OBAMA: STAND UP TO LIES, AS TEDDY WOULD

Dear President Obama: The Solution to Healthcare Reform

NATIONAL HEALTH CARE IS A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE

Most of us will do damn near anything to get out from under the thumbs of the multi-millionaire CEOs who are running our current insurance programs. Sign me up!

QUESTION:

Which of these socialistic (socialism) programs should we eliminate?

This is Socialism: Police Force, Fire Dept., Military, Veterans Dept., Clean Water, Public Highways, Public Parks. Medicare, Social Security are all government run for the protection and and rights of the PEOPLE, who run the Government. Which one of these vital programs should we get rid of?

It is immoral and un-Christian to make a profit off of cancer, illness or basic health care. We are the only country in the world that does not take care of its people and puts corporate billionaires ahead of the middle class.

THE gun-carrying "patriots" WHO SHOUT AT TOWNHALL MEETINGS HAVE NO IDEA THAT THEY ARE HELPING THEIR ENEMIES -- the INSURANCE COMPANIES like AIG!

Did you know the billionaire insurance companies are PAYING PEOPLE TO PROTEST THE TRUTH AT THESE TOWNHALL MEETINGS? THEY ARE USING YOU TO DO THEIR LOBBYING!! And what I find quite disturbing, is they pay their CEOs $30-50 billion dollars a year in salaries.

You like Insurance socialism? You like Corporate welfare? Try reading the bill if you can read. Basic health care is a human right for every human being in our country.

"You can't even bring a glass bottle, pocket knife or nail clippers to a rock concert or on an airplane. Why are angry gun-carrying loonies allowed to show up at Health Care rallies with weapons and assault rifles?

This is a violation of our rights — of our children's right to feel safe. Your "right" to own a gun does not mean you can bring it to public events, or wear it the frightening thing hanging off your body, where any angry psycho, including yourself, can grab it. It's far too easy to use a gun on a human being. I am ashamed and embarrased to have these as my fellow Americans and everyone should be ashamed of the current Republican party, it's leaders and politicians for taking bribes and payments from the Big Insurance companies to DENY the middle class free basic health care and for condoning LIES, RACISM AND HATE-SPEAK. And for inflaming the angry mob into believing outrageous lies about our president who simply wants to help create a FREE HEALTH CARE system FOR THE working MIDDLE CLASS!!

What on earth is wrong with you people?

You can't be pro-life and against universal health care. If you are, then you are being brainwashed by liars. Fox "News" and Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh take home *$45 million a year in salary. I never believed it could happen in America, that lies would be condoned on the public airwaves. These talk show hosts and pundits have to lie to keep the corporations that employ them happy.

This I know for the past 5 years, with every cell of my being, as a lifelong follower of Christ, the Great Peacemaker. For years I've been appalled at how you can call yourselves Christian when you leave out Christ! Is it because you don't realize the word "Christ" is the root of the word "Christianity" because the vowel sounds are different? I'm sorry I know I've used that joke ad nauseum, but I am seriously wondering where on earth right-wing fundamentalist "gun-loving" Christians think they are CHRISTIAN!!! Nowhere in any of my 7 Bibles does it say you are to throw stones, lie, cheat, steal, create fear, worship greed, despise the poor, hoard wealth, and kill thousands of our young troops in a war based on lies for oil! You are the pharisees, the very ones that crucified Christ. I am sick of being silent for fear of more death threats. You care only about the fetus but not about your fellow man, woman or child. At least the Republican politicians and anyone who listens naively to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Glen Beck or Bill O'Reilly -- who all MAKE $45 MILLION A YEAR TO LIE TO YOU IN ORDER TO MAKE THE CORPORATIONS THAT HIRED THEM, RICH!

CommonDreams.org

Dear President Obama: A Modest Medicare Proposal

by Thom Hartmann

Dear President Obama,

I understand you're thinking of dumping your "public option" because of all the demagoguery by Sarah Palin and Dick Armey and Newt Gingrich and their crowd on right-wing radio and Fox. Fine. Good idea, in fact.

