• A Florida judge refused to block the prosecution in Casey Anthony's murder trial from seeing the death penalty. Lawyers for Anthony, who is accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, claimed that the state seeking the death penalty violated her constitutional rights. The judge said whether or not Anthony should face the death penalty is a decision for the jury to make. • Banita Jacks, who was found in her Washington, D.C. home last year with her four daughters' decomposing bodies, was sentenced to 120 years in prison today for murdering the girls. The judge rejected the defense's suggestion that the four 30 year sentences be served concurrently, and their claim that she's wasn't competent when she rejected their advice to plead insanity. • Two British boys have been charged with the rape of an 8-year-old girl. At 10 years old, they are the youngest children to be charged with rape in the history of England. The assault occurred at a park, where the three children had gone to play on the jungle gym. The boys have been released on bail, and will return to court on January 2nd. • Members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted today to subpoena data from 19 colleges to investigate whether some schools favor men in their admission process. The probe is based on news reports and anecdotal evidence that colleges discriminate against women to maintain an even gender balance. A mix of schools near D.C. were chosen as a sample of U.S. colleges, not because they're specifically suspected of discrimination. •  A new book, The Death of American Virtue, reveals that Monika Lewinsky believes Bill Clinton lied to a federal jury about their affair. The author quotes a letter from Lewinsky, which reads: "There was no leeway on the veracity of his statements because they asked him detailed and specific questions to which he answered untruthfully." •  According to a new study from Canada, 10 to 15% of women have maladaptive eating behaviors. However, out of the 1,500 women interviewed, not one had anorexia, and the most common disordered behavior was binge eating. 2.5% also admitted to using laxatives, diuretics or vomiting to purge. • The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected a motion from Marion Jones' relay teammates at the 2000 Olympics to overturn the International Olympic Committee's decision to strip them of their gold medals after Jones admitted to doping. The ruling was a setback, but the court will hold a full hearing on the case next year. •  Billie Piper, the actress who played Belle in the TV series The Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Dr. Brooke Magnanti, the woman behind the Belle du Jour blog and book, will meet in person on a television documentary, Billie and the Call Girl Bare All. It will be "the last world on what it was like to be Belle - how my sexuality was formed, how I came to the work and what it's like to be portrayed on TV," said Dr. Magnanti. •

• We should have seen this coming: Lindsay Lohan and John Mayer were spotted sharing a table and dancing together at a New York club last night. "She was way into it," says an eyewitness, "She would follow his every move..."

• "He would dance with the waitresses and then come back," continues the source. Linds Tweeted about the evening: "@johncmayer shhhhhhhhhhhhhh butter-face :)" Where will he find the time to romance Linds if he's still hooking up with Jessica Simpson and fathering Jennifer Aniston's baby? (According to the tabloids.) [E!]
• The suicidal Tweets issued by "themichaellohan" weren't actually written by Michael Lohan — he doesn't even have a Twitter account. [Ok]
• Jessica Simpson said Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin is hot, so TMZ says Cowboys fans should start worrying that the "Yoko Romo curse" is back on. [TMZ]
• Jennifer Aniston is launching a DVD for her yoga instructor, Mandy Ingber. "Jen works out with Mandy up to five times a week, and they have become such great friends she even takes Mandy on vacation with her. So Jen was delighted to help launch her DVD," says a source. [N.Y. Post]
• Rachel Uchitel, Tiger Woods' alleged mistress, says the story is bogus. "This is ridiculous. Not a word of it is true... I told the Enquirer and Star [the tabloids that broke the story] that it wasn't true. I told them not only did I have information to disprove the story, but I offered to take a lie-detector test." [People]
• However, two more women have come forward claiming they had affairs with Tiger Woods while he was married to Elin Nordegren — and they may have the voicemails to prove it. Jaimee Grubbs of Tool Academy fame told her story to Us and the other woman is still shopping her story. Grubbs claims she had a 31-month affair with Tiger that started in 2007 when she was 21. She told Us she has photos, racy texts, and a voicemail from November 24 in which he says his wife may be on to them. [Radar Online, Us]
• Tiger Woods' lip was split open after his car crash on Friday morning, but police sources say there was no blood in his SUV. [TMZ]
• The Florida Highway Patrol announced today that they're giving Tiger Woods a $164 ticket for reckless driving. There investigation is over and they will not seek any search warrants for his medical records. [TMZ]
• The Adams family, Tiger Woods' neighbors, have hired lawyers to talk to the media. They say Elin Nordegren asked the Adams' for help, which is why they called 911. They gave him a pillow and a blanket and waited for the ambulance. They say there were no signs that they were fighting that night and Elin was concerned for Tiger's safety. [TMZ]
• A judge approved a request from Jennifer Lopez's lawyer for an Emergency Court Order to keep the racy video she made with Ojani Noa from being released to the public. J.Lo didn't attend the hearing. [Radar Online]
• Jennifer Lopez's attorney says there is no "sex tape." "There wasn't anything close to sex in it," he said. "We never alleged that. But it's still private and personal to my client." After the decision Ojani Noa complained, "They're trying to stop me from making my documentary and I'm fighting for my rights... They're not being fair." [People]
• A home video of Marilyn Monroe smoking marijuana at a party in the late '50s has surfaced. The person who shot the film recently sold it to a collector for $275,000. [Reuters]
• Rihanna said her life is far from normal. "It's definitely more intense," she said. "Every day is another curveball, but now I know how to handle it. Every time you get put in a situation, it somehow makes you stronger." [E!]
• Rihanna admitted the leaked naked pictures of her are real. "They were for my boyfriend at the time," she said, "if you don't send your boyfriend naked pictures, then I feel bad for him." She added, "It was the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to me. I just felt like my whole privacy was taken before that [with the other photo leak] and then, when that came out, I thought, 'Oh great, so now there's nothing they don't know about me and my private life. It was humiliating and it was embarrassing – especially my mom having to see that." [People]
• The court date for TLC's case against Jon Gosselin has been moved from December 14 to December 10. [Radar Online]
• Those in charge of Michael Jackson's estate rejected 24-year-old Prince Michael Malachi Jet Jackson's claim that he's the late singer's lovechild, so he filed an objection asking a judge to "have determined that he is the biological son of decedent Michael Joseph Jackson ... and gain whatever benefits he is entitled to." [TMZ]
• Tori Spelling and Candy Spelling's feud may be over. They started talking in September when they were both in the hospital and Candy finally met her granddaughter Stella. [E!]
• Verne Troyer says his ex-girlfriend Yvette Monet, who just obtained a restraining order against him, just wants money from him and "at no time did I ever threaten Ms. Monet or even hint to her that I would harm her in any way." [TMZ]
• Lisa Loeb gave birth to her first child, Lyla Rose Loeb Hershkovitz, on Sunday morning. [People]
• Possible Lost spoiler: Emilie de Ravin was spotted shooting a scene for the final season with Evangeline Lilly. [E!]
• John Mellencamp's 14-year-old son Speck is asking people to start a Facebook group he created to get his dad to stop smoking. Mellencamp says he'll quit if he gets 1 million people to join. [AP]
  QUOTES
• It seems Ryan Reynolds didn't finish watching yesterday's episode of Regis and Kelly even though his wife Scarlett Johansson was performing at the end of the show. When asked if he saw it he said, "Wait. Was that the show with Matt Dillon?" [Showbiz 411]
• Kate Garraway, the host of Britain's GMTV, said after Mariah Carey appeared on the show, "I've heard a lot of rumours about her being a diva over the years and guess what? It's all true! While Mariah was very nice, the amount of people she had in her entourage was hilarious. They outnumbered the entire GMTV crew!" Now her bosses have forced her to apologize to Mariah. [The Mirror]
• Bill Clinton called his future son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky "a great human being," and, a source says, "Bill adores him. This is the son he didn't have... This is the relationship Bill didn't have with his father." [People]
• When asked who should play President Obama in a movie, Morgan Freeman said, "Denzel. Denzel could pull it off quite nicely. You would totally believe him." [U.S. News]
• Steffi Graf said of the first roses Andre Agassi ever sent her, "I wondered where they came from. Each rose was stunning. You felt every petal had reached the perfect moment of its bloom." [Vogue]
• "One of the reasons I think I've gained weight pretty quickly during my pregnancy is that I'm not exercising as much as I do normally ... I can't. I'm feeling tired, and I have this business to run," says Padma Lakshmi. "You hope that with age, what you pay for in gravity, you gain in gravitas. I'm sure my thighs looked better when I was 25, but I think my mind is better today." [People]
• In addition to acting on Mad Men, Bryan Batt owns a home decor and gift shop in New Orleans with his partner Tom Cianfichi. "It's something we always wanted to do," said Batt. "I've always loved gifts and shopping and design." [AP]
• Daniel Radcliffe says after the Harry Potter films are over, his next project will be starting a family. "No man, I've got kids to have yet!" he said. "They're going to keep me busy if I do – which I hope I do at some point. I'm not planning on it soon – that's one of the things I'm really looking forward to doing." [People]
• Mila Kunis says Darren Aronofsky offered her a part in Black Swan over iChat. Here's how their conversation went, according to Kunis: "Hey." "Hey. Do you want to do this?" "Video chat? "No, the movie." "If you just offered me the movie, I think you need to get on video chat and offer it to me." [BlackBook Magazine]

