Blanche Lincoln volunteers taking down Bill Halter signs?

In the wake of an Arkansas Senate Battle between Senator Blanche Lincoln and Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter that's headed to a June 8th runoff vote, we have a new scandal of sorts.

According to the blog Blue Hog Report out of Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln volunteers are taking down "Bill Halter for Senate" signs. This is what Jeff at Blue Hog Report blogged:

I couldn’t help but become extremely irked today at lunch by a lack of signage by the Starbucks near the I-630/Broadway exit. You see, for the second straight day, I drove by a location where I had previously placed a Bill Halter for Senate sign, along with an accompanying John Adams for Congress sign, only to see them taken down in both spots and replaced with this:

Jeff stops short of accusing Blanche Lincoln volunteers of taking down Bill Halter signs all over the state, but it's said where there's smoke there's fire. The fire was discovered by Blue Arkansas blog, which reports another incident in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

" ARDem" at Blue Arkansas thinks the Bill Halter sign removal effort is the work of Republicans who don't want him to win. Personally, I would suspect that. Blanche Lincoln's captured a lot of the conservative vote and support down there. Regardless, taking signs off a lawn is just plain wrong.

Stay tuned.

Dancing With The Stars results may 18th: Chad Ochocinco gone

When Chad Ochocinco learned he was going to be on Dancing With The Stars, he did everything to draw attention to himself and the upcoming event, from tweeting about it on Twitter to running naked in the park:



Well, the fantasy is over:

Chad Ochocinco was eliminated from Dancing With The Stars last night. Give the Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver credit: he made it to the final four celebrity dancers and that's saying a lot for a person with no previous dancing experience.

According to MTV.com, Chad said "This was awesome. I enjoyed the journey. I met some wonderful people. I got some great criticism that's only made me stronger ... and I'll miss 'em all, especially the beautiful Cheryl Burke. And in my eyes really, I've already won."

And he had. Where Chad Ochocinco was known only to sports fans and NFL football fans, now he has a true celebrity following that he will carry into the 2010 NFL season.

And if there's a lockout in 2011, Chad has a new network of contacts he can call on for whatever entertainment work he may want to do. Congratulations to Chad Ochocinco. He may have been eliminated from Dancing With The Stars but he started a new chapter in his life.

Campbell Brown's Legs could have been CNN's Ratings Cure

Campbell Brown on NBC's Saturday Today Show 

Sadly, Campbell Brown, who CNN fought to pull away from NBC two years ago, quit her show due to low and dropping ratings.

Campbell Brown, or "Cammy" as my friend and hers Michael Dowling likes to call her, was consider a catch for CNN at the time.

But, as I blogged in 2008, CNN wasn't using Brown's real asset and it's something Fox News would have done and NBC did do. Campbell Brown's legs would have been the best CNN ratings cure.

This is a problem that started back in 2008, with CNN getting clobbered by Fox News in the ratings even then, and that was the 2008 election. This is what I wrote at Zennie62, then:

As it stands, CNN's getting clobbered by Fox News in the ratings, except for when CNN has debates and it's Super Tuesday coverage, but other than that, it's Fox all the way. ...Now, I personally don't like CNN's biased reporting, covered by the "idea" that they're the best political reporting team and all that crap, but if Dave Bohrman and the rest of the CNN producers get their act together they're on to something.

I think a good place to start is with Campbell Brown....

I mean have you seen her legs?

Some readers got angry with my assertion at the time, but I pressed the point.  Fox News was getting away with that strategy, mixing sexy female anchors with an edgy, opinionated take on the news.   CNN resisted my claim, and also failed to emphasize the iReport format, but that's another blog post.

Now CNN's ratings slide is worse and Campbell Brown's gone.

Is it sad that Campbell Brown's legs may have saved her show? Yeah, it is. But the bottom line in television is viewers, time, and money. The key to success is to make people stop and watch for whatever reason. High-minded views on news and society are fine if they work; in this case they don't. CNN has to give people something to talk about: Men to look at and women to criticize. That's the game and CNN's not playing it.

CNN's under the impression it has to be conservative like Fox News. Not so. That's got nothing to do with it. Sex sells and people are animals. Period. The main driver of the reproductive process is attraction; it's silly to watch some try to take that fact out of society. No one ever wins by fighting nature. CNN should stop trying.

But hey, I made this case two years ago and CNN didn't get it then. Now, Campbell Brown's gone.

Tea Party Movement and GOP lost to Liberals and Democrats

Media pundits at CNN and Fox News are painting Tuesday's election results as a win for the Tea Party Movement. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real truth is the Liberal Agenda won.

Obama's people rise again!

In Pennsylvania Conservative Arlen Specter switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party last year to change with his state's demographics and as part of a deal with the Obama White House. In that agreement the White House pledged their support for the fake-Democrat.

The White House could not lose: if Specter lost it would be to a Democrat, and if he won it would be as a Democrat. Specter lost to Congressman Joe Sestak.

It was a sad but not shocking loss for Specter, the long-serving Senator who's career spans 45 years, covers nine presidents, and some of the most incredible political events in the history of America, from The Watergate Hearings and President Nixon's Impeachment to Obama's election as the first African American President in American History.