Instead, let's make it simple. Please let us buy into Medicare.

It would be so easy. You don't have to reinvent the wheel with this so-called "public option" that's a whole new program from the ground up. Medicare already exists. It works. Some people will like it, others won't - just like the Post Office versus FedEx analogy you're so comfortable with.

Just pass a simple bill - it could probably be just a few lines, like when Medicare was expanded to include disabled people - that says that any American citizen can buy into the program at a rate to be set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which reflects the actual cost for us to buy into it.

So it's revenue neutral!

To make it available to people of low income, raise the rates slightly for all currently non-eligible people (like me - under 65) to cover the cost of below-200%-of-poverty people. Revenue neutral again.

Most of us will do damn near anything to get out from under the thumbs of the multi-millionaire CEOs who are running our current insurance programs. Sign me up!

This lets you blow up all the rumors about death panels and grandma and everything else: everybody knows what Medicare is. Those who scorn it can go with Blue Cross. Those who like it can buy into it. Simplicity itself.

Of course, we'd like a few fixes, like letting Medicare negotiate drug prices and filling some of the holes Republicans and AARP and the big insurance lobbyists have drilled into Medicare so people have to buy "supplemental" insurance, but that can wait for the second round. Let's get this done first.

Simple stuff. Medicare for anybody who wants it. Private health insurance for those who don't. Easy message. Even Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley can understand it. Sarah Palin can buy into it, or ignore it. No death panels, no granny plugs, nothing. Just a few sentences.

Replace the "you must be disabled or 65" with "here's what it'll cost if you want to buy in, and here's the sliding scale of subsidies we'll give you if you're poor, paid for by everybody else who's buying in." (You could roll back the Reagan tax cuts and make it all free, but that's another rant.)

We elected you because we expected you to have the courage of your convictions. Here's how. Not the "single payer Medicare for all" that many of us would prefer, but a simple, "Medicare for anybody who wants to buy in."

Respectfully,

Thom Hartmann

Thom Hartmann (thom at thomhartmann.com) is a Project Censored Award-winning New York Times best-selling author, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk program The Thom Hartmann Show.www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," "Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights," "We The People: A Call To Take Back America," "What Would Jefferson Do?," "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class and What We Can Do About It," and "Cracking The Code: The Art and Science of Political Persuasion." His newest book is Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture.

A message to the LIARS on Hate-Radio and at Town hall meetings:

How dare you lie to your listeners. These BLATANT lies have to stop. The Birthers and the Liars on Fox "News" -- Why are you allowed to lie for years about everything? You know the truth. You know you are being paid by wealthy insurance companies to defeat our chance for free and low cost health care. But you lie with every breath you take.

You are inciting people to violence, hate-speak and bringing assault weapons to Presidential rallies. This should be illegal. Now we demand stricter gun control! You people are denying me of my right to feel safe. This is more important than your right to flaunt you "guns and gun-rights" at a public rally on health care where children attend. We've had enough of you. You are un-American, self-serving, and have caused nothing but destruction.

After listening to Glen Beck, one man in PA murdered 3 Police officers in cold blood because he was all hyped up on FEAR. Guess who got him this way? Glen Beck kept screaming on his CNN TV show these kinds of LIES: "Obama's gonna take your guns!" WHERE DID HE GET THIS? WHY DID HE MAKE THIS UP? President Obama never said he was going to take away anyone's guns.

I can't even bring a glass bottle or nail clippers to a rock concert. Why are there violent right-wing racists allowed to show up at Health Care rallies with weapons? Huge assault rifles? I am ashamed and embarrased to have these as my fellow Americans and everyone should be ashamed of the Republican party for condoning LIES, RACISM AND HATE-SPEAK.

Now I know why I am no longer a Republican. Thank God. THere is nothing remotely Christian or moral about this current tribe.

To the HATE-RADIO right winge liars: BASIC HEALTH CARE is a human right. It should not be "for profit."

