I-Candy's Owner is Eye-Candy

My new favorite reality show isn't Martha and her apprentices, but "Open Bar" on the LOGO cable channel. It follows a 30-something, newly out (and beautiful!) gay entrepreneur as he builds and opens his dream business: a lounge/bar called I-Candy on West Hollywood's main street. The all-gay all-the-time channel launched on June 30 and is part of the MTV Network family. My cable provider, Comcast, offers the channel as part of its extended basic service and I've been watching more of it than I should.

Miers: Pro & Con

Need some crib notes on the Miers nomination for the next dinner party you attend? These should do.

What was W Thinking?

That's the response leading a web poll about the Miers nomination. The sponsoring web site is anti-Harriet Central. I think the drumbeats are getting louder....

$1900 per U.S. Household??

That's how much money Louisiana lawmakers have requested to re-build their devastated state. Well, perhaps re-build is a bit imprecise. More like pay for a trip to the pork barrel buffet. Sugarcane Research? Give us a break!

No Day But Today

If the soundtrack is an indication, the soon-to-be-released film adaptation of Rent will be very satisfying to Rentheads like me. I'm especially happy that Rosario Dawson--who replaced the pregnant (and thus un-available) original Mimi Daphne Ruben-Vega--delivers the goods vocally. Members of the original cast have held up well for the most part in the decade since the musical first opened off-Broadway. Time has been less kind to Jesse L. Martin, whose voice leaves something to be desired. In any event, I know where I"ll want to be the day before Thanksgiving.

Faith-Based Hypocrisy

E.J. Dionne calls the right-wing on its hypocrisy about the importance of a judicial nominee's religious faith. Krauthammer joins the chorus of voices pointing out that mediocrity has no place on the Supreme Court.

I have a suggestion for the Senator Judiciary Committee: Pull out your notes from the Roberts hearing, and ask Harriet Miers the exact same questions about landmark Court decisions and precidents. In fact, tell her in advance that's what you'll be doing. My expectation is that she'll finds some graceful way to get the President to withdraw her nomination and save herself the embarassment of admitting her inexperience in grappling with core constitutional issues.

Is there no limit...

..to what legislatures will try to get away with? Let's make this Exhibit 1 for why we need courts to protect the minority from the "democratic will" of the majority.

Will to Senate: Reject Miers

George Will argues that the Senate has an obligation to reject Harriet Miers - not because of her views of the proper role of a judge, but because there are good reasons not to trust a president who says "Trust me."

Unforced Error

Cronyism triumphs once again in the Bush White House. Looks like the right wing is having trouble swallowing ol' Harriet - and not necessarily because she's never been married. Is this woman even in the top 10 of American women qualified to be on the Supreme Court?

Glory, Hallelujah!

Best news I've heard in quite some time - Santorum is on the ropes in Pennsylvania. It's early, I know; but let's kick the homophobic moron while he's down - maybe he'll stay there!

Do they or don't they?

Ever the trendspotter, the New York Times has declared that many women at top colleges aspire to be stay-at-home moms. Slate debunks the research method and conclusions, and it strikes me as sociological dilettantism. Meanwhile, last spring my colleagues at Simmons School of Management released the results of their study that contradicts the notion that women are opting out of the quest for positions of power and leadership.

Let Martha be Martha!

Update on the yet-to-be-determined issue of whether Martha Stewart will ever be permitted to be CEOof MSO again. If she can't without pleading guilty to some civil charges, I say she should assert her 90%+ voting share of the company's stock and take it private.