Sony Pulls The Interview From Theaters After Suspected North Korean Hackers Issue Threats

Sony Films announced this week that they were cancelling the release of the Seth Rogen comedy The Interview after the studio's emails and files were on the receiving end of a sophisticated hack.

Sony has confirmed it has no plans to release the satirical film The Interview internationally, in any form, following threats from hackers.

Cinemas in the US cancelled screenings of the film, about a plot to kill North Korea's leader, prompting Sony to shelve it altogether.

But there has been dismay in Hollywood, with Ben Stiller calling the move "a threat to freedom of expression".

Hackers had issued a warning to cinema-goers who planned to watch the movie.

Sony said it was "deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie".

"We respect and understand our partners' decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theatre-goers," the studio said.

It added: "We stand by our film-makers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."

The cancellation comes after hackers calling themselves Guardians of Peace released emails and data stolen from Sony in late November.

In a later warning to cinemas screening The Interview, they referred to the 9/11 attacks, claiming "the world will be full of fear".

"Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time," the hacker group wrote, in a message on Tuesday.

"Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment."

Sony had given theatres in the US and Canada the option to bow out of showing The Interview in the wake of the threats.

Sony had given theater chains throughout North America the option to pull out of showing The Interview. Once major chains like Regal Cinemas [NYSE- RGC], Cinemark [NYSE- CNK] and AMC Cinemas [NYSE- AMC] opted out of distributing the film that reportedly had a cascading effect on other distributors.

The comedy stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as two bumbling Hollywood insiders who manage to land an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and are recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.

The move by Sony to pull The Interview from its scheduled Christmas day release as condemned by many in Hollywood, Washington DC and on social media, with actor Rob Lowe [who has a cameo in the film, according to the IMDB- NANESB!] tweeting that Sony's decision "would've made Neville Chamberlain proud". Comedian Steve Carell simply tweeted a clip from Charlie Chaplin's 1940 satire The Great Dictator in which Chaplin was mimickinng Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's speeches and mannerisms.

Shortly after Sony announced the cancellation of The Interview, some theaters announced that they would be airing the 2004 comedy Team America: World Police which mocked Kim Jong Un's father and then North Korean-leader Kim Jong Il. However, Paramount Pictures has told theaters not to air the movie.

What Do Cattle, Porn Starlets, Toyota and Hot Sauce Have in Common?

They're all getting out of Dodge California and heading for greener pastures- in some cases, literally.

Beset by higher taxes, above-average unemployment and among the highest cost of living in the USA, it's no secret that Californians have been moving out of state annually by the hundreds of thousands in recent years. This should come as no surprise with recent scandals and corruption involving California's political class coupled with onerous, intrusive and often absurd regulations for businesses passed on the state, county and municipal level.

Sensing discontent among Californians and business owners, Texas governor Rick Perry rolled out the welcome mat for Golden Staters with a PR blitz, offering lower taxes and a lower cost of living than California as well as business incentives for those companies who set up shop in the Lone Star state.

Although incumbent California governor Jerry Brown crassly dismissed Perry's efforts as 'barely a fart', it appears as though the Lone Star State's lobbying has been producing results. At the end of April, Japanese automaker Toyota announced that they would be moving their North American headquarters from the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance to Plano, TX starting in 2016. The move by Toyota [NYSE: TM] is expected to consolidate 4,000 employees from marketing, manufacturing and corporate operations to the suburban Dallas facility. In 2003, Toyota broke ground on a plant near San Antonio that produces the Tundra and Tacoma pickup trucks.

On a smaller scale, Irwindale, CA-based Huy Fong foods- maker of the Sriracha hot sauce- has been locked in a legal battle with the city council after the council threatened to declare Huy Fong a nuisance and threatening them with fines or closure after receiving complaints from four households regarding the fumes resulting from processing chili peppers. Although Huy Fong CEO David Tran stated publicly that he has no immediate plans to relocate the Irwindale facility, the company welcomed a delegation of Texas lawmakers in May. A company spokesman said that relocation wouldn't be as straightforward for Huy Fong because local producers of Sriracha ingredients such as chilis and vinegar couldn't pull up and move to Texas with them. However, botanists working on behalf of Tran have begun examining the soil in parts Texas to see if it's conducive to growing the variety of chilis used in Sriracha sauce. There's also concern over variables in the Texas weather such as flooding, hurricanes, drought and hail as well as competing bids from within California and other states.

However, not all the businesses exiting California have decided to head to the Lone Star state. Once considered the hub of the adult entertainment industry, California's San Fernando Valley has been hit hard by the advent of online pornography. The number of permits to film in the San Fernando Valley plummeted after a law requiring adult film stars to wear a condom while performing went into effect late last year. The measure was a Los Angeles county ballot initiative that was approved by voters in 2012. In response to the measure, studios and actors shipped themselves a few hours up Interstate 15 to Las Vegas where the cost of doing business was lower than in California and there were no regulations to mandate the wearing of condoms. Industry insiders say that its much cheaper to rent out warehouses for filming or mansions or hotel suites to accommodate talent for the duration of a shoot.

Nor are all the Californians leaving the state two-legged. Thanks to an ongoing drought and the closure of a massive slaughterhouse in the Imperial Valley town of Brawley, ranchers in California have been selling off cattle to Texas, Nevada and Nebraska. According to Reuters research, at least 100,000 head of cattle have left California in 2014- including breeding stock that's going to slaughter. Higher feed and transportation costs have also put pressure on California ranchers, although ranchers elsewhere are facing similar problems.

Although defenders of the current business climate in California often cite the entertainment industry and Silicon Valley as being the state's economic backbone as well as the primary source of fundraising for the state's democrat party, Hollywood has been shipping jobs out of state due to increased production and filming costs within the state. Special effects firm Sony Pictures Imageworks announced at the end of May that their headquarters will be moved from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Canada for post production work. Over the last 20 years, the area around Vancouver, BC has been dubbed 'Hollywood North' as British Columbia offered studios tax credits for filming on location. Although the exchange between the US and Canadian dollar isn't as favorable as it was in the 1990s, a number of studios are still drawn there for post-production work and location filming [the area around Vancouver can pass for a number of other settings depending on the type of film or scene- NANESB!].

