Burnt Orange Report

West Wing to End

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

West Wing will end after this season, with the swearing in of the new President being the focal point of the last episode.

Personally, I haven’t watched any episodes since coming to college, but it was one of my favorite shows in high school. It was a wonderful hour of hopes and inspiration once a week in a time of uncertainty.

P.S. I've been playing around all weekend on getting the new BOR up to speed. It's not going to be ready for a few more days and I won't set an exact date for official launch, but I will say that in the next couple of days, things will be set up to where donors and writers will be asked to create the first user accounts and help make some decisions on layout and labeling. Shortly after that it will go live. In the meantime, I will let you know, that the new system will be running on SoapBlox, and Burnt Orange Report will instantly become the highest trafficked SB blog currently on the network.

Marty, You've Got to Come Back with Me

By Jim Dallas

Although this strikes me with a twinge of "why is this news?", the American Prospect informs us that the 80s are hip again.

This seems like a debatable topic; shall we?

Once you go black you don't go back...

By Jim Dallas

Kevin Drum on the increasingly-common references to the Friday after Thanksgiving as "Black Friday."

I was beginning to wonder about this myself; it seemed to me that more people were calling Friday "black" this year than before. Based on Kevin's research, it might be the case. And if the trend continues we might as well just all start calling it that.

Incidentally, "Black Friday" is not the busiest shopping day of the year; the Saturday before Christmas is. I guess that would tend to mean that the day gets its name from stores becoming (supposedly) profitable on that day. Such a momentous event, of course, requires a name. And we hear that "Good Friday" was already taken.

Happy Independence Day

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Celebrate your freedom today. Spend time with your friends and family and fellow citizens. BOR will be here when you get back because I'm sure most of us will be out celebrating our freedoms too.

PS. Lt. Commander Juan Garcia who is a Navy Pilot from Corpus Christi and rumored potential candidate for Senate a while back, will be the guest of honor on the Gillespie County Demomcrats 4th of July Parade Float today in Fredericksburg. I've got a note in to my county chair to give me an update as to what Garcia is up to. Also, did you know that he was Senator Barak Obama's roommate in Harvard?

Six Feet Under Finally Returns!

By Andrew Dobbs

It has been almost a year, but it will be worth the wait. Television's best drama, HBO's Six Feet Under, is finally back. I had heard good things for a long time, but finally started watching last season and I was hooked. If you can watch an episode of two of the ongoings of the Fisher and Diaz Funeral Home and not want to see the entire season (it's last, sadly), you are a stronger person than I am.

Show starts at 8 PM Central on HBO. Get the skinny on the characters here (though their bios skip over the last season), and catch up on old episodes here. And if anyone calls me between 8 and 9, do not expect an answer.

The Tooncinator

By Jim Dallas

Perhaps a little late, since everyone's already seen the Revenge of the Sith, but here's one more cheap shot at the folks, both right and left (examples here, here, and here) who went bonkers over Star Wars being "anti-Bush."

To be sure, George Lucas made a few comments which added fuel to the fire (perhaps knowing that it would sell movie tickets), but given that the entire back-story for Star Wars was kicking around in Lucas's head thirty years ago, it's perhaps a bit of a stretch to read the movie as a critique of the Bush administration. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.

That said, I found this old Saturday Night Live skit (episode guide | windows video), which while conceived and written fifteen years ago is nonetheless clearly a political statement about the current conflict between the moderate, Schwarzenegger wing of the GOP and the religious right wing lead by Senate Majority Leader Bill "Pussy Cat" Frist.

The Da Vinci Code and Christianity in America

By Andrew Dobbs

This has nothing to do with politics, but I felt that we should have a post today. I love writing for this blog because it offers me the opportunity to speak my mind on a variety of subjects.

Right now I am reading William Faulkner's masterful The Sound and the Fury in part because I had never read it (I'm not much of a novel reader), but largely to make up for the literary sin I committed this weekend. This weekend I read the best-selling hardback novel in history-- Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. It was just sitting there and I was bored, so I innocently picked it up. And though it was atrocious, something about it kept me reading. Perhaps it was the fact that I could read the thing in two sittings and I wanted to see what all of the hype was about. All I can say is that it is the absolute worst book I have ever read cover-to-cover.

To begin, the writing is horrendous at best. Written to a 6th grade reading level with all the literary power of a Harlequin Romance Novel, The Da Vinci Code has a paucity of character development and is filled with two and three page chapters full of "excitement." The characters are supposed to be among the most brilliant people around-- a Harvard professor, a French crack cryptologyist and a former British Royal Historian-- who are so incredibly inane that you feel yourself screaming at them when they fail to solve one of the puzzles for a dozen pages. The prose is vile, the story unbelievable, the pace paradoxically frenetic and boring at the same time. It is filler, a book for an air plane that will occupy your time coasting over the Atlantic and will fit nicely in a trash can once you reach your destination.

