If you need a laugh, check this out:
A transparent and thorough investigation of suspicious trades before Sept. 11 could expose the masterminds behind the attacks by revealing who knew and profited from advance knowledge
Archives for 2005
The Coming Bible Wars
When I read articles like this, it becomes clear that there is going to be an ugly civil war in the United States, and it is going to happen soon:
The fight over evolution has reached the big, big screen.
Several Imax theaters, including some in science museums, are refusing to show movies that mention the subject – or the Big Bang or the geology of the earth – fearing protests from people who object to films that contradict biblical descriptions of the origin of Earth and its creatures…
Carol Murray, director of marketing for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, said the museum decided not to offer the movie after showing it to a sample audience, a practice often followed by managers of Imax theaters. Ms. Murray said 137 people participated in the survey, and while some thought it was well done, “some people said it was blasphemous.”
In their written comments, she explained, they made statements like “I really hate it when the theory of evolution is presented as fact,” or “I don’t agree with their presentation of human existence.”
On other criteria, like narration and music, the film did not score as well as other films, Ms. Murray said, and over all, it did not receive high marks, so she recommended that the museum pass.
“If it’s not going to draw a crowd and it is going to create controversy,” she said, “from a marketing standpoint I cannot make a recommendation” to show it.
Don’t get me wrong- I applaud the theatre for handling it this way- they should be able to choose what products they choose to show to their prospective audience. This is precisely how it is supposed to happen- without the ham-handed efforts of Brent Bozell and the FCC trying to dictate decency to all of us.
What is worrisome, however, is that a brief discussion of evolution is so damn troubling to some segments of our society that they just can’t stand a movie about life forms existing in steam vents thousands of feet under water.
I have seen Volcanoes, and if this is perceived as a threat to the beliefsa of the devoutly religious in our society, then everything that deviates slightly from the prevailing dogma is a potential threat. That includes you and your personal decisions.
Not Sure About This
I am not sure how I feel about this:
Two men sat in the governor’s garden recently, in this unruly province bordering Pakistan, smiling and nodding as they chatted with him. The men are former members of the Taliban who have taken advantage of offers of amnesty in exchange for returning from exile in Pakistan.
“The Taliban are also part of the Afghan population,” said the urbane governor of Khost Province, Merajuddin Pathan, explaining why he had welcomed these former Taliban officials. “We want to bring them back for the future of our country and stability. It is very simple. If they accept our laws and our national interest, they can come home.”
What did the Taliban stand for? A review:
The Taliban, under the direction of Mullah Muhammad Omar, brought about this order through the institution of a very strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. Public executions and punishments (such as floggings) became regular events at Afghan soccer stadiums. Frivolous activities, like kite-flying, were outlawed. In order to root out “non-Islamic” influence, television, music, and the Internet were banned. Men were required to wear beards, and subjected to beatings if they didn’t.
Most shocking to the West was the Taliban’s treatment of women. When the Taliban took Kabul, they immediately forbade girls to go to school. Moreover, women were barred from working outside the home, precipitating a crisis in healthcare and education. Women were also prohibited from leaving their home without a male relative
Blinded By Their Leadership
I feel bad for these people, because most of them are probably decent people who really care about Terry Schiavo, and I don’t to demonize them because they care deeply about human life. This, however, is just too stupid to not comment on:
The morning after Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed, lawyers for her parents sought new avenues to keep her alive and protesters faced arrest for trying to deliver bread and water to the door of the hospice where Ms. Schiavo, a critically brain-damaged woman who a judge has ruled would not want life-prolonging measures, lay in bed.
Terry Schiavo is a vegetable.
You could stack her room from floor to ceiling with crates of Evian and loaves of Earth Grains, and it will do her no good. Since this has become all about the Bible and not at all about the interests of Mr. and Mrs. Schiavo or medical science, you could even stack five loaves and two fishes and it won’t help. She can not swallow, let alone chew. She can not think. She can not experience emotions. She can not love, hate, feel or express pain, sorrow, interest, happiness. None of it. And she never will again.
But most of all, she can not drink or eat. Again, the usual suspects are behind this:
About 30 people prayed and waved signs outside the Woodside Hospice on Saturday morning, and the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said that some would try to peacefully walk past the dozen or so police officers blocking the hospice driveway…
Mr. Mahoney and Randall Terry, the founder of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue, said they would continue lobbying Congress to pass a bill that would require a federal court hearing in cases like Ms. Schiavo’s to evaluate whether the state had followed all requirements for judicial due process. They also said they still hoped the Florida Legislature would pass a law requiring the tube’s reinsertion or forcing the replacement of Mr. Schiavo as his wife’s guardian.
There are millions billions of people across the Earth who could stand to benefit from clean water and food. Focus on them, and leave this family alone.
All Your Base Are Belong To Us
The battle for military-industrial pork is about to get real ugly, real fast:
For the first time in a decade, communities across the country are bracing for a major round of military base closings, and they are mounting aggressive lobbying campaigns to stave off cuts and other changes that some independent experts say could dwarf the previous four rounds combined.
Pentagon officials say all 425 domestic bases are under scrutiny, as the military looks to squeeze efficiencies and billions of dollars in savings from a cold-war network that has nearly 25 percent more capacity than what the armed services say they need.
After more than two years of exhaustive study, Pentagon analysts are putting the finishing touches on a list of recommendations that Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld will present to a nine-member independent commission for review. Scores of Pentagon analysts and auditors have been poring over data and dozens of options as part of an exhaustive effort that is intended to mesh with Mr. Rumsfeld’s broader goals to make the military more agile and responsive to security threats.
Let’s see- You have the Pentagon, the individual branches of the service, Rumsfeld, 535 members of Congress, 50 state Governors, numerous unions, numerous state and local government officials, hundreds of lobbying firms, and numerous corporations all of whom have an opinion. If you remember how this went in the early 90’s, this is going to be UGLY.
Just an aside- iwe need to remember why this information is being presented to an independent Base Closure Commission.
Because Congress is too afraid and too gutless to make the decisions themselves. Then again, this does give them the time they need to get onto the really important issues of the day, like interviewing Jose Canseco and grandstanding and subpoenaing Terry Schiavo.
The Nuclear Option
When Republicans claim they might use the ‘nuclear option’ to overcome Democratic filibusters launched to stop the confirmation of judges, they do themselves a real disservice. The Republicans are not the one going nuclear- it is the Democrats who already have, and the more dimwitted on their side of the aisle feel brazen enough to chirp publicly about it:
Why would we give lifetime appointments to people who earn up to $200,000 a year, with absolutely a great retirement system, and all the things all Americans wish for, with absolutely no check and balance except that one confirmation vote. So we’re saying we think you ought to get nine votes over the 51 required. That isn’t too much to ask for such a super important position. There ought to be a super vote. Don’t you think so? It’s the only check and balance on these people. They’re in for life. They don’t stand for election like we do, which is scary.
There it is, in one tiny, tidy paragraph. I think we should send Mrs. Boxer some roses.
The Breathtaking Demagoguery
This is mind-numbing:
Thirty-nine-year-old Terri Schiavo may not live to see her 40th birthday. She’s not terminally ill. She’s not engaged in inherently dangerous activities. She’s not on Death Row.
So, you might wonder, why is she about to die? Schiavo has a profound cognitive disability.
And Stephen Hawking has a limp.
Helen Keller had a slight lisp.