Robert Novak diagnosed with brain tumor

Just saw this at Political Wire:

Political columnist Robert Novak "was admitted yesterday to a Boston hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor," according to Human Events.

In a written statement, Novak said, "I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period."

Last week, Novak was cited for hitting a pedestrian and later said he had no idea he had done it.

Wow.

Vote Louisville!

Louisville is one of the finalists for ESPN's Titletown. Click now to vote. You have until 3 PM on July 28, 2008, and the winner will be announced during Sportscenter at 6 PM later that evening.

All things Apatow and Rogen...

Because everyone likes to ready about Funny Jews, right?

An early review of Pineapple Express. I won't excerpt it here because I, um, have not yet seen it.

Look, if you are going to publish an interview, please bold the questions.

What makes a good comedian?

People don't need to be famous to be funny. If someone makes me laugh, I think, why shouldn't they be the star of the movie? I don't need the biggest star in the world. But having said that, the guys who are the real superstars - John C. Reilly, [Will] Ferrell, Adam Sandler - they're stars for a reason. They're good because they're good. They're not good because they're famous.

Apatow was honored at Just for Laughs in Montreal.

Stars of his films and friends roasted Apatow, with Bill Hader recalling how he told lunch time jokes in sixth grade that he ripped off from the award winner's MTV appearances back then. "There was this guy who performed in tight jeans, shirt tucked in and a mullet," he reminisced.

Seth Rogen thanked Apatow for allowing him to have money and a nice house.

Apatow himself started off saying one friend had to cut out early to catch "Batman" instead of his award presentation.

"I couldn't even fill the f*#ing room," he said, looking around. "And I'm the guy with the jobs."
He also told the crowd that he enjoyed a video montage of his film hits shown earlier in the program. "It just gives me credit for all the things others have done," Apatow quipped.

He also lauded many of his friends and partners along his career path.

For example, he lauded Ben Stiller as the "father" of a lot of current cutting-edge comedy. And Apatow thanked him and Garry Shandling for teaching him many important things. Will Ferrell and others were also on his list of people to thank.

Apatow closed by sharing the story of how he tried out for the Just for Laughs comedy festival when he was younger and didn't get in. But now, he finally found a way to get to Montreal and enjoyed every minute, he said.

Entertainment Weekly interviewed Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Step Brothers is due out on Friday.

Obama/Bayh?

The Fix makes the case for Evan Bayh as Vice President. Nothing would please me more!

Millar talks Supes...again

You can read Mark Millar's interview at Den of Geek. Here's an excerpt though:

I genuinely had waited since 1987, Superman 4; buying magazines, checking it out online when the internet came along, just praying for a Superman movie. And managing to snare a draft of the Tim Burton scripts, and probably versions people haven’t even bothered looking at. I’ve probably read them all. So I was really anticipating this Superman movie. In the end it just sort of came out and didn’t do all that well, and it sort of deflated me on Superman; it took me a couple of years to get back into it again. Obviously Superman has a huge place in my heart.

The ‘director’ phoned me about a month ago, and said ‘Look, I’ve got absolutely no authorisation from Warner Brothers, because Warners aren’t looking in particular, but I want to have all my soldiers lined up, just in case.” He said “I want to do a complete reboot of the Superman franchise”. He said “I know you’ve got a huge passion for it and the buzz on Wanted is great”. I think it was the week before Wanted opened. He said “I’d just like you to be a part of it. I think there’d be a really good fan reaction, because people have said they’d like to see what you’d do with it. And I’d just like you to be part of the team. Are you interested?"

Millar also predicts a bust in 2014.

How much longer do you think this incredible surge of popularity for superhero movies can continue?

I think probably six years. I think I said to you that I’m very interested in patterns, and a few years back I worked it out on a sine-graph. It was back in the mid-nineties, when everyone was losing their jobs – remember than in 1993-94 the industry halved it’s size, and then halved it’s size again the following year. Everybody was going ‘Oh my God, it’s the end of comics!’. But I just remembered the interview I’d read with Denny O’Neill the year before, and Denny O’Neill was saying in the 1980s that we could never have anticipated the graphic novel boom, because back in the seventies we were all losing our jobs. That got me really interested so what I did was to look at sales figures going across about six decades, and saw that patterns, which describes a peak in the forties, a trough in the fifties, a peak in the sixties...

It’s like any other economic cycle; there’s booms and there’s busts. And I remember just comforting myself in the nineties by thinking ‘You know what? We’re all skint right now, nobody can get any work, but in ten years’ time it’s going to be great!’. And I remember saying this to my friends. I hadn’t really had my break yet, so they must have thought I was a lunatic. I was saying I thought it was going to be really brilliant.

