CITIZEN JOHN

In light of the vile racist scumbaggery that has just become law here, it's not surprising that my old New Times pal John Dougherty has announced his intention to run for U.S. Senate from Arizona...

John's political sensibility has always seemed to me like the rarest sort: his intelligence & perspective don't dilute his intense & passionate indignation at injustice--rather, they focus it. I can't think of a better way you could show your love for this state than to support the campaign of someone who won't be an embarrassment on the national stage.

RIP to Dorothy Provine, statuesque star of The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, The Bonnie Parker Story, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World & the original That Darn Cat, who has passed on at 75. A pal reminded me today that she had another pop-culture distinction--she caused a small stink back in the '70s when she starred in the first TV ads for Summer's Eve douche.

Here she is, looking rather chic in The Bonnie Parker Story (note how, in the poster, it seems to be more remarkable that she smokes cigars than that she fires a machine gun)...