But the writing is not what worries me. It is the fact that this book is seen as a masterpiece by a whole class of undereducated Oprah-lovers across middle America. Apparantly the book's outlandish claims regarding Christianity are shaking the faith of these once good Christians. You see, the basic crux of the book is that members of Opus Dei-- a real-life conservative Catholic group-- are murdering members of a secret society known as the Priory of Sion (also real, but rather than going back to the Middle Ages it was most likely started in the 1950s or so) in order to get at the Holy Grail. So far, so contrived. But Brown shakes things up by cribbing heavily from the 1980s book Holy Blood, Holy Grail which claims that the Holy Grail isn't actually a cup, but is in fact the "vessel of Christ"-- his wife Mary Magdalene, who gave birth to his child and whose bloodline exists to this day-- and that they wish to return the world to a time of Goddess worship. This worship apparantly flourished in early Christianity, which did not view Christ as divine until the EEEEEVIL Council of Nicea in AD 325 pulled a fast one and made Jesus god, destroyed the "true" gospels which claimed that he was just a dude kickin' it with his wife Mary and brutally snuffed out Goddess worship.

Now, this story is so clearly fictional that you would think that no one could POSSIBLY believe it. But you would be wrong. Brown made his book a bit more interesting by putting a page in the front that says "FACT" and proceeds to inform us that all of the history in the book is accurate. And since many Americans will only read a history book if it has the word "NOVEL" plastered on the front of it and is sold in an airport, people are starting to believe it. The New York Times reported on April 27, 2004 (the article is no longer available online, I found it on Lexis-Nexis):

One reader, Rob Bellinger, 22, who was raised Catholic and attended Jesuit schools in New York City, read ''The Da Vinci Code'' and said, ''I don't believe it's 100 percent factual, but it did get me thinking about a lot of things.''

For example, Mr. Bellinger said, ''if you just look at the contemporary church, it's really hard not to raise questions,'' like why no women are priests. (...)

There is evidence that Mr. Brown's novel may be shaping the beliefs of a generation that is famously biblically illiterate. Michael S. Martin, a high school French teacher in Burlington, Vt., said he decided to read the novel when he noticed that his students were reading it in Harry Potter proportions.

''We like conspiracy theories, so whether it's J.F.K. or Jesus, people want to think there's something more than what they are telling us -- the they in this case being the church,'' Mr. Martin said. ''The church has a long and documented history of really trying to crush the whole feminine side, the pagan side. I think that's really hard to debate.''

Alright, now for the people who are as stupid as these two guys. Brown claims that before the fourth century there were no writings that claimed the divinity of Christ. I'm sure that would have surprised Paul, who was a contemporary of the original apostles and a prominent leader of the early Church. His epistles predate the gospels and were written from about AD 48-62 (with several attributed to him probably written after his death in the late first and early second centuries) and are chock full of references to Christ's deity. So for Christians worried that that evil woman-hating sonofabitch Constantine foisted Christ's divinity on all of us, don't worry-- Christ's contemporaries were claiming the same thing long before then.

Secondly, the claims that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married has scant evidence in its favor. Holy Blood, Holy Christ was based largely on documents from French archives that turned out (unbeknownst to the authors) to be hoaxes. There are two or three passages in non-canonical gospels discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls and at Nag Hammadi that claim she was his "companion." Yet these same documents also say at one point that women must "make themselves male" to enter heaven (a ridiculous and meaningless verse that largely explains why these books were rejected from the canon) and say absolutely nothing about their bearing a child. The books that were chosen for the canon were the ones most widely used among Christians already. Furthermore, a quick read of non-canonical gospels will make it clear that they are full of ridiculous statements and contradictory information. It had nothing to do with Constantine's efforts to eliminate goddess worship.

So don't worry fellow Christians, Dan Brown is a fiction-writer. He is a very bad at it, yet mysteriously successful. You can go back to church, I promise it is not a gigantic millenia-long hoax based on suppressing women. The book reminded me of another wildly popular yet atrocious book from a few years back-- The Celestine Prophecy (bet you hadn't thought about THAT one in a while). The fact of the matter is that every few years some piece of horrendously written New Age clap-trap hits the shelves and a bunch of overweight and undereducated housewives in sweatpants and sensible shoes run out to read it up between loads of laundry and episodes of their favorite soap operas. In four or five years everyone will have forgotten The Da Vinci Code and will be replaced with some other over-hyped piece of garbage. The whole thing is much more a sign of the apocolypse than any dramatic murders in the middle of the Louvre, and unfortunately a bunch of middle school level word puzzles won't save us all this time.

Revenge of the Sith

By Andrew Dobbs

WARNING: the following film review contains excessive dorkiness and a few spoilers. Still, as one writer I saw noted, if you don't know what happens in Revenge of the Sith, you probably were surprised by the ending of Passion of the Christ.

