--Sam Thielman

Note: This story was written by Rachel Abrams while Ted Johnson is on vacation.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/58073.html

Politico has posted an interesting story about possible headaches for Stephen Colbert’s proposed political action committee, or PAC, to help challenge corporate financing regulation.
In May, Colbert’s attorneys issued a letter to the Federal Election Committee to alert them that Colbert would seek to create “Colbert Super PAC,” which would “…make only independent expenditures, advertisements that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate and that are not coordinated with any candidate or political party.”
The very real effort – and very real parody – were meant to highlight perceived flaws in a 2010 Supreme Court ruling which dramatically increased the campaign spending ability of corporations.
As Colbert prepares to testify in front of the FEC on Thursday about his proposal, Politico notes that the satirist will expose himself to “rigorous questioning from FEC lawyers and (raise) ethics questions for his lawyer.”
In addition, Politico asserts that Colbert might be causing trouble for campaign finance reformers, like Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center, if his proposal falls short of the scrutiny.
Colbert originally tossed around the idea of forming a PAC on his Comedy Central show, “…initially in the context of offering comment on Governor Tim Pawlenty’s leadership PAC activities,” according to the May letter from his attorneys.
Politico’s story even includes a quote from Democracy 21 president Fred Wertheimer.
“I think Colbert is trying to dramatize problems in the campaign finance world in the way that he dramatizes other things,” he said. “But nevertheless, the proposals here would potentially open gaping disclosure loopholes in the campaign finance laws.”

I'm off to Minneapolis for my family's annual Fourth of July festivities. Posting will be lighter when I am gone and make a concerted effort to unplug, but my colleague Rachel Abrams will be posting. This mid-year point is a good time to thank you for your support --- and enjoy the holiday weekend.

At the premiere of the documentary "The Undefeated" in Pella, Iowa, Sarah Palin tells Real Clear Politics' Scott Conroy that she'll give the state a "110 percent commitment" if she decides to run.

She says of the movie, directed by Stephen Bannon: "I'm very grateful that someone would bother to go to these efforts to make a documentary about the record of my team in Alaska that worked so hard for energy security and ethics reform and privatizing businesses that should never be in government's hands. This film really is a great illustration of what it is that you can accomplish as a team, a bipartisan approach, just common-sense solutions to some tough issues. We tackled it, we succeeded, and someone went to the trouble of documenting what it was that we accomplished. I appreciate that, so that brings me to Iowa."

The film opens with a parade of Hollywood stars making sometimes vulgar attacks at Palin. At the premiere, she told the Hollywood Reporter's Paul Bond: "What would make someone be so full of hate?"

She adds that "there's never really a venue that absolutely lets somebody set the record straight. I mean, there are so many false narratives about me, about Todd, about our kids, about my record, about my team that has worked so hard together, that there's never gonna be a way to absolutely set the record straight."

Updated

Campaign 2012 may be unpredictable, but you can be certain of one thing: Republicans will get in trouble for unauthorized use of hit songs.

When Michele Bachmann used Tom Petty's "American Girl" at a kickoff campaign rally on Monday, the singer was none too happy. According to the Star Tribune, he's sent a cease and desist letter to stop playing his 1977 classic.

This is not the first time that a campaign has run afoul of public performance copyrights, and it isn't even the first time the Petty has tried to put a stop to it. He balked at George W. Bush's use of "I Won't Back Down" at campaign events in 2000.

Republicans complain that they are the ones usually targeted by musicians, part of an industry that leans to the left. And they may be right. Hillary Clinton, after all, used "American Girl" in her campaign as well.

That's because artists are also concerned about false endorsement, or the impression that voters may have that a politician has received permission, and therefore approval of their political stances, by a songwriter or singer.

In 2008, Jackson Browne, a supporter of candidate Barack Obama, sued John McCain for using "Running on Empty" in a campaign ad. As it turned out, the spot was run by the Ohio Republican Party, but the suit ended in what sources said was a six figure settlement with the Republican National Committee.

Last year, Don Henley won a judgment against Chuck DeVore, a candidate for U.S. Senate in California, for using a takeoff of "Boys of Summer" and "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" in campaign web videos. DeVore had defended the videos as a parody, and therefore a fair use of copyrighted work. But the federal judge didn't buy it.

And earlier this year, David Byrne reached a settlement with former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist after Crist used "Road to Nowhere" in a campaign advertisement. The settlement amount was undisclosed, but part of it was a videotaped apology from Crist, posted on YouTube, that has the feel of a hostage reading off a statement on demand of his captors.

So why does this keep on happening?

"They just think music is free like a lot of other people on the planet," says Lee Phillips, senior partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Los Angeles.

What happens is that campaigns want a song that gets attention --- and may be thinking of that above all else.

Phillips represents Steve Perry of Journey, which has been especially conscious of who is playing there music and where. Especially popular has been the 1981 hit "Don't Stop Believin," which has undergone a revival ever since it was used in the 2007 finale of "The Sopranos." The song seems especially suited to a political campaign --- but Perry and Journey were none too pleased when they got word that Newt Gingrich had used it at an event. Their attorneys sent a cease and desist letter.

Usually, that is it. But the legal issues can change, or get murkier, when a campaign has obtained an ASCAP license to play an array of different hits. Then, artists tend to rely on the argument that the campaign is giving the impression of an implied endorsement.

"Our position is that you are tying in the performer with the politician's position, and that is a false endorsement," Phillips says, adding that it is a "personal choice to the people who own the song."

Usually, the campaign stops the use of a song in public performances. But the situation gets more complex when a song is used as part of an ad or web video. In April, Journey's legal team filed suit against Adalah NY, a pro-Palestinian group that organized a "flash mob" at Grand Central Station in which activists sing and dance to a variation of the music, "Don't Stop Boycottin." The YouTube version became a viral hit.

Lawyers also have gotten more adept at sending out "cease and desist" notices quickly. They may be mindful of the example from 1988, when Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" became an anthem of George H.W. Bush's campaign before the singer publicly expressed his displeasure, ordered them to stop and even dropped it from his concert playlists.

Phillips has his own idea for campaigns: Write some original music. He knows it takes time and doesn't get the attention, but it's been done before. And thank God it has, because otherwise we wouldn't have 1972's "Nixon Now," below.

Update: As of today, the Bachmann campaign is still playing the song.

It's been more than a week since Chris Wallace and Jon Stewart sparred on "Fox News Sunday," but the back-and-forth between the two continues.

On Sunday, Wallace clarified a point he made during Stewart's appearance, when he said that Fox News tells "the other side of the story." Fox News critics jumped on the remark as an admission of the news channel's slant.

Stewart seized on Wallace's clarification in a segment of "The Daily Show" on Monday, but near the end of his riff he got serious about "the game."

He talked of the "narrative of conservative victimization" as the "true genius of what Fox News has accomplished."

“Any editorial judgment in news, or schools, or movies, that doesn’t favor the conservative view, is elitism and is evidence of liberal bias. Whereas any editorial judgment that favors the conservative view, is evidence of merely fairness and done to protect them from liberal bias.

“And, if you criticize Fox for this game, guess what that’s evidence of? How right they are about how persecuted they are."

New WH Correspondent: CNN has named Jessica Yellin as chief White House correspondent, succeeding Ed Henry, who is leaving to join Fox News. Yellin has been national political correspondent since January, 2009, and joined CNN in 2007. Yellin calls the post a "dream assignment."

After Pella: On Wednesday, after attending the screening of "The Undefeated" in Pella, Iowa, Sarah Palin and her daughter will be at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. to sign their respective books at the Barnes & Noble there.

As the Sarah Palin documentary "The Undefeated" debuts in Iowa on Tuesday, filmmaker Nick Broomfield is getting the word out about his project about the former Alaska governor.

The as-yet-untitled film is being screened for potential buyers this week in Los Angeles, and the project includes interviews with her parents, ex-aides, friends, ex-legislative director John Bitney, state trooper Mike Wooten,  former state trooper chief Walt Monegan and Alaska Senate President and Lyda Green, according to a spokesman for Broomfield.

