The Hollywood Liberal

Yesterday was the Dennis Kucinich fundraiser and speech in Sierra Madre. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and a nice sized crowd gathered to hear Dennis speak. The event started with a short speech by Dawnelle Keyes, who was in the movie Sicko. Dawnelle lost her young daughter when she took her to a hospital that was not in her network (Kaiser). They refused to treat her sick child, who got continually worse until she died. Dennis promises to bring single-payer health care without profit to insurance companies to all. Next a boy named Evan got up and sang a song. I don’t know the title but it had to do with building a bridge to Peace. Then it was time for the man, the only candidate worth voting for next November. Dennis wowed the crowd talking about war, health care, civil rights, and impeachment. See it for yourself.
(After the speech I spoke briefly with Dennis, and gave him a couple of H.L. cards, he put them in his pocket right next to The Constitution and Steven Colbert. So Dennis if you are reading this, great speech yesterday. Thank You.)

Part 1

Part 2

As I reported here last week Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, the Millionaire behind the largest “liberal website” on the planet Daily Kos, who grew up as a Reagan youth, joined the military, and as I speculated was possibly a member of the CIA; did indeed sign up for the CIA, but claims that he decided not to join because he didn’t want to live in Washington, and he wanted to join the Howard Dean campaign. umm hmmm. Here is Markos, as reported by My Left Wing.com

Here’s a little secret I don’t think I’ve ever written about: But in 2001, I was unemployed, underemployed, unemployed. You know I was in that . . You all have been there “dot com” people? Kinda like, in between jobs, doin’ a little contract work and . . . kinda. So, you know. That’s where I was: in this really horrible netherworld of ‘will I make rent next month’ and . . .
So, I applied to the CIA and I went all the way to the end, I mean it was to the point where I was going to sign papers to become Clandestine Services. And it was at that point that the Howard Dean campaign took off and I had to make a decision whether I was gonna kinda join the Howard Dean campaign, that whole process, or was I was going to become a spy.

As I have pointed out, it’s strange that the two biggest biggest liberal websites are owned and operated by former Republicans, also strange how Kos, and Ariana Huffington, the owner of Huffington Post, are constantly being called on by the mainstream media to provide “progressive views” for the news. My Left Wing Picks up The Story

Last year, in a piece Markos wrote for the Cato (libertarian) Institute, Markos acknowledged that the spent the 1980’s as a Reagan Republican. MARKOS’ CATO ARTICLE, Yes, “Progessive” Markos of DailyKos was a Reagan Republican!!!!!!!!
How did Markos achieve this stunning metamorphosis in just a few short years? Actually, nobody knows and Markos isn’t telling. He has told interviewers, improbably, that he last voted for the Republicans in 1992, because he suddenly realized that they didn’t support “states rights” as strongly as he would have liked.

So the guy is a lifelong Republican with CIA ties, and he suddenly decides he is going to do a 180 over states rights? That seems like a pretty minor reason to make a complete life change. States rights is pretty far down the list of importance for Republicans, I mean there is endless war, the never ending fight to screw the poor, the laborers, the middle class, the soldiers, gays, immigrants, and basically anyone who wasn’t born rich. If you asked most Republicans their opinion on states rights they wouldn’t have an intelligent comment about it if they even knew what it was.

Kos has been accused of some very Republican like tactics when it comes to dealing with people who are against him. Kos is in alliance with the progressive blog mydd.com, and that site has done some strong arming of people who dare to disparage the mighty kos. My Left Wing points out one example

But there is so much to say about this. I was banned from participation in MyDD and notified in writing that the banning was because I violated the unspoken rule against criticizing Markos Moulitsas

So Now Kos is the darling of the mainstream media, you know those guys who will never stop licking Bush’s crack no matter how low his ratings go. The guys that get up there with a straight face every night and report on everything Bush as if he is the most beloved statesman this nation has ever seen. Take a look at Kos schedule for the next couple of days as reported by Kos himself.

I’ll be on Meet the Press tomorrow morning for a “debate” with Harold Ford of the DLC. I’ll be on Charlie Rose on Monday night. And I’ll be back on the Colbert Report on Wednesday evening, where I’ll be getting my ass handed to me by the master himself.
And today, as OneCrankyDom already noted, Susan G and I have an op-ed in the Washington Post.

When I did my interview with Henry Waxman the other day, a blogger put up on Daily Kos the segment where I asked Waxman about hearings for Sibel Edmonds. The “Kossacks” as they are called were all waiting for Henry to schedule the hearings about a case that involves drug running, trading state secrets, trading nuclear information with Turkey, and Israel, and involving both Democrats and Republicans. They all thought Henry was just biding his time. When they heard Waxman tell me in the interview that he had no opinion about Edmonds, and no intention of scheduling hearings for a state department employee and FBI whistleblower, some of the Kossacks began to have meltdowns proclaiming that this was the last straw, and they now finally see that Democracy is BS, and the whole thing was just a joke. That’s because they have been buying into that whole Kos mindset of working within the system, of lets just sit back and wait for the democrats to save us while the Republicans run roughshod over the US treasury, and the American people for 8 years. Welcome to the world of reality people.

