Is that a shrub in your pocket...
or are you just a corporate profiteer?
Monday, June 28, 2004
Fahrenheit Well, as everyone knows by now, Fahrenheit 9/11 - despite being screened in only 868 theatres - was attended by record numbers of moviegoers this weekend. Initial estimates had the movie number one at the box office, grossing $21.8 million. These estimates turned out to be wrong, though. It actually took in $23.9 million over the weekend, and $24.1 million overall so far, including the limited release in a couple of theatres ahead of time. By all accounts, the film is doing as well in the "red" states as it is everywhere else, and a survey of newspaper movie reviews by Editor & Publisher shows that reviews from red and blue states alike are running 90% positive for the movie. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you should. If you've been paying attention, you'll already know about the Bush/Saudi connections and the other sordid sleazery that makes up the first half of the film. After that, though, Moore shows us the scenes from Iraq that our crappy media has glossed over or ignored completely. We see the effects that this war has had on the Iraqi people, our military personnel, and their families. It's gut-wrenching stuff, and very powerful. There's also the typical humor that's a part of any Michael Moore project. So get out there. Every dollar this movie brings in give the bastard Bushies one more thing to think about. $24 million in a weekend is a great way to tell this administration to "go fuck themselves."posted by pjs 7:00 PM
posted by pjs 6:53 PM
Customarily an interpretation of theoretical, factual, political, social or historical events or issues presented either objectively or with a specific point of view.
posted by pjs 6:50 PM
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Frist to Vets: "Fuck You" A vote was to be held in the Senate today on adequately funding veteran's benefits so that all vets have healthcare. It was to be a close vote, and John Kerry was determined to cast his vote in favor of what any flag-wrapped patriot ought to be for. How hell can this even be close? Anyhow, Majority Leader Bill "Cat Killer" Frist decided to delay the vote. His reason? Because he didn't think John Kerry should be able to "parachute in" and vote on issues that are important to all of us while he's running for president. Kerry, according to Frist, should resign from the Senate. Well, excuse the fuck out of me, asshole. The voters in Massachusetts can determine who ought to represent them. In the meantime, how dare you hold up legislation that would help out our men and women who have served this country? Maybe if Frist and the other republican chickenhawks had actually served this country, they'd be a little more responsive to veteran's needs. This is a sick and disgusting way to act. It's Bill Frist that ought to resign from the Senate, immediately.posted by pjs 8:31 PM
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Oh, the Irony
As you are hopefully aware, Michael Moore's new movie, Fahrenheit 9/11 is opening nationally on Friday, June 25th. If you're in the Syracuse, NY area, you can see it at the Westcott. Other folks can find out where it's playing by looking here.
The tighty-righties have their panties tied all in knots over this, of course, and a right-wing group has set up a fake grassroots organization in hopes of pressuring theatres to not show the film.
Ironic, isn't it, that the title of the film alludes to Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, which is about the banning and burning all the books in the world? Free speech is perhaps the most important, fundamental right we have in this nation, and censorship of this — or any other — film is both un-American and disgusting.
It's interesting just how willing free-market capitalists are to abandon their "principles" when faced with opposing points of view.
Fortunately, the aforementioned "grassroots" organization has made it easy for all of us to contact the courageous theatres that are willing to run Fahrenheit 9/11 by providing contact information, including e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
I suggest that everyone e-mail these folks, thanking them for having the guts (not to mention the good business sense) to run this film. You can also use this plain-text file of e-mail addresses, if you don't want to track right-wing schmutz through your browser history. Then e-mail the good folks at "Move America Forward" at info@moveamericaforward.org to let them know how much you appreciate them making it so easy to show your support.
More importantly, find the threatre(s) in your area that are showing the movie, and give them a call to let them know how important free speech is to you, and that you'll be there on opening night.
A few well-funded right-wing nuts shouldn't be allowed to determine what information the rest of us are allowed to see.
posted by pjs 10:16 AM
Monday, June 07, 2004
Drugstore, Truck-Drivin' Man Now, don't get me wrong here. I wouldn't wish the decline and death brought about by Alzheimer's disease on any family. What I can't
understand is how the hell the media can canonize Ronnie Reagan. I suppose he was likeable (I never really cared for him, but compared to the idiot we have as president now, I guess Ronnie really stands out). But what was Reagan really all about?
Let's see. He aligned himself with the McCarthy faction in the 1950's, and sold out his Hollywood colleagues. He was fiercely opposed to the organization of the lettuce pickers by the United Farm Workers (led by Cesar Chavez), and the ensuing produce boycotts.
Candidate Reagan, Bill Casey, and the first Bush cut a deal with the Iranians to not release the hostages until after the 1980 election.
