Wednesday shotgunning

Another sampler platter of news stories. Nothing today really leapt out as being worthy of an entire post, but a few things definitely needed commentary.

First up? Eva Longoria, of Desperate Housewives and giant MAXIM covers is writing a book. You read correctly... she's writing a book. Of course, as can be expected from someone who talks quite openly (and often) about her love for lovin', the book will be a romance novel. Fact of the matter is that, unfortunately, she and the rest of her television counterparts are so popular (across gender lines, for different reasons), that she could drool onto a keyboard, print 150 pages, slap her name on it, and people would by it. Given that this IS Ms. Longoria, maybe I shouldn't have been so hasty in giving away the plot.

Second up? A retired farmer in Wisconsin wants to set up a memorial. On his farm. To Hitler. Ted Junker is attempting to "clear up inaccuracies about the war and Hitler's role in it." Inaccuracies like the conquest of other nations? The systematic genocide of multiple people? The one-testicle lunacy? Basically, Junker doesn't really hold Hitler responsible. Looking back at his own military history, you can kind of see why. He was a former member of the Waffen-SS, that special branch of the SS that engaged in combat alongside the regular German army. Guess brainwashing lasts a lot longer than people originally believed. You want to know what Hitler was like, and how responsible he was? Watch Triumph of the Will and you'll get a good, disturbing idea.

Third up? Congress has proven once again how much they suffer. In a bold move, they blocked a vote being pushed for by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah concerning a cost of living increase. And if the vote hadn't been blocked? Why, then the $3,300 more per year paid out to our congresspeople would have actually been open to debate, and, possibly, a vote to keep it from taking effect. This is, of course, at a time where the rest of the nation is facing joblessness and lower wages. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all get automatic raises, unless we voted to see the topic discussed? If that happened, though, then there wouldn't be any perks to being a politician, aside from the six-figure salary, the bribes, the money for speaking engagements, and the ability to wield legislative power over the voters, possibly even causing positive change in the world. Nope. No perks at all.

Fourth up? In Michael Jackson's world, if you record a song for charity, you get paid. While there haven't actually been any songs released for charitable purposes by Jacko since "We Are the World", he was supposedly working on a couple of different ones, to help victims of 9/11, Katrina, starvation, freaky pop stars, etc. In the Jackson world view, all proceeds from the sale of the CDs would go to the charities. All proceeds from radio sales, or from others looking at copyrights and licensing, would go to Jackson. Pretty much confirms that he is somewhere out in orbit with regards to his views.

Finally up? Apparently Keith Olbermann and Rita Cosby, both of MSNBC, don't like each other much. Given that Olbermann doesn't have much of a reputation for either pulling punches or playing nice, this should really come as no big shock. Let's hope that Dan Abrams, the new MSNBC boss, finds a way to keep things as amicable as possible.