Why are you protesting against your own self-interests? Do you really like AIG and BIG INSURANCE SOCIALISM? You like the way they have jacked up your rates and denied you coverage? Why are the Big Insurance companies better at deciding your health care rather than YOU? GOVERNMENT IS THE PEOPLE. Medicare negotiates lower prices with Big Pharmaceutical firms.

I am sorry to be so outspoken, but we need to unite our country against the greed that is destroying us.

TRILLIONS SPENT ON WAR DURING BUSH, YET YOU WON'T SPEND ON LIFE AND HEALTH CARE

To those who brag about being right-wing terrorists: you spend trillions on war, on an illegal and horrifying invasion of Iraq based on lies for oil to profit BIG OIL. You destroyed millions of innocent Iraqi lives, children's lives -- and thousands of American troops lives. With your evil war, and these seeds you have sown, the result is over 30,000 maimed, injured American troops with the highest suicide rate of any returning military in any war AND YET -- yet you won't spend money on HEALTH CARE for your own people?

WWJD?

GOOD, SAD AND ASTOUNDING NEWS!

BREAKING NEWS:

Ferris Bueller Director John Huges died of a heart attack. Rest in Peace.

Justice Sotomayor confirmed!

North Korea pardons U.S. journalists Euna Lee and Lara Ling.

(Thank you President Clinton and President Obama for your wonderful diplomatic skills.)

Photo top: Therese Lee, Lydia Cornell and Jim Bullock at "ANNUL VICTORY" documentary on Prop. 8 premiere red carpet night, August 5 Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Sara and Monroe from Too Close for Comfort!

Photo left: This is a rare photo a fan sent me from our first TV Guide Session (the first of 3 separate TV Guide Covers we were on. Ted Knight, Lydia Cornell, Deborah Van Valkenburgh)

OUR THOUGHTS ARE AS POTENT AS BULLETS
So use them wisely. Radiate love. Bless everyone you meet. Your thoughts create your reality.

What you focus on GROWS!

Every thought changes our biochemistry. Pay attention to what brings you joy. Dr Christiane Northup

My brother Paul, who passed away on December 1, 1995. At the Grand Canyon. He is also in the photo below at the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

HAPPY FRIDAY! TODAY IS A DAY OF LIBERATION AND COMPLETION!

My son has Chemistry finals today, and I finally complete phase one of a wonderful task, which, through perseverance, actually transformed itself from a terrifying chore to a joyous journey. I enjoyed every minute of the writing, and the spaces. This was the first time in my life I committed to shutting the world out and going within. We are going to have a great weekend!! Love to all of you! xoxoxoxoxo

SOME THOUGHTS TO BRING YOU PEACE OF MIND:

1. MONEY AND THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

If you believe that you must work hard in order to deserve the money that comes to you, then money cannot come to you unless you do work hard. Financial success, or any other kind of success, does not require hard work. It does require alignment of thought. You simply cannot offer negative thought about things that you desire and then make up for it with action or hard work. When you learn to direct your own thoughts, you will discover the true leverage of Energy alignment.

--- Abraham

Excerpted from the book "Money and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Health, Wealth and Happiness"

"Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things." Philippians 4:8

"Each friend represents a world in us.

A world possibly not born until they arrive,

and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

- Anais Nin

These are the best years of our lives. Surrounded by so much love and laughter.

My Beautiful, Amazing friend Jim Hillis

"What if tomorrow never comes? It didn't today." Bill Murray in Groundhog Day

Sobriety came when I surrendered my ego; love came when I surrendered my desperate search for a man; financial security came when I gave up agonizing about money.

Please check out my amazing friend Jim Hillis' website: http://www.jameshillisford.com
James Hillis Ford And His Quest...To Always Do The Right Thing...And God's Work...

THE SEVEN DAY MENTAL DIET: How to Change Your Life in a Week

by Emmet Fox

"Our thoughts are just as potent and real as bullets." Naweko noixia.com

"Stress is the consequence of resistance to your life. (Most disease is stress-related, even cancer.) When we resist, argue, are angry or make others wrong... we are not at peace with our true nature. When you relax into acceptance, that's when you can start reclaiming your peace.
Your life is now; you can't wait to become peaceful." - Gary Zukav

Acceptance of whatever is going on, is the key to serenity.