The state's Democrat-controlled legislature also recently passed a bill that would raise the state's minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2017 and is expected to be signed into law by governor Brown. While the bill raises entry-level wages, many employers will likely end up cutting their workforce and retailers or restaurants will close down locations or increase prices to make up for any increased operating costs.

More damning, none of these jobs or businesses will be coming back or are unlikely to be replaced by new enterprise. Although California sits on considerable oil reserves in the Monterrey Shale, wealthy environmentalists with considerable backing from the entertainment industry are seeking to ban the hydraulic facture drilling process that has been so effective in recovering shale oil and gas in Texas, North Dakota and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, state and local lawmakers continue to busy themselves with legislation concerning transgender bathrooms for schoolchildren or banning plastic bags and simply assume that they can get whatever revenue they need from the next Silicon valley startup such as Facebook.

Six Murdered in Santa Barbara, CA Killing Spree

At least six people were killed after the 22 year old son of a Hollywood assistant director fatally stabbed his roommates before getting in his BMW and shooting at pedestrians and into storefronts in the early morning hours on Saturday. Santa Barbra Police responded and exchanged gunfire- during the pursuit, the gunman's Beemer reportedly hit a bicyclist before crashing into a parked car. The killer- who was identified later that day as Elliot Rodgers- then turned the gun on himself shortly after crashing the car.

Officials in Santa Barbara say that the death toll on Friday was six- three stabbed by Rodgers and three shot during his rampage- with 13 injured by gunfire or getting mowed down by Rodger's speeding car.

Elliot Rodgers, the son of The Hunger Games assistant director Peter Rodgers, left behind an online video and lengthy manifesto in which he railed against women- particularly blondes which he claimed he was entitled to date. Two of the victims were identified as women who attended University of California Santa Barbara- 22 year old Katherine Cooper and 19 year old Veronika Weiss. Even before the online videos and manifestos were known, angry loner Rodgers engaged in belligerent and erratic behavior at off-campus parties, including trying to shove partygoers off a ledge and throwing a cup of coffee on a couple outside a coffee shop. The spoiled, misogynist loner was reportedly rewarded with a broken ankle for his trouble and lost his Gucci sunglasses after one altercation at an off-campus party. According to his own writings, spoiled misogynist loner then stumbled around banging on the door of another house demanding they give him back his sunglasses- only to start a fight with the occupants of that house.

Despite California having some of the strictest gun laws in the USA, Rodgers legally obtained his firearms after passing a background check. At the urging of some of his relatives, police in Santa Barbara conducted a welfare check on Rodgers at the end of April but found nothing out of the ordinary. In one of his videos, the killer claimed he nearly panicked that authorities would discover his planned rampage and convinced the deputies on his doorstep that it was all a misunderstanding. Elliot then reportedly mailed his manifesto to his family and therapists just hours before he started his rampage.

Other victims from Saturday's killing spree include Weihan Wang, Chen Yuang Hong, George Chen and Chris Michael Martinez.

Happy National Pin Up Day From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

While some people mark April 22nd down as Earth Day on their calendars, I always thought the attention paid to a holiday whose founding father was a murderous hippie and encourages stifling economic growth in favor of some touchey-feeley platitudes about Mother Earth would be better spent on some sort of observance of National Pin-Up Day.

National Pin-Up Day would be a bit like President's Day in that the holiday doesn't honor just one person. Much like President's Day is meant to coincide with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington's respective birthdays, April 22nd would be an ideal date for National Pin-Up Day since it falls on the late Bettie Page's birthday and is also within a few days of blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield's date of birth [Just think of all the crazy blowout prices auto dealers could have in honor of Pin-Up Day weekend- NANESB!].

Astute readers of this blog will notice that this statuesque camera-wielding blonde is not quite as busty as Jayne Mansfield, yet too fair-headed to be the infamous Bettie Page. The tall, leggy blonde is actually none other than model-turned-photographer Bunny Yeager. Born Linnea Elanor Yeager in the Pittsburgh area in 1930, Yeager moved to Miami and became a sought-after model in the early 1950s.

Thinking ahead to a career after modeling, Yeager began taking photography courses. On her first attempt, some pictures Yeager shot of model friend Maria Stinger were accepted by a men's magazine.

As it turned out, Stinger was just the beginning. In 1954, Yeager first met Bettie Page- who was already known as one of the less inhibited models for Irving Klaw's New York-based Movie Star News- and the two would collaborate on what would become some iconic photo shoots despite Yeager being financially strapped and barely able to afford Page's services as a model at the time.

The sensual Tennessee brunette was photographed by Yeager posing with live [but most likely sedated- NANESB!] cheetahs in a leopard-print bikini at a Boca Raton, FL safari park. Another shoot took place at Miami's Funland amusement park with a bikini-clad Page posing in bumper cars, on the merry go round or in front of concession stands. The Funland and Safari park photos shot by Yeager show a rapport between photographer and model that is hard to duplicate. Yeager must've knew she had something special going in her work with Bettie Page since she also had the foresight to take a number of behind-the-scenes pictures of her and Page at the safari park.

Page wasn't the only famous client that Yeager worked with Swiss model and actress Ursula Andress- the original Bond Girl- for promotional photography and artwork for 1962's Dr. No, the first big screen adaptation of Ian Fleming's James Bond. Andress later remarked that she owed her career to the white bikini she wore in the movie and modeled for Yeager.

At age 84, Yeager is still alive and well and living in Miami. As recently as a year ago, Yeager expressed a passing interest in photographing child-actress-turned-train-wreck Lindsay Lohan [if anyone could pull that off, I bet it would be Yeager- NANESB!]. In 2011, the Schuster galleries of Miami and Berlin became the official representative for Yeager's photographic works and has hosted a number of exhibits featureing her work with Bettie Page and others.

Saudi Prince- US Shale Oil Could Undermine Kingdom, OPEC Nations

A Saudi prince and business investor has warned that the kingdom and other OPEC members that their economies were under a growing threat from the 'fracking revolution' in the USA that has shaken up the energy landscape in recent years.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the country’s best-known global investor, said the business model of Middle East oil exporters risks unravelling rich industrial states find ways of cutting demand. “Our country is facing a threat with the continuation of its near-complete reliance on oil: 92% of the budget for this year depends on oil,” he said in a letter to Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi.

