Wanda Sykes on The Huffington Post

Catie Lazarus: Top 10 Reasons This Woman Can't Write for Late Night Comedy Shows

2009-11-12T20:07:00Z

In the New York Times, Bill Carter writes ,"very few women make it inside the writing rooms for late-night television hosts, despite that women make up a larger proportion of their audience than men. There are no female writers on the new “The Jay Leno Show,” none on “Late Show with David Letterman,” none on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.”"

Based on his article and Nell Scovell's personal account in Vanity Fair, I have come to understand why the odds are stacked against my wedging my paw in the door. I still have hope (also known as delusion).

The Top 10 Reasons This Woman Can't Write for Late Night Comedy Variety Shows

10) I will be overcome by desire for my male comedy writing peers
and superiors, who are known for their off-white, pasty skin and muscle tonus
minimus, akin to albino, soft shell turtles.

9) My lady sensibility is limited to menstruation
(hilarious), babies (adorable), and unicorns mating
(adorably hilarious).

8) Due to my genetic make-up, I am physically incapable to
handle the job, considering the heavy manual labor required in touch typing.

7) The number one rule of comedy is fitting in and I sometimes buck the uniform of orthopedic New Balance sneakers,
hoodies, jeans, and t-shirts, with ironic catchphrases like, "Pro-Cashmere. Pro-Cotton.
Pro-Choice."

6) The only requests I get as
a female comedy writer are to discuss sexism in comedy, instead of political satire about how Sarah Palin is so sick she
gives swine flu or scripts like Crones:
The Musical! or commercials, maybe, Femedy: A bubble gum
birth control for tweens who don't want to ovulate. Period.

5) Late-night comedy requires a male point-of-view, and girls,
even ones closer to menopause than teething, can only express themselves in
glittery pink (which, fyi, typing in does
not fund cancer research).

4) As a lady, I automatically cost less, and in a business where money talks, how will I be taken seriously? I mean funnily.

3) I didn't graduate from Harvard so I lack the cultural capital to craft the erudite, intellectual fodder
typical of late-night comedies, like the masturbating bear or gift
wrapped genitalia.

2) Hollywood would have to make major changes to catch up with
medicine, law, even engineering, in its hiring practices, and we all know how open television is to change. It only took 30 years (and millions of dollars) before CNN let Native
American Lou Dobbs quit. (I mean, leave to spend time with his family.)

1) I'd have to be funny and learn
how to play Dungeons and Dragons.

"Wanda Sykes" Debut Ratings Better Than "MadTV," Fall Short Of "SNL"

2009-11-09T08:24:26Z

Skyes debuted on Saturday to the very preliminary 2.2 household rating among metered-markets at 11 p.m.

The trick here is what you compare it to.

"Wanda Sykes" is replacing "MadTV" in the slot as Fox's alternative to NBC's "Saturday Night Live," which last night hit a season high 5.0. and featured Taylor Swift as host and musical guest.

"Sykes" was 16% higher than the "MadTV" winter average in the time period and 100% higher than the six-week-trial average of Spike Feresten in the slot during Jan. and Feb. Note that these are averages and not premieres.

Beverly Wettenstein: No Women Featured in NY Comedy Festival! No Joke!

2009-10-11T13:38:57Z

We're With The Banned: Cracking The Crass Ceiling

The New York Comedy Festival ad features ten men and no women.

Broadly speaking, comedy is, obviously, still a male-dominated bastion within the entertainment business. The Primetime Emmy Awards showed that women writers on a comedy or variety series are a rare and endangered species. Only seven of the 81 writers were women. There are no women writers on Leno (of 19), Letterman (of 14), and O'Brien (of 16). Colbert has two women of 14 writers. The Daily Show has one of 16. Samantha Bee is a busy worker bee and a "correspondent." "Saturday Night Live" has five women of 22 writers.

LOL: Larry Summers School for the Advancement of Women

Historically, some men have difficulty accepting women comedians. The Larry Summers School for the Advancement of Women should hire Tom Shales, Christopher Hitchens and Jerry Lewis, to teach "Why Women Aren't Funny." The three wise men opined as much in the Washington Post, Vanity Fair and at the Aspen Comedy Festival, respectively.

Shales, Washington Post TV critic, wrote that ex-SNL "Michaela Watkins may have been just too classically pretty to be hilarious." Lewis told the Aspen audience in 2000, "I don't like any female comedians" and couldn't think of one who was good. He only viewed women as baby-making machines.

SNL announced two new women for the 35th season to much press attention: Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad. Just hours later it was reported that Casey Wilson and Michaela Watkins were gone. Does SNL have a female quota? Is their comedy calculus: addition = attrition? The two new women are "featured performers," rather than full repertory players.

Kristin Wiig was SNL's MVP Iron Man last season, earning the most screen time of any cast member, with 124 sketch appearances. She is currently the only official woman cast member.
Plus, she has seven feature films in development. And she is beautiful. Please explain, Mr. Shales.

Having joined as a staff writer in 1997, Tina Fey's term as SNL's first woman head writer (1999-2006), coincided with the most women cast members in regular performing roles in its history: Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch. Much to her credit, Fey teamed with Poehler, to create the groundbreaking "Weekend Update" all-women anchor team in 2004. The dynamic duo proved they were not "Mean Girls" and sparked no cat-fight messages in the media. When Fey started on "Update," there hadn't been a woman anchor since Jane Curtin in the late 1970s and she was not afraid to promote her BFF Poehler. In fact, the two newest women are troupers from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, co-founded by Poehler.

Kudos to Fey and Poehler for empowering women, following decades of male-dominated sketch comedy. Fey and Poehler know that women succeed when they are responsible for their own material. They play comedic roles, perform standup and write and direct films and TV shows. Fey's "30 Rock" was nominated for a record 22 Emmy awards. She was named the AP Entertainer of the Year in 2008 for the greatest impact on culture and entertainment. Poehler is the lead star on "Parks & Recreation."

Timing is everything in comedy and in life. SNL mirrors the advances of women in society. In 2002 Ana Gasteyer was their first on-air pregnancy. The TV management "suits" have matured since the 1950's when the word "pregnant" was forbidden and Lucille Ball was asked to hide behind furniture, which she refused to do. The fact that nine-months pregnant Poehler posed as Hillary Clinton was a non-issue. Her absence and baby's birth were announced on "Update."

Now that SNL has accepted the pregnant pause, perhaps they may consider hiring a Black woman to play Michelle Obama and other women newsmakers and celebrities? Do they think it adds to the levity to dress men in drag or is there a women shortage? I don't communicate with Eleanor Roosevelt very often. But I do think of her and her personal equal opportunity employment act when I see a man playing a woman on SNL. Upon learning that women reporters were not admitted to the National Press Club where newsmakers spoke, Roosevelt held regular news conferences exclusively for women reporters and photographers, thus creating jobs for women. You go, girl!

