Well, this is novel. It seems that Hollywood, Florida had a referendum and not very many people came, which is really too bad since it means firefighters, police, and other city employees may now have their benefits taken after 13 percent of all registered voters in Hollywood voted for deep cuts to them.

Via the Miami-Herald:

With a low voter turnout — about 13 percent of the city’s 84,521 registered voters — residents cast ballots to strip police, firefighters and the city’s general employee’s of their current pension plans, allowing the city to save $8.5 million.

“This isn’t necessarily something where we look at it and say ‘yay’ we won,” said City Spokeswoman Raelin Storey. “This has been a very difficult time for the city.”

Facing a $38 million deficit and unable to come to an agreement with the city’s unions, Hollywood leaders took the risky move of putting the issue to a public referendum. Last year, the city said it had to put $36.6 million into the underfunded pension program.

Several cities throughout South Florida are also struggling with sharply increased pension costs, and have been eyeing the Hollywood case to see how it turned out.

Yeah, I'll just bet they are. Basically, 13 percent of city residents (and you can guess which ones), came out to tell public servants they weren't worth the extra money. Austerity!

What bothers me most about this is that it was a referendum. Basically, the city charter says that if no agreement is reached between the city and collective bargaining units, the city has the right to put a referendum on the ballot and call for a vote. How is this good faith bargaining by any stretch of the imagination?

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Normally I'm about as interested in Hollywood divorces as I am in grass-growing competitions and NASCAR, but I thought Camille Grammer's dissing of her ex-husband, wingnut actor Kelsey Grammer, was interesting for what it said about the state of our national discourse and how that filters down into our private lives and personal relationships.

Camille Grammer, interviewed early this week on Joy Behar's HNN show, indicated early on that she and her now-ex-husband no longer saw eye-to-eye politically. And that seemed to be part of a larger drifting apart in the relationship, because they no longer had sex, either:

BEHAR: Was it his fault or your fault or both?

GRAMMER: It could be both, but it was more on his end.

BEHAR: More on his end?

GRAMMER: Yes.

BEHAR: OK, well then again, good to be rid of him.

GRAMMER: [Laughs] You know. I miss intimacy. I think that's a really important part of a marriage, is to be intimate with your partner. And we didn't really have that.

BEHAR: It really is nice. But cuddling is fun.

GRAMMER: Oh, I love cuddling.

BEHAR: You didn't do that.

GRAMMER: He was too busy watching Fox News. He didn't want to cuddle.

BEHAR: Well, there's a real turn-on.

Of course, when Fox's Bret Baier ran an item on this yesterday -- minus any video -- he was properly appalled: "Fox News has been blamed for a lot of thing, but this probably takes the cake."

And on the superficial level of Hollywood divorces, it would be silly indeed to read too much into this. It is, after all, purely anecdotal evidence from a single relationship.

Nevertheless, the general phenomenon she's describing is a dynamic I believe has been repeated on a massive scale over the past decade and more: friendships, family relationships, marriages and other close personal relationships soured because one of the two people involved has become a fanatical devotee of movement conservatism, particularly through the cultlike auspices of talk radio and Fox News TV -- and the other person in the relationship does not.

We've all encountered it: former college pals, or hometown buds, or old flames, or coworkers, or brothers-in-law, or grandfathers -- all convinced now that you've become a bad person because you're aiding and abetting those evil liberals in their attempt to destroy America. And what happens on an interpersonal scale is often ugly. It happens at Thanksgiving tables, at weddings and family reunions, when you go home to visit and see your old friends, or at work with people you've been friends with for years.

There are several reasons for it. The first is that the relentless message of the right-wing talkers, whether at Fox or on the radio, is simple and unmistakable: Liberals are bad people, sick in their souls, and they want to destroy America and your way of life. Day and day out, that's the message the True Believers get. And boy, do they believe it.

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Back in May, John Amato did a panel with Andrew Breitbart as part of a benefit for the Charles Mingus Youth Arts Foundation. I didn't write much about it at the time because Breitbart was drunk, unruly, and unintelligible. Since he basically spewed what he always spewed, it didn't seem like news you could use. Also, handheld video is less than optimal.

However, in reviewing the video, I feel that I owe it you, our faithful readers, to let Andrew Breitbart summarize his life's motivation in a few seconds. It's basic, simple, and explains why he is such a scourge on the landscape of political discourse.

