But WWJD

James Dobson's ridiculous statement regarding Fred Thompson (who I'm still on the fence about).

From US News:

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also weighing a presidential run, in a phone interview Tuesday.

"Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression," Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party's conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination.

Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Thompson, took issue with Dobson's characterization of the former Tennessee senator. "Thompson is indeed a Christian," he said. "He was baptized into the Church of Christ."

In a follow-up phone conversation, Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger stood by Dobson's claim. He said that, while Dobson didn't believe Thompson to be a member of a non-Christian faith, Dobson nevertheless "has never known Thompson to be a committed Christian—someone who talks openly about his faith."

Here's the kicker (italics added):

"We use that word—Christian—to refer to people who are evangelical Christians," Schneeberger added. "Dr. Dobson wasn't expressing a personal opinion about his reaction to a Thompson candidacy; he was trying to 'read the tea leaves' about such a possibility."

Dobson can kiss my ass. Oh wait, that's not very Christian of me...but then again, according to Dobson, I'm NOT one anyway.
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Sly, Say It Isn't So!!

Sly Stallone is using a body double for his next Rambo movie -- "Rambo: The Golden Years."

This saddens me more than Marcia Brady being on "Celebrity Fit Club".

From The Daily Mail (a UK news site):

Ageing actor Sylvester Stallone is to revive another of his most famous film characters - John Rambo - for one last mission.

But unlike his character in last year's Rocky Balboa, in which he was acclaimed for having a buff body, he will use a 30-year-old body double.

Then again, he did have his steroids confiscated.

The actor and his entourage of minders were stopped last month at Sydney airport en route to the Australian premiere of his sixth Rocky movie when a routine X-ray of the party's baggage revealed 48 vials of Jintropin, a so-called miracle drug.

Considered a performance-enhancing hormone, its use is strictly controlled in Australia. Stallone did not appear in court in Sydney, and is expected to be fined up to a maximum of £9,000.

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Paglia's Latest

How'd I miss this Camille Paglia column from March 14th. My favorite parts hightlighted below:

Barack and Rudy:

The blatant manipulations of the mainstream media are betrayed by the way that mercurial polling data has been relentlessly promoted about the candidates of both parties for more than a year. That material simply assesses name recognition in an ephemeral beauty contest. Thus we've had endless reports about Hillary and John McCain as front-runners, despite rampant dissatisfactions with them among embers of their own parties. Now we're onto the challenger-with-momentum drama starring Obama and Rudy Giuliani, which may be equally short-lived.

Hillary Clinton:

Hillary didn't help herself with her over-the-top sermon at the First Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama, two weeks ago. Her aping of a black Southern accent from the pulpit was so inept and patronizing that it should get a Razzie Award for Worst Performance of the Year. At times, it approached the Southern Gothic burlesque of Bette Davis chewing up the scenery in "Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte."

Fox News:

What is this morbid obsession that liberals have with Fox? It's as if Democrats, pampered and spoiled by so many decades of the mainstream media trumpeting the liberal agenda, are so shaky in their convictions that they cannot risk an encounter with opposing views. Democrats have ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, the New York Times, Newsweek, Time and 98 percent of American humanities professors to do their bidding. But no, that's not enough -- every spark of dissent has to be extinguished with buckets of bile.

But Fox is certainly disingenuous with its absurd "fair and balanced" motto. Oh, come on, give it up! Why can't Fox honestly admit its conservative agenda, as do major radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and simply argue that it represents a culturally necessary antidote to the omnipresent liberal line? Yet for Democratic presidential candidates, who will be assessed by voters for their ability to stand up to China, North Korea or al-Qaida, to run squealing from a Fox moderator as if he or she were a boogeyman with blood-dripping fangs makes the whole pack of them look like simpering wusses.

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Marcia, Marica, Marica??

Sigh...

I'm not sure what make me feel older:

The fact that Marcia Brady (Maureen McCormick), is 150 lbs and on the new season of Celebrity Fit Club or that Sally Fields has osteoporosis.