As Hillary Clinton has assumed more and more of the spotlight due to her run for the Presidency and her subsequent appointment to Secretary of State, she has had to confront allegations and assumptions that somehow, Bill Clinton is still asserting power behind the scenes. However, because the Clintons are so closely aligned in many aspects of policy, creating a clear dividing line has started to get tricky:

Yet the real story is more complicated because, 10 months into her tenure, it is clear that their worlds and their interests cannot avoid intersecting. Hillary Clinton has put problems such as Northern Ireland, Haiti and Third World development near the top of the agenda at the State Department, and they are also part of the former president's charitable mission. Bill Clinton secretly helped push the administration's — and his wife's — agenda with North Korea on a trip officially called a humanitarian mission.

Relying on her husband's counsel could have long ranging implications for HRC:

The Clintons declined requests for interviews, but their aides emphasize that Secretary Clinton is carrying out the Obama administration's foreign policy and say that their shared priorities are a coincidence. Some lawmakers, however, are wary of potential conflicts. Bill Clinton's charitable foundation has received large contributions in recent years from governments such as Saudi Arabia's, as well as Indian tycoons and prominent supporters of Israel — presenting what Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) called a "multimillion-dollar minefield of conflicts of interest." In response, the former president agreed to release the foundation's donor list and allow ethics officials to review some foreign pledges; the first annual disclosure of contributions since Hillary Clinton was confirmed is weeks away.

However, to not rely on either Clinton's council would be foolish.

While the Clintons lead separate professional lives, they deal with some of the same leaders and issues. The William J. Clinton Foundation works in more than 40 countries on health, climate change and economic development, often collaborating with governments. The annual Clinton philanthropic powwow drew 33 presidents and prime ministers — from Colombia to Kenya to Turkey.

Mindful of concerns about impropriety, and eager to be judged on her own merits, Hillary Clinton has played down her husband's influence.

In a way, it's saddening how a match of equals has been turned into a potential liability for Hillary Clinton. Reading through descriptions of their obvious respect for each other's minds (even if Bill couldn't seem to extend that to other parts of their relationship) is actually quite touching. It's rare to hear of a couple on the save wavelength intellectually, as the Clinton's often are:

Friends say the Clintons talk and e-mail frequently and have always been deeply interested in each other's opinions and ideas. "A lot of the overlap in their interests and work you might see now are probably an outgrowth of having worked together on those issues when they were in the White House," said Doug Hattaway, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

That is true of Northern Ireland, where Bill Clinton helped broker the 1998 peace accords. The couple also has a long-standing interest in Haiti. They visited the poverty-stricken country as newlyweds in 1975, and their involvement intensified with the 1994 U.S. military intervention Bill Clinton ordered to dislodge a junta.

However, there are those who believe that outside of political manuvering, the Clinton's partnership will do far more good than harm in the world:

Haitian Ambassador Raymond Alcide Joseph said the Clinton double-whammy is powerful. "I think Haiti is just more than lucky at this time to have this great couple in various capacities poring over it and looking at it, helping it," he said.

Agreed.

The Clintons Aim To Keep Their Worlds From Colliding [Washington Post]

• Last week Lindsay Lohan ran when her ex Courtenay Semel confronted her about rehab. At a party this weekend her friends tried again, but Lindsay, "kept moving from room to room... She was clearly hyped-up on more than just booze."