Addendum: I want to clarify one point, many of the readers of Daily Kos are not just sitting back and waiting, they actually make calls to members of congress and send emails. My problem with many of them was not that they do nothing, but in their wholehearted belief in a system that they are now just starting to realize is not going to work. So once again, Welcome to reality people

That S**t spewing gas bag Bill O’Reilly has been on a crusade lately against Liberal Bloggers. Bill is beginning to feel the heat. His ratings have been heading south for years, and what viewers he does have are in the 70+ age range, not the type of demographic Fox news is looking for. They can’t sell cars, Coke, or Mickey D’s to people who stay home on a fixed income wondering how they are going to get by until the next Social Security check comes.
While Bill, and all mainstream media including newspapers numbers go down, The Internet is picking up the slack. Why?, simple, people realize that you can find the truth in the blogs, not some watered down lies and propaganda you get on ABC, NBC, Fox Etc. O’Reilly is now concerned that we are blackmailing Democratic members of congress. How can we do that when they are already being blackmailed (or payed off) by people with way more money then we have. Here is an exchange between the 2 sexually perverted deviants. Bill (Falafel Boy) O’Reilly, and Dick (Toe sucker) Morris

O’Reilly accused liberal bloggers of being “blackmailers”

Media Matters For America
Excerpt

O’REILLY: But here’s what I do see as a problem.

MORRIS: Well, they live the [unintelligible]

O’REILLY: Yeah, maybe they do, but it’s just a stupid issue. Bloggers threatening — you know, what people don’t understand is that these Internet bloggers give messages to these candidates: “If you don’t do what we tell you to do, we will trash you and try to interfere with your fundraising.”

MORRIS: Right.

O’REILLY: And that is unique. I don’t think that has ever happened before.

MORRIS: I think that’s true. I think there’s the mobilization of the left-wing grassroots. And it is increasingly directed against Hillary. Increasingly you’re seeing — and you saw this at the [August 7] AFL[-CIO candidate forum], you saw it at the bloggers’ convention, that there is kind of a new left emerging. And for them, Hillary Clinton is not that far from George Bush or Bill O’Reilly in the lexicon of demons.

HLs Take
So now O’rielly is worried that the bloggers are trying to stop Hillary? Why should he care? I thought that The Clinton’s were O’rielly’s worst nightmare. Maybe the bloggers are right.

Here is a list of the weak, spineless, pathetic, traitorous, paid off Republican shills in democrat clothing who voted to give Bush all the power he ever wanted in regard to warrantless spying on American Citizens. If you live in a state where one of these bastards live. PLEASE make sure you vote against them in the next election. Don’t even let them on the ballot. Get Democrats who are not Bush sack lickers on the ticket, and send these idiots back home never to be heard from again.

Bayh (D-IN)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lincoln (D-AR)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Salazar (D-CO)
Webb (D-VA)

And where was Barbara Boxer, she didn’t even bother to show up and vote. I’ll give her a pass this time because she has been a pretty good Senator, unlike are other California Senator Dianne Feinstein who might just as well change her party to Republican. John Kerry wasn’t there either. Kerry has been saying all the right things regarding Bush, and the war lately, but now he is enabling Skull & Bones brother Bush, just like he did in the last electionHere are The Democrats who thought that giving Bush all the power in the world just wasn’t important enough to bother. with.

Boxer (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Murray (D-WA)

by HL
That bridge that collapsed in Minnesota the other day, had been inspected and cracks were reported last year. See Video of Bridge Collapsing Here So why was nothing done about it? One reason might be that when our Govenrment spends $200 Billion, on a useless war that it is losing anyway, there is a lot less money to go around here at home. Bush long ago took funding that was supposed to go to the states for things like..oh, infastructure, and road repair, and funneled it back to his pals in the military industrial complex, so they could make more bombs, and guns, so we could kill more innocent iraqi’s. Democrats use money for things we need here, Republicans use it for fighting wars. This is not the first time that a bridge has collapsed in The US in recent history. There have been several, and everyone happened while a Republican was in the whitehouse. Here is a list from Scholars and Rogues

• The Mianus River Bridge on Interstate 95 in Greenwich, Connecticut.
• I-90 bridge over the Schoharie Creek in New York.
• I-88 over Carr’s Creek in New York.
• I-787 ramp partial collapse in downtown Albany.
• The Silver Bridge connecting West Virginia and Ohio.
• And while this was a bridge under construction instead of an older one, the irony of this week’s collapse in California (reported by FAUX, even) makes for good irony.