Opec admits that new output from hydraulic “fracking” could chip away its dominant position in the market but the group is more worried about recession in Europe and a hard landing in China.

Prince Alwaleed said oil demand from OECD rich states is in “continuous decline”, and the Saudis will not be able to ratchet up their output from 12.5m to 15m barrels per day (bpd) to cover growing budget costs. “It is necessary to diversify sources of revenue, establish a clear vision, and start implementing it immediately,” he said.

A report last month by Leonardo Maugeri at Harvard University said US shale oil output could triple to 5m bpd by 2017, turning America into the world’s top producer once again.

If shale does deliver on its promise and keeps prices low for decades, it will be a mortal threat to OPEC states that rely on oil revenue to cover social spending and placate fast-growing populations.

Prince Alwaleed was ranked by Forbes magazine as the world's 6th richest man at one point and is most infamous for his comments urging that the United States "should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause" just weeks after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. Then-mayor Rudy Giuliani and other New York officials rejected a $10 million donation from Alwaleed after his remarks.

A trio of Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western units approach the Canadian Pacific interchange in Flaxton, ND as a recently-constructed oil pump works in the foreground in November 2012. Steven M Welch photo.

Hydraulic fracture drilling- also known as hydrofracking or fracking- uses a mix of water and chemically treated sand or 'mud' that's injected into the ground to get to otherwise inaccessible deposits of oil or natural gas. The 'Shale revolution'- as some have called it- has led to the formation of oil boomtowns in North Dakota and breathed new life into Rust Belt towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio. This in turn has led to increased manufacturing for components, mining for 'frac sand' and rail activity moving the supplies into the oilfields and the oil out and to refineries.

Drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale has become particularly contentious recently, with environmentalists and movie stars weighing in on the purported dangers of fracking to groundwater supplies [although some wells were contaminated decades before fracking began in the area- NANESB!]. A 2012 movie titled Promised Land starring Matt Damon as an energy company representative who has a change of heart after being sent to a struggling Pennsylvania town to secure leases for wells was financed in part by the United Arab Emirates- another OPEC member.

The shale revolution isn't just limited to the United States or Canada, either. Earlier this year, there was a massive oil discovery in Australia's outback while fracking for both natural gas and oil began in Argentina in April. Energy companies believe that Poland may contain central Europe's largest reserves of natural gas, and development of that could reduce Europe's dependence on the Russian energy giant Gazprom. Meanwhile, data from the British Geological Survey indicates that the UK's own shale gas reserves are nearly twice the size of original estimates.

Stay Classy, San Diego! Mock PSA Warns Comic Con Attendees of 'Demonstrative' Mayor Accused of Sexually Harrassing Constituents

G4TV's Carrie Keegan rages against the (Coke) Machine. G4TV photo

Thursday marked the start of the annual San Diego Comic-Con International; a massive gathering for collectors and fans of everything from golden-age Superman comics to cutting-edge interactive gaming platforms- or "Mardi Gras for Nerds" as I tend to call it [only there's no beads...just freebies from various studios or publishers in attendance- NANESB!] while others refer to it as 'Nerd-vana'. I don't mean that disparagingly, either- I went to the event a few years before I even started this blog and overall had a pretty good time despite returning home a little exhausted and much more broke-er.

Wyatt Earp may or may not need smelling salts.. Hawkman13 via Flickr

The scenery is something to behold as well, and I'm not just referring to the pleasant bayside setting of San Diego's sprawling convention center. These costumed women in attendance at Comic-Con actually fall into two categories. Besides the professional 'booth babes' who are paid to look hot and attract customers to various booths, there's also the amateurs- women from all over the country who painstakingly put together supremely detailed costumes of their favorite comic book, TV show, anime, video game or movie character for the sole purpose of wearing it at the San Diego Comic Con.

Diana Prince taking in all the sights

Unfortunately, the event may end up becoming a victim of its own popularity. As more and more Hollywood studios decided to use the San Diego Comic Con as a venue to promote upcoming movies and TV shows, an increasing number of people show up each year- possibly more than can realistically be accommodated in San Diego's Convention Center. This has led to talk of moving the annual event further north to Anaheim, Long Beach or Los Angeles- there likely would be similar capacity problems, but it would be closer to the entertainment industry hub.

William Tung via Flickr

Even if you loathe comics [or movies, or video games, or TV series, or anime, etc etc- NANESB!] Comic-Con is an economic juggernaut that is expected to pump nearly $80 million into the local economy during the four day event.

However, this year's Comic-Con gets underway amidst some allegations of misconduct by San Diego's recently-elected mayor- former Democrat congressman Bob Filner. The allegations of groping, sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct come not from anonymous sources, but his own Democrat allies on the city council and in the county Democrat Party offices.

Apparently this isn't just staring, inappropriate comments or the occasional swat on the backside from a dirty old man, but rather stuff that would land an average citizen in jail.

Earlier this month, former backer and ex San Diego City Councilwoman Donna Frye accused Filner of groping and fondling a number of women visiting his office- including constituents. Without confirming the allegations against him, the 70 year old Filner has admitted to misconduct but has vowed to stay in office. Earlier he had attempted to explain away his actions as being overly demonstrative- "I'm a hugger" he told KUSI-TV in an interview last weekend. But colleagues say there's more to his actions than simply being misunderstood.

Two attorneys said Filner's inappropriate behavior was so common at City Hall that employees had coined the term "The Filner Dance" to describe how workers dodge his sexual advances.

Former Councilwoman Donna Frye, who first went public with the accusations last week, claims his behavior went well beyond hugging.

She did not give specifics until Monday, when she read statements to the media from two alleged constituents, who were not named.

Both say the mayor -- who was engaged at the time -- tried to forcibly kiss them during separate encounters.

Frye read the statements from women she called constituents No. 1 and No. 2.

The first constituent said the mayor asked his staffer to leave the room and then asked her if she was single.

She said she told Filner that he had a beautiful fiancee and that the mayor responded that he wanted to go out with her and kiss her. Filner then grabbed her and kissed her before she was able to push him away and leave the room, according to the statement.

In a statement from constituent No. 2, Filner allegedly made sexual overtures before grabbing her on the street to kiss her.

