Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry Is Baaack!

And now some fresh pickings from the wartime grapevine:

Taking the Short View?
Some of the outspoken hosts of  ABC's daytime talk show The View are taking issue with network censors. According to the Media Research Center, last week host Joy Behar was talking about how glad she was to be done with a diet. She said, "thank you Jesus is all I have to say. Goodbye to that damn scale and this whole diet. I'm sick of it." But the West Coast feed of the show was censored — the word "Jesus" was bleeped out — that word and that word only. This week Behar complained about the bleep. She says she's Roman Catholic and thinks it's wrong that ABC would not allow her to say “thank you Jesus.” She says the show has received about 100 complaint letters. An ABC spokeswoman said the network bleeped "Jesus" because the word  was not used in a religious manner. 

Losing My Religion?
A commencement speech at Harvard University no longer has the word "jihad" in the title. Muslim student Zayed Yasin had written a speech called "Of Faith and Citizenship: My American Jihad" — which focused on the shared values of American and Muslim cultures. But there was public outcry over the title, and Yasin says he agreed to drop the word jihad from the title in the program, so people would be more receptive to his message. But the speech will still focus on what he sees as the meaning of jihad — as a struggle for personal growth and peace.

The Good, the Bad and the Unforgettable
For those who never get enough of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, now it looks like there's going to be Marion Barry, the movie. HBO will start filming the story of Barry's life later this year. It will star Jamie Foxx, and Chris Rock will produce it. The movie, to be called Livin' for the City: the Marion Barry Story will tell the story of a man who moved from a small town in Mississippi and became what many jokingly called “D.C. Mayor for Life.” Barry served four terms as mayor and one six-month term in prison after he was videotaped smoking crack cocaine in a downtown Washington hotel.
 
New Hampshire Man Sues Over Theories
Finally, Irwin Schiff — who ran unsuccessfully for the Libertarian presidential nomination —  is being sued by a New Hampshire man who says he lost his real estate business because he followed Mr. Schiff's tax theories. According to CNSNews.com, Mr. Schiff maintains that the income tax is voluntary and has written books laying out his views and telling people how to avoid paying taxes. But businessman Steven Swan says that when he followed Mr. Schiff's advice and tried to sell it to the IRS, it ruined him. Mr. Schiff denies any liability and says, "If I told him to go rob a bank, would he do it? What is he, an idiot?"