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February 27, 2004
THANKS A TON, GIBSON
I know I can't hold Mel Gibson personally responsible for the actions of some lame-brained, three-toothed, inbred wastes-of-oxygen. That'd be just like saying that Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Ozzy Osbourne or Judas Priest are responsible for any murders or suicides their fans commit. There is such a thing as personal responsibility, and blaming artists for the actions of their fans is merely scapegoating. However, I'm saddened and disappointed that even after Gibson insisted that his movie wasn't anti-Semitic and wouldn't encourage violence against Jews, that's exactly what's happening.
At the end of the day, no artist - even one whose views I find as bothersome as Gibson's - can be held responsible for the actions of his/her fans. Such reactions would only lead to censorship. But I have to think that Gibson could be doing a bit more to discourage garbage like this from happening. I'm not going repeat or give an extra audience to the filth that has been coming in to the Wiesenthal Center lately. But it seems to me that Gibson ought to be paying close attention to it, and saying more to try and stop it. Or, if he were really serious about not being anti-Semitic, he would donate a portion of the proceeds from the film to the Holocaust Museum or the Wiesenthal Center. Don't bet on that happening, though.
PROVING THAT REPUBLICANS DO NOT HAVE A MONOPOLY ON IDIOCY
Here in Curmudgeonland, we call 'em like we see 'em. And we're equal opportunity bashers here, too - no one is immune... if they're an idiot, they're gonna get skewered - after all, my purpose in life is to point out just how many jackasses there are running around in the world. Well, that and then to sanctimoniously proclaim myself to be better than they are.
So Democrats aren't exempt. And this week, we had a Democrat proving herself to be a complete and total idiot. Rep. Corrine Brown of Florida managed to reveal herself as a racist -- while accusing the Bush Administration of racism in its policy toward Haiti. She met with a delegation from the administration that was led by Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega (who is Mexican American) and also attended by Republican Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart to discuss the Haitian situation. She went on a bender of a vent, complaining that the administration delegation contained no African-Americans, and deriding US Haitian policy as being developed by "a bunch of white men." When it was pointed out to Rep. Brown that Noriega and Diaz-Balart are Hispanic, she replied, "You all look alike to me."
Can you even imagine the screaming that Brown (and probably Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharptton and so many others) would have done if some Republican had said that all blacks look alike to them? And rightfully so? Yet it's supposed to be okay for her to say that all whites and Hispanics look alike to her? Give me a break. This lady -- no, strike that, she's a woman but clearly is no lady -- is an embarrassment to Florida and to the House of Representatives, and I'd love to see her censured by the House for her racist statements. There is no place in the US Congress - or anywhere in the US - for racism... no matter where it originates or who its target is. And Brown's uncanny achievement of displaying racism while accusing others of racism? In the immortal, if wholly grammatically incorrect, words of Alanis Morrissette: "Isn't it ironic? Dontcha think?"
RIGHTS? YOU DON' NEED NO STINKIN' RIGHTS!
The Bush administration's full frontal assault on the Constitution continues. Now, they want to violate your kids' 4th Amendment right to privacy and against unreasonable search and seizure. The 2004 Bush budget - which cut funds from the EPA, the Centers for Disease Control, and myriad other domestic programs - includes $23 million for random drug testing of American high school students... an increase of more than 1000% from last year.
So that means that your child could be an honor student, have a job part-time, and be an all around good kid who's given no one any cause to believe that she's on drugs... and still be tested anyway. Think that's a good idea? Okay, how about that we make it so that cops can pull you over even if you're not speeding, have no broken tail light, and are obeying all stop signs -- and can then search your car without your permission, just because we know that some people out there have drugs in their cars? You never know - you could be one of them, right? You'd be rightfully ticked off if you heard of a bill that allows cops to stop you and search your car at any time, just because some people break the law. This proposal is no different. Some kids do drugs, yeah... and that is admittedly a problem. But subjecting all kids to testing as a way of catching the guilty ones - even if there's no reason to believe that your child has a problem? How is that not blatantly unconstitutional?
I find it a joke that House Republicans just passed their law protecting fetal rights, on the same day that this story hit Newsweek. The Republicans clearly place more importance on the rights of kids before they're born than after they become living citizens... their concern for childrens' rights apparently begins at conception and ends at birth. So I have to ask... what good is protecting a fetus' rights going to do if all you're going to do is violate them once they're born?
SPEAKING OF REPUBLICAN IDIOCY...
Conservatives are apparently in enough of a hateful frenzy, looking desperately anywhere to find others to blame for their ills and for the American public's rejection of their agenda, that they'll eat one of their own. Senator Orrin Hatch is by every account one of the most decent human beings on the Hill. I don't agree with him on anything - and I mean anything -- but from having lived & worked in the Washington game for a while, I can tell you that even the most partisan Democrat has a great deal of personal respect for Orrin Hatch as a human being. Conservatives are out to get him, however - despite his being one of the most conservative senators - because he's had the audacity to call for an investigation into Republicans breaking the law.
