imkittymyers at hotmail dot com
Saturday, March 18, 2006
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HE ASKED FOR IT
I honestly thought that Tom Cruise was smarter than this, but the fact that he's all full of himself only means more snarky good fun for us. And since he targeted South Park -- (cue evil laughter) hee hee hee !!!FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!
-Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu
His progeny's incubator, Katie (she of the gnarly hobbit feet), stars in the hilarious new flick Thank You For Smoking. The premiere was just held butKatie did not attend:
The most amazing thing about this extravaganza held last night at the DGA theater on Sunset …was the reaction (read: deafening silence) of the Hollywood establishment to Scientology War Bride Katie Holmes, who had a fairly meaty part in this good little satirical film. …[A]s soon as KH's perky face lit the screen, it was like a Scientology shit bomb went off and no one wanted even to steal a glance at their seatmate for fear of acknowledging the smell. The scenes of KH being fucked six different ways on/in six different tables, couches and closets were intact (minus any purported nudity--boo!). But again, not a whisper of anything from the crowd.
Cruise had to of known that the South Park episode would be plastered across the internet. He would have been a fool to think that this would somehow harm South Park and/or Parker & Stone, because it's done just the oppposite. Man, y'gotta stop communing with L. Ron and come back to earth.
Click the picture to watch, with no commercials!, Tom Cruise
TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET.
....... Dude, come out of the closet.
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Friday, March 17, 2006
JUST A BIT'O'POLITICS
If I wasn't experiencing posting problems today with blogger, I'd keep my St. Patrick's post up top.Hugh Hewitt interviewed Mark Steyn yesterday, and as always,
Steyn nailed some excellent points:
MS: Iraq isn't a Broadway play in previews. The show has opened, and it's on now. So it's too late to have arguments about this little weak spot in the first act, and we should get it re-written. The show has opened, and the responsibility of these people involved in this [9/11 Commission], James Baker, Lee Hamilton, Rudy Giuliani, all these people, is that they should now be saying let's win it, and then have the arguments.
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MS: Saddam behaved as if he had weapons of mass destruction. And the basis of American policy in this world should be that if you go around claiming to have weapons of mass destruction, and threatening to use them as the Iranians are currently doing, then it shouldn't be a matter whether you're just bluffing or not. We have a responsibility to take you at your word and do something about it. And that's really the issue in Iran. Iran, actually, does generally walk the walk as well as talk the talk. They are people who have blown up Jewish community centers in Buenos Aires. And it's hard to, even by the biggest stretch, it's hard to say that's a legitimate grievance because of Israeli occupation of Palestine. I mean, they are people with a long reach, and a 25 year history of extra-territoriality. Why would they have nuclear weapons if they didn't, at the very minimum, intend them for serious nuclear blackmail?
Hewitt asked about Feingold’s proposal to censure the President:
MS: There is no good that can come for the Democratic Party out of that, and if Russ Feingold wants to pursue it, to shore himself up with the party base, good luck to him, because it's only going to make things worse for Hillary Clinton. Hillary will have to run to the left to avoid him peeling off significant support for her.
Which provides a nice segue into this:LEFTIST LAMENT: SUSAN Sarandon doesn't think Sen. Hillary Clinton belongs in the White House. "I find Hillary to be a great disappointment," the lefty actress tells More magazine. "She's lost her progressive following because of her caution and centrist approach. It bothered me when she voted for the war. There were brave people who didn't. She's not worse than other politicians, but I hoped she would be better. What America is looking for is authentic people who want to go into public service because they strongly believe in something, not people who are [just] trying to get elected."
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SINCE EVERYONE IS IRISH TODAY ...
Time to toot my horn ...
8 Sometimes Irish
You’re not Irish, my mother says. True, there’s not a drop of Irish blood coursing through my veins. English thoroughbreds through and through, Grandma says, matched and mated to preserve the bloodlines. Grandma is proud of our heritage. We’ve been here since the early 1600s, she says. 1621 to be exact. The fact that we didn’t come over on the Mayflower in 1620 has always been a sore spot with her, so she hedges on the year.