Actually, in the first season in 1975, the original SNL cast was equal with three women (Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner) and three men (John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Garrett Morris) and Chevy Chase was promoted to "Update" anchor from writer. By 1993, the ratio was three women to eight men. Janeane Garafalo quit halfway through the '94-'95 season because of the male writers who "didn't write for women."

Chicago's Second City improv-sketch troupe, an SNL talent feeder incubator, only allowed two women on a six-person improv team into the '90s. Fey and Poehler are alumnae.

This is Wanda Sykes' banner year. Her HBO special just aired and "The Wanda Sykes Show" will debut in November, at 11 PM, against SNL. Sykes was the featured entertainer this year at the White House Correspondents Association dinner. This annual event honoring the president is a prestigious gig with the nation's dignitaries.

Traditionally, even though women were fully-accredited White House reporters and members of the association, they were barred from attending the dinner. Prompted by Helen Thomas, for the first time in 50 years, women were finally admitted in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy agreed not to attend unless the women did. Thomas was inducted as the first woman WHCA president in 1975.

The old boys club network is alive and, well, begrudgingly coming into the 21st century at The Friars, the premiere club for professional comedians and entertainers. Founded in 1904, Liza Minnelli was admitted as the first official woman member in 1988. This followed the Supreme Court upholding a New York City statute that barred discrimination at large private clubs. Previously, women couldn't join or enter the Townhouse before 4 PM to attend the notorious stag roasts.

Sally Jessy Raphael was the first officer (Prior) in 1999. Previously, women were honored but could not join. Sophie Tucker was the first woman roasted, in 1953; followed by Martha Raye, 1954 and Lucille Ball, 1961.

Joy Behar was the first woman Roastmaster, at a tribute for Danny Aiello in 1997. Rita Rudner was the first woman performer at a Roast for Chevy Chase in 1980. Phyllis Diller, dressed as a man in a suit, wig and mustache, attended the 1983 Sid Caesar Roast, because women were not allowed. She was outed at the end of the event and honored at her own roast in 1985. Diller was the first woman inducted into the California Friars Wall of Fame in 2001. Last year, at the behest of Behar, the Friars named one of its chambers for a woman, Lucille Ball. Currently, women comprise 20 percent of the Friars membership.

Women need to showcase their talent to survive and succeed in the comedy business. Barbara Walters first saw Joy Behar at a benefit for Milton Berle's 89th birthday at the Waldorf Astoria. Walters then invited her to audition for The View. Behar just debuted her nightly talk show on HLN. Her co-hosts on The View include comediennes Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd, who stars in her own show on Lifetime. Goldberg was the first woman and fourth honoree to win the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2001; Lily Tomlin won in 2003.

More Than Chick Shtick: "Seinfeld" Without Elaine? Get Out!

Imagine Seinfeld without Elaine. Get out! Actually, Elaine was not in the first show but executives insisted they add a woman to the cast by the second episode. Would an all-male cast have become the same audience success story without her? Not!

Liz Lemon told Oprah on 30 Rock that she hates her feet. Nora Ephron told the world that she hates her neck. It took Elle Woods' life experience in Legally Blonde to solve the murder case. Her Harvard Law colleagues didn't have a clue about women's hair treatments. Chris Rock parlayed that message into a feature film. Maybe the sexes can learn to live together and better understand each other through humor and women comedians?

One of the challenges for women comics is that society expects good girls to be well-behaved and to act lady-like. Comedians have to be aggressive and take control of the audience. The boys who were the class clowns and spent more time in the principal's office than the library are now making big bucks for their antics. Not to pooh pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, but the first new authorized female character believes that everyone should follow the correct etiquette. Lottie the Otter will be more like Martha Stewart than Martha Raye.

It's easier for women to get to the moon than to get a network late-night talk show. Conan O'Brien and Craig Ferguson had no experience as late-night talk show hosts when they were given their shows. Ferguson had not performed stand-up for ten years and had a strong Scottish brogue. O'Brien was an unknown SNL comedy writer with little performing experience. Joan Rivers was the first and only permanent host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. When Rivers learned that she wasn't on the list to replace Carson, she accepted the offer to host her own late night talk show to launch the Fox Network in 1986. She was fired six months later.

The talk show format is a cheap alternative to scripted TV and yields self-contained YouTube-friendly takeout promos. As viewers migrate away from appointment network TV, cable should create new opportunities for women. But the old boy network ways persist. The Daily Show was co-created by Lizz Winstead and Madeline Smithberg in 1995. Winstead was also the head writer. Then host Craig Kilborn made an offensive remark about her in Esquire in 1998. He was suspended for a week. She left the show soon after. Chelsea Handler has her own late night talk show on E!

Only two women comedians were listed on the Forbes "100 Celebrity" list: Ellen DeGeneres, Power Rank #40, $35 Million Pay and Tina Fey, #86, $7 Million Pay.

She Who Laughs, Lasts: "50/50 in 2020"

Last month more than 200 women met to hear a panel address and outline a "50/50 in 2020" initiative to advance women in the theater business. Three sponsors are taking the lead: the League of Professional Theatre Women, the New Perspectives Theatre Company and the Women's Project.

In 2007 Oxygen presented the "50 Funniest Women Alive." There are women who are ready, willing and able to perform at comedy festivals. They can turn the world on with their smile... and spunk.

Stand Up For Women In Comedy! Parody and Parity Proposals

1. Action! Organize a meeting during the New York Comedy Festival, November 4-8, to focus on "The State of Women in Comedy Today," to become part of the media coverage and raise public support. Since there is no professional organization for women comedians, create one or develop a Comedy subcommittee of the "50/50 by 2020" project or another industry-related association.

2. Produce a counter "Funny Femme Festival" during the New York Comedy Festival to showcase talented women comedians, become part of the media coverage and raise public support.

3. Distribute this treatise and contact the New York Comedy Festival.

4. Submit your comments and suggestions here.

5. Stay tuned. Watch this space for announcements and progress reports. Thank you.

See Beverly Wettenstein's PBS interview on youtube.com.

See Beverly Wettenstein's Letter in the NY Daily News, Sept. 4, 09
nydailynews.com/opinions/

See Beverly Wettenstein's Letter in the NY Times Science Times, July 21, 09

_________________________________________________________________________

"Celebrate Women Every Day!"

October 13

B. 1901 Edith S. Sampson First Black woman elected judge, in Illinois, 1962.
First Black woman named UN delegate.

1905 English suffragists Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney arrested.
Women over 30 got the vote 12 years later; all women in 1928.

