drat fink

FOIA

"But on what legal basis is it now possible for the United States, as made manifest through the CIA, to supervise the shooting down of small airplanes thousands of miles outside the jurisdiction? The answer comes in the form of a decision memorandum signed by President Bill Clinton in June of 1994, bringing "closure," to use a fashionable term, to acrimony within the administration on this issue. The documents in question are all available from the National Security Archive, whose Kate Doyle sued for them under the Freedom of Information Act."

i see luger

BOULDER, Colo., May 30 (UPI) -- A federal agency is developing a radar-like device that uses electromagnetic waves to peer through clothing and detect concealed weapons from up to 15 meters (50 feet) away.

QSA

"INSPIRED by James Bond films, the US Army has come up with a $1 million armoured car equipped with gadgets such as a spinning laser gun and electric door handles."

baby gap

"The Hollywood baby machine seems to be at full throttle. Despite firm denials from all spokespeople involved, "Friends" sources hint strongly that both Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are in a family way."

gravel broad

lucinda williams new album reviewed

disenfranchisement

"Clearly, however, one of the major impediments to black voting was the purge of the voter rolls. Florida has one of the nation's strictest laws governing restoration of felons' voting rights. Thirty-one percent of the state's black men are barred from voting because of prior felonies."

girls will be girls

high school girls suspended for topless driveby prank.

cant these women relax?

"SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) - Brenda Corrie Kuehn will be wearing men's golf shirts and carrying 25 extra pounds in the eighth month of her pregnancy. She still expects a normal golf experience this week at the U.S. Women's Open."

double trouble

can you believe that the bush girls were busted again, this time for trying to use a fake id to buy alcohol at a restaurant? god bless those girls.

public affairs

"For government to represent the interests of average people, public officials have to be liberated from their dependence on private interests to finance their campaigns. Doing that means going far beyond anything dreamt of in the watered-down McCain-Feingold bill sloshing its way through Congress, which closes one loophole (soft money) while widening the hard-money pipeline. That's why a little-noticed storm going on right now in the state of Massachusetts is so important."

tv land

is there anything more surreal than the idea of a cleaned up cheech marin doing a knock off clips show called funny flubs and screwups using bush campaign speech malaprops alongside outtakes from becker?

blame canada

Canada Moves Toward Legalizing Pot

buzz lightyear

Could McCain Make The Jump As Well?

x-ray specs

i guess glen jones is having his 15 minutes except its taking him a little longer.

no class

i just started getting my alumni magazine after about ten years. it took me a while to get them my fowarding address. in between all the notices for marriages babies and promotions is a notification for jane swift, class of 1987, which coincides with my days at trinity. so whats she doing? shes the govenor of freakin' massachusetts. i guess i can take umbrage in the fact that she wasnt elected to that post. yeah right.

golf clubbed

"WASHINGTON, May 29 -- The Supreme Court ruled today, in a case sure to be argued again and again in country clubs and saloons across the land, that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can ride in a golf cart rather than walk the course during PGA Tour events."

e-voter

Online campaigns - why the've been so poorly done, and how to run them right

jury of your peers

"The sentence had been imposed on Kubby in March after he was convicted of possession of minute quantities of psilocybin and mescaline -- charges which were a byproduct of a 1999 medical marijuana raid on his house. The medical marijuana charges were later dropped by the judge after a jury refused to convict Kubby or his wife, Michele."

price gouging

"A UN panel has accused Afghanistan's Taliban rulers of selling stockpiled opium and heroin to finance its war and train terrorists.

In a report to the Security Council, the panel questioned the sincerity of the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, in banning poppy cultivation last July.

They say that the large stockpile suggests that the Taliban only want to halt production to keep opium and heroin prices from plummeting.

Their report said: "If Taliban officials were sincere in stopping the production of opium and heroin, then one would expect them to order the destruction of all stocks existing in areas under their control."

The UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention reported that Afghanistan's opium production was about 2,500 tons in 1998; 4,600 tons in 1999 and 3,100 tons in 2000 which amounted to a sizable stock of opium and heroin.

The Security Council froze Taliban assets and imposed an international flight ban on Ariana airlines in November 1999.

