Today's LBN E-Lert

OBAMA WANTS BUSINESS TAX BREAK: But can it pass muster in Congress? Obama has proposed a plan, to be detailed Wednesday, that would allow companies to write off 100 percent of their new investments in plants and equipment through 2011. Under the proposal, businesses could lower their taxable income for 2011 by however much they spend on almost any new investment other than real estate. White House economists say the plan would cut business taxes by almost $200 billion over two years, and a senior administration official said they expect about 1.5 million companies to take advantage of the proposal. Even conservative economists are praising the idea.

RECORD SPENDING IN ELECTION YEAR: One industry not feeling the sting of recession is politics: Despite a gloomy economy, campaigns are raising and spending more than ever. House and Senate candidates have raised almost $1.2 billion in this election cycle, on pace to smash levels set in 2008, 2006, and 2004. Governors’ races are also setting records, with California Republican Meg Whitman shelling out $104 million of her own cash. The spending splurge is largely due to a large number of competitive races as well as open seats, plus tough primary fights. Additionally, recent court rulings have allowed corporations to spend more freely in elections.

BEATING VIC RODNEY KING TO WED MULTI-MILLION $$$ JUROR: RODNEY KING, the victim of a 1991 beating by Los Angeles police that sparked race riots, is marrying one of the jurors who awarded him a multi-million dollar settlement. RadarOnline.com reports that King, 44, recently proposed to Cynthia Kelley – juror number five – who pushed to award King a $3.8 million payout in a civil case

LBN-BOOK NEWS:   ***Author Alana Stewart, whose book “My Journey with Farrah” was discussed a great deal in the media during the last year, will be the guest of honor at the LBN Dinner Club event tomorrow night Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Beverly Hills. To attend – Click Here

ONCE A DYNAMO, THE TECH SECTOR IS SLOW TO HIRE: For years the technology sector has been considered the most dynamic, promising and globally envied industry in the United States. It escaped the recession relatively unscathed, and profits this year have been soaring.  But as the nation struggles to put people back to work, even high-tech companies have been slow to hire, a sign of just how difficult it will be to address persistently high joblessness. While the labor report released last week showing August figures provided mildly positive news on private-sector hiring, the unemployment rate was 9.6 percent.

LBN-MEDIA INSIDER:   ***Parts of Manhattan’s Time Warner Center, which contains the media giant’s corporate headquarters, were temporarily closed off by police early Saturday afternoon due to a bomb scare that turned out to be unfounded. A suspicious package was found to contain no explosives.   ***ABC News president David Westin is resigning after almost 14 years in the position, saying it is time “to move on.” The news comes amid a conflict between Westin and network management, including ABC parent Disney, over the financial standing of the news division.   ***Howard Stern says he is “pretty sure” he will leave satellite radio, but his unique voice will live on in new media. Stern’s five-year, $500 million contract with Sirius XM ends at year’s end, and management is under the gun to provide details of whether or not he will re-up.   ***Peter Orszag, the first high-profile member of President Obama’s administration to leave the White House, will contribute a regular column for the New York Times. As White House budget director, Orszag helped craft the landmark health care overhaul that passed this year.   ***The New York Observer this week will unveil a new look inside and out. A new slogan aims to encapsulate editor Kyle Pope’s ambitions for the weekly pink tabloid’s narrative: “Money, Power and the City” will replace the less inspired “New York’s Weekly Newspaper.”    ***Janice Min’s arrival as boss at The Hollywood Reporter with an infusion of her people has left the trade’s previous staffers feeling shut out, Sharon Waxman says in her column at The Wrap.

LBN-SEE IT: Bette Midler—–She’s the wind beneath his paws! While promoting Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore this summer, the actress posed with the movie’s namesake star, the hairless cat she voices in the movie. “Here I am with the actor,” she Tweeted. (Photo courtesy of Bette Midler).

LBN-INVESIGATES: British officials denied Canada’s initial request to be designated a ‘kingdom’ because they feared it would anger the United States.

LBN-TODAY’S BIRTHDAY: Buddy Holly (1936) An early rock ‘n’ roll star, Holly began as a country-and-western singer and gradually added rhythm-and-blues elements to his innovative style. With his band, the Crickets, he established the standard rock instrumentation of two guitars, bass, and drums, and toured the US extensively for two years before his death in a plane crash. He became one of rock’s most enduring cult figures and much of his material was released posthumously. Celebrate more birthdays on the LBN Blog – Click Here

LBN-HEALTH WATCH:   ***Psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, could be good for cancer patients, as it may help ease the anxiety that comes with later stages of the disease, researchers have found. Patients who took a single moderate dose were measurably less depressed six months later than those who did not. Research conducted between the 1950s and early 1970s showed hallucinogens, including LSD, could help improve mood and anxiety, but the research was abandoned when LSD became popular on the streets, leading the federal government to strictly regulate it.   ***Migraines, severe headaches characterized by sharp pain often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and visual disturbances, affect more than 300 million people worldwide, including roughly 1 in 6 women and 1 in 12 men. For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic risk factor for common migraines. They analyzed genetic data from 50,000 people from Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands and found that those with a certain genetic variant affecting the regulation of the brain chemical glutamate have a greater risk of developing the debilitating headaches.

AUDIT FINDS SHARPTON’S NONPROFIT ON BRINK: An accounting firm hired by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network found the civil-rights group in such financial disarray that it flunked its record-keeping — and may not even survive. The scathing critique was spelled out in a hard-hitting internal audit of NAN’s books.