B. 1925 Margaret Thatcher First woman Prime Minister in England and Europe, 1979-1991.

B. 1969 Nancy Kerrigan Olympic silver medalist, 1964; Oksana Baiul, 16, won gold medal.

1986 Rita Levi-Montalcini earned Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Source: Beverly Wettenstein's "Women in History and Making History Today
- 365-Days-A-Year Database"

Rip Empson: HuffPost Review: Wanda Sykes's 'I'ma Be Me' (VIDEO)

2009-10-10T08:16:07Z

When Wanda Sykes is talking, people listen. Maybe that's because her pointed tone, volume, and no-bullshit attitude make her impossible to ignore. Of course, when it comes to admonishment comedy, Sykes without a doubt ranks among the best. One can only hope that God has a sense of humor and appoints her "Judge Judy" of Judgment Day, allowing her to review the cases of Simon Cowell, George W. Bush, and all those in need of a good punking. Though the comic's sometimes loud, in-your-face persona can be irritating in large doses, at her core is a formidable talent and a nose for irony that is quietly making her famous.

In the midst of a recession, many are looking for reasons to laugh and few are opposed to placing a little blame on those who might be responsible for the current socioeconomic state of the union. Thus, for Sykes, who never backs down from controversial issues, idiocy, or racial commentary, there should be fodder aplenty. Truly, for someone who loves to drop verbal bombs, there hasn't been a better time - the comedian-writer-actress boasts a recent, public exit from the closet and incipient interracial motherhood in her arsenal.

In her second HBO special, "I'ma Be Me," which premieres tonight at 10 p.m. EST, Sykes shows that her swagger hasn't been slowed by maturity or motherhood. She still knows how to dish it out, but unfortunately, for those who are familiar with her work, the special is a bit anticlimactic. Granted, most of her material is topical, as she spends the first third focusing on issues related to the First Family, sprinkling in bits on Somali pirates, Michael Jackson, and the metric system. But too much of it treads on familiar ground--both for her and comics in general.

Sykes has been an under-the-radar success on the comedy scene for years, including her work as part of the Emmy-winning writing team on Chris Rock's eponymous show in the 90's. Since then, she's found recurring roles on "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and "Crank Yankers" and offered comedic support in films like "Pootie Tang" and "Evan Almighty."

Most recently, Sykes was chosen as Head Roaster at this year's White House Correspondents Dinner. Her performance was, as per usual, hard hitting and hilarious. Her set even drew criticism from the Right, (so you know it was good) as a result of wishing kidney failure on Rush Limbaugh. She also took a shot at Sarah Palin, saying, "I know Governor Palin. . . . She's not here tonight. She pulled out at the last minute. Somebody should tell her that's not really how you practice abstinence."

In December, she will debut "The Wanda Sykes Show" on Fox, where she will be the first woman (and first gay African-American woman) to have her own late-night show. However, much of her success, I would say, is a result of her stand up work, not her work in film or TV. She belongs on stage, where she is not beholden to - or restricted by - network standards.

That being said, while her impression of Michelle Obama having a metal rod implanted in her neck to prevent her from juking and jiving while getting "sassy" at Barack is hilarious, and there are quite a few bright spots in her second HBO special (particularly in her impressions), I couldn't shake the feeling that I was watching a good deal of recycled material, including jokes from the Correspondents Dinner.

WATCH:

It is also difficult to avoid seeing her as the female Chris Rock, especially considering a few startling similarities in their routines. To be fair, Sykes admits that her time at the "Chris Rock Show" was a big inspiration for her, but the point remains.

In the latter half of her 90-minute set, Sykes veers back into more conventional stand-up terrain, playing on parenthood, aging, bikini waxes, relationship issues, and health care. She is noticeably killing the crowd throughout, and it's hard to ignore the serious laughter echoing through the Warner Theatre in D.C. Her clever delivery and confident energy work in her favor, but "black people drive like this" and "white people drive like that" comedy only goes so far and her routine tends to retreat into this over-played territory. Pointing out true differences, racial and otherwise, is expected of comedians -- but great comics go beyond this, and I'm not sure Sykes gets there in her new special.

Though the new mom is open and unabashed in drawing upon (and making dirty jokes about) her blackness, her homosexuality, and her interracial marriage for her material (there are frequent cathartic bombs and laughs), again, much of it seems too easy. But fear not, there are some gems, especially when Sykes details her experience performing on a week-long gay cruise.

Wanda Sykes Defies CBS Boycott, Appears On 'Leno' To Talk Twins, Roman Polanski, And Legalizing Marijuana (VIDEO)

2009-10-08T10:49:56Z

Despite an informal boycott from ABC and CBS stars, Wanda Sykes appeared on Jay Leno's show last night and talked about her new twin babies, the economy, Roman Polanski and legalizing marijuana.

The "New Adventures of Old Christine" star has strong feelings about Governor Schwarzenegger's plan to legalize marijuana saying it's stupid to think that will increase productivity. "How many pot heads do you know with a to do list?" She asked. Instead, Wanda suggested he legalize cocaine which would make everyone work around the clock and help in the fight against global warming because everyone would run to work. Sykes also addressed the state of the economy saying, "Illegals are complaining that Americans are taking their jobs...I saw a white man mowing his own lawn."

Wanda and Jay went on to talk about Roman Polanski, who the comedienne says made films that "aren't that good." She questioned Hollywood stars rallying around the director: "Does this mean Spielberg can go on a rampage?"

WATCH:

After the break, Wanda was forced to "earn her plug" by bowling with Jay so that he would mention her upcoming HBO special. She tried to play the race card to get out of it, but it didn't work.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Wanda Sykes: Obama Inspired Me To Do Talk Show

2009-08-07T08:56:15Z

PASADENA, Calif. — Wanda Sykes says she wasn't interested in hosting a late night talk show until Barack Obama decided to run for president.

Executives at Fox had been courting Sykes, but she just wanted to do standup comedy, her movie gigs and her role on CBS' "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Joan E. Dowlin: Cheney's Support Of Gay Marriage: A Seismic Shift

2009-06-10T12:10:38Z

I watched the interview on June 3, 2009 of Former Vice President Dick Cheney along with his daughter, Liz, on On The Record With Greta Van Susteren and I knew what he was going to say before he said it. I knew his positions and criticism of President Obama on foreign policy, water boarding, keeping the country safe etc. etc. Blah, blah, blah I thought.

Then Greta asked two very interesting questions: What do you admire about Obama and where do you stand on gay marriage? To the first he said he thought he ran an impressive campaign. What a relief to hear him say something nice about the President! To the second when pressed by Greta asking "how would you vote on it?" he shocked me with his response. He said he was for equality for everyone and that his daughter, Mary, is in a very commendable relationship with somebody she's known for a long time and he is strongly supportive of that.

I was floored! It's the first time I have seen Dick Cheney as a caring human being. I was seeing a different side of him: a softer, gentler side. It reminded me of the time I came out as a lesbian to my then 85 year old great aunt. We had been close yet I knew she was anti-gay from our conversations. For years I bit my tongue. Finally, one day at the kitchen table I told her I was gay. She was surprised but still loved and accepted me. In fact, we became closer because I was no longer hiding anything from her.