The move was put pressure on the hardline militia to turn over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden for trial over the US embassy bombings in Africa in August 1998."

the honeymooners

Burlington Free Press/WPTZ poll on Jeffords

indy 90201

jason priestley is working with al michaels on the indy 500 broadcast on abc.

boomtown

magic mushrooms invade tokyo

run to you

runner

blog something

Blogging as a Form of Journalism

ralphies boy

nader release on the jeffords episode

mob rules

mob tape theatre

movie me

will this replace my movie delivery jones?

up in smoke

can car chassis be made from hemp?

mccainiac

"Statement by Senator John McCain on Senator Jim Jeffords



WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "I am sorry to see Senator Jeffords, an independent, principled Senator, leave the Party. Despite occasional policy differences between us, I have long respected Jim Jeffords' integrity, and his conscientious service to his constituents and to the nation. He placed what he perceived as the national interest before partisan or personal interests, and though we may disagree over whether his positions on one or another policy question were the right course for our government or the country to take, he held those positions honorably and bravely. I wish him well and I look forward to continuing to work with him on issues important to our country.

"Although we have lost our majority in the Senate, I do believe Senator Jeffords' departure can have a positive impact on how our party responds to members who occasionally dissent from party orthodoxy. For his votes of conscience, he was unfairly targeted for abuse, usually anonymously, by short-sighted party operatives from their comfortable perches in K Street offices, and by some Republican members of Congress and their staff. Perhaps those self-appointed enforcers of party loyalty will learn to respect honorable differences among us, learn to disagree without resorting to personal threats, and recognize that we are a party large enough to accommodate something short of strict unanimity on the issues of the day. Tolerance of dissent is the hallmark of a mature party, and it is well past time for the Republican Party to grow up."

chopy sue

"COLOMBO (Reuters) - Four Sri Lankan men got more than they bargained for when they tried to molest two women in a central Sri Lankan town -- only to find one of their would-be victims was a karate champion, a newspaper said on Thursday.

The men had grabbed the two women and dragged them into a bush by the road leading to the town of Matale when one of women started to fight back, said the Daily News.

It said two of the men were felled by neat blows ``where men are most vulnerable,'' while the other two bolted.

The newspaper identified the women as Dulcia Sirisena, who was recently named Grand Champion at the Open Karate Championships in India.

The four assailants were later arrested by police."

double bouble

mmm. gotta love this jim jeffords business. imagine a politician actually acting on conscience and in the process wreaking havoc on his ideological opposition. and a sour lot they are. just check out some of the quotes kurtz culls from their rags like the ny post natl rev or the wall st. journal.

but jonah goldbergs excesses are unmatched as he dreams of the possibility of sewing a half starved weasel into jeffords small intestines as retribution. hes only projecting his displeasure he would surely argue but who writes shit like that in what i imagine they would consider a reputable magazine?? man if i ever had the chance i would take jonah goldberg and id nail him to the floor pour gallons of honey over him and send in millions of ravenous carnivorous ants which would devour him whole over the course of a few days but not before setting up camp in his liver and breeding inside his lungs. but thats just me.

meanwhile that tax cut breezes through the senate 62 - 38 (with jeffords voting for it) but it hopefully represents an end and not a beginning. maybe this is wishful thinking.

stress test

"ITHACA, N.Y. -- Even the low-level but chronic noise of everyday local traffic can cause stress in children and raise blood pressure, heart rates and levels of stress hormones, reports a new study by a Cornell University environmental psychologist and his European co-authors."

greenhorn

think bill walton sucks? then be your own sports announcer over the web.

green mountains

vermont senator to leave republican party. balance of power expected to shift to democrats. daschle expected to be named senate majority leader. does that mean they can squash the tax cut?

road show

"The scroll on which Jack Kerouac composed "On the Road" 50 years ago was auctioned yesterday at Christie's in Manhattan for $2.4 million, setting the world auction record for a literary manuscript and significantly eclipsing its presale estimate of $1 million to $1.5 million.