Like Hurricane Katrina this is one more way for Bush to tell the American people ‘hey you got a problem don’t come to me, I’m just here to steal all your tax money and put it into my never ending wars. You gotta drive a car over a bridge, tough luck, get out and swim across if you are afraid’

And Just to prove Bush wants to cut even more money out of domestic spending to put into war.

Bush budget puts pinch on domestic spending Boosts war fund, hits healthcare

Just one more reason to impeach now. Don’t forget we are just one more big Hurricane away from Martial Law, if Bush wants it.

As you probably know, last week Attorney General Alberto “Torture Boy” Gonzalez got up before the Senate Judiciary committee led by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, and Republican Senator Arlen “Single Bullet theory” Specter, and gave the most hideously dishonest, lie packed testimony ever uttered under oath in a public setting. The whole sorry scene was chronicled in our July 25th, comic called Torture Boy Takes The Stand.
Leahy sent the list of questions in advance basically telling Gonzalez that ‘We know you lied about forgetting so much last time you were here that this time you have the questions in advance so you can’t say you don’t recall.’

Of course Gonzalez did just that again, and again, and again, when he wasn’t lying outright rather then just “forgetting”

Leahy ranted at Gonzalez that “He had lost the faith of Congress, and the American people” and that he “didn’t trust him.”

Specter has a history of appearing to be against Bush, or one of his policies, only to at the last moment suggest some kind of compromise that ends up giving the administration everything it wants. (with Leahy and the democrats going right along with it, then patting themselves on the back for being such statesmen.)
Old Arlen was up to his usual tricks at the hearing telling Gonzalez he did not believe him regarding the Attorney General’s testimony. We knew however that Specter was playing his usual game and pretending to be against Gonzalez while secretly working behind the scenes to cover up and obstruct on behalf of Bush.

Now, Leahy and Specter, after appearing together on “Face The Nation” Want to give Gonzalez a chance to “clarify his statements.” Basically what they are now saying to Gonzalez is: “We know you committed perjury, and you know you committed perjury, so if you just come out now and say that you were, you know, mistaken in your statements and admit that you ‘unintentionally misled’ us, all will be forgiven and we can go about our business of doing nothing as usual.”

Leahy last week sent Gonzalez a letter offering to give him a week to “resolve any inconsistencies” in his testimony. Leahy does not currently support charging Gonzalez with Perjury. Yes you read correctly, The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee sat there while the Attorney General insulted his, and our intelligence over and over, and pretty much said to him ‘Yeah I’m lying, do something about it,’ does not support charging this weasel with Perjury. But, Leahy said, “that could change,” Yeah right.

Specter now claims that since he had no inside knowledge of Bush’s spy program he has no way of knowing whether Gonzalez was telling the truth or not, and he wants to “Give him a chance.”

None of this really matters anyway because no way is Gonzalez going to change one word of his testimony, to do so would implicate Bush and the administration and that’s the only reason Gonzo still has a job, to keep the heat off Bush. So once Torture Boy does not comply with these new requests will Leahy and Specter change their minds and charge AG with Perjury? I’m willing to bet not. The whole thing is one big Dog and Pony show designed to make it look like they are doing something (Democrats and Republicans) to keep the voting public happy, when really all they are doing is lining their own pockets. HL’s Comics will keep abreast of the latest detail of this story and let you know what is really going on.

Get The Story Before It Happens, Read HLs Comics

The time has come for each and every one of us to take action and stand up to Bush, Cheney, and their administration. I have just been on the phone with the offices of John Conyers, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Henry Waxman, who is my house representative, and both California Senators Dianne Feinstein, and Barbara Boxer. Several alarming stories have come out in the past couple of days which if you are a reader of The H.L., or any other progressive blog, you already know about. You can scan down the page for more information on the articles that I am about to pass on. Each and every one of us needs to get on the phone and call Conyers office, and your House representative and both Senators from your state and start making some noise about what Bush is apparently trying to do, which it appears to be declaring Martial Law at his own personal discretion. Here is the action we need to take.

1. John Conyers has said that if he gets 3 more members of congress to back him, he will begin Impeachment proceedings against Dick Cheney with or without Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi. Call Congressman Conyers at (202) 225-5126 and demand that he begin impeachment proceeding immediately. Call your own Congressional representative. You can dial the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 (You can also reach your Senators at this same number.) ask for the office of your congressman, tell them that you want them to sign on with Conyers to back impeachment.