LBN-NOTICED:   ***Jon Bon Jovi knows how to rock a crowd and keep it under control at the same time. Saturday night at his East Hampton home, he invited 60 of his closest friends, including Jack Nicholson, for his annual end-of-summer bash including a live performance and fireworks. When the show kept raging after the local 11 p.m. sound curfew, police rolled up to shut down the stage — but the diplomatic rocker invited the officers in just to squeak out one last song.   ***When restauranteur Danny Meyer and his wife, Audrey, unexpectedly ducked into Litchfield’s West Street Grill last week for a cozy supper, managers asked the owner of Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park and the Shake Shack chain: “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?” Meyer replied, “We’re celebrating 25 years in business.” Audrey added, “Danny, in case you haven’t noticed: It’s also our 20th wedding anniversary tonight!” The restaurant brought out two cakes.   ***Marcia Cross carrying her daughter Eden on the way to the Circus Vargas in Culver City, CA.   ***Arriving back on the west coast, Salma Hayek spotted deplaning at LAX International Airport yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles, CA.   ***Satisfying her appetite for delicious eats, Lea Michele was spotted out to dinner in Los Angeles last night with her costars Chris Colfer and Jenna Ushkowitz at Izaka-ya for an enjoyable evening.   ***BE AN LBN-CORRESPONDENT — Send your celebrity sightings to: LBNElert@Timewire.net.

LBN-MUSIC INSIDER:   ***In one more reflection of the declining market for CDs, and specifically for back catalog product, another sweeping round of layoffs is planned at Warner Music Group’s Rhino Entertainment division this month, according to sources.

I, LBN: Loretta deLonga, an LBN E-Lert reader from Rome, Italy.

LBN-VIDEO LINK:  Idiot Actor Syndrome

FRENCH UNIONS GO ON STRIKE: French union workers walked out on the job on Tuesday over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. More than 200 demonstrations are scheduled throughout the country. Airlines will have to cut one-quarter of the flights at Paris’ airports and only two of the country’s five fast trains are running. A new retirement age of 62 would still be among the lowest in Europe. Germany recently raised its retirement age from 65 to 67.

This is an exclusive LBN E-Lert dinner that includes an appetizer, entrée, dessert, and a non- alcoholic beverage for only $37.00.

Click Here to reserve your seat.  Click here to learn more about Alana Stewart.

H-P SUING MARK HURD: H-P is suing former CEO Mark Hurd. The Associated Press says H-P is seeking to block Hurd from taking a job as co-president of Oracle. Hurd received a $40 million severance package when H-P fired him after it discovered dubious expense reports during an investigation into his personal relationship with a contractor (and former softcore porn star). His predecessor as co-president of Oracle stepped down after a woman he was having an affair with advertised their relationship on billboards and a website.

LBN-COMMENTARY By DAVID BROOKS: The betrayal of the age of excess has made us hungry for a new code reconciling material and spiritual longings. (Read more in the LBN Blog).

LBN-COMMENTARY By STEPHAN RANDALL (Editor, Playboy Magazine): I love my iPad, my Prius was one of my smarter purchases, I’d give up sugar before I’d give up Quicken, and chances are good I’ll be buried with my ever-present smartphone. But my smartphone isn’t always smart. When it comes to an effortless, nearly foolproof, reliable, high-quality device, I have a soft spot for my land line. The reason is simple: If I’m talking to you from my land line and you’re on your land line, I can actually hear you. bluetooth alone has done more to destroy civil discourse than cable news and talk radio put together.

LBN-COMMENTARY By PETER ORSZAG: Extend the Bush-era tax cuts until 2013 — and then get rid of them altogether.

LBN-COMMENTARY By HAMPTON SIDES: New Mexico shouldn’t dredge up its lawless past with a pardon for its most infamous outlaw, Billy the Kid.

LBN-COMMENTARY By DAVIS GUGGENHEIM (Film director and producer): Every family knows what matters most and wonders why we’ve forgotten this simple truth. Every teacher on every list for every school needs to be great. And we can’t stop until we get there.

LBN-COMMENTARY By CHUCK NORRIS:  Who would have believed that within a decade of 9/11, we’d have a president who believes, according to his own 2009 Cairo confession and creed, that it is part of his “responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear”?

LBN-COMMENTARY By DR. DEAN ORNISH (Medical Editor, The Huffington Post, Founder and President of Preventive Medicine Research Institute): This is the first study that examined mortality rates in those consuming an Atkins diet, and it confirms what I’ve been saying all along: an Atkins diet is not healthful and may shorten your lifespan.

LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW: Led Zeppelin

LBN-OVERHEARD:   ***Prince William will marry longtime love Kate Middleton next summer, according to reports. William once said that he wouldn’t wed “until I’m at least 28,” so naturally speculation spiked when he reached that age in June. One palace source says the royal wedding will take place around the second week in August, while German Prince Julius Eduard von Anhalt, one of William’s distant relatives, said the couple would announce their engagement in the fall and then marry in July. Next year is seen as perfect timing, as the ceremony wouldn’t interfere with the queen’s Diamond Jubilee or the 2012 Olympics in London.   ***Hulk Hogan rushed to ER, Tweets video update. On Labor Day, Hogan was admitted to the Morton Plant hospital near the grappling great’s home in Clearwater, Florida. Hogan was suffering excruciating pain from muscle spasms in his back. Keeping him calm while docs run additional tests is his girlfriend Jennifer McDaniel.   ***Former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater showed up in court this morning in NYC and will voluntarily admit himself into a mental health program for treatment, if the D.A. plea bargains his criminal case and agrees to a lesser sentence.

LBN-QUOTE:   “Dream your dreams with open eyes and make them come true.” – T. E. Lawrence.

LBN-HISTORY:   On September 7, 1813, the nickname “Uncle Sam” was first used as a symbolic reference to the United States. The reference appeared in an editorial in the New York’s Troy Post.