Bloomfield is a legendary documentary filmmaker known for a provocative style, perhaps most famously with the 1998 "Kurt and Courtney," which looked into the circumstances of Kurt Cobain's death and Courtney Love's involvement in it. (A personal note: I'll never forget covering a 1997 ACLU dinner, attended by Love, where Broomfield unexpectedly took the stage and chided her for stifling free speech before Danny Goldberg literally pulled him off).

A clip from the project is below, in which Broomfield attends a Palin event and, seeing that audience members are not allowed to directly ask questions, stands up and does so. "Do you think your political career is over?" he says.

Meanwhile, the premiere of "The Undefeated" in Pella, Iowa, looks to be a sold-out event, albeit closed to the media. No word on whether there will be anything resembling a red carpet, but the media is being told that they can get shots of Palin at a post-screening cookout in Franklin Square.

Bob Pisano will step down as president and chief operating officer of the MPAA in September.

Pisano has held the position since 2005 and served as interim CEO from January 2010 to March 2011, when Chris Dodd was named CEO and chairman.

Pisano had sought the permanent position as CEO as studios sought a successor for Dan Glickman, but the search concentrated on finding a well-known Washington figure for the post.

In an e-mail to the MPAA staff announcing his decision, Pisano said, “During the time I’ve worked at MPAA, I’ve been essentially a transcontinental commuter. Since the beginning of last year, alone, I’ve made 25 trips to our DC headquarters.

"Though I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to help lead the organization, I’m also increasingly conscious of the fact that I’ve reached that moment in life when quality time with one’s family is an increasingly precious gift…I am delighted that Chris has asked me to act as an advisor after my official departure date, and I have told him I'm willing to help in any way that I can.” 

Dodd said in a statement, “During his tenure at the MPAA, Bob has been a strong leader of the organization and a powerful voice for the motion picture industry. He has helped guide the MPAA's worldwide operations at a time of extraordinary technological change and in the face of growing threats to our members' intellectual property that has been enabled by that change.
 
“Bob's extensive ties to the entertainment community, both as a leading studio executive and as the leader of  Hollywood's largest labor union, have helped him forge new industry partnerships and have raised the profile of the MPAA’s programs both in the United States and abroad."

The Supreme Court ruled that a California law banning the sale of violent videogames to minors is unconstitutional.

In a ruling issued on Monday, the high court said that the law violates the First Amendment.

The 7-2 decision is a big victory for the videogame business and the rest of the entertainment industry, which warned that the measure could have a chilling effect on the portrayal of violence in the media.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer dissented.

Justice Antonin Scalia, who authored the majority opinion, wrote, "This country has no tradition of specially restricting children’s access to depictions of violence. And California’s claim that “interactive” video games present special problems, in that the player participates in the violent action on screen and determines its out-come, is unpersuasive."

In a footnote, he added, "Reading Dante is unquestionably more cultured and intellectually edifying than playing Mortal Kombat.But these cultural and intellectual differences are not constitutional ones. Crudely violent video games, tawdry TV shows, and cheap novels and magazines are no less forms of speech than The Divine Comedy,and restrictions upon them must survive strict scrutiny."

Andrew Jay Schwartzman of the Media Access Project said, "The sound you hear is a collective sigh of relief from the arts community. Today's decision confirms that the First Amendment protects video producers, musicians and others seeking to explore cutting edge social and political issues. An adverse ruling would have encouraged legislatures to restrict free expression in music, on television, and on the Internet."

The sponsor of the bill, California state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), planned a press conference this morning. The legislation was passed in 2005 and signed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.). California's current governor, Jerry Brown, defended the law in court when he served as attorney general.

Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Assn., said in a statement, “This is a historic and complete win for the First Amendment and the creative freedom of artists and storytellers everywhere. Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what we have always known – that free speech protections apply every bit as much to video games as they do to other forms of creative expression like books, movies and music. The Court declared forcefully that content-based restrictions on games are unconstitutional; and that parents, not government bureaucrats, have the right to decide what is appropriate for their children.”

Bo Andersen, president and CEO of the Entertainment Merchants Assn., said, “EMA welcomes today’s Supreme Court ruling that let stand the Court of Appeals’ decision finding the California video game restriction law to be unconstitutional. We are gratified that our position that the law violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression has been vindicated and there now can be no argument whether video games are entitled to the same protection as books, movies, music, and other expressive entertainment."

James Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a group of parents and educators that had filed a brief supporting the law, said in a statement, "We respectfully disagree with the Court when it comes to their analysis of the First Amendment rights of children and families -- this is a sanity issue, not a censorship issue. If parents decide a violent game is okay for their kid, that’s one thing, but millions of kids are not able to judge the impact of ultra-violence on their own. Today, the multi-billion dollar video game industry is celebrating the fact that their profits have been protected, but we will continue to fight for the best interests of kids and families. Moreover, we look forward to working with national and state policy makers on another common sense solution in the very near future.”

Chris Dodd, chairman and CEO of the MPAA, said, “The motion picture industry is no stranger to governments’ incursion on freedom of expression. From the very inception of the movie industry, attempts to restrict speech have threatened the creativity of American movie-makers. We applaud the Supreme Court for recognizing the far-reaching First-Amendment implications posed by the California law.”

Updated

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the FCC's indecency rules violate the constitution.

The high court granted the FCC's petition to review the case, which stems from the agency's crackdown on so-called "fleeting expletives" against broadcasters.

The court said on Monday that their grant of a writ of certiorari in the case of Fox Television Stations vs. FCC will be limited to the question of whether the FCC's enforcement regime violates the First or Fifth Amendment.

The court already upheld the FCC's indecency rules in a 2009 ruling, but sent the weightier constitutional questions back to the lower court. The Court of Appeals then struck down the FCC's indecency regime on First Amendment grounds.

What triggered Fox's challenge was its broadcast of two separate broadcasts of the "Billboard Music Awards" in which Cher and Nicole Richie, respectively, delivered "f-bombs."

The other networks, which have received sanctions for "fleeting expletives," also have challenged the indecency policy. They have contended that the rules are "arbitrary and capricious" and can chill free speech. If the court sides with broadcasters, the question is how broad of a ruling it will issue. Also under review are fines that the FCC issued against ABC after a 2003 broadcast of "NYPD Blue" that included a brief glimpse of female nudity. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals found that the FCC's policy in that case was vague.

Fox said in a statement, "We look forward to the Supreme Court's review of the significant constitutional issues in the case.  We are hopeful that the Court will ultimately agree that the FCC's indecency enforcement practices trample on the First Amendment rights of broadcasters."

Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, which is backing the FCC's authority, said in a statement, "On behalf of families across the country, we extend our thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court for agreeing to take up broadcast decency. The High Court will have the opportunity to reverse misguided Second Circuit Court of Appeals rulings that would open the floodgates for graphic nudity and some of the harshest profanity in the English language."

On Monday, the high court also issued a ruling that California's law banning the sale of violent videogames to minors is unconstitutional. Broadcasters had feared that if the law were upheld, it would unleash a new effort in Congress to give the FCC the authority, for the first time, to regulate violent content on television.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor recused herself from the decision on whether to grant the court's review.

Dennis Wharton of the National Assn. of Broadcasters said in a statement, “NAB supports a constitutional review of the FCC's enforcement of program content rules. As broadcasters, we will continue to offer programming that is reflective of the diverse communities we serve. Responsible programming decisions by network and local station executives, coupled with program blocking technologies like the V-chip and proper guidance of children by parents and caregivers, are far preferable to government regulation of program content."

Sarah Palin and her husband Todd will attend the world premiere of "The Undefeated" on Tuesday in Pella, Iowa.

"We are very excited to visit historic Pella and its opera house and look forward to seeing the finished film for the first time with fellow Americans from the heartland," Palin said in a statement released by the film's producers at Victory Film Group.

The film debuts in 10 cities across the country on July 15.

