| Democrats toughen up
Constitutional Law professor/lecturer at the University of Chicago. Illinois State Senate * Welfare legislation * Created the Earned Income Tax Credit program that gave over $100 million in tax cuts for families throughout Illinois over 3 years. * Expanded early childhood education * Enlisted the support of law enforcement officials to draft legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases. * Passed, with U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL), the toughest campaign finance law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and banned most gifts from lobbyists. * Barack Obama sponsored and passed legislation that expanded health care coverage to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults.
Nine bookstores worth traveling for
We get a whole lot of tourists, along with people waiting for trains and fans hanging out until game time," said spokeswoman Patty Miller. The store has two other locations, but the LoDo location is especially inviting, with cozy nooks, overstuffed chairs and a gas fireplace.
THAT BOOKSTORE IN BLYTHEVILLE: 316 W. Main, Blytheville, Ark.; http://www.tbib.com or 870-763-3333. It's located in an out-of-the-way small town, but That Bookstore in Blytheville has become famous thanks to Grisham, who grew up nearby. "He comes here all the time, every time he has a book," said Mary Gay Shipley, the store's "manager, founder, owner and janitor." While Grisham no longer greets the public during his visits, he does sign books, and his association with the store gave Shipley the clout to get other big names in - from Mary Higgins Clark and "Cold Mountain" author Charles Frazier to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Lakers Bryant calm after blowout loss against Spurs
Reflecting on Lakers owner Jerry Buss' decision to trade Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 instead of meeting O'Neal's demands at the time for $30 million-plus annual salary, Jackson said: "Probably I'd say this guy (Buss) would do it nine of out 10 times." Chris Mihm started, missed all three shots in six minutes and was on the bench in favor of Kwame Brown to start the second half. Jackson has heard Dennis Rodman is pushing to be hired as a WNBA coach and lent support, saying: "Having him have to explain things and come out of himself and talk is really good." .
La-La Land of the Giants
I should have listened to my wife. She told me to wash my car. But I'd been on the road just about every weekend for three months, covering NFL games, and a carwash didn't register on my list of priorities.
So the other day I wheezed up to the Beverly Hills Hotel in my one-headlight Volvo that's covered in dust and bird droppings, and filled with old newspapers, water bottles, my son's basketball, and -- disturbingly -- my daughter's collection of stripped-bare Barbie dolls.
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Critics peek inside Oscar
If the past few years (or the past few decades) are any indication, trying to predict who will get a nod is like trying to predict Kevin Federline's musical career.So this year, Fresno Bee movie critics Donald Munro and Rick Bentley are taking a different approach. Their lists are the actors and films that they would honor if they were selecting those to get the Oscar nods. Here's how they would hand out the 2008 Academy Award nominations.Donald Munro's picksBest picture"Hairspray": The feel-good movie of the year, perfectly pitched and so giddy in its forward momentum and cheery social message that you'll be dancing out of the theater."No Country for Old Men": It captures the Wild West tinge of underlying violence that boosted the United States in its early days and to an extent still forms the framework of our society: a country of wide-open spaces, boundless opportunities and a chilling tendency toward taking what you can get."Once": A perfect little musical love story about a struggling Irish songwriter, this low-budget charmer has the best soundtrack of the year."Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street": This pared-down version of the Broadway musical is so bloody economical that the film achieves an amazing double whammy: It gives you the chills and makes you sing at the same time."Into the Wild": Sean Penn's adaptation of the Jon Krakauer book about a young man (Emile Hirsch) who naively challenges the Alaska wilderness is a taut, superbly told and ferociously filmed adventure.Best actorJohnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd": He's a cut above, no doubt about it.Chris Cooper, "Breach": A clenched and compelling performance as a traitorous FBI officer who shrouds much of himself -- motivations, back story, moral center -- and yet keeps offering intimate glimpses.Don Cheadle, "Talk to Me": An endearing and moving performance from an actor who captures the charisma of a born entertainer.Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood": Among the most chilling personifications of evil ever portrayed on the big screen.
Hip-Hop Rumors: Bump J FREE!?! Jim Jones' Reality Show? Mike Jones ...
I was all hyped up to see Jim Jones in the reality show they were filming on VH1, but I don't know what's become of it. It is going around that there was tension between Jim and the producers of the show. There is no such thing as a true reality show, but there is something called “scripted reality." That's what Run and the family do. And that works for some, but Jim Jones is the real deal. I heard he just wasn't with the script and wasn't able to flip it to fit his mode of operation. All the filming is supposedly done, but the editing is very tricky with a reality-based stickler like Jim Jones the Capo.
BUMP J IS FREE!
I'll never forget bumpin' Chicagorilla, Bump J's mixtape. I was waiting for the official album.
Scott Turner: Appreciating the gifts of Trustom Pond
Like bee swarms, hundreds of Canada geese crisscrossed the water. Cormorants glowed in the setting sun. Ducks produced beeps, peeps, honks, and squeaks, squawks and whistles. I saw coot, gadwall, scaup, bufflehead, widgeon, redhead, goldeneye, black duck, ruddy duck and three types of merganser. Some of the smaller waterfowl fed in a massed frenzy, looking like a scrum of rugby players. A northern harrier, also called a marsh hawk, passed overhead, as did a great blue heron, which croaked like a movie dinosaur. A rough-legged hawk hovered over the sand dunes near Moonstone Beach. I heard the rattle of a kingfisher. Nearby was a sandhill crane, noted by birdwatchers for weeks, but we did not see it. I caught up with my family at one of the observation decks, where a sea-freshened breeze rattled leaves on young white oaks.
Wild Card/Vacation Day 11 of 12
Only two more shopping days until I return to the final days of the City Council campaigns. Then, we'll have fun taking apart the campaigns. Any dirt yet? Any mudslinging. You know, the good stuff. Or is everyone behaving? My wife is now looking over my shoulder -- literally -- so I have to pretend that I'm just checking ball scores. See ya in two days. Here's Wild Card ... .
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