America the Beautiful
...And not so beautiful

I have a slew of comments on various news articles that I've seen/read recently. And I will comment on them here...because I can.

1. So the other day I was attracted to a news article entitled, "Lawmakers decry Christian film's PG rating." So I clicked on it and read it. Then I got annoyed by it. A bunch of Congressmen (including the House Majority Whip...whose job it is try to get all Repubs to vote with the other Repubs...which doesn't really have any bearing on this article but I think the title is funny...he has to "whip" everybody into shape)...where was I? Oh yeah, a bunch of congressmen (conservatives, no doubt) are all getting their panties in a bunch over a Christian-themed movie about a football coach's faith in God receiving a PG rating. Apparently they're under the impression that it should only be G and the film rating people (MPAA) gave it a PG rating because it talks about religion. The MPAA says they gave it a PG rating because "any strong or mature discussion of any subject matter results in at least a PG rating...This movie had a mature discussion about pregnancy, for example. It also had other mature discussions that some parents might want to be aware of before taking their kids to see this movie." I personally thought only animated movies got G ratings. Really, how many "real-person" movies only get a G rating? Not many, I'd wager.

What peeves me off is that these conservatives seem to think that this movie deserves to only be G rated because it's religious--therefore it has to be wholesome, filled with morals, and good for everyone, right? The Majority Whip then whipped out this idiot statement: "This incident raises the disquieting possibility that the MPAA considers exposure to Christian themes more dangerous for children than exposure to gratuitous sex and violence." Uhhh...what? Seriously, this guy needs to take a logic class or something. How many movies with gratuitous sex and violence are rated PG? Now, if the MPAA consistently rated violent and sexual movies PG but non-violent, non-sexual, religious movies R, then he'd have a point. As it stands, the only point he's making is that he's stupid. And that's all I have to say about that.

2. Continuing with the movie theme: I'm not privy to the details on this former law, but until earlier this year Korea had some sort of law that enforced quotas on Korean theaters. Meaning, a certain percentage of movies shown had to be Korean-made, limiting the number of foreign movies (namely Hollywood) a theater could show. Which sucked for all us English-speakers in Korea but was good for the Korean film industry as it lessoned competition and helped the Korean film industry grow. Anyway, the US got all annoyed by this and said that Korea had to slash the quota (allow more foreign movies to be shown) in order to be a part of some free trade negotiation thing between the 2 countries. Which I personally (and selfishly) like because it means the number of movies I can see will rise. However, it kind of annoys me that we're (the US) being all demanding.

3. From movies to actors: So I see that the Secret Service has gotten involved in hunting down some guy who had taken pictures of Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) while they were in Africa and then put a few up on the Internet. Seriously, you know you have connections when the freakin' Secret Service will do that for you. As if it's a matter of national security. That just seemed bizarre to me. As a funny aside, I had my students fill out a survey and one question asked who their favorite actor was. I was reading over them and was temporarily befuddled by one kid's favorite actor being, "Bread Peat." Then I realized he meant Brad Pitt. Then I laughed. Because it's funny.

4. I saw a headline that I thought said, "Mutants tunnel into Israel for surprise attack." Wtf? When did the X-Men actually become real-life? Then I re-read the headline and realized it actually said, "Militants tunnel into Israel for surprise attack." Ahhh...makes much more sense now. Before I was thinking that perhaps the focus of the article should be on the fact that there are mutants, not the attack on Israel. Not to be anti-mutant or anything...but come on... :D But alas, no mutants. Only militants.

5. I was reading about Supreme Court decisions and how votes have been going this year (what with O'Connor leaving and Alito joining). I was reading synopses on various key cases in different categories (environment, civil rights, etc). There was one case called House v. Bell. In this case the court ended up ruling that death row inmates can use DNA evidence to attempt to show innocence even years after convictions. I find this a very good thing, but what I don't find good is that it was a 5-3 vote. Apparently Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas didn't agree with this ruling (Alito didn't participate). Who in their right mind wouldn't agree with this?? "Hey, I know you're going be killed for this crime, and even though there's DNA evidence that could exonerate you, we really don't think it's fair for you to use it. I mean, a trial's a trial and you've been convicted. Sucks to be you, eh? Maybe next time!" Even if it wasn't a death row case I would hope that new DNA evidence could be used to exonerate a person who may have been unfairly convicted. Granted, I only read a tiny summary of this case so could be missing some key points, but how much could you really be missing? Btw, I think the death penalty is stupid. Does Minnesota have the death penalty? I don't think so. I think I remember Utah still having the death penalty and being killed by a firing squad is still an option there. Weird.

6. There was an article about how "green" burials are growing in popularity. Basically, when you die and are buried your body can't be embalmed or otherwise chemically preserved. It also has to be buried in biodegradable caskets without linings or metal ornamentation and you can't have standing tombstones or monuments at the site. I like this idea. The thought of attempting to preserve your corpse is just gross to me. You're dead. Who cares what you look like? And the amount people spend on coffins? Who cares if a corpse is laying on cushions and pillows?? It's a friggin' corpse! I used to want to be cremated, but this article also pointed out that cremation still can cost a lot (why spend money on someone who can't appreciate it?) and it also has an environmental downside as it uses energy and releases dioxin and mercury into the atmosphere. I'd like my dead body to be donated to science. What they do with my remains, I don't care. Anyway, the idea of a green burial appealed to me.

7. I read that there's talk of getting rid of the penny because of its lack of worth. Actually, I think that this year it cost more to make a penny than it was worth. Granted, pennies are kind of annoying, but I think it'd be a little sad if they were to be no more.

8. There was this article about who makes a "true" American patriot. I liked it. With all this fervor about patriotic Americans being those who support The Troops, The President, The Government, etc., I enjoyed and agreed with this other point of view. Namely, a true patriot isn't someone with unquestioning loyalty, but is someone who isn't afraid to stand up against the majority to fight for what they believe are the rights of American citizens. It then focuses a lot on American librarians and their fight against the Patriot Act regarding giving public library book check-out records to the government. Among some other groups.

Here are a few quotes in this vein in which to end this blog entry, for your coming 4th of July enjoyment:

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it."
-Edward R. Murrow (one of the guys the Good Night, and Good Luck movie was about).

He also said, "We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."

"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair."
-H. L. Mencken


"The government is merely a servant -- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them."
-Mark Twain

"When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and the purity of its heart."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
-Teddy Roosevelt