2. Last Week Bush came out with an Executive Order to ban all Iraq War Protests. According to this order he can have your assets and property seized for protesting the Iraq War. This is outrageous. An executive order only becomes law if Congress doesn’t overturn it within thirty days after it is published in the Federal Register. Tell your congress person that you want them to step up and put a stop to this. As above you can reach your representative at 202-224-3121. After you get off the phone call both of your Senators. In California you can reach Senator Dianne Feinstein at 202-224-3841. You can reach Senator Barbara Boxer at 202-224-3553. Outside of California call The U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators office.

3. Last week Congressman Peter Defazio of Oregon, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, based on complaints by his constituency asked to see the documents on how Bush will conduct the Government after a significant “Terrorist” attack, and was denied. Call your Representative and Senators at the numbers listed above and demand that Congress take action against Bush for refusing to allow members of Congress and The Homeland Security Committee to see his post terrorist attack plans.

4. Section 1076 of H.R. 5122 The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for 2007, which was passed with the approval of Democrats like Senators Carl Levin, and Ted Kennedy, says that Bush has sole discretion to impose martial law, in the event of a Terrorist attack or any national emergency, like a hurricane. Call your representatives and Senators at the numbers listed above and demand that they overturn this policy.

Can you imagine Congress giving Bush that kind of authority with his track record? You’d almost think the Congress; including Democrats are all in on this together against the American people. It’s time for us to put a stop to it. Get on the phone right now and start demanding that Congress do its job. It may be the only chance we have to stop Bush from appointing himself permanent King of America. Get going.

Thank You
H.L.
The Hollywood Liberal.com

Update:

Dianne Feinstein responds to HL readers email: Here is an excerpt.

At this time, however, I believe that impeachment proceedings against President Bush or Vice President Cheney will only divide the country even further, frustrating our hopes for a meaningful change in direction, while having little chance of success.

You can read her entire response, as well as my response back to her Here

See a Giant List of Political Comics by H.L. Here

This time Michael Moore makes a movie to unite us, instead of divide us

I saw Michael Moore’s Sicko on Tuesday, and all I can say is WOW. This is one of the hardest hitting movies I have ever seen, and clearly one of Mike’s best. Forget best Oscar for a documentary, this movie deserves to win the Oscar for best picture of the year. There was so much good, and entertaining yet devastating and heartbreaking information in this movie, it’s hard to find a place to start.
As you probably already know the movie centers on the Health care industry in The US, or should I say big business, a.k.a the insurance companies taking over the US health care industry to the tune of billions in profits while the people who pay those huge premiums every month get screwed to the core whenever they actually need to use the coverage they pay so dearly for.
The movie starts out with a couple of stories about the 50 Million of us who have no health insurance. One is the story you may have already heard about, where a guy cuts off the tips of two of his fingers, and can only have one of them reattached because he cannot afford to get them both sewn on. The other story, (and I will try not to give too much away) shows a guy stitching up his own deep laceration on his leg. Then Moore tells us, “But this is not a movie about the people who have no health insurance, it is a movie about the 250 Million Americans who have health insurance, (or think they do)
Mike then proceeds to tell story after story about people who thought they were covered, only to find out that their coverage was denied, often for the most ridiculous reasons. Mike interviews a guy who used to work for one of the big health insurance companies. His job was to go over people’s applications after they make a claim on the insurance and find any reason he can possibly come up with to deny coverage, and he does a very good job.
One particular story out of many was of a 22 year woman who comes down with Cervical Cancer. She is denied coverage from her Insurance company because she is too young and should not be getting Cervical Cancer at her age. The stories get more and more ridiculous.
Moore traces back how the country got into this huge mess, and pinpoints the actual day that our whole system went bad, once again I don’t want to give too much away but it started with a very unpopular President that was in office a while back, This President used to tape a lot of conversations and Moore got a hold of one of these tapes in which one of the Presidents advisors is explaining to him about this new type of health insurance that Edgar Kaiser (of Kaiser Permanente) wants to start. The advisor explains that under this new system health Insurance companies and not Doctors decide what treatment that patients receive. He explains to the President that the purpose of this is to give as little coverage as possible thereby saving all the money for the insurance companies, The President smiles and says “I like it.” The next day he makes a speech not unlike speeches our current President might make where he says the opposite of the truth in a very blatant manner. He tells the American people about this new kind of health plan that will ensure that all Americans have the best possible coverage, because we are after all, the greatest nation on earth.
The other part of the movie is Michael traveling to Canada, England, and France to find out what they have and we don’t, and there is plenty. He interviews people in these countries where he finds out that their health care is completely free, and the patients get the finest possible care. In Paris Mike sits down with a group of US ex-pats who explain to him the differences between France, and the US, and not just in health care but in all areas of life, at one Point Mike is so taken aback by the stories that he finally puts his hands up and says “enough I can’t take anymore.” He then comments “No wonder our media and government want us to hate France so much”
A former member of the British Parliament tells Moore that if their Government ever tried to take away the free national health care, there would be revolution in the streets. He also learns that in France the government is afraid of the people instead of the other way around as it is here.
This is a movie for everyone, not just democrats, not just liberals; because all of us our in this boat together. I know there will be a lot of Moore haters who will refuse, and will openly mock him. All I can say is, give this movie a chance then decide. We all have relatives or friends that need the healthcare industry to help them, and not bankrupt them as they are currently doing, and one day we will need that same healthcare. If everyone in the country were to see this film then changes would have to be made, the government would have no choice because the people would not accept anything less. In the end this movie is not just about fixing healthcare it is about fixing what is wrong with us as a country that allows the Government (both democrat and republican) to run roughshod over us, while they get ever more richer.
See This Movie, tell your friends to see it. If you have anti-moore friends who refuse, offer to pay for their ticket. No one who sees this will come away feeling apathetic, it’s just not possible. I plan on seeing it again soon, it’s that good.