There soon could be another feature-length documentary in the marketplace that is not so flattering to Palin. Deadline's Mike Fleming reports that director Nick Broomfield is shopping around a Palin doc to distributors next week. It features interviews with Palin's parents, friends, ex-aides and foes from her time as governor of Alaska. The Los Angeles Times broke the news about the doc several weeks back, reporting that many of those interviewed "describe her not as the likable repository of aw-shucks wisdom Palin likes to present but a more ruthless politician who has trampled over opponents and is now a potential presidential candidate."

Independent film broker Cassian Elwes is shopping the pic around, and he recently sent a Tweet after watching a screening of one of the cuts. "Wow. Its going to change the presidential race."

That's if Palin actually runs.

I've been waiting all day, actually all week, for a vote from New York's Republican-controlled State Senate on same-sex marriage. Tonight, it passed, 33-29, meaning that it will be signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.).

New York becomes the second state to have gay nuptials in place by legislation, the sixth state where it is now legal, and the first where it passed in a GOP majority body. But the significance is also that it is the largest state, and it's hard not to see this as anything other than a tipping point. Much as California's passage of Prop 8 triggered a new generation of protest and reinvigorated the equality movement, New York, with the media capital of the world, is bound to draw a new level of attention to same-sex couples and their families.

The support from just a handful of Republican senators, including one who said "a person can be wiser today than yesterday when you do the work," shows how opinions have shifted and how the the dynamics on this issue have changed for both parties. Polling has shown a shift in opinion toward approval, and certainly a big reason for it is that same-sex marriage is not an abstract social experiment but something that already exists.

As for coverage, CNN's Anderson Cooper had the vote live, as did MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, while Fox News reported on the vote via short-break-ins during a show on the Casey Anthony trial. Maddow was especially direct: "President Obama is against what just happened." One caveat: It was a bit jarring when MSNBC went from the Maddow coverage to its regular Friday prison programming, this time focusing on gay inmate sex.

Some reactions:

Chad Griffin, American Foundation for Equal Rights: "We are beginning to see the dark walls of discrimination crumble."

Richard Socarides, Equality Matters: “This is an important, historic victory. It shows that bipartisan consensus is possible when there is strong political leadership and people of good faith on both sides who are willing to listen and learn.”
 
“Combined with last year’s repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell, the message is clear: the end of government-sanctioned gay discrimination is near. It is a triumph of basic fairness, for individual liberties and for all loving and committed New York families.”

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom: “For the past few weeks, as we have watched the events unfold in Albany, millions of us from around the country became temporary New Yorkers as we called, facebooked, and tweeted members of the legislature. While the victory achieved today will directly benefit New Yorkers in the short-term, we collectively recognize that legislating marriage equality within state borders is only the first step when we are attempting to correct a larger injustice."

David Mixner, via Twitter: "I am simply overwhelmed with emotion and joy. NEVER thought I would live to see this day."

Andrew Sullivan, Daily Dish: "This is the moment that marriage for gay couples became irreversible in America."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: "You are going to see an evolution toward this position on all levels. I don't want to speak for any one person."

Update: Greg in Hollywood has Twitter reaction from an array of entertainers, including Steve Martin: "Steve Martin: @AlecBaldwin Alec! Now we can get married!"

Photos via ThinkProgress,, Goodasyou. Top: Empire State Building and the scene outside the Stonewall Inn this evening.

The New York Times looks at the confluence of political forces and Wall Street money that led to the passage of same-sex marriage in the Empire State.

Here's the New York Times video from Stonewall.

Lawrence O' Donnell, the host of MSNBC's "The Last Word," was on KCRW's "To the Point" today talking about James "Whitey" Bulger, the notorious Boston mob boss captured outside his Santa Monica apartment on Wednesday. It turns out that O'Donnell lives just nearby, and often passed the Third Street building on his way to the Promenade. The twist is that O'Donnell also was a neighbor of Bulger in Boston.

O'Donnell said that he was sure that some of his Boston friends, on visits to Santa Monica and walks past the building, immediately would have recognized Bulger --- and perhaps would have collected the $2 million reward.

This week we followup on Jon Stewart's much buzzed about appearance on "Fox News Sunday," where he bristled at Chris Wallace's suggestion that somehow he was on the same footing as news organizations.

The mainstream media is often forced to defend its coverage as objective and balanced, but are entertainment creators under any such obligation? Ben Shapiro's new book " Primetime Propaganda" charts a history of bias throughout TV’s history of primetime programming and charges that conservative voices are shut out of the process.   Hollywood creators, however, say ratings, not politics, dictate what we see on the screen.

That's the latest Wilshire & Washington on the Radio, with my cohosts Maegan Carberry and Kristen Soltis, which you can listen to here, or in the link below.

Stephen K. Bannon's documentary "The Undefeated" will have its premiere on Tuesday at the Pella Opera House in Pella, Iowa, fulfilling the filmmaker's intent to show the pic in early voting states before its debut at the box office on July 15.

Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of distributor ARC Entertainment, said that they "couldn't imagine a more appropriate setting that captures the spirit and messaging of the film."

The opera house was built in 1900, hosting plays, concerts, Vaudeville acts and movies, and currently is operated by a nonprofit.

More from Obama's Night: President Obama finished his round of Manhattan fund-raisers with an event after the performance of "Sister Act," with Whoopi Goldberg introducing him. Obama quipped, "It is wonderful to follow 'Sister Act.' It helped me on my research, figuring out what convent to send Malia and Sasha. They're getting a little too old and too cute." More photos here.

This Weekend: On Sunday, the Los Angeles Press Club holds its Southern California Journalism Awards, with honorees including Richard Engel, Lesley Stahl and John Schwada.

Appearing before about 600 donors in Manhattan on Wednesday, President Obama made reference to a pending vote in the New York State Senate on same-sex marriage, but stopped short of endorsing gay nuptials.

Obama, appearing at a fund-raiser before the LGBT Leadership Council, where he was introduced by Neil Patrick Harris, instead pointed to his administrations accomplishments, like repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell and deciding to no longer defend to Defense of Marriage Act in the courts. He told the crowd that he believed "that gay couples deserve the same human rights as every other couple in this country."

Obama has previously said that his position on same-sex marriage is "evolving."

Even so, some in the crowd shouted "marriage" as Obama spoke.

From the transcript:

President Obama's speech on Afghanistan on Wednesday drew 25.4 million viewers across nine broadcast and cable channels that covered it.

The audience was far less than the 56.5 million who tuned in on May 1 to hear the President announce the death of Osama bin Laden, and even the 40.8 million who watched his speech announcing the Afghanistan "surge" on Dec. 1, 2009, according to Nielsen.

Among the news channels covering the speech, Fox News was far ahead of the competition, with 2.3 million viewers, compared to MSNBC with 965,000 and CNN with 874,000.

On CNN today, Tom Hanks endorsed President Obama's reelection, which doesn't come as a huge surprise.

He was among the guests at a dinner during Obama's visit to London, and attended a fund-raiser for the President during a campaign swing through Southern California in April.

But he also said that Obama has done more than he expected, even as some high-profile supporters on the left have expressed disappointment on issues like the failure to close Guantanamo Bay and his refusal to endorse same-sex marriage. On Wednesday, Rolling Stone posted an essay by former Vice President Al Gore in which he said that Obama had fallen short on addressing the climate crisis.

Hanks told CNN, "If you would have told me a few years ago that 'don't ask, don't tell' would be repealed and about a billion jobs at General Motors and Chrysler would have been saved because the president was smart enough and strong enough and bold enough to do so, I would have said, 'Wow. That's a good president, I think I'll vote for him again.'"

Producer Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films calls President Obama's announcement that he'll withdraw 10,000 from Afghanistan this year the "first crack in the dam," noting that "the strain of fighting public opinion is starting to show." Greenwald has been pressing for withdrawal for several years now, via the "Rethink Afghanistan" campaign, and he notes that the withdrawal only represents 10% of the forces currently in the country. "The administration and the politicians in Washington are far, far behind the American people," Greenwald said on MSNBC. 