• During a party at shipping heir Stavros Niarchos' Hollywood home, several of Lindsay's friends tried to get her alone, but source says, "It was impossible to corner her, until a few people tried to - in a bathroom when it was nearly dawn." Around 7 a.m. she spotted her father's close friend David Trent and "immediately bolted." [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Last week Lindsay Lohan showed up to the launch of Pascal Mouawad and Jermaine Dupri's jewelry line at Kitson. She was paid to appear and offered $500 to spend at the store, but bargained for $1,000. Then she "went crazy" pulling out different items and eventually racked up a $15,000 bill. When she was told she'd taken too much she said, "Pascal would take care of it because I'm the only celebrity here," according to a source. But, "Pascal said no, so she went and started talking smack about him to Jermaine Dupri who doesn't even know her." She continued making demands and was eventually she allowed to take $2,000 worth of jewelry. [Fox News]
• Michael Lohan says he's going to sue the person who said he likes to get lap dances from strippers who look like his daughter. "I never said anything about dances with Lindsay," says Lohan, who says he was only at the club planning a bachelor party. "I did not go inside the club where the dancers are, didn't have a dance, and never, ever mentioned anything about my daughter. Nothing happened whatsoever. I just sat there, waiting for the owner of the club to come and talk to me." [Radar Online]
• Despite the rumors that Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri have reconciled, she called him an "ex" in a radio interview, saying, "I'm not the type of girl that stays in touch with your ex like that," however, "Jermaine is one of my best friends... I love him to death. We're still connected. We're still good friends. We still talk." [Us]
• Katherine Jackson's attorney says she's "seriously considering" filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Conrad Murray. [TMZ]
• Evan Chandler, the father of the boy who accused Michael Jackson of molestation, was found dead earlier this month. Police said, "We have ruled it as suicide because he was found with a gun held to his body and had a single bullet wound to the side of his head. Mr. Chandler was 64." [Radar Online]
• MTV bought the TV rights to Michael Jackson's This Is It. [Variety]
• Swiss officials say a court will decide whether Roman Polanski can be released on bail in two weeks. [The Mirror]
• Aaron Carter owes the government more than $1 million in back taxes, and now that he's been cut from DWTS he doesn't have a steady paycheck. [TMZ]
• Edis Kayalar, the German model who allegedly tried to extort $100,000 from Cindy Crawford has turned himself in to German police. [TMZ]
• In a countersuit, Samuel Levin, the man Nicholas Cage says mismanaged his fortune, claims: "Coppola [Cage] had already squandered tens of millions of dollars... and owed millions of dollars in... income taxes, with no funds available to pay the tax debt." [TMZ]
• ABC News says they don't pay for interviews, but they did admit to paying for the Heene's family's sushi dinner in Manhattan last night. A source at Good Morning America says, "We did not pay for a limo to drive them around the city. We did have a car service (SUV) take the family as they required a bigger car. " [TMZ]
• After Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag's Today show interview was cancelled, Spencer Tweeted about their old foe Al Roker, "WEATHERMAN I thought you were out of town today getting your stomache stapled again?... you look very sick? Do you always look like your about to die? How old are you 97? You should retire asap- No one would even know? ... is it true you have been married 6 times? I'm sure all your wives left you when they realized you were abusive to women! Sicko!" Later Spencer apologized, Tweeting: "Dear WEATHERMAN after speaking with Queen Jones and Queen Lara I'm feeling very regretful for saying HATEFULL tweets towards a good man!!" [Perez Hilton]
• "I don't think Al Roker will be Tweeting me back any time soon," said Spencer Pratt, "He does only have a few thousand followers so it wouldn't even matter what he says." [Extra]
• Lady Gaga is ineligible for the best new artist awards at the Grammys because her song "Just Dance" was nominated last year in the best dance recording category. [N.Y.T.]
• Christina Ricci, who attended Lady Gaga's performance at L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art this weekend said, "I don't know about everybody else, but I just love the fact that she's like, 'Yes, this is what I'm wearing, and yes, this is how I'll be performing,'... And anyone who has that sort of self-confidence and the balls to sort of be like, 'I'm a fantastic creature. You'd better love me,' is OK in my book." [MTV]
• Interior designer and Oprah Winfrey regular Nate Berkus as a syndicated daytime TV show in the works. . [Broadcasting Cable]
• Proof that Twilight is a bad influence on kids: A girl was hospitalized after fighting with another girl over the last Robert Pattinson poster at a giveaway in London. [Female First]
• At the L.A. premiere of New Moon Kristen Stewart said being in the spotlight makes her nervous, which raises the question: why pursue acting? "It's a little weird, but it's all because of this .... The focus for us is the focus that [the fans] have, which is the movies," she said. "This is what you work for. Not the attention, but the fact that you can have a common interest." [People]
• Kristen Stewart says, "I get why fans want to know more about the cast as real people and they want us to be together and all of that. I just have to sort of not think about that. People have a hard time separating us from our characters. There's an incredibly large group that spends most of their time absorbed in the lives of people who've gotten some notoriety. It's strange to me. I can't have anything to do with it or else I'd step in and mess it up for myself, I just let it fall by the wayside. It doesn't really affect me." [Parade]
• Robert Pattinson says he's willing to go nude for the right role. "I think it would depend on what it is. And I don't think a lot of people would really want to see that. I think it would ruin the illusion!" he said. [Star]
• Robert Pattinson's handlers made him walk out of a radio interview with Ryan Seacrest just because Ryan asked him if he's dating Kristen Stewart. [TMZ]
• A judge has granted Ryan Seacrest a civil restraining order against Chidi Uzomah, the man accused of stalking him. He has to stay 100 yards from Seacrest. [AP]
• In the Editor's Note from this month's issue of Out Magazine, the editor-in-chief revealed that Adam Lambert's management requested his interview not seem "too gay." Now to back up the claim, the journalist who wrote the story has written a lengthy account of the interview and Lambert's publicist's warning that the the interview shouldn't bee too political or, "you know, gay-gay." [Perez Hilton]
• Adam Lambert says his new album For Your Entertainment is, as the title says, "not for me, it's for the people who are listening to it... We tried to nod to all that glam classic rock while creating a variety of different music. But at the same time I wanted to make music that was really modern and current and poppy too." [Reuters]
• Katy Perry says she was brutally honest when judging American Idol auditions because, "We all have friends or people that we've known that maybe they wanted to be a rock star, or be this or that, and no one ever told them that they can't... Like, 'It's just like you weren't born with pitch, so it's not going to happen and someone needs to tell you that because 15 years later you've wasted all this time and when you could have been a doctor." [The Star]
• The mom of X Factor reject Lucie Jones says she wants to ask Simon Cowell, "Whether he has got anything against the Welsh. Lucie was a strong contestant and he should have said nicer things to her, but he didn't." [The Sun]
• Taylor Swift is doing a line of greeting cards, gift packaging and stationary for American Greetings. Here's hoping one starts with "Imma let you finish...". [Brandweek]
• Randy and Evi Quaid have left their home in Texas and are expected to return to California to face charges over an unpaid $10,000 hotel bill. [Radar Online]
• Will Arnett will guest star on Parks & Recreation as a possible suitor for Amy Poehler's character. [EW]
• Molly Sims, Josh Duhamel's Las Vegas co-star, says the rumors he cheated on Fergie are not true. "I went to the wedding and he's a great guy and he lives by example. Do not believe everything you read," she said. "He is a great man, a great husband and great friend. It's sad because you are talking about a human being and Fergie is a wonderful woman. He is nothing but a good person. [The rumors are] sad, and it's about money." [Fox News]
• Sienna Miller's sister Savannah Miller says of the rumors that Sienna and Jude Law have reunited: "I think that would be a completely ridiculous assumption considering the way that man has conducted himself recently. That's all I'm saying." [The Telegraph]
• Michael Bolton says he's still upset about breaking up with Nicollette Sheridan: "I wouldn't wish a relationship with me on someone. I'm touring so I'm not physically present in one place enough. The worst thing about the end of the relationship (with Sheridan) was losing your best friend in the world and your closest confidante. It's a cliche but I just want Nicollette to be happy. You want the heat, the magic, the connection on every level, but ultimately it's the bond of deepest friendship that's the most powerful aspect to any relationship. That life experience together isn't something you can replace. I can't find that particular type of love again as it was unique." [Daily Express]
• Eddie Izzard says "I was an ambitious kid. It's in all the school reports, 'He really does seem to be a determined little child.' That's my way. I've always felt [the British have] a post-empire view of ambition which is that we tried it but it meant we stole other people's countries – as if there's no other form of ambition. I really hate that." [The Telegraph]
• Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men says they titled their new album Love because, "The title embodies everything that Boyz II Men represents. Every album we have ever done has always had a representation of love." [CNN]
• Last night at the 8th Annual Benefit for the Elton John Foundation Courtney Love bid to win a date with Bill Clinton, but lost. "On Clinton, I was like, 'That might be fun!' I would never bid if I didn't want to," said Love, "But after $120,000, it's like, I don't have a plutonium card." [N.Y. Magazine]
• There's trouble on the set of Cougar Town. A crew member says Courteney Cox is "Very domineering. She gives off this ‘I'm important and you're not' vibe... Courteney makes a huge number of script changes to make her character look good, and she is extremely picky about everything on the show." The source claims she once ranted about her lunch saying, "Everyone knows you are supposed to have equal parts of ham and cheese in a sandwich!'" [Pop Crunch]

Kami is the world's first HIV-positive Muppet. She was introduced back in 2002 to help educate kids about living with HIV/AIDS and promote acceptance of HIV-positive individuals (her name is derived from the Setswana word "Kamogelo," meaning "acceptance.") Kami, who lost her mother to AIDS, is quite knowledgable about the disease, and frequently speaks with the other Muppets about the things you can and cannot do with an HIV-positive person (sex is never mentioned - the focus is more on hugging and dealing with sadness than body-to-body transmission of the disease). The blog U Don't Like My Opinion describes her as a "healthy HIV Positive, affectionate 5 year old orphan who is a little shy but quickly joins when approached in a friendly way."

Despite Kami's positive message, some disapprove of including an HIV-positive character on a children's show. Yesterday, The Week ran a roundup of the ten most controversial moments in Sesame Street history, where Kami is listed alongside other such "scandals" as the furor over Cookie Monster's unhealthy diet and Oscar the Grouch's mood swings. According to The Week, "some parents protest that their children are too young to face the harsh realities of the virus." Juhie Bhatia for Global Voices notes that much of the controversy was located in the U.S. Although Kami has never appeared on American Sesame Street, conservatives were all up in arms before her launch in 2002, apparently riled up by the fear that she would start indoctrinate kids into the homosexual lifestyle. Kami's Wikipedia page quotes a letter from the Traditional Values Coalition:

The introduction of an HIV-infected Muppet on Sesame Street is problematic because HIV is spread primarily by homosexuals and bisexuals in the U.S. It is likely that an HIV-infected Muppet would be used to teach tolerance and acceptance of homosexuals to the preschool Sesame Street audience. In effect, this would be another propaganda tool to normalize homosexuality in our culture.

Some bloggers agree. Bhatia quotes a blogger who argues that a character like Kami is unnecessary in America, because children here "are not forced to deal with the issue of HIV/AIDS at that young of an age." Rosemarie Truglio, vice president of education and research for Sesame Workshop, responds to this type of criticism in an interview with USA Today,

"We get letters all the time," Truglio says. "My response is always this: Sesame Street is this wonderful, multicultural place where we celebrate differences as well as similarities. I want to make sure – and I've inherited this mission from our founders – that when kids watch this show, they can all see themselves."

