One of my all-time favorite comedians was a wonderfully-silly gent named Charley Chase, who worked alongside Laurel and Hardy on the Hal Roach lot. You may not have heard of him, and up until recently when this DVD set came out, it was difficult to see his best work today…but he was a very funny man, and his best shorts are as good as anything by any of the more famous classic comedians. If you're as interested in him as I am, you might enjoy a visit to The World of Charley Chase, a new website devoted to this sadly-neglected talent. (The DVD set is part of a fine new series of silent comedies. We're grateful for it, but we'd really like to see some of Chase's talkies released, as well.)

You know what I'd do if I were Karl Rove, managing the campaign of George W. Bush? I'd have Bush rob a liquor store. I'd have him pull a stocking over his head, go in, wave a gun at the clerk and make off with all the available cash and as much Wild Turkey as he could carry. I think that would help him win the election.

Why? Because for a couple weeks, everyone would be talking about how Bush robbed a liquor store. They wouldn't be talking about what's going on in Iraq.

Have you looked at the news outta there lately? Sweet Jesus, it's a mess…and yes, I know there are improvements happening there, too. There are also homes in Jamaica that weren't destroyed by the hurricane. That doesn't mean Hurricane Ivan was a good thing.

As some of you may recall, I was not against the war when it began, but I am now. We chose the wrong war and we're doing it badly. (Take a look at this. And this. And even this.)

If anyone can point me to a good article that explains why we've done the right thing in Iraq, I'd love to read it and link to it. So far, the only defense I've read is along the lines of, "You probably wish Saddam was still in power."

I also recommend this post by Joshua Micah Marshall on his weblog, and this one.

Penn Jillette (partner of Teller) writes about his idea of Free Speech, which is very close to my own.

William Rivers Pitt explains why the current battle is the stupidest presidential election ever. I don't agree with his every word but I think I agree with his conclusion.

By the way: I found this story via the excellent Sideshow weblog run by Avedon Carol — one of twenty or so I visit every day.

Sorry to hear of the death yesterday of writer-lyricist Fred Ebb…and I'll confess that I have a selfish, personal feeling of regret here. A mutual friend had been trying for a couple years now to arrange a meal at which I could meet one of my favorite Broadway lyricists (or lyrist, as some of them insist on being called) and we were never able to coordinate it. Had it happened, I would have enjoyed telling Mr. Ebb how much I always admired, not just his "hits" like the songs from Cabaret and Chicago and Funny Lady, as well as the ubiquitous, "New York, New York," but also some of his less well-known works. The songs from The Happy Time are every bit as good as those. They just had the misfortune of being in a show with a less-than-satisfactory book. So were the songs in Flora, the Red Menace and Steel Pier and any number of others. He really laid down an amazing run of quality work.

Not long ago, someone sent me a DVD that I enjoyed very much — Broadway & Hollywood Legends: The Songwriters – Kander & Ebb and Alan Jay Lerner. Half is Mr. Lerner and some folks singing his songs. Half is Mr. Ebb singing tunes that he and John Kander penned, with Kander accompanying him on the piano. Neither is a polished performer but there's always something wonderful about seeing a songwriter, however weak a vocalist he may be, doing his own material. You get to hear, more or less, how the author heard it in his head when he wrote it — which may or may not be the way it ultimately reached the mass audience — and it's always performed with gusto and pride. On the DVD, Ebb fares better than most, though he perspires at a rate that will remind you of that scene with Albert Brooks in Broadcast News.

What's especially interesting are the gestures and the way he "sells" the material. Liza Minnelli often said that everything she learned about performing that was not genetic, she learned from Kander and Ebb. If you didn't know that, you might watch his performance and think, "Hey, that guy moves a lot like Liza." But of course, it was probably the other way around.

Eric Idle has written another chapter in his ongoing diary of how he and some associates are turning Monty Python and the Holy Grail into a Broadway show. Sure hope they include Ralph the Wonder Llama.

Even if you don't agree with their politics, I hope you'll admire the enterprise and wit of folks like Freewayblogger. It's a new way of making a political statement, probably more effective than a lot of things we could all be doing. And some of his signs are either funny…or too true to be funny.

Want to get the most comfortable seat on the plane? Then consult the Seat Guru.

Here's an interesting article about George W. Bush's campaigning style. And no, it isn't really a negative piece.

Frank Rich on refighting the Vietnam War.

The electricity was out for seven hours yesterday here. Today, I reset all my clocks and timers (I have a lot of things with timers on them) and then I threw out much of what was in my refrigerator, went to the market and restocked. I finished this around 2:00 in the afternoon and an hour later, the power went out here again…and stayed out until just before 9:30. Could it be more fun?

But you know what I kept thinking about through it all, while I was sitting and reading books by flashlight? I kept thinking this was a microscopic fraction of what some folks in Florida have been through lately…and may be about to experience again. It also dawned on me that compared to what happened to some other people not that long ago on this day, two long power outages is like luxury.

Let's find out. Last November, I posted this simple message on this site…

Is the economy really on a rebound? I'll believe that when more people start using Paypal to donate money to this site.

As I admitted here then, it brought in an awful lot of money. Alas, lately, things have changed. I've only received one Paypal donation here in the last six weeks…which suggests to me that the American economy is slowing down. So I am hereby soliciting contributions from those who enjoy this site and want to prove to me that the Bush tax cuts and other moves have improved the financial situaiton in this country. I'll report in a few days. This is at least as accurate as anything Alan Greenspan ever said.

Not much posting here today. Not much electricity at my house, either. Lights went out around 3:00 in the afternoon and only came on around seven hours later. Add in the time I now must spend resetting clocks and figuring out what in my refrigerator is still edible, and that doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging.

But I did want to mention that I attended a lovely memorial service at the Writers Guild Theater this evening to remember a brave and funny man named George Kirgo. Everyone said the same thing: The only thing missing was George, who would have loved the event and been a wonderful host for it. In fact, writer-director Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams) channeled George and tried to imagine what he would have said at the event. He — George, not Phil — was the best speaker of the evening. So I guess that means Phil got it right.

Animation World News, a fine site, has just posted this article on the 2004 Comic-Con International, complete with comments from Yours Truly. Apart from the fact that they think I moderated four panels there (actual number: 13), it's a good report.

William Saletan offers the clearest, simplest argument I've seen yet against the Bush-Cheney Iraq strategy. This is what Kerry ought to be saying.