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Don't Mess with Texas

From the Post Chronicle:

Texas Legislators Expand Self Defense
By Staff
Mar 22, 2007

Texas lawmakers have approved a broad self-defense law that expands the use of deadly force against attackers to locations outside the home.

Supporters say the new legislation will strengthen a resident's right to defend not only his home but also while in his vehicles and businesses.

The proposal passed the state Senate unanimously, 30-0, last week and the state House of Representatives, 133-13, on Tuesday.

Texas Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, the lead sponsor of the measure in the House, said Tuesday, "With the enactment of this bill, law-abiding Texas citizens can defend themselves against criminal attack in their home, car or business without having to worry they will be prosecuted."

Works for me.
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Feed a Fever and Starve a Cold

The only thing more frustrating than watching George Bush try to string together two sentences during his press conference on the Gonzales situation, was listening to Al Gore drone on and on yesterday at the Senate hearings on global warming.

His baby analogy was laughable:

"The planet has a fever," Gore said. "If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor says you need to intervene here, you don't say, 'Well, I read a science fiction novel that told me it's not a problem.' If the crib's on fire, you don't speculate that the baby is flame retardant. You take action."

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They Couldn't Wait a Month?

Bwah ha ha...

Some things just write themselves:

Participants in the Interfaith Walk for Climate Rescue, a group advocating environmental issues who are walking between Northampton, Mass., and Boston, trudge through a spring snowstorm on the first day of the walk in Northampton on Friday.

Stay tuned for the "Global Cooling" summit in July or August.
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Maul Madness (Part 2)

Round 1 results. Biggest upset was Deadwood's fall to South Park.

• Round 2: Saturday, March 24th
• Final: Saturday, March 31

Battlestar Galactica Scarborough Country Rescue Me South Park

Rome The Office Law and Order The Shield

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SUV Drivers for Peace

After picking up my usual from Starbucks the other day (plain coffee with cream), I was assaulted by the sight of a bumper sticker on the back of a sports utility vehicle which was parked next to me in the lot. The car's owner was probably still in line waiting for their half-caf, low fat frappuccino latte del rio deluxe.

The bumper sticker read: "You Cannot Simultaneously Prevent And Prepare For War - Albert Einstein 1879-1955." It was applied right next to a "Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kerry" sticker and some other limousine Liberal paraphernalia.

Sigh...

The laughable irony is that before the second World War, Einstein feared Hitler so much (and with good reason), that he lobbied VERY hard for the United States to build atomic weapons.

Here's a different quote of Einstein's that unfortunately wouldn't fit on a bumper sticker. It's from a letter he sent to Franklin Roosevelt in 1939:

In the course of the last four months it has been made probable -through the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard inAmerica - that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reactionin a large mass of uranium,by which vast amounts of power and large quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated. Now it appearsalmost certain that this could be achieved in the immediate future.

This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable - though much less certain - that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. A single bomb of this type, carried by boat and exploded in a port, might very well destroy the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory.

BTW, Alfred Nobel, of "Nobel Peace Prize" fame, invented dynamite (hee hee).

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Maul Madness

Place your bets:

• Round 1: Saturday, March 17th
• Round 2: Saturday, March 24th
• Final: Saturday, March 31

Battlestar Galactica Scrubs Rome The Simpsons Deadwood South Park Fox and Friends Law and Order

Curb Your Enthusiasm Scarborough Country American Chopper The Office Rescue Me Imus in the Morning The O'Reilly Factor The Shield

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Can't a White Man Be Attractive?

Senator Barack Obama on John Edwards while campaigning in Iowa last weekend (italics added):

"I want to wait and hear what John Edwards has to say, he’s kind of good-looking," Obama envisioned Iowa caucus-goers from the small town of Clinton telling themselves. During an appearance in West Burlington, Iowa, the phrase appeared again, this time with Edwards as "kind of cute."