The winning bidder, James Irsay, the owner and chief executive of the Indianapolis Colts, walked away to rousing applause with one of the foremost literary relics of the 20th century."

brought to you by...

advertisers to insert digital products into reruns.

ivanna piazza

who is the best catcher in baseball?

mangan overbored

"FREMONT, Calif. -- Once upon a time, before Steven Brill knew Jim Romenesko's e-mail address, before The New Yorker discovered Weblogs, the best source for information about what journalists were doing on the Web sites was Tom Mangan, a full-time copy editor for the Peoria Journal Star."

maybe the un was right

bush sends money to taliban

porntown usa

"Naked Capitalists: There's No Business Like Porn Business"

wax on

"IT seems likely masturbation has always been the most common and universal of human sexual experiences — but only in recent decades have attitudes toward sexuality in general, and masturbation in particular, begun to improve. There never has been a "golden age" of sexual freedom and tolerance, though specific taboos have always varied widely. The frequent condemnation of masturbation apparently stems from a suprisingly simple mandate: there's safety in numbers. For centuries, all forms of sexual pleasure unlikely to result in population increase have routinely been denounced as wrong."

waterworld

"HAVANA (Reuters) - Barely touched since the colonial era of piracy and shipwrecks, sea bottoms around Cuba are an underwater fantasy world promising treasure-laden sunken ships, insights into times gone by -- and maybe even a lost city."

chik flik

the results are in...

emoticons

In Neuroscience First, Researchers At Yale And NYU Pinpoint The Part Of The Brain That Allows Emotional Significance To Heighten Perception

molemen

occasionally i listen to the tony kornheiser show over the internet. hes a sportswriter for the washington post. ostensibly the show is about sports but much of the patter is general in concern. for instance, he was just ranting about how he didnt fit into an off the rack suit and was disturbed by the clerks lack of concern. now, someone from the store has called him to service him better. but one thing thats drawn me in lately is that they are having some contract dispute for the online advertising. and believe me, the ads are enough to turn the stream off. sometimes they can span for more than 10 minutes. but during this outage, instead of dead air, they occasionally leave the mics open and have a show within a show. they are aware that the internet listeners can hear and sometimes they address us specifically. an interesting porthole into sportsradio at work.

whoopsy

"It's like the story of alligators in the sewers of New York. Everyone knows about them, but no one's ever seen them."

--Peter Norton, creator of Norton Anti-Virus, discussing why he believes computer viruses are "urban myths," 1988.

unborne

"ATLANTA, May 17 — A 24-year- old South Carolina woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing her unborn fetus by smoking crack cocaine. Legal experts said it was the first such homicide case in the country."

headed my way

looks like there is a new radiohead album just around the corner. this page has a bunch of tracks on real audio and follow me here has an extensive look at amnesiac.

attache case

"Honest and idealist ... enjoys good food and wine ... unprejudiced mind..."

That's how a 1952 Central Intelligence Agency assessment described Nazi ideologue Emil Augsburg, an officer at the infamous Wannsee Institute, the SS think tank involved in planning the Final Solution. Augsburg's SS unit performed "special duties," a euphemism for exterminating Jews and other "undesirables" during the Second World War."

tales of turncoat twinkie

ex-conservative investigative journalist poster boy david brock looks to be a thorn in the side of ted olson. so it must be time to smear him.

well centered

jimmy carter debunks energy crisis myths in a wapo editorial.

blowback

"A year later, while Agca languished in an Italian jail, stories started to circulate in the Western press alleging that the plot to assassinate John Paul II was hatched by the Soviet KGB and carried out by the Bulgarian secret service. The Soviets, according to this theory, viewed the Polish-born pope as a threat to Communist hegemony in Eastern Europe and wanted him eliminated."

mitease

"i know it sounds a bit altruistic..."

john doe #2

What the Feds Won’t Tell You About Oklahoma City

its outta here!

out.com editor challenges major league baseball player/lover to come out of the closet.

the spin room

PRESS: It is pretty exciting. We always like to read a favorite e-mail right at this time. Unfortunately, tonight, I think that some of our viewers have started partying too early. This e-mail comes from John in Maryland who just says:

"Regarding your guest tonight, ummm...ummm...what was the question again?"

No, John, no, we are not encouraging this.

CARLSON: No, we are not.

PRESS: We are not.

CARLSON: And we will ask our guest if he's encouraging it. Our guest tonight is Nick Thimmesch, communications director of NORML, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

NICK THIMMESCH, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, NORML: Good evening.

CARLSON: And a long time Republican, you worked on Bush/Quayle and on Dole/Kemp and then, were communications director, press secretary for Steve Largent.

PRESS: And before that, for Bruce Hershenson (ph) in California, when I first met Nick.

CARLSON: Amazing. Not just Republicans, but conservative Republicans.

THIMMESCH: Pretty much, only conservative Republicans.