Fortunately, Truglio's attitude seems to be the prevailing one. Kami has been named a UNICEF global Champion for Children. She has appeared alongside Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, and interviewed by Katie Couric. In 2006, she spoke with Bill Clinton about AIDS and acceptance (the video is available online here). Despite the haters, Kami has become a lasting piece of Sesame Street's history, and although we probably won't be seeing Kami in the U.S. anytime soon, she is an example of Sesame Street's willingness to weather controversy in favor of education. Tuglio explains, "we never talk down to children, and we're not afraid to explore sensitive topics."

Sesame Street's HIV-Positive Muppet Raises Awareness [Global Voices Online]
At 40, Sesame Street Is In A Constant State Of Renewal [USA Today]
Kami [Wikipedia]
Top 10 Sesame Street Controversies [The Week]
President Clinton And Muppet Kami Share HIV/AIDS Message [Unicef Youtube]

But is the bill good?

Mr. Clinton spoke to a closed-door meeting of Senate Democrats as party leaders were struggling to contain a growing number of conflicting demands and ultimatums from senators.

"It's not important to be perfect here. It's important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling," Mr. Clinton said afterward. "And whatever they can get the votes for, I'm going to support."

Which, at this moment in time, includes the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

Luckily, there's Representative Linda Sanchez, who puts the fight in a pop culture context:

Has Congress become like an episode of Mad Men? The Stupak Amendment slams women back to a time of stenographs and unsafe abortions. It represents an unprecedented and unacceptable restriction on women's ability to access the full range of reproductive health services to which they are lawfully entitled.

It is truly disappointing to see women's reproductive rights on the table as a bargaining chip for health care reform. It is equally disappointing that the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was let in the room to bargain, then ended up writing the law.

Speaking of Catholics, Nancy Keenan (president of NARAL Pro-Choice America) and Jon O'Brien (president of Catholics for Choice) teamed up for an opinion piece in the Politico. Their goal? To shame the Catholic Bishops for employing a double standard concerning government funding:

[T]he U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its allies in the House distorted the facts about the health reform proposal by claiming that the proposed system would have used federal dollars to cover abortion care. They're wrong.

The original House bill included a compromise that required all plans to separate public and private dollars in the new system - ensuring that no tax dollars would ever cover abortion services.

In fact, the bishops should be familiar with this arrangement because it reflects the same principle of separation that guides their financial interaction with the federal government. The bishops have a long history of almost unlimited access to enormous quantities of federal funding. When it comes to funding for Catholic schools and hospitals or programs run by Catholic Charities, they accept federal funding with open arms. The bishops never question their own ability to lawfully manage funds from separate sources to ensure that tax dollars don't finance religious practices.

Yet they reject the idea that others could do the same. This is the very definition of hypocrisy.

However, there may be some small hope here - Majority Whip James Clyburn mentions that the Stupak-Pitts amendment may not be as influential as it seems. He claims the bill provided ten needed votes, not the 40 that were estimated.

The Politico explains:

If that is the case, it could change the dynamic of the debate and give progressives a stronger hand than many thought they had. It's easier to reverse a provision that only wins 10 votes — and angers a good chunk of the Democratic caucus — than one that makes or breaks the bill. In other words, it's easier to win four or six votes than it is to grab 38.

Reid Says Health Bill Will Be Done by Christmas [NY Times]
Bill Clinton Presses Senators to Pass Health Bill [Wall Street Journal]
The Arena [Politico]
The Catholic Bishops' Double Standard [Politico]
Clyburn Says Stupak Amendment Won 10 Votes [Politico]

The premise of the article is that "Hillary seems to have found, in the heart of her chief rival's administration, an unexpected comfort level" — and there's probably a certain amount of truth to that; Clinton seems much more comfortable doing a job than campaigning for one. But as someone who supported her in the primaries in large part because I never bought the line that she was cold, uncharismatic or blinkered by ambition (nor the line that Obama was one whit more progressive), every time I see one of these "Now Hillary's really hitting her stride!" articles, I can't help thinking it's not Clinton who's changed, just the media narrative. And Brown's contribution to that is, as usual, so bizarrely backhanded, I hardly know where to start.

The first line seems as good a place as any: "Hillary Clinton has spent her entire career looking bug-eyed with incredulity when an interviewer asks her whatever question she most expects at that moment. Her theatrical bemusement was more convincing than usual on Monday's Today show..." Hey, check out how genuine Clinton seems — what a departure from her long history of being completely disingenuous! This is followed by a recounting of Clinton telling Ann Curry that she doesn't care much about the spotlight, and maybe that's "a woman's thing." Says Brown:

A woman's thing! In that phrase alone the secretary of State revealed what distance she has put between herself and the 2008 campaign trail. Mark Penn, then her strategist (or saboteur, depending on how you look at it), would have aborted that "woman's thing" thought before it was even conceived.

Now, you don't want to get me started on Mark Penn, but let's pause for a little reality check. The prevailing wisdom that Clinton was an unfeminine hardass who tried to divorce herself from her femaleness never came from her own actions, regardless of what bad advice she was getting. She was always a staunch supporter of women's rights, she often spoke of her experience as a woman and a mother, and not for nothing, even if she wanted to come across as androgynous, she was constantly fighting off criticism of her hair, her clothes, her "cleavage" and her "tears," not to mention being grilled about her husband's behavior and cast as an overambitious former first lady rather than a savvy politician in her own right. That the narrative of her Thatcheresque machoness survived as long as it did — pierced only by occasional "breakdowns" and minor neckline failures — is more of a testament to the media's stubborn insistence on that image than her own behavior or Penn's shittastic strategy. Now that there's no threat of her becoming president or anything crazy like that, we can all generously acknowledge her humanity and femininity. Hooray.

But of course, it's not as if anyone's saying that femininity was there all along. "It's as if," says Brown, "she has checked out of that tiresome phallic competition and acknowledged what's different-and valuable-about her own female nature." And what is "valuable about her own female nature," exactly? Oh, the fact that she's willing to step aside, offer the limelight to others, do her job quietly like the good little wonk she is, and forgo the credit. This is totally not a sexist interpretation of events meant to reinforce an underlying idea that Hillary is now somewhat admirable only because that famous ambition has been tempered! Brown thinks it's clever! "Everyone expected Hillary to fight for the limelight with Af-Pak envoy Richard Holbrooke. But she was smart enough to let that booby prize be all his... If we don't know where she stands on Afghanistan, it's not because her views aren't strongly held. It's because she's smart and mature enough to give them to the president, not the press." And hey, knowing just how much criticism the president takes, she even had the foresight to lose the Democratic primary! Way to go, Hill!

Also, her new position "plays to all her strength as a superwonk policy cruncher" (read: nerdiness). "You can imagine how much Hillary digs" writing position papers about Afghanistan for Obama, because deep questions about foreign policy were "the kind of stuff she'd dig into at Wellesley over spring break." See how complimentary that is? Clinton's really, really smart and always has been! And also, being Secretary of State is much like being an overachieving undergrad. Or something.

Finally, what's the most important thing Clinton's accomplished as Secretary of State? Perhaps "sweet-talk[ing] the on-again, off-again Armenians and Turks into ending hostilities over massacres that took place during World War I" or something like that? Nope! "It took Obama's presidency to do what she could never achieve in the White House or on last year's campaign trail: She's got Bill under control at last. From the moment she entered Foggy Bottom, he's been as good as gold. The big dog's in his kennel and she's holding the leash." Oh, thank heavens! It was all worth it!

The weird thing is, I get the feeling Tina Brown secretly likes Hillary. She just seems constitutionally incapable of building her up without subtly (and not so subtly) knocking her down; of admiring Clinton's talent and success without pointing out that she's under Obama's thumb, less visible than she set out to be, and married to a guy everyone's still more interested in; of praising her smarts without coming off as a cool girl rolling her eyes at the straight-A keener. If Brown were trying to get a date with the Secretary of State, Mystery would be proud.

