Got a link from Ace, clicked on it, and realized that I'm pretty much exclusively on Twitter these days, except that I hardly do that anymore either. The circle is now complete - Blog reader ---> Blog writer ---> Blog reader.
I like U2, and I'm looking forward to No Line On The Horizon and whatnot, but I gotta say that the fact that Bono is now a regular guest columnist for the New York Times is just, well... It says something about the Times, now, doesn't it?
And goodness, can't he come up with something new to write? He's been telling that Sinatra story since 1995 at least.
But on the bright side, there's a killer audio stream of Sinatra singing "My Way" on the page.
Putting politics aside for a moment, I'd like to express my best wishes to Madelyn Dunham, Barack Obama's grandmother, who appears to be gravely ill. It's a rough thing to go through with any grandparent, and I'd imagine that this situation would be especially tough for Sen. Obama, considering that his grandmother played a major role in raising him when he was young. My thoughts are with Mrs. Dunham and the Obama family in this trying time.
Cool lady. But a word of advice: When you're driving Laura Ingraham anywhere, don't get distracted by fiddling with the A/C and accidentally drift onto the rumble strips along the highway. She doesn't react well to that.
Having had a situation like Bristol's in my family, I know that it takes a lot of guts to do the right thing and keep the baby. She's got a lot of hard work in front of her. My hope and prayer is that everything works out for her and the baby's father.
This is turning out to be quite a year for the Palin family, between Trig, this new and unexpected baby, and the whole VP thing. I have great respect for them based on what I've seen so far, and I really regret that they've had to face the kind of ridiculous rumors that have been swirling around for the past 48 hours. Sarah seems to be a class act and a tough lady, and I wish her and her family the best as they go through this together.
A lawsuit against Scientology that names Tom Cruise as a defendant? Yes Please!
Tom Cruise is named in a $250 million federal lawsuit that is using the RICO statute against the Church of Scientology. Ex-Scientologist Peter Letterese, a longtime critic of the church, filed suit in Southern District Court in Florida on July 15 alleging, among other things, that members of the church harassed him after he left.
In court papers provided to The News by investigator Paul Barresi, Letterese claims a member of the church phoned his lawyer at home, and when the lawyer's wife answered, said he was her husband's homosexual lover.
Barresi, who has done investigative work on behalf of Cruise, tells us: "[Letterese] is just including a celebrity name to get attention."
Letterese calls the church a "crime syndicate" and wants it broken up under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law, just as the feds have broken up Mafia families.
He singles out Cruise, who's made no secret of his religion, saying that Scientology head David Miscavage is "aided and abetted by the actions of Tom Cruise, his right-hand man for foreign and domestic promotion, as well as for foreign and domestic lobbying. He has assisted the syndicate in acquiring funds and [made] his own donations of money believed to be in the multiple tens of millions of dollars."
