A very interesting examination of the possible "hows" and "whys" the uber-conservative, religious right Republican party (and those frighteningly closed-minded evangelicals supporting them throughout Middle America) has shifted gears - without even the remotest sense or recognition of the irony inherent in such a shift - to now embrace and wildly support teen pregnancy, and by proxy, premarital sex among the young. Check it out here and laugh, and laugh, and laugh.....and then feel slightly sickened at the absurdity of it all.....
And, of course, Sarah Palin is now there patron fucking saint.....
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Sarah Does the GOP
After initially stating that I did not believe I could watch Sarah Palin's VP acceptance speech to the RNC, curiosity got the better of me and I turned it on. What is most striking to me today, the day after she spoke, is how many headlines are claiming that she hit it out of the park, how a new star is born at the GOP, that she nailed it. Quite honestly, I was not the least bit impressed with her at all. I watched her with all the interest of watching a soccer mom (or in her case, hockey mom, which is still not really applicable as the hockey player in her family is actually the 18 year old fella who boffed and knocked up her 17 year old daughter - who may or may not have been 16 at the time they rubbed uglies - and now is being forced to marry her....c'mon, you know he is being forced; he stated on his MySpace page - before it was mysteriously removed - that he did not want to have kids) speak at a PTA meeting. Did she get cheers and standing ovations? Of course she did! Look where and to whom she is speaking! Did anyone honestly think she would get anything less? The GOP has no choice now but to stand behind her; to falter would be to show weakness, which then would bring about McCain's campaign imploding. But it is interesting to note that ahead of the speech, there were still doubts surfacing even amongst those supposedly supporting the decision to make her the running mate. And Palin's speech - while assuredly rousing to the staid GOP membership who adore the fact that she is sort of attractive in a very MILFy way while also knowing her way around a hunting rifle - did not have the ring of truth on certain levels. And, sure enough (I love the technology age!), her facts were off on more than one occasion. The first VP debate between her and Biden is scheduled for a month from now and should be highly entertaining. I can smell her blood in the water even now.......
And I personally have a very real problem with a woman who is a mother of FIVE choosing public office as her "calling". Add to all of that that one of those kids is a "special needs" child with Down's Syndrome. While Senator Biden and even Obama himself have stated several times that attacks on Palin's family are expressly "off limits", one cannot ignore the obvious. This is a woman who in her term of public service opposed structured and open sex education in schools, who is anti-choice, and currently is reaping the rewards of that particular stance by having an underage pregnant teen daughter. In a country that currently has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the world and in a time where sexually transmitted diseases are running rampant amongst the teen demographic, am I the only one who finds this a wee bit narrow sighted? And yes, Palin should absolutely take a hit on this. When you accept the offer to potentially become the second most powerful leader in the free world, your life immediately becomes an open book and each and every choice you or your family has ever made or will make is open to scrutiny and critique, ESPECIALLY if you sell yourself as a hard core evangelical conservative. Wake up. With this singular example it is painfully obvious she cannot control her own household and yet the American public is expected to accept she will be able to do so when they move to Washington?
As I said, I was not impressed. A "true/false" guide to her (provided by the San Francisco Chronicle) did nothing to really change my opinion of her either. The best she could really come up with last night in her speech was to take jabs at Obama, not really touching on any specific topic or platform points on any level as to clarify, well, anything.
Make up your own minds, but my prediction is that the closer we see all of this getting to November, the more we will see the GOP sinking, Palin struggling, and McCain's rhetoric and "fire" evaporating. Should be interesting....in a train wreck sort of way. I think I will stand in agreement with Mark Morford in his opinion that God has actually abandoned the GOP....if they were ever allies........
And I personally have a very real problem with a woman who is a mother of FIVE choosing public office as her "calling". Add to all of that that one of those kids is a "special needs" child with Down's Syndrome. While Senator Biden and even Obama himself have stated several times that attacks on Palin's family are expressly "off limits", one cannot ignore the obvious. This is a woman who in her term of public service opposed structured and open sex education in schools, who is anti-choice, and currently is reaping the rewards of that particular stance by having an underage pregnant teen daughter. In a country that currently has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the world and in a time where sexually transmitted diseases are running rampant amongst the teen demographic, am I the only one who finds this a wee bit narrow sighted? And yes, Palin should absolutely take a hit on this. When you accept the offer to potentially become the second most powerful leader in the free world, your life immediately becomes an open book and each and every choice you or your family has ever made or will make is open to scrutiny and critique, ESPECIALLY if you sell yourself as a hard core evangelical conservative. Wake up. With this singular example it is painfully obvious she cannot control her own household and yet the American public is expected to accept she will be able to do so when they move to Washington?