CARLSON: Well, it's especially nice to have you. Tell us, Nick, the Supreme Court decision yesterday. A bunch of pro-decriminalization groups for medical marijuana held press conferences in which they had people who smoke marijuana as medicine, get up and say, basically, this cured all my illness, they had people rising out of wheelchairs. It was almost like faith healing. Do you think that proponents are over-selling it as a medicine?

THIMMESCH: No. I think they need to make it clear to the American people that they need this medicine in their journey to heal themselves, and I think they're trying to send a message as well to Congress that they should adjust the laws, change the laws, and take it off the Schedule I rating that it's at now.

PRESS: I have to redo this e-mail from Patrick, who says:

"A pot-smoking Republican? I guess hell froze over."

But I do want to ask you; you worked in the White House. Can I ask you, did you ever smoke dope in the White House?

THIMMESCH: Not physically.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: Wait. If we can just digress here, if you don't smoke physically, what other way -- I mean, if you can just give us some tips...

THIMMESCH: Well, it may have remained in my system when I was there, but I certainly never would have breached security there in doing that.

PRESS: OK, all right, I'm proud of you. I did ask that same question of Patty Davis once on radio in Los Angeles.

THIMMESCH: Her answer was?

PRESS: She did smoke pot when her father was in the White House. I just was wondering if you guys ever smoked it together.

We have never had as many e-mails on any topic as we've had on the Supreme Court decision yesterday. I want to ask you about a couple of them. Here's one from Andy, who just says:

"Our Supreme Court is very out of touch with the American people. I don't know if it's because they are so old, or just have a different state of mind."

Why did the Supreme Court go 8-0 against medical marijuana, do you think?

THIMMESCH: I think in a lot of ways that the way that the case was presented may have given them no alternative, but to do that, and that's understandable. But actually...

PRESS: You mean, because it was so narrow? THIMMESCH: Yes. But actually, it's up to Congress to change the law in the first place, and then the Supreme Court won't have to do rulings like this.

PRESS: Do you think there's any chance that this Congress would say, on this issue, of people who need it for their health and a doctor says they could, that they could get it from a clinic. Will Congress ever allow that?

THIMMESCH: You said something about hell freezing over, before. I think right now, that's the case. Barney Frank has introduced a marijuana bill, as he usually does. And there are other members who might consider that. Whether it would come before this Congress or not, I doubt it.

CARLSON: I'm just trying to understand the opposition to this. I mean, if there's no question that smoking pot is good for some illnesses, if it's an effective medicine, why are, if the science is sound, then why are people against it?

THIMMESCH: Well, it's probably from 20 years of "just say no," boogey man, anti-drug mantra that's been out there that does not want to recognize that there are beneficial factors to marijuana.

PRESS: Here's another e-mail from a registered nurse who says she's convinced that the reason that nobody, that the drive toward medical marijuana has stalled is because the major pharmaceutical companies are lobbying against it. They don't want it to be legalized for obvious reasons. Is that a factor in this?

THIMMESCH: I don't see any conspiracy there.

PRESS: No conspiracy.

CARLSON: That's the spirit, Nick Thimmesch, batting down the conspiracy. Well, tell us this, when you saw yesterday that both the president and the vice president took drug tests in the White House, you know, one was reminded of the '80s when everybody seemed to be getting drug tests. How prevalent is this now? I mean how many private sector employees, what percentage have to take drug tests?

THIMMESCH: Well, I don't know the exact percentage, but I can tell you that drug testing has had a huge impact in the employment market. Many people have to go for drug tests for the most nominal of jobs. I think it's absurd. I can understand drug testing perhaps for jobs where people's lives are at stake, but if you're selling stocks for AT&T I don't see any reason why you should have to take a drug test.

CARLSON: And how would you beat it? How would you beat a drug test?

THIMMESCH: There's lots of ways.

CARLSON: Like what? THIMMESCH: Well, there're masking agents that you can injest. There's everything from false urine, I mean, now even your own urine. People sell their own urine to disguise drug tests. I'm not in favor of that.

PRESS: You mean I could, I'm sorry, I could buy somebody else's urine and use it?

THIMMESCH: Sure.

(CROSSTALK)

THIMMESCH: And hope they don't come back and tell you you're pregnant, too.

PRESS: That's why you've got to be careful who's urine you buy. You work for the NORML foundation. You gave us this little card, which is a card where people, if they are arrested, this tells them what to do?

THIMMESCH: Yes.

PRESS: What is the goal in terms of what should be the sane policy about marijuana in this country according to the NORML foundation?