8 The Curse of the Happy Childhood
I am not unfamiliar with America’s recently discovered phenomenon, that being The Irish Sense of Humor. Thanks to Joey Freeman, the saint who pulled me through algebra, I grew up knowing it as The Jewish Sense of Humor, which Joey defined as the ability to find some levity in anything but most of all adversity. For all I know it was once The Portuguese Sense of Humor or maybe even The Mesopotamian Sense of Humor. I do know it was never The German Sense of Humor, as the Germans, according to Joey, have no sense of humor. However, he did acknowledge that they had that adversity part down pat. “They were carriers.”
Kitty
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ABOUT THAT SOUTH PARK EPISODE ...
Not only does Hollywoodinterrupted.com explain what happened, they have posted the episode so you can watch it if you missed it!Scientologist Tom Cruise Blackmails Viacom...
Sources from inside Paramount and South Park Studios report that parent company Viacom pulled last night's scheduled repeat of the high-rated "Trapped in the Closet" episode after the humorless Scientologist movie star Tom Cruise threatened to cancel all publicity for Mission Impossible:3 if Comedy Central aired the episode that satirizes Scientology and mocks his sexuality again.
Not only is this the first time that the South Park creators have been officially censored in their ten hit seasons with Comedy Central, Viacom officials also reportedly ordered Matt Stone and Trey Parker not to discuss the reason why their episode was cancelled.
The South Park boys are said to be angry, but will probably get revenge with the manner in which they deal with Scientologist Isaac Hayes' departure from the show.
Developing....
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Thursday, March 16, 2006
WORK WORK WORK
Cindy Adams points out today:
AS our nation confronts intense international unrest, Iran's and North Korea's nuclear potential, possible civil war in Iraq, a sluggish economy, Bush's low approval ratings, Jack Abramoff's congressional mess on influence peddling, and the fallout from Dubai playing potsy with our ports, the House of Representatives is planning a 10-day holiday. A St. Patrick's Day "District Work Period" from Friday to the 27th. "District Work Period" is Washingtonese for "Hell, no, we ain't going to be in session." It means members may be meeting but their meeting place will be vacation resorts. It means overseas fact-finding missions where the fact is it's around golf links or massage tables.
Just one month ago, Feb. 17 to Feb. 27, was their "Presidents Day District Work Period." Just exactly one month later, April 8 to April 24, is their "Spring District Work Period." Which will last them until precisely exactly one month from then, and their "Memorial Day District Work Period." What happens in June, I don't know. Maybe they just phone it in.
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WILL STEPHEN AND OSCAR DO RIMROCK?
The excellent radio adventure of gay Stephen and a really cool Cody dude ranch proprietor -- not that there's anything wrong with that.Rancher ‘punked' about movie by radio station
“Brokeback Mountain” inspired a Chicago radio station to test how politically correct one Cody dude ranch might be.
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“My partner, Oscar, and I want to book a vacation at a Wyoming dude ranch,” the high-pitched male voice said. …
“We've had people at our ranch of both persuasions,” she said, explaining that it's not an issue.
But Stephen, as the caller eventually identified himself, became stranger and stranger in his questions.
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“I think it would have been nice if they (radio station) had called back later to let me in on the joke,” Dede said. “I just hope they used our name,” added Fales, who as a businesswoman knows the value of publicity.
Fales believes Brokeback Mountain has helped tourism in Wyoming, even though it was not actually filmed here.
Personally, I think Stephen and Oscar should do Rimrock.
8 The 30-sec Bunnies in "Brokeback Mountain"
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CLOONEY & HIS SUPPOSED OTHER BLOG
Supposedly, Clooney was a blogger in 2004, according to Fly On The Wall, who was rumored to have been an in-the-know Hollywood VIP. Of course, I can't prove who those bloggers really are; I'm just passing this along in light of this current hilarious he said/she/said huffiness.
His anonymous blog [ http://bushatrocity.journalspace.com/ ]was a short-lived anti-Bush rant'n'rave, not much different from what he spews now, except without the benefit of his billion-dollar smile.
Interestingly enough, both Fly and the supposed Clooney stopped blogging on the same day: November 1, 2004. The "Clooney blog" was taken down sometime last fall. In case Fly decided to follow suit, I grabbed screen shots.
Normally, I wouldn't post anything on this story, except that Clooney claims he doesn't know how to blog.
Blog imbroglio: Clooney huffs over posting
In a post on her site, Huff yesterday said when she invited Clooney to blog on her site, the actor said he wasn't sure how to do it. (It's kinda like a book report, George.) She says she sent him a sample blog using the quotes. "Three days later," she writes, a publicist for the Clooney flick Good Night, and Good Luck "e-mailed again, approving, without any changes, what we had sent."
