Foley

Re "Foley Saga No Shock to Some," Oct. 3 What I hope people remember as this story unfolds is the fact that Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) comes from the holier-than-thou Republican Party -- the "family values" people. I've already heard the spin: how this could happen to either side, and Foley is just a bad apple. But it's the Republicans, not the Democrats, who have set themselves up as the "moral" party, telling us all how we should behave. In light of this most recent incident, as well as the shameful alleged coverup by the GOP leadership and all the current corruption investigations and resignations, the only question is: How long will people continue to be duped by the Republican Party's hypocrisy?

Samuel L. Jacksonbrings a welcome world-weariness to his character in "The Samaritan," a man named Foley just released from prison after having served 25 years for killing his best friend in a con job gone wrong. But soon, Foley's found himself sucked back into a life on the grift, and Jackson launches into one of his many patented bellows and things take a turn for the predictable. (There's even an obvious twist lifted straight from a recent Asian crime film; to identify the movie would give it away.)

House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) expressed outrage Sunday over the Chinese government's attempt to deny that a mass slaughter of Chinese civilians took place at Tian An Men Square. Foley also condemned the death sentences given to eight people accused of attacking the Chinese army during the June 4 crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Beijing. "We are outraged as a country about the death sentences, about the suppression and about the enormous big lie that the Chinese government is attempting to tell about that story," Foley said on NBC's "Meet The Press."

Cardinal John P. Foley, a priest who rose from working-class roots in Philadelphia to become the Vatican's longtime spokesman on Roman Catholic social teachings, has died. He was 76. Foley was perhaps best known to American audiences as host for 25 years of NBC's annual broadcast of the pope's Christmas Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. He died Dec. 11 of leukemia at a home for retired priests in Darby, Pa., the town where he was born. Citing fatigue and declining health, he returned to Philadelphia in February after four years as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a knighthood based in Rome.

Re "Scandal Increases Republicans' Skid in Polls," Oct. 10 I am personally tired of and, more important, deeply suspicious of the relevance of recent polls purporting to demonstrate that the Foley scandal has crippled Republican congressional candidates and elevated Democrat prospects to near-certain victory, even control of the House and Senate. I give Americans credit for more logical thought than to attach the sexual peccadilloes of one member of Congress to the deduction that an entire related body is, ergo, corrupt and must at all costs be ousted.

From the wonderful people who based a presidential campaign on Willie Horton, we now have the snide, sneaky tactic of smearing Foley with a homosexual brush because he's a "liberal" (gasp!), just like admitted homosexual Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts. The underling in the Republican National Committee who dreamed up the dread memo (all by himself in the dead of night, of course) was fired by Atwater. Terrific! President Bush expressed disgust. Bravo! Now that we've reached the nadir of dirty politics, let's face it, folks--Atwater is Bush's boy and the President should fire him. LORRAINE SCHULBERG Beverly Hills

Re "Foley Case Shakes GOP," Oct. 4 The Times reported that "Republicans have been plunged into a wrenching debate about whether heads need to roll in order to convince voters that they are taking the case of former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) ... seriously." I was struck that nothing was said about any personal moral conflict or sense of guilt on the part of the Republicans who allowed such an atrocity to continue. The politicians' only concern was how this might affect their image as the defenders of morality, and consequently their standing with the voters.

"Avatar" was the big winner Saturday night at the Motion Picture Sound Editors' 57th annual Golden Reel Awards. The James Cameron blockbuster won for best sound editing music in a feature film and sound effects and foley in a feature. "Up" won sound effects, foley, dialogue, ADR and music in an animated feature film, and "District 9" earned the award for sound effects, foley, dialogue and ADI in a foreign feature film. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" won for best sound editing music in a musical feature film and "Inglourious Basterds" won for best sound editing: dialogue and ADR in a feature film.

Don Foley made his first AIDS Walk Los Angeles 25 years ago, when the annual event first started. And he hasn't missed a one. On Sunday, Foley, 79, joined 30,000 others who walked the 6.2-mile route through West Hollywood to raise money and awareness to fight AIDS. While some marchers hoisted signs high into the air and chanted, Foley, moving with the others along Melrose Avenue, reflected on how much has changed over the years. Decades ago, there "wasn't much to do those days except watch your friends die," Foley said.