According to Fox 5 San Diego, the second woman claims Filner grabbed her and tried to force his tongue in her mouth. Later in the car, he allegedly put "his hand on the inside of her bra and was again trying to put his tongue down her throat," Frye said.

Before Frye went public with the allegations against Filner, the mayor's fiancée announced that she was leaving him.

It's not unusual for local officials to show up at an event the size and scope of the San Diego Comic-Con, and one might assume that Mayor McGropeyhands might console himself by surrounding himself with thousands of eminently fondle-able hot nerds in skimpy costumes from across the USA. In fact, a San Diego radio station put out a bogus Public Service Announcement warning Comic-Con attendees of that possibility.



While Filner may or may not be showing up at Comic-Con [attendees will likely still have to deal with a number of unelected pervs- NANESB!] the other item on this weekend's itinerary for him smacks of the tone-deafness of a California Democrat who just doesn't care anymore now that they've been elected to office.

In a twist that you'll swear is completely made up, apparently Filner is still scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a benefit for victims of sexual assault this weekend.

The group has stripped him of the award. Instead, he is set to address the scandal now consuming City Hall.

The woman leading the benefit is Tara Jones, the president of the National Military Women Veterans Association of America.

Months ago, Jones' group decided to honor Filner with a lifetime leadership award for his work on behalf of women veterans, including the issue of sexual assault.

Amid the recent scandal swirling around Filner, the group stripped him of the award. In a statement, the groups said, "We do not tolerate sexual discrimination at any level within our society."

Still, the group did not disinvite the mayor from the August award gala, instead announcing that he will address the scandal in a speech.

"He is now the keynote speaker on these injustices," said the group.

A motivation for the invite was not given, but Jones has repeatedly expressed the importance of creating awareness.

Mayor Filner may not have backed out yet under the assumption that his speech will be a "how-to"

Hey Now, You're a Rock Tsar(naev): Rolling Stone Cover Gives Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect 'Rock Star' Treatment

Alternate Rolling Stone cover courtesy of everyjoe.com

The August 2013 issue of Rolling Stone hits newsstands featuring a snapshot of brooding of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, much to the chagrin of a large cross-section of pundits, entertainers, local officials, first responder and survivors of the Patriot's Day terrorist attack. Boston mayor Tom Menino wrote a letter to the magazine's publisher that stated in part "The survivors of the Boston attacks deserve cover stories, though I no longer feel that Rolling Stone deserves them". Boston police commissioner Edward Davis and Suffolk County DA Daniel Conley also criticized the magazine's cover image.

More compelling was the reaction from survivors who were seriously injured in the April 15th, 2013 terrorist attack. Paul and JP Norden, two brothers from Stoneham, MA who each lost a leg in the bombing, posted the following on Facebook.

Here you go Rolling Stones; if you required a cover and wanted marathon related, one would assume that you would have promoted a nation of continued healing, provided American heroes and encouraged moving forward. This is just one of several available shots that would have made sense if you were looking for togetherness.

Instead, your irresponsible behavior did more to tear open wounds and insult victims, survivors and families that have been slowly healing and accepting the horrendous acts of terrorism. There is a very long road that awaits the involved victims and your magazine ripped at the hearts in an instance and cut at the deepest levels and for what, “To increase sales of a magazine that usually is worthy of music celebrities.” Well, Rolling Stones, you just reclaimed your 15 minutes of fame, we only hope, it lasts only fifteen minutes.

What you did yesterday with your incredibly poor decision, was weaken extreme good that has been built from unimaginable evil.

Well, we are here to remind you that we are 2 BROTHERS 1 NATION….Standing Boston Strong…….and no room for magazines intended on highlighting evil, hate and death.

Today, we take a step over that magazine and hold our heads up high and ask our supporters to do the same and to also ignore the sensationalism perpetrated by RS.

MBTA Police officer Richard Donahue, who was shot and wounded in the chaotic gunfight in Watertown, MA after the Tsarnaev Brothers ambushed and killed MIT policeman Sean Collier and carjacked a motorist in Cambridge, MA, issued a statement on Wednesday.

The City of Boston and the surrounding communities have faced many challenges since the bombings at the marathon finish line. The new cover of Rolling Stone has garnered much attention due to its sensationalized depiction of one of the alleged bombers. My family and I were personally affected by these individuals’ actions. I cannot and do not condone the cover of the magazine, which is thoughtless at best.

However, I appreciate our country’s protection of free speech afforded to us by the Constitution. I am confident that our Boston Strong community will remain intrepid and unshaken by the cover of this magazine.

The Rolling Stone piece is called The Bomber: How a Popular, Promising Student was failed by his family, fell into radical islam and became a monster and won't hit newsstands until this weekend. However, a number of retailers with ties to New England and the Boston area announced that they wouldn't be selling the August issue of Rolling Stone on Thursday. As of Thursday night, the list included pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid as well as Stop and Shop, Cumberland Farms, Tedeschi's and Big Y Foods.

In response to the Rolling Stone cover, Boston Magazine published an article titled The Real Face of Terror: Behind the Scenes of the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Manhunt that included previously unreleased photos of a bloodied Tsarnaev on the boat with his arms in the air and a red dot from a laser sight on his head before he was taken into custody. The images were obtained by the magazine courtesy of a Massachusetts State Police sergeant who was on scene in Watertown that night.

One has to wonder if the Boston Marathon bomber were a middle aged crazed right wing Tea Partier like so many on the left insisted immediately after the terrorist attack, would Rolling Stone have used a similarly flattering image like they did for the younger Tsarnaev brother?

Or better yet, let's assume Mitt Romney won the 2012 presidential election. Who would Rolling Stone be more likely to use a flattering picture of on the cover to accompany an article- The moderate Republican former governor of Massachusetts or an unrepentant Islamic terrorist who admitted to killing four and wounding hundreds in a terrorist attack in a major American city?

Host of Fox News' Red Eye and The Five Greg Guttfeld summarized Rolling Stone's Tsarnaev piece as follows:

"Wow, here's a really good looking cool kid who loves to smoke weed (a lot -- isn't that cool and funny!) and seems super cool and all his friends just think he's the "bomb." He has such great hair!!!!

Oh -- sorry - and then the cute guy does something really really bad, and it's like totally weird because he was such a cool dude --and he was smart and stuff, and a great fighter and girls liked him! He seems really cute to me, anyway!!! :)

and when someone cool does something REALLY BAD WE THINK then we are really sad.