This blogger has always admired Specter's keen intellect which reached beyond party at times, but Specter was always a conservative. When Specter became a Democrat it was right for Liberals to be concerned that he might undermine the President's agenda. While there were points during the health care debate where that seemed like it would happen, Specter did fall in line. Still, it was time for a more solid Democrat to take Specter's place and for Specter to retire. His gamble wasn't the smartest one and it was the riskiest. Specter lost.

Another GOP to bite the dust was Republican Tim Burns in his Pennsylvania Special Election Contest against Democrat Mark Critz and to fill the House seat of the late Rep. John Murtha. Critz, the Director of Economic Development for Murtha, best knew Murtha's people and promised to continue his work in Washington.

In Kentucky, Rand Paul was the only GOP candidate to win and that was because he beat another Republican in that state's GOP Senate Primary. The Tea Party Movement's getting credit for a win that only really happened because of Rand Paul's built-in name recognition from being the son of Rep. and former Presidential Candidate Ron Paul. The Tea Party Movement was not the player in the win some think.

Indeed, the Tea Party Movement has lost more elections and legislation battles than it won and by a lot: Heath Care Reform, The Jobs Bill, The 23rd Congressional District Race of New York, The 19th Congressional District Race of Florida that was Robert Wexler's seat, all were won by the Democrats and all were mentioned as having Tea Party Movement involvement. And Massachusetts GOP Senator Scott Brown won that state's race to replace the Late Senator Ted Kennedy by shunning the Tea Party Movement.

What has the Tea Party Movement done? Nothing except take up a lot of TV air time.

In all Liberals had the big night. Arkansas Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln, who also famously worked as if she didn't know President Obama, suffered a near-loss to Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who had the support of labor union heads who didn't forget her difficult-to-deal-with stance on Health Care Reform. Lincoln now faces a runoff against Halter and it's one she could lose and will lose on June 8th.

America is a Liberal country and its silent majority, the same one that propelled Barack Obama into the White House, has rose from lethargy. In part, even though the overall turnout was low, it seems that actions like Arizona's double-barreled racist actions involving illegal aliens and ethnic studies, the veiled racism of some in the Tea Party Movement, and the economy itself poked the sleeping Giant to rise.

It's awake and it will crush the Tea Party Movement.

Cash & Carrie, Lindsey's new Lesbian Love + true catastrophes post by Suzannah B. Troy

Sarah Jessica Parker  is being humiliated by The New York Post for being obscenely rich and obscenely cheap. However, what is not mentioned is she is not alone and from what I have seen first hand there is only one “celebrity” that is not cheap and that is Jack Nicholson. The list of stars including a director who casts himself in his own films and than has his  own extremely expensive underwear purchased for him (not Hanes), washed over and over by the costume designer's assistants and hint..I dislike him more than another director I won't mention that is under house arrest for having sex with a minor.

At one point some production companies have attempted to ask celebrities to pay something when they kept their clothes from movie shoots. Bottom line is everyone in the industry that can get something for free and hold on to their massive fortunes does.  They also attempt to negotiate "plebeians" for as little $ as possible...ho hum.

Jack Nicholson is the only celebrity that seems to me  to remember his roots and is just generous, and he used to be a big bad flirt from what I have heard.  He probably still is.

I have even witnessed high paid women in the entertainment business including one of the highest paying magazines -- trying to lower the price on the smallest of transactions and than brag to
 (was it me ?) about paying x amount of thousands to have the dark circles removed from under her eyes. By the way any supposedly feminist that doesn’t tell what surgery she has had and let’s women compare themselves to her is no feminist. There are also plenty of men that have had face-lifts and their bodies tweaked other than Gene Simmons. Celebrities and authors should include what they have had done on their websites so fans do not compare themselves to them or maybe as a warning for what not to do.

As usual, TMZ has the scoops and not that any of us will be losing sleep over this but if Lindsey Lohan doesn’t get  to the USA soon from Cannes she may find herself behind bars.  Go to TMZ for more on this and other breaking news in "Celebrity World" - not a planet most of us visit!

Lindsey Lohan is in Cannes to promote the independent film in which she plays Linda Lovelace. For anyone who has no idea about Lovelace’s tragic life and abuse endured here is her wikepedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Lovelace.

Men around the world are fascinated by Lovelace’s famous film Deep Throat and Brian Grazer is among them. He produced “Inside Deep Throat”. Again I would rather refer you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Deep_Throat.

Linda Lovelace's experience in the porn industry was hellish and she said her husband exploited her and beat her to make her perform.  Jenna Jameson, retired media mogul,  had some tough times but nothing as horrific as Lovelace.  Jameson paved the way for other female porn stars like Belladonna and Terra Patrick to also direct, produce and even create their own studios.

Porn is a mega-billion dollar industry and is not only here to stay but the thin line between porn and Hollywood continues to blur. In fact the AVN Awards, porn’s version of the Oscars is said to be better and a lot more fun than the Oscars. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVN_Award

Way back when in my twenties when I listened to Howard Stern, I remember a porn star lamenting when the porn industry was no longer run by Mafia. You see the Mafia guys paid them in cash.
(Oh, here is the place to plug Theatre 80's Gangster Museum tour but this was before they got in to porn...sorry folks!)