But I couldn’t really have anticipated guys like myself or Frank Miller holding onto the copyrights on things and getting lots of money from the movies and that kind of thing, but I just knew something great was going to happen. And this is it. But I think the next bust will probably happen around 2014, just as it happened in 1994. And that kind of ties in with the slate of movies that are coming up. I think we’re nowhere near the doom yet, I think it’s still building.

But you’ve got to think that by 2011 the Avengers movie will be out, and that’s going to be huge. And then 2013 I think is going to be the absolute apex of it. There’s going to be the Justice League movie, you’ll have Avengers 2, a new Superman franchise up and running...saturation! You’re going to be on Spiderman 5...and then I think it will all crash after that.

The Dark Knight

Go see this movie. What Christopher Nolan has done with the franchise is unbelievable. To future generations, Christian Bale IS the Batman.

And go give Heath Ledger an Oscar now.

And if DC thinks they can get away with a Justice League movie without Christian Bale or Brandon Routh, they are wrong.

11 Current or Former Cardinals particpate in All-Star festivities

Former Cardinals honored before the game during the honoring of 49 Hall of Famers able to make the game:
P: Steve Carlton, Dennis Eckersley, Bob Gibson, Bruce Sutter
1B: Orlando Cepeda
SS: Ozzie Smith
OF: Lou Brock

Current or former Cardinals that made either All Star roster: Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick, Dan Haren and J.D. Drew.

That made for a total of 11 current or former Cardinals represented.

Now for all of the Hall of Famers that did make the game:
P: Steve Carlton, Dennis Eckersley, Bob Feller, Rollie Fingers, Bob Gibson, Ferguson Jenkins, Juan Marichal, Phil Niekro, Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, Robin Roberts, Bruce Sutter, Don Sutton, Goose Gossage and Whitey Ford
C: Gary Carter, Yogi Berra
1B: Orlando Cepeda, Harmon Killebrew, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez and Willie McCovey
2B: Rod Carew, Bill Mazeroski and Ryne Sandberg
3B: Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, George Brett and Wade Boggs
SS: Luis Aparicio, Ozzie Smith, Robin Yount, Ernie Banks and Cal Ripken Jr.
OF: Lou Brock, Billy Williams, Ralph Kiner, Willie Mays, Tony Gwynn, Al Kaline, Frank Robinson, Dave Winfield, Hank Aaron and Reggie Jackson
DH: Paul Molitor
Managers: Earl Weaver, Tommy Lasorda and Dick Williams
Front Office: Lee MacPhail

George Steinbrenner delievered the ceremonial first pitch balls which were thrown by Goose Gossage, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson to current Yankees that were at the game: Reggie Jackson threw to Alex Rodriguez, Yogi Berra to Joe Girardi, Whitey Ford to Jeter and Goose Gossage to Mariano Rivera.

I would have liked to have seen Stan the Man and Red in attendence but I guess they were unable to make the trip due to their health.

When they introduced the managers, I thought they skipped the catchers but given the fact that Yogi Berra is one of the greatest Yankees of all times, it made sense to do that position last...not just that but unlike the other positions, the starters were introduced before the Hall of Famers.

All 63 players saw action including UK alumnus Brandon Webb, who just pitched this past Sunday.

Billy Crystal to host documentary on Ameriican Comedy

Which is just an evolution of Jewish humor in America...

I just saw this in a newsletter and for my sake, I hope this is on PBS:
Billy Crystal signed on to host the six-hour documentary series Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Ghost Light Films. The documentary, which is slated to air next January, will look at the various forms of American comedy and its evolution as it relates to social issues, political change and its commentary on American life. It will also look at some of the top comedic talents from the past and present such as Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, George Carlin, Jon Stewart and more.

Captive soldiers held since 2006 are dead

A sad news story broke today from the Middle East. Two Israeli soldiers, held captive since 2006, have been confirmed to have died. My condolences go out to their families and friends at this time.

Hezbollah confirmed that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, Israeli soldiers it seized in a 2006 border raid, are dead.

The Lebanese militia delivered two black coffins to the Israeli border on Wednesday, saying they contained the bodies of Goldwasser and Regev.

The Red Cross received the coffins and was to hand them over to Israel as part of a prisoner exchange. Israel reserved comment on the soldiers' condition pending forensic tests to identify the bodies.