Liberal by Liberals: Rob Lowe is shooting the indie movie "Knife Fight," a fictional tale of political strategists in which his character is based on the experiences of Chris Lehane, longtime Democratic political consultant. Lehane and director Bill Guttentag wrote the story. The New York Times' Michael Cieply writes that the pic is one of a handful of movies in the works that look at the darker side of politics, aimed at capturing the public's attention in an election year. (New York Times)

Tonight: President Obama treks to Manhattan for a series of fund-raising events, including an LGBT Leadership Council dinner and an event at the Broadway Theatre.

Here's my story on progress being made in what has long been a dream of Hollywood studios and record labels: A plan where Internet providers will warn, and eventually sanction, users who repeatedly download pirated content.

This has long been in the works, but the White House has been trying to move talks along for months as part of its overall efforts to beef up anti-piracy efforts. Today Victoria Espinel, the administration's "copyright czar," said such voluntary efforts "have the potential to significantly reduce online infringement."

It's be next to impossible to pass such a plan --- known as "graduated response" --- in Congress. Internet providers have been resistant for liability reasons, and sources caution that there still is no deal yet, but one could come in July.

When Jon Stewart appeared on "Fox News Sunday," he charged that Fox News viewers were "the most consistently misinformed media viewers," a statement that was almost immediately labelled as false by the nonpartisan PolitiFact. On Tuesday, Stewart apologized for the statement, but then went on to list PolitiFact's reviews of false Fox News statements for the past few years, which eventually filled up the screen. "Fox News is like a lying dynasty," Stewart said.

Gore Gives More: Former Vice President Al Gore has gone public with criticism of President Obama's environmental record, faulting the White House for a lack of leadership in addressing climate change. He wrote a long essay in Rolling Stone where he says the President has failed to present "to the American people the magnitude of the climate crisis." Gore was an enthusiastic supporter of Obama in 2008, and even was one of the speakers given a choice slots of addressing the Democratic National Convention on its final night. He admits that he knows the risks of going public now. “All of his supporters understand that it would be self-defeating to weaken Obama and heighten the risk of another step backward,” he writes. “Even writing an article like this one carries risks; opponents of the president will excerpt it and strip it of context.” (New York Times)

Palin Emmy?: TLC is entering "Sarah Palin's Alaska" into the category of best reality show at the upcoming Emmy ceremony.

Pawlenty's New Spot: Tim Pawlenty is about to start advertising in Iowa with some very traditional 30-second spots, which are a contrast to the movie-trailer-like web videos that he's run so far.

Cooper Calls Out Obama: With a vote on same-sex marriage possible in New York, Anderson Cooper questioned President Obama's stance opposing gay nuptials even though he once came out in favor of it. Cooper said on Tuesday, "Hard to see how the president's position has changed so much. The only thing that has changed is his need for a wider audience to vote for him." In New York, Broadway performers have been among those lobbying lawmakers to pass the bill before their session ends.

Tonight: Mitt Romney attends a kickoff event for his Los Angeles fund-raising team at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. His rival for the GOP nomination, Jon Huntsman, raises money on Monday at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.

The debut of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" on Current TV drew 179,000 viewers in the 25-54 demographic, trailing MSNBC's 237,000 but ahead of CNN's 89,000, Politico reports.

That's a big improvement over Current's typical primetime audience, but still a sliver of the broadcast networks and far less than Fox News. Current did not release figures on total audience.

One challenge for Current, especially if it is going to target the young demo, is that it does not make full episodes of Olbermann's show available for download. That's because of agreements with cable and satellite distributors.

Update: A Current spokeswoman tells Variety, "We're really happy with last night's debut of 'Countdown.' The feedback we've received from viewers, advertisers and our distribution partners about Keith Olbermann's show on Current has been extremely positive."

Olbermann said, "We're very pleased. But like I said last week, it's one night. We'll need a couple of weeks to know where we're starting, and we're truly interested in next year and especially 2013."

Updated

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman announced his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination today with the same type of stagecraft used by Ronald Reagan more than 30 years ago: The Statue of Liberty as the backdrop.

In the crowd was one of his early supporters from Hollywood, producer Craig Haffner.

Haffner already has helped arrange meet-and-greets among potential Los Angeles supporters when Huntsman and his wife made a brief visit on May 25. Although there are no specific plans for fund-raisers, Haffner said that he expects them soon.

"Meeting people in our industry is definitely something he is interested in doing," Haffner said.

Although Democrats hold a huge fund-raising advantage in Hollywood, support is not lost on the GOP field. Last cycle, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani engaged in a competitive race to draw top-name talent and money in advance of the primary season.

This time around, it has taken much longer than expected for the field to solidify, and only recently has California started to emerge in the so-called "money primary." On Wednesday, Mitt Romney is scheduled to attend a kickoff event at the Beverly Hilton, with committee members including Brad Freeman, Richard Riordan and Meg Whitman.

Other longtime Republican donors and activists in the industry are waiting for the race to shake out --- or for Sarah Palin to enter the field.

But Haffner said that he expected to Huntsman to draw support from Hollywood because of his business experience, as well as his grasp of intellectual property issues and the understanding of challenges facing the industry as it tries to find new income streams.

He said that he was drawn to support Huntsman because "I was very interested in someone who was very pro-creation of jobs," as well as his experience as Ambassador to China.

"Frankly, I just like his style," Haffner said. "It's a fresh voice. It's a fresh demeanor."

He also said that Huntsman also had a strong grasp of the power of pop culture and the message it sends to the rest of the world --- perhaps helped by being the former member of a progressive rock bank called Wizard.

"I think he is going to be a candidate people [in the entertainment industry] are going to be interested in," Haffner said. Huntsman and his wife are big "supporters of the arts and interested in it as a vibrant industry," he said.

Haffner says he doesn't plan to serve as a fund-raiser in the Huntsman campaign, but to champion areas and industry issues.

Hollywood Republicans, traditionally less focused on social issues than economic and international concerns, will at least take a look at Huntsman, it's another question as to whether he'll be able to draw crossover support should he be the nominee. His embrace of civil unions is already helping cast him as a moderate in a field that is going hard right, but Obama and the First Lady already have made a sweep through Hollywood for campaign cash and support and is expected to do so again.

Photo from Craig Haffner.

Update: Huntsman's debut campaign video is below. It's Davis's handiwork, which means that the spot is guaranteed to be different. Example: The use of the phrase "a taste for dirt." 

Different from Jon 2012 on Vimeo.

Update: Per Politico, Huntsman will hold his first Los Angeles area fund raiser at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles on Monday. Luncheon tickets start at $1,000 per person, with a VIP  reception at $2,500. He also plans another even that day in Orange County.

Keith Olbermann returned to primetime tonight with a new set and a new network, but it was really the same show, the title, the host, many of the guests, even the timing of commercial breaks and teasers.

This is essentially an Olbermann takeover of Current, the Al Gore-Joel Hyatt network with lofty goals but a lack of viewers. It's a gamble that Olbermann's viewers will follow him if they can find him. It won't be for lack of trying. Olbermann's show will run nine times each day, or as he said, irreverently, "Watch all nine editions and you win a pony."

What was ever so slightly different was the tone: a tad more subdued. Gone were some of the special effects and bells and whistles of the MSNBC days, and at least on the debut, so too was any lengthy Special Comment. No doubt this will change as the show goes on, but Olbermann took to Twitter to bristle at some recent profiles that emphasized his bombast, not his ability to shine a light on the news that gets left out.

Just as apparent was that Olbermann no longer has a large news division to draw upon, and it'll be interesting to see if the show instead tries its own original reporting or taps into some of Current's efforts through it's Vanguard unit, so his show becomes more than just talking heads and commentary. After all, wasn't this the point of Current itself, to bring stories that just aren't getting covered elsewhere?

