating a path through the mess.

Cusack plays an despondent assassin named Brand Hauser who is forced into a bizarre power play in the mythical Middle Eastern nation of "Turaqistan" by his bosses at a Halliburtonesque company called Tamerlane, a corporation which has taken over the war and is headed by American ex-vice-president and sneeringly played with much skill by Dan Aykroyd. (Tamerlane was a 14th century conqueror of the Persian empire.)

Cusack's cover identity is to be the organizer of a massive trade show in Turaqistan by the nefarious Tamerlane, which sells advertising space on the sides of tanks and humvees, and the show includes amputee victims from the war making a turn as kick-dancing Rockettes with prosthetic legs (" ... just another breathtaking example of how American know-how alleviates the suffering it creates.").

Cusack's character often voices the goals of Tamerlane and that war means business - "What are we supposed to do? Turn our backs on all the entrepreneur possibilities? Business is a uniquely human response to a moral or cosmic crisis. Whether it's a tsunami or a sustained aerial bombardment, there's the same urgent call for urban renewal."

Not the kind of movie line destined to win hearts and minds in the American Heartland, is it?

Another memorable character in the movie is played by Hilary Duff (!!!) as a Middle Eastern Britney Spears named Yonica Babyyeah. Her wedding is supposed to be the highlight of the trade show, but she too is as despondent as Brand Hauser which means nothing goes as planned. Her character's entrance provides a glimpse of her stage act, as she sings a tune called "I Want To Blow You (Up)":

You say you want to invade me baby
You say you want to enslave me baby
(I want to blow you)
I want to blow you up

You say you want to free me baby
But you can not even see me baby
(I want to blow you)
I want to blow you up

I want to blow you sky high
Hi, goodbye
I want to blow you, blow you, blow you
Blow you up

You want to occupy my heart and soul
A black widow in a spider hole
(I want to blow you)
I want to blow you up

Yeah, the movie is in deep and strange waters both familiar and truly uncomfortable. It has a weird blend of comedy and horror, taking cues from other wartime satires ranging from the Marx Brothers to 1960s era movies like "The President's Analyst" and the 1970s era conspiracy nightmare "Winter Kills". There's a dystopian quality akin to "Brazil" mixed in there too and it's no wonder the studios and the audiences in America just could not seem to hold onto.

Perhaps in some future when the current war has faded, or when the nation gets a gut full of the insanity of corporate-led combat and rejects the idea, this movie will gain attention. I'm not holding my breath though. For as looney as the movie might seem, it includes some ugly truths that make it hard to hold very close.

BONUS SATIRE:

The short satiric rips seen daily via The Daily Show are always impressive. Last night, host Jon Stewart did a fantastic impression of Glenn Beck theorizing the healthcare conspiracy against Beck himself. It's a work of pure comedy gold:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The 11/3 Project
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

---

Announcement was made this week that the Sundance Film Festival is going to expand into 8 cities across the country, including an exhibition in Nashville at the Belcourt Theatre. No films have been announced as of yet, but we'll keep you posted. Christian Grantham at Nashville Is Talking has the details.

---

Word is the upcoming Oscar competition is having a tough time trying to fill out one category - Best Original Screenplay. The reasons are obvious to even the casual film fan - sequels and franchises make money but they ain't original:

"Original screenplays used to comprise the bulk of what Hollywood did. But ever since the studios became obsessed with remakes and sequels, there’s been a depletion of the kind of new ideas that once populated the category.... But the current lack of original screenplays might reinforce the negative trend: Studios don’t produce many, the Academy doesn’t have many to choose from, and then the category loses stature, further deterring studios from greenlighting those types of movies."

More at The Hollywood Reporter.

The Dick Armey Model - Corruption for Cash

Former congressional leaders who turn into lobbyists and organizers for "grassroots" organizations usually become lackluster seekers for untold riches and to hell with the policies being debated.

The model for this tacky and dubious enterprise is former House Leader Dick Armey of Texas and the Dallas News published just how much he earned while pretending to take stands on opposing issues for two groups at the same time -- until his actions were exposed in August.

"Quitting DLA Piper in August caused him to give up his salary of $750,000 a year, which he earned on top of the $550,000 he was paid by FreedomWorks in 2008.

"I hated to walk away from that kind of money," said Armey, who now lives in Bartonville, near Flower Mound. "How many times in your life, or anybody's life, do they have an opportunity to earn that kind of money when they are 69 years old?"

But even fellow lobbyists say Armey's "curious model" was bound to cause problems for FreedomWorks and DLA Piper."