On the Israeli side of the border, Prisons Service officials prepared to free five jailed Lebanese terrorists who were to be repatriated under the German-mediated deal.

The bodies of 199 slain Arab terrorists were also trucked from an Israeli military cemetery to Rosh Hanikra border crossing, where they were to be received by the Red Cross.

2008 Midseason Awards

We've reached the halfway point of the 2008 baseball season and it's time to update my award picks based on statistics and the standings. As you may recall, my original picks were made with this posting here.

Based on the current standings, here is what the playoffs look like.

National League
East: Philadelphia Phillies
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks
Wild Card: St. Louis Cardinals

American League
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Chicago White Sox
West: Los Angeles Angels
Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays

And for the midseason awards...

National League
Most Valuable Player: Chase Utley, PHI (25 HR)
Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, SF (11-2, 2.57, 135 K)
Rookie of the Year: Edinson Volquez, CIN (12-3, 2.29 ERA, 126 K)

American League
Most Valuable Player: Josh Hamilton, TEX (21 HR, 95 RBI)
Cy Young: Roy Halladay, TOR (11-6, 2.71, 121 K)
Honorable mention: Joe Saunders, LAA (12-5, 3.07, 63 K)
Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, TB (16 HR, 53 RBI)

Billy Packer is out

I'm not sure what to think about this. One one hand, I loathe Billy Packer for all of his pro-ACC commentating. On the other hand, it's not the NCAA tournament without the Nantz/Packer combo. Either way, this came out in the Miami Herald today.

College basketball commentator Billy Packer, who has announced 34 consecutive Final Fours on network television and created a few controversies along the way, will not be returning to CBS for a 28th season, The Miami Herald has learned.

CBS has decided to replace Packer, 68, with studio analyst Clark Kellogg on its lead announcing team.

An announcement is expected Monday, but CBS representative Leslie Anne Wade confirmed the story Sunday night.

CBS believed the time was right for a change and that Kellogg deserved a chance to work with Jim Nantz on the lead team.

Packer, who had been going year to year with his contract, confirmed through a CBS official Sunday that he no longer will broadcast for the network but is pursuing other projects in basketball. Packer declined to comment further.

Packer's streak of working as the color analyst at every championship game since 1977 (and being a part of every Final Four broadcast since 1975) ranks among the most remarkable in network TV sports history.

"I think Billy has given the most professional accounting of basketball in the history of our game as a commentator," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said recently.

Packer spent his first seven years at NBC, where he initially teamed with Curt Gowdy and, later, with Dick Enberg and Al McGuire in what has been considered one of the most entertaining three-man booths in sportscasting history. He joined CBS in 1981 and has been paired with Nantz since 1991.

Packer had a serious, no-nonsense style -- the antithesis of the approach taken by ESPN's Dick Vitale, the other announcer most often associated with the sport.

Though he occasionally mixed in historical factoids, Packer stuck mostly to dissecting strategy and assessing players' strengths and weaknesses -- a style that helped him win a Sports Emmy in 1993.

"No one has ever loved the game of college basketball more than Billy Packer," Nantz said recently. "He protects the heart and soul of the sport. Fans don't realize they owe Billy a thank-you."[...]

Packer created a stir in 2006 when he blasted the inclusion of mid-majors in the NCAA Tournament. He repeatedly questioned the accuracy of Nielsen ratings and also blamed the NBA for raiding the sport of its young stars, which drew the ire of commissioner David Stern.

As a guard, Packer helped lead Wake Forest to the 1962 Final Four and served briefly as an assistant coach at the school.

Kellogg, 47, was a Big Ten MVP at Ohio State and the ninth overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 1982 NBA Draft, but he played only five seasons before knee problems forced him to retire. He joined ESPN in 1990 and has been with CBS since 1993.

Greg Anthony, an NBA analyst for ESPN, is being strongly considered to replace Kellogg alongside Greg Gumbel and Seth Davis in the CBS studio.

Trade Talks

I know it's satire but Bob Gibson is making a comeback.

In more serious news, on Baseball Tonight last night, Peter Gammons thinks the Cards are a leader if Toronto does decide to move A.J. Burnett.

RIP: Tony Snow

May Tony Snow rest in peace. Bobby Murcer left us today as well.

It's bad a sad few weeks with Paul Sills, Bo Diddley, Tim Russert, Stan Winston, and George Carlin leaving us. I'm sure there are others as well.

Hulk might not get sequel?

No fun at all. The Incredible Hulk was such a great movie...it's up there on my list with Iron Man.