Samuel L. Jacksonbrings a welcome world-weariness to his character in "The Samaritan," a man named Foley just released from prison after having served 25 years for killing his best friend in a con job gone wrong. But soon, Foley's found himself sucked back into a life on the grift, and Jackson launches into one of his many patented bellows and things take a turn for the predictable. (There's even an obvious twist lifted straight from a recent Asian crime film; to identify the movie would give it away.)

"Avatar" was the big winner Saturday night at the Motion Picture Sound Editors' 57th annual Golden Reel Awards. The James Cameron blockbuster won for best sound editing music in a feature film and sound effects and foley in a feature. "Up" won sound effects, foley, dialogue, ADR and music in an animated feature film, and "District 9" earned the award for sound effects, foley, dialogue and ADI in a foreign feature film. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" won for best sound editing music in a musical feature film and "Inglourious Basterds" won for best sound editing: dialogue and ADR in a feature film.

Don Foley made his first AIDS Walk Los Angeles 25 years ago, when the annual event first started. And he hasn't missed a one. On Sunday, Foley, 79, joined 30,000 others who walked the 6.2-mile route through West Hollywood to raise money and awareness to fight AIDS. While some marchers hoisted signs high into the air and chanted, Foley, moving with the others along Melrose Avenue, reflected on how much has changed over the years. Decades ago, there "wasn't much to do those days except watch your friends die," Foley said.

Yep, it's true. There's no shame in America, only a rehab industry. Mark Foley, the Florida Republican who left Congress in 2006 amid accusations he sent lurid e-mails to male House pages, is credited with helping to sour the electorate's view of the Grand Old Party in a year when Nancy Pelosi and the Dems swept into power. In the years since, he's been in real estate investment, contemplating a return to politics. On Tuesday, he made his debut as a radio talk show host.

"Inside the Mind of Mark Foley," hosted by Florida's disgraced ex-congressman, is set to begin airing on AM radio in north Palm Beach County next week. The Republican resigned from the House in 2006 amid allegations he sent sexually explicit computer messages to an underage page. His show will focus on current politics, WSVU-AM (960) station operations director Joe Raineri said. "We just thought, a former U.S. congressman who knows those guys who are there right now, understands the game of politics -- who better to shed some light on it than Mark Foley?"

1. Visualize Harry Dean Stanton. Head north out of Detroit on I-75 past 8 Mile Road and you get to Bloomfield Hills, the wealthy suburb where Elmore Leonard lives. Although he was born in New Orleans in 1925, the 83-year-old novelist grew up in Detroit and has lived in the area all his life. In several of his novels, Bloomfield Hills is the scene of home invasions, shootouts and kidnappings. Leonard writes at an oak table in an airy ground-floor sitting room.

John Foley figures he has pretty much maxed out on explaining to African American mothers why it's OK to call a black man the N-word -- as long as it's in a novel that is considered a classic. For years, English teachers have been explaining away the obvious racism in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

J. Michael Foley has been named vice president, investor relations, for Munson Properties Inc. in Fountain Valley. He will be responsible for raising money for the firm's limited partnerships and will handle investor communication. He will also be involved in the financing and refinancing of company-owned projects. Foley was previously vice president of marketing for Teachers Management & Investment Corp.

Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley won't face state or federal criminal charges for allegedly sending salacious computer messages to underage male pages, officials said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said that it couldn't prove the authenticity of the 2003 messages and that too much time had passed to bring charges. The Florida Republican resigned from Congress in 2006 after being confronted with illicit e-mails and instant messages he was purported to have sent to Capitol Hill pages.

The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Andrew Lycett Free Press: 576 pp., $30 -- Although it is nearly 150 years since his birth, Arthur Conan Doyle continues to fascinate readers. Author of a dizzying array of novels, short stories, articles, essays and nonfiction books, he was knighted in 1902 for his service to the crown in defending the British conduct during the Boer War.