These Impossible Days

Former president and creator of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Jack Valenti died yesterday of complications from a stroke. Valenti was a controversial figure in the film industry and a powerful lobbyist in Washington.

I can't say I'm sad to see him go. The man had way too much power. He single handedly created the rating system that we all know and love (or hate) today. He had the power to force directors to change the content of their films for fear of their film not getting put into a theatre or becoming a flop because it was slapped with the all-to-feared NC-17 rating.

The politics of the film industry and censorship is way too deep for this bit, and I fear that little has changed since Valenti stepped down as president of the MPAA several years back. But love him or hate him, one cannot deny that Jack Valenti was a key architect in shaping the entertainment industry into the beast that it is today.

Posted by J. Parker at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You gotta love the Dutch.

Posted by J. Parker at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have a hard time taking these early debates very seriously. Usually the candidates play it safe at this point in the game and give broad answers such as, "all options are on the table," when asked about things like Iran. Don't get me wrong out of anyone currently in the race, I'm behind Obama. But I was a little disappointed with his answers regarding Iran.

I didn't catch the debates last night but Crooks and Liars has a couple of good clips for your viewing pleasure.

• Obama, Kucinich and Gravel Talk Iran
• Gravel: "Some of These People Frighten Me

Posted by J. Parker at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The other day, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued a subpoena for Condoleezza Rice to testify on issues of the war in Iraq. Rice said this morning, however, that she was "not inclined" to honor the subpoena.

I'm sorry...but it was my understanding that you really didn't have a choice when a subpoena was issued. Am I completely wrong in this. I think I will consult my good buddy Webster on this:

sub-poe-na - A writ commanding a person designated in it to appear in court under a penalty for failure.

But don't worry...Rice said she was happy to answer any questions via a written letter. Thank God for that.

Posted by J. Parker at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a 2008 presidential candidate, announced Wednesday that he was filing articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney. The grounds: that Cheney "purposely manipulated the intelligence process" and "fabricated a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction" with the purpose of getting the public to support the invasion of Iraq.

But the big question of the day is will these charges have any legs to run on? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is on the recording as saying that impeachment is "off the table," and the Democratic majority seems to have no desire to remove the Bush administration from office. Instead they hope to hold out until the 2008 election and take the White House back the good old-fashioned "democratic" way. The media also seems hellbent on making Kucinich out to be a left-wing nutjob.

Granted, such a move on Kucinich's part is probably not the smartest one for a presidential candidate, politically speaking. However, Kucinich's chances of snagging the Democratic nomination are probably slim to none.

Whether or not the articles of impeachment go anywhere is really not the point in my opinion. Talks of purging Bush and his cronies from the White House have been rife on the left for quite some time now. But national media coverage of the i-word has received little to no attention. Now that national outfits such as CNN and the Washington Post reporting on this issue, the idea has been pushed into the mainstream conscious. And regardless of which way this goes, the public I imagine, will find themselves thinking more and more about the idea.

Posted by J. Parker at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

EcoGeek has the scoop on the upcoming all-electric Mini Cooper.

Green Car Congress on a Pennsylvania school district receiving a plug-in hybrid school bus.

Treehugger: Canada's new environment policy leaked early and 'Carbonfree' Light Bulbs: Offsets Done Right.

Grist Magazine has the skinny on Schwarzenegger's threats to sue the EPA.

Posted by J. Parker at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)