A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via jsonline)

In: Coretta Scott King. There is some historical irony in the fact that at one time the government of the United Stats through COINTELPRO tried to break up her marriage and destroy the credibility of her husband, Reverend Martin Luther King and now 4 Presidents attended her funeral. What a difference 40 years can make.

From the AP:

"Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said King spoke out, not just against racism, but against 'the senselessness of war and the solutions for poverty.'

"'She sang for liberation, she sang for those who had no earthly reason to sing a song,' with a voice that was heard 'from the tintop roofs of Soweto to the bomb shelters of Baghdad,' Franklin said.

"'The last stanza and highest note of Coretta King's freedom song remains to be sung,' the mayor said.

RIP, Coretta Scott King.



(image via signonsandiego)

Out: More Ballots Than Members. If you are tired of The Corsair's endless coverage of the historic House leadership race, skip on. If you are not, however, something intersting happened during the vote for House leadership. More ballots were received than actual voters. Twice. That little corruption may have been the proximate cause of the downfall of former Majority Leader Blunt. Kind of hard to run on a reform ticket when the vote count of your victory is dodgy. Dramatic internal emails on the day of the Republican House leadership vote have been released -- anonymously -- to TheHill, including:

" 12:14 p.m.: Prayer by [GOP Conference Vice Chairman Jack] Kingston [R-Ga.]. Pledge, and now election for leader. 12:23: Subject: Blunt�s speakers

"[Rep. Kay] Granger [R-Texas] led off, [Rep. Charlie] Norwood [R-Ga.] second, [Rep. Dave] Camp [R-Mich.] third.

"12:25: Subject: [Ways and Means Chairman] Bill Thomas [R-Calif.] leads for Boehner.

"12:26: Subject: Blunt�s speakers

"Theme was not inspiring. The old 'can�t change horses' in midstream [referring to Granger�s speech].

"12:29: Boehner�s seconders: [Rep. Steve] Buyer [R-Ind.], [Rep.] Gresham Barrett [R-S.C.].

"12:34: BTW, this place is FULL. Standing members.

"12:34: [Rep. Mark] Souder [R-Ind.] is shredding Blunt and [the] establishment in Shadegg nomination speech.
"12:40: Just started leader voting.

"12:43: Voting for leader.

"12:56: Still counting.

"1:01: Holy S**T more ballots cast than were members. Re-voting now.

"1:01: Re-vote!!!! More ballots than Members!!!!!!!!!!!"

More ballots cast than members?! Yeah, the era of corruption is over. More internal emails here.



(image via cnn)

In: The Lost World. Just when you thought that terrestrial exploration had reached it's outer limits, scientific discovery fills us once again with wonder at the infinite possibilities of nature. According to CNN:

"Scientists say they have found a 'Lost World' in an Indonesian mountain jungle, home to dozens of exotic new species of birds, butterflies, frogs and plants.

"'It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth,' said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the U.S., Indonesian, and Australian expedition to part of the cloud-shrouded Foja mountains in the west of New Guinea.

"Indigenous peoples living near the Foja range, which rises to 2,200 meters (7,218 feet), said they did not venture into the trackless area of 3,000 square kilometers (1,200 square miles) -- roughly the size of Luxembourg or the U.S. state of Rhode Island.

"The team of 25 scientists rode helicopters to boggy clearings in the pristine zone.

"'We just scratched the surface,' Beehler told Reuters. 'Anyone who goes there will come back with a mystery.'"

(The Corsair pours himself a glass of Napoleonic cognac) Cheers to mystery.

Out:



(image via christianfinnegan)

In: Live at Gotham. We are of the opinion that comedy, extreme fighting, cartoons and porn are the sectors of the entertainment industry that will most benefit from the rise of handheld devices. In that sense, Comedy Central has a distinct advantage -- remember those viral Chappelle Show clips? -- in this new digital media age. And, Comedy Central is taking advantage of their position with a robust broadband strategy, to wit (via paidcontent):

"COMEDY CENTRAL has developed its first original multi-platform stand-up series 'Live At Gotham' (working title), it was announced today by Lou Wallach, senior vice president, original programming and development, COMEDY CENTRAL. The topical stand-up series will premiere on COMEDY CENTRAL's broadband channel 'MotherLoad,' followed by its on-air network debut � making this the first original broadband program to migrate to the linear channel.

"Beginning on Sunday, March 26, COMEDY CENTRAL will tape 'Live At Gotham' at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. Topical segments from the stand-up shows will be released as 'MotherLoad' exclusives, the first of which premieres on the broadband channel the following day. A new comedian will be featured daily throughout the week. Each stand-up showcase will consist of six up-and-coming comedians. The broadband series 'Live At Gotham' premieres on Monday, March 27, with new segments launching daily for six weeks.

"'Live At Gotham' will also debut on-air on COMEDY CENTRAL as six one-hour hosted episodes in summer 2006. The 'Live At Gotham' on-air series is more than just an extension of 'MotherLoad,' as each episode will feature exclusive stand-up footage for its network airing."