These are both examples of "love conquering all." Personal experience trumps political punditry every time. When I came out of the closet in 1980 in California, a gay friend wore a button that read "We Are Everywhere." That has never been more true than today. We gays are born to conservative and liberal families. We are from all races, ethnic groups, religions, and creeds. We are doctors, nurses, lawyers, politicians, police officers, artists, musicians, actors, athletes, writers, and soldiers as well as hairdressers and fashion designers. And we are not going away nor will we be "straightened out."

The media on the left and the right seem to have given Cheney's revelation little press. My only guess is that the left prefer Cheney to have a "scary" image (as Wanda Sykes expressed in her speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in May. Being an out lesbian, I wonder what Ms. Sykes thinks of Mr. Cheney's views on gay marriage. Talk about strange bedfellows!) The right leaning press (Fox News and talk radio) as far as I can tell have pretty much ignored the subject. They may still be in shock or they don't want this to invalidate the former VP's attacks on President Obama.

I believe Mr. Cheney's comments are a seismic shift in the struggle for gay equality. A former Vice President who is emerging as the primary voice in the GOP, a party dependent on the support of right wing Christians, has said he is for gay marriage. It gives me hope. If he can see that being gay is not a sin, maybe others will follow suit.

The day is coming: not just when gay marriage will be accepted by the nation, but a day when being gay will be considered a blessing, not a curse.

THE 12 SEXIEST COMICS IN AMERICA (SLIDESHOW)

2009-05-28T16:22:15Z

This week we asked you who the sexiest comics were on the scene, mostly because we have a thing for funny people. We chose 15 men and 15 women and after days of voting we found that our readers love the women of "SNL" and the men of the "Daily Show." Who knew? Of the top six women, four were cast members of "Saturday Night Live" at some point. Of the top six men, four are currently on the "Daily Show" and another (Colbert) started out there.

In all fairness, there are some people that should've been on these lists in the first place but we ran out of room/forgot to include them: Mindy Kaling, Wanda Sykes, Janeane Garofalo, Jason Jones, Craig Ferguson, David Letterman, we are truly sorry and think you're all seriously sexy. Also, Sherri Shepherd and Zach Galifianakis, you are amazing, don't let your last place finishes tell you anything except that there are some jealous haters out there.

Here are our top 12 reader picks...

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Wanda Sykes Mocks Media's Michelle Coverage: 'They're Waiting For Weezy' (VIDEO)

2009-05-28T08:25:26Z

Wanda Sykes made fun of the media skirting the race issue when talking about Michelle Obama during an appearance on Leno Wednesday night.

"She is just so sweet," Sykes said of meeting the First Lady, "Both of them are just very genuine."

But Sykes says the media didn't know how to cover her.

"There are little subtle ways they dance around the race issue," Sykes told Leno. "'When are we going to see the real Michelle Obama?' And you know what they're saying... They're waiting for her to throw all his stuff on the White House lawn... They're waiting for Weezy to jump out."

Sykes headlined the White House Correspondents dinner in May and drew fire for jokes she made at Rush Limbaugh's expense.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Elizabeth Gregory: Gay Moms Doing Well, In Spite of Prop 8

2009-05-26T12:17:40Z

<

Recently Wanda Sykes (47) and her wife Alex (wed in California, October 2008) joined the growing ranks of gay parents, as these first-time moms celebrated the birth of twins. Sykes has described herself "proud to be a woman, proud to be a black woman and proud to be gay" -- and now she can be proud to be a gay black mom as well.

Though today's California Supreme Court decision qualifies her status as a gay black married mom -- by affirming it for those like her who are already married but by denying the same option to others -- the likelihood is great that that qualification will be undone in the not-so-distant future. The tide has turned, and the flood of images and stories of loving gay families like Wanda's have already begun to redefine her status as part of the status quo.

Firm stats on the number of gay families aren't available -- one recent study put the number of gay parents at between 2 and 8 million -- but clearly they're on the rise, with or without the marriage option. For lack of a better category, the CDC counts births to partnered gay women in the births to "single" moms (39.5% of births in 2007).

While gay women have been parents for ages, in the past they were generally the parents of kids from hetero unions entered before the mom came out. An out gay woman didn't often think of herself as a potential mom until recently, for several reasons:

•because it just didn't seem like an option physically
•because "mom" often wasn't the image many gay women had of themselves
•and because the world was not very receptive to gay families.

But that's changing fast. With the growing openness about gay relationships and the availability of sperm donation and adoption, lesbians can now explore family options as never before. And gay moms are doing fine, at least in part because, like Sykes, many of them start their families later in life. This turns out to be a good thing.

My study of later moms found that delay of kids allows women of all orientations and backgrounds to finish their educations, to mature and settle into relationships more likely to last for the long term, and to establish themselves at work (whether in the limelight or in a cubicle) -- leading to higher lifetime salaries and to more flexible schedules (essential to care-giving parents) than are available to women who start earlier, in our very family unfriendly work environments.

Gay women face the same pressures to establish themselves at work before starting a family as other women. As with their hetero peers, starting later means gay women have established themselves as individuals, with the kind of personal authority that allows them to be clear on what they want for themselves and can make them conﬁdent advocates for their kids.

In addition, the gay couples I interviewed pointed out that it takes time to figure out who you are and to go through the coming out process, which makes it even more likely that gay moms will come to motherhood later. In the coming years, as society becomes more welcoming to gay people, that process may move faster.

As with hetero women, delay may also lead later gay moms to infertility -- especially women who seek to start biological families after 40 (this does not apply to the "other mothers" whose partners do the bearing and who in states that don't allow gay marriage often become legal parents through adoption). But the steady rise in the birthrate to moms 35 to 45 over the past three decades and more has continued its rise in the latest data, and many women form families later through adoption and egg donation.

Out gay women become moms for many of the same reasons as straight women, but accident is not one of them. These highly intentional moms are changing our understanding of what family can mean, and their successes inspire more change. In turn, the move toward expanding the availability of marriage to gay couples nationally will secure these families a fairer chance at their own pursuit of the happiness our Declaration of Independence calls an inalienable right.

B. Jeffrey Madoff: Octomom Twitters While Giving Birth to Global Pandemic

2009-05-18T08:24:00Z

The Octomom gave birth to a Ponzi scheme causing an international pandemic of a proportion not seen since the implants of Miss California whose talent for singing surprised even the most jaded American Idol audience members as they twittered accusing Wanda Sykes of crossing the line finding John and Elizabeth Edwards on the other side while Dick Cheney was on the dark side using tortured logic to justify the logic of torture. Meanwhile, the very existence of newspapers is threatened by the lack of what used to be paid -- attention. Attention equals time and time equals money in the media world.

Newspapers are not faring well, many closing or on the brink of closing. They are inexpensive, deliver a lot of value for the cost, great variety of topics, highly portable, foldable, recyclable and require no batteries or any other power. Newspapers also have reporters, researchers and spend time on stories that no one else does -- important stories that have local, national and global importance.

The Pulitzer Prizes for journalism were announced on April 20th, here are a few of the winners:

Investigative Journalism: David Barstow of The New York Times for his reporting that revealed how some retired generals, working as radio and television analysts, were co-opted by the Pentagon to make its case for the war in Iraq. Many of them also had undisclosed ties to companies that profited from policies they defended.