I can just see the "Clean and Cute in '08" bumper stickers now.
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More on Coulter

Amazingly, the Ann Coulter remark is still in the news.

As usual, I'm of two minds on this.

On the one hand, it seems that many of the Liberals who are complaining the most are usually the "free speech" fanatics that would yell the loudest if, say, an artist who dips crucifixes in urine lost their government funding.

Dan Savage, editor of the Stranger, a Seattle alternative news weekly get it's right:

I don't have a problem with people using the word 'faggot.' I use the word 'faggot' all the time," said Seattle's Savage. He started a public humiliation campaign against former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican, after Santorum made derogatory statements about gay men. But he does not think there should be a campaign to silence Coulter.

"When we start acting like the thought police, it plays into the right-wing paranoia that we are going to force them all to say only nice things about us in public," Savage said. "I think we would gain ground faster in the gay and lesbian civil rights movement if we drop the Sally Field act of, 'You like me! You really like me!' "

On the other hand, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also makes a very effective argument:

Referring to John Edwards by using a word meant to demean homosexuals? What was she thinking? Ann Coulter has never been married. She has been known for once dating Bob Guccione, Jr., son of the Penthouse magazine magnate. John Edwards, on the other hand, has been married for almost thirty years to his wife, Elizabeth. Together they have had four children, Wade, Cate, Emma Claire, and Jack.

Wade died in a tragic car accident at age 16, throwing the Edwards family into a grief that often tears spouses apart. Their marriage not only survived the tragedy, but went on to produce Emma Claire and Jack. John Edwards stood by his wife through her more recent fight with breast cancer, and there has never been a scandal associated with their long marriage.

I oppose John Edwards' political platform, but not John Edwards the man, husband, and father. I do not want to see him elected President of the United States, but this has everything to do with his political positions, not his personal life. I do not appreciate his crude oversimplification of the challenges that face our nation, but I must oppose any crude talk about John Edwards the man.

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Okay, Coulter Isn't Funny, But She's Still Sexier Than Sandra Oh...

Ann Coulter created another controversy when she used the "f" word to refer to John Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference:

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I _ so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."

When I first heard it, I had no idea what she was referring to. So, it didn't strike me as funny at all.

Someone had to point out to me that Coulter was making a vague reference to the rift on the set of "Grey's Anatomy" (which I never watch). One of the cast members, Isaiah Washington, used that term to denigrate another cast member, T.R. Knight. Apparently, Washington uttered the slur while he was choking a third cast member, Patrick Dempsey. As a result, Washington is now or was in some sort of anger management retreat.

Ah, I get it now. Still not funny.

I'm not sure what disappoints me more -- the fact that Coulter made such a lame joke or the fact that she watches "Grey's Anatomy."
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Area 51 To The Rescue

Former Canadian defense minister Paul Hellyer wants top secret alien technology to be applied to global warming:

"I would like to see what (alien) technology there might be that could eliminate the burning of fossil fuels within a generation ... that could be a way to save our planet," Paul Hellyer, 83, told the Ottawa Citizen.

Alien spacecrafts would have traveled vast distances to reach Earth, and so must be equipped with advanced propulsion systems or used exceptional fuels, he told the newspaper...

..."We need to persuade governments to come clean on what they know. Some of us suspect they know quite a lot, and it might be enough to save our planet if applied quickly enough," he said.

Classic!

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Ellen's Myspace Site

This is hiliarious. Ellen DeGeneres really DID post the photo of her and Clint Eastwood on her Myspace site at: http://www.myspace.com/ellendg.

Now that's funny.

Twice as funny as any Billy Crystal opening act highlighting the year's best songs (zzzzzzz).

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Oscar Report

I didn't see all of the Academy Awards, but I'll offer my opinion anyway...

I watched the beginning and the end. I caught some of the middle as I channel surfed back and forth during commercial breaks between "Patton", "Battlestar Galactica", and "Tora, Tora, Tora."