by H.L.
So the democrats have caved in once again and given a President with a 30% approval rating everything he wants for a war that he started based on lies. A war that 70% of Americans want over as soon as possible, as in now. They claim the reason that they let the retarded murder monkey continue his campaign of death is because they are afraid. Sounds right to me, they are afraid that they will take the blame for “losing” the war, the war that they were told in no uncertain terms by the electorate to end. Not only do I not believe this, I think it is an outright lie.
How can you be afraid of losing the war that Bush lost the day he started it? Not to mention the fact that fear once again rules the Democratic party. Or is it greed? How much money are they getting to pretend they want to end the war while being the very people who keep it going. The Democrat’s original bill which was vetoed by Bush called for a return of the troops. Thats all they had to do, once Bush refused the bill the democrats could have said “Hey George, it’s our way or the highway. They could have just sat back and waited. When the money for the troops ran out they could have submitted the exact same bill, and if Bush again refused to sign the war would be over. He would be forced to bring the troops home immediately. But the Democrats were afraid. Even if it is true that they would be blamed (which they wouldn’t) I guess they are more concerned with saving there jobs then with thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dying for Bush’s lies, greed, and oil.
OK then lets take a look at how they voted. Not all the Democrats are spineless weasels, here are the ones that refuse to continue to whore for Bush.

Boxer (D-CA), Clinton (D-NY), Dodd (D-CT), Feingold (D-WI), Kennedy (D-MA), Kerry (D-MA). Leahy (D-VT), Obama (D-IL), Sanders (I-VT), Whitehouse (D-RI), Wyden (D-OR).

Clinton, Dodd, and Obama are running for the whitehouse next year. Of course my choice for The Democratic nomination is Kucinich, if he doesn’t get it I’m hoping one of the above does.
Surprisingly 3 Republicans also voted against the bill. Either they have seen the light and finally realize that Bush is an insane lunatic killing machine, or they unlike the most of the dems, are smart enough to realize they have more of a chance of getting voted out for being against Bush rather then for him. Here they are.

Burr (R-NC), Enzi (Wy.) and Coburn (OK)

I have always heard the Coburn from Oklahoma is a Republicans Republican, maybe he doesn’t think the bill goes far enough. Maybe he’s pissed that the bill doesn’t also include a rider to allow Bush to serve a third term. I’ll have to look into that, but in the meantime I’m glad some Republicans are starting to get the message. Will he have to have the Republicans to bail us out of this situation while the Democrats cower in fear? Here is the list of Dems. that need to be replaced by some Democrats with balls come next November.

Akaka (D-HI), Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Biden (D-DE), Bingaman (D-NM), Brown (D-OH), Byrd (D-WV), Cantwell (D-WA), Cardin (D-MD), Carper (D-DE), Casey (D-PA), Conrad (D-ND), Dorgan (D-ND), Durbin (D-IL), Feinstein (D-CA), Harkin (D-IA), Inouye (D-HI), Klobuchar (D-MN), Kohl (D-WI), Landrieu (D-LA), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Levin (D-MI), Lincoln (D-AR), McCaskill (D-MO), Menendez (D-NJ), Mikulski (D-MD), Murray (D-WA), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Reed (D-RI), Reid (D-NV), Rockefeller (D-WV), Salazar (D-CO), Stabenow (D-MI), Tester (D-MT), Webb (D-VA).

One of the Senators on this list is Dianne Feinstein from right here in California. Time to go back to extorting construction firms Dianne. I want her out she is sullying the name of the most progressive state in the union. Harry Reid is on the list. Harry, Harry, Harry, you were the one who claimed that the Democrats would never back down. You got no balls Harry, you’ve got to go too.

