Micehele Bachman for President!

Generally, I say, "God Bless the World", but this might be an instance where God Bless America is appropriate...But then, after George W. and the thought of a VP Palin, I guess this isn't all that crazy?!?

(One) Crazy GA Anti-Abortion Bill Doesn't Pass

Its appears that the anti-abortion bill pending in GA that would have allowed a wrongful death suit on behalf of an aborted fetus did not make it through on cross-over day, but...the actions of GA legislators to implement anti-women legislation won't be deterred...There appears to be other bills in the works.

Nicely Done Independent Film- "I Will Follow"

Just returned home after checking out  "I Will Follow", which was very nicely done...Interestingly, we (my partner and I) were supposed to go last weekend, but...well, laziness set in and we didn't make it.  Fortunately, the movie was still playing (its an independent flick and is in limited release...we had no idea that the engagement was only supposed to be 1 week...luckily for us, the run was extended!).  My general take on entertainment---whether its a movie, the theater, a concert, and/or even television, is that I enjoy seeing intelligent, thoughtful productions, irrespective of the race/ethnicity/sexuality of the cast/crew/performers.  At the same time, given the EXTREMELY limited depictions  in the media of the parts of who I am, there is something especially satisfying about seeing a well done production that features a non-white cast.  I don't think there is anything wrong with an audience that wants to see some form or aspect of itself projected on the stage or screen, especially given that those of who are not hetero whites see very few recognizable images...(one of the previews shown before the movie was a new Tyler Perry flick...I thought that I was going to be sick!  He absolutely has the right to do what he does and there seems to be an audience for it, but I can say without any reservations that I will NEVER be caught dead watching one of his movies...NEVER!).

In general, I recognize that mass entertainment typically caters to the lowest common denominator, and that's pretty frustrating...A large portion of the movies, television shows and even music that is released sounds and/or looks the same...For me personally, I am just not willing to part with my hard earned dollars for a bunch of thoughtless crap where I am expected to suspend my given common sense at the door...But, I guess that is my choice...

On another note...One woman in our row was engaged in a 2 minute phone call about 15 minutes into the movie and a guy in front of us decided that whatever was happening on facebook was as equally as important as what was happening on the screen, so he checked facebook through out the movie---which is annoying and inconsiderate to the rest of the patrons in the theater whose eyes are immediately drawn to the light from his cellphone...The same thing happened a few months ago when we went to see "Black Swan".  The woman who sat by me came in 15 minutes late and proceeded to check her email throughout the entire movie...I wish these inconsiderate assholes people would realize that they are infringing upon the rights of the rest of us---if the phone conversation or facebook or email or whatever is that important, step outside of the theater.  Is a modicum of consideration too much to ask!  That just drives me crazy!

News Coverage of Japan vs. Anticipated Coverage of the "British Royal" Wedding

I am just going to link to the story without my commentary on the British monarchy (my opinion is not favorable, but I am also not a British citizen)...Maybe this is one explanation of why Americans are so ignorant of foregin affairs...

Federal Cut Off Of Funds from NPR is Juvenile

I wouldn't even bother to label the actions of the House as crazy...its petty and purely retaliatory following the alleged "sting" video, but this shouldn't be a surprise...We as a country profess to embrace plurality, but in actuality, we seem to embrace those things that are consistent with our own myopic thinking.

Conservatives like to label any media as liberal if the outlet doesn't use their group-think approved talking points...Personally, I am not so much concerned with whether the news is liberal or conservative as I tend to have an inclination toward truth (which, the last time I checked, wasn't the property of either side) and fact based analysis.  I find this to be the ongoing struggle...Anyone with a modicum of critical thinking skills can read through the lines of most reporting and find that its generally hogwash, to say the least.

I am not a regular NPR listener, but I generally enjoy the programming...I find it informative, insightful and pretty well done...Rarely do I hear stories about the latest shenanigans of Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan or some other over exposed celebrity (although, since I don't listen regularly, they could very well provide coverage of popular culture events)...I told myself that in light of this action, I am going to contribute and I think that I am going to follow through with that self-promise (not that my direct contribution will compensate for the loss of my tax dollars, but hopefully other like-minded folks will do the same...).

Warning, snide comment coming:  Its a good thing that Fox is bed with Conservatives, or News Corp could see its indirect federal subsidy vanish through the grant of media licensing rules and exceptions to those rules.

Crazy GA Anti-Abortion Law

Things just keep getting better and better- so antiabortion "activist" (I actually prefer the term "crazies") are proposing a bill that would allow a wrongful death suit on behalf of aborted fetuses?  Before reading the article, I wondered how the crazy proponent legislators would get around a small thing like "legal standing" (meaning in short, who can show sufficient injury in order to bring a legal action...I am not a litigator, but that's the clearest definition I can offer)...well, if the crazies are able to prevail, grandparents and even an abusive husband appear to be able to bring suit, i.e., have standing, (against the dr. performing the abortion), to hell with the choice of the woman involved...We will have to see how this thing progresses...Here is the question that I have...why aren't progressives in the street protesting this kind of foolishness (and, honestly, I ask the question of myself since I oppose this bill, although I am not a GA citizen)?  Are we ceding the fight?

Ideological Squirmishes are Crazy

Things just keep getting crazy---Republicans think that the new consumer protection agency is too powerful-this despite a HUGE discrepancy between consumers and financial services companies.  I find it hilarious...when has anyone ever said that consumers have too much power????  Do principles ever win out in public discourse or is everything wedded to ideology?  And then we get this nimrod who says that inner-city African-American youths can be bused out to pick crops (but, to hell with ensuring that they get an education!).  What's so ironic about this story is that a friend and I were lamenting the sorry state of things and she jokingly said that it wouldn't be long before some politician would make such a proposal...and, well...I received an email from her at mid-day with this story...I honestly think that the current economic uncertainty and anxiety has created an environment where some folks feel quite comfortable saying what they really think...which is...ok if it weren't so damn repulsive and just plain ignorant!

A huge part of the stagnation that I see is lack of vision (including at the top with President Obama)...No one has proposed anything substantatively bold or ground breaking...Its just the same tired rhetoric---more taxes/less taxes, unions, budgets, deficits, the end of days, cut social services, 10% unemployment, blah blah blah...Its almost like we believe that facebook is going to save the world!