Huffy has a witness ...
The Clooney Incident
John Amato and I were there with Arianna on the night in question when she spoke to George Clooney about blogging, and the conversation went down as she describes it today.
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I don't know if Clooney got spooked because Fox News went after him or if he just doesn't know that his office bungled the communique but I've seen the email exchanges and Arianna is absolutely right on this one.
Surf over to Fly's, before it too is taken down, to read the comments, some of which are priceless: Geez, George. As the gruff, but loveable Sergeant Hulka said in that cinematic classic, Stripes, "Lighten up Francis."
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Wednesday, March 15, 2006
SOUTH PARK SCIENTOLOGY EPISODE TONIGHT!
According to Blue: Tonight (Wed., the Ides) South Park will be re-running this infamous Scientology episode - since I missed it last Nov. I'll be tuning in to watch Tom Cruise cowering in the closet!! 
Thanks, Blue!
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MARCH MADNESS
I've been in one of those a-pox-on-both-your-houses moods with politics for months now. The Dems' base is now what used to be considered the lunatic fringe, and the Repubs have yet to grow a permanent spine. Let's hope they stiffen in time for what the Dems are planning.
In the meantime, I'm savoring ...
The Feingold Resolution and the Sound of Silence
Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) brushed past the press pack, shaking her head and waving her hand over her shoulder. When an errant food cart blocked her entrance to the meeting room, she tried to hide from reporters behind the 4-foot-11 Barbara Mikulski (Md.).
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So nonplused were Democrats that even Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), known for his near-daily news conferences, made history by declaring, "I'm not going to comment." Would he have a comment later? "I dunno," the suddenly shy senator said.
This, of course, is really old news for dittoheads since Rush warned us during the 2000 campaign that if Bush was ever elected the Dems would eventually try to impeach him as payback for the Repubs (minus 4) impeaching Clinton. It was never a matter of if but when.
The Impeachment Agenda
As a legal matter, Mr. Feingold's censure proposal is preposterous. The National Security Agency wiretaps were disclosed to Congressional leaders, including Democrats, from the start. The lead FISA court judges were also informed, and the Attorney General and Justice lawyers have monitored the wiretaps all along. Despite a media drumbeat about "illegal domestic eavesdropping," Mr. Bush's spirited defense of the program since news of it leaked has swung public opinion in support.
But as a political matter, the Wisconsin Senator knows exactly what he's doing. He knows that anti-Bush pathology runs so deep among many Democrats that they really do think they're living in some new dictatorship.
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Not only do they want to block his policies, they also plan to rebuke and embarrass him in front of the world and America's enemies. And they want to do so not because there is a smidgen of evidence that he's abused his office or lied under oath, but because they think he's been too energetic in using his powers to defend America. By all means, let's have this impeachment debate before the election, so voters can know what's really at stake.
Speaking of America's enemies ...Saddam's Speech Results in Trial Closure
"Your are being tried in a criminal case. Stop your political speech," [Chief Judge] Abdel-Rahman said angrily.
"Had it not been for politics I wouldn't be here," Saddam replied.
8 And locally ... Just one reason why Repubs have no chance in NYS.
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BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH
Let's just say this wasn't a great day for Ceasar.I know there are a few snarky skeptics, from Brooklyn to Boise, who doubt my intelligence. That Alf ~ ALF misunderstanding didn't help.
But I'll have you know that I took Latin and not only excelled in it, I loved it -- that's my book -- which is why I know about the Ides of March.
After Latin I did nearly three years of French. Hated it!
And now for something completely different ...
8 The long list of shows that may not return in the fall
Probably the most surprising show on the list is Law and Order: Criminal Intent. With the rotating cast and drooping ratings, media watchers say this one is likely on the chopping block (the other two are safe, though). Things aren't looking good for Commander in Chief, either.
