Ball point pen on todays newsprint Happy 80th Birthday to the legendary composer Stephen Sondheim. The New York Philharmonic and a star studded cast performed a birthday concert at Avery Fisher Hall on Monday night. The event was appropriately short on speeches, putting the music of the prolific Sondheim first. ...
Read MoreBall point pen on todays newsprint Rev. Peter Hullermann is finally suspended from the Roman Catholic Church. Two years ago Pope Benedict visited the US and claimed that ridding the church of pedophile priests was on the top of his agenda. But 30 years after a German court convicted Rev. Peter Hullermann of molesting boys, the priest who worked in the popes own diocese, continued to work with children. ...
Read MoreBall point pen on todays newsprint I've never watched the Glenn Beck Show, but I've seen clips of his program and understand he's a conservative talk show host. Last week he called for Christians to leave their churches if they heard the words social or economic justice coming from the pulpit, saying they were code words for Communism and Nazism. I'm not shocked by the stupid things people say on TV anymore. What floors me is that Beck has had five books on the New York Times best-sellers list and his cable news show draws more viewers in his time slot than CNN, MSNBC and CNBC combined. Why are so many people interested in what this guy thinks? H.L. Mencken was right when he said "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." Forbes reported Becks income for last year at $23 million. ...
Read MoreBall point pen on todays newsprint The leader of the House Appropriations Committee David Obey announced a new ban on earmarks to private business. If the Senate follows suit, it would bar the end run around the merit-based or competitive allocation processes and the means legislators use to slip pork and no-bid contracts into bills. The ban does not include not-for-profits. It's a start. ...
Read MoreBall point pen on todays newsprint New York Congressman Eric Massa claimed the Obama administration pushed him out of congress with trumped up ethics violations to help pass health care reform. After 24 hours in the spotlight, it's become clear, this guy needed no help in destroying his political career. Bizarre. ...
Read MoreBall point pen on todays newsprint Best Picture: The Hurt Locker Directing: The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique Film Editing: The Hurt Locker,Bob Murawski and Chris Innis Art Direction: Avatar Cinematography: Avatar Animated Feature Film: Up Documentary Feature: The Cove Costume Design: The Young Victoria, Sandy Powell Documentary Short: Music by Prudence Foreign Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) Makeup: Star Trek, Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow ...
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