

By Cathy Ruse
Birth control mandate a sin against liberty
Independent voices from the TWT Communities

As you pick up a copy of "Hedy's Folly," with its eye-popping jacket of an incandescent Hedy Lamarr seductively wrapped around a gilded torpedo, you begin to wonder just what exactly you are getting into. The subtitle, "The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of the Most Beautiful Woman in the World," gives you a clue.

Most Americans who pay attention to politics believe Hollywood's political influence in American life and culture is heavily weighted on the left. Steven J. Ross, a historian who teaches at the University of Southern California, begs to differ.

President Obama turns 50 on Aug. 4. So naturally, his personal moment has become the "50 for 50 Sweepstakes," an aggressive Democratic campaign tool aimed at grass-roots loyalists.