By no means is Armey the only former elected official who traffics in pushing policies for cold hard cash. Members of both parties follow this path and it's just one of many reasons why voters have such dim view of the way government has been working.

Currently, Congresswoman Michelle Bachman has hitched her wagon to the Celebrity Tea Party crowd, ignoring consequences in favor of a few moments of fame and hopes for future earnings.

Compassion for Celebrity Tea Party Loss

A quick politics check after yesterday's Mediocre Tuesday elections:

Republicans elected two governors, Democrats elected two Congressmen. Steve Benen breaks it down pretty well:

"Going into yesterday, it'd been a good year for Democrats in special elections, winning three races -- New York's 20th, Illinois's 5th, and California's 32nd. Yesterday, Dems made it five for five.

In California's 10th, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi (D), running a progressive campaign, defeated Republican David Harmer by double digits, 53% to 42.7%.

And in New York's 23rd, in the race that captured extensive national attention, Democrat Bill Owens scored a surprising win, beating Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, 49.3% to 45.2%, with nearly all of the votes counted.

While it's a mistake to characterize either of these House races as bellwethers, the New York defeat not only gave Democrats something to be happy about on an otherwise disappointing Election Day -- Owens will be the first Dem to represent this area since the 19th century -- it was also a setback for the right-wing activists and leaders who'd invested so heavily in this special election.

Indeed, the far right had a plan. Activists and their allies would drive the moderate Republican away and rally behind the right-wing candidate. They would then take this model on the road, making NY-23 a model for competitive contests elsewhere. Of course, the strategy looks less impressive when the Democrat wins."

Actor and conservative firebrand of Tennessee, Fred Thompson must feel pretty lousy after the things he said yesterday in a rally for the Conservative - I mean Celebrity Tea Party candidate - Doug Hoffman:

"The eyes of the nation — the eyes of the world — are on New York 23 tonight," he said. "And tomorrow you're going to shake the foundations of Washington D.C."

And then there was this from singer John Rich, of the duo Big & Rich:

"Tomorrow, there's going to be a lot of conservative partying going on in this neck of the woods," the singer said.

Mr. Rich also took swipes at Dierdre K. Scozzafava and the Republican officials who picked her as a congressional candidate over Mr. Hoffman.

"I'm a little sideways with the Republican Party for putting up Dede Schizophrenic," he said."

Aw, poor Fred and John - they likely feel all bruised and battered by the election day outcome, so here's something to soothe your boo-boos and make you feel better.

The Myth of The Celebrity Tea Party Race In New York's 23rd District

The Celebrity Tea Party wing of the GOP is trying hard to make one congressional race in New York mean something, anything and as always the CTP whirls a wildly distorted spin as they yearn for a single victory in the political landscape. They hope a single election victory will mean the CTP is a gigantic political force in America. (or should that be political farce?)

So let's do a wee reality check on that race.

The 23rd District in N.Y. has been firmly held by a Republican for decades. President Obama selected the current officeholder, John McHugh, as Army secretary and that left the seat open and for the first time in decades, the Republicans were poised to lose that seat to Democrats.

What to do?

Fortunately for the Republicans, a Wild Card Celebrity Tea Party candidate was ready and eager to join in the race, Doug Hoffman. True, he does not live in the district, and won't even be able to vote for himself in the election.

Since Hoffman had little support in the district, he turned to some national fundraisers to help him, bringing in millions and millions of dollars to pay for ads in which he talked not about issues affecting residents of the 23rd District, but instead he echoed the fearful moans and cries of the Celebrity Tea Party: America is being dismantled and turned into a Socialist state, gays are running the country, etc etc.

Once the money arrived, the other Celebs (none of them actually holding an elected office) like Sarah Palin and Fred Thompson and Glenn Beck appeared to anoint the Chosen One. The media frenzy then followed, Republicans abandoned their own candidate and now they warn voters that Hoffman is their only salvation from evil politicians who have all turned to the Dark Side:

"Tell the politicians, no more, we won't let you bankrupt America. We need conservative leaders who stand up for our values."

Translation: Don't trust us, just trust the other us instead.

And if Hoffman does win, what will Republicans and the Celebrity Tea Party gain, other than a moment of glamour in their favorite arena, the Media Spotlight? It may be absolutely nothing.

As it stands now, the district is about to be eliminated completely, as the upcoming census shows population in New York is falling and must lose one congressional seat. It is more likely to disappear if Hoffman wins:

"If Hoffman wins, boy, that district has a big, juicy target on it," said Bruce E. Altschuler, a political science professor at the State University of New York at Oswego.