Weapons (Implements) of violence serve evil. Humanity has failed to learn this profound teaching. There is no victory in any activiity where killing takes place.
We are all connected by our originating spirit. What appears to be a victory is really false.

Taking pleasure in winning a battle is onlly the ego's will to kill. Our lowest nature. Our highest nature rebels against this.

Anything "won" by force is not a victory. It will turn against you.

Arms serve evil; they are the tools of those who oppose wise rule. If you kill someone you must feel compassion for the one you killed.

FUNNY FOTO FRIDAY:

My grandfather and brother Paul at the Hollywood Christmas Parade in the 80's.
And Sasha, our rescue dog.

HOLLYWOOD SHOW * CHILDREN'S CHARITIES * IMAGINE L.A.

Proceeds from sales on this site and from all my autograph shows go to Imagine L.A. "Where no child sleeps on the street"; Feed the Children, PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) and the Red Cross.

Look at my son Jack, on my birthday. He refused to smile and was embarrassed to sit next to me in case his friends saw him. Check out his crooked half smile in every pic... Hilarious!

Birthday with the family at Islands. The other kids (which includes hubby) were sitting opposite us. Went to see HARRY POTTER after dinner. The kids refused to go, but I LOVED THE NEW HARRY POTTER!! I'm a geek, what can I say? Love fantasy, magic, horror and sci fi. Now I see a resemblance between RUPERT GRINT AND MICK JAGGER as far as sex appeal goes! I couldn't se how Hermoine wouldn't be more attracted to Harry Potter, but Rupert is SEXY!! Draco Malfoy is positively sinister. And I adored Jim Broadbent, one of my favorite actors. So funny!

Now I'm reading the 7th Harry Potter book THE DEATHLY HALLOWS.

Check out Plastic God Lego celebrity icon portraits - GENIUS!


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Lydia and Stephen Rice from "Outside In" a shelter for young people without homes. You can learn more about this and the amazing group of women behind "Made in the Valley: The Valley Girls Grew Up" in the next issue.





GREAT WEEKEND in Burbank at the Hollywood Show!

IN WITHDRAWAL

FROM CLEAVAGE...

I am so sick of cleavage! But I can't quit cold turkey. I'm not spiritually evolved enough yet to stop dressing like a hooker, but I did try on a turtleneck the other day. You can't get a job in this town without "lap dancer" on your resume, and I'm referring to the writers, not the actors.

Ran into so many old friends, flames and great stars like Don Most, Rosanna Arquette, Shannon Doherty, Kathy Najimy, Kristy Swanson, Angie Everhart, Tanya Roberts...and of course my big swiss, Deborah Van Valkenburgh.

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Here are a few iphone snapshots with really bad lighting and a really stupid smile on my face.

Photo #1. BRADY BUNCH stars Chris Knight and Barry Williams

Photo #2: HAPPY DAYS: Anson Williams, Don Most. LOVE THEM!! (Donny and I go way back.)

Photo #3: DAVY JONES OF THE MONKEES

Photo #4: Henry Winkler "The Fonz"

Jack Riley was one of our favorite guest stars on Too Close for Comfort.

Bill Dailey has always been a favorite since "I DREAM OF JEANIE" days! We got to talk for about 3o minutes. He has an amazing life in New Mexico and directs theater there.

One of my favorite people is Rosanna Arquette. I got to say hi and she was so sweet, but I wish I had told her how much I adore her.

Saw the gorgeous Bond Girls Maud Adams and Tanya Roberts.

Kristy Swanson is also a favorite (the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") Richard Kiel was there, and all the Jasons from Friday the 13th, including my old friend Warrington Gillette :) Good to see you Warrington. I have fond memories of Aspen! But I don't really remember that much, since those were the wild days of lost brain cells.

My favorite Twilight Zone and Star Trek guest star WARREN STEVENS sat right to my left. He is so amazing, so brilliant. His wife was named Lydia and he has some great sons. I wish I could have stayed and just visited with all the stars, but we couldn't leave our tables. I used to do these shows and never get to walk around.