After he took office in 1981, Reagan began to attack the government's civil rights apparatus. He opened an assault on affirmative action and social welfare programs, embraced white racist leaders of then-apartheid South Africa (he tried to get Nelson Mandela's African National Congress declared a terrorist organization) and waged war on the tiny, Black Caribbean nation of Grenada. The Citizens Commission on Civil Rights (formed as a response to Reagan's attempt to neuter the official U.S. Commission on Civil Rights) said he caused 'an across-the-board breakdown in the machinery constructed by six previous administrations to protect civil rights.'
Reagan wanted to support a group of Nicaraguan rebels known as contras, but the US Congress refused to provide funding. No problem. Reagan sold arms to his old pals the Iranians and diverted the proceeds to the contras. Never mind that this violated all kinds of laws and executive orders.
Now that the Iranians were armed, Reagan needed somebody to keep them busy. So, he and Bush the first sent Donnie Dumsfeld over to Iraq to build up a guy by the name of Saddam Hussein.
Reagan provided arms and training to a bunch of Afghani rebels led by another fella named Osama bin Laden to fight the Soviets.
Reagan's complete lack of action on AIDS helped to change the disease from a gathering epidemic to a global pandemic. It was mostly black folks and gay folks and IV drug users who were dying, so who really cared anyway?
In fact, Reagan championed the 'blame the victim' approach. Homeless? That's because you want to be. Got AIDS? Eh, it's your own damn fault. Poor? That's 'cuz you're lazy. Or stupid. Or both.
Reagan stood for "smaller government," which, as we all know, is a euphemism for huge deficits, tax cuts for the wealthy, huge spending increases on military projects that benefit corporations but don't do anything to help out the poor saps on the front lines, and enormous cuts in education, programs to help the poor, children (he had ketchup declared a vegetable for the purposes of school lunches), and sick people who can't afford insurance.
Reagan loaded the National Labor Relations Board with his anti-union cronies, and fired the Air Traffic Controllers who went on strike for more humane (and safer, for the flying public) working conditions. Shortly afterward, a strike by Greyhound bus drivers was crushed, leading to hard times for organized labor (aka, people working for a living and trying to get insurance, send their kids to school, keep a roof over their heads, and put food on the table).
Oh, there's more, but you won't hear any of it during this week's Ronfest activities. They're toting his corpse across the country so people can come and look at it, then carting him back to California to plant him. Because Reagan is dead, I guarantee Bush will get a boost in the polls (I bet they tried to get Nancy to keep him on ice for a few more months, but she told them to take a fucking hike: "How do you like my stem cells now, asshole!"), and we'll soon be seeing the Reagan dime, Reagan statues, Reagan national parks, you name it.
As for me, yeah, I hate to see any human being suffer. But if you want to feel sorry for somebody, feel sorry for all the people who needn't have died from AIDS, or who have to choose between medicine and food, or whose moms, dads, brothers and sisters won't be coming home from Iraq (not alive, anyway). Reagan? He was the beginning of a downward spiral for this country. The best thing I can say about him is that he was better than Bush.
posted by pjs 8:28 AM
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Breaking News
This just in: Ronald Reagan is still dead.
We now return you to your regular dead Reagan programming.
posted by pjs 7:09 PM
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Death Penalty Ok, so, all the pro-death folks out there are always talking about how the death penalty is a deterrent to murder. So you'd figure that states with the death penalty would have much lower murder rates, right? Well, I've wondered about that for a while, and I finally got around to checking out the stats. So, I managed to find the homicide and population statistics for the year 2000, and I loaded them into a spreadsheet. For some reason, Florida failed to show up, but I managed to find their stats eventually (interestingly enough, Florida is the #4 state population-wise, but has the 2nd highest Crime Index). So, it turns out that states with the death penalty average 5.17 homicides per 100,000 people. States without the death penalty average 2.82. If you add up the homicides in all 38 death penalty states and divide by their total population, the number jumps to a whopping 7.13 murders per 100,000. In the 12 non-death penalty states, the number comes to 3.65. Either way you figure it, you're almost twice as likely to get whacked in a death penalty state. Watch out if you head to Louisiana. They came in at #1 in murders per hundred thousand, with 12.53. For sheer volume, California takes the prize, with 2,079 murders in 2000. You'll get good odds at making it to old age if you live in North Dakota (a non-death penalty state), where there were a scant 4 homicides (a paltry - and national low - 0.62 murders per 100K). But what about the "burn 'em" states? You know, the ones for whom executions are a fun, family event? During 2000, Texas (under the stewardship of the Shrub) was the big winner, having executed 40 people. The Texas murder rate? 5.94 per hundred thousand, or roughly twice the rate in the average non-death penalty state. Other states with multiple executions in 2000 include Oklahoma (5.27), which executed 11 inmates, Virginia (5.67) 8, Florida (5.65) 6, Missouri (6.20) 5, Alabama (7.4) 4, Arizona (7.00) 3 and Arkansas (6.28) 2. So, is the death penalty really a deterrent? If it is, what does that say about Texans?posted by pjs 8:10 PM