I've been meaning to write this post for a couple of days now, as I saw Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith for the first time on Saturday. Yes, for the first time as I went to see it yet again on Sunday night. I hope I get to see it a time or two more on the big screen, as this film is easily the best Star Wars feature since The Empire Strikes Back and lightyears away from the first two prequels, which were staggering in their awfulness and devastating in their disappointment.

Revenge of the Sith is much like Empire in that they both end darkly. At the end of Empire, the Federation has been weakened by a resurgent Galactic Empire, Luke Skywalker is maimed by Darth Vader who promptly informs him that he is his father. The likelihood that peace and freedom will return to the galaxy and balance returned to the Force looks grim indeed. In this film, the "Chosen One"-- Anakin Skywalker-- allows his jealousy, selfishness, self-doubt and anger to turn him to the Dark Side, being crowned Darth Vader by the Chancellor (soon thereafter Emporer) Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious, before participating in some unspeakable crimes. The darkness of the film gives it a far more serious feel and less artificial tone than the last two films, and since the struggle is largely internal the over-the-top lightsaber battles are frequently punctuated by compelling dialogue.

That's right, I said "compelling dialogue", something the last two films were criminally lacking. Indeed, there are some flops of lines-- virtually all of the exchanges between Anakin and Padme are wooden and slightly embarassing-- but the performances of the superb Ian McDiarmind (the Emporer) and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and the fantastic direction of a much more interesting Hayden Christiansen (Anakin/Vader) more than make up for these shortfalls.

I will say, however, that Lucas depends far too much on technical wizardry. Shortly after I saw the movie on Saturday I watched the original Star Wars (heretofore known as A New Hope, the episode's title) and the difference in the films was stark. Where the lightsaber battles in the new films are so fast paced they are practically epileptic, the ultimate battle in New Hope between Vader and Kenobi was subdued and classic. While the dogfighting scenes in the new films are cluttered with thousands of computer-generated bits of irrelevance, the old films had a simple and conservative look that made the scenes that much more compelling. And because the landscapes of the far off worlds of the original trilogy had to be so simplistic the writing and acting took on greater meaning. Lucas has made a great film in Sith, but it takes about 45 minutes to get good. Before that you feel the same dread you felt sitting in Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones; afterwards you feel the excitement of the original films-- particularly New Hope and Empire. Were I Lucas' boss, I would have started out by cutting the special effects budget by about 75% and told him to find a way to make it work. The film would have been the best of all the films. As it stands, I'd say it is probably the third best-- significantly behind Empire and New Hope but slightly ahead of Jedi (the film where Lucas began his habit of substituting special effects for plot).

Briefly, there has been some talk of the politics of the movie. I think that Lucas tries too hard to quickly slip an anti-Bush message into the movie. My biggest problem is that he handles it poorly-- he could have easily made it the tale of a power-hungry leader undermining traditional democratic institutions in order to establish a brutal colonial order across the galaxy and the liberal-minded Jedi fighting him off. Instead, he takes the same old storyline (with few parallels to today's situation) and tries to throw in some one-liners that fall flat. Padme's tearful rejoinder as the Galactic Senate cheers on Palpatine's grasp for power of "So this is how freedom dies: to thunderous applause" is gripping; but when Anakin says that "if you aren't with me you are my enemy" and Obi-Wan responds that "only a Sith thinks in absolutes" seems to go against the grain of the story. The Jedi are fearless defenders of liberty and the light side of the force against the encroachments of the Dark Side. That seems pretty absolutist to me. Rather, Lucas should have either left the politics at the door (the best option) or had him respond with something to the effect of "I will proudly be called the enemy of the Dark Side." The message is muddled and unnecessary.

In the end, the film is interesting, morally complex, emotionally engaging and exciting. I would recomend it to all fans of the series. It will restore your faith in the series after the previous two dreadful movies and get your blood pumping for the beautiful mythology of the Star Wars story. May the Force be with you.

Making Homes

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

So, have you ever spent time at the Homemakers for America website? Sad to say, this place is serious. And even though I would really love to get a "Women of Freedom" candle, I'm more interested in their poll they have running, "Does NOW (National Organization of Women) speak for you?"

Results are at 4% yes. You know you want to vote in it (middle left side). That would be near the Fox News petition and CitizenUSA newspaper info. Oh boy.

Update: Looks like they pulled the poll, and now are asking if Hillary would make a suitable President. Yes, naturally, so go vote.

A Book I'll Have to Read

By Andrew Dobbs

The New York Times has a wonderful review of Sen. Bob Dole's new memoirs, entitled One Soldier's Story. The book covers Dole's childhood in Kansas, his service in World War II and his recovery from the brutal injuries he received while over there. It sounds like a great book about one of America's most prominent leaders.

