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.
]]>I didn't catch the debates last night but Crooks and Liars has a couple of good clips for your viewing pleasure.
I don't know who this Gravel guy is, but I like his style. He's not afraid to say what he's thinking and say it loud and clear. Unfortunately, guys like this rarely stand a chance. He's not politically correct enough for the Democrats to back.]]>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.Hmmm...seems pretty straight forward to me. I'm no lawyer however and maybe ignoring a subpoena issued by a House committee holds no penalty. But still, can this administration show us any more contempt for our democratic way? Can they possibly prove to us any more that they haven't a shred of respect for this country's systems of checks and balances?
But don't worry...Rice said she was happy to answer any questions via a written letter. Thank God for that.
]]>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.
]]>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.
]]>If that doesn't sit well with you...then go fuck yourself.
]]> The Mooninites have struck the U.S. and the city of Boston can't stop pissing itself.How dare you pull such a stunt in this post-9/11 world. How dare you be so insensitive to the fears of this nation.
Fuck you! Welcome to the real world! It must be tough having to live in your upper-middle-class suburbs, driving your $50,000 war-makers and never having to really wonder if the coffee shop you're sitting in while drinking your $5.00 latte is going to be blown up by some psychopath in the name of "God" and all that is "holy."
Excuse us for trying to live a little and be creative in this world that seems to have lost the meaning of the word. Excuse us for not caring about your childish and completely selfish fears (or as it is more commonly referred to as..your baseless paranoia). Heaven forbid that you may actually have to face the REALITY that the other 90% of the world has to face on a daily-fucking-basis.
You cower in fear at the possibility that this beast known as the REAL WORLD might someday come knocking at your door. Still, you cannot get your head out of your ass long enough to realize that it is your venomous "righteousness" and hatred for anything that is not white, protestant, or straight that is causing the very things that terrify you so much.
Well I hate to break it to you, but global warming is real, creationism is a fucking joke, and no, we will not stop fucking swearing because frankly...it feels so god-damned good!
]]>Bush's plan: to allow people who are currently paying for health insurance to deduct it from their taxes at the end of the year (with limits I'm sure). One's gut reaction would probably be: "wow, that sounds like a pretty good deal." But I fear that the devil is hidden in the details (as he usually is).
]]> The plan seems good for middle class Americans, like myself, who have to shell out a couple hundred bucks each paycheck to cover my families health care. I'm pretty lucky that the company I work for offers a really good health insurance package, however it definitely comes with a pretty steep price tag.So naturally, the idea of being able to write my health insurance premium off at the end of the year sounds pretty good to me. But I have to remember that only a few short months ago I was among the millions of Americans who cannot afford health insurance or who work for companies that do not provide health benefits.
Bush said that his new plan would "level the playing field" for those that do not have or cannot afford health coverage. But how exactly does he think this will work? Allowing people to write off their health insurance premiums at the end of the year does not mean that they are going to be able to afford the outrageous up-front monthly costs involved. Knowing that at the end of the year I will probably get back a good chunk of the change I put into my health insurance does not make that money available to me when I need it the most -- the day it is taken out of my paycheck.
Low-income is low-income and just because you are getting a tax break at the end of the year, doesn't change the fact that you are still struggling to make ends meet.
I think Bush's plan is a nice fantasy that was put together to make sure that the private insurance companies aren't hurt in any way. Of course, he also suggested to Congress that federal funds be granted to states (such as California) who are working to provide all of its citizens with affordable health care, but is that really enough?
Bush's plan does not change the fact that the United States is the only remaining first world country that does not guarantee its citizens health care coverage. There is still no excuse why the richest nation on the planet has such a high percentage of its population without decent medical insurance.
With all of his talk about "balancing the budget" and getting rid of the national deficit, it never ceases to amaze me that someone can be so disconnected from the reality of things. How can someone talk about reducing the deficit and helping out the people that cannot afford medical insurance when this administration is spending billions on an illegal and immoral imperial war?
Just imagine who many health insurance plans that money could buy.
File Under: health care, Bush, State of the Union, editorial
]]>So my question is this: if Ford is $12.7 billion in the hole for the year, how can it produce advertisements claiming that Fords are the #1 selling cars in America? Seems to me that if that was the case, they wouldn't be hurting so badly.
]]> File Under: Ford, economy, news]]>I think that the right is rather terrified of Obama running. It's the only way I can explain the numerous "slip-ups" that have appeared on channels like CNN where Obama's name was replaced by Osama. One bit that especially disturbed me was a piece on CNN where Obama was compared to the Iranian president because of the clothes that he wears.
I'm sorry, but things like this serve one purpose and one purpose only: to get the American public to associate Obama with Islam and terrorism. There's no other reason for it. I work for a marketing/advertising firm. I know the tricks. Even little slip ups like "accidentally" replacing Obama with Osama gets into the heads of people.
But the point is, the right should be afraid of Barack. The man is not only highly intelligent, but he's an amazing orator, something that the White House has lacked for many years. And let's not leave out the obvious issue of race. Electing to first black president to the White House could change the face of politics in this country forever.
So here's to hoping that Obama's exploratory committee leads to the Barack Obama for President committee.
File Under: Obama, 2008 presidential race, news
]]>You're absolutely right Mr. Bush...they sure as hell do owe us a bunch of gratitude.
File Under: Iraq, war, civilian deaths, news
]]>Given the announcements made last week, when he was inaugurated for a new term and named a new Cabinet, we can say that Venezuela is heading towards the old communism of the last century, and more in the Cuban or North Korean style than the Chinese.So what makes a man a "hard left communist" in the eyes of Padilla? Apparently anyone who refuses to play ball with American economic interests and corporate domination of the globe.]]> Padilla notes how Chavez is nationalizing Venezuela's largest telephone company (which is currently controlled by Verizon) as well as the electric company (which is also currently controlled by a U.S. based company). Of course, we all know that Chavez's popularity with the rich elite began to take a nose dive when the president started redistributing the oil wealth of the country to the poor.
Reading "analysis" such as this, it becomes rather obvious why people loathe people like Hugo Chavez. It's all about the so-call "free market" -- which of course translates into countries that play ball with American economic interests. If you are the head of a state that refuses to adopt the neoliberal doctrine of the "free market," then you best watch your ass. Uncle Sam doesn't like it when you don't play ball...especially if you decide to help out the impoverished people of your country.
Pieces such as Padilla's always fail to mention the sweeping social reforms that Chavez has put into place in Venezuela. Chavez's government has set aside some 44.7% of the 2007 budget for social investment. Can the U.S. government say the same -- as we spend billions a year on an imperial war?
Somehow I highly doubt it.
File Under: Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, Latin America, Padilla, editorial
Do they honestly think they are going to get all the people that go to the Pirate Bay to get their movies and music for free are going to jump up and run to Wal-Mart to pick up the latest box set?
Quite hilarious in my opinion.
File Under: Wal-Mart, Pirate Bay, internet, news
]]>California came in as the state with the highest homeless population (at around 170,000) while Nevada had the highest percentage of its population without homes (around 0.68%).
]]>File Under: Guantanamo Bay, UN, Ban Ki-moon, news
]]>