The most interesting segment was with Ken Vogel of Politico, who wrote a story on right-wing conservative talk show hosts who "sell" segments on their shows to conservative causes. The least interesting was with Markos Moulitsas, the DailyKos founder, who provided the night's one jab at MSNBC, for keeping him off the air after a tiff with "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough, who Moulitsas called a "loser host." It seemed too teed up and went on too long. I also was waiting for Moulitsas to share his views on the just concluded Netroots Nation, but he didn't offer them. Viewers may have followed Olbermann for some liberal backbone, but I'm not so sure that also means they're out to spite MSNBC.

Olbermann opened the show with the line, "As I was saying..." It's now an obscure reference, but it was what Jack Paar said when he returned after walking off "The Tonight Show" in 1960 when the network cut a joke that contained the words "water closet" from his monologue. Like Olbermann, Paar could be an emotional personality, and somewhat unpredictable. But it may take a few days or weeks to judge just how successful Olbermann can be in picking right up where he left off.

Updated

Van Jones, who resigned as the White House green jobs/green tech adviser in 2009 in the face of attacks by Glenn Beck, has now challenged the conservative personality to a debate.

The invite came in a MoveOn web video as they kick off a campaign this week called Rebuild the Dream.

"I can handle attacks on me, but last week Glenn Beck attacked the American dream itself," he says in the spot, in which he challenges Beck to debate "anytime, anywhere."

MoveOn's campaign is to "promote an economic agenda to protect and expand America's middle class." Plans are to "harness the power of culture and technology" to mobilize the electorate.

The campaign will officially kick off on Thursday in New York, with The Roots and Shepard Fairey joining Jones.

Per the Huffington Post, Jones has also sent a cease and desist letter to Fox News, asking them to instruct their on-air personalities to "cease and desist" from making defamatory comments about him. Examples are in the letter, but they include the labels "communist" and "revolutionary." His attorney, Joseph Sandler, is asking that a retraction be made on Beck's show.

Jon Stewart and Chris Wallace debated whether the mainstream media has a liberal bias on "Fox News Sunday," the first time "The Daily Show" host has appeared on a Sunday morning news show.

The discussion actually got contentious at points --- it wasn't all comedy. Stewart said, "The thing that conservative activists will never understand is Hollywood, yeah, they're liberal. But that is not their prime motivating force. I am not an activist. I am a comedian, but my comedy is informed by ideology."

Stewart denied that he had political aspirations, but said that he did want his voice heard.

He also denied that he was motivated by an activist agenda, but by an ideology that was "anti-corruption, anti-lack of authenticity and anti-contrivance."

He said that the bias in the mainstream media isn't liberal, but it is one toward "sensationalism, conflict and laziness."

It's a great, illuminating 25 minutes, and Stewart once again makes the case that satirist like him have always been around; it's just the news networks that have "moved closer to me."

Here's my latest story in the print version of Variety, on newsstands Monday, about an emerging industry of filmmakers from the right.

Before the opening credits, before any shots of Alaska, before we even hear narration from Sarah Palin herself, Stephen K. Bannon's reverential documentary "The Undefeated" features byte-sized clips of stars like Rosie O'Donnell, Matt Damon and David Letterman.

One after another they are seen and heard bashing her, to the point where the words and voices become a nameless, expletive-filled tirade. Interlaced is a passage from Sermon on the Mount: "Every good tree bringeth forth good truth; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil truth; by their fruits ye shall know them."

The provocative opener is fitting -- not just because "The Undefeated" uses Hollywood to make its point, but that it reflects conservative efforts to tap into the industry's powers of persuasion.

With varying degrees of success, a genre of unabashedly conservative documentaries has emerged in the past five years or so, inspired by Michael Moore and other filmmakers from the left who have been among the most savvy in making an impact.

Most of these projects from the right sell on the Internet, video-on-demand or via streaming, but "The Undefeated" represents a test of just how far a conservative documentary can go at the multiplex. The movie will roll out in at least 10 cities in AMC Theaters starting July 15.

The difference with "The Undefeated" is that it is so tied to speculation over Palin's presidential prospects -- which may make it a tougher sell if she decides not to run. It may be the closest thing yet to a film version of Palin's memoir "Going Rogue," and although she did not participate in making it, she has given it her blessing and allowed Bannon to use her voice from the "Rogue" audiobook.

Plans are to premiere later this month in Iowa, the first state to vote in nomination season. And if she does get in the race, Bannon even sees the movie as resetting the way that candidates roll out their campaigns, with a documentary format taking the place of the traditional tactic of publishing a book.

"If a film works, it resonates for a long time," Bannon says. "I think we have only started to scratch the surface on films about issues and politics."

Already the film has created enough of a buzz to trigger a response from the left. Brave New Films' Robert Greenwald, a progressive filmmaker, has his doubts that the movie is anything more than a glorified PSA. In fact, he's launched a campaign to collect reminders of the parts of Palin's story that "The Undefeated" does not dwell upon.

Bannon sees a largely untapped market for docus aimed at conservatives, with the potential to draw as loyal and fervent a following as conservative authors, AM radio and Fox News. "The Undefeated" cost about $1 million to make and is being financed by Victory Film Group and distributed by ARC Entertainment. Bannon wrote and directed the project, which is produced by Glenn Bracken Evans and Dan Fleuette.

A surface warfare officer in the Navy and former Goldman Sachs investment banker and film financier, Bannon shifted gears in 2004, when he took a plunge into directing with "In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed," which proved successful enough to sustain a series of more docs at the same time he served as chairman of Genius Products. He still has a dealmaker's zeal, tapping political media to build buzz for "The Undefeated," having held a series of select screenings over the past few weeks and previewed the pic on "Hannity."

Jarrett Barrios has resigned as president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in the wake of a controversy over money the organization accepted from AT&T while also supporting the telecom's merger with T Mobile.

GLAAD  planned to make an official announcement this evening to address accusations that the money was a kind of quid pro quo, Politico reports.

Politico posted a story recently on liberal groups with no vested interest in AT&T nevertheless coming out in support of the merger.

Barrios also was under fire in the blogosphere over a letter GLAAD sent to the FCC that appeared to be opposing net neutrality --- in line with AT&T's position. Barrios later said it was a mistake and withdrew it, but originally said he had no knowledge of the letter, reports the Bilerico Project.

AT&T has given the organization $50,000 so far this year and gave $100,000 last year.

U2 guitarist The Edge had plans to build five mansion along a ridgeline in Malibu. To say the least, it is prized property. But the California Coastal Commission has nixed the idea.

"In 38 years of this commission's existence, this is one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation," Peter Douglas, the agency's executive director, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times after the vote. "It's a contradiction in terms — you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location..."

The Edge has been trying to get the permits to build on the idea that the homes can be made environmentally friendly --- a notion that Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez soundly derided today.

Lopez writes, "No matter how many times he's called a hypocrite, he just keeps bullying foes, determined to have his way.

"You can [be an environmentalist] if you're a celebrity rock-and-roller with lobbyists, attorneys, architects and flacks telling people you are, in fact, an environmentalist."

David Eisenbach, author of "One Nation Under Sex," joins us to discuss the historical roots of people in power and their sex lives, and whether today's social media driven culture will change public perception of these so-called scandals in the future.

That's on the latest edition of Wilshire and Washington on the Radio, which you can listen to here, or in the link below.

My cohosts are Maegan Carberry and Kristen Solis, and our producer is Maeve Coyle.

Here's my latest column for print Variety, on just what might happen if the Supreme Court upholds California's law banning the sale of ultra-violent videogames to minors.

Another week has passed, the Supreme Court's term is nearly at end, and yet there's still no decision on California's violent videogame law.

The measure to restrict the sale of ultraviolent titles to minors is supported by parental groups and lawmakers but opposed by the vidgame business and much of Hollywood.

The biz has been confident that it has a very strong First Amendment case to make, but given that oral arguments were Nov. 2 and there's still no ruling, is it time to panic?

What looked like a slam dunk of a free-speech case is only increasing the speculation (and I caution that it is speculation) that the justices are really struggling with this case. Oral arguments centered on the vagueness of the law on the one hand and the shocking content -- like decapitations and lighting people on fire -- on the other.