The shame is that today's kids grow up without knowing the names of past leaders unless they were president. As a history major and someone who loves the study of America's past, I deplore the state of history education in our public schools today. Too often it is just a string of presidents and wars, with little discussion of what happened in between and the important leaders on other levels. I don't remember ever hearing the names Sam Rayburn, Richard Russell, Cactus Jack Garner, Marcus Hanna or many of the other giants of our nation's history that never rose to the office of president in my public education. Bob Dole desperately wanted to be president, but because he never was he'll be forgotten in a generation.

This is a shame. I am a Democrat and he is a Republican, and I would not have voted for him. But he was a far different kind of Republican from the kind we see today. I am struck by the memory from the 1996 campaign of President Clinton and Senator Dole walking side by side, cordially talking to one another during budget negotiations while they were running against one another for president. He had class, and for every boneheaded partisan blast he put forth (1976's "Democrat wars" statement comes to mind), he also said some very classy things (such as when he refused to talk about Clinton's personal life in 1996, though it would have helped his campaign). He wanted to get things done for the people of this country, and was willing to work with Democrats to do that. He is someone I can respect.

So I'll get his new book and give it a read. His service to his country in the House and Senate and as the leader of his party was second only to his service in the Second World War, where he lost the use of his right arm, most of the feeling in his left arm and spent 39 months in hospitals learning how to walk again. An excerpt from the review shows what a hero sounds like:

When he was a teenage soda jerk in Russell, Kan., Bob Dole liked to give his customers at Dawson's Drugstore "the flip." A star athlete at the local high school, he would toss a scoop of ice cream in the air, where it turned a few somersaults, and then catch it in a cup before putting the finishing touches on a sundae or a milkshake. Norman Rockwell should have been there.

After the war, Mr. Dole returned to Dawson's. Badly wounded under heavy fire in the hills of northern Italy, he had spent 39 months in military hospitals. Step by agonizing step, his right arm strapped to a heavy triangular brace, he walked from his house to Main Street and made his way to the soda fountain. "Bob, you're a real hero," a customer told him. Mr. Dole shrugged him off, saying, "The heroes are still over there."

Even though he's from a different party, and even though I would disagree with him on many important issues, I'll tell my children about Bob Dole- in the hopes that even if they don't share his politics, they'll share his character. With Tom DeLay and Rick Santorum and a host of other crooked, autocratic, ignorant leaders in that party today, the GOP took a big dive when Bob Dole retired. Let's hope we have more like him in both parties-- our country deserves it.

That's the way life goes in the 'hood (and FOX News)

By Jim Dallas

This has been a busy day for rap in the blogosphere. The American Prospect has a review-commentary on the recent Fifty Cent-The Game "feud" and now Crooks and Liars posts on the escalation in the Ludacris-Bill O'Reilly squabble.

Meanwhile in the world of lucha, Brad DeLong and Wonkette tag-team Michael Barone's latest, which is neither social realism nor art. According to Barone the alleged scourge of "limousine liberals" is a new and important observation of the Almanac of American Politics 2006. If I wanted to hear some busta spinning cliched conflict narrative, I'd buy me a rap album full of guns and gangs and (pardon) bitches, thank you very much.

Bush... wins?

By Jim Dallas

George W. Bush was awarded the Golden Raspberry for worst.president.ever worst actor last night:

George W. Bush won the "Razzie" worst actor of the year award on Saturday for his performance as president in "Fahrenheit 9/11" but his moment in Hollywood's dubious spotlight was eclipsed by Halle Berry, who actually turned up to receive her embarrassing accolade.

Berry was named worst actress of 2004 by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation for her performance in "Catwoman" and she showed up to accept her "Razzie" carrying the Oscar she won in 2002 for "Monster's Ball."

"They can't take this away from me, it's got my name on it!" she quipped. A raucous crowd cheered her on as she gave a stirring recreation of her Academy Award acceptance speech, including tears.

She thanked everyone involved in "Catwoman," a film she said took her from the top of her profession to the bottom.

"I want to thank Warner Brothers for casting me in this piece of shit," she said as she dragged her agent on stage and warned him "next time read the script first."

It is rare for a Razzie winner to show up at the spoof awards held on the night before Oscars -- but Berry did, saying her mother taught her that to be "a good winner you had to be a good loser first." She received a standing ovation.

Bush, beating such established Hollywood heroes as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, won the Razzie for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were taking place all took top honors at the "Razzie" awards, now in their 25th year.

"Catwoman" tied with "Fahrenheit 9/11" by winning four "Razzies" -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry and her "berry bad" work.

If I'm ever awarded a Raspberry, or win an election for that matter, I intend to channel Sally Field.

Academy Award Nominations

By Jim Dallas

Here.

The Aviator has been nominated for eleven awards.

It's actually all a big lie

By Jim Dallas

Instapundit makes a funny and Kevin Drum agrees.

Actually, planets are not necessarily spherical in shape. Earth is pear-shaped, with an equatorial bulge of a few dozen kilometers (not enough to make it look out-of-round in pictures, mind you). And the southern hemisphere is a tad fatter than the northern.

Worst. Movies. Ever.