:(

Like, why didn't he like us more??? : ^I

It sucks.... why couldn't he have been a dorky, ugly white right wing christian who didn't do drugs-- instead?

I mean -- That would have been more fun to write about! LOL."

In response to the public outcry [that they knowingly courted- NANESB!], Rolling Stone's editors released a statement on Thursday.

Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens

Pardon my Français, but bull-fucking-shit. First of all, if your 'hearts went out to the victims', I suspect you would use a much more drab image of Dzhokhar on the cover- maybe even his prison jumpsuit as he awaits trial instead of some sepia toned image that looks like its from the cover of his upcoming solo album. Number two, your referring to the murder and maiming of bystanders in a terrorist attack as a 'tragedy' underscores the fact that you don't take any of this seriously. A runaway bus didn't plow into the crowd- that would've been tragic. This was a premeditated act of murder and according to court documents, Dzhokhar and Tamerlane Tsarnaev set a backpack laden with explosives down next to innocent people cheering on the marathon runners and took off shortly before an 8 year old from Dorchester was ripped to shreds.

It's National Pin Up Day!

You must be this hot for entry onto the rides

Never mind this fake "Earth Day" holiday started up by homicidal hippie Ira Einhorn- April 22nd shall always be the birthday of the incomprable Bettie Page in my mind's eye.

Born in Nashville, TN in 1923, the scorching, raven-tressed southern belle achieved notoriety in the 1950s and was Playboy's Playmate of the Month in January 1955. Beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s, vintage and iconic images of Paige enjoyed a resurgence in the goth and rockabilly subcultures. Often imitated but never duplicated, Page was living in obscurity and unaware of her newfound popularity until relatively late in life. Page's heyday was dramatized in the 2006 biopic The Notorious Bettie Page where Gretchen Mol played the titular pin-up [Page reportedly said the film took way too many liberties about her early life- NANESB!]. Paige passed away at age 85 in December 2008.

Perhaps the most iconic of Bettie's images are of her posing with leopards (in a leopard-print swimsuit) at a south Florida safari-themed park. The photographer of those images was a pin-up herself, but was on the other side of a camera lens a number of times with Paige.

The Miami-based Yeager did work for numerous men's magazines at the time and sometimes included herself among the models. Yeager still resides in Florida and released a biography in 2012 called Bunny Yeager's Darkroom that includes recounting some of the shoots with Paige. As you can see above, Yeager herself is no slouch in the looks department.

There's another birthday of note in the vintage pin-up world that's worth some attention- April 19th marks the birthday of blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield.

Interestingly, she was named Playboy's Playmate of the month from 1955- one month after Page. The buxom platinum blonde was about 10 years younger than Page and tended to be more exhibitionist than Paige.

Mansfield also was not above contrived publicity stunts, including those that highlighted her considerable bust [reportedly 40D, although that was subject to fluctution- NANESB!] including this above image where she upstaged Sophie Loren at a Hollywood dinner in the Italian actresses honor. She also was said to have pioneered the 'wardrobe malfunction' (however contrived) by allegedly intentionally wearing dresses too small to accomodate her ample bust to various Hollywood events and making sure the beseiged garment would slip or tear with photographers present.

Unfortunately, Mansfield was killed in 1967 after a collision with a tractor-trailer in Louisiana. Three of her children survived with relatively minor injuries.

One of the survivors of that car wreck was daughter Mariska Hargitay, who would go on to become an actress herself- most noably in NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

See? Isn't this much nicer than some fake holiday started by a hippie who murdered his girlfriend, stuffed the body in a trunk and fled to France?

Former Prime Minister Thatcher Laid to Rest

 

With soldiers in dress uniform acting as pallbearers, mourners bid farewell to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at a service in St Paul's Cathedral in London on Wednesday. In attendence was Queen Elizabeth, who was attending the first funeral of a British leader since Winston Churchill's 1965 funeral.

In attendence were Thatcher's son and daughter-in-law Mark and Sarah as well as her grandchildren Michael and Amanda. However, it was Amanda Thatcher's poised reading of Ephisians VI, 10-18 that caught the attention of the British tabloids.



When news of Thatcher's death broke last week, Britain's far left reacted with impromptu celebrations in the street that even some of Thatcher's political adversaries decried as crass. The leftist revelers had also promised to picket her funeral- apparently taking a page from the hate-filled morons of the Westboro Baptist Church. However, supporters lined up outside St Paul's drowned out any jeers or taunts from protesters as Thatcher's casket, draped in a Union Jack, was carried from the cathedral to a waiting hearse.

British entertainers also weighed in on the former PM's passing- although many people on social netwroking sites like Facebook or Twitter were born long after Thatcher had vacated 10 Downing Street and had literally never heard of her. Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell praised Margaret Thatcher's rise from grocer's daughter to Britain's most powerful woman through her official twitter account upon hearing of the former Prime Minister's passing last week, but quickly deleted it after facing a sharp backlash from social network users. However, she later posted on her website that she eventually regretted the decision and her unwillingness to stand by what she had said, pointing out that Thatcher was willing to stand by many of her statements no matter how unpopular they might have been with her colleagues or public.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Dead At Age 58

Hugo Chavez- probably smelling sulfur right now

Less than a month after his return from unsuccessfully undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba, Venezuela's government announced the death of President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday.

News of Chavez's death was met with condolences and considerable sorrow from American leftists such as actor Sean Penn, former US president Jimmy Carter and filmmakers Michael Moore and Oliver Stone. Interestingly, while much of the US Media is giving Chavez a pass on his authoritarian rule and making no mention of his dubious allies- including the late Mummar Ghdaffi- the US chapter of his fan club has already started whining about how Chavez's legacy isn't being treated fairly by the 'corporate media'.

Hated by the entrenched classes, Hugo Chavez will live forever in history. My friend, rest finally in a peace long earned. 2/2
— Oliver Stone (@TheOliverStone) March 6, 2013

Longtime ally and Bolivian president Evo Morales reportedly stopped by Caracas on his way to the United Nations to visit Chavez in late February- just days after Chavez's return from Cuba- but was turned away by medical staff.