"Added Sherwood L. Boehlert, a former Republican congressman from the Utica area who survived two redistrictings, "I would think a third party candidate would virtually guarantee the elimination of that district as we know it."

So what is it the CTP is after?

The CTP desperately need people to talk about them, to wonder at their mighty skills, to include them in political discussions. And so far, they have won just that. The Myth will be praised, the needs of the residents of the district ignored, and in a few months, the district may well be gone completely, vanished in the mists of fantasy which shroud all the inhabitants of the Celebrity Tea Party.

Camera Obscura: Halloween Top Five; Monster Catfish; Hammer Films Is Back, Baby!

The British film company Hammer Films, which gave us the timeless performances of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as well as a vast army of horror films is back in business.

The company is back with several new projects, and late in September of this year their huge archive of movies got a boost with a gorgeous book of lush photos called "Hammer Glamour", filled with rare and unpublished photos of the women of Hammer horror. Including:

"Hammer favorites featured in the book include “glamourpuss” Stephanie Beacham (Dracula A.D. 1972), exotic Martine Beswicke (One Million Years B.C., Slave Girls, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde), classical blonde beauty Veronica Carlson (Dracula Has Risen From the Grave, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, The Horror of Frankenstein), vampy twins Mary and Madeleine Collins (Twins of Evil), “buxom redhead” Hazel Court (The Curse of Frankenstein, The Man Who Could Cheat Death), “smoldering sexpot” Vera Day (Quatermass 2), beautiful brunette Caroline Munro (Dracula A.D. 1972, Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter), coquettish Kate O’Mara (The Vampire Lovers, The Horror of Frankenstein), iconic Ingrid Pitt (The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula), bombshell Barbara Shelley (The Camp on Blood Island, The Secret of Blood Island, Dracula Prince of Darkness, Rasputin the Mad Monk, Quatermass and the Pit), nymph Madeline Smith (Taste the Blood of Dracula, The Vampire Lovers, Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell) and, perhaps the most well-known of them all, the stunning Raquel Welch (One Million Years B.C.)."

More on the book here and here and here.

Even better news - the company is making movies again. First up is "The Resident", starring Hillary Swank and Christopher Lee. The story centers on Swank, a doctor who moves into a new apartment and discovers her landlord is darkly obsessed with her - horrible hijinks ensue. The movie is set for release in 2010. Sir Christopher Lee, approaching 90, recently was featured in this report from CNN.

Hammer has also joined with Overture Films for an English language version of the Swedish horror movie "Let The Right One In", a fantastic film and one of the best released movies of 2008. This children-as-vampires tale which Hammer is prepping is titled simply "Let Me In" and is being directed by Matt Reeves, the director of "Cloverfield". The official Hammer Films website has all the latest news on the movie.

And be sure to explore Hammer's website, which is loaded with images and clips from their historic heydays and plans for the future. A full archive of all their films is listed and there's even a trivia game to play.

---

Turner Classic Movies has a day-long Halloween marathon for Saturday, and in the wee hours between Friday and Saturday they are showing a seldom-seen low-budget horror movie shot in Florida in 1971 called "Zaat". The movie was also parodied on Mystery Science Theater 3000 under the title "Blood Waters of Dr. Z". It's no wonder MSTK3 picked it up, as the movie has a horrible guy-in-a-rubber-suit monster and builds it's terror on the lowly catfish. TCM has a great write-up on the making of the movie and here's the original (and very funny) trailer for the movie.



---

Still looking for a good scary movie for this Halloween? Here's five suggestions, guaranteed to chill your holiday.

NOTE -- for all the movies listed below, watch them with the lights out and the volume cranked up and you'll have one scary time!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - the original, gut-wrenching nightmare. The remakes don't even come close to the raw terror of this first movie.

Night of the Living Dead - the ultimate zombie movie from George Romero still packs a punch, though it does start slowly and the acting is kind of weak, the grim black and white photography and the naked fear of the characters all work to create solid scares.

The Evil Dead - filmed in Morristown by director Sam Raimi, it too seems a bit silly at first, but builds and builds to some genuine terror.

Pulse - the original Japanese version of this movie is one of my favorites from the last 10 or 15 years. It's a subtle tale of terror about what happens when folks spend too much time alone on the computer and ends up as a worldwide holocaust.