Hillary And The 'Woman Thing' [Daily Beast]

Earlier: Tina Brown-Style "Tide Of Trivialization" Threatens To Swamp Clinton Trip
What's More Important: Rape In Congo Or Hillary's Bad Hair Day?

Though Clinton believes the "vast right wing conspiracy" is still very much a presence today, he also argues that the negativity of the Republican party will hurt them in the end, as the Obama Administration is continuing to run on positive themes, as opposed to the Republican platform as of late, which, Clinton notes, "seems to be wanting [Obama] to fail, and that's not a prescription for a good America."

Bill Clinton Speaks Of Vast Right Wing Conspiracy [AP]

[New York, September 14. Image via Getty]

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 14: Two women in a window smile as U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in a motorcade to a restaurant in the Greenwich Village neighborhood September 14, 2009 in New York City. Obama had lunch in the Village after giving a speece on Wall Street downtown. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

In a battle for who can say the most undermining thing, Joe Scarborough suggests that Bill Clinton travel to Africa on a "mission of mercy" and rescue his wife, just as he rescued Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Because getting criticized in the media for standing up for yourself (all this analysis is apropos of Clinton's comment that "my husband is not the Secretary of State, I am") is just like being captured by dictatorial regime, and being rescued by her husband is exactly what Secretary Clinton needs to help the world take her policies more seriously. But Tina Brown interrupts this already offensive suggestion to basically call Clinton fat. How is Clinton supposed to make good on her promise to make women's issues "central" to foreign policy, if the US media keeps making her looks and her husband central to her policy?

In her latest 'Domestic Disturbances' column, Times opinion writer Warner writes,

As she circles the globe in coming years, making the case for women's empowerment, starting with their basic right to be taken seriously, Clinton really has her work cut out for her. And it isn't just because the situation of women around the world is so dire, and the ocean of problems confronting them - maternal mortality, sex trafficking, domestic abuse, malnourishment, lack of education, lack of adequate medical care, just for starters - is so wide and so deep. [...] It's also because the tide of trivialization that washes over all things "Hillary" is just so powerful. That tide threatens to drown out anything of substance Clinton might attempt for a population whose problems have long been obscured in the androcentric world of diplomacy. And that's a huge pity.

Both Scarborough and Brown imply that Clinton needs to make us respect her, either by "being careful what [she says] in front of cameras" (Scarborough) or, by working out more (Brown). But why is "trivialization" our default mode? Of course, Hillary Clinton isn't our first female Secretary of State, and her current position as figure of fun may have to do with her longstanding role in the Clinton media circus. Because of her husband's indiscretions, people got used to making jokes about her personal life and appearance long before she ran for President or held a Cabinet position. But those jokes weren't acceptable then (remember all the scrutiny of her thighs?), and they're even less acceptable now that she's trying to be an ambassador for women's rights around the world.

In fact, today, Clinton will visit the African nation of Liberia, where she will meet with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first female head of state. Yesterday, she told a Nigerian talk show host,

From a moral perspective, we?re in the 21st century; all human beings, no matter what religion or ideology you reference, have the right to develop to their God-given potential. And too many women in too many parts of Africa are not being developed fully.

Will anyone pay attention to this message, much-needed not just in Africa but throughout the world? "Maybe," says Warner, "if we stop viewing everything Clinton does as entertainment."

Hillary Fights A Tide of Trivialization [NYT]
Clinton Heads To Liberia To Show Women Power [AFP]

Clinton is the first Secretary of State to enter the Congolese war zone, and she has an important mission: to urge an end to sexual violence in a country the United Nations calls "the rape capital of the world." Hundreds of thousands of women — and many boys and men — have been raped in the last 10 years alone, often by members of the Congolese military. Anneke Van Woudenberg of Human Rights Watch tells the story of a 15-year-old girl who was kept in a hole and repeatedly raped over the course of five months, when she became pregnant, at which point her family disowned her. Such crimes are all too common in Congo, and Clinton urged President Joseph Kabila both to protect his people and to stem the unregulated mineral trade that gives rise to much of Congo's military activity.

But none of this is very fun or funny, and what the media really wants to talk about is Clinton supposedly getting huffy about her husband. In response to a question about Bill Clinton's opinion on a financial issue, Clinton reportedly "bristled," saying, "You want me to tell you what my husband thinks? My husband is not secretary of state, I am...If you want my opinion, I will tell you my opinion. I am not going to be channeling my husband." Her intent was likely to redirect attention where it belongs — on Congo — but of course her remark had the opposite effect, generating analysis of Clinton's supposed frustration and her relationship with Bill.

Today, Maureen Dowd snipes that "looking unhinged about your marriage on an international stage hardly empowers women" and accuses Clinton of being "steamed about Bill celebrating his upcoming 63rd birthday in Las Vegas with his posse." But Tina Brown's take in The Daily Beast is perhaps the most annoying. She generously allows that, "contrary to received opinion, I am told Bill's wife was not a bit miffed at her husband's bounding back into the limelight with that glamorous Team America rescue of damsels in distress from evil North Korea." But then she backtracks with this fun little metaphorical quip: "it's just that-oh God, the trouble is that when Bill bounces back up, he bounces so high he always ends up landing on her." Poor Hillary! Brown continues,

Madam Secretary was doing so well at grabbing back the spotlight, delivering hard messages to devious, corrupt African strongmen, issuing warnings to Somali militants, busting a move on the dance floor at a gala dinner in Nairobi. In Congo she was particularly stressed. She had spent a day touring a refugee camp, hearing harrowing stories of rape, persecution, and female subjugation, issues she has long made hers. I suspect she'd just about had it with having to tiptoe around so many big-dog male egos-Obama, Bill, Africa's Messrs. Kibaki, Zuma, and Kabila. And p.s., was it necessary for Bill to be yukking it up on his birthday with the old adoring pals at such a fancy, high-priced restaurant as Craftsteak?

Instead of pointing out that Clinton's frustration might stem from an overlooking of the very issues she was campaigning against, and an unproductive focus on her husband, Brown just talks about how tiring those issues must be for Clinton. Way to miss the point in a new direction. But the real kicker is this:

And not only that, but (and I say this in solidarity, not belittlement) the African humidity had wreaked havoc on her hair. It had gone all flat and straight, which puts any woman in a bad humor. (Let's not forget: It was a sympathetic reference to the female-specific chore of keeping perfectly coiffed that made Hillary's eyes fill with tears back in New Hampshire.) Plus, the grueling State Department schedule means these days she can never get to the gym.

See, Hillary was just mad because she was having a bad hair day. Oh, and she might also have been feeling fat. This nasty little paragraph shows that sometimes women know how to use the tools of the patriarchy — belittlement (not solidarity) and looksism — better than anyone. It also shows how reducing Clinton's visit to Congo to a personal struggle for acceptance ignores the people there who actually need help.

In the Huffington Post, Georgianne Nienaber criticizes Jeffrey Gettleman's Times coverage of Clinton's visit ("It does not serve readership or the truth to paraphrase the Secretary of State, when direct quotes would do a much better job of conveying her tone and intent. Does the man not own a digital recorder?"), and quotes blogger Texas in Africa who mocks the cliched nature of most Western coverage of Congo ("It's the Heart of Darkness"). Texas in Africa also notes that American shock is played-out and worthless as a response to the crisis in Congo, that what Clinton really needs to do is push for more peacekeeping troops, better HIV/AIDS treatment, and other real-world solutions. But the bar isn't set very high for Clinton or journalists like Gettleman when the dominant media conversation seems to be about Clinton's hair.

Niether Nienaber nor Texas in Africa likes Gettleman much, but he does offer this illuminating anecdote in his Times piece:

A third woman, Christine Schuler-DeSchryver, a well-known anti-rape activist, vented about all the empty promises from the stream of high-ranking visitors who have recently come to eastern Congo, "one more important than the next."

"In the end, all we got was a pile of business cards," she said.

She pressed Mrs. Clinton to do more to end the criminally-controlled mineral trade.

"Madame Secretary," she said, "we want you to be our spokesperson, our voice."