I'm not sure if it was bad marketing or if everyone just thought it was a sequel to the 2003 disaster. It's not a sequel...it's a reboot.

Here's this article.

Five years ago, Hulk, the first movie based on Marvel's hulking green comic book character, rang up $245 million in worldwide box office but was widely dismissed as a commercial failure.

The second attempt, The Incredible Hulk, amped up the fun factor and dialed down the brooding of director Ang Lee's original but is unlikely to gross significantly higher than its predecessor and might not spawn a sequel. And it's been dubbed a success.

What gives?

"We're happy with the financial results, even if they (only) reach the first film's levels," a Marvel insider insisted. "Having a sequel is not the definition of success."[...]

After four weekends, the Louis Leterrier-directed The Incredible Hulk has earned $125 million, the same as what Hulk had pulled in at the same time in its run. Hulk finished with $132 million, and its successor is unlikely to do much better.

Its foreign rollout is still in progress, with comics-friendly Japan among the territories the remake has yet to bow, but it appears likely that the Edward Norton starrer will struggle to reach $130 million internationally. The first film tallied $113.2 million overseas.

Action films tend to outperform internationally, though comic book adaptations can be a different matter if the fan base skews American. Marvel touts the Hulk comic franchise as its second most popular worldwide, after Spider-Man.

"All we can say as a studio is that we are very pleased with the result," Universal domestic distribution president Nikki Rocco said.

Welcome back, Mark!

It's only fitting that Mark announces his return when I was going to announce that I won't be blogging all that frequent for the rest of the year. I mean, I'll be blogging...it just won't be as frequent as days past.

Iran testing missles

Iran tested missles that are capable of reaching Israel.

missiles, including a long-range Shehab-3, as part of a large-scale
war game Wednesday.

Israel and U.S. assets in the Persian Gulf are within Shehab range.

Hossein Salami, a commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said in a televised address that "thousands" of missiles are ready for firing in a real war.

Independent analysts, however, believe that Iran has a few dozen long-range missiles in its arsenal.

Interesting poll results.

The 39 percent of U.S. Jews who said religion is important in their daily lives evenly split their support for the presumptive candidates in November -- Arizona's McCain for the Republicans and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democrats -- at 45 percent, according to a Gallup Poll released Tuesday.

For Jews who said religion is not important, however, McCain picked up only 26 percent to 68 percent for Obama.

For all Americans who say religion is important, McCain received the support of 50 percent to Obama's 40 percent. Those who said religion is not important backed Obama over McCain, 55 percent to 36 percent.

The percentage of Jews who said religion was important fell well below the overall national average. Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed said religion is important to them, according to the poll.

Baseball in the Bible?

Baseball has roots dating back to the Bible.

The Veepstakes

We're just about a month and a half away from the DNC convention and someone still has to pick their vice president.

Chris Bowers posted the short list a while back.

Here's the list of those still standing:
Evan Bayh (Sen-IN)
Joe Biden (Sen-DE)
Hillary Clinton (Sen-NY)
Tom Daschle (Sen-SD)
Tim Kaine (Gov-VA)
Patty Murray (Sen-WA)
Bill Nelson (Sen-FL)
Sam Nunn (Sen-GA)
Jack Reed (Sen-RI)
Kathleen Sebelius (Gov-KS)

Not interested or removed from consideration:
Wes Clark (Gen-AR)
Chris Dodd (Sen-CT)
James Jones (Gen-MO)
Jim Webb (Sen-VA)

Running for Senate in 2008:
John Kerry (Sen-MA)
Mark Warner (Gov-VA)

There's one name on that list that really excites me and that goes without saying who it is...

KSR jumps the shark

Thomas, shame on you. You won't get away with calling the St. Louis Cardinals a filthy organization.

All-Star Rosters Announced

American League
Starting Lineup
C - Joe Mauer, MIN
1B - Kevin Youkilis, BOS
2B - Dustin Pedroia, BOS
SS - Derek Jeter, NYY
3B - Alex Rodriguez, NYY
OF - Josh Hamilton, TEX
OF - Manny Ramirez, BOS
OF
Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
DH - David Ortiz, BOSº

Pitchers
Justin Duchscherer, OAK
Roy Halladay, TOR
Scott Kazmir, TB
Cliff Lee, CLE
Joe Nathan, MIN
Jonathan Papelbon, BOS
Mariano Rivera, NYY
Francisco Rodriguez, LAA
Ervin Santana, LAA
Joe Saunders, LAA
George Sherrill, BAL
Joakim Soria, KC