1. From what I saw, I thought Ellen DeGeneres was a fine host. I've never been a big Billy Crystal fan. Chris Rock and Jon Stewart were mediocre. Then again, my favorite host was David Letterman, so what do I know?
   
   
2. The only Liberal "moment" I'll whine about is the Al Gore love-in. First, apparently no one in Hollywood can get over the 2000 election (Gore lost - move on). Second, does anyone outside the entertainment industry think Al Gore should run again?
   
   
3. As usual, the broadcast was was wayyyy too long (four hours). The show planners face the same dilemma that the NFL has to contend with over the Super Bowl half-time show -- do you design it for the people in the seats OR the people at home? What works for one doesn't work for the other.
   
   But, if they really tried, the Academy could get the show down to around 2 hours (or so) by not wasting time on nonsense.
   
   First off, lose all the musical numbers.
   
   Second, allot each of the 25 awards 3 minutes. Give the presenters 45 seconds to read the nominees then announce the winner. Give the winners 2 minutes and 15 seconds to walk up, accept the award, and read their bleeding-heart milquetoast speech. Period.
   
   That's break down into:
   - 75 mins for awards.
   - 25 mins for commercials
   - 20-30 mins to divide up for whatever "special" stuff they want to do
   
   I'll bet the ratings would improve.
   
   
4. I found Jerry Seinfeld's movie theatre riff funny and ironic. His comments about the "overpriced, oversized" pop-corn and candy got big laughs. My guess is that this audience hasn't bought snacks in a theatre in YEARS. Also, selling "overpriced" amenities is how theatres break even due to the "overblown" costs of the film industry. Like I said, ironic.
   
   
5. Finally, I think the "fix" was in for Martin Scorsese. Wasn't it too coincidental that he got his award from his old buddies Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg? I was happy for him, but I haven't seen "The Departed" yet, so I'm not sure if it was worthy effort or just a make-good for previous slights (I hated "The Aviator" and "Gangs of New York").

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And the Winner Isn't

Aside from it being a three hour extravaganza/love fest for limousine driving Liberals (grin), one of the main reasons I don't watch the Academy Awards is that my favorite movies are not often represented.

One of these days, I'm going to do a study correlating films which have won "Best Picture" Oscars and compare that to the list of films which have "stood the test of time" (whatever that means).

For instance, in 1941, Citizen Kane, generally viewed as the "best picture of all time" on multiple lists, actually LOST to How Green Was My Valley.

Filmsite.org has an interesting list of "Best Pictures Not Nominated for Best Picture."

I culled a quick list of winners from the "Best Picture" category for the last fifty years along with more deserving flicks (in my opinion, of course) from the same year.

• 1950: All About Eve WON, The Asphalt Jungle NOT nominated
  
  


• 1956: The Searchers WASN'T nominated - Around the World in 80 Days won
  
  


• 1957: Vertigo, Touch of Evil NOT nominated - Gigi won
  
  


• 1959: Ben Hur BEAT Anatomy of a Murder
  
  


• 1964: My Fair Lady beat Dr. Strangelove
  
  


• 1976: Rocky beat Taxi Driver (close call)
  
  


• 1961: West Side Story beat The Hustler
  
  


• 1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey NOT nominated - Oliver! won (what's up with all the musicals winning anyway?)
  
  


• 1970: Patton beat MASH, Five Easy Pieces and Love Story (well, okay, they got it right in that year!)
  
  


• 1979: Kramer vs. Kramer beat Apocalypse Now and Breaking Away
  
  


• 1980: Ordinary People BEAT Raging Bull
  
  


• 1982: ET nominated (didn't win) but Blade Runner wasn't nominated
  
  


• 1990: Dances with Wolves (zzzz) won beating GoodFellas AND The Godfather Part 3 (horrid) was nominated BUT Miller's Crossing WASN'T
  
  


• 1997: Titanic won (nuff said)
  
  


• 1998: Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan
  
  


• 1999: American Beauty (argh) beat The Sixth Sense
  
  


• 2001: Gladiator won...Memento NOT nominated

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11:14

From 2003, "11:14" is a small, intelligently crafted film that SHOULD have gotten more attention.