In the biggest slap in the face to the voters of all, Every new Democratic Senator that was voted in last November voted for Bush continued murder spree except Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. Sherrod Brown of Ohio ran on an anti-war campaign. Well now Democrats have to deal with his turncoat ass for the next 5 1/2 years. The other new Democratic Senators that voted yea on the bill are Cardin, Klouchbar, Mc Caskill, Tester, Casey, and Webb. The last of which only got in because George Allen was stupid enough to make his Macacca comment.
Remember these names next time they are up for re-election. In the meantime the war will rage on. More of our soldiers will die, and you can blame all the people who voted for the bill for it, and no one else, well except the rest of the Republicans that voted yes, and of course the man who started it all George W. Bush. Democrats had a chance to change history yesterday. Congrats to the ones with balls, to the rest, shame on you yellow bellied weasel whores.

John Kerry Discusses “This Moment on Earth”
John and Teresa Kerry appeared in L.A. last night to talk about their new book “This Moment on Earth” It is a book about our environment and what we can do individually to help stop greenhouses gasses and global warming. It is also about the products that we use that may be harmful to us. They pointed out the Canada’s version of the food and drug administration has banned hundreds of products in the same time that we in the U.S. have only banned about a half a dozen. These are things we use around the house that could potentially be carcinogenic.
At one point Kerry was taking questions and some republican yahoo plant who showed up in overalls so he could rant about immigration and union workers, he complained about how he is going backward, working more making less with less benefits and blaming it all on immigrants. Kerry shut him up by saying that regardless of your view on immigration the laws must be followed and Its the employers that are breaking the law but are seldom charged. He also took the guy to task by saying that a lot of union workers voted for Reagan, Bush and Bush, when it is the Democrats that are the ones that are looking out for the working man. He said that they vote against their own self interest because they get caught up in the whole “God, Guns, and Gays” Issues that republicans use as wedge issues (for the not so intelligent… Kerry didn’t say that part I did)
After the talk John and Teresa signed some books and got to meet some of the people who have shown up. I will be doing a full review of the book soon. Stay tuned.

John Kerry & Teresa Heinz Kerry sign copies of their new book in L.A.

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Monday evening I had the chance to go to the L.A. Premier of the new movie God Grew Tired of Us, at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. I was invited to cover the red carpet entrance, as well as the movie and after party. I arrived a little late for the red carpet and when I walked in the first people I spotted being interviewed were Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie.

See The Rest of The Story and More Pics

The new movie “Fast Food Nation” opens soon. I got a chance to go over to The 4 Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills a couple of days ago for a gourmet lunch and to chat with some of the stars of the film, which recently premiered at The Cannes Film Festival.

The Movie is an adaptation of Eric Schlosser’s book expose Fast Food Nation.
In the book journalist Schlosser argues that the fast food industry is responsible for the explosion of malls in America’s landscape, expanding rich/poor gap, causing obesity, and in the vanguard of U.S. American cultural imperialism abroad.
The film adaptation is a fictional story based on the book, in which Fast food executive Greg Kinnear finds there is something bad in the burgers, and he had to find out what and how it got there. He takes a trip to the massive slaughter houses of corporate giant “Mickeys” He also learns how they use cheap and illegal immigrant employees, working them to the bone for almost nothing to bring you your Burger and Fries. Here are some pics from the event.

Wilmer “Yo Momma” Valdarama and Catalina Sandino Moreno

Ashley Johnson

Director Linklater, and Writer Schlosser

Greg Kinnear Hanging with H.L.

Fast Food Nation opens next week Click Here for more info. and to attend a free screening.

Jerry Buss, and Magic Johnson

Dr. Jerry Buss, the owner of The Los Angeles Lakers received a star on the Hollywood walk of fame this afternoon. Buss bought the Lakers in 1979, and has made them into the one of the premier franchises in all of sports. In 1985 Buss started the Prime Ticket Network, which was the first regional cable network to show all the games for a local sports franchise. It was in this area of television that he received his star on the Boulevard.
The honorary mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant presided over the ceremony, speakers included L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Magic Johnson, & Paula Abdul, who was an early Laker girl, and their head choreographer. Also in the crowd was Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak (who went to the same High School as H.L. Long Island’s Brentwood High.) Former Lakers Jerry West, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes and the current Laker team including Kobe Bryant, and coach Phil Jackson.
A huge crowd of rabid Laker fans was also on hand. They are getting revved up for the new Laker season which starts tomorrow night at The Staples Center downtown. The H.L. is a big Laker fan. I was there on June 19, 2000 along with Buss, Jackson, Kobe, and the late Chick Hearn, when the Lakers won their first of three consecutive championships, so there was no way I could miss this day (especially since the H.L. headquarters is right around the corner from the walk of fame) Congratulations to Dr. Jerry Buss. Go Lakers.

