Counterprogramming: Bette Chatting Up Martha

Hulaween is Bette Midler's idea of how to spend Halloween -- she's on Martha Stewart's show talking about that this morning as Wolf Blitzer's in The Situation Room on CNN releasing the Bush White House indictment news.

Martha and Bette are demonstrating her favorite new laundry appliance, her "mangler" and Martha's talking about how she mangles in the middle of the night when she can't sleep.

Bette rants how menopausal she is and can never sleep for that reason. Martha says she'd rather mangle. And tells Bette sleeping is highly overrated.

Bette disagrees seriously -- "I love sleep!"

Bush's government is getting mangled and the girls are dishing in Martha's kitchen.