Public Service: Alexandra Berzon of The Las Vegas Sun for reporting on the high death rate among construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip due to lax enforcement of regulations. Her reports led to changes in policy and improved safety conditions, ultimately saving lives.

National Reporting: St. Petersburg Times Staff for "PolitiFact," its fact-checking initiative during the 2008 presidential campaign where reporters examined more than 750 political claims, separating rhetoric from truth to inform voters.

International Reporting: The New York Times Staff for its intensive coverage of America's deepening military and political challenges in Afghanistan and Pakistan, reporting frequently conducted in dangerous conditions.

In December of 2008, The Pulitzer Prizes were broadened to allow eligibility to online-only news sources in all 14 journalism categories. There were 65 entries, no winners. I'm not suggesting that won't change, but I am suggesting that there is no replacement in sight for the very important work that is done by newspapers across the country.

It's not just the newspapers. News itself is having a rough time. The network television newscasts have steadily been losing viewers, the numbers have been declining every year since 1997, down over 54%. Locally and nationally, television news crews have been steadily cutting back on both personnel and coverage. The net result on television is less news gathering, because that is expensive and more pundits, interviews and celebrities, because that is not expensive. We may be entertained, but we are not informed.

Newspapers and reporters have to make money, but no one has yet figured out how to make money from news articles on the internet.

Music was the first major industry in recent history that was forced to totally rethink its financial model and delivery methods as a result of new technology. It has happened before; cylinders gave way to platters, platters to vinyl, vinyl to cds, cds to digital downloads. What they all have in common is that each is a delivery medium -- it gets the music to us. The internet is just another medium of delivery. Think about how people got the music they wanted. In 2008, the iTunes Store passed Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer in the U.S.

However, despite the rapid growth of downloading music online, CDs are still the most popular format, selling 361 million in 2008, down about 20 percent from 2007. Almost 84 percent of all album purchases were CDs.

The online music business is moving from a model based only on sales to one of monetizing access to music. Access services could prove to be the most important current development in the business. While the specifics may differ, the primary idea is offering consumers access to music, either bundled with other services or as an additional subscription. HBO does this with its movie, original and on-demand content.

Newspapers could adopt the same model online, sell "singles", articles, or purchase the "album". The principle idea is paying for access. Does something like Amazon's Kindle have the potential to be the Ipod for print? Maybe, but like CDs, there will always be a market for physical newspapers.

The idea that all content has been free and therefore should be free is naive. Providing something free and then selling it has been going on since the birth of marketing. People now pay for picking airline seats and in-flight food, baggage check-in, bank checking, telephone directory service, cable television -- you get the idea.

It's important to create a viable financial model for online news delivery so journalists who research and report the real stories, stories that impact our lives, can continue their work and be compensated for it. Their reporting forms the foundation of our free press. What gets our attention and drives the demand for all forms of media is content. Stories like Octomom, Miss California's opinions and implants, Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, the Edwards family problems, will always be around. Those stories catch what is so hard to capture, people's attention -- so do loud noises -- but when the noise goes away, we need reporting that engages, provokes and informs us -- not just entertains.

Wanda Sykes And Wife Alex Welcome Twins

2009-05-13T23:51:28Z

Wanda Sykes and her wife, Alex, welcomed twins on April 27, her rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Daughter Olivia Lou weighed in at 6 lbs., 7 oz., and was 19-inches long. Son Lucas Claude debuted at 7 lbs., 9 oz., and was 20-inches long. The comedian's wife gave birth to the babies.

Ted Johnson, Maegan Carberry, Teresa Valdez Klein: Outrage : Outing Politicians Cinematically, Joking About 9/11, and Torture in Star Trek

2009-05-13T14:41:37Z

This week, Ted, Teresa, and Maegan talk the ethics of outing closeted lawmakers. Last week, the movie Outrage opened, a new documentary by the compelling filmmaker Kirby Dick, who's previously confronted the MPAA's rating system and the Catholic Church's abuse scandal. This time he's going after Congressmen, Senators, and other elected officials, most of them Republicans, who have held anti-gay positions in public while hiding their own homosexuality in private. Kirby names names in the film, which many news outlets have refused to do in reviewing the film. We have an exclusive short interview on today's show with Dick, as he talks about the news coverage and calls out these lawmakers as hypocrites. But the film raises thorny ethical issues. A person's sexuality is intensely personal; what right is it of Kirby's to expose these people? After all, it's not against the law to be a hypocrite.

Moving on to lighter subjects, the White House Correspondents Dinner held its own fair share of laughs and even a few groan-worthy moments. But most people agree President Obama knocked it out of the park, right? He was hilarious, certainly, but should the President of the Free World be making so many mean-spirited remarks? Obama's acid tongue has more than a few similarities to a past presidential jokester: President George W. Bush. And what about the Wanda Sykes roast? She had a few choice lines, and the biggest one - calling Rush Limbaugh a terrorist and accusing him of being the 20th hijacker - is getting some nasty responses from the beltway. Was she out of bounds? Can a joke about 9/11 be funny, even if it's tasteless?

Finally, we talk the new Star Trek movie. Our resident trekkie, Teresa, calls out the moviemakers for their portrayal of torture: they show it without dealing with any of the issues surrounding it. Can a summer blockbuster like this preserve the brainy thought-provoking aspects of the Star Trek franchise while still corralling a new audience? And what's with all the mocking of trekkies by the movie's stars, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, on SNL? You do know that trekkies pay your bills, right? All this on today's Wilshire & Washington!

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player:

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

GOP Doubles Down On Rush (VIDEO)

2009-05-12T11:40:37Z

As you have no doubt heard, Dick Cheney made an appearance on this past Sunday's Face The Nation, at which time the former vice president threw General Colin Powell under the proverbial bus, asserting talk-radio entertainer Rush Limbaugh is a more authentic voice of the GOP. And, lo: CONTROVERSY! I mean, I'd hardly want to trade Powell's decorated career for Limbaugh's pilonidal cyst, but how was Cheney supposed to answer that? "Oh, yes, Bob! The guy who made a big showy affair of endorsing Barack Obama in the last election? He's the heart of our party!"

Media Matters for America would remind you that once again, a GOP figure has publicly asserted the primacy of Rush Limbaugh in GOP leadership terms. And maybe that really is the state of things! What are the alternatives? Weird and incompetent Michael Steele? That group of guys who went out for pizza together? Meghan McCain?

[WATCH.]

One interesting pull from this video comes at about 0:35, where Limbaugh jokes, "They don't need a second act, Obama is the second terrorist act." I must confess that I had forgotten about this line! And while there's still no excuse for her "kidney failure" joke, it can be fairly stated that Limbaugh himself opened the door for Wanda Sykes' "20th hijacker" joke, which has also been somewhat controversial since the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

RELATED:
Going With Rush [Media Matters]

PREVIOUSLY, on the HUFFINGTON POST:
Cheney Swipes Powell, Says He'd Rather Have Limbaugh In GOP (VIDEO)

UPDATE:
So, it would seem that Media Matters has made note of this, as well.