From IMDB.com:
Tells the seemingly random yet vitally connected story of a set of incidents that all converge one evening at 11:14pm. The story follows the chain of events of five different characters and five different storylines that all converge to tell the story of murder and deceit.

Stars include: Hilliary Swank, Henry Thomas, Barbara Hershey, and Patrick Swayze (having the time of his life).

I realize that telling the same story from multiple perspectives isn't a new technique. But then again, an hour and a half cross country journey in search of one's identity like "Little Miss Sunshine" (wahhh) isn't exactly groundbreaking cinema either.

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Ramboid

What?? Sly's taking steroids?

Next, you're going to tell me that there's gambling at Rick's.

Well he does have to get ready for "Rambo 4: Pearl of the Cobra" (no joke, that's the title).

BTW, in the new flick, Rambo will have a wife that's 20 years his junior. My guess is he'll need more than one type of "performance enhancer."

Here's my favorite quote from the article below: "When Australian officials arrived at the Park Hyatt hotel to issue the actor with a summons to answer charges on the prohibited substances, Stallone and his entourage were allegedly seen throwing things out the windows of their hotel room."

From IMDB:

Stallone in Steroid Scandal?
21 February 2007 (WENN)

Sylvester Stallone may be in trouble with Australia authorities over what is reported to be banned bodybuilding substances. The actor was in Sydney for the Australian opening of Rocky Balboa on Friday night, when he was stopped by customs officials after a routine X-ray detected something suspicious. The actor and his entourage were detained for several hours, causing them to miss the film's premiere, for packing what was believed to be a type of human growth hormone. On Monday officials searched his hotel room and private jet for illegal substances, just three days after seizing the banned substances at the airport. Richard Janeczko, the national investigations manager for the Australian Customs Service, told Sydney's Daily Telegraph, contraband items were seized, but refused to reveal any details. Stallone, 60, initially told the newspaper the incident was a "misunderstanding" and that reports of him transporting steroids were "totally hot air." When Australian officials arrived at the Park Hyatt hotel to issue the actor with a summons to answer charges on the prohibited substances, Stallone and his entourage were allegedly seen throwing things out the windows of their hotel room. According to the Telegraph, a search of the room allegedly resulted in additional evidence being seized. The actor was cleared to leave the country on Monday, but an investigation will continue. A spokesperson for the Customs Service adds, "There is a range of options we can pursue in these circumstances. The investigation is ongoing, and we are aware of Mr. Stallone's travel movements. The material has to be identified, and we have to look at all the options and the evidence before deciding what action to take." Penalties for possession of such items in Australia can range from fines up to $110,000 or up to five years in jail.

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Little Miss Sunshine

I'm not sure what all the hoopla is about surrounding "Little Miss Sunshine." While it's certain better that the typical Will Farrell movie, I'd only give it a 6 (out of 10).

LMC is "American Beauty" meets "Weekend at Bernie's" meets "Miss Congeniality" (I hated all three). The movie tries very hard to be "cute", "funny", "thought-provoking" and "heartwarming" with moderate success.

Frankly, all the angst, slapstick, and social satire don't quite mesh together very well for me. I'm tired of angry filmmakers on a mission to expose the dark, emptiness of suburban family existence (yaaaaaaawn).

It does have the "courage" to take on the children's beauty pageant industry as exploitative and downright weird. BUT, of course, anyone who's seen an episode of "Dateline", "Sixty Minutes", or "20/20" in the last 5 years knows this. So, that's not really all that groundbreaking.

Oh, it's an independent film -- which means they drop the "f" bomb a lot (because that's realism).

Usually, when I'm this lukewarm on a movie, it generally makes it a shoe-in for a "Best Picture" Oscar.

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