Several Internet message boards have erupted today with debates on whether Osama bin Laden is alive or dead. I think he's alive but disguised as Tony Clifton.

The Writers Guild has posted a press release about the rally/picketing of last Wednesday. It'll tell you a few things I didn't cover in my reports, either here or here. There's also a link (WARNING: PDF File!!!) to the text of the speeches that were given that day. They were pretty good speeches, especially the one by Phil Robinson. Take a look if you're interested.

Donny Osmond has joined the New York cast of Beauty and the Beast, which is now entering its 700th year on Broadway. He's playing Gaston, and I imagine he's pretty good in the role…though not enough to make me go see him. But he'll sell some tickets to someone, which is what it's all about. I thought it was a pretty good show the three times I saw it…which were all, of course, sans Donny.

In the meantime, a rumor is circulating that The Producers will soon close…and the reported grosses would seem to bear that out. For the week ending September 17, the show played at 54.5% capacity, which was the lowest of all the Broadway houses. By contrast, Mamma Mia — which has been around almost as long — is filling 96.7% of its seats. I'm guessing The Producers is moving the bulk of its tickets via the TKTS half-price booth so its grosses are even worse than they might appear. This is a far cry from not-so-long-ago when Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick were in the show and people were paying hundreds of dollars over face value for tix.

But I find it hard to believe that The Producers will just give up without a fight. It's been quite some time since they had anyone in the cast with any sort of "name" beyond West 44th Street. I would think that before they closed the thing, they'd try bringing in a Jason Alexander or a John Goodman or any of a few dozen other stars who might make it into an event again. That's the idea behind Donny Osmond in Beauty and the Beast, after all. The only reason I can think of why the producers of The Producers might not try some stunt booking is because there's a huge deal in place to open the show soon at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. That production still doesn't have an announced cast or opening date. Perhaps they'll try to make it happen by using performers from New York…but that seems unlikely to me.

In the meantime, the Disney-backed stage musical of Mary Poppins, which is doing so well in London, will open in New York on October 14. I don't know anyone who saw it who didn't dislike it, in part because it strayed so much (and so fruitlessly) from the film. Over at the show's official website, you can watch a video preview that I guess is made up of scenes from the U.K. production. It seems calculated to look like they just brought the movie to life…so either the show has changed or they're engaging in some misleading advertising. Look on the left menu for the link to the video.

And while you're over there, you might want to visit the Beauty and the Beast website and see a peppy 30 second video ad for that show. Without Donny.

Bill Clinton is being interviewed this weekend on Fox News Sunday. The show has already been taped and during it, Clinton verbally lashed out at some of his foes and at the interviewer, Chris Wallace. Some are characterizing it as Clinton "losing it" or "freaking out." Others say he spanked Fox News and right-wingers but good. One weblog has posted a rough, obviously error-strewn transcript of the most explosive section.

The 2006 Comic-Con International in San Diego ended on July 23rd. Since then, Peter Sanderson has been reporting on it for Quick Stop Entertainment. He has finally reached the end of his diary with this installment which includes a nice report on one of my two voiceover panels. Earlier columns, all of which are well worth your attention, may be accessed from this page.

Next year, Peter plans to see if he can complete his report on the 2007 convention before the 2008 convention. I wouldn't bet the rent money on it.

The other day, George W. Bush said, ""If they [meaning Democrats] get control of the House of Representatives, they'll raise your taxes and it'll hurt our economy." I assume you'll believe he said that but just in case you don't, here's a link to a news story.

Now, I think it's questionable that raising taxes hurts the economy. I think it depends on how you raise them and how much you're spending at the time and where you're spending it. But let's leave that aside for now.

Here's what I want to know: How could the Democrats raise taxes if they get control of the House of Representatives? Just how could they do that?

Wouldn't they have to get control of the House and the Senate? Doesn't a bill still have to be passed by both chambers?

And then, doesn't that bill then have to be signed by the President…who, for the forseeable future, will be George W. Bush? Wouldn't he veto a tax increase bill?

In order to raise taxes, wouldn't the Democrats have to not only win both the House and the Senate and win them both by such overwhelming majorities that they could override a Bush veto? And is there a single human being on this planet who thinks there's a chance of that happening?