8 And just for fun: Talking cats!
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Tuesday, March 14, 2006
AIRING DIRTY LAUNDRY
I was in junior high when Peyton Place premiered on TV, "America's first truly successful primetime serial." Before the TV series, it was a movie (1957). However, it was Grace Metalious' book Peyton Place, which caused the greatest sensation because she had based her book on the town where she lived -- Gilmanton, New Hampshire -- and its residents. She aired their dirty little secrets in thinly veiled characters.Bad dirt
The poker players depicted in "Peyton Place" are the town's gentry and, while the book does include two haunting lakeside trysts, they involve summertime swimming, instead of ice. "Peyton Place" is not a roman à clef: It mainly distills, rather than exposes, Gilmanton. But somehow it felt like nonfiction to Grace Metalious' neighbors ; it spurred a few folks in town to murmur threats of a libel suit. And, Roger stressed, the book does culminate with a murder closely modeled after an actual killing. In 1946, a Gilmanton girl, 16-year-old Barbara Roberts, fatally shot her father, who had been molesting her for years, and buried his body in a sheep pen. In "Peyton Place," teenager Selena Cross likewise murders her incestuous rapist (in this case, it's her stepfather, Lucas Cross) and buries him in the family sheep pen.
"People talked about the dark things that went on in Gilmanton," Roger said. "They talked about them all the time, but not publicly. You don't put that stuff in a book. Seeing it in print -- that was excruciatingly painful to a lot of people."
It all seems so pale by today's tabloid standards. The book was a huge success, and the town understandably turned on Metalious.
50 Years Later, 'Peyton' Memories Remain
[I]n Gilmanton, "Peyton Place" was treated as if it had burned a letter "A" into the town's very soul. The author received threatening letters and calls and her children were taunted and ostracized.
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Friends agree that Metalious was ruined by fame. She wrote three more novels, but never approached her initial success. Her marriage broke up, her finances were a disaster and her drinking took on fatal dimensions. Near the end of her in life, she became lovers with a British journalist named John Rees, unaware that he had a wife and children back home.
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She died in 1964 of cirrhosis, at age 39.
Gilmanton did not mourn. Only in the 1970s did the local library stock her book and no plaques or statues are to be found in her honor. At the Smith Meeting House Cemetery, her burial spot is set well apart from the others,marked by a plainly inscribed white headstone arched sharply at the top, like a pair of eyebrows raised in anger.
Meanwhile, her novel, or at least the title, lived on. "Peyton Place" was turned into a juicy, but slightly tamed movie starring Hope Lange and Lana Turner, and later a wholly domesticated TV series, starring Mia Farrow and Ryan O'Neal.
It's all going to be headlines again now that a movie is finally going to be made about Metalious.
Bullock to Star in 'Peyton Place' FilmSandra Bullock has agreed to star in a film about "Peyton Place" author Grace Metalious, whose million-selling novel scandalized the nation 50 years ago and eventually ruined the author's life.
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[Grace] Metalious' novel of sex and scandal in a small New England town, based partly on Gilmanton, was published in the fall of 1956. Although it was banned in several cities, "Peyton Place" became one of the best-selling novels in history and led to a popular movie ...
In 1962 the little village of Morris, NY, where I lived, was consumed with a book about nearby Cooperstown and its residents. A pulp fiction writer by the name of Elaine Dorian had published "The Sex Cure," filled with titillating tales involving doctors and sex, supposedly based on actual people. The one anecdote everyone seems to recall to this day was the time a naked woman ran through town and ended up in a phone booth. I don't know if Elaine Dorian is a pen name or not, and I don't know if she actually lived in Cooperstown. Unlike Gilmanton, NH, Cooperstown still buys the book as fast as a copy appears. It was published in paperback only, and the copies are as rare as hen's teeth. It's the one book by Dorian which runs about $50 - $100 per copy. Maybe because, like "Peyton Place," it's airing people's dirty laundry.
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THE DAY I SAW BUSH
President Bush -- #43 that is -- will be in Canandaigua, NY, today.President Bush visiting Canandaigua
President Bush is visiting Upstate New York today. He will be in Canandaigua to speak with a few select senior members of the Finger Lakes community about Medicare Part D.
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Security will be tight for the president's visit, even down the county roads that lead to Canandaigua. The secret service is keeping the public away from the places he'll visit. That includes protestors that are expected to show up.
My mother came from Canandaigua; it's where I spent most of my summers as a kid. My great-uncle owned a mammoth "cottage" on the east side of the lake -- we got the afternoon sun :) -- where all us stayed. My late grandmother owned one of those fabulous old homes on North Main St., originally built in 1810, which is registered on the Register of Historic Places.
