The Supreme Court Rules, The Benoit Mystery Deepens, and The Vice President Almost Loses His Expense Account
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"Morning Meeting" is a recap of our daily editorial meeting. If we had a show today, these are some of the stories you would probably hear.
The Supreme Court had a busy day yesterday.
Last night the BPP celebrated the completion of our pilot with a few celebratory rounds at Jimmy's Corner, the official bar of choice of the BPP. If the crew had a slight case of Post Pilot Letdown Syndrome when we rolled in this morning, it was quickly erased by a boatload of news. We don't have a show yet, but we do have this blog, so all our news-related enthusiasm is channeled through this page. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride, as you move below the fold....
NEWSCAST: Terrorist attack thwarted, Immigration bill deported, Democrats retorted, NBA Draft comported.
OK, 'comported' was a stretch. Anywho...
SUPREME COURT DECIDES: The Supreme Court released three important and interesting rulings yesterday, all dealing with very different issues. The cases covered school integration, retail pricing, and a blocked execution. We'd break down these cases and find out how they'll affect you and me. Luke would also share his personal experience as a white student who was bussed to primarily African American schools because of the kinds of laws that the Supreme Court struck down yesterday.
BENOIT WIKIPEDIA MYSTERY: We were all abuzz with the news that someone changed pro wrestler Chris Benoit's Wikipedia page to report his wife's death 14 hours before the police discovered it. The change was apparently traced, via IP address, to Stamford, CT, home of WWE headquarters (but not where Benoit was at the time). So who did it? And how did s/he know? And why would someone post something like that in that situation, instead of, say, calling the cops? There are new reports now coming out that someone has admitted to changing the Wikipedia page, but details are still very murky and unconfirmed right now.
CHENEY'S BUDGET ALMOST CUT (NOT REALLY): You know how Vice President Cheney's office is trying to avoid providing information to the National Archives by contending that his office isn't part of the executive branch? Well House Democrats responded to that claim by attempting to cut the Veep's executive office budget, which includes his home, office, and entertainment expense account, saying that if he's not part of the executive branch, he shouldn't have an executive office budget. Of course this was little more than a political stunt, and it was never going to happen, but the thought of the VP having to go apartment hunting still seems amusing.
'SICKO' AND 'TRANSFORMERS' COMING OUT: I think the BPP crew is a pretty diverse bunch with a wide range of interests, but we all have a soft spot in our hearts for the Transformers. (I have a hard time thinking about Optimus Prime without thinking about this, but that's a different story.) The new Transformers movie comes out Monday, and Michael Moore's Sicko comes out today. An interesting piece in the LA Times looks at the unique deal Moore got to make the film, and the nice payday he can look forward to.
THE RAMBLE: Nevada has become the latest state to prohibit bands from claiming connections to groups they actually have nothing to do with. Some bands were performing in Vegas as The Drifters or The Supremes, for instance, even though nobody from those groups was involved. The move for the law was partly spearheaded by Bowzer from Sha Na Na, who we would give anything to get on our show...Veggie Booty is being recalled because of salmonella. That stuff tastes so good, but it doesn't seem to have any impact on my appetite, until I drink water, at which point the Booty expands and makes me ill. Ah, the vicious cycle of the Booty. Alison has a friend who sued Pirate's Booty because it made her booty bigger. She sounds cool, we'd like to talk to her...New York City is considering forcing any group of more than two people who want to use a camera for more than 30 minutes in a single public place to get a permit and $1 million of insurance. Say what?!
10:47 AM ET | 06-29-2007 | permalink