It's Clinton's responsibility to be an effective voice for the Congolese people, not just a purveyor of empty American outrage. But the press could help her, by focusing on the actuall issues at hand. Brown writes, "as usual it's not the politics anyone is talking about now. The unchanging thing about the first lady/senator /presidential candidate-turned-secretary of State is the crackle of marital complications. Just as Hillary Clinton is a pol, she is also-just as intensely (and at times perplexingly)-Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton." But Tina Brown is an incredibly powerful media mogul — to some extent, she controls what people are talking about. She could help them talk about something real.

Why Hillary Lashed Out [Daily Beast]
Hillary Clinton In Congo: Tempers, Human Rights, And Media Cliché [Huffington Post]
Clinton Presents Plan To Fight Sexual Violence In Congo [New York Times]
Congo Rape Victims Caught In Political Crossfire [NPR]
Clinton: I'm Secretary Of State, Not Bill [AP]
Perhaps I've Gotten A Bit Cynical [Texas In Africa]
Toilet-Paper Barricades [NYT]

• Mel Gibson's pregnant girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva says she wants the public to get to know her (now that she has an album coming out), adding, "I thought he was happily married until I was reassured otherwise. And then it happened..."

• "It's not like I was planning to meet Mel specifically. Life happens," she said. "I'd like to be judged if so, by my art, by my music. That's primarily why I'm here. Of course, if the tabloids wrote the truth about most of people, maybe it would be really boring... How can I be judged for falling in love? We live in the same city. I don't control who I meet. I meet many people in art and music and film, but love is inexplicable." [Reuters]
• Jon Gosselin defended his new look on Jon and Kate Plus 8 last night, saying, "It's just the way I've always been expressing myself. Things are just coming out a lot more now... This is who I am and this is who I'm gonna be." He said he's had his ears pierced since he was 15 and just decided to start wearing earrings again. He added, "It's not a midlife crisis. Everyone thinks it's a midlife-I'm nowhere near midlife. I'm 32-years old. I've always liked motorcycles and cars and fast things and I have four tattoos." [E!]
• A source says Kate Gosselin understands she needs Jon and Kate Plus 8 as a source of income, but Jon Gosselin doesn't. "Jon thinks that he's bigger than ‘Jon & Kate,' but he isn't and it's frustrating to her," said the source. "He needs to focus and make sure the show does well so the family can be well." [MSNBC]
• After Miley Cyrus' pole-dancing routing on the Teen Choice Awards she was criticized on Twitter as "the next Britney Spears." Miley responded by Tweeting, "For all the people calling me the 'next Britney,' THANK U. I couldn't ask for a better compliment :)" [MSNBC]
• Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are officially back together. Linds surprised Sam in Chicago this past weekend by taking her out for her birthday. Later they went to a club and an eyewitness saw them "fighting over which drink belonged to whom." [N.Y. Post]
• Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper boarded a flight from New York to Barcelona together and have been seen together at hotels in New York and Los Angeles. [N.Y. Post]
• When asked if she'd like to work with Brad Pitt again, Angelina Jolie said, "I would love to, but we have a lot of kids to raise," and added that they will "always" want more children. [E!]
• Naked photos of Twilight's Ashley Greene are going around the internet. Her lawyer has confirmed the photos are real and says she's planning to sue. [TMZ]
• The mayor of Laglio, the Italian town George Clooney lives in, is imposing a €19 on people who stalk Clooney saying, "We've arrived at the point when hordes of people are yelling his name from the street at the top of their voices. Some of the cheekier ones are even going up and ringing the bell." [The Independent]
• Jay-Z will appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show, prompting rumors that Oprah lifted her 10 year ban on rappers and made a deal with Beyonce when she was on the show last season. A rep denied both stories. [MSNBC]
• Oprah has committed the sin of eating, despite announcing earlier this year that she's watching her weight. She took girls from her school in South Africa to New York and ate shrimp fajitas and potato skins at Planet Hollywood in New York. [N.Y. Post]
• Sources say Sadie Frost is furious that ex Jude Law got Samantha Burke pregnant because seeing their dad in the news is upsetting their three children. "It's really hard for the children and they're her main concern," said a source. "She is deep down furious with Jude – not for having the fling but for being irresponsible – and wants him to pay whatever it takes to keep the family protected from further embarrassment." [Daily Express]
• Jessica Simpson's arrival in Tokyo on Sunday coincided with two earthquakes and a tropical storm. She Tweeted: "Thought I was hallucinating. I have never felt anything like this in my life. Laying in bed watching CNN." [The Sun]
• After returning from North Korea, Bill Clinton had his staff call Sony and ask for a screener of The Ugly Truth. [E!]
• ABC's entertainment president has responded to Katherine Heigl's public whining about long days on Grey's Anatomy saying, "I think it's unfortunate... People are going to behave in the way they choose to behave. There are so many people who work so hard on ‘Grey's,' and all of our shows, without any notoriety and those are the ones I'd be concerned about, people who feel like they're being criticized or looked down upon." [MSNBC]
• Simon Cowell is finalizing a deal to continue judging American Idol for at least three years. [Reuters]
• Victoria Beckham got a new tattoo on her wrist to celebrate her 10-year marriage to David Beckham with a tattoo that says "together forever, eternally" in Hebrew. [Daily Mail]
• Lady Gaga got a tattoo on the inside of her upper arm in German. "It says 'In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself, must I write?'" she said. [N.Y. Daily News]
• The IRS has placed liens on two New Orleans properties Nicolas Cage put up for sale. When the property is sold the IRS must be paid over $6.26 million dollars because Cage didn't pay his income tax in 2007 and didn't pay enough between 2002 and 2004. [Nola]
• Paul Reubens will star in a stage version of The Pee-wee Herman Show in Hollywood. Many of the original cast including Miss Yvonne, Cowboy Curtis, and Jambi the Genie will return. [Variety]
• Katie Price had a ruined the vow renewal ceremony of her make-up artist Gary Cockerill and Phil Taylor by climbing onstage and screaming at the guests, "You're all fucking cunts," then announcing that ex Peter Andre is a "fucking asshole." [The Sun]
• Pete Doherty will appear in court today to face drunk driving charges. He previously plead not guilty to dangerous and drunk driving but admitted to drug possession charges and not having a license or insurance. [The Mirror]
• Candy Spelling says, "I have been trying and I'm never going to stop trying to reconcile with Tori. I love her. She is my child." She also insists that while Tori Spelling's TV show made it look like she just didn't show up to her granddaughter's birthday party, she actually emailed Tori on the day of the party to cancel. [OK]
• When asked about Candy Spelling's claim that her grandchildren are being used as "reality show props," Tori Spelling pretended she hadn't read her mom's recent statement but husband Dean McDermott said, "We don't use our children as props, we take really good care of our children, we love our children... everyone's entitled to their opinion." [TMZ]
• Leighton Meester and Sebastian Stan are getting serious. A friend says they're planning on moving in together soon and this weekend they went to a club with Demi Moore and his Spread co-star Ashton Kutcher. [N.Y. Post]
• The Georgia home of Lisa Wu-Hartwell of Real Housewives of Atlanta and her husband, football player Edgerton Hartwell was foreclosed on last week. Their rep says, "Ed and Lisa are fine. They have settled in their [new] home, that sits on 10 acres and they OWN it!" [TMZ]
• Thom Yorke says Radiohead may release single songs but won't be making another album anytime soon because, "we've all said that we can't possibly dive into that again. It'll kill us." He added, "None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again. Not straight off." [BBC]
• Country duo Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn posted a message on their website saying they've agreed to "call it a day" after 20 years of performing together. Brooks & Dunn will release a greatest hits album next month and do a final tour in 2010. [AP]
• Diane Kruger, who is dating Joshua Jackson, said she's not interested in marrying again because her first marriage ended in divorce. She explained, "I felt terribly responsible for someone else's feelings and their life. It's painful to love each other but not be able to be together." [Daily Express]
• "I'm glad I'm not coming up now. I would never be able to deal with that kind of media attention that these actors do now. I really feel fortunate that I lived my life and raised my family and did all of that without being hounded." — Jessica Lange [E!]
• On the show Who Do You Think You Are Kim Cattrall discovered her grandfather was married to two women at the same time. "I knew he was gutsy, but now he's a criminal. Unbelievable," said Cattrall, "I'm quite angry about that. As a woman I find that quite despicable." [Daily Mail]