The populist and virulently anti-American socialist president ruled Venezuela for nearly 14 years while allying himself with Russia, China, Cuba's Fidel Castro, Iran's ruling Islamic clerics and socialist leaders throughout Latin America. While Chavez positioned himself as a champion of the poor and a bulwark against 'Yankee imperialsim' in Latin America, violent crime and inflation in Venezuela skyrocketed while the Chavez family used a subordinate media and state apparatuses to harass and intimidate political opponents. Venezuela's relatively small Jewish community was also subject to frequent anti-Semitic attacks in the later years of Chavez's Presidency.

As inflation in Venezuela reached as high as 30%, Chavez's family allegedly amassed a fortune worth $2 Billion and his regime seized or expropriated as many as 1168 different privately run companies throughout Venezuela. His family was particularly influential in the western state of Barinas, where both his father and elder brother served as governor and another brother was the mayor the city of Sabaneta.

Politicians once loyal to the president who have broken with him and his family here contend that Mr. Chávez’s family has amassed wealth and landholdings through a series of deals carried out by front men.

One opposition leader, Wilmer Azuaje, detailed to prosecutors and legislators what he said was more than $20 million in illegal gains by the family since the president’s father was elected governor in 1998. But in a brief review of those claims, National Assembly, under the control of Chávez loyalists, cleared the family of charges of illicit enrichment.

“In the meantime, while the family wraps itself in the rhetoric of socialism, we are descending into a neo-capitalist chaos where all that matters is money,” said Alberto Santelíz, the publisher of La Prensa, a small opposition newspaper.

More than a decade into the Chávez family’s rule in Barinas, the state remains Venezuela’s poorest, with average monthly household income of about $800, according to the National Statistics Institute. Kidnapping, once feared only by the wealthy, has spread in Barinas to include the poor. In one case this year of a 3-year-old girl kidnapped in the slum of Mi Jardín, the abductor, when told that the only thing of value owned by the girl’s mother was a refrigerator, instructed her to sell it to pay the ransom.

In addition to allying himself with socialist governments throughout Latin America, Chavez also aligned Venezuela with Islamist regimes and militias throughout the Middle East- even facilitating their presence at bases in Venezuela or allied nations such as Nicaragua.

Last year, a former Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice fled the country and was talking with the DEA on how the Chavez regime allegedly provided arms to FARC Guerrillas in neighboring Colombia and uses Venezuelan soil as a staging are for illicit cocaine flights to North America and Europe. In 2009, Chavez threatened to go to war with neighboring Colombia after a cross-border raid by the Colombian military on FARC encampments in Ecuador uncovered documents highlighting direct aid to the communist guerrillas from Caracas- a charge that Chavez had vehemently denied.

Chavez also sided with Syria's Bashr Al-Assad when he began his crackdown against anti-government demonstrators by providing the Assad regime with tankers full of diesel fuel beginning in June 2012.

Venezuelan government officials won't list the official cause of death, but it was reported in the 24 hours before his passing that Chavez was having difficulty breathing. Not to be outdone by his predecessor in the cray-cray department, Venezuela's Vice president Maduro took to the state-controlled TV network to accuse the USA of poisoning Chavez and expelled two US officials from the country.

According to Venezuela's foreign minister, a special election will be held within 30 days per Venezuela's constitution. Maduro- a former bus driver, union leader and legislator is expected to be challenged by center-right governor of Miranda Henrique Capriles. During last year's Presidential elections, Capriles was labelled a 'Zionist agent' by the state run media.

A number of the 189,000 Venezuelans living in the United States had expressed hope that Venezuela could return to free multiparty system with Chavez's death.

New York State Report Deems Hydrofracking Safe, Matt Damon Hardest Hit

Natural gas well in Wilcox, PA

An unreleased document from New York State's Department of Enviromental Conservation leaked to the press indicates that the state has reached the conclusion that hydrofracking can be done safely.

The document, first reported by the New York Times and Gannett News Service and published online Thursday by New York State public radio, references sections of DEC's draft environmental review that deal with health impacts from shale gas drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The report concludes that adverse health impacts will be prevented if DEC's guidelines are followed.

The eight-page document references sections of DEC's 1,500-page environmental impact study of shale gas development. A final version of that study, which is expected to be released in February, will include revisions based on public comment and a health impact review now under way by the state Health Department and three outside experts, DEC has said.

Cuomo has said he'll lift the state's ban on fracking if it's shown to be safe. The state has had a moratorium in effect since July 2008, when DEC began its review of the impacts of fracking.

The document appears to have been written for inclusion in the larger environmental impact study. It describes potential health risks associated with fracking and shale gas development such as exposure to chemicals, contamination of drinking water sources, air pollution, and contact with radioactive elements brought up from deep underground.

DEC Commissioner Joe Martens in September rejected calls for a separate health study by outside experts. Instead, he said the Health Department and a panel of outside experts would review what DEC had already done.

The Marcellus shale formation extends from the southern tier region of New York State to southwestern Virginia and contains trillions of cubic feet in natural gas. Using a method known as hydraulic fracturing or simply fracking, drilling began five years ago in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Hydrofracking uses pressurized water, sand and a number of chemicals injected to the ground to drill through the shale and reach the natural gas trapped underground.

Some activists have expressed concern that fracking will contaminate drinking water or even cause earthquakes around the drilling areas. The Department of Environmental Conservation's report reportedly hasn't discouraged activists from protesting fracking from gathering in Albany this week.

Meanwhile, Matt Damon's United Arab Emirates-backed anti-fracking movie Promised Land fared poorly at the box office in its opening weekend nationwide.

The film, which Matt Damon co-wrote and stars in, took just 10th place at the weekend box office, with $4.3 million in ticket sales, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The top weekend spot, with $23 million, went to the slasher flick “Texas Chainsaw 3D.”

“Promised Land,” which cost $15 million to make and was directed by indie pioneer Gus Van Sant, delves into fears about water pollution from fracking

Damon denied the film had an anti-fracking message and that the writers and cast simply wanted to 'start a discussion' on the subject of fracking [which in liberal-speak usually means you're supposed to sit and not question anything they say- NANESB]

Kim Kardashian's Milkshake Brings All the Jihadis to the Yard

Not the least bit gratuitous picture of reality TV starlet Kim Kardashian dressed up as Princess Jamsine

Under most circumstances, I'm loathe to bring up anything relating to the whole Kardashian brood, but this actually ties fairly seamlessly into current events in the Middle East- and no matter what you think of her, you gotta admit Kim is quite easy on the eyes.