THIMMESCH: Well, I would say responsible adults can responsibly use marijuana, and that includes not, you know, not exposing children to it, not doing it while you're driving, not doing it out in the public all the time. It's the same to me as consumption of alcohol. It can be done responsibly or it could be done irresponsibly.

PRESS: Now, how successful are you at converting Republicans to your point of view?

THIMMESCH: I'm still trying, Bill.

PRESS: You feel like a voice in the wilderness?

THIMMESCH: So far, but we are working on it.

CARLSON: Well, just in the few seconds we have left, give us the names of 3 Republicans you think are pretty close to coming out to being pro-dope.

THIMMESCH: Well, I don't want to use the word "pro-dope" but at least compassionate conservatives, there's Ron Paul of Texas, you know, actually a Libertarian, and there may be a couple other lingering Republicans who are willing to look at this issue, which is all we are asking.

PRESS: I'll tell you, when you're ready to "out" them, we want you back on THE SPIN ROOM, because we're going to make this a crusade. At least I will, I will, to convert all these Republicans, our private crusade. Nick Thimmesch, thank you for coming in.

THIMMESCH: You bet. Thank you.

CARLSON: And when we come back, we will explore other facets of crime and intoxication in our amazing, appalling, shocking "Tail Spin" tonight.

PRESS: Plus we've got an exciting couple of "Spins of the Day," and yes, the crusade begins right here on THE SPIN ROOM.

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spotlight on sound

"The audio spotlight - as Mr. Pompei has dubbed it - emits a column of sound enveloped by silence, the way the glow of a spotlight is enveloped by darkness. Someone standing inside the beam emitted from his flat black disk hears the sound loud and clear. Outside the beam, there is silence or, if there are surfaces nearby, only faint murmurs from the reflected sound waves."

le voyeurism

the french get frothy over their version of big brother

one world

united world of copywrite enforcement (and then some)

last post

brooklyn house yields secrets of slave life in colonial new york.

dated

carbon dating accuracy in question.

hut.. hut.. hike

nice piece on douglas adams from his friend richard dawkins.

ball of me

halberstam say good riddance to deion sanders.

disinfo

"PR watchdog John Stauber exposes true life tales of corporate disinformation"

tabloins

"Then last weekend Team Rudy, angry over Ms. Hanover's refusal to agree to a joint gag order, unleashed a series of first-strike assaults. Via leaked court papers, the mayor's associates revealed that Mr. Giuliani is impotent as the result of treatment he's had for prostate cancer. The tabloids were full of stories about "Rudy's secret sorrow," explanations on why Viagra won't help, how cuddling was still an option."

total consciousness

"Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura met with the Dalai Lama this week, and asked the Tibetan leader if he had ever seen "Caddyshack." Turns out the Dalai Lama hasn't."

walk-a-thon

pitcher hurls nohit shutout but walks nine and hits one in the process.

classic warfare

bushie tax plan pits the extremely wealthy against upper middle class.

heaven in a black leather jacket

i loved the first 6ths album. i guess another collection has been released.

heres a page with a couple of magnetic fields mp3s.
[link]

saint emily

emily dickinson, patron saint of shut-ins, died on this day in 1886. why not read a poem or two?

after all, americas aloneness is on the rise.
[link]

alt.harvard

"Harvard Medical School, acknowledging that patients are increasingly experimenting with holistic and other alternative treatments, is creating an institute for nontraditional medicine."

doubting thomas

"Weed was one of the few drugs that offered relief. It didn't knock me out or speed me up, it didn't destroy my heart muscle or take out my hair, it didn't slow my thinking or slur my speech. It didn't attack my bowels or make my fingers numb.

It did give me some peace.

It did settle my stomach.

It did revive my appetite.

It did not lead to an addiction.

It did not cost a lot of money. (Partly because my mom grew it for me in her backyard.)

