plus 3, THURSTON COUNTY: Dubuisson announces plans to retire - Tacoma News Tribune

THURSTON COUNTY: Dubuisson announces plans to retire - Tacoma News Tribune
Sarah Palin - The symbol of cynicism - Delaware Online
Comeback Whitney hits a flat note Down Under - Global Nation
Whitney Houston`s manager jumps to defend her in Oz - Monsters and Critics

THURSTON COUNTY: Dubuisson announces plans to retire - Tacoma News Tribune

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:29 PM PST

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

'+'>'); } -->

Comments

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service.

Comments are displayed newest first. If you would like to read a thread from beginning to end, select "Oldest first" from the drop down menu.

Showing:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Sarah Palin - The symbol of cynicism - Delaware Online

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:48 AM PST

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Sarah Palin will always be a Hail Mary Pass. She is a last-ditch, slapdash shot for a win. Regardless of facts, faux pas or folly, conservatives will continue to tout her as an asset as long as she continues to act like a battering ram to their opposition. If she still throws jabs, utterly doe-eyed to the implications (i.e. ripping on teleprompters in a prepared speech), the dreaded "elites" of her party will still use her for what she's worth.

She'll stay a paid contributor on Fox News and the others on the same payroll will try and gush over how great she is, her best quality being liberals "hate" her. Because everything liberals hate must be good. The enemy of Fox News' enemy is always good for the country. The bar will continue to be set lower and Palin will sink deeper into self-parody as she becomes even less blinking, more emboldened and more resigned to her belief some divine force (bigger than her PAC even) wants her to be the President of the United States.

Serious conservatives don't want their voice to be a folksy fibbing bridge to nowhere. They don't want a tabloid queen who writes snarky half-baked Facebook entries to the White House Chief of Staff to be their nominee in 2012. But their deal with the devil is they enjoy Palin's swift merciless offense from the sidelines and because of that "talent" she will be given the lectern. And therefore some legitimacy as a "thinker."

Her enthusiasts mark her media storm as the reason why she's a leader in the party (some party, whether it be the Tea Party she's now synonymous with or the RNC which she fits right into). But equating someone's ability to lead with the ability to get coverage is like saying Britney Spears' singing voice is the reason she was the object of an extended media frenzy. It's simply not true.

Being just super and awesome is not what makes the media obsessed with you. It's actually the opposite. Being horribly flawed and recklessly stupid gives people something to use all those "barrelsful of ink" on. If Palin was competent we'd be bored with her by now. There would be no story. It's her incompetence coupled with this brazen lust for power and the lack of any self-irony or doubt that sparks the press. It's certainly not her ideas, because they are not hers or ideas. They're overly-digested Republican platitudes. And candidly, fact-checking Palin is like critiquing a squirrel on his algebra.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Comeback Whitney hits a flat note Down Under - Global Nation

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:48 AM PST

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

SYDNEY—Disappointed fans stormed out of Whitney Houston's first Australian concert in 12 years, reports said Tuesday, as the ageing diva failed to hit her famous high notes and struggled for breath.

"She couldn't entertain a dead rat, to be honest," one fan told local media outside Monday night's Brisbane concert.

Houston, 46, only managed two songs before taking an extended break and relied heavily on her backup singers, reviewers said, with some remarking she seemed disoriented and unable to remember the names of her band members.

The star was seen coughing frequently, and paused as she was about to hit the epic high note of her signature tune "I Will Always Love You" to towel herself down and take a sip of water.

But promoter Andrew McManus hit back at suggestions she was suffering poor health.

"It was not a train wreck," McManus said. "She was hitting most of the notes, yes, her throat was a little croaky.

"Her health is fine but she's also not 22 years of age anymore."

McManus agreed Houston was out of breath in a "couple of songs" and probably wasn't "up to scratch of the Whitney of 20 years ago".

"But I don't apologize for that, she had a red-hot go."

Houston, who has sold over 170 million albums worldwide, suffered a major career setback after admitting drug use during an abusive relationship with ex-husband Bobby Brown.

The Australian concerts are part of her comeback "Nothing But Love" tour, which kicked off at the end of last year.

Some fans said they would be demanding their money back.

"She was not fit to perform," wrote one on the Courier Mail newspaper's website. "She seemed to be on another planet and the concert was laughable." US pop icon Britney Spears attracted the ire of Australian fans in November, with concert-goers reportedly walking out of her show because she was lip-synching.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Whitney Houston`s manager jumps to defend her in Oz - Monsters and Critics

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:58 PM PST

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Supporters of Whitney Houston rushed to defend the canning of her opening show in Australia. Singer Whitney Houston performs on ABC's 'Good Morning America' show. Whitney brought out her daughter Bobbi Christina to perform with her in Central Park's Rumsey Playfield, NYC - Johns PkI / Splash News

Singer Whitney Houston performs on ABC's 'Good Morning America' show. Whitney brought out her daughter Bobbi Christina to perform with her in Central Park's Rumsey Playfield, NYC - Johns PkI / Splash News Her manager, Andrew McManus, said: 'I saw the whole show. Was it an A? No, it was probably a B+. It was not a train wreck. She was hitting most of the notes, yes her throat was a little croaky. Her health is fine but she's also not 22 years of age anymore. She was on stage for two-and-a-half hours dancing, singing, running. Was she a little out of breath on a couple of songs? Yes she was. But I don't apologise for that, she had a red hot go.' Houston was slammed this morning in Australia after 'croaking' through her Brisbane opener and such ticket deal-makers as I Will Always Love You. The Australian concert-going public may have its bristles up after the recent lip-synching tour of Britney Spears that left many disappointed. McManus claimed in the Herald Sun: 'There were 9500 people there, 9000 gave her a standing ovation. There were so many happy faces, that's what she saw from the stage. So she's surprised by the negativity the morning after. She went to bed after the show giving a two-and-a-half hour solid performance, she was proud of it. She thought she gave her all and did a strong performance and I agreed with her. This was the first night of a tour after a long flight, she hasn't played for a while. This is a tough country, you're going to be critiqued on your performance. At the end of the day it's not like the other act who was just here who didn't sing a note, she sang every single note.'' One fan, Trent Titmarsh, said he enjoyed the show: 'I never was a big Whitney fan but I'll defend her as the two-hour plus show was better than I thought it would be and she is a true survivor. This is a woman who is nearly 50 years old and nearly died from drugs. Yeah, she was puffed after songs but that is because she worked the stage and danced her heart out on the opening numbers.'