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

"Daily Show" Mocks Talking Heads For Defending Torture While Decrying Wanda Sykes (VIDEO)

2009-05-12T07:48:59Z

Two days after Wanda Sykes appeared at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and joked that Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker on 9/11 but missed the plane because he was so strung out on Oxycontin, all hell has broken loose with commentators and politicians alike chiming in on why they hated what Wanda said. Frankly, if you took all the offensive things Rush Limbaugh has said over the years and compared them to all the offensive things Wanda Sykes has said, I'm guessing the former would have a much longer list.

Stewart looked at the reactions to Sykes' performance last night and determined that "bad jokes and gay marriage are destroying this country, but torture can save it." John Oliver followed up with a similarly-themed segment, using the language of torture defenders to defend Sykes.

WATCH:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

M - Th 11p / 10c

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Economic Crisis

Political Humor

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

M - Th 11p / 10c

Wanda Sykes' Jokes

thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Economic Crisis

Political Humor

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Diane Tucker: You Won't Believe What Martin Eisenstadt Said At The White House Correspondents Dinner

2009-05-12T00:18:46Z

TIME.com followed several members of the "elite Twitterati" as they attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton on Saturday. They followed the tweets of Meghan McCain, Newt Gingrich, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, and -- to my astonishment -- John McCain's presidential campaign advisor Marty Eisenstadt.

Marty Eisenstadt, former McCain camp adviser (4 p.m.)
Ran into Val Kilmer, still on couch at Haddad's house. We're splitting cab to #nerdprom when he stands up. Could be a while.

Marty Eisenstadt (6:50 p.m.)
@carr2n We gave Kilmer smelling salts this PM. He should be OK for dinner. Hope I get vomit stains off tux. #nerdprom

Marty Eisenstadt (7:05 p.m.)
@rachelsklar #nerdprom. Three teenagers died because of this "Captain" and his reckless behavior. Will ask him how that makes him feel.

Marty Eisenstadt (10 p.m.)
#nerdprom Todd Palin just gave me unsolicited back rub. I think he's drunk. Beer in Alaska must be lower %. And where exactly is Sarah?

Wait....isn't Martin Eisenstadt the fictitious and satirical character created by Dan Mirvish and Eitan Gorlin, two California filmmakers who have been having lots of laughs demonstrating how woefully gullible the mainstream media is?

If you're keeping score: MSNBC, the LA Times, and the New Republic got suckered into the hoax last fall when "Eisenstadt" took credit for spilling the beans that Sarah Palin didn't know Africa is a continent. MSNBC apologized on air for their sloppy reporting. Now it's TIME magazine's turn to wipe the egg off its interface.

An easy mistake? It could happen to anyone? No, not really. All a reporter has to do is Google "Martin Eisenstadt" to find the New York Times tell-all on the elaborate high jinks. It's the third entry on the first page. The first page!

I'm being a party-pooper? You're right, journalism is a lot more fun when facts don't matter, so I phoned Marty Eisenstadt for the ultimate insider's peek at the hullabaloo known around Washington D.C. as nerd prom --

Marty, you're not a White House reporter. How did you snag an invitation to the Correspondents Dinner?

Martin Eisenstadt: My good friends at FoxNews invited me. I'm a valuable source to them, and they rewarded me with a seat at their table. Next to Todd Palin no less.

You and I worked together several months ago on an investigative story. Frankly, I think you're too cool to attend an event nicknamed nerd prom. Why'd you go?

For me it was work. As a pundit in this town, sometimes it's more important to be seen than to be heard.

I saw a photo of you at the event. It looks like you couldn't get a date, much less a tuxedo.

My assistant, Danny, neglected to tell me the Correspondents' Dinner was black tie. Yes, a little embarrassing, but no more than losing my date, pundit Marnie Vander Helsing in the melee. I last spotted her leaving the after-party with Val Kilmer.

How do you know Kilmer?

Val Kilmer is thinking about running for governor of New Mexico. He's retained me as a campaign consultant. As New Mexico has both Indian casinos and military bases, my experience lobbying for Casinos in the Green Zone will come in handy.

TIME.com says you're one of the elite Twitterati.

They listed me as the #8 fleeting celebrity of last year, so it's only natural that they'd refer to me as one of the elite Twitterati.

What did you think of Pres. Obama's speech? I heard it was pretty funny.

Regrettably I left the ballroom for a second, and the Secret Service wouldn't let me back in. Fortunately, the bar was still open and I had a chance to bum some khat from the Captain who got those three Somali teenagers killed.

Do you think Wanda Sykes wrote Obama's speech?

Who's Wanda Sykes?

You tweeted "Wolf is definitely Blitzered." Was Howie Kurtz also at the party?

I have nothing but good things to say about Wolf Blitzer. In fact, I tweeted from the CNN seder on the second night of Passover just last month. Still a little bitter that Howie had those two charlatans, Mirvish and Gorlin, on his show claiming to be me. But Howie and I go way back and I'll always love the guy.

Public opinion of the mainstream media is at an all-time low. How do you respond?

As a proud member of the mainstream media, I don't think we should look too closely at the polls. And whether the public loves us or hates us, we just need to make sure they keep watching us and buying our books. For example, my book, My Name is Martin Eisenstadt, One's Man's Adventures with the Last Republicans comes out on October 12.

Does it offend you that certain people -- me, William K. Wolfrum, The New York Times -- say you don't exist?

Even Facebook says I don't exist. But I Twitter therefore I am.

Christopher Hitchens Rips Wanda Sykes: "The Black Dyke Got It Wrong"

2009-05-11T17:40:06Z

Buried at the end of Chris Rovzar and Jada Yuan's fantastic White House Correspondents' Association Dinner party report is an incendiary quote from Christopher Hitchens about the evening's entertainment, comedienne Wanda Sykes:

"The president should be squirming in his seat. Not smiling," he said. "The black dyke got it wrong. No one told her the rules."

Rovzar and Yuan note that Hitchens was the "last man (barely) standing" of the evening.

WATCH SYKES' FULL PERFORMANCE HERE.

Other highlights of the always amusing NYMag writers' report include an in-Jada's-face interaction with Tom Cruise, a shoe-less Meghan McCain, an allergy-stricken Elizabeth Banks, and several anecdotes on "Gossip Girl" cast members.

Read their full report here.