"The Valley Girls Grew Up" Thank you to Gail Lara of Made in the Valley!

The gifting suite was amazing. "Happy Chocolates" and all the products they gave us from BEE GORGEOUS all natural lotion bars, scrubs, and honey (miel) veil body treatments.

I also loved the homemade chili from MAJESTIC CHEF the best chili maker in the world! Check out a MAJESTIC CHEF CHILI and get some of this amazing chili.

Also, we got these ultra- comfy Oka shoes,

** ONE OF A KIND jewelry from "Not Just Any Old Day" silver calendar creations!!

Star Mineral lip gloss; SANITAS Skin Care - the most scrumptious lemon cleanser;

Marabel Farms Cocoa Beans;

E3 Live BrainON BRAIN FUEL THAT REPLACES PHARMACEUTICALS!

Twisted Silver brass bracelet from a unique jewelry store.

Bedol - A REVOLUTIONARY WATER-POWERED CLOCK!

NAJA TEA - HIBISCUS made with apricots, peaches and dried raspberries;

Organic Spray Tan! from Spray di Sole;

Skin Body Shop Spa;

More... Chocolee Chocola; Garden Kisses Flower Shop; Pilates Plus in Malibu; Head Blade; Affliction Clothing... and lots more. I will profile these amazing organic, Valley Made in the USA hand-crafted products in the new blog coming soon...

Of course hanging out with Deb who played Jackie, my sister was the BEST!! She is my favorite celebrity and one of the best actresses in the stratosphere.

"Sara and Jackie" — Lydia and her Too Close for Comfort costar, Deborah Van Valkenburgh — signed autographs and had a blast meeting fans and taking pictures at the HOLLYWOOD SHOW at the Burbank Hilton in Burbank California For directions and more info check out: Hollywood Show.com

Proceeds from Lydia's sales go to children's & women's charities.

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SOBER FEMMES RECOVERY CENTER FUNDRAISER July 11 in North Hollywood

On Saturday night, July 11, Lydia hosted the First Sober Femmes Fundraiser for Unit A Recovery Center in Burbank, California. Please feel free to donate any amount to keep the center alive and the rent paid. UNIT A has AA meetings, Al Anon meetings, and other life-saving 12-step meetings day and night. They desperately need funds. Here is the address to send a check if you can:

Unit A Recovery Center
10641 Burbank Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA.

Cornell is a women and children’s advocate, and an inspirational speaker on teen suicide prevention — as well as on drug and alcohol abuse.

Sober for fourteen years, Cornell found her younger brother’s body after a drug overdose, and speaks to recovery groups of up to 300 or more. She is a mother of tweenagers.

She also speaks at schools, colleges, hospitals and women’s groups about her experiences in overcoming loss, tragedy, unemployment, sexism, ageism, depression, self-sabotage, obnoxious teenagers — and every imaginable hardship. Her talks are laced with poignant stories of transformation with an innate sense of comic timing. “If you can laugh at yourself you probably won’t kill yourself.”

People may be sick of hearing about celebrities are in recovery, but as Dr. Drew Pinsky of Celebrity Rehab says, “Addiction is the disease of our time.” Alcohol is the number one drug of choice among teens in America. Young people are in crisis; girls ages 10-15 have the lowest self-esteem and highest rate of suicide attempts of any other group. Add to this the fact that over 85% of violent crime is alcohol and drug related, and we have an epidemic — yet this is rarely mentioned in media reports.

What would cause a once-gifted child to drink to excess, and to risk the life of her own child?

No one ever talks about the hidden element, the most vital element of recovery, which is often ignored in mainstream TV and press. And no one asks the root question: why is everyone in rehab? What breed of person comes to Hollywood seeking the adoration of strangers? Wanting to be famous is an American malaise.

Cornell does not mince words. She has experienced true miracles in sobriety, but people rarely delve into this crucial aspect of 12-step programs. “It’s not enough to put down the drug or drink; once you put down the ‘spirits’ you have to fill the void with a lasting peace. You have to go out in the world and live your life with joy,” Cornell writes.

