this cracks me up...

Benazir Bhutto (1953–2007)

Benazir Bhutto excelled at asserting her right to rule. In a male-dominated, Islamic society, she rose to become her slain father's political successor, twice getting elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan. She would also be exiled twice. In the end, Bhutto was better at rallying people to the idea of her power than at keeping them inspired by her use of it. (READ)

Gayest Sports Ad Ever

Five reasons why I loved/hated my TV in 2007

Whenever I see someone with one of those “Kill Your Television” bumper stickers, I feel two distinct emotions. One, shut up, Smuggy McSmugerson. I bet you don’t read the copies of The New Yorker in your bathroom either. And two, yeah, sometimes I do feel like taking a 12-gauge to the old idiot box. This year I got my usual mix of joy and pain from my television. The highs were so very fantastic. The lows so very sucktastic. Here's a rundown of my top and bottom five TV shows for 2007. (READ)

Britain's Queen Takes Up YouTube

Britain's 81-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, considered an icon of traditionalism, launched her own special Royal Channel on YouTube Sunday. (view her 2007 message)

The queen will use the popular video-sharing Web site to send out her 50th annual televised Christmas message, which she first delivered live to the nation and its colonies on Dec. 25, 1957.

Buckingham Palace also began posting archive and recent footage of the queen and other royals on the channel Sunday, with plans to add new clips regularly.

YouTube, which allows anyone to upload and share video clips, was founded in 2005 and bought by Google last year.

"The queen always keeps abreast with new ways of communicating with people," Buckingham Palace said in a statement. "The Christmas message was podcast last year." (READ)

--- personal comment.. the 81 year old Queen of England has a YouTube page, and our president calls it the "internets".. and thinks he might have used the maps thing one time.

Review: Fun 'Wilson's' at war -- with itself

Mike Nichols' undercover history of the liberation of Afghanistan, "Charlie Wilson's War," is so witty and light on its feet, it's a pity it pulls its punches.


A society matron (Julia Roberts) gets a congressman (Tom Hanks) involved in the Cold War in "Charlie Wilson's War."
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A deft condensation of George Crile's nonfiction best-seller, this is the story of how an obscure Texan congressman helped bring down the Soviet empire and -- indirectly -- the World Trade Center.

Universal seems at a loss as to how to market this truly tall tale -- but don't blame the publicity guys. The combined smarts of director Nichols, writer Aaron Sorkin, Tom Hanks and Co. haven't pinned down how they feel about Wilson or what he did.

The movie's tone is all over the place: sincere and celebratory one minute, caustic and ironic the next. There's nuance and complexity here, but it's doled out with broad farce and knee-jerk populist rhetoric. It's as if they want it to play inside the Beltway and hit below the belt, both at once.

Set during the Reagan era and resonating uneasily with current events, in many ways this is a deeply Clintonian movie: astute, pragmatic, equivocal and likely to prove highly contentious. (That's what you get if you put the director of "Primary Colors" with the writer of "The West Wing.")

It is fun, though. (READ)

First-Lady Extinction?

IF IT'S IMMINENT, HALLELUJAH.
By Timothy Noah, the Slate.com

In almost any campaign you may still see the wife in the skirted blue or red suit, the sensible pumps, accepting her wrist corsage from the 4-H club winner. But, behind its impregnable smiles and circle pins, the entire institution has been slowly crumbling. Increasingly, politicians' wives have jobs of their own or, cleanest of all, careers that have absolutely nothing to do with politics. Another reason political wifehood is dying is that men now are trying to be political spouses too, and they can't stand it. ... Sometime, in the not-too-distant future, we will acknowledge the passing of [the first lady's] role with the same amazement we felt at the fall of the Berlin Wall, crashing down so easily after standing for decades as an unbreachable certainty. Boy, we'll think; that sucker wasn't as strong as it looked. (READ)

N.H. Gay Group Endorses John Edwards

One of New Hampshire's leading gay rights groups has endorsed former North Carolina senator John Edwards for president. The New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition cited Edwards's commitment to equal rights and fighting discrimination in all forms, according to a press release.

"We took a long look at all of the candidates, we met with many of them, and in our judgment, John Edwards's sincere commitment to battling discrimination and ensuring equal rights for every American is unparalleled," the group's executive director, state representative Mo Baxley, said in the release. "He and his wonderful wife, Elizabeth, have spent their entire lives fighting for those without a voice and standing up for what is right. John Edwards will be the kind of president we can trust to stand up for everyday Americans."

The coalition quotes Edwards as saying he supports the repeal of the military's ban of gay service members as well as the full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. He also quoted as saying he would expand hate-crimes legislation and prohibit job discrimination against LGBT workers. The coalition acknowledges that while Edwards support civil unions for same-sex couples, he is not in favor of same-sex marriage. (The Advocate)

The Best Joni Mitchell Song Ever

I was just talking about Joni Mitchell today and then I came across this article. Is there anything better or sadder than her Christmas song, River. "Oh I wish I had a river to skate away on." They don't make poets like Joni anymore.