Socialite, reality TV star and model Kim Kardashian's very presence in the island kingdom of Bahrain apparently was enough to spark clashes with hardline islamists and riot police last weekend. Apparently milkshakes were to blame, and I'm not referring to the 32DD variety. Kardashian was in the country for the grand opening of the Bahrain branch of her Millions of Milkshakes shop.

Chanting 'Allahu Akhbar!' and holding placcards that read 'None of our customs and traditions allow us to receive stars of porn movies', dozens of islamist protestors converged outside the mall in Riffa before being dispersed by police who fired tear gas at them. The crowd was dispersed before the most famous of the Kardashian sisters arrived. Kim Kardashian also was on hand for the grand opening of a Millions of Milkshakes in Kuwait earlier in the week- that grand opening ceremony reportedly went off without a gaggle of irate Islamists marching on the mall.

The Persian Gulf island kingdom takes up less than 300 square miles and is situated off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Like many other economies in the middle east, Bahrain's economy revolves primarily around oil and oil refining. Aluminum smelting, offshore banking and ship repair also contribute to the tiny kingdom's economy. In fact, in 2011 conservative the Heritage Institute conservative think-tank lists Bahrain as having the freest economy in the Middle East and 10th in the world. But the island has also been wracked with violent confrontations between police and protesters calling for the country's monarchy to step down since the start of the 2011 'Arab Spring'.

This is probably the last time I'll be blogging about a Kardashian for awhile, so might as well milk it some more.

And while protesters in Bahrain were condemning the star of a number of reality shows and sex tapes for being a bad influence, Kim Kardashian drew criticism in the west for doing business in Bahrain so soon after the kingdom's heavy-handed crackdown of demonstrators.

Besides her forays into fashion, business and reality TV, Kardashian is famous- or infamous- for a sex tape with her then-boyfriend that was released in 2007 and her two month marriage to NBA player Chris Humphries in 2011 which led to speculation that the wedding was staged to boost the Kardashian brand name.

Director Tony Scott Dead At 68

Film director Tony Scott, whose credits include Top Gun, Days of Thunder, True Romance, Man on Fire and most recently the runaway train movie Unstoppable has died in an apparent suicide in California.

Eyewitnesses in the Los Angeles area reported watching Scott get out of his car on the Vincent Thomas bridge in Long Beach, CA during the overnight hours of August 19-20 and scale the guard rail before jumping to his death. The Los Angeles Port Police recovered his body from the water the following day.

Early media reports attributed Scott's suicide to an inoperable brain tumor, but his family immediately denied those reports. Although the 68 year old British-born director had left behind a note, investigators say it contains no apparent motive for his suicide.

Tony Scott was also the younger brother of fellow director Ridley Scott of Alien and Blade Runner fame. While growing up in England, the two brothers would sometimes appear in each other's film school projects. While the two brothers had started out filming commercials, they both began gravitating towards motion pictures in the late 1970s and early 80s.


Although Scott's first feature-length Hollywood film, The Hunger, did poorly at the box office in 1983, it gained a cult following a few decades later and introduced Willem DaFoe in a minor role. At the time, the younger Scott brother thought he was unemployable due to the poor box office of The Hunger, but within two years he was approached by producer Jerry Bruckheimer to direct Top Gun. Scott's earlier directing of an ad for Swedish automaker Saab depicting a Saab 900 Turbo racing a Saab Viggen-37 single-seat jet fighter had reportedly factored into the decision to hire Top Gun director.

Patricia Arquette as ex-prostitute Alabama Worley on the lam in Tony Scott's 1993 film True Romance. A number of critics rate this noir road movie as the most memorable films of the 1990s. The film was also one of the first scripts successfully shopped by then-writer Quentin Tarantino. Image courtesey of Warner Brothers studios

On a personal note, my introduction to Tony Scott was actually 1993's True Romance. The noir, blood-spattered road movie about a mild-mannered Detroit comic book store clerk and his ex-prostitute wife Alabama on the lam after killing Alabama's pimp and stealing a suitcase full of uncut cocaine featured an ensemble cast of Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, Samuel L Jackson and James Gandolfini. The film was also the first script that writer-director Quentin Tarantino had successfully optioned.

Through the late 1990s and into the 2000s, Scott would go on to direct a number of films including Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire and the 2009 remake of The Taking of Pelham 123.

Scott's most recent project to hit theaters was 2010's Unstoppable- starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pine and Rosario Dawson in a fictionalized version of a 2001 runaway train incident in Ohio where crews were able to catch up and board the train to stop in manually, but only after another set of locomotives had coupled onto the rear to slow it down considerably.

For this project, Tony Scott's timing was impeccable. The nation's economy was still staggering from the effects of the Great Recession, which meant that traffic levels were down on railroads throughout the nation. Locations and venues that would've interrupted revenue freight operations for a number of railroads suddenly became available for filming. Scott and his production crew spread the filming out between Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and the southern tier of New York. Among the real-life railroads that hosted the filming were the Nittany and Bald Eagle, Western New York & Pennsylvania, Buffalo & Pittsburgh and Wheeling & Lake Erie.

Since CSX had no desire to revisit the 2001 Ohio runaway train incident, Scott and his writers created the fictional Allegheny & West Virginia railroad and changed the setting to Western Pennsylvania. In a nod to the real-life runaway train, the film's main antagonist is AWVR #777- a six-axle 4400 HP Canadian Pacific General Electric locomotive that the production crew was able to borrow for the months-long shoot. A number of other locomotives- mostly 3000 HP EMD SD40-2s from Larry's Truck & Electric in nearby McDonald, OH were hastily adorned with markings for the fictitious Allegheny & West Virginia and pressed into service on the set, including the locomotive the protagonists use to try and bring the runaway to a halt.