Reserves
C - Dioner Navarro, TB
C - Jason Varitek, BOS
1B - Justin Morneau, MIN
2B - Ian Kinsler, TEX
SS - Michael Young, TEX
3B - Joe Crede, CWS
3B - Carlos Guillen, DET
OF - J.D. Drew, BOS
OF - Carlos Quentin, CWS
OF - Grady Sizemore, CLE
DH - Milton Bradley, TEX

National League
Starting Lineup
C - Geovany Soto, CHC
1B - Lance Berkman, HOU
2B - Chase Utley, PHI
SS - Hanley Ramirez, FLA
3B - Chipper Jones, ATL
OF - Ryan Braun, MIL
OF - Kosuke Fukudome, CHC
OF - Alfonso Soriano, CHC

Pitchers
Aaron Cook, COL
Ryan Dempster, CHC
Dan Haren, ARI
Brad Lidge, PHI
Tim Lincecum, SF
Ben Sheets, MIL
Edinson Volquez, CIN
Billy Wagner, NYM
Brandon Webb, ARI
Brian Wilson, SF
Kerry Wood, CHC
Carlos Zambrano, CHC

Reserves
C - Russell Martin, LA
C - Brian McCann, ATL
1B - Adrian Gonzalez, SD
1B - Albert Pujols, STL
2B - Dan Uggla, FLA
3B - Aramis Ramirez, CHC
SS - Cristian Guzman, WAS
SS - Miguel Tejada, HOU
OF - Matt Holliday, COL
OF - Ryan Ludwick, STL
OF - Nate McLouth, PIT

Independence Photos

Quote of the Day

"I believe that (the adoption of the Declaration of Independence) will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other."
-- John Adams

The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

G-d Bless the U.S.A.

G-d Bless the U.S.A
by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone
I'd worked for all my life,
And I had to start again
with just my children and my wife,
I'd thank my lucky stars
to be living here today,
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom
and they can't take that away.

I'm proud to be an American
where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
G-d Bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota
to the hills of Tennessee,
Across the plains of Texas
from sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston
and New York to L.A.,
There's pride in every American heart
and it's time we stand and say:

I'm proud to be an American
where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
G-d Bless the U.S.A.

BBC=Biased Broadcasting Company

Want proof? Click here!

While BBC Online currently covers the story "Bulldozer rampage hits Jerusalem," this was not the original headline. Offering a glimpse into the BBC's warped journalism, the initial headline read "Israel bulldozer driver shot dead."

While, this time, we were able to catch the BBC before it amended its headline, this example offers further evidence of the BBC's mindset - the initial instinct to portray Israel as an aggressor and a Palestinian as a victim even if that Palestinian was actively involved in a terrorist attack against innocent civilians.

Seriously, WTF?

this search landed on my blog.

A reader using Pacbell.net landed here from Los Angeles, California. They spent two minutes to figure out that David Eckstein wasn't Jewish and neither is Rajon Rondo.

Seriously.

WTF?

Holy Batman!

I don't know how accurate this is but IMDB is reporting that Batman actor Christian Bale will not show up for work if they ever introduce Robin into the franchise.

Batman star Christian Bale has declared he will quit the comic book movie franchise if producers ever decide to reintroduce the caped crusader's sidekick Robin.

Bale took on the role of the legendary action hero in 2005's Batman Begins and will be seen again in The Dark Knight, which is due for release later this month.

But the actor is hoping that the character of Robin is not brought back into any of future Batman movies - because he will resign in protest.

He says, "If Robin crops up in one of the new Batman films, I'll be chaining myself up somewhere and refusing to go to work."

Robin, also known as the Boy Wonder or Dick Grayson, first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in 1940.

Unless you live in a cave, you were probably aware that NBC decided to rerun the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live over the weekend. Why? George Carlin was the first host of the show. Ever.

Here's an excerpt of a statement Lorne Michaels made:

It's both a very cool and a very sad thing that "Saturday Night Live" this week will re-air its first episode ever because it was hosted by George Carlin.

The sad part, of course, is that Carlin died June 22 of heart failure. NBC is bringing out the 1975 show that started it all (at 11:30 p.m. Saturday) as both a tribute and a bid for ratings.

You have to believe that Carlin, student of irony that he was, would have appreciated the move, for all its reasons. He was also the perfect guy to join the "SNL" bunch 33 years ago when he, NBC and the Not Ready For Prime Time Players took a leap of faith to try something then startlingly new for TV.

"He was gracious, fearless and, most important of all, funny," "SNL" creator, Lorne Michaels, said in a press statement.