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson

It was a perfect Southern California day for a Political Rally, The California Democratic Party put on a get out the vote rally at USC, which featured many prominent High ranking Democrats from throughout the state. The message of the day is that the Democrats are taking back California, and the nation this election day.

A large raucous crowd had gathered and were wildly cheering the speakers who included, John Garamendi, who worked in the Clinton administration, Fabian Nunez, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Steve Westley was there, he was Angledies opponent in the primaries, and had some nice things to say. Angleides and Westly might not have had to have this rally had they not slammed each other so hard in their primary commercials it allowed Arnold to take the lead by sitting back and doing nothing, but that was all forgotten today. The Mayor urged the people who attended the rally to get out there, talk to people, and knock on doors, to get everyone you know to get out there and vote on November 7,

Up next was the candidate himself Phil Angleides. He talked about running against Schwarzeneggar, and how Arnold is now pretending to not be a Republican anymore, and distancing himself from Bush like eveyone else is these days. Anglelides assured the crowd that Arnold is still a Republican and is just saying what he needs to say for now to try to win the election, including trying to woo his Hollywood Liberal friends with big dinner parties in Beverly Hills.

The crowd had been getting more and more worked up as the afternoon went. There was some great old time political speechmaking going on, Angelides, and the Mayor were great at getting the crowd worked up. Then it was time for the main man of the afternoon, who had the crowd in a frenzy, as he took the stage. The Senator from Illinois Barack Obama. He spoke of the time he spent in Los Angeles at Occidental College, as well as while working as a civil rights attorney after graduating from Harvard. He acknowledged that it sometimes its easy to get discouraged with politics especially in light of what has been going on in the past 6 years, but that he has hope and is willing to fight for it. He encouraged the audience to do the same. Once again exhorting the faithful to get out there and make it happen. Make sure everyone you know is going to get out there and vote this election day. Talk to your friends and neighbors. That’s what I am doing right now. The people that read this site are my friends and neighbors even if we have never met. I don’t have to tell you who to vote for, you already know, Just get out there and make it happen.

Here is a Video Clip of The Man Himself, Barack Obama at USC

Photos by Net Zoo They’ve got more.

I recently got a chance to see the controversial new film “Death of A President.” The movie generated some outrage from the right because it depicted the assassination of Bush.
The left argued that like “The Path to 9/11″ this was a fictional story, not only that, but it is a story you have to pay to go see in a theatre, not one that is being beamed into your home on a major television network during prime time.
The story is exactly as stated, a fictional account that takes place in 2007. Bush is out at an event and gets shot. The movie is pretty much what you would see on one of the networks if it really happened. They even use special effects to make it all look real.
Most of the main focus after the shooting is trying to figure out who did it. First they blame those evil anti-war protesters, and then the attention turns to Muslims.
As I was watching I was trying to figure out what the point of this movie was, and could not come up with anything. The audience in the theatre sat in stone silence perhaps trying to do the same. The only sound made was when it was announced that Cheney would be sworn in when he was located, but no one knew where he was, that drew a laugh as everyone could relate to the infamous bunker dweller. Within a few days Congress passes Patriot Act 3, which makes P.A. 2 tame by comparison,
The only explanation for a purpose to this film I finally came up with was to warn people not to do it. It’s as if they were saying: we know you may want to, but don’t because it will make things even worse. I cringed when Cheney, in a seemingly real computer generated scene, gave the eulogy at the funeral with all the swell things he was saying about the war mongering monkey. Then, in yet another interview clip of his insufferable Karen Hughes like speech writer, this time comparing him to God, I did something I have never done before. I got up and walked out no longer able to stomach all the Bush worship. Perhaps that was the point, if so it worked well but the heavy handedness didn’t do it for me.
So it may be unanimous, if you love Bush you will hate this movie, if you hate bush, you will hate this movie. I guess it is supposed to be some sort of commentary on the times we live in, as if we need another reminder.

by H.L.
I was watching Lou Dobbs on CNN last night; he was in Kansas covering the Senate race there, which apparently is very close. They played a clip of Jim Talent, the Republican incumbent giving a speech. The first thing he said was “I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman,” the people went into a frenzied applause. That’s the number one thing rural voters care about. War, no problem, no jobs except Wal-Mart, no problem, Bush looting the US Treasury, no problem, no health insurance, no problem….Gay Marriage, now we got a problem. Gay marriage will never happen in Kansas anyway, or any red state for that matter, so what is the problem that they have with gay marriage?

This brings me to a movie I saw recently called Red State, it was about a guy from Venice California, (Michael Shea,) which is the second most liberal town in Southern California you already know which one is first. he decides to go on a driving tour of 22 red states right after the 2004 Election, to see why the Bush voters did, and do, what they do.