Although it's a 1.5 hour trip for me, which I've made many times in the past, I will not be able to go. As much as I'd love to see Bush #43, I'm coasting on financial fumes most days as it is, and I really can't afford the gas, no matter what price it is.
I have seen Bush #41, however, in the fall of 1984 when he stopped at the Arnot Mall on a campaign swing. He was Reagan's VP. The schools allowed the students to attend the rally, so I took Zappa. We took one of the buses to the Mall, and during the trip I tried to impress upon him that his behavior was paramount. I pointed out the sobering sight of sharp shooters on the rooftops. It was just three years since Reagan had been shot; security was in evidence everywhere.
We waited in line outside for I'll bet an hour just trying to get into the Mall. Zappa quickly became restless and hauled out a penknife and began to play with it.
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT?
Whadda y'mean? It's just a penknife.
ARE YOU KIDDING? THROW IT AWAY! THROW IT AWAY NOW!
No! I traded some quality stuff for this knife and I'm not throwing it away!
THROW! IT! A-WAY!
NO!
We compromised; he promised that he'd keep it in his pocket and tell them he had it.
I carried a camera case, with my 35mm camera and its monstrous telephoto lens. They pawed through every piece of lint in that case and then had me walk through the metal detector. I held my breath as they questioned Zappa next.
Do you have any weapons?
Yeah, I got a knife in my pocket.
Okay. Walk through the detector.
I'm amazed even now that back then, just three years after Reagan was shot, that they never asked to see his knife.
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KILLING CHEF? YOU !@#$%^&*(
I suppose you've heard that Isaac Hayes has quit South Park. I did a post at Lifelike Pundits just minutes after Aaron posted his, so read them both.
From NewsBusters ...
Soft on Scientology: Will Media Cover Isaac Hayes Hiking Out of 'South Park'?: From NBC's Matt Lauer on down to the nightly celebrity TV shows, journalists typically go soft on Scientology to gain access to the stars …
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Monday, March 13, 2006
ANOTHER OVERHEATED CLOONEY FAN?
According to Michelle Redmond: [S]peaking of George Clooney, he was great in Syriana, I mean really great, and I say this with the added perspective of being married to a G-man who finds the Clooney character to be the most realistic Agency bloke EVER in Hollywood history.
Are there any G-men in the house? Anyone know a G-man who can either refute or attest to this statement?
Here's Michelle's bio.
8 Mr. C swears! =:O
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ROUNDUP
Remember those $60 T-shirts Marc Jacobs designed specifically for Her Royal C two years ago? Have you seen anyone wearing one? I was reminded of them when I read the following ... BUBBA'S RAINMAKERS SLOW TO $PILL FOR HILL
"FOBs are not necessarily FOHs," quipped University of Virginia political scholar Larry Sabato, referring to friends of Bill and Hill. "Think of the two of them - who's the one who collects friends? Bill."
In other news ...
8 Ozzy is totally limp.
8 Sharon Stone has gray hair.
8 Travolta paints on his hair.
8 Brit pinches Kevin’s pennies.
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WITH A BANG AND A WHIMPER
The opening was boring, frustrating as hell, until I realized it was a dream. Okay, that made sense. HBO had inadvertently posted a spoiler synopsis, then quickly pulled it, so I knew what The Scene was beforehand, and yet it was still a jolt. I'm still digesting last night's episode, so I'm not certain how much I liked it. Disquieting comes to mind -- and sadness, cuz I know this is the beginning of the end.I had to keep reminding myself that 21 MONTHS had elapsed since the last season, and apparently the reel life continued as well, because in the interim, a few surprises took place.
1)Bobby and Janice had a baby.
2) I wasn't even aware, or didn't recall, that Gene was an FBI informant.
3) AJ, whose event planning future looked promising last season, has since grown a nasty wad of hair and even more attitude.
4) Uncle Junior, who previously had mimicked real life mobster Vincent "the Chin" Gigante's dementia act to avoid prison, developed a flaming case himself.
But, the biggest shocker-oo was Tony and Carmella's reconciliation. Jaaaay-zus, they were cooing and gooing and scarfing Sushi. Gone was her lethal rage towards his adultry. No more visits to the priest, or the rabbi, to deal with her conscience regarding her husband's business dealings. Apparently Carm was won over by Tony's wealth; He gave her a "Porsche SUV. 'Porsche Cayenne, like the pepper,' Carmela tells friends." So far no goomaras for T nor the occasional backroom bj's from strippers. What the hell happened? Like I said, disquieting. Will I watch next week? Are you kidding? I'll be glued to the set, with the phone off the hook.