So it's fair to consider just what would happen if the law were upheld.

There are no shortage of scenarios regarding slippery slopes and chilling effects if the court for the first time carves out an exception to the First Amendment to allow for certain restrictions on violence in the media.

Broadcasters believe that such an exception would only embolden lawmakers on Capitol Hill, in particular Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who has for some time broached the idea of regulating TV violence in the same way that the Feds police obscenity and indecency.

More to the point, the vidgame business, which has prided itself on a voluntary labeling system, would have to think about altering some of its plans. Perhaps maiming and mutilation would have to give way to mediation, or even a button where a character can be made to say, "Maybe we can talk this over?"

That's an extreme, but Ahsan Shaikh, attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery, said publishers would have to become more creative in their storylines to avoid explicit displays of violence. Specializing in intellectual property law in the vidgame biz, he even sees opportunity: Someone could get a patent on a technique that reduces violence on the screen -- like a character who, instead of getting killed, "ages really quickly and turns to dust."

Publishers will be looking for ways to alter "as little as possible to make games less violent and get them out quickly," he said.

It's not so far-fetched: As he points out, in 1993 Acclaim Entertainment had to be creative in porting the video arcade hit Mortal Kombat to Super Nintendo because the latter had a "family-friendly" policy in place. While the Sega Genesis version kept the blood, gore and fatalities, the deaths were removed from the Super Nintendo version and blood was replaced with sweat.

The concern of the rest of Hollywood is that it won't just be videogames that will suddenly be under government scrutiny, but movies, TV and even theater.

The Motion Picture Assn. of America and a host of guilds and other industry orgs filed a friend of a court brief warning that the law would lead to a patchwork of state and local regulations, including those threatening theater owners with legal sanctions if they admit minors into violent films. At the very least, they noted, what has to be considered is that the "increasingly symbiotic relationship" between vidgames and motion pictures -- think "Tomb Raider" -- makes it more difficult to draw clear lines.

"The greater impact would be far beyond the (vidgame) industry itself," said Steve Smith, head of the videogame practice at Greenberg Glusker. "I don't see any place to draw a line between videogame law and any other type of media."

What stands out to him is a point made during oral arguments by Justice Elena Kagan. She asked whether vidgames are really speech at all, but more like a Monopoly set. Her question, he wrote in a blog post, "illustrated the factual difference between speech as expression by the creator versus speech as conduct by the actor."

Going down that route of reasoning, then, a law could be passed to restrict kids from acting violent scenes in the production of a play, or even play itself, Smith suggested.

"It is not just the expression of the artists and programmers that make the games. It is also the expression of the kids who buy and then act out the games," he wrote. "If the Entertainment Merchants Assn. loses this case, I hope a 17-year-old 'minor' who is prohibited from buying a violent game sues to enforce her right under the First Amendment to buy and act out the play contained in that game."

I've been on a couple of assignments the past 24 hours, so that's why there's been light posting.

Norah O'Donnell is jumping from NBC News to CBS News, where she'll be chief White House correspondent. Chip Reid will become a national correspondent. But the bigger news may be that she'll be the principle substitute anchor on "Face the Nation" and contribute to "60 Minutes."

Dueling Docs: Stephen K. Bannon's Sarah Palin doc "The Undefeated" screens at RightOnline in Minneapolis this weekend, which is a conservative counterweight to the liberal Netroots Nation conference going on at the Minneapolis Convention Center. At the latter will screen the environmental doc "The Last Mountain."

Tonight: The Artists & Athletes Alliance hosts a private briefing with Ichiro Fujisaki, the Japanese ambassador to the United States, in an event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.

About 60 members of Congress or their spouses have investments in news organizations or media conglomerates, including Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), whose family has more than $600,000 invested in News Corp., owner of Fox News.

The study comes from the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political contributions. In a blgo post at OpenSecrets.org, CRP quotes Kevin Smith, chairman of the ethics committee for the Society of Professional Journalists, who says that the investments "raise red flags."

"If congressmen are investing in the New York Times, does that filter into the newsroom?" he asks.

Among those who hold investments in the Times: Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.).

William and Kate: Prince William and his wife Kate will attend Variety's Venture Capital & New Media Summit in Los Angeles next month as part of their three-day visit to California. They will be staying at the British consul-general's residence in Hancock Park, and also have stops planned at Sony Pictures Entertainment studios.

A Counter to "The Undefeated": Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films has launched a new campaign asking visitors to its site to tell them what is left out of the upcoming Sarah Palin doc "The Undefeated."

Today: Arts + Labs is holding a summit at the Newseum in Washington focused on cracking down on online piracy. Among those in attendance: Suzanne Vega.

CNN's coverage of the Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire drew 3.16 million viewers and 918,000 adults 25-54, according to Nielsen.

That's ahead of the 2.06 million who watched CNN's coverage of a New Hampshire debate at a comparable time in the last cycle --- June 5, 2007. It's also ahead of the 2.78 million who watched CNN's coverage of a June 3, 2007 Democratic debate in New Hampshire.

CNN also beat the combined viewership of Fox news, with 1.96 million, and MSNBC, with 814,000m during the same time period.

Fox News slightly outdrew CNN in its coverage of the first presidential debate of the cycle, with 3.27 million viewers in a May 5 forum in South Carolina.

It's no surprise, but U.S. District Court Judge James Ware has just issued a ruling denying an effort to throw out Judge Vaughn Walker's decision in the Prop 8 case because he subsequently disclosed he was in a long-term same-sex relationship.

Ware rejected arguments from supporters of Prop 8 that Walker could not be impartial.

"The presumption that Judge Walker, by virtue of being in a same-sex relationship, had a desire to be married that rendered him incapable of making an impartial decision, is as warrant less as a presumption that a female judge is incapable of being impartial in a case in which women seek legal relief," Ware wrote in his 19-page decision.

The decision is believed to be the first time that a federal court has weighed the question of whether a judge's sexuality should disqualify him or her in ruling on a case about gay and lesbian rights.

Walker ruled in August that Prop 8 was unconstitutional, but his decision is on hold pending an appeal to the Ninth Circuit. With today's ruling, the case's progress through the courts is unchanged.

"Although this case was filed by same-sex couples seeking to end a California constitutional restriction on their right to marry, all Californians have an equal interest in the outcome of the case," Ware wrote. "The single characteristic that Judge Walker shares with the Plaintiffs, albeit one that might not have been shared with the majority of Californians, gave him no greater interest in a proper decision on the merits than would exist for any other judge or citizen."

Ware also rejected arguments that Walker, by not disclosing his relationship before the trial started, was an indicator he could not be impartial.

Ware wrote that silence is open to "multiple interpretations," and that even if, in an overabundance of caution, Walker revealed details about his relationship, "he could have set a pernicious precedent."

"Such a precedent would be detrimental to the integrity of the judiciary, because it would promote, incorrectly, disclosure by judges of highly personal information...however irrelevant or time consuming."

Prop 8 is being challenged by a group of entertainment and political activists via the American Foundation for Equal Rights and the legal team is led by Ted Olson and David Boies.

That would be his brother, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who made some jokes at his borther's expense at the opening of the 2011 Cable Show.

"On behalf of the entire Emanuel family, we apologize for Ari," said Emanuel, per the Los Angeles Times. "You know him as an agent, we know him as a brother. We thought that we got the worse end of the deal."

He was kidding, of course, but it makes me remember all of the jokes from President Obama about Rahm's penchant for expletives.

The British tabloid Hello! has posted an exclusive interview with Mildred Baena, the maid who had an affair and a child with Arnold Schwarzenegger. They also have a portrait of Baena and her son, Joseph, so you can see the resemblance.

From the Hello! story: "When his grandmother sat him down one year ago to explain that Arnold Schwarzenegger was his father, he exclaimed: “Cool!”."

Baena also talks about her relationship with Maria Shriver, who she says "was so strong.

"She cried with me and told me to get off my knees. We held each other and I told her it wasn’t Arnie’s fault, that it takes two.”