Just to bring you back to NYC. Albany has still not closed the budget and a title of a documentary covering this debacle could be called  “Deeply Screwed” how Albany and City Hall took NYC from a recession to a depression...This is an economic horror show here in New York although times are tough in other States and around the world. I write here in NYC so I had to mention the economic crisis here but another catastrophe that people have yet to understand the horror of completely  is the oil spill off of the Gulf of Mexico which continues to get worse. Sea life continue dying suffocating to death which is horrific and will have very disturbing long range results.  Now the news is the oil spill  maybe showing up on Florida’s beaches.

I guess focusing on Sarah Jessica Parker deemed the cheapest entertainer (and believe me she has competition) and Lindsey Lohan are a vacation from very serious issues that truly effect our lives.

p.s The New York Post has an usual photo of Lindsey and her new girlfriend.

BP Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico: tar balls hit the shore

The damage and economic devastation from the British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill does threaten to spread to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, but researchers contend that the reported "tar balls" found on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico are not due to the BP Oil Spill. I think.

The question is, what caused them?

The CNN report is confusing. The title reads that tar balls are from the BP oil spill, but the text says they may not be from the spill:

Tar balls found on a Florida Keys beach Monday, while not believed to be from a massive Gulf of Mexico spill, are nevertheless raising fears that oil will spread along the coastlines of Florida and beyond.

Clearly something's going on. This video below is of a tarball found on the shores of Gulfport, Ms:

'

But what is a tarball? The National Oceanic and Atmostpheric Association defines it in this way according to The Miami Herald:

Tar balls, the little, dark-colored pieces of oil that stick to our feet when we go to the beach, are actually remnants of oil spills.
When crude oil (or a heavier refined product) floats on the ocean surface, its physical characteristics change.
During the first few hours of a spill, the oil spreads into a thin slick.
Winds and waves tear the slick into smaller patches that are scattered over a much wider area. Various physical, chemical and biological processes change the appearance of the oil. These processes are generally called ``weathering.''

If that's the case, it's fair to say the BP Oil Spill's reached the shores of The Gulf of Mexico already.

Stay tuned.

Diane Feinstein pisses-off Oakland Mayor's Race Green Party candidate

To characterize Oakland Mayor's Race Green Party candidate Donald Macleay as upset that U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (D - California) endorsed former California State Senator and Oakland Mayor's Race candidate Don Perata for Mayor, is an understatement.

Donald Macleay, who I now give the name "Donny Mac," and who I interviewed here....



...is just plain pissed off.

Macleay fired off this hot letter to me just 10 minutes ago and that I'm about to present to you for inspection below. Indeed, Don sent the letter to a number of media people, which means he really was hopping mad over the issue and wanted to pick a fight or draw attention to himself or some combination of both. That's politics.

It's also necessary. The problem Donald Macleay has is he's a "Don" like Perata, so his name gets lost in the sea of Don. Call this a scream for help from someone lost on a castaway island in Oakland politics. Donny Mac's competing in a field of ten candidates for Mayor of Oakland, California, if we count Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. He's also up against the idea that it's just Don Perata versus Oakland Councilmembers Jean Quan and Rebecca Kaplan. (And Ron Dellums has not yet said 'I'm not running for Mayor again' and some have said he would.)

Donny Mac is back

Here's the letter:

Feinstein for who?

As the Green party candidate in the Oakland Mayor?s race, I am outside of the circles where our US Senator Dianne Feinstein decided to support out ex-state senator Don Perata. She was never going to call me.

I think she is doing Oakland a disservice by endorsing anyone at all.

The Democrats are like a bad marriage that has regular fights that the neighbors get to hear late into the night. The most nasty fights seem to be over who gets the open job. The other semi-official candidate is going to fight for this vacant job as if her career depends on it, because it does.

None of us will be surprised if the fight gets nastier before it is over. Towards the end of American political campaigns we often have a rash of false accusations, dirty tricks and ugly mudslinging.

Then they make up and pretend that there are no bitter resentments.
We pretend to believe them and try not to get too involved.

The nomination period is still not over, therefore Senator Feinstein is making her choice before the whole field is known. So far Perata?s ?conversation? with us Oaklanders does not include much in the way of his views on city issues. So what has she endorsed? Why pick a side?

Oakland, California and the USA are in a major budget crisis and a lingering recession. Sen. Feinstein should be looking to work with whoever is the next mayor of Oakland and should not have her name attached to any hard feelings this election leaves behind. How would she relate to a Mayor Quan if her name is on Election Day dirty business? Would she take calls from a Mayor Macleay?

The next mayor will need to keep up the race for federal funds that our current mayor has focused on. The next mayor will need to find a working relationship with all our state and federal officials.

When the neighbors are fighting late into the night the worst thing you can do is to take sides.

Don Macleay
candidate@macleay4mayor.org

Donny Mac is back and that's the fact, jack!

Stay tuned.