On the topic of what's good for democracy:

BREITBART: Sex and drugs should be illicit, and when they're legalized there's no shame involved and thus rendering the experience less pleasurable.

I'm certain we could turn up video of Breitbart soliciting on a corner in Hollywood. If you have a clip, please do send it in.

And this:

BREITBART: I just like doing things that are wrong, feeling like I can get in trouble.

I think we should get him in trouble for those wrong things, don't you?

David and I joined KFPK's host Maria Amoudian for almost thirty minutes discussing our new book Over the Cliff: How Obama's Election Drove the American Right Insane.

The show airs on KPFK Radio 90.7 FM in Los Angeles and 98.7 FM in Santa Barbara, and on WPRR Radio 1680 AM in Grand Rapids, MI.

It'll be available on podcast pretty soon also.

And don't forget to buy our book.

I'll also be speaking at a fundraiser Friday night in Beverly Hills for the Hollywood Alliance at 7:30 PM.

The LA Progressive writes:

John Amato Speaking at LA Media Reform Fundraiser in Beverly Hills on July 16 John Amato Reading
Friday, July 16, 7:30 p.m., in Beverly Hills
(Address available after RSVP)
RSVP to lamrg@commoncause.org
Suggested donation of $35 includes signed copy of “Over the Cliff

The LA Media Reform group is sponsoring this event in collaboration with the LA Progressive and Alliance Hollywood.

Please email them for the info and click over to the LA Progressive for more details.

The right has always had their boogeymen, and "Hollywood" has always been an easy catch-all target for them. At last night's Oscar Award ceremony, the movie Hurt Locker won numerous awards, and because the movie showed American soldiers in a positive light, the idiots at Fox News determined that the film and it's director are champions for Republican causes. (warning: link goes to Fox News)

So had you just about given up on Hollywood, regarding the movie capital as simply a collection of hopeless la-la land liberals--or worse, as an elitist gaggle of heartland-bashing snobs? OK, but guess what: Hollywood hears you. They feel your pain, or at least they worry about their own pain, if people don’t buy tickets and DVDs. As we shall see, Hollywood can adapt. Show business, after all, is a business.

If I might be permitted a point of personal indulgence here, I will say I predicted it. Here in the Fox Forum last month, I wrote, “In terms of the big prize itself, ‘Locker’ has the edge.” And the reason cited was that the Iraq war is safely over, it seems, and Bush is out of office, and so now Hollywood can “afford” to honor the sacrifice--and, yes, the glory--of the war without giving aid and comfort to the political enemy:

Because we know that all non-Republicans absolutely LOATHE our troops. The Fox writer admits later in the story that he has no idea what Bigelow's politics are -- which serves as yet another example of the shoddy faux journalism we see from them.

It really makes my blood boil when these rats claim to somehow be more patriotic -- when in fact, historical record and fact shows that propaganda outlets like Fox News aided the Bush administration in the run up to the invasion of Iraq, and supported Cheney, Rummsfeld and others, who used and abused our troops and gutted our military. Republicans have repeatedly voted against increases in veterans benefits for years, and care little about the soldiers themselves. The damage these awful, greedy people have done to our military and our country will take generations to repair.

his vorpal sword: Did Howie Rich break the law in Illinois...again?

The Existentialist Cowboy: The Empire falls back

Hullabaloo: Nobody should be surprised that the right wing doesn't see anything wrong with nice white, anti-government lunatics trying to kill people

cab drollery: Like a zombie tromping through a Hollywood gorefest, the idea of privatizing Social Security still walks among us.

The Impolitic: Breaking: White House library has books!

alicublog: Low Church

h/t Progress Not Congress

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Tom Arnold is not exactly known as a towering intellect. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's a very nice man; he's certainly built a pretty decent career in a notoriously difficult industry, no small feat. But when you think of politically astute Hollywood types, Tom Arnold isn't exactly the person that comes to mind.

Clearly, Hannity assumed that Arnold is a Republican (I'm guessing that Hannity's researchers got no further than a picture of Tom Arnold endorsing Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor, since Tom has publicly said he's a Democrat), because I can't imagine Hannity asking a Democrat on.

But the multi-millionaire Hannity (who is so out of touch with everyday Americans he insists that ham costs on 79 cents/pound) didn't count on the former meat packer from Iowa whose whole act centered around being a common man actually championing policies that help the average American, instead of the corporate oligarchy. Progress Not Congress breaks down some highlights:

00:58 – Blakeman says: We got Medicare and we got Medicaid, what did we get for it? We got abuse, fraud, and mismanagement.