Cornell answers some hard questions about celebrity and why so many kill themselves with drugs and alcohol — from someone who has not only been there herself, but who lost friends and loved ones. But Cornell overcomes the universal urge to blame others and play the victim. As Michael Jackson said, “It all starts with the man in the mirror.” Or in the words of Stuart Smalley, “It's easier to wear slippers than to carpet the whole world.”

f you live in Vegas you can tune in Live or go to our website and listen in the audio archives.

The Basham and Cornell Show will be back in the fall in national syndication LIVE on AM radio with all new shows and a new format! You can listen online or get podcasts of our last 250 shows, which are archived in the "Audio Archives" section at Basham and Cornell Radio

If you've missed our show, check out the audio archives for MP3 podcasts. We have interviewed Senator John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, White House Press Correspondent Helen Thomas; CNN's Paul Begala (former Clinton Advisor); John Dean; Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie Savage, MSNBC's Pat Buchanan (Former Reagan Advisor); Sen. Tom Daschle; Obama advisor Mike Lux; CNN Crossfire's Bill Press, Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Carolyn Maloney, HIlary Clinton Terry McCauliff; Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Elizabeth Kucinich, John Dean, NBC Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv Martin Fletcher, Congressman Charlie Rangel, Valerie Plame, Attorney David Iglesias, Vincent Bugliosi, Dahr Jamail, Senator Mike Gravel; Senator Byron Dorgan; bestselling authors Naomi Klein, Greg Palast, Valerie Bertinelli, Jean Smart, Ed Asner; M*A*S*H star Mike Farrel; upcoming: Bill Maher, Larry Charles, Richard Belzer.

I BLINKED AND MY KIDS WERE IN PUBERTY

This is before the blink... when they were sweet:


I blinked and my kids were in puberty. I was too busy for a few minutes and they went from being sweet 10 and 11 year olds to obnoxious jerks!! I wish I had savored the sweet phase a little longer.



Regarding Sarah Palin, I think maybe she woke up in the nick of time and realized her blind ambition was destroying her family.

I am viewing her decision as a mother would. With so many people in the public eye dying lately, it brings home the point that life is too short to waste a moment at a job you despise if it is taking you away from your children and the things you love. I believe a parent with a stressful job can ruin children's lives more than being unemployed. I would rather do with less, and spend quality time with my family — than work long hours earning a lot of money. Time is not replaceable, nor is peace of mind and health.



At Max's Barmitzvah. Everyone is 13, except for me. I'm 12.
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Charity King: Michael Jackson Holds Guiness World Record

I have always adored Michael Jackson and want to mention that he was in the As the world continues to mourn the loss of a great artist, the Basham and Cornell Radio Show! Guiness World Record book remembers Michael Jackson instead as the king of charity.

The Millenium issue listed the music legend under Most Charities Supported By A Pop Star, with a staggering 39 international organizations including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the American Cancer Society. Those are only the known ones however, as Jackson was also prone to giving away impulsively and anonymously.

Jackson had been known to hand over the proceeds from concerts to local charities and hospitals as he did with the History tour in Bombay, or donate personal items for auction to organisations like UNESCO. It’s been estimated he may have given up to $500 million to charity in his lifetime.
Jolly People.com Guinness World Record h
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I get a kick out of this picture. I love Chris McDonald! Look at how cute his face is!

Lydia Cornell, Chris McDonald, Antonia Bennett (Tony Bennett's daughter); Lindsay Clubine from Deal or No Deal; and pop artist Steve Kaufman. The Mrs. USA judges together in Vegas.

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In this photo at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas having dinner with Uncle Lou Tabat and Aunt Annie Tabat. Uncle Lou is 88, and is the former Constable of Las Vegas and retired boxing judge (Ali, Frasier, etc.) We love Uncle Lou and Annie!

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UPDATE ON THE Basham and Cornell Radio Show!

To all our fans, sorry for the delay in letting you know that we had a family emergency and are on hiatus for July and August. We will be back in the fall, bigger and better than ever!