Andrea Chalupa: The Upside: Cost Cut Your Haircut

2009-05-11T16:58:57Z

I have a Frederic Fekkai habit. It wasn't always like this. I used to get my hair done by a friend, for next to nothing. We'd sit in her apartment, drinking cucumber enhanced martinis -- zentinis -- and swap stories . It was fun until she gave me tiny black highlights that looked like bug antennas. That's when I rushed to what I always heard from my mother, who grew up on the Lower East Side, was the Holy Grail for hair: Frederic Fekkai. (She'd never been there, but always talked of it like it was some Golden Hollywood movie). Oy vey! It was like when Sid met Nancy! Fekkai is fantastic, reliable, they pamper you like you're Mrs. Dick Fuld, but it's a death blow to my budget.

There is a way to get a great haircut for super cheap or next to nothing. The first way, which I haven't tried yet, but seems extremely promising, is to be a model at the Toni & Guy Academy. On Friday, I asked this striking blond who wandered into a bar full of French people dressed in '80s jazzercise getups, where she got her smart, chic, just-below-the-shoulder cut. She gets it all done for free, the highlights, the cut, at Toni & Guy, as a hair model. If I wasn't so emotionally involved with my colorist, I might try it.

UPDATE: To be a hair model at Toni & Guy, you've got to attend an open "casting call." The location on Madison Avenue in New York has them every Friday. And you have to be open to getting your hair styled--something modern and edgy--not just trimmed, but you can request a certain kind of look out of their catalog. Models get their hair done for free and Toni & Guy's salon prices are just a little cheaper than Fekkai. If you're like me and your last luxury left standing is the salon, save up money for the trip by refreshing your wardrobe for free through clothing swaps in place of shopping for new clothes, swear off Starbucks and get your coffee at home, and, hopefully if your hair can handle it, try going three months between cuts/colors. (The farthest I've stretched it, in recent years, is 3.5 months. You can especially get away with the root/shaggy look now because its beach-going season).

Now, another option is cutting your hair yourself. If you've got the steady surgeon hands of Sanjay Gupta, the eye for style like Valerie Jarrett, and cojones of steel like Wanda Sykes, this could be a good option. Marc Acito, for WalletPop, spoke with a couple of professional stylists about the best ways for men and women to cut their hair at home. Marc, an acclaimed novelist living in Portland, Oregon and regular NPR commentator, will be writing The Upside for Walletpop and looking for the silver lining in how we're living now. He thought hair was a good one because, if you can cut it yourself, that's quite an accomplishment and money saver. To read Marc's self-grooming tips, check out Walletpop. Happy shearing!

White House On Sykes-Limbaugh: 9/11 Jokes Cross The Line (VIDEO)

2009-05-11T14:23:20Z

Two days after comedian Wanda Sykes quipped during the White House Correspondents Association dinner that Rush Limbaugh was likely the 20th hijacker on 9/11 (only he was so strung out on Oxycontin he missed the plane), the White House publicly distanced itself from the remarks.

"There are a lot of topics that are better left for serious reflection rather than comedy," said spokesman Robert Gibbs. "I don't think there is any doubt that 9/11 is one of them."

Watch:

This next-day backtrack is fast becoming a standard of the White House correspondents dinner ritual (helped along, of course, by reporters eager to stir up some controversy).

Before her performance on Saturday, Sykes told "Extra's" AJ Calloway that she had been warned to keep it clean.

"They told me not to say the F word or the N word," she said. "I'm offended they even told me that. What do they think? I'm some ignorant a**. Like I'm going to go in there, 'What's up n*****. Like what the f*** they think I'm going to do?"

It's worth noting just how tawdry and offensive some of these dinners were in the past. A reader sends over a Washington Post write -up of Nixon's March 14, 1970, Gridiron dinner, in which racial sensitivities were left decidedly at the door.

"Things got no better at the Gridiron that night. Absolutely determined that a good time would be had by all, and equally determined to bring down the house, Richard Nixon appeared as the final act. The curtain pulled back to reveal the president and Vice President Spiro Agnew seated at two modest black pianos (Dwight Chapin at the White House had requested grand pianos or at least baby grands but the Statler Hilton could only manage uprights). This was the first time a chief executive had appeared on the Gridiron stage, and Nixon opened by asking: "What about this 'southern strategy' we hear so often?" "Yes suh, Mr. President," Agnew replied, "Ah agree with you completely on yoah southern strategy." The dialect, as Roger Wilkins observed, got the biggest boffo.

After more banter with the "darky" Agnew, Nixon opened the piano duet with Franklin Roosevelt's favorite song ("Home on the Range"), then Harry Truman's ("Missouri Waltz"), then Lyndon Johnson's ("The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You"). Agnew, drowned him out a few bars into each with a manic Dixie on his piano, and the Gridiron crew got louder and louder. "The crowd ate" it up," Wilkins observed. "They roared." Nixon ended with his own favorite songs, "God Bless America" and "Auld Lang Syne," and here Agnew played it straight."

Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!

Obama, Sykes, Limbaugh Slated To Be Today's Media Obsession

2009-05-11T09:50:48Z

UPDATE: White House weighs in on Sykes-Limbaugh: 9/11 jokes aren't funny.

* * * *

It's a fact of life that sometimes, events unfold in such a way that you can smell a White House Press Corps obsession coming from a mile away. And while this Sunday's morning chat made me feel like a whole lot of new attention should be given to our regional partners in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region, I can tell you for certain that today's press cycle shall be given over to the subject of laughter.

Specifically, the topic of Wanda Sykes, and the laughter of President Barack Obama at this weekend's White House Press Correspondents' Dinner, and specifically a joke, made at Rush "I Hope He Fails" Limbaugh's expense. "I hope his kidneys fail." (You can watch her full speech HERE.)

Oh, and the joke? I don't much go in for humor based in ultra-personal, real-life death fantasies, and renal failure, on top of that, has always struck me as a particularly sad way to die. Jokes about it, and this one in particular, approach the same level of unfunniness as say, jokes about armed forces members gunning down Congressional leaders. (By the way, go out and make note of all those David Feherty defenders who've suddenly discovered outrage this morning. I bet you they are out there.)

This whole incident drew the hot-blooded attention of Matt Drudge, and sure enough, we wake up today in a world where this terrible crisis is about to bloom with a perilous intensity.

From "The Fix," today:

The question percolating in Washington as a new week starts is whether comedian Wanda Sykes's shots at conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh at the White House Correspondents Dinner were the former, the latter or somewhere in between.

[...]

"Maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker but he was so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight. . . . I hope his kidneys fail."

"Too much?" Sykes asked, when the lines drew a mixture of laughter and boos.

That was the question debated throughout Washington on Sunday -- whether Sykes had crossed an imaginary line with her attacks on Limbaugh, turning a fun night into a harder-edged partisan affair.

And on the Today show, David Gregory and Meredith Vieira have already taken up the issue:

[WATCH]

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

You can expect the White House Press Corps to pepper Robert Gibbs with questions today about how could Obama have laughed at something so terrible. Obviously, it would be unwise and impolitic of Robert Gibbs to reply this way, but one almost wishes he would respond by saying, "It was your party. And all of you laughed, too."

