James Hirsen
Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004

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  Unlike Ronstadt, Henley wasn’t “fired” from a one-show gig. But like her, he did draw a chorus of boos from the crowd.

Henley was at the Pacific Amphitheater in Orange County, Calif. He started to mention his “good friend Linda Ronstadt,” but was unable to finish the sentence because of the loud negative reaction.

Henley tried to answer back to the crowd, saying, “Whoops - Orange County,” adding that “we used to be able to have civil debate in this country. Not anymore.”

After introducing his next tune as one that could be a duet sung by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, the singer gave his rendition of Randy Newman's “Political Science,” a ditty that features the United States dropping nukes on the rest of the world. (Did Henley forget about Democrat icon Harry Truman?)

More boos ensued. Some concertgoers headed for the exits.

The Left Coast Report suggests that if in the future Henley wants to give lefty concert lectures he does so only in the shower.

Hollywood Highlights From a Bounceless Convention

Hollywood’s presence was all over the place. But at the Democrat convention, celebrity sentiments were anything but inclusive when it came to talk of Republican types.

Alec Baldwin said the GOP was “hijacked by fundamentalist wackos.”

Rob Reiner accused the GOP of using “wedge issues to divide the country.”

Janeane Garofalo called right wingers “emotionally immature.”

In an accurate description of the Democrat ticket, Ben Affleck told the world that the “GOP is the party of the haves and have mores.”

Speaking of Moores, Michael was the most visible face at the Democrat happening. He was even able to score the seat of honor next to Nobel Prize-winning ex-prez Jimmy Carter.

The Peace Prize’s spirit failed to rub off on Moore. The “Dude, Where’s My Conscience” said conservatives “are up at six in the morning trying to figure out which minority group they're going to screw today. The hate, they eat for breakfast. They are going to fight, and they are going to smear, and they are going to lie, and they are going to hate.”

Meanwhile, the Kerry daughters were playing celebrity courting. Alexandra shared smokes, jokes and kisses with John Cusack, while Affleck hugged Vanessa at the GQ party for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome.

Alexandra is the same Kerry daughter who revealed in a prime-time address to the convention that her father had heroically administered CPR to the family’s hamster.

The Left Coast Report is pleased to hear that John Kerry is at least pro-rodent life.

Natalie Portman’s Posies

Natalie Portman was booked on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to plug her new flick, “Garden State.”

The actress came dressed in a T-shirt prominently displaying John Kerry's name. This prompted television veteran Diane Sawyer to remember the rules about equal time.

As the interview started, Sawyer said, “Now if I'm gonna talk to you, you're gonna have to hold flowers here in front of the John Kerry. We can't just have John Kerry the whole time. Who do we bring in for equal time?”

Portman’s response was revealing. “Come on,” the actress chided. “You've got the ‘O'Reilly Factor.’ That's on television; that evens it out!”

She proceeded to give the Kerry campaign a free TV spot by gushing: “I love John Kerry! I just think he has the perfect combination of compassion and intelligence and composure under pressure, and I'm just a huge fan.”

That night Portman appeared on Dave Letterman’s show in the same T-shirt and made the exact same statement.

The Left Coast Report hears a rumor that Portman’s next T-shirt is going to have a picture of Teresa Heinz Kerry on it and in five different languages spells out “shove it.”

Jon Stewart’s Truth Beverage

At a Boston breakfast with the host of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Ted Koppel got into an out-of-the-ordinary discussion with the Comedy Central character.

As the “Nightline” host began to interview Stewart, the comic-anchorman sounded a bit like Bill O’Reilly. He lamented the pseudo-objectivity of news media figures today.

He used a hypothetical, pretending to be a news anchorman who was moderating a debate on health care and insurance. He ended up taking on all of the roles and giving the following performance:

“I have with me Donna Brazile and Bay Buchanan. Let's go. Donna. ‘I think the Democrats really have it right here. I think that this is a pain for the insurance companies and the drug companies and this is wrong for America.’ Bay. ‘Oh no, what it is ...’ And then she throws out her figures from the Heritage Foundation, and she throws out her figures from the Brookings Institute, and the anchor — who should be the arbiter of the truth - says, ‘Thank you both very much, that was very interesting.’ No it wasn't! That was Coke and Pepsi talking about beverage truth. And that game has, I think, caused people to think, ‘I'm not watching this.’”

Koppel pointed out that on Stewart’s own show he “can use humor to say ‘B.S., that's a crock,’” but added that he himself “can’t do that.”

Stewart disagreed, “No, but you can say ‘that's B.S.’ You don't need humor to do that because you have what I wish I had, which is credibility and gravitas. This is interesting stuff, and it's all part of the discussion, and I think it's a good discussion to have, but I think it's important to take a more critical look. You know, don't you think?”

Koppel replied with one word — “No,” and stated: “I've had enough of you. You're finished.” Then he smiled and ended the discussion.

The Left Coast Report thinks even if we don’t always get the best information from him, it’s great to have a guy on TV who elicits a chuckle: Ted Koppel.

Michael Moore Accused of Headline Heist

Michael Moore’s fakery fest “Fahrenheit 9/11” features in one of its scenes a newspaper headline that reads: “Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election.”

The words were apparently designed to perpetuate the myth that Bush “stole” the 2000 presidential election.

A lawyer for the Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington, Ill., sent a letter to Moore accusing him of misappropriating the headline from the Pantagraph’s pages.

The headline did appear in the Pantagraph, but only on the letters-to-the-editor page, and was intended only to reflect the letter writer's sentiments. According to the Pantagraph’s Web site, the lawyer’s letter also charges Moore with unauthorized and misleading use of its material and copyright infringement.

The paper is seeking an apology, an explanation of the discrepancy and compensatory damages of one dollar.

The Left Coast Report says if Moore’s credibility sinks any lower, Terry McAuliffe might be out of a job.

The Left Coast Report is put together by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax.

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