More and more, I do not understand what Bush says. And I wonder if anyone does or if it even matters any longer.

This morning, Presidential Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked if it isn't true that it's the Supreme Court that's supposed to decide if something is constitutional. His reply was as follows…

No, as a matter of fact, the president has an obligation to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. That is an obligation that presidents have enacted through signing statements going back to Jefferson. So, while the Supreme Court can be an arbiter of the Constitution, the fact is the President is the one, the only person who, by the Constitution, is given the responsibility to preserve, protect, and defend that document, so it is perfectly consistent with presidential authority under the Constitution itself.

Ergo, when the Supreme Court — in its role as "an arbiter" of the constitution — ruled unanimously against Richard Nixon on the Watergate matter, Nixon should have said, "Well, thank you for your opinion but you're wrong" and ignored them. And when they ruled against Bill Clinton on the Paula Jones matter, he should have issued a signing statement or otherwise overruled them. If and when they rule against George W. Bush, it will mean he's right and they're wrong.

Yeah, I think that's how our nation is supposed to work.

In case you don't want to take the nine and a half minutes to watch the following video, I'll summarize for you: A group of scientists at Princeton demonstrate that it's pretty darn easy to infect a Diebold voting machine with a virus that will take votes from one candidate and give them to another candidate. Here's the video if you want to watch…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is back with another article in Rolling Stone to suggest that past elections have been decided not by the voters but by the programmers of the voting machine…and he cautions that future elections will be even more crooked. Here's a link to his first work on the topic — an article that brought a lot of rebuttals and claims of inaccuracy. I read as many of these pieces as I could endure and came to the following conclusion. Kennedy failed to convince me that he had nailed down solid proof of rigged elections…but he sure cast a lot of reasonable doubt where there shouldn't be any at all. His new article goes even further in that direction.

I recently took this photo of two possums on my back steps eating Friskies Ocean Fish Flavors cat food.

According to Wikipedia, where anyone can claim anything is true, the Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial found in North America. A solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, it is a successful opportunist and is found throughout North America from coast to coast (introduced to California in 1910), and from Central America and Mexico to Southern Canada and seems to be still expanding its range northward. It is often seen near towns, rummaging through garbage cans, or dead by the side of the road.

I have just fulfilled this weblog's educational content requirement for fiscal year 2006-2007. Thank you.

This will mainly interest folks in the Southern California area. KDOC Channel 56, which broadcasts out of Orange County, has just added Johnny Carson to its schedule. Monday through Thursday evenings at 11:00 and 11:30, they're running episodes of Carson's Comedy Classics. The station's website and official schedule refers to the program as Johnny Carson or The Best of Johnny Carson but what they're running is Carson's Comedy Classics, a package of half-hour excerpts from The Tonight Show that was originally syndicated in 1983. Someone went through the tapes in the Carson vault and pulled out comedy sketches and desk spots, mostly from the late seventies, assembling them into half-hours. I suspect that the fragmented nature of the presentation was the main reason these clip shows didn't do all that well.

Several people, including Carson's old producer Fred DeCordova, told me that Johnny was determined to find some way to market his old tapes. He owned hundreds and hundreds of hours and didn't want to see it all disappear down the old memory hole. Somehow, the idea of just syndicating whole Tonight Show episodes was rejected. Most of the attempts have involved repackaging the programs by yanking out the comedy sketches and/or star performances by now-famous comedians and music acts. I still wish someone would try airing the shows in their original form, maybe with a little intro by someone explaining some of the topical references. I'm not sure a lot of the material even works out of the context of a free-wheeling, quasi-live show.

KDOC actually has a great schedule if you like infomercials and reruns. The list of the latter they broadcast includes The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, The Untouchables, Becker, Mad About You, The Nanny, Cheers, Charlie's Angels, Magnum P.I., Hawaii Five-O, Quincy, Matlock, Little House on the Prairie, The Rockford Files, Hogan's Heroes, Combat, McHale's Navy, Rat Patrol, Mission: Impossible, In the Heat of the Night and Kojak. There must be one or two shows in there that you like.

Hey, remember how a few days ago here, I was talking about the play, Merrily We Roll Along, in which the action takes place in reverse? Well, Michael Kinsley makes reference to it in his latest column. It's about how George W. Bush is fighting the Iraq War in reverse.