8 Thumbs down review.
FIRING BLANKS
[I]t was immediately apparent that it was about the hair: during the hiatus, Paulie's primary relationship seemed to be with Miss Clairol, giving "Dye you c- -!" a whole new meaning; Carmela ditched the hip haircut and went back to a mall 'do; Anthony Jr. grew his locks long; and Silvio's rug is so big now he must buy it by the yard.
8 Thumbs up review.
Season Six of “The Sopranos” comes in like a lion
[T]hat creepy spoken word/music hybrid of William Burroughs' "Seven Souls," easily the weirdest piece of music this show has ever used. (I'm going to have nightmares about that baby nursing inches away from Janice's Rolling Stones tattoo.) It's like the producers don't want you to feel comfortable, because bad things are coming, and Tony getting shot may just be the start of it.
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Tony told Dr. Melfi early in season four that there are two endings for guys like him: "Dead, or in the can." Whether Tony himself survives the shooting, something tells me there are going to be a lot of funerals over the next 20 episodes.
8 For some inside dope on wiseguys ...
Fingering false notes in 'The Sopranos'
We invited former FBI agent-turned-mob-infiltrator-turned-mob informer Joseph Pistone (the real Donnie Brasco) to watch the first episode of the new season of "The Sopranos" and give us his thoughts.
8 For a glimpse ahead ...
What happened last night on `The Sopranos'
It's not telling too much to reveal that the next few episodes will deal with the gang and Tony's family in crisis. There will be ugly, undisciplined jockeying for money and power, with Silvio (E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt) temporarily in charge, egged on by his Lady Macbeth-like wife (played by Van Zandt's wife, Maureen). And Tony's nuclear family members must relate as never before. The beast hovering outside their unconventional life is now among them, a creature spawned from their very bosom instead of a rival gangster or even that bear glimpsed by Tony, waiting in the back yard for the right moment to attack.
8 A fascinating interview with the show's creator, David Chase.Settling the Score: The Sopranos final season
The season's theme, Chase says, is of unease.
"Kind of disquieted, sort of rattled, not feeling like things are going well. The theme is the temporal nature of life, how briefly we're here and the way we realize we're probably going to be on our deathbeds one day. That's been in the show a lot, but I think you're going to see more of it this year. The coming of autumn."
Sopranos devotees can expect the season to end on a downbeat note, in other words.
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The broken season is an invention spawned from necessity, Chase says. The 12th episode in May will not end in a cliffhanger.
Then this hilarious, if unintentional, bit of insight ...
Questions remain, from the existential to the philosophical. Why, for example, is Tony Soprano still seeing a psychiatrist -- Lorraine Bracco's Dr. Jennifer Melfi -- if he clearly is getting so little out of it?
"Well, we're trying to depict real psychotherapy," Chase says. "Of course he gets nothing out of it."
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Sunday, March 12, 2006
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THE "M" WOID
And just in time for The Sopranos! This has gotta be the funniest headline this week ...
Mafia's Role in Ports Also Raises Concerns
Justice Department lawyers warned eight months ago that a nefarious element had infiltrated important East Coast ports, but they weren't talking about terrorists or Arab shipping companies.
They were talking about the mafia.
Y'THINK?
I thought that On The Waterfront kinda exposed that whole "nefarious element" in 1954 to those who had not heard of it elsewhere. In fact the movie was based on the Malcolm Johnson book by the same name: Johnson was a New York Sun reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1949 for his series of 24 front-page articles in 1948, detailing crime on the New York waterfront. The series exposed what he called an "outlaw frontier," where organized criminals had a stranglehold on the ports. These gangs enforced their reign of terror through thievery, control of narcotics traffic, smuggling, shakedowns, kickbacks, bribery, extortion, and murder. They were allied with a crime cartel that Johnson labeled the syndicate--now known as the Mafia--that controlled organized crime in the U.S., including the powerful International Longshoremen's Union.
Old joke: Organized crime is only "organized" when compared to the government .
For more believe-it-or-nots ...
8 P Diddy carries a purse.
8 Forbes released its billionaire list and I'm not on it!
8 Chris reports (w/picture) that it's SNOWING in Albuquerque!
8 Cup’o’joe?
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