'Allgheny & West Virginia' AC4400W's roll across the Ohio River at Bellaire, OH in November 2009 for filming of Unstoppable- what turned out to be director Tony Scott's final film. Tom Habak photo

For the early scenes of the movie, Scott closely consulted with Wheeling & Lake Erie foreman Steve Stertzbach of Tuscarawas Township, OH. Scott was reportedly so impressed with Stertzbach's work in the early filming of Unstoppable that he requested that the foreman stay on and consult with the lead actors on operating the actual locomotive as well as a mockup that was rigged to accommodate cameras.

For five months, Stertzbach got to live the dream while still receiving his Wheeling and Lake Erie salary as well as overtime, per-diem and expenses while Scott's production company provided the foreman with meals, lodging and a 2010 Chevy Equinox. Stertzbach also recalled that Scott welcomed his family to the set and even cast his eldest son in a small part. When the movie was released in November 2010, Scott sent the Ohio rail worker who had consulted with him an ornately decorated leather-bound edition of the script signed by him for Christmas a month later.

Just weeks before his death, Scott was reportedly scouting out locations for a rumored sequel to Top Gun and was also slated to direct a remake of Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch. According to colleagues, Scott seemed particularly enthusiastic about the Top Gun remake which only deepens the mystery behind a possible motive for Scott's suicide.

A private memorial for family and colleagues was held on Friday afternoon at the Hollywood Forever cemetary, which is also the final resting place of actors and directors such as Cecil DeMille, Doug Fairbanks and Jayne Mansfield.

Eat Mor Chikin: Atlanta-Based Chick Fil A Under Fire From Leftists Over CEO's Stance on Gay Marriage

The president of an Atlanta-based fast food chain has drawn the ire of gay and lesbian activists as well as Democrat politicians looking for a big juicy distraction after stating this his restaurant supports traditional marriage in an interview with a Baptist website earlier this month.

Chick Fil A Cookies & Cream milkshake- yum!

Started in Atlanta by restaurateur and devout baptist S Truett Cathy in 1967, Chick Fil A has grown to a chain of more than 1600 restaurants across 39 states specializing in chicken sandwiches, chicken strips, chicken wraps and chicken salads. The company also is the title sponsor for the Chick Fil A Peach Bowl which is played between one ACC college football team and one SEC school each New Year's Eve at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Neither S Truett Cathy nor his son Dan Cathy are shy about their Baptist faith or incorporating it into their business model. In keeping with Cathy's faith, the restaurant remains closed on Sundays.

As you might be able to figure out, most Baptists are opposed to same-sex marriage. With more than 30 states voting at the ballot box to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, that's a viewpoint that's hardly fringe or in the minority.

Have the liberals who want to start a Chick-Fil-A boycott really thought this through?

LGBT groups and various democrat politicians desperate for a distraction have chimed in on Chick Fil A's stance on same sex marriage.

Among the first was Boston mayor Tom Menino, who penned a letter threatening to block any attempt by Chick Fil A to open up a location in Boston.

“It sends a strong message that the habit of supporting hateful organizations that demonize LGBT Americans are out of step with not just Bostonians but a majority of fair-minded Americans,” Menino told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Thursday.

In it he said,”There is no place for discrimination on Boston’s Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it.

“If they’re going to hurt people’s rights and social justice is involved. I’m going to speak up on that. No matter what it is. You might not like it, but I have to live with myself,” he said.

Curiously, Mayor Menino required no such ideological litmus test for the Islamic Society of Boston's mosque after selling them a city owned parcel of land for $175,000- far below the appraised $1.8 million. With two locations in the metropolitan Boston area, Chick Fil A was reportedly looking at opening a location on the campus of Northeastern university, which is inside Boston city limits.

Meanwhile, Obama's former-chief-of-staff now Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel was able to take time out from the escalating carnage in the Windy City to announce he would be protecting Chicagoans from the ever-encroaching menace of grilled chicken sandwiches.

"Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago’s values. They’re not respectful of our resident, our neighbors and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect the Chicago values,” said Emanuel.

Ah- I see. Apparently if Chick Fil A wants to do business in Chicago, they need to have a storied tradition of turning a blind eye to gang violence and organized crime, selling off political appointments to the highest bidder and utilize drug gangs like the Vice Lords and Gangster Disciples for the get-out-the-vote effort and reward them by steering contracts to their families and friends later on.

In a display of even more staggering hypocrisy, a few days after chiding Cathy, Rahm Emmanuel would praise fringe antisemitic Nation of Islam preacher Louis Farrakhan for dispatching his followers- known as 'The Fruit of Islam' to some of the violence-plagued areas.

To hardly anybody's surprise, the mayor of San Francisco also chimed in, even though the nearest Chick Fil A is some 40 miles away.

So there you have it- at least three mayors of large American cities who have pretty much come right out and said they would use zoning requirement and government bureaucracy to block or revoke a private company from opening their doors within city limits because they disagreed with an opinion held by somebody in the management. Now for the progressives who might have a difficult time wrapping their heads around why this might be a bad thing, let's say a staunchly conservative mayor or county commissioner found out a business owned by a liberal supporter of gay marriage and gun control wanted to open up a business in the community and decided to stack the deck against the liberal business owner and put all sorts of zoning and regulatory hurdles in the path of this would be business because the conservative politician disagreed with something the hypothetical business owner had said.

Sucks- doesn't it? Yet that's exactly the kind of behavior that Menino and Emanuel are engaging in.

Not surprisingly, various Hollywood has-beens would also chime in on the issue in an attempt to make themselves feel relevant again and in the process, reveal their own rather skewed definition of 'tolerance'.

Enter bitter, corpulent 'comedienne', Occupy Wall Street supporter and failed Green Party presidential candidate Roseanne Barr:

Interesting how a few short months ago Barr was calling for the wealthy to be summarily executed or sent to re-education camps, yet decided to boast about her own materiel wealth as some sort of witty rejoinder before resorting to 2nd grade insults- apparently her writers bailed on her long before the 2007 writers strike.

As you could probably gather from the above exchange, I decided to stop by my nearest Chik Fil A last week and even though I already had lunch, I decided to get a cookies and cream milkshake [pictured at top- NANESB!] as part of a 'buycott'.

In fact, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and other conservatives have encouraged people to go to Chick Fil A on August 1 as part of  "Chick Fil A Appreciation Day". Although the nearest Chick Fil A is some 35 miles away, I will probably be stopping by as it isn't too far out of my way for the commute to one of my temp jobs and I have some coupons that are expiring soon.