It worked."

membership has its privileges

"These days gang members don't always look like thugs. Taking advice from older criminals--some imprisoned, some retired but consulting, some still active--many hard-core gang members have traded their outfits for a more conservative look, a look police say enables them to expand into white-collar crimes without the early warning the old costume set off."

couch potatoes

"WE CAN ALL think of famous figures throughout history who were haunted by the voices and hallucinations of schizophrenia, but how far back in mankind's past can we trace the origins of the disease? British scientist Dr. David Horrobin, author of The Madness of Adam and Eve, argues that schizophrenia signaled the beginnings of modern man: A genetic mutation changed the biochemistry of fat in our brains. This mutation instigated the ascendancy of Homo sapiens, but brought with it the burden of mental illness as well. If Horrobin is right, his hypothesis will change evolutionary biology and the way we treat schizophrenia."

fallout boy

"An avalanche of e-mail to this reporter last week suggests that some people -- many of whom can't stand the new president -- now see the press as conservative. A striking number say reporters just do the bidding of their corporate masters. Some have abandoned the mainstream American media in favor of the BBC or opinionated Internet sites. Above all, they're mad as hell."

age old adage

"NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Are newsweeklies still relevant? "

read em and weep

"Non-readers abound. Ask "Politically Incorrect" talk show host Bill Maher, who once boasted in print that he hadn't read a book in years. Or Noel Gallagher of the rock band Oasis, who has been quoted as saying he'd never read a book. You can walk through whole neighborhoods of houses in the country that do not contain books or magazines -- unless you count catalogues."

suge on top

"No suspect has ever been arrested for the March 1997 murder of multimillion-selling rapper Christopher ''Biggie'' Smalls, the star of Sean ''Puffy'' Combs's Bad Boy Records. His death in Los Angeles was largely believed to be retribution for the killing of rival Death Row Records artist Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas six months earlier. Suspicious observers have chalked the shootings up to a blood feud between the leading East Coast and West Coast rap labels, but it's never been proven."

bean there

"A NASA research mission will use an unpiloted aircraft, known as an "Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle" or "UAV," to aid Hawaiian coffee growers by providing the growers with spectral (or color) images of their crops. From this information the growers will know, down to the day, the best time for harvesting the beans, bringing the best flavor to consumers."

out of my way

ScienceDaily -- Study Supports Out-Of-Africa Origin For East Asians
[link]

rumor has it

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a defeat for the medical marijuana movement, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled on Monday that marijuana may not be given to seriously ill patients as a ``medical necessity'' because cannabis has been classified as an illegal drug under federal law."

mythica organica

organic not so organic anymore
[link]

[link]

rumor has it

"TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush confronts an extraordinary dilemma this week: denying the allegation of an affair he insists is fiction."

awful offal

is mothers day a national holiday? i cant believe they suspended garbage pickup for it. how many mothers are hauling trash?
[link]

obnoxious fumes

Salon | California gas artificially overpriced
[link]

delay tactics

'Absolute Truth' (washingtonpost.com)
[link]

ring toss

New York Envisions an Olympic Legacy
[link]

SMT

more fake AI website news
[link]

xxx
[link]

whose gonna drive you home

rockin the gti
[link]

Friday, May 11, 2001

how do you sell the japanese the movie Pearl Harbor?
[link]

screaming yahoos

porn crusaders clean up at yahoo.
[link]

Thursday, May 10, 2001

Going Green in the Garden (washingtonpost.com)
[link]

who wants to be a politician?

WASHINGTON (Variety) - Marketing hoopla over Disney's upcoming wartime drama ``Pearl Harbor'' has reached all the way to the U.S. Senate, where an ethics committee has dive-bombed a studio plan to put several war veteran politicians on ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.''

Stars from the film, including Ben Affleck, were also in talks to appear as contestants on the hit game show, which airs on Disney-owned ABC. Proceeds from the ``Millionaire'' guest spots would have gone to the World War II Memorial fund.

The show would have taped over the weekend and aired the final weekend of May sweeps. Instead, ``Millionaire's'' producers were forced to sink the special edition.

Unfortunately for the would-be congressional contestants, the ethics panel said late last week that Senate rules prohibit members from receiving honoraria exceeding $2,000, even if the money is going to a charitable cause.

Disney is paying Washington great deference in the days leading up to the picture's May 25 release. The day before, the company will throw a special screening for politicians who served in the U.S. military.

The ``Millionaire'' idea is said to have been hatched by Walt Disney Co. chairman Michael Eisner and former Republican Sen. Bob Dole, who is moonlighting these days as a consultant/lobbyist for various Hollywood interests.

Lawmakers tentatively slated to appear on the show included Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. John Warner (R-Va.). Dole also was on the list.

``As part of our due diligence, we took the idea to the Senate ethics committee,'' a Disney spokesman said. ``We thought this would be both a fun show as well as raising money for a worthy cause.''
[link]

test
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