Fox News, a brilliant think-tank of some of the best & brightest right-wing anchors and “journalists” working in television today, (falsely showcasing themselves as “Fair and Balanced” – thus having the un-intended side effect of immediately making their viewers question their objectivity without so much as watching a clip of news), further showcased how even a network of their questionable journalistic stature, couldn’t sink any lower in a humorous attempt to smear a sitting President, thus coming up with a brilliant poll out of questioning Obama’s appearance on The View with the following poll generated out of clear desperation:

Is It Right For Obama to Skip the Boy Scouts’ Jamboree?

They couldn’t stop there, they even came up with a huge article portraying Obama as irresponsible for missing this jamboree as well ending with the following quote from Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat:

“I think the president should be accessible, should answer questions that aren’t pre-screened, but I think there should be a little bit of dignity to the presidency,” Rendell told MSNBC, at one point comparing “The View” to “The Jerry Springer Show.”

There’s many reasons to “report” on the President the last time we checked. Actual NEWS for example? World affairs? White House Press briefings? In the meantime, we had a better recommendation for a Fox News poll and follow-up article:

Was Fox News coverage of Shirley Sherrod, decidedly racist and based on tampered video clips?

As the article and edited clip here suggests, Fox should expect a resounding “yes” in their poll results, regardless of what Bret Baier tries to further spin against Howard Dean’s claim of racism.

If you’re a Fox News Viewer, feel free to call their news hotline at: 1-888-369-4762 or feel free to email any of them and demand “actual news”, not sad attempts at political theater that are purely fabricated for entertainment ratings.

See Fox News’ amusing “defense” here against Howard Dean:

“Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson and John Zorn faced a furious crowd on Friday night, playing cacophonous music to a cacophony of boos at the Montreal International Jazz festival. Fans expecting Sweet Jane or Walk On the Wild Side were instead met by the skronk and skree of Reed’s more recent free-jazz work, infuriating sections of the crowd. As audience members hollered their complaints, Zorn responded. “If you don’t think it’s music, then get the fuck outta here.” Then the walk-outs began…”

One commenter in the Montreal Gazette commented:
“it was pure elitist, pretentious rubbish.”

More from the Gazette Review here…

See the video here:

Direct link

The tabloid online & print rag went right for the jugular with typical bottom-of-the-barrell-sensationalistic headline seen below…

Al Gore Sex Attack! (courtesy of the National Enquirer)

One might think that such a paper must be owned by someone “out to get Gore…” – interestingly enough, many people may not be aware that the prominent owner of the Enquirer is a prominent New York investment banker, and one of Hillary Clinton’s former key backers, Mr. Roger Altman.

According to a Politico piece from 2007, Altman was an official in the first Clinton administration, and his name was often mentioned as a “possible Clinton Treasury Secretary” in Hillary’s failed Presidential campaign. However, a spokesman for American Media (the parent company that Altman owns a large stake in, gave a statement in the 07′ Politico piece that Altman has “no involvement in editorial, ever.”

With that being said, as much as we want to laugh at the Enquirer, sometimes, just when you think Democratic candidates are un-touchable in public opinion, be very scared…

“On a humid Spring evening, Liz Harris (aka Grouper) played two sets in Issue Project Room’s stuffy main space. The first set included selections from her 2005 long player, Way Their Crept and the second consisted of a piece commissioned for The New Roaratoria series, a project that features contemporary artists creating new compositions that utilize the stunningly versatile computer controlled 15-channel speaker system unique to the venue.

Legend has it that most of Way Their Crept was recorded with bulky old analogue keyboards, which made performing tracks from the album on tour cumbersome at best. Issue Project Room removed that obstacle by providing a dusty old keyboard for Ms. Harris to run through her gauzy high fidelity defying pedal loops and hissing mass of portable cassette decks. With most of the subdued audience sitting on the coccyx crushing floor, the lights dimmed to a murky gray and a wall sized film projection of multiple candle flames flickering in and out of focus began.

This environment perfectly accompanied Ms. Harris’ instantly recognizable gorgeously creepy face melting ambience as she made her way through several tracks from Way Their Crept and even snuck in a performance of “Disengaged”, the opening track from the superb 2008 LP Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill.

Ms. Harris seemed to pour out notes rather than play them; the sound was so thick it made the already close air in the room seem positively adhesive. She stoically sat behind the old keyboard slowly plunking keys and quietly cooing vocalizations into the microphone without ever addressing or looking at the audience. At several points during the set she bent down somewhat self consciously to adjust her array of pedals and flip or change cassettes. During “Disengaged” she seemed so intent on getting a very specific sound out of one of her pedals that she repeatedly interrupted her own vocals. None of this seemed to disrupt the rapt attention she received from the audience who were either too respectful or drugged by the atmosphere to make any sound until she concluded the first set and the lights came back up, which prompted appropriately quiet but enthusiastic applause.

Ms. Harris returned after a short intermission and was assisted in replacing the arcane equipment used during the initial set, with a small folding table’s worth of new fangled electronic devices. The lights dimmed and the film began again and the audience was treated to a few minutes of technical problems before the Roaratoria commissioned piece began in earnest. Ms. Harris, seated at the small table, twiddled knobs and urged the speaker system to slowly encircle the audience with a subtly changing series of dense drones in a syrupy-super-slow-motion-Leslie-Amplifier effect as she gradually faded extremely delicate melodies in and out of the center of the sound mix.

Sitting in the dark with eyes closed and the vaguely ominous soundscape swirling slowly above their heads it was very difficult not to drift off into an uneasy sleep filled with simultaneously frighteningly dark and heartbreakingly beautiful images. The sound abruptly stopped and the lights returned as a very quiet “Thank you,” was heard and the audience slowly regained consciousness and applauded. As everyone shuffled dazedly in the vaporous Friday evening along the Gowanus Canal, one attendee said, “I need her to do that in my apartment every night right before I go to sleep!” Amen and pleasant dreams.”

Anyway, she violated her parole violation supposedly for tampering with her “Anti-booze” bracelet, or something like that…She denied this in a brilliant update to her Twitter page which we won’t bother to print here. In other news today, John Stamos is going to be on Glee next season…

She was really broken up over it too:

“So it is with a heavy heart that I ask you to forgive me for mistakenly naming graduates of the other Wheaton College in my address.

I now know I should have named National Medal of Science winner Dr. Mary Ellen Avery, former New Jersey Governor and former EPA Director Christie Todd Whitman, literary agent Esther Newberg, Oscar-nominated actress Catherine Keener and Ken Babby, the youngest senior officer in the history of the Washington Post, among others. Thank goodness I got Leslie Stahl right.

I am mortified by my mistake, and can only hope the purity of my motive, to find a way to connect with the graduates and to encourage them to a life of service, will allow you to forgive me.”

Relax Ann, we all make mistakes, just find a better research assistant!

Dio revealed last summer that he was suffering from stomach cancer shortly after wrapping up a tour in Atlantic City, N.J. with the latest incarnation of Black Sabbath, under the name Heaven And Hell. Read more here…>