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AN ODE TO OBSESSIVE LISTENING.
By Ron Rosenbaum, Slate.com
Posted Friday, Dec. 14, 2007, at 10:56 AM ET

This is a love letter. To a love song. One I keep returning to. One I keep feeling I need to do justice to. I don't know if I can, but I'll try.

A couple of months ago, I'd gone back to playing it. Only I can't play it just once. I have to play it over and over again for hours on end. I can't get enough of it. It's not just a love song: It's a road song, it's a motel song, it's a Southwestern desert song, it's a disappearance and death song. It's a Joni Mitchell song. It's "Amelia." (READ)

The Road Warrior

Newsweek

Even if he loses in Iowa's bigger cities, Edwards can still win by wrapping up smaller, far-flung precincts. (READ STORY)

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HEY, QUEEN LATIFAH: WE ARE FAMILY

Rumors are abound of Queen Latifah's supposed nuptials to her trainer, Jeanette Jenkins. In case you hadn't heard, Queen Latifah is not an out lesbian, and has recently done all she can to prove that she's straight (short of dating an actual, um, man). (READ)

Dr Susan Love and the L Word

I don't remember seeing Dr. Susan Love on the L Word in the cameo listed below but I do know she is one of the most respected minds in breast cancer research.

via AfterEllen.com

NOW THAT'S A POWER LESBIAN!

An anonymous L Word fan has just made a $1 million donation to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation — the largest private donation in the Foundation's history — in honor of actors Erin Daniels and Leisha Hailey. As many of you well remember, Erin Daniels' character, Dana Fairbanks, died of breast cancer in Season 3 of The L Word.

The donor, according to the press release, "wanted to honor these two actresses and the intense love and friendship that existed between the characters they played." The $1 million will establish the Erin Daniels and Leisha Hailey Fund for Breast Cancer, and the mysterious benefactor has also pledged to match every dollar donated to the fund in 2008 and 2009.

"It is an honor that our breast cancer story line touched someone in such a tremendous way that she so generously gave to such a tragic illness," said Leisha Hailey in the press release. "I am awed by her gesture and it inspires me to act with my conscience and give of myself."

According to Dr. Susan Love, who made a guest appearance on The L Word after Dana's diagnosis: "After I was on the show, the donor visited our website and began to educate herself about the intraductal research we are doing. In our work, she saw the potential for cure, and she recognized the difference a significant donation could make."

And by "significant," she wasn't kidding! What a way to turn a devastating story line into something much more positive. If you'd like to make a donation to the Erin Daniels and Leisha Hailey Fund, visit the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation.

Even CNN noticed Jodie Foster's OUT comment

OUT OF THE CLOSET, INTO THE FIRE

It's been over a week since AfterEllen.com wrote one of the first stories about Jodie Foster sort of outing herself at the Women in Entertainment Power 100 breakfast on Dec. 4 by thanking her partner, Cydney Bernard, when accepting the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, but the mainstream media is only just starting to take serious note of this story. (READ)

Amazon buys J. K. Rowling Book

We're incredibly excited to announce that Amazon has purchased J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard at an auction held by Sotheby’s in London. The book of five wizarding fairy tales, referenced in the last book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is one of only seven handmade copies in existence. The purchase price was £1,950,000, and Ms. Rowling is donating the proceeds to The Children's Voice campaign, a charity she co-founded to help improve the lives of institutionalized children across Europe.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is extensively illustrated and handwritten by the bard herself--all 157 pages of it. It's bound in brown Moroccan leather and embellished with five hand-chased hallmarked sterling silver ornaments and mounted moonstones. (READ)

The Fight Is On and You Are In It

Nadine Smith, Bilerico.com

The far right now has the signatures... Another spiteful amendment is heading to the ballot.

This time Florida will face a deceptively named and dangerous "Marriage Protection Amendment." They picked a fight in Florida in 2008 for one reason - Florida is a must win Presidential battleground. This is yet another cynical attempt to elect the most right wing candidates by ensuring prejudice drive their voters to the polls. That is why this isn't just a battle for Floridians. Everyone reading this has a stake in what happens at the polls in Florida come November.

But here's the good news. We can win and you can be a part of this historic victory. (READ)

Bush: Pathological liar or idiot-in-chief?

Dec. 6: Special comment: In light of the NIE, “Countdown’s” Keith Olbermann gives a Special Comment about what President Bush knew about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and when he found out about it. Watch the video below.

Jon Stewart's Greatest Lesbian Moments

Since taking over as host of Comedy Central's Daily Show in 1999, Jon Stewart has made "fake news" a part of the cultural vernacular. He has demonstrated that there's a market for smart, political commentary — as long as it also makes people laugh. And he has shown that being really angry can also be really funny. (READ)

I can't WAIT!! Sex & The City movie trailer is out

HuffPost's "The Bush Years" Posters: A Powerful Political Stocking Stuffer

huffingtonpost.com

Three weeks ago, we launched HuffPost's Posterizing the Modern GOP project to graphically capturing the lunacy of the Bush years. And we asked for your help adding to the names, events, and slogans depicted. (view posters)