[WATCH]

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

Gordon Marino: Wanda Sykes Punctures Cheney's Argument for Waterboarding

2009-05-10T13:47:38Z

It is a truism to claim that profundities often lurk in good humor. Wanda Sykes performance last night at the White House Correspondents dinner was a prime example of the truth wrapped in a joke.

Midway through her routine. Ms Sykes started railing against the very idea that anyone could defend the use of torture. "Torture" she bellowed a few times shaking her head and laughing ironically. After a pause, she turned her shotgun wit on the quail hunter- Dick Cheney.

Cheney, rehearsed Sykes, wants the reports open that show that we were able to drown useful information out of terrorists by waterboarding them! That, quipped Sykes with a beaming smile and her arms outstretched, would be like getting caught robbing a bank and going before the judge saying "Yeah I robbed the bank but look at all the bills I paid!" Bulls eye Wanda!

On an individual level crisis is no excuse for suspending adherence to the law. People who lose their jobs are not given a pass for acts of thefts because they are looking after the interests of their family.

Suppose the economy got so bad that health clinics were closing in my community. I could not pull a heist at the local gambling casino, use the funds for the clinic, and expect the courts to wink at my burglary because it promoted the general welfare.

We cannot, as individual or nations, unilaterally decide that some special circumstance makes breaking the law acceptable. If anything, the law is there as a guidewire in difficult times. It is easy enough for people to treat one another well when they are passengers on a cruise. When times get tough, people of character do not send their laws up the chimney.

The argument that we should accept the use of torture because it enhances our security, suggests that rather than being the home of the brave, the United States is home to a people who will break international law and cash in their sacred principles whenever they feel seriously threatened. Cheney's utilitarian defense of torture is an insult to the people he once represented.

White House Correspondents' Dinner: PHOTOS

2009-05-10T00:19:45Z

The White House Correspondents' Dinner was quite the star-studded event. Celebrities mingled with journalists and politicians as President Obama and Wanda Sykes gave speeches roasting the GOP, the press and the Obama administration. Check out the slideshow of notable names below.

Wanda Sykes Kills At White House Correspondents' Dinner (VIDEO)

2009-05-09T23:54:35Z

Wanda Sykes, the comedian featured at tonight's White House Correspondents' Dinner, took shots at Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and former VP candidate Sarah Palin. She speculated that Limbaugh was actually the 20th hijacker on 9/11, derided Hannity for not living up to his pledge to be waterboarded for the troops, and made a fabulous off-color joke about Sarah Palin pulling out at the last minute.

Sykes became the first African-American woman and the first openly gay person to ever perform jokes at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. In 1993, HuffPost's own Elayne Boosler became the first woman to do so, and in 2005 Cedric the Entertainer became the first African-American to do so.

Video of Sykes' full performance below.

WATCH:

HuffPost has complete coverage of the White House Correspondents Association dinner. Watch President Obama's speech and see a slideshow of celebs and politicos.

Full Video: Obama's White House Correspondents Dinner Speech

2009-05-09T22:51:47Z

More coverage of the White House Correspondents Association dinner: watch Wanda Sykes' speech and see a slideshow of celebs and politicos.

President Barack Obama mocked his own administration and gave playful digs at his critics and Republicans at a black-tie dinner Saturday night attended by a mix of politicians, celebrities and journalists.

Part 1:

Part 2:

The Republican Party was a favorite target for Obama, speaking at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney couldn't make the dinner, Obama joked, because he was writing his memoir, "How to shoot friends and interrogate people." It was a reference to Cheney's support of harsh interrogation and his accidental shooting of a hunting companion

The president directly addressed Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who was in the audience.

"Michael for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I'm sorry," said Obama, referring to recent economic steps of the White House and the radio personality's public criticism of the GOP party leader.

But Obama targeted his own miscues as well.

"No president in history has ever named three commerce secretaries this quickly," Obama said. The president's two top choices for the position dropped out.

He playfully ribbed his frequent use of a teleprompter and Vice President Joe Biden's knack for speaking off the cuff. And about the Democratic Party, he said his administration has helped in "bringing in fresh, young faces -- like Arlen Specter." The 79-year-old Pennsylvania senator, a former Republican, switched parties last month.

Obama noted that he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had been political rivals, but he assured the audience "these days, we could not be closer."

"In fact the second she got back from Mexico, she pulled me into a hug," the president said, playing off the threat of a spreading swine flu virus that has targeted Mexico the most.

Obama also turned serious and talked of the financially struggling media industry, praising journalists for holding government officials accountable. "A government without newspapers, a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts is not an option for the United States of America," he said.

The president wasn't the only one to tell jokes.

Tart-tongued comic Wanda Sykes, the dinner's entertainer, poked fun at Obama giving the Queen of England an iPhone during a recent visit. "What are you going to give the Pope, a Bluetooth," asked Sykes. And she questioned first lady Michelle Obama having patted the queen on the back "like she just slid into home plate -- way to go, queen!"

The $200-per-ticket dinner attracted plenty of VIPs from outside the Beltway.

Among those attending were Eva Longoria Parker, Ashton Kutcher, Christian Slater, Natalie Portman, Sting, Mariska Hargitay, Steven Spielberg and Jon Bon Jovi. Also there was Richard Phillips, who was held hostage by Somali pirates after his cargo ship was attacked.

Proceeds from the dinner will help feed the hungry and fund journalism scholarships. The association will donate more than $23,000 to the charity So Others Might Eat, including money raised by skipping formal dessert for guests.

Those honored at the dinner are several journalists:

-Sandra Sobieraj Westfall of People magazine and David Greene of National Public Radio, the Merriman Smith Award for presidential coverage under deadline pressure. Westfall won for her election night reporting. Greene won for digging into candidate Obama's speech that addressed the country's racial divide.

-Michael Abramowitz, formerly of The Washington Post, the Aldo Beckman award for his coverage of the final days of the Bush administration.

-Michael J. Berens and Ken Armstrong of the Seattle Times, the Edgar A. Poe Award for excellence in coverage of news of national or regional significance, for a series exposing the failure of Washington state hospitals and others to handle the rise of the MRSA staph infection.

The White House Correspondents Association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner.
Watch the whole speech below:

Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!

White House Correspondents' Dinner: Wanda Sykes Knocks Sarah Palin Over Abstinence

2009-05-09T22:47:47Z

More coverage of the White House Correspondents Association dinner: watch complete speeches by President Obama and Wanda Sykes, and see a slideshow of celebs and politicos.

Wanda Sykes, the featured entertainer at tonight's White House Correspondents' Dinner, aimed one of her dirtier jokes at Governor Sarah Palin. Sykes noted that Palin had been scheduled to appear but then pulled out at the last minute. Sykes then remarked: "Somebody should tell her that's not really how you practice abstinence."

WATCH
,center>

Related: WATCH: Obama Pokes Fun At Michael Steele And His Love Of Street Slang

Related: WATCH: Sykes Derides Sean Hannity For Not Honoring Pledge To Be Waterboarded, Also Takes Shot At Rush Limbaugh