By Jim Dallas

Kuff asks us how many bad movies I've seen.

The answer? Eight.Nine.

(Battlefield Earth, Spice World, The Master of Disguise, Street Fighter, Mr. Nanny, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Surf Ninjas, The Avengers)

I object to the inclusion of many of these items; Battlefield Earth was funny as hell, and Master of Disguise was too, in a sort of unintentional way.

"Am I not turtley enough for the turtle club?!?! Turtle, turtle, turtle!"

Ye shall (not) know the Truth

By Jim Dallas

Jesus wept:

How did this happen? How did one of the most religious countries in the world become a nation of religious illiterates? Religious congregations are surely at fault. Churches and synagogues that once inculcated the "fourth R" are now telling the faithful stories "ripped from the headlines" rather than teaching them the Ten Commandments or parsing the Sermon on the Mount (which was delivered, as only one in three Americans can tell you, by Jesus). But most of the fault lies in our elementary and secondary schools.

In a majority opinion in a 1963 church-state case (Abington vs. Schempp), Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark wrote, "It might well be said that one's education is not complete without a study of comparative religion … and its relationship to the advance of civilization." If so, the education of nearly every public school student in the nation is woefully inadequate.

Because of misunderstandings about the 1st Amendment, religious studies are seldom taught in public schools. When they are, instruction typically begins only in high school and with teachers not trained in the subtle distinction between teaching religion (unconstitutional) and teaching about religion (essential).

Though state educational standards no longer ignore religion as they did a decade or so ago, coverage of religion in history and social science textbooks is spotty at best. According to Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va., "It is as if we got freedom of religion in 1791 and then we were free from religion after that."

Now that the religious right has triumphed over the secular left, every politician seems determined to get religion. They're all asking "What Would Jesus Do?" — about the war in Iraq, gay marriage, poverty and Social Security. And though the ACLU may rage, it is not un-American to bring religious reasoning into our public debates. In fact, that has been happening ever since George Washington put his hand on a Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. What is un-American is to give those debates over to televangelists of either the secular or the religious variety, to absent ourselves from the discussion by ignorance.

Via Kevin Drum.

This isn't necessarily surprising. Religion for many Americans today is largely about experience and about personal identity.

Is liberal democracy three laws safe?

By Jim Dallas

I'm not providing an answer to that question, but I will note that watching I, Robot on DVD was more than a little bit like sitting through the political philosophy course I took in college.

Of course, further reading only brought up more flashbacks from lectures about social contracts and consent-based government.

Tuesday's with Tucker Carlson: It's still Tuesday in the 5th Dimension

By Nathan Nance

Guest post by Nate Nance

Tomorrow should be Tucker Carlson's last day at the ill-fated Crossfire. CNN's new president apparently wanted to keep Bow Tie Boy on by giving him his own show, but TVNewser is reporting that Carlson will be getting his own show in the 9 PM timeslot (that's 8 PM for us in Texas) at MSNBC. So he'll be replacing Deborah Norville, which is good because she sucks. I watched her show once before the election. She had a segment on 'Security Moms' and how they were going to swing the election for Bush because security was the president's strongest hand. The security mom favoring Kerry was more worried about the war in Iraq and that mess, the security mom for Bush was not that concerned about security and the poll in the women's magazine she cited showed most women were concerned about Iraq and Health Care. Terrorism was rated fifth. So I'll be glad to see her go.

That does mean a lot more Tucker, though, and he just upsets me so much sometimes. When he made that "jacuzzi case" comment about the little girl who was evicerated by a defective pool filter and was represented by John Edwards, I literally started throwing stuff at the TV and yelling very ugly words.

Hopefully, without Bob Novak's bad influences he'll mellow out a little, and so will I. However, if he wears that damned bow tie every day, I might write a letter of complaint.

This is a guest post from Nathan Nance. He can be reached at nate_nance@yahoo.com.

The Real World... Austin?

By Nathan Nance

Guest post by Nate Nance

Yes, the 16th season of MTV's the Real World is to be shot in Austin. Said the executive vp for series entertainment Lois Curren, "As the live-music capital of the nation and home to a thriving college community, Austin is the perfect backdrop for 'The Real World's' 16th season."

Now everytime I drive down to Austin to eat at Pappsito's I've got to worry if a film crew is going to be there. Great.

This is a guest post by Nathan Nance. He can be reached at nate_nance@yahoo.com.

Under new management

By Nathan Nance

Guest post by Nate Nance

It's official now, the Washington Post Company has purchased Slate, the online magazine. Other than changing who signs the payroll checks for the editors, nothing is supposed to change in their coverage or their editorial independence. I guess that makes this a non-story, but you should know anyway.

This is a guest post by Nathan Nance. He can be reached at nate_nance@yahoo.com

Man of the Year?

By Nathan Nance

Guest post by Nate Nance

I can't believe that Time picked George W. Bush as their man of the year for 2004. Their rationale?

For sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively), for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his ten-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years, George W. Bush is TIME's 2004 Person of the Year

Dear Lord. Sometimes I swear I'm really in Bizarro World where everything is totally ass-backwards. Being a complete moron makes you a good leader and not even acknowledging the mistakes you've made qualifies you for the highest job in the land.

This is a guest post by Nathan Nance. Nate is a sports/news clerk at the Waco Tribune-Herald and writer/editor of Common Sense a Texas-based Democratic Web log. He can be reached at nate_nance@yahoo.com

Arsenic and Old Movie Blog

By Nathan Nance

Guest post by Nate Nance

From time to time at my blog, Common Sense, I like to post movie reviews. I pick out a title of an old movie, stick the phrase Movie Blog in there and give you my two cents worth. I mean, it can't be all politics.

So I decided to do something like that only more special for BOR, I'm actually going to review a movie that opened nationwide last night, Blade Trinity.

Now, of course, my first choice of a movie to review would be SpongeBob SquarePants. But even at 2 in the afternoon that theater was packed. Besides, the one time I watch SpongeBob, I was at my friend Charlotte's house and we were watching with her little sister. I swear to God, SpongeBob went on a riff about the proletariat overthrowing the corrupt bourgeoise and creating a worker's paradise. I got a little weirded out.

But back to Blade. Byron and Karl told me it was all right to say this so my review is summed up in two words: Fucking Sweet.

I mean we got action, we got hot techno music and we got Jessica Biel in halter tops and whatnot. I know some people will be shocked and amazed, but I really wanted to see this movie because of her. She's the reason I went to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre, her and her wet tank top. She kicks ass in this movie, just beating the crap out of people all over the place.

And no crappy cgi fight scenes like in No. 2. All wire work and sharp camera angles the way God intended. The well-choreographed sword fight between Blade and Drake, played by Dominic Purcell who I don't think I've ever heard of, really makes up for the kind of plot twist of Biel playing Kris Kristoferson's daughter.

Then there is Ryan Reynolds. I liked Van Wylder as much as anybody, but he went a little too far with the wisecracking. After a while it just wasn't funny anymore. There was a great scene between him and Parker Posey where the two are arguing over a past relationship. Triple H of the WWE is standing nearby with his vampire pomeranian and Reynolds is going on an on about a homing beacon in his butt cheeks. Posey finally yells that it isn't funny anymore (where had she been, it hadn't been funny for a while) when Reynolds redeems himself by saying "It's about to get a lot less funny you cock-juggling thunder cunt." Please don't write letters; I just repeat what I hear on TV.

Good soundtrack, lots of action and all kinds of crazy gadgets for them to kill vampires with. Blade Trinity has something for the whole family, as long as your whole family is above the age of 17 and enjoys wisecracks about lewd sex acts and extreme violence to a techno beat.

Nate gives it an 8.5

This is a guest post from Nate Nance. Nate is a sports/news clerk at the Waco Tribune-Herald and writer/editor of Common Sense a Texas-based Democratic Web log. He can be reached at nate_nance@yahoo.com.

Late night viewing

By Nathan Nance

Guest post by Nate Nance

I'm really eager to find out what happened on tonight's West Wing. Wait, wait don't tell me. I was recording it with my DVR and I'm watching it when I get home. I also noticed that Jon Stewart was on tonight's Larry King Live. I had to call my mom and tell her to set it up to record the replay later tonight. And I'm not sure, but it looked like Salma Hayek was going to be on Letterman. I would so marry her and be her love slave, it's not even funny. I probably should keep that to myself, though.

Just thought I would update everybody on what was going on outside the blogosphere. I'm going to get back to work so I can go home. I have a few more things I will post either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Stay tuned. Same bat time, same bat channel.

This is a guest post by Nate Nance. Nate is a sports/news clerk at the Waco Tribune-Herald and writer/editor of Common Sense a texas-based Democratic Web log. He can be reached at nate_nance@yahoo.com.

Capitalist Anti-Communists Against the Capitalist Exploitation of Communists

By Jim Dallas

I am sure Che is turning in his grave:

Val Prieto raises the red flag (as in “Hold up! Wait a minute!") on a featured ad in Time Magazine, and on the usually capitalistic Burlington Coat Factory. Fortunately, the media and the world are taking notice.

It now appears that lionizing the bloody legacy of Che Guevara has hit an all-time low in the literal sense. Onesies and t-shirts emblazoned with the infamous “cool-looking revolutionary in a beret” image are now on sale for infants and toddlers.

What’s really ironic about manufacturers of Che swag in general is the mind-boggling premise that they choose to ignore the truth about a man who murdered thousands of Cubans and dedicated his shortened life to destroying liberty – even denouncing the very capitalist system that are allowing the swagsters to make a buck off of whitewashing the same man who, if he were alive today, would probably put bullets to the back of their heads for the mere thought of profiting from the masses.