As I said, I was not impressed. A "true/false" guide to her (provided by the San Francisco Chronicle) did nothing to really change my opinion of her either. The best she could really come up with last night in her speech was to take jabs at Obama, not really touching on any specific topic or platform points on any level as to clarify, well, anything.
Make up your own minds, but my prediction is that the closer we see all of this getting to November, the more we will see the GOP sinking, Palin struggling, and McCain's rhetoric and "fire" evaporating. Should be interesting....in a train wreck sort of way. I think I will stand in agreement with Mark Morford in his opinion that God has actually abandoned the GOP....if they were ever allies........
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
April Showers or Proud Brother Boasting.....
My brother Nate has been working in L.A. as a film editor for a little bit now. He has contributed his editing skill to several independent films in addition to shooting/directing/editing two music videos for a local Bay Area hard rock band (M!SS CRAZY).[I helped with the process involved in these two videos and we share shooting/directing/editing/production credit under the auspices of devil's playground productions.....]
The latest project he was a part of is a film soon to be released titled April Showers. The film was written and directed by Andrew Robinson, a survivor of the April 20th, 1999 tragedy that occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. From what I understand, April Showers is essentially influenced by that horrific event. Here is the synopsis from the site set-up for the film:
"From writer/director Andrew Robinson, comes a tremendously personal and exceptionally intimate look inside one of our nation's great tragedies through the eyes of a survivor. Based on actual events, April Showers is about picking up the pieces in the direct aftermath of one of America’s growing epidemics...school violence.
Set in a middle class suburban neighborhood, April Showers focuses on the lives of a handful of teachers and students as they attempt to make sense of a world that has just been turned upside down by one of their own. With the community and an entire nation caught up in the 'story', the students of Jefferson High must turn to one another for answers.
In the wake of such atrocities, the rifts caused by misinformation and a frenzied media prove difficult to overcome. Lost and lonely under the international spotlight, one young man navigates his way through his almost indiscernible home. From quaint suburban town to battlefield turned media circus, Jefferson High provides the backdrop for Sean's struggle to cope with the loss of his friend April."
I am very proud of Nate for being a part of this project. Not only does it seem to be a very worthy story and endeavor, I know he has worked very hard doing his part with the editing team to make certain the director/writer's vision remains true. Click on this link and scroll down to the 4th paragraph to see a brief note of thanks to Nate and the team for all of their hard work:
Additionally, it is very cool to see my brother's name posted on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), associated with this project. Scroll down to the Editorial Department section of Full Cast & Crew and see his name (noted twice, for some reason!) as First Assitant Editor.
Just a brief note here to praise my brother. Check out the movie when it comes out.
The latest project he was a part of is a film soon to be released titled April Showers. The film was written and directed by Andrew Robinson, a survivor of the April 20th, 1999 tragedy that occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. From what I understand, April Showers is essentially influenced by that horrific event. Here is the synopsis from the site set-up for the film:
"From writer/director Andrew Robinson, comes a tremendously personal and exceptionally intimate look inside one of our nation's great tragedies through the eyes of a survivor. Based on actual events, April Showers is about picking up the pieces in the direct aftermath of one of America’s growing epidemics...school violence.
Set in a middle class suburban neighborhood, April Showers focuses on the lives of a handful of teachers and students as they attempt to make sense of a world that has just been turned upside down by one of their own. With the community and an entire nation caught up in the 'story', the students of Jefferson High must turn to one another for answers.
In the wake of such atrocities, the rifts caused by misinformation and a frenzied media prove difficult to overcome. Lost and lonely under the international spotlight, one young man navigates his way through his almost indiscernible home. From quaint suburban town to battlefield turned media circus, Jefferson High provides the backdrop for Sean's struggle to cope with the loss of his friend April."
I am very proud of Nate for being a part of this project. Not only does it seem to be a very worthy story and endeavor, I know he has worked very hard doing his part with the editing team to make certain the director/writer's vision remains true. Click on this link and scroll down to the 4th paragraph to see a brief note of thanks to Nate and the team for all of their hard work:
Additionally, it is very cool to see my brother's name posted on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), associated with this project. Scroll down to the Editorial Department section of Full Cast & Crew and see his name (noted twice, for some reason!) as First Assitant Editor.
Just a brief note here to praise my brother. Check out the movie when it comes out.
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