I watched it --- along with a CNN replay. My take: Romney won, Michele Bachmann gained and Tim Pawlenty could have done better. That's just about in keeping with every pundit out there. This was the first "consequential" debate, which means that people are starting to pay attention, but it's "inconsequential" in that it's still early, there's still a few more candidates coming and there's going to be more than a dozen more of these encounters.

As for the debate itself, the remote town halls worked, but the "This or That" questions were hit and miss. I didn't try the QR codes. I'll be curious to knpw how often they were used.

Maegan Carberry, my co-host on our weekly Wilshire & Washington on the Radio podcast, writes at Huffington Post that missing from the debate was inspiration --- the key to millennial generation voters.

She writes, "Ronald Reagan is probably restless in the afterlife at midnight in America, befuddled at the dark and weary tone his descendants offered the nation on the hill this evening. I'm shocked we didn't hear more about American exceptionalism, the one value conservatives have co-opted that would have garnered at least a patriotic reaction from the viewers at home, if not inspiration. (You know, that thing that flows from Obama's fingertips like laser beams.)"

Apology of the Day: Fox Business host Eric Bolling says he got "a little fast and loose with the language" in a report on President Obama's meeting with the president of Gabon. On Friday, Bolling had remarked, "It's not the first time he's had a hoodlum in the hizzouse." Then a picture of the rapper Common appeared on screen.

Today: Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America East, and writers and creators Tom Ruprecht, Daryn Strauss, Thom Woodley, Julie Ann Emery, Thomas Poarch, Michael Kantor, Gina Gionfriddo and Duane Tollison appear on Capitol Hill to discuss net neutrality, digital distribution and online piracy. The WGAE is organizing the event in the Senate Judiciary Committee room. They have been more skeptical than other guilds of legislative efforts to combat piracy over fears that laws could end up restricting access of independent creators.

Update: The WGAE says that while it strongly supports net neutrality, it also does "strongly support" the PROTECT IP Act, the major piece of legislation pending in Congress aimed at cutting off the financial lifelines of sites devoted to piracy.

There's more fallout from Ben Shapiro's book, "Primetime Propaganda": Producer-writer Greg Strangis is asking the steering committee of the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors to make "an  unambiguous public statement denouncing discrimination, particularly political discrimination, in the television industry."

The Caucus's leadership next meets on June 28.

Longtime Caucus members Lionel Chetwynd and Norman Powell resigned earlier this month after Shapiro posted some of the interviews he did for his book on the Web in which Hollywood creative figures appear to confirm a liberal bias in entertainment programming.

Strangis sent an email to Caucus leaders on Monday in which he also asked that they "call upon all networks, studios and industry leaders to join us in encouraging the presentation of diverse points of view, including unpopular political points of view, both in hiring practices and in entertainment programming."

Other creators like Marta Kauffman and George Schlatter have challenged the book's premise, particularly in a business ruled by ratings and advertising.

The full text of Strangis' motion is below:

First Lady Michelle Obama helped raise more than $1 million for her husband's re-election bid at a fund-raiser that drew stars and studio executives, including Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Phillippe, Drew Barrymore, Vanessa Williams and Portia de Rossi.

With tickets starting at $1,500 per person, the event at the modernist Westwood home of designer Michael Smith and HBO executive James Costos drew about 380 people.

Obama's re-election campaign is depending on Hollywood, a loyal source of support to the Democrats, to raise early and often. The money will go to the Obama Victory Fund, which is a joint fund of the campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Smith was selected as the First Lady's designer shortly after the Obamas moved into the White House, and she even praised him for being patience as he went about redecorating.

"Believe it or not, the President has opinions about his drapes," she said.

In her half-hour of remarks, she got some of the biggest cheers in mentioning two of her husband's accomplishments: Withdrawing troops from Iraq and repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

But she also talked of the stress of the job. "Trust me, i see the sadness and the worry creasing his face. You want to know where the gray hairs come from?"

She also urged patience, saying that "nothing worth having happens in an instant."

"Thank you for taking a risk. You haven't made a mistake."

Sources said that Obama dined at Mozza on Melrose later in the evening along with Smith and Costos.

Also at the fund raiser were Brian Grazer, Megan and Peter Chernin, David O'Connor, Kevin Huvane, John and Kimberly Emerson, Jeff Robinov and Roger Birnbaum, as well as civil rights activist Dolores Huerta. Chad Griffin and Yearley Smith were among the co-chairs along with Smith and Costos.

The First Lady's daughters, Malia and Shasha, made the trip to L.A. as well. While Michelle Obama was making appearances at several events, they went to Universal Studios along with their grandmother, Marian Robinson. Among their favorites was Revenge of the Mummy, which they rode twice.

U.S. District Judge James Ware says that he will issue a ruling in the next day or so on whether to throw out a federal court ruling from last year overturning Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage.

I'll be surprised if he does. Proponents argued that Judge Vaughn Walker, who presided over the case last year, should have recused himself because he revealed that he was in a long term relationship with another man shortly after he retired in April.

But Ware --- who was one of Walker's colleagues --- seemed skeptical. He asked Charles Cooper, the attorney for the supporters of Prop 8, why he assumed that Walker desired to get married simply because he was in a long term relationship.

“I’m asking you to tell me what fact you would have the court rely on to suggest that Judge Walker wanted to change, not maintain, his relationship?” Ware asked, per the AP.

Ware also said, “You can’t simply assume that a judge who takes an oath to uphold the law and judge fairly is incapable of doing so.”

This is another sidelight to the case that in itself is somewhat groundbreaking, as the courts have never really considered the question of a judge's sexual orientation involving a case about gay and lesbian rights. Ware indicated as much, but compared it to gender or racial discrimination cases where women and minority judges were challenged. Ware himself performed a same-sex ceremony in the state in 2008, so if he refuses to throw out Walker's ruling, I would not be surprised if that decision is appealed.

After the hearing, in fact, Prop 8 supporters reiterated their belief that Walker had a "direct and substantial personal interest."

Ted Boutrous, representing the plaintiffs, characterized the effort to vacate Walker's decision as frivolous and said that they were targeting Walker not because of the relationship, but because he is gay.

Austin R. Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, defending Prop 8, said in a statement, "Judge Walker’s decision must be vacated and reconsidered by a neutral judge who has no direct and substantial personal interest in the outcome and whose impartiality cannot reasonably be questioned, as required by federal law. Only then can the court ensure that this case will be decided in accordance with the high standards that apply to the judicial process."

Ware didn't rule on whether the tapes of the Prop 8 trial would be released, but he did say that he was inclined to let Walker have a copy. The back story is here, but it was Ware who actually originally gave the tapes to Walker as a gift during his retirement ceremony.

Photo via AFER: Chad Griffin and Ted Boutrous after the court hearing on Monday.

Updated

First Lady Michelle Obama, promoting one of her signature initiatives, encouraged Hollywood’s creative community Monday to consider putting more stories of military families into their projects.

Obama appeared Monday at a Beverly Hills event sponsored by five industry guilds as part of a campaign called Joining Forces, which aims to bring more attention to the needs of military families. As part of her trip, she also taped an appearance on Nickelodeon’s “iCarly.”

“When I think about where I hope we are in a year, I want the conversation to be different,” she said. “I want the military families to fell this support on the ground.”

During the event, she sat on a panel moderated by J.J. Abrams that included three members of military families, including Capt. Kelly Smith of the California Air National Guard, retired Army sergeant Bobby Jarman and Arnita Moore, a Marine wife.

Obama also attended a lunchtime fund-raiser in Pasadena, and was scheduled to headline an evening reception at the home of designer Michael Smith and HBO executive James Costos to raise money for her husband’s re-election campaign.

One component in the Joining Forces campaign is an interguild task force made up of the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, the Producers Guild of America and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Obama said the creative community has “already stepped up in so many ways already,” but she suggested that it still has been difficult in getting the public’s attention.

She said she and Jill Biden would “do whatever we can for however long the country allows us to do it to keep this issue on the forefront of everyone’s mind.”