Two questions. One, do they get the irony? Two, why are they not using this opportunity to once again remind us about how "liberal" the north east is (Get it - Burlington - Vermont - COMMUNISM!).

This is all very post-modern. As such, I'm pretty sure there's no way I can make a sensible judgment about it (damn you philosophers!).

BIAS!

By Jim Dallas

Here's the current list of Wikipedia articles which are being disputed for lack of a neutral point of view.

It's kind of amusing to see what sort of nonsense stuff people throw around.

KBH on Jon Stewart

By Byron LaMasters

KBH = Kay Bailey Hutchison. This ought to be fun... or really boring. It'll be hard to beat the past Texas Republican on the show.

Update: The verdict? She joins the ranks of Bill O'Reilly with a boring Daily Show appearance. And that woman wants to be president? Haha. She has less charisma than (pre-2004) Al Gore.

Update #2: This Dkos diary has some more critical thoughts.

The Radio Station Blues

By Byron LaMasters

Jim isn't the only one in mourning over the loss of a radio station. The Houston Chronicle has more on the end of Houston's KLOL today.

Dallas also sort of lost a good station. When I was in town over the weekend, I flipped to 106.7 KKDL for some good dance music. Didn't happen. They apparently went from good dance / techno / trance / house music (my kinda music) to 90% hip-hop / R&B / Rap now (not my kinda music). How worthless. They don't even let you give listener feedback anymore.

Girlie Men

By Jim Dallas

I'm sorry, but I can't take claims of male victimhood stemming from (and lets face it) cutesy advertisement too seriously.

The whole joke of the ad being complained about here isn't that men are inferior. The joke is that its natural for men to have a fascination with gadgetry, it's natural for adults not to understand said gadgetry as well as adults, and its okay for men to be on the receiving end of some soft jabs, because, dammit, we're men, we can take it, at the end of the day its still our world. Since the dawn of humanity there's always been the ol' man, and I imagine that every non-reactionary society since has had some kind of well-meaning dad jokes.

P.S.: Incidentally, I note that most of the people who get all pissy about this sort of thing seem to be pushing reactionary social agendas (e.g. "its unfair that women get to decide about abortions." -- maybe when men get pregnant, we'll have a right to complain?).

Smile

By Jim Dallas

I was supposed to meet some people to watch the OSU game. They didn't show. So instead of getting drunk and yelling at a big screen TV, I did the next best thing. I went to Super Target.

I had heard (from Atrios among others) that Brian Wilson's Smile was either the best album ever made, or simple "good", or somewhere in between.

I'd never been much of a devotee of the Beach Boys, but as an amateur Beatle-ologist, my interest was piqued insofar as Smile was originally conceived to "one-up" Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

I have to say I am very impressed with the album, and have to join the millions of people who wonder just how music history might have changed had Brian Wilson not gone nuts, and this album had been released in the late 1960s.

Sugary, Marshmallowy, Honeyfied Goodness... Now with Whole Wheat

By Jim Dallas

This is good news. If Burger King started to use organically-grown tomatoes in making their triple Whoppers, we'd really defeat this obesity thing.

Disclaimer: I love triple whoppers just the way they are, thank you very much.

Just when you thought you've seen it all...

By Byron LaMasters

There's Votergasm.

Isn't America great?

Enjoy.

Hezbollah, Castro Promote Farenheit 9/11

By Andrew Dobbs

As many of you know, I crossed over into the world of liberal heresy this summer by saying that I hated Farenheit 9/11. I felt it to be disrespectful to our servicemen, unpatriotic and to have a strong anti-American bias. And it looks like I'm not the only one. From the Guardian of London (hardly a bastion of conservativism):

Meanwhile, in the United Arab Emirates, the film is being offered the kind of support it doesn't need. According to Screen International, the UAE-based distributor Front Row Entertainment has been contacted by organisations related to the Hezbollah in Lebanon with offers of help.

And from the News section of the Helsinki Film Festival's website (a bit obscure, but once again, hardly an anti-Moore source):

In terms of marketing the film, Front Row is getting a boost from organisations related to Hezbollah which have rung up from Lebanon to ask if there is anything they can do to support the film. And although Chacra says he and his company feel strongly that Fahrenheit is not anti-American, but anti-Bush, “we can’t go against these organisations as they could strongly boycott the film in Lebanon and Syria.”

Hezbollah, you'll remember, twice bombed US Marine barracks in the early 1980s, killing almost 300 servicemen between the two attacks. They also have been responsible for the hijacking of an American airliner (where they murdered another American serviceman), dozens of kidnappings of American officials (many of whom they murdered) and has worked with Al Quaida on logistics and training in the past. I looked around Michael Moore's website and he had nothing to say about the fact that a heinous group of terrorists is pumping his movie with the cooperation or at least acquiesence of his distributor.

And Hezbollah isn't the only group of anti-American psychos pumping Moore's movie. From the Knight-Ridder News Service (sorry no link, found it on Lexis-Nexis):

Weeks after Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" became a controversial blockbuster in the United States, the film and its maker are generating a new wave of attention this time from Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits.