Night of the Creeps - this campy comedy horror movie from 1986 just arrived this week on DVD and has aliens, zombies, teenagers and a tough-talking cop. And brain slugs. It's pure, Grade-A 1908s schlock and one of those underrated cult films which sometimes crops up on cable in various mutilated cuts. Check out the original, it's a hoot. You might like to follow it up with director Fred Dekker's other 80s cult hit, "The Monster Squad:, suitable for kids and starring Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Creature from The Black Lagoon!

Happy Halloween!

A Halloween Meat Hand

The folks at Not Martha have provided you with a step-by-step recipe to create a memorable Halloween menu item - the Meat Hand. As the blogger there says, "Since August, I've had a post-it over my desk that simply said 'meat hand'." I'm sure co-workers were a bit concerned to see the phrase "meat hand" hovering over your desk.

From the onion fingernails to the wrist-bone, and melted cheese and ketchup, I have to say that a meat hand lying in a mashed potato bed would likely be an attention-getter for your holiday gatherings.



The post mentioned above will also take you through various versions of the recipe before perfection was attained.

If you'd like a Halloween libation, then you might like to try the Brain Shooter.



Recipe is here.

Still, for a plain old gross out food, it is hard to be more disgusting than Kitty Litter Cake. As for me, I would sample the meat hand first and avoid the catbox cake.



And since we're talking meaty Halloweens, perhaps you'd like to learn how to make your very own Bacon Halloween costume.



BONUS!!!

15 Bogeymen from around the world! Includes the nefarious persimmon from Korea!!!

Col. Sanders Dupes U.N. Into Playing Chicken

A publicity stunt last Thursday by Kentucky Fried Chicken worked a little too well as a United Nations security guard allowed an actor dressed as Col. Sanders into some "secure" areas of the U.N. The fellow got so far as approaching a host of U.N. TV crews and began speaking of the importance of the "Grilled Nation".

U.N. officials are "still trying to find out exactly what happened" according to reports, which must mean they have not yet decided who to fire and whether or not to prosecute the marketing department of KFC.

As mentioned in the report linked above "UN TV crews eventually raised the alarm after being stunned when the impersonator approached cameras set up for diplomats ... At that point, additional security guards arrived and escorted him from the building."

Yes, both Burger King and Mayor McCheese are still in the U.N. waiting room seeking an audience with diplomats. Maybe they can all meet for lunch.

My Feeble Computer Code Skills

I noticed this weekend that for readers who use Internet Explorer, this page is not loading correctly and all the sidebar items -- the right-hand side of the layout -- don't work and end up sliding down to the bottom of the page.

For other web browsers, the page here looks fine -- well, I think it does, you'll have to notify me if it does not look right for you.

So I am tinkering a bit with the layout to try and puzzle out why and suddenly I notice the message that IE sees an error in line 1,073. Now the thought of counting lines of code is as appealing as brushing my teeth with a roll of barbed wire.

So as I ponder my layout design and add new items and trash some old ones, here's my advice to you folks who view this blog via IE -- stop, get Firefox or Chrome or Opera or something else. And since there are so many who do view this blog daily using IE, I appreciate your willingness to read here even though the layout is borked. You should have told me. Or maybe it is just my IE browser which is having problems.

Thanks for your patience. And as always, thanks for your readership, however and whenever you do read.

Just Going to See Grandma in Knoxville for the Holidays is Going to Be a Problem

That's the quote from a Charlotte Observer story on a massive rock slide which is so big, it will take about 3 months or more to clear both lanes of I-40 for safe traveling.

The Asheville Citizen-Times has lots of pictures of the huge slide, and here is a sample.



Some of the comments at this Asheville C-T report shows that some folks consider this a vast conspiracy, a sign of impending national doom, the fault of one or several groups of people who act or think or dress certain ways or a mini-earthquake. A sample:

"Seriously though, this rockslide is just the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of the Pigeon River Gorge screw-up. This all started back in the 1960s, if not earlier. The highway engineers stated that the best route for the proposed I-40 was through the French Broad River Gorge, not the Pigeon River Gorge. However, big money (especially tourism interests in both North Carolina and Tennesse) bought off the right politicians in both North Carolina and Tennessee and got this borderline disaster built through the Pigeon River Gorge. Special interests just had to get this road closer to Gatlinburg and Cherokee. It cost a million dollars a mile to build it. It is probably going to cost a million miles PER FOOT just to maintain it. What a legacy to leave future generations. Big money plus corrup- politicians equals a great big screw-up with no end in sight."

So far, I'm surprised no one has blamed the lack of prayer in schools for this event. Maybe you could just tell Grandma you were abducted by aliens.