[Burbank, August 5. Image via Getty]

BURBANK, CA - AUGUST 05: (L-R) Journalist Lisa Ling smiles as she talks with sister/journalist Laura Ling who along with Euna Lee arrived at Hangar 25 on August 5, 2009 in Burbank, California after being released by North Korean authorities yesterday. Ling and Lee, of San Francisco based Current TV, were both arrested by North Korea in March for illegally entering the country on the Chinese border. Yesterday they were pardoned by President Kim Jong-Il after a meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Ling and Lee had been sentenced to 12 years in prison in June. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for Shangri-La)

North Korea had apparently specifically requested Bill Clinton as an envoy after rejecting Ling and Lee's employer at Current TV, Al Gore. According to a senior Obama administration official, Clinton did not offer Kim Jong Il an apology, nor did he discuss issues other than the journalists' release, such as nuclear disarmament. That didn't stop Bush's ambassador to the UN John Bolton from sniping, "Despite decades of bipartisan U.S. rhetoric about not negotiating with terrorists for the release of hostages, it seems that the Obama administration not only chose to negotiate, but to send a former president to do so. " He went on,

The point to be made on the Clinton visit is that the knee-jerk impulse for negotiations above all inevitably brings more costs than its advocates foresee. Negotiating from a position of strength, where the benefits to American interests will exceed the costs, is one thing. Negotiating merely for the sake of it, in the face of palpable recent failures, is something else indeed.

Clinton seemed to be negotiating for the release of two women, not "merely for the sake of it," but clearly Bolton knows better. We're not sure what this anti-diplomacy diplomat's preferred response to North Korea was — possibly nuking them?

Also on hand to direct attention away from the enormous relief of Ling and Lee's families and friends are various speculations on how Bill Clinton's trip affects Hillary. Mark Landler and Peter Baker of the Times write,

Mr. Clinton's mission may be less of an issue for Mr. Obama than for Mrs. Clinton. The same day he landed in North Korea, she arrived in Kenya, kicking off an 11-day journey through Africa - a visit now largely eclipsed by her husband's travels.

Of course, Clinton's visit is probably a bigger issue for Laura Ling and Euna Lee than for Obama or Hillary Clinton, by Calvin Woodward of the AP also wants to treat this as a story of clashing political celebrities. He writes,

Bill Clinton's North Korean negotiations cast fresh light on a Byzantine, mysterious power that Americans may never fully understand.

The Clintons.

He adds that "the history of Bill and Hillary Clinton - their partnership, their marriage, their way of one stepping forward while the other steps back - is lined with mazes worthy of the family franchise that rules in Pyongyang" and that "for the moment, he was the one stepping forward, overshadowing her, in familiar tag-team fashion." Despite his "overshadowing" language, Woodward sees the visit as a victory "for the tag team." Maureen Dowd seems to agree, saying "Hillary and President Obama look bigger when they share the stage with other talented players." However, she also can't resist a little nickname-tossing:

Maybe it was some clever North Korean revenge plot, giving the limelight to Daddy to punish Mommy. Just as Hillary muscled her way back into the spotlight, moving past her broken elbow and grabbing the focus from her bevy of peacock envoys, she was blown off the radar screen again by an even more powerful envoy: the one she lives with.

Hillary Clinton, for her part, expresses only happiness at being "blown off the screen" by the release of two prisoners after 4 1/2 arduous months. She says,

I'm very happy and relieved to have these two young women, on their way home to their families. I spoke to my husband on the airplane and everything went well; we are extremely excited they will be reunited. It was just a good day to be able to see this happen I'll have more to say to later, after they've landed.

Ling and Lee have now landed at the Burbank Airport and will reportedly give a press conference later today.

Updated: The press conference is below.

In Release Of Journalists, Both Clintons Had Key Roles [NYT]
Families, Gore Asked Clinton To Intervene [AP]
The Clinton Tag Team Is In Motion Once More [AP]
Let The Big Dog Run [NYT]
North Korea Asked For Bill Clinton [WSJ]
Clinton's Unwise Trip To North Korea [Washington Post]

• Paula Abdul will not return to American Idol. This announcement comes via her Twitter. She wrote:

"With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to #IDOL. I'll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all I'll miss being a part of a show that I helped from day1 become an international phenomenon. What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me… It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month… I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all." She was reportedly looking for as much as $20 million to continue with the show, but producers were recently heard talking up new host Kara DioGuardi (who has already signed on for another season, along with Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest). [Variety]