Hatch launched a Senate investigation late last year when it was revealed that internal Democratic strategy computer files had ended up in the hands of Republican staffers. How the leaks happened, and whether there was illegal hacking going on, is what Hatch intends to find out. Conservatives have responded by blitzing Hatch both publicly and privately; one editor at the National Review even likened Hatch to Neville Chamberlain. All for simply trying to find out whether Republicans broke the law.
The Senate Sergeant at Arms recently privately briefed members of Hatch's committee, telling them the pilfering had gone on longer than previously believed -- two years -- and involved over 5,000 documents. So Hatch was on to something. Yet conservatives still argue that no one did anything wrong. Manuel Miranda was a staff counsel for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and recently left that position over this issue. (Whether he chose to leave or was asked to leave depends on who you talk to.) According to Slate, "Miranda cheerfully admits to having read the memos, denies leaking them, but argues with great force that "the duty falls on the other party to protect their documents." Strip away all the law-words here, and Miranda seems suspiciously of the opinion that if you don't lock your office door and fellow staffers come along and empty your filing cabinet, well, tough luck for you."
Just wanted to be sure you knew the kind of people we're dealing with here. And when Hatch finds this wrong and suggests that it should be investigated and punished, the conservatives turn on him, too. Yeah... real princes these guys are, huh?
HA! I've argued for years that American society -- and more importantly, the financial structure in this country -- is biased against those who are single. Most of my married friends think I'm insane, but I believe it whole-heartedly. Now BusinessWeek Online has checked into it and found out that - you know what? - I've been right all along. Check out their article here.
UPDATE For another take on the Quizno's spong-monkeys, check this article out from Slate.
IF YOU'RE A SICK PUPPY AND ENJOY SICK GAMES, this one is hysterical. But be warned - only go here if you have a sick sense of humor. Don't say I didn't warn you. (In case you're wondering, my personal best so far is 957.1 feet. Beat it if you can, and let me know if you do.)
THE WHOLE TOOTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH
So when I tell you that when the procedure was over and the oral surgeon looked at me and said, "I don't think I've ever had to work that hard to get one tooth out before," you know about how yesterday went. Actually, he had a good "chair-side" manner, and given how stubborn my tooth was (it actually broke into four pieces during the extraction, and the roots of the tooth remained embedded in my jaw so he had to go digging in to get them out instead of just being able to pull it), it wasn't that unpleasant a procedure. The worst of it wasn't the pain - heck, I barely felt anything - but rather the sound; the crunch of that tooth splitting in four will live on for a while in some nightmares, I am sure. That was among the least pleasant things I heard this week. Anyway, I did get that painkiller prescription... but I have found that Vicodin gives you about half an hour of "floating" time, and then knocks you out cold. I've slept more in the last 24 hours than I think I have in the last week combined. So, the good news is that I'm not in all that much discomfort; the bad news is that I'm unable to stay awake for more than a couple hours at a time.
AND FINALLY... THE LIST... #6: SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
I don't think this is a typical business destination - Santa Fe only has about 60,000 people. But we went for a conference about a year and a half ago, and I found it to be one of the most peaceful, most beautiful, most spiritual places I'd ever been. I loved every moment of being out there; it was so calming! First of all, the mountains are astounding. Utterly breathtaking. There's a serenity and peace to being that high up (7,000 feet!) that I don't think I've felt anywhere else. Then there is the charming atmosphere and culture - an energizing mix of Native American, Mexican/southwestern, and American West/cowboy. As you might guess, this mix gives the area some great cuisine - the dining was truly outstanding. There's a thriving arts community there - it feels artsy and welcoming, and the main square around town is dotted with galleries and studios... even the immortal Chuck Jones has a gallery there. (Any town where one of the galleries people are proudest of features animation cels of Bugs Bunny, Marvin the Martian, and Daffy Duck has just got to be a cool town, don't you think?)
There are charming little sidewalk vendors selling Native American jewelry and blankets, or cowboy hats... there are boot stores and leather stores that remind you that this is in fact still the American west... and I have to tell you, the hotel we stayed in there is among my top five I've ever been in... if you've got some money to spend and want to totally relax, I highly recommend The Inn at Loretto , a beautiful and deceptively luxurious hotel and spa that is attached to the Loretto Chapel -- the one from the 1800s with the miracle staircase. Here's the story:
"A lovely Gothic chapel just off the Plaza, this small church features the "miraculous staircase" that has no visible signs of support. The nuns who built the structure in the 1800s believed that a mysterious carpenter who arrived and installed the staircase was an incarnation of St. Joseph."
I toured the church... and let me tell you, although I am not in the least a religious man, I couldn't see any physical way that that staircase should have been standing. It's as close to a miracle as anything I have ever seen. And that was what I think I enjoyed the most out of Santa Fe: the word that kept occurring to me while I was there was "spiritual." Not necessarily religious, although I suspect those of faith could find what they're looking for in Santa Fe. But there was something about that town that just made me feel spiritual, as if for the first time in my life I felt sure that there was something or someone Greater Than Me at work, and I felt that presence and awareness. Call it Christianity, New Age, Native religion... whatever it is, there was something to that place that was alive with energy of some sort - and even as I left, I promised myself I'd go back.
Coming soon... #5.