The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern) on KLAV 1230 AM Radio live in Las Vegas. Again, all shows are simulcast worldwide on the Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at Basham and Cornell Radio

REST IN PEACE MICHAEL JACKSON * Sarah Palin is doing the right thing

MICHAEL JACKSONS MEMORIAL SERVICE

Right now, news helicopters are hovering over our house which is near the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where the Jackson family is convening after the amazing memorial service.

The saddest part: Paris Michael Katherine, 11, broke down in sobs and said "My daddy was the best father you could ever imagine..."

Jermaine Jackson touched me deeply, with his beautiful voice and quiet suffering, singing "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin, Michael's favorite song from "Modern Times."

I adore Jermaine, and got to introduce him on Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve. What a loving, gentle soul.

Brooke Shields was wonderful too.

To all the cynics who believe he was guilty: he was innocent. Not only was he found innocent by a jury of his peers, but at the deepest level he was the purest soul. he was COMPLETELY innocent of all charges, and I know it as I know my own children, as I know the sun will come up tomorrow.

People just can't understand a pure soul. If anything, Michael was asexual.

Rest in Peace, Michael.

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From 5pm, MTV News will be covering the event with a special 1 hour build -up to the show, followed by the full star-studded service which will include the likes of Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Usher and Stevie Wonder.

Also performing is 12-year-old Britain's Got Talent star Shaheen Jafargholi who will sing his rendition of Who's Lovin You.

The full line-up confirmed so far include Kobe Bryant, Mariah Carey, Berry Gordy, Jennifer Hudson, Magic Johnson, Martin Luther King III, Bernice A. King, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Brooke Shields, Usher, Shaheen Jafargholi and Stevie Wonder.

An estimated one billion viewers worldwide will watch today's event as mourners tune into Jackson's send-off at the Los Angeles stadium.

Update: I actually find myself liking Sarah Palin now. Today I watched her again when she made her resignation announcement from Wasilla, and I saw a sweet, world-weary, vulnerable woman with a deep sadness and disappointment in Washington for its prissy, 7th grade Gossip Boy mentality, and for the predators in the media.

Look, I had nothing good to say about her during the disgusting election campaign — and was horrified that she used race-baiting and right-wing fringe-loony baiting, in saying President Obama was "paling around with terrorists". And at the time I judged her harshly and assumed she was a narcissist. Even now I have no idea if she's being authentic right now, but I suspect her heart has been damaged by the ugliness of politics. I actually think she is making the smartest decision for her family. Anyway, as Abraham Lincoln said: "A winner never quits and a quitter never wins." So she wouldn"t stand a chance winning the GOP nomination.

"It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit." - Anna Quindlen

All the recent deaths have made some of us wake up and realize life is too short. We have to cherish our loved ones and go for our dreams.

After reading Anna Quinlan's letter about family values, I admire Sarah Palin for choosing to get out of politics, and I will take her at her word.

As a mom, from a mom's point of view — with so many people in the public eye dying lately -- it brings home the fact with startling poignancy — that life is too short to waste a moment being unhappy and ruining your children's lives.

I think maybe she woke up in the nick of time and realized her blind ambition was destroying her family.

I blinked and my kids were in puberty. I was too busy for a few minutes and they went from being sweet 10 and 11 year olds to obnoxious jerks!! I wish I had savored the sweet phase a little longer.

I have a hunch she read the following speech and decided life was too short to abandon her children for the dirty mud-slinging world of politics.

This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anna Quindlen at

the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an

Honorary PhD.

Most brilliant, to the point speech to get all of us thinking....

"I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't

ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here

this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be

hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands

of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only

person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your

entire life. Not just your life at a desk or your life on a bus or in a car

or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your

heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to

write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a

winter' night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've

received your test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never

to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider

myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am

a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what

they say. I am a good friend to my friends and them to me. Without them,

there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard

cut out. But I call them on the phone and I meet them for lunch. I would be

rotten, at best mediocre, at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So

here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic

pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do

yo think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm

one afternoon or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a

breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed

hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration

when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love

you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone.

Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And

realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business

taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to

spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to

charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want

to do well. But if yo do not do good too, then doing well will never be

enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It

is so easy to take for granted the colour of our kids' eyes, the way the

melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is

so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the

destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is

the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world

and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and

utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had

learned. By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the

fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face.

Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you

do, you will live it with joy an passion as it ought to be lived".

Here is a picture of Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, my son took this with his i-phone last week.

DRUG ABUSE IN AMERICA

We are here

to learn to love.

Before we get to today's topic and update on Michael Jackson's new autopsy, I would like to take a moment to say that I'm in shock at the news this morning that Billy Mays died. He is the OxyClean pitchman. My son happens to love his Discovery Channel show "Pitchmen." He was only 50.

Mays was one of the passengers aboard a plane that blew a tire and landed very roughly at Tampa International Airport yesterday. He told a local FOX affiliate he was hit on the hard on the head by falling items. Apparently he told his wife he didn't feel well when he went to bed.

So far, in the recent past we've lost: Paul Newman, Heath Ledger, Natasha Richardson, David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith, James Baker Hall, poet, Kentucky Laureate; Bob May (Robot from Lost in Space) Huey Long (The Ink Spots, 105 years old!) ....who else? Please leave comments.

I still can't get over the death of John Ritter, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemon or Peter Sellers!

And of course, my sweet brother. I had a dream about him not long ago — and he was totally healed, radiant as if he had been put back together. I had never dreamed about him since he died. But this dream was so real, I reached out and said "You're healed. Your heart is healed. You look great, you're alive!" And he grinned and said, "Yes, I'm fine now."

I had found his body on December 1, 1995. This was more than a dream.

Doesn't this make you think that life is precious? There is so much to see and do, so much beauty in the world. It sounds cliche, but we have to make the most of every single day, every moment. Grab life and live your dreams. Do what you really want to do in your heart.

I do not believe in death, I really think we are here to learn to love.

Go for your dreams. Cherish your loved ones. Find the gifts inside you and use them now. Life is short, art is long.

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DEA RENEWS WARNINGS ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE.

Update: Jackson family wanted to admit Michael to drugs clinic two weeks ago as he was danger to himself. New Fox Report: Michael's second autopsy reveals he was mixing various drugs: Demerol, Vicodin, Oxycontin, Dilaudid, and more...

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Amid questions about the possible role of drugs in Michael Jackson's demise, the US Drug Enforcement Administration Friday renewed concerns about rising deaths from misuse of prescription pills.

It warned that more people died from drug abuse than in shootings, and in the category of accidental deaths it came only second to car accidents.

The overuse of prescription pain-killers, stimulants or tranquilizers — either opium-based or synthetically manufactured — is on the rise in the United States.

In 2005, the last year for which figures are available, there were more than 8,500 deaths nationwide, an increase of 114 percent on 2001.

Hospital admissions due to an overdose of such drugs leapt 74 percent from 2002 to 2006, and emergency room visits were up 39 percent, the DEA said.

Most of those needing treatment were aged between 18 to 25, the agency added, and said that between 2003 to 2007 some six percent of Americans in that age group had admitted using prescription drugs for non-medical uses. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j5swrIt6MmiD52e27apQjYRr24SQ
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MORE ON MICHAEL JACKSON:

Michael Jackson's family were so concerned about his addiction to powerful painkillers they considered forcibly admitting him to a rehabilitation clinic just two weeks before he died.

The plan - which would have involved psychiatrists trying to convince a judge he was a danger to himself and others - was abandoned only because of Jackson's resistance, and the overwhelming pressure to fulfil his concert commitments in London.

Instead, he agreed to consult a controversial therapist known as 'Doc Hollywood' and to allow a 'sober coach' to accompany him to Britain, to stay with him constantly to try to wean him off drugs. By CAROLINE GRAHAM Daily Mail, UK

Go for your dreams. Cherish your loved ones. Find the gifts inside you and use them now. Life is short, art is long.

Today's quote: “Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.” George Carlin