Read The Rest of The Story Here

Robin Williams is back in a new movie in which he plays a TV talk show host who becomes President of The United States in “Man of The Year.” Tom Dobbs (Williams)
Is a TV personality with an emphasis on Politics a la John Stewart, on The Daily Show.
When he gripes about the state of politics in the United States, he declares the he should run for President, which touches off a groundswell of support, and leads to Dobbs actually deciding to run. He declares he will spend no money on commercials, but his support keeps building through the show. Then, in a highly unlikely moment among many highly unlikely moments in the film, Dobbs is allowed into the debate. Of course this would never happen in the real world of 2 party politics, witness the fact that third party candidate Ralph Nader was not allowed to debate Gore, and Bush in 2000.
Dobbs lets it all hang out in the debate, which becomes Robin Williams doing his Robin Williams A.D.D. stick to the hilt. (and, I’m told, using a lot of the same jokes he used back in 2002) If you like Williams you’ll like the movie, especially this scene. Personally having never been a big RW fan, I didn’t find many of the jokes to be very funny.
The movie brings up the important topic of Electronic touch screen voting but gets it all wrong when it tries to get serious after Dobbs wins the election. (Seems it was a mistake, not voter fraud that made the wrong guy win this time) There was a problem with the voting and Eleanor Green (Laura Linney) Knows what it is. Of course her bosses at Diebold, um I mean the company she works for, don’t want anyone to know what that problem is, and tries to get her to keep quiet. The movie then turns into a bad episode of Three’s Company as she repeatedly tries to tell the president elect. Finally Dobbs finds out what is really going on. What will he do about it??? Well you’ll have to go see the movie to find out.
While it is nice that the film brings up what will be a huge issue this election day, and might help people who don’t follow politics to learn about the perils of electronic voting, as far as the comedy is concerned you might as well watch reruns of Mork an Mindy on TV Land.

I have the first part of the Interview with Sgt. Zack Bazzi up, I will add the rest to it soon.

I went down to the Le Meridian Hotel in Beverly Hills today to meet Sgt. Zack Bazzi who was one of the main characters in “The War Tapes,” as well as the director of the film Deborah Scranton, There was a roundtable discussion of the film and the war with myself, and several journalists, Here is a transcript of the interview.

Q: What made you sign up for the service?

Bazzi: I joined at 18, which is probably the easiest enlistment for a recruiter. They give you a sales pitch, because infantry is the part of the army that they need the most recruits for. They try to gear you toward that. I just went up to the guy and said “Hey, I want to join the Infantry” (laughs)
I did it for several reasons; there are a lot of benefits to it. Education benefits but also for many implicit benefits like leadership, communications, and confidence. But I think the biggest reason is that I like it, it’s just my personality. It’s challenging, you do a lot of really cool things, that youth likes like you get to jump out of helicopters in whatever country… girls like you and….all that good stuff.

Q: The most difficult aspect of this for both of you was what?

Scranton: The most difficult aspect of this for me was hoping that they come home alive.

Read The Rest Of The Interview Here

Straight from the front lines of Iraq, comes a new documentary movie called “The War Tapes.” It is the true story of 3 soldiers from the New Hampshire National Guard, who were given cameras, and volunteered to go out and film what they saw and did while they were on a one year tour in Iraq. The soldiers from Charlie company 3rd Battalion of the 172nd Infantry Regiment, were sent to Camp Anaconda in the Sunni Triangle, are
Sgt. Stephen Pink, Sgt. Zack Bazzi, and Specialist Mike Moriarity.

The 3 men take their cameras with them wherever they go and shoot everything they see. Right near the beginning of the film they explain their main duty in Iraq which is to accompany KBR/Halliburton trucks which are carrying supplies, and food. While they are in their convoy the trucks are often attacked by insurgents with IED’s, (Improvised Exploding Devices) on almost every trip there is an explosion nearby, Caused by insurgent attacks, the soldiers then try to fight back. The main problem always seems to be that they do not know where the blast came from so they fire hundreds or thousands of rounds into the darkness in hopes of hitting the unseen attackers.

In a series of voiceovers of the men one of the real reasons for the war is explained.. I paraphrase: KBR (Kellogg, Brown, and Root)/Halliburton controls everything over here. They have their hand in every single thing that goes on, and they are making a huge profit on all of it. KBR/Halliburton is the company who’s former CEO is Dick Cheney, Cheney also still owns thousands of shares of stock in the company (433,333 to be exact) and is therefore a war profiteer.” They guard the trucks that carry food, soda, ammo, and fuel all of which Halliburton makes the army pay obscene amounts of money for.

Read The Whole Review Here