Morning News Roundup

I tell you, it's those Red Sox! Gotta love 'em!

First off, John Conyers is not who he really is according to Ron's Politics1 exclusive as Ron shows that there are "close ties between veteran Congressional John Conyers (D-MI) and Trent Lott challenger State Rep. Erik Fleming (D-MS) and their close friendship with the rather despicable LaRouche political cult crowd." This is not cool in my opinion.

Jack Conway will speak at the Ford dinner in Louisville this weekend, followed by a keynote from Senator Wendell Ford.

According to Dr. Ted Schlechter's email list:

Louisville Metro Councilman George Unseld has announced his candidacy for Jefferson Circuit Clerk in the 2006 Democratic Primary. The office is currently held by Tony Miller who announced his retirement earlier this year.

David Nicholson is considering a run for the Democratic nomination for Clerk of the Circuit Court. Mr. Nicholson is currently a member of the Mayor's Crime Commission and kin to several prominent Judges.

J.B. Poersch, who worked on two Kentucky campaigns(Scotty Baesler's Senator race in 98 and Jack Conway's Congressional race in 02), is the new Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Bill Ryan is working with the KY Democratic Party as its political director.

News that fits our generation. Well, if it wasn't the same thing on the news each half hour, maybe I'd watch it away from home.

But soon I started dreading the thought of having to drudge through another hour of the same boring stuff; the same dull politics, the same weather forecast and high school sports reports.

Like most people my age watching the news, I just didn't care. To remedy the dryness of news, I switched the channel to Comedy Central and began substituting my daily dose of news with Jon Stewart and his little nightly program, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

A far cry from the monotonous realm of evening news shows, this show spoke to me. With about a million viewers a night, the show has become one of the major news sources for viewers age 18 to 25. According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, some 21 percent of viewers age.[...]

I tried the regular news, I really did. But I could never get a firm grasp of what these talking heads were saying to me, and I just couldn't watch anymore. And I like learning about the news, hence the journalism major.

I can't even imagine how painful it must be for people who don't really care, which, sadly, is a lot of the people my age. (Don't be offended, you know it's true.)

But "The Daily Show" takes a new approach to the news, saying "Hey. This is what happened, here is what we think about it, and now here is a joke. Laugh."

And we do. It's entertaining and painless. Not only that, but it doesn't overdo the news. It doesn't use lingo no one understands; it doesn't try to be smug.

It just tries to be funny, and in doing so, it holds the audience captive and educates them about the happenings around the world.

Not all news can be silly, and we do need to get the hard facts, too. But young people just don't watch the news, and that is a problem.

Pretty lengthy but it's very insightful.

Ouch, that has to hurt. Stephenson-Woodward, anybody?

In a landmark decision last night, the Student Government Elections Board of Claims disqualified SG president and vice president-elects Will Nash and Michelle Bishop.

A majority of board members found a "preponderance of evidence" supporting three claims against Nash and Bishop, and found that the violations constitute a "felony," as defined in the SG Constitution and disqualified Nash and Bishop as a result of these findings. The exact vote was not released.

Will Nash plans to appeal the decision.

The time has come. Kentucky will win an SEC Championship...in football. Long time coming but it will happen.

Ben Affleck's low profile can only mean two things: Boston Red Sox are playing baseball or John Kerry is running for president.

Appearing at a benefit last night for the Red Sox Foundation, the Cambridge actor was front and center, with a little help from his pal, Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live fame. Nearly every player -- with the notable exceptions of Manny Ramirez and Edgar Renteria -- and the entire management team -- principal owner John Henry, CEO Larry Lucchino, chairman Tom Werner, GM Theo Epstein -- were among the 900 in the Sheraton Hotel ballroom. The duo lovingly skewered the Sox to the delight of the crowd. On the massive size of the World Series rings, Affleck said: "[David] Ortiz's ring is only his fourth largest piece of jewelry." To which the actor added: "My ex-girlfriend wouldn't take that ring," in an apparent reference to Jennifer Lopez. Noting that the Sox were untouched by the steroid scandal, Affleck said: ''But if they test for chimichangas or excessive peroxide, Ortiz and Damon are facing lifetime bans." Continuing to work his way through the roster, Affleck cast an eye toward a pony-tailed Johnny Damon, offering that the centerfielder might want to tone it down a tad. "If Ben Affleck tells you you're overexposed," said the actor, ''that's like hearing it from Paris Hilton." Elsewhere in the room, actor-producer Fisher Stevens, a self-confessed fan of the Cubs and Yankees, explained why we've seen him at various playoff games and now opening day at Fenway. ''When your friend owns the team" you come to the games, Stevens said of his friendship with limited partner Michael Gordon. Also sighted were Cheers actor John Ratzenberger, comic Steve Sweeney, and lead singer Ken Casey and the Dropkick Murphys.

American Dreams star Tom Verica says that it's not dead yet. A 12-minute alternative ending would have been shown rather than what was shown on March 30, 2005.

Odds are slim, but it may not be over for American Dreams, says Philly-born star Tom Verica.

The fact that NBC chose to run Dreams' season-finale episode March 30 instead of a quickly produced alternative ending for the whole series bodes well for the struggling third-year drama, he says.

"I view it as a positive sign," says Verica, who plays patriarch Jack Pryor. "Our executive producer [Jonathan Prince] didn't want the alternate ending. He felt it would be the final nail in our coffin."

As the cast began production on the season finale in late February, NBC asked the producers to shoot an alternative ending that would tie up the story lines, according to Verica, 40, a Haverford High alum.

The acclaimed Dreams, set in Philly during the 1960s, revolves around the Pryor family. Dick Clark's American Bandstand serves as a backdrop, and Clark is an exec producer.

In the season cliffhanger, viewers saw Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow) defy her father by riding off to California with her draft-dodger boyfriend on his motorcycle.

The 12-minute alternative ending takes place three years later. On the day of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon, Meg returns home and faces her family.

That segment "felt thrown together, not really thought out," Verica says. "I'm glad it didn't air."

After production wrapped, "we all left not knowing which one would run. It was very strange not to know. Everything was so abrupt." About a week before broadcast, the cast was told.

Meanwhile, Dreams' fate won't be known until NBC announces its fall schedule to advertisers next month. The show "has a shot, but it's a long shot," says a high-ranking NBC executive.

As for fan reaction, Verica is surprised by the e-mail campaign to save Dreams.

"A lot of times, people say they love a show, but for someone to actually sit down at the computer and put something into action is a different thing.

"A family show like this, as a period piece, hits a chord with a lot of people who care about quality TV. You can't watch CSI with your 6-year-old. You can watch our show with anybody in your family."

Verica and the cast are under contract for three more years, but if NBC whacks Dreams, they can do other projects.

Britney Spears gave an exclusive interview to Veronica You. It was for the Los Angeles student's paper at school. Britney said You could ask anything You wanted to ask. I wonder if You wrote to Senator Jim Bunning, would he have told You yes or no to the Alzheimer's rumor.

Chris Shelton arrested for being loud. So can we arrest Michael Jackson for being annoying and too white?

Jennifer Aniston became Godmother. But who names their kid Coco? That's asking for trouble!

Paul Newman has gotten Julia Roberts acting for FREE. Also, included are Paul McCartney and Robin Williams.