01:11 Arnold replies: You don’t think the private sector has fraud and abuse (like the government)?

01:15 Blakeman replies: But not to the scale of government.

This whole exchange is laughable. The fact that Blakeman is even trying to claim that the private sector, which is strictly in business for profit, is not as corrupt as the government, is idiotic at best.

01:21 Blakeman asks: What’s your recourse if government provides you with substandard health care? What are you going to do, sue the government?

I would like to know what Mr. Blakeman thinks his recourse would be if he received substandard care from a private insurance company?

As for recourse if you are receiving substandard care from a public health plan, yes of course you can sue the government. Why would an American not be able to sue the government? It happens all the time.

But even before that, an American has a litany of contacts at their disposal in the form of public, elected officials that would act as the patient’s advocate, and they do it for free, and they would do it well because their job depends on making their constituents happy, and keeping their voters alive.

Blakeman has no idea what he is talking about.

01:59 Hannity says: You cannot deny someone care in this country because of their inability to pay…no it is not happening all of the time.

Hannity’s lack of knowledge on the issues is staggering. Hannity’s previous claim can be refuted in two ways.

1. It is true that if a patient comes to the emergency room of a hospital without health insurance, the hospital is required to treat them. The hospital can and will turn around and bill that patient for services rendered. This ultimately leads many down the road of bankruptcy. Keep in mind, that a woman with breast cancer, to build off of Hannity’s analogy, cannot go into a hospital and say “I need treatment, but I can’t pay for it.” The hospital is not required to, and most likely won’t, treat that woman’s condition.

2. Americans are denied care all of the time by insurance companies who refuse to cover certain procedures, or simply refuse to provide coverage to someone with a preexisting condition.

Tom Arnold was correct when he said “It’s happening all the time.”

Sean, Brad, dudes. You just got totally pwned by Tom Arnold.

Dohiyi Mir: It's all good...

Halfway There: John McCain has a secret plan. He just needs 25% of the black vote. Insane? Of course. For real? Yes. The National Black Republican Association (both members) is talking up the 25% goal as if it's possible. (I wonder what they're smoking?) Hilarity ensues.

Calculated Risk: The housing downturn is starting to hit upscale communities everywhere.

The Moderate Voice: Will we see the end of the Electoral College?

Miss Cellania: Southern ingenuity, French style

What's the book that ought to be used to smack Dick Cheney in the mouth? Who's the writer Hollywood hacks fear most? Who's the senator you ought to know better? Who's the writer the Library of America loves best? Find out in The Opinion Mill's Sunday Bookchat!

What a wild time! I took this picture in the balcony of the Kodak theater at the historic Democratic Presidential Debate Thursday with my iPhone. This was a special night.

Update: Just Above Sunset has a host of photographs for the entire event.

Friday, February 1, 2008 – Political Hollywood

The Los Angeles Democratic Presidential Debate, January 31, 2008, at the Kodak Theater on Hollywood Boulevard – JUST ABOVE SUNSET received press credentials and covered the event, live, here, from inside the hall. This was what was happening outside, just before the debate began.

The Photographs:

The Big Event

Gathering Opinion

The Media

Partisans

CNN Broadcasting

Our man skippy the bush kangaroo went to show his support of the WGA strike in Hollywood, and it looks like there's going to be some more picketers out there:

it looks like the networks are going to get squeezed from all sides. the news writers for cbs have voted to go on strike. hollywood reporter:

after working without a contract for more than two years, cbs news employees represented by the wga east have approved a strike through an authorization vote.

eighty-one% of the 75%-80% of the union's rank and file who turned out in a special election thursday and friday voted to authorize the strike. that, however, doesn't mean a strike is imminent. it first would have to be approved by the negotiating committee and upper echelon of the wga.

the wga already is in a three-week-old strike with many of its members in a separate union for tv and film writers, which has resulted in picket lines in new york and on the west coast. the cbs news union's negotiating committee is scheduling a meeting after thanksgiving to assess the situation, wgae president michael winship said..[..]

if this were a conservative blog, we'd make some crack about how the cbs news execs were going to have to make the news up themselves now.

I don't know about you, but I'm seriously jonesing for The Daily Show and Colbert Report...anything that's gonna squeeze the networks into getting to the table and negotiating is good with me.