“I think we are very proud that one of the things that Hollywood really does do, on occasion, but actually often, is make a difference,” said producer Bruce Cohen, who is coordinator of the task force.

He was joined by Katherine Fugate, creator of “Army Wives,” who outlined a series of steps in the works including public service spots featuring Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey and military families that will launch nationally in July. Songwriter Diane Warren has composed an original song, “Compass,” to be sung by Rascal Flatts.

“My work on ‘Army Wives’ has helped me understand that behind every soldier is a family that serves,” Fugate said.

Obama chose to do a cameo on “iCarly” because the show’s lead character is the daughter of an Air Force colonel. She also quipped that her daughters’ friends “didn’t believe” she was actually going to be on the show, one of their favorites.

“I was like, ‘Look, I stayed in Buckingham Palace. Why is it such a leap that I would (be on the show)? They don’t believe that,” Obama said to laughs.

Getty photo: Michelle Obama with Air Force pilot Capt. Kelly Smith.

Here's my story from the print version of Variety previewing Monday night's Republican presidential debate, along with a list of the more than dozen on the schedule for the pre-primary and primary season:

CNN's Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire on June 13 may very well mark a new phase in the 2012 race -- or, to put it another way, a chance for a campaign so far marked by reticence to really rev up.

For the news networks, the event also will be an indicator of the public's thirst for politics, particularly when compared with the record audiences that tuned in to follow the unmatched drama and historic moments of the previous election cycle.

While the media has had teams in place and has been covering the buildup to the race for months now, the public is starting to pay attention, says CNN anchor John King, who will moderate the New Hampshire debate. King adds that the dynamics at play will be no less than a "consequential tug of war for the soul of the Republican party."

Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich will be participating in their first debate of the cycle along with Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Herman Cain. Invitations went out to prospective candidates Jon Huntsman, Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin, all of whom have yet to formally declare and have indicated they would not attend.

"This is the bulk of the Republican field in a debate for the first time," says King, who calls the debate "not the final exam, but the curtain raiser," and he's aware not only that there's a "riveting dynamic in the Republican party," but that viewers are just getting to know the candidates.

Earlier on June 13, CBS News is taking a different approach: a town hall meeting focusing on the economy, in which Bob Schieffer and Erica Hill will host Republican politicos Tom Coburn, Paul Ryan, Nikki Haley and Allen West at the Newseum in Washington.

"It is always hard to predict the level of interest and the cycles of interest in politics. It waxes and wanes," says Mark Lukasiewicz, vice president of NBC News specials and digital media. "There was a lot more activity at this stage in the last cycle. However, we are seeing a lot of interest in the issues at play, the foreign wars and the battle over Medicare and Medicaid. There isn't any indication that this is not going to be a competitive race and a real battle for the GOP nomination."

Fox News was the first out of the gate with a 2012 presidential debate May 5 in South Carolina. Even though the event was missing much of the field -- only Pawlenty, Paul, Cain, Santorum and Gary Johnson took part -- it drew 3.27 million viewers. That's a boost from the 2.55 million who watched FNC's first debate in May 2007, according to Nielsen.

A smiling photo of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) was released today, right, the first to be shown in public since she was shot in Tucson in January.

Among those coming to Sarah Palin's defense --- if you can call it that --- are Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. In the wake of the media frenzy to cover the release of her e-mails on Friday, Kutcher sent a Tweet: "As much as I'm not a fan of Sarah Palin I find sifting through her emails repulsive and over reaching media."

CNN will show the first New Hampshire debate on Monday, in what may rev up the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Don't worry: It's the first of many, many debates already on the books.

Tonight: Jeff Garlin, Dom Irrera, Andy Kindler, Paula Poundstone, Hal Sparks and Roy Zimmerman join host Steve Skrovan for a comedy night at the Brentwood Theatre to benefit Public Citizen, with tickets starting at $50 per person. The Stand Up for Main Street event starts at 6:30 p.m.

Donald Trump wrote a letter to one of his harshest critics, Lawrence O'Donnell, writing over a press clipping, "Lawrence, thanks for all of your help!" O'Donnell responded on his show, "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell," by challenging Trump's contention that he's a billionaire.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sarah Palin sent a Tweet supporting "The Undefeated," scheduled for release in at least 10 cities starting July 15.

"I haven't seen the final product, but I sure liked the sneak peek and rough cut," her Tweet said, with a link to the movie's trailer, which is below.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), a champion of Hollywood issues on Capitol Hill, will see his district dramatically altered --- carved up may be more like it --- under proposed maps unveiled today as part of California's new method of redistricting.

The Los Angeles Times reports, "Berman could face a challenge from a well-known Latino if he runs in a more Latino east San Fernando Valley district carved from a chunk of the congressman’s current district, or a possible race against fellow Democrat Brad Sherman in a new district that includes Berman’s home and extends through the west San Fernando Valley."

In a statement, Berman hinted that he'd choose the latter option.

"California's Citizens Redistricting Commission still has months of work and numerous public meetings ahead of them.  Still, if the final districts look anything like the draft map released today, my home is squarely in the district it is calling 'West San Fernando Valley - Calabasas.'  It's premature to make an official campaign announcement until district lines are finalized, however, there is no question that I would want to continue representing this community."

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post has a good rundown of who wins and who loses in the maps as drawn.

I'm excited to announce the return of the weekly Wilshire & Washington podcast, presented via BlogTalkRadio. We'll be up every Friday talking about the intersection of politics, entertainment and technology.

This week I talk with my co-hosts, political consultants Maegan Carberry and Kristen Soltis about Twitter in 2012. With the Anthony Weiner scandal, you'd wonder why any politico will risk interacting via social media (indeed, D.C. elected are already Tweeting less), but at the past week's Personal Democracy Forum, that is just what is needed if candidates are going to be on the cutting edge in this cycle.

You can listen to the show here, or via the embed code below. A special thanks as well to our producer, Maeve Coyle.

Mitt Romney's campaign is inviting supporters for a June 22 kickoff event at the Beverly Hilton.

Invites have gone out to supporters for a reception and dinner, in what will be a prelude to a competitve race to draw in Los Angeles donors.

Among those listed on his kickoff committee are Harry Sloan, Brad Freeman, retired Judge Stephen Larson, Richard Riordan and Meg Whitman.

AMC Theatres will screen Stephen Bannon's Sarah Palin documentary, "The Undefeated" for a July 15 release.

The film will launch in markets such as Dallas, Denver, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Atlanta, Orange County, Phoenix, Houston, Indianapolis, and Kansas City. Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. is managing the theatrical release and ARC Entertainment has taken on worldwide distribution responsibilities for the project.

Bannon says that plans in the works to have one-night screenings of the movie in Iowa later this month, as well as New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada for one-night premieres.

The film portrays Palin as a hero in the conservative movement, and the word that it was produced helped trigger a new round of speculation that she would get into the presidential race. Her team was aware of the project and gave it their endorsement, but was not part of the production.

“We are extremely excited about the initial reception of 'The Undefeated.' We knew we had a great story to tell about a true American hero,” Bannon said in a statement.

Nikkole Denson-Randolph, VP of specialty and alternative content at AMC Theatres, said, “AMC is committed to providing distinct content to diverse audiences across the United States. We are proud to consistently offer a wide variety of product to our guests.”

The film was written and directed by Bannon and is produced by Glenn Bracken Evans and Dan Fleuette. It is independently financed by Victory Film Group.

Evans said the film "plays with all the drama of a Rocky picture, only with a woman as the central figure and with politics instead of boxing.”

“After screening The Undefeated, we took the unusual step of immediately exploring an expedited theatrical release, something we normally wouldn’t do during the busy summer months,” Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of ARC Entertainment, said in a statement.

Update: Palin has Tweeted a link to Victory Film Group's page for "The Undefeated," which has apparently created overcapacity. Also, the public will be able to vote on future movie locations (which in industry speak is called going wide, via Cinedigm's website.

Another Update: A few more details here via Time's Jay-Newton Small, including that the premiere is being planned for June 28 or 29. I've just seen the film and will have more later.