Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Elton John Plays Oprah for Hillary
2. Justice Antonin Scalia's 'Trial as Entertainment' Objection
3. George Clooney on the Sales Defense
4. Late-Night Campaigning
5. Media Violence May Be Hazardous to Your Health
1. Elton John Plays Oprah for Hillary
Looks like Elton John is Hillary Clinton's Oprah.
The perennial piano man was recently able to bring in a whopping 2.5 mill for Hill and her presidential hope chest.
John expressed his fondness for the New York Senator and gushed, "There is no one more qualified to lead America."
Adding some glitter-free commentary, he criticized folks in the U.S. for "the misogynist attitude of some of the people in this country."
"I say to hell with them," he told the crowd that was gathered at New York's Radio City Music Hall, and boldly declared, "I love you, Hillary."
John apparently felt compelled to invoke the name of the late great Ronald Reagan, telling the audience that his next song, "The Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes," was about a child who was dying from AIDS.
"The Reagan administration did nothing to help people with AIDS, and that is a disgrace," John said.
Hillary joined John on the concert stage and used one of his hits to make her case.
"What I want you to know is 'I'm Still Standing,' and I believe this country is worth fighting for. So we're taking our campaign to Pennsylvania and all the states that haven't voted," she said.
Evidently, Hillary forgot to let the crowd in on the next line of the tune: "Yeah yeah yeah."
2. Justice Antonin Scalia's 'Trial as Entertainment' Objection
Antonin Scalia is a living judicial treasure, an individual who is on the bench of the United States Supreme Court through an act of providence.
Justice Scalia recently turned his formidable rhetorical skills in the direction of those who would like to give courtroom proceedings the Hollywood treatment.
Although Justice Scalia has no problem with the coverage of Supreme Court proceedings on C-SPAN, he is far from ready to accept the idea that TV cameras should be capturing trials in local courthouses.
"To make entertainment out of real people's legal troubles is quite sick," Scalia said on C-SPAN's "Students and Leaders," adding, "You want to entertain the public? Hire actors and put on Perry Mason or something."
In trademark wisdom, he explained, "I don't think it is right to make enjoyment out of litigation, civil or criminal."
3. George Clooney on the Sales Defense
George Clooney is one of several celebrities who deserve credit for bringing attention to the horrific situation in Darfur.
But it appears as though the actor has a sore spot he'd rather not talk about.
Movie stars make piles of cash as spokespersons for products that are sold overseas. Celebs are comfortable with the arrangement because when they give sales of products outside the U.S. an assist, it doesn't diminish their mystique with American fans.
Curiously, when the subject of Clooney's hawking of goods for foreign companies comes up, he dodges the issue like a seasoned pol.
While over in Rome promoting his recent box-office disappointment, "Leatherheads," Clooney told the entertainment reporters, "If someone tries to sell you clothes or watches that are based on me, don't buy them."
Clooney has been paid handsomely to be the spokesperson for the Swiss watch company, Omega. The company has even dubbed the star an "Omega Ambassador."
It just so happens, though, that Omega is one of the major sponsors of the 2008 Olympics, which will take place in China. And the Sudan, the same country that has failed to take action to stop the killing in Darfur, is supported by China.
Clooney may have given us a good idea with his Rome comment after all.
If someone tries to sell us watches that are based on him, let's not buy them, especially if the timepieces are made by a company whose policies lend a corrupt hand to human rights atrocities.
4. Late-Night Campaigning
Things sure have changed.
For the past several decades, any candidate who aspired to become leader of the free world wouldn't think of sitting on a late-night comedy show sofa.
Now they all do.
The political laws of late-night were forever changed when a saxophone playing, sunglass wearing Bill Clinton appeared on "The Arsenio Hall Show" in 1992.
Today's political consultants view late-night audiences as folks who wouldn't normally tune in to watch political shows. So late-night appearances have essentially become a way for campaigns to get a ton of free publicity and reach audiences they may not otherwise.
John McCain announced his candidacy on the "Late Show with David Letterman." Fred Thompson launched his campaign on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Mike Huckabee engaged in a reprise appearance on Leno, invoking the image of Bill Clinton by picking up an electric bass guitar and jamming with the band. Barack Obama lent his famed oratorical skills to Letterman's Top 10 list. Hillary Clinton strategically timed her late-night appearances to coincide with primary contests.
After becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, McCain appeared on the "Late Show" to respond tongue-in-cheek to Letterman's age jokes about him. He gave the longtime late-night host a taste of his own medicine with some roast style humor, including the quip: "You look like a guy caught smuggling reptiles in his pants."
Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert speaks often of his late-night comedy influence, referring to it as the "Colbert Bump."
University of California, San Diego professor James Fowler took the "Colbert Bump" seriously enough to conduct research to determine its effect. Fowler calls his results the "first scientific evidence of Stephen Colbert's influence on political campaigns."
Fowler's study found that House candidates who appeared on Colbert's show were able, in the 30 days following the appearance, to raise 44% more money than those who didn't.
There was a catch, though. The phenomenon only worked for Democrats.
For Republican candidates, there was no difference for those who took to the Colbert stage and those who didn't.
5. Media Violence May Be Hazardous to Your Health
According to a University of Michigan study recently published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, watching media violence isn't just bad for kids; it's bad for adults.
Professor L. Rowell Huesmann looked at over fifty years of research that dealt with the effects of exposure to violence in various kinds of media, including movies, TV and video games.
"The research clearly shows that exposure to virtual violence increases the risk that both children and adults will behave aggressively," Huesmann explains.
Hollywood figures like Rob Reiner have been up in arms about smoking scenes in movies, but few seem to care about the ultra-violent depictions.
Huesamann warns: "Exposure to violent electronic media has a larger effect than all but one other well-known threat to public health. The only effect slightly larger than the effect of media violence on aggression is that of cigarette smoking on lung cancer."
This information is timely in that a recent film that made the #1 box-office spot is a remake of the 1980 slasher movie, "Prom Night," and brought in $22.7 million.
Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution, tells the Associated Press that because we are in the prom season, the psycho killer film "brings an element of fun."
No wonder Hollywood's box-office is down 16 % when compared to the same weekend last year.
Looking forward, just like last year's comic book based "Spiderman 3," Tinseltown is pinning its hopes on an upcoming release, also comic book based, the Robert Downey Jr. vehicle, "Iron Man."
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