• First we heard that Penelope Cruz might be knocked up, then we heard she quit smoking, and now a source says: "Penelope is about four months pregnant." Congrats to Penny and lover Javier Bardem! [Just Jared]
• Thank Zeus: Jennifer Aniston has signed on for a movie we can actually get behind: Goree Girls is about an all-female country band in a Texas prison in the 1940s. [Variety]
• Presented without comment: "A park bench featuring a sculpture of a nude Angelina Jolie with her infant twins is to be unveiled in Oklahoma to promote World Breastfeeding Week." [UPI]
• Madonna's old love letters "borrowed heavily" from Anne Sexton poems. [Page Six]
• Childhood stardom can be tough. Ashley Olsen tells Marie Claire: "[Growing up,] it was almost like I was in the Army. School, work, homework, fly to New York, get in at 2 in the morning, do a morning show at 5 a.m., then another one at 7, then a radio interview at 10." She adds: "I look at Britney, and I'm surprised I didn't end up like her." [Gatecrasher]
• When Jon and Kate Gosselin announced their split, they got great ratings; the new episode's ratings? Crappy. Hence the headline, "Viewers Break Up With 'Jon and Kate.'" [AdAdge]
• More on this in Midweek Madness, but Jon Gosselin is on the cover of In Touch, saying "I'm tired of being blamed." He says his marriage fell apart in October 2008. "Many people think that everything moved too fast, that I was out partying too quickly. But Kate gave up on the marriage last October, and the divorce will be finalized by Sept. 30." [MSNBC Scoop]
• Robert Pattinson has been voted the sexiest man in the world in a Glamour mag poll in which many of the women were obviously Twihards. [The Star]
• Spotted: Kelly Bensimon and Damages actress Rose Byrne vying for Gerard Butler's attention. "Kelly blocked Gerard from speaking to Rose and was flirting up a storm - but he couldn't have seemed less interested." Gerard found Rose later and took her to a "private corner" to talk. [Gatecrasher]
• Gerard Butler says he got involved in his new romcom because he was always cracking jokes: "I was doing an action movie with the guys who made this and at night we would go to dinner and I would be like 'did you hear the one about this?' and they were like The Ugly Truth." [Mirror]
• Chris Brown will be sentenced for assault today. [AP]
• Elisabeth Moss says she and Mad Men costar Christina Hendricks — who are both getting married soon — are having their cakes made by the same people.
  "We've been exchanging flower information a little bit," she says. "Our weddings are sort of different, but we love talking about it." [People]
• CW programming chief Dawn Ostroff says Mischa Barton is at work on her new show The Beautiful Life and has been "great" and there have been "no issues." Everything is FINE okay? [USA Today]
• According to this report, it's not Mischa the CW producers are worried about, it's Elle Macpherson, her TBL costar, who has a large role, but can't act. [Gatecrasher]
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler gets kinda Sopranos-esque in this video, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey with Jamie-Lynn Sigler." Bonus points for "buh-bies." [Funny Or Die]
• The Michael Jackson concert rehearsal footage will be a full-length motion picture… if a probate judge approves the deal by Monday. [AP]
• Joe Jackson, thank you for saying the following: "I do visit the family residence from time to time and will continue to do so, however I will not be involved in raising the children." [AP]
• Administrators of Michael Jackson's estate expect to earn cash from merchandising Jackson-related stuff, which would be good for the kids. [TMZ]
• David and Victoria Beckham MIGHT be moving to a £10million home in Chelsea, London, and here are pictures of the house they COULD live in someday. [Daily Mail]
• Check out Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel in this music video shot to promote (500) Days Of Summer. It's got a '60s look and DANCING! [USA Today, USA Today]
• John Slattery, aka Mad Men's Roger Sterling, may direct an upcoming episode of the AMC show. [LA Times]
• Candy Spelling is still using the media to talk to daughter Tori Spelling. Last week she accused Tori of using her kids as "reality show props"; today she's telling Tori: "I love you, and I always will." [USA Today]
• Daniel Baldwin says of the woman who claims he left her a "hostile" message: "Either she's delusional, can't remember what's going on, or she's psychotic." The woman fired his niece, who is a nanny, and allegedly threatened the niece, saying she would never work in Malibu again. Baldwin says he texted back: "Please don't threaten my niece" and that's it. [E!]
• Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will present filmmaker Steven Spielberg with the 2009 Liberty Medal at a ceremony in Philadelphia. [UPI]
• Jay Leno's new show will have "correspondents" — Brian Williams, Mikey Day, Rachael Harris, D.L. Hughley and Jim Norton. [Page Six]
• Josh Duhamel is in talks to star with Katherine Heigl in Life As We Know It, a romance about two people "whose worlds are turned upside down when their mutual best friends die in an accident and name them as caregivers of their orphaned daughter." Cue parenting goofs, falling in love. [Variety]
• Bam Margera is working it out with his wife, with the help of marriage counseling and meds. [TMZ]
• Johnny Hallyday, the "French Elvis," fell while boarding a yacht on the Riviera last month and dislocated his hip. [Page Six]
• This picture of Whatshername face down getting her ass squeezed while getting a massage is one of the reasons I can't bear to be interested in her. In any case, Whatshisname is hoping for a quickie divorce. [The Sun]
• Blind item! "Which wacky celeb is certainly no angel when it comes to her hobbies? This hostess holds drawing parties for her gal pals - complete with a nude model and lots of alcohol." [Gatecrasher]
• "Silence is a powerful weapon in drama, "What you don't say and what you don't reveal can be as powerful as what you do say. My intention is to make [the performance] as real as possible but never forgetting that it's actually drama." — Gabriel Byrne, on In Treatment. [LA Times]
• "She comes to L.A. from the Midwest to find her mother [who turns out to be one of the original show's characters, Sydney Andrews, played by Laura Leighton], and all of a sudden she's thrown in with the sharks." — Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, on her Melrose Place character. [WWD]
• "In the music business in the Seventies, girls were beautiful. You were a performer, or you could be a girlfriend or groupie, but you still had to look good. I didn't have the face or the body that opens doors... Not being beautiful was an education. My achievements are down to my looks, or lack of them... I'm not putting myself down, that's the truth." — Sharon Osbourne, who says being "short, fat and hairy" meant she had to "develop a brain and personality and be fun and smart and learn to get on with people and make deals." [Daily Mail]
• "I'm not going to confirm or deny that. It might jump forward, it might not." -Jon Hamm, on whether the third season of Mad Men takes place two years after the last season ended. [NY Mag, via ESPN podcast]
• "A lot of his chickens came home to roost, so to speak. He had a lot of balls in the air, and they all kinda came crashing down as the season progressed. A lot more happens in season three, and there's a lot of change coming his way. Not only in his life, but a lot happens in the culture as well. So far, it's been an amazing season and I can't wait for people to see it." -Jon Hamm, on Don Draper's meltdown last season and how Don recovers (or doesn't). [NY Mag, via ESPN podcast]
• "They're fucking nuts. You have to either accept that or you do like me: You get married four times."— James Caan, on women. [Page Six via Men's Journal]
• "My music is a little more edgy so that inspired me to be adventurous. I've never dyed my hair before so this was a pretty drastic change. I've always been known as a brunette but I've been thinking about it for a long time and it kind of just fit with all of the searching with the music and experimenting that I would do the same thing with my look. The look has affected the way I dress, it's inspired me to be more adventurous with what I decide to wear. It's silly that something so simple as changing your hair could have such a big effect. I'm just having fun with it." — Katharine McPhee, on dying her hair blonde. [People]
• "I'm not great [at romance in real life] actually — my husband [musician Josh Kelley] and I have had this argument, I can be but generally I am a little, like, squeamish about being too romantic. I do love a good snuggle, but I don't want to, have to, get all verbally gooey." — Katherine Heigl. [Mirror]
• "I probably seem like not a particularly nice person, not a girl's girl. I think if you put a camera in anyone's life and document it daily for six years, from the age of 21 to 27, there are going to be things that aren't always pretty. Those are the rebellious years, the years of self discovery. I've never been someone who has conformed, and I think my response to that level of attention was to pretend it didn't exist." — Sienna Miller. [Daily Mail]
• "I'm disgusted by him. Here's a guy with eight kids who runs off to 'find himself' — well, he should have found himself a condom." — Joan Rivers on Jon Gosselin. [Page Six]

Clinton's visit is a surprise, and Clinton is the highest-profile American to go to North Korea since Madeline Albright's trip in 2000 (Jimmy Carter went in 1994). The Obama administration reportedly considered a number of other possible envoys, including John Kerry. The choice is especially surprising given that Hillary Clinton has been so deeply involved in efforts to free Ling and Lee. However, she has recently been trading insults with North Korean officials, comparing them to "small children and unruly teenagers." The North Korean Foreign Ministry in turn called her a "funny lady" who "is by no means intelligent." Bill Clinton, on the other hand, maybe popular in North Korea because US-North Korean relations were at their best during his administration.

Researcher and ex-North Korean official Jang Cheol-hyeon says Clinton "can surely bring the two journalists back home." Victor Cha, a former Bush advisor on North Korea, concurs, saying, "it would be very difficult for the North not to give these people up" to Clinton. Scott Snyder of the Asia Foundation, however, has concerns. He tells the LA Times, "The question is going to be how could he go to Pyongyang without some assurance that they would be released. For someone at his level to go without a prior assurance of some kind would be to risk a huge loss of face." But analyst Mike Chinoy thinks this is actually evidence that Clinton is confident about the journalists' release. He says, "I suspect that it was made pretty clear in advance that Bill Clinton would be able to return with these two women otherwise it would be a terrible loss of face for him."

Experts are debating the larger diplomatic implications of the visit as well. Obama administration officials say Clinton will try to avoid linking the issue of Ling and Lee to North Korea's nuclear program, and that they aren't willing to offer the North incentives to return to six-party diplomatic talks. But South Korean professor Kim Yong-hyun says of Clinton's visit, "I think it's not just about journalists. It will serve as a turning point in the US-North Korea relations." Senator Lindsay Graham agrees, saying, "Maybe we can build on this to do something better with nuclear weapons. ... I don't know if this is the beginning of something bigger." Jack Kim of Reuters reports that the former President's trip "allows the [North Korean] government to show to a domestic audience, facing deepening poverty, that the nuclear weapons program is making the outside world take it more seriously and the visit will be certain to be portrayed as tribute by the United States." And North Korea expert B.R. Myers says, "It sends all the wrong signals," such as that the United States will reward kidnapping with high-level attention.

However, at least one expert thinks Clinton's trip offers a valuable intelligence opportunity as well as a humanitarian one. Think tank president Ralph Cossa says Clinton will be able to gauge Kim Jong Il's reportedly failing health, and find out who is really running North Korea. He says,

For me, this is a stroke of genius on the part of the Obama administration. Kim Jong Il will have to meet with a former U.S. president. Given his ego and desire for attention, this is a photo opportunity he doesn't want to miss. If he doesn't meet with Clinton, we'll know he is on life support.

Reports: Bill Clinton Arrives In N. Korea [Washington Post]
Bill Clinton Arrives In North Korea [Guardian]
Bill Clinton Visits North Korea In Bid To Free Journalists [LA Times]
Bill Clinton In North Korea To Seek Release Of U.S. Reporters [NY Times]
Bill Clinton In N. Korea For Journalists [CNN]
Bill Clinton In North Korea To Win Reporters' Release [Reuters]
White House Mostly Mum On Clinton's NKorea Mission [AP]