TVSquad

"Easy, Pal... for the US Army": Sometimes I forget that there are still people that are scared of homosexuals, especially in the military. Thanks, Daily Show, for reminding of the existence of Elaine "Passive-Agressive Behavior" Donnelly and company. Congress recently had a hearing about gays in the military and the ever-popular "don't ask, don't tell" policy. This was almost as hilarious as whenever I see groups of straight guy-friends go to the movies together and sit with empty seats between each other so they won't be tempted to hold hands or something. Yeah, super-gay hand-holding is definitely worse than alcoholics and convicted felons. Icky.

After tonight's episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert will put his cast up for auction on eBay. Colbert broke his wrist in June while running around his set before the show began. The proceeds from the sale will go to the Yellow Ribbon Fund for injured military service members and their families as they recuperate at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center.

The Yellow Ribbon Fund is a favorite of Colbert's. He has already used his cast to raise money for the injured soldiers and their families by selling 'WristStrong' bracelets, a spoof of Lance Armstrong (and Nike's) LiveStrong yellow bracelets that raise money for cancer research. By the way, if you can't afford Stephen's cast, you can probably still afford one of his 'WristStrong' bracelets, which are for sale on his website.

Colbert's cast is signed by a wide variety of political and news figures: Nancy Pelosi, Tony Snow, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Tim Russert, Bill O'Reilly, and Michael Bloomberg.

"Mess O' Potamac": Ahh, yes. I'm glad I wasn't the only one that felt extremely uncomfortable watching Nancy Pelosi pretend she didn't mind having Harry Reid's hand on her shoulder. The Bush vs. Bush debate was well-done. The Daily Show has totally mastered the art of collecting video clips. That is the beauty of doing a faux news show, is it not? CNN wishes they had a time machine to do a debate between past- and present-Bush.

Documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, who also directed the doc about the Presidential campaign of George W. Bush Journeys with George, tackles evangelicals in Friends of God, an original film for HBO. It's a startling look deep inside the conventions, beliefs, and personalities that make up this larger than you would think demographic in the United States, which contains an estimated 50 to 80 million Americans.

Some of the subjects in the film are some wrestlers who describe what they do as "Taking TV wrestling, cleanning it up, and putting Jesus in it," and a minister who brags about the amount of sex he has with his wife. He also dubiously claims that evangelicals have "The most satisfying sex lives out of any group." He also asks two of his constituents how often they have sex with their wives, and they both claim every day. Two times a day, sometimes ... and they climax every time. Wow. Not exactly what you'd expect to see in a documentary about evangelicals, and that's what makes this look appealing.

Once again, ABC news woman Barbara Walters is hosting her list of The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006. As usual, she's picking public figures from entertainment, politics, sports and business. ABC has released the names of six people on her list, including Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), Anna Wintour, Andre Agassi, John Ramsey (JonBenet's father), televangelist Joel Osteen, and Terri Irwin. Last year's list included Jamie Foxx, Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Camilla Parker-Bowles, and Tom Cruise- who totally wigged out in 2005. The special airs on Tuesday, December 12th at 10 pm.

Whether you like her or not, I think Rachael Ray deserves to be on this year's list. 2006 was definitely her year. To that, I'd add Barack Obama (who should've been on her list in 2004) or Nancy Pelosi. And, probably Angelina Jolie.

Who else should make this list?

Keith Olbermann sent out a 'Thank You' to Homeland Security agents during his newscast last night for catching the guy who kept sending him white powder in the mail. Police say he also sent letters with white powder in them to David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jon Stewart, as well as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. FBI agents arrested Chad Conrad Castagana, 39, in Los Angeles over the weekend after he mailed another letter to Olbermann with white powder inside. Castagana reportedly said he sent the white powder and threatening letters to high-profile people because of their "liberal policies". Luckily, the white powder was not anthrax... unlike the letters send to Congress and news anchors in 2001, which remain unsolved.

Last night, Olbermann also reprimanded the New York Post for reporting on the letters on its Page Six gossip section. He said that the Post effectively confirmed he received the letter, which encouraged Castagana to send more.