In Cuba, where leader Fidel Castro is in a heightened war of words with President Bush, bootlegged copies of Moore's Bush-bashing documentary were shown to packed cinemas for a week, and the film was aired on state-run television July 29. (...)

Shawn Sachs, Moore's spokesman in New York, said Moore declined to comment.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" reached Cuban homes and 120 cinemas "from an unauthorized, pirated copy" broadcast without prior knowledge of Moore or the film's distributors, their representatives said.

So while Moore (who claims he was fired from Mother Jones magazine once for being too pro-Sandinista) won't speak out against a ruthless communist dictator using his film as a piece of anti-American propaganda at least the suits at his distribution company spoke up. Maybe it was because the pirated copies cost them money while Hezbollah's activities stand to make some for them. Looks like the bottom line trumps again.

I doubted these stories at first because I only saw them in conservative sources but the 10 minutes of research I did made me mad. Hezbollah is second only to Al Quaida in its reach, determination and hatred of America. They do not want a free world, they want a world based on the subjugation of women and free speech, the violent supression of individuality. Fidel Castro does not want a "progressive movement." He wants to repress and kill anyone who desires to be something more than a peon under his paternalistic glare. These men hate America, hate our ideals, hate our success- yet they love Michael Moore and his movie.

Mama always said you can judge a person by the company they keep. Ask yourself- when the people supporting Moore's movie kill innocent women, children and the elderly what does that say about him?

Genocide and the GOP

By Andrew Dobbs

Via Atrios, it appears that the National Review has chosen as one of its "Editors' Picks" a book by the spokesman for former Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic. Readers are reminded that Karadzic is the architect of the "ethnic cleansing" of Croats and Muslims that was perpetrated by the Serbs.

Hear the National Review's thoughts on the book:

Since the attacks of September 11, dozens of books have been rushed to market purporting to "explain" the religion in whose name the terrorists acted. Most of them strike a common theme: "true" Islam -- as opposed to the "fundamentalist" variety of the hijackers -- is a "religion of peace" that promotes charity, tolerance, freedom, and culture no less than "true" Christianity. (...)

To correct this, Trifkovic gives us the unvarnished, "politically incorrect" truth about Islam -- including the shocking facts about its founder, Mohammed; its rise through bloody conquest; its sanctioning of theft, deceit, lust and murder; its persecutions of Christians, Jews, Hindus and other "infidels"; its cruel mistreatment of women; the colossal myth of its cultural "golden age"; its irreformable commitment to global conquest by any means necessary; the broad sweep of the military, political, moral, and spiritual struggle that faces us; and what we must do if we wish to survive.

If the vicious slaughter and mass rape of Srebrenica is any indication (an unholy massacre that this book's author was a part of), killing off all the Muslims and raping their women probably plays some part in "what we must do if we wish to survive." The National Review has stooped to a new level with this one. The Joseph Goebbels of the Yugoslav Civil War deserves much worse than a National Review Editor's Pick- he deserves a firing squad.

On the Trail for Juan Valdez

By Jim Dallas

The most important poll of our lifetime is currently underway, and I want to say a few words about the truly iconic nominee I am supporting.

Juan Valdez is a true man of the people. He's never afraid to talk to people in grocery stores, restaraunts, or subway stations.

Mr. Valdez has committed his life to ensuring that the American people have access to rich, flavorful Colombian coffee. He doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk (except when he's riding his donkey).

Cast your vote for Juan Valdez.

(Also, the Pillsbury Doughboy is a pervert, the Energizer Bunny is too robotic, and the Kool-Aid Man is a Red.)

Thank you.

Ted Turner on media reform

By Jim Dallas

The Mouth of the South writes a few words about the eeeeeeeeevils of media consolidation in the Washington Monthly:

I freely admit: When I was in the media business, especially after the federal government changed the rules to favor large companies, I tried to sweep the board, and I came within one move of owning every link up and down the media chain. Yet I felt then, as I do now, that the government was not doing its job. The role of the government ought to be like the role of a referee in boxing, keeping the big guys from killing the little guys. If the little guy gets knocked down, the referee should send the big guy to his corner, count the little guy out, and then help him back up. But today the government has cast down its duty, and media competition is less like boxing and more like professional wrestling: The wrestler and the referee are both kicking the guy on the canvas.

More BOR Rumor Mongering!

By Jim Dallas

Yahoo!News via Kuff:

Speaking during a weekend panel at San Diego's Comic-Con convention, show producers dropped a bomb: An upcoming Simpsons story line will focus on what happens when Springfield legalizes gay marriage.

"We have a show where, to raise money, Springfield legalizes gay marriage," producer Al Jean told comic book fans. "Homer becomes a minister by going on the Internet and filling out a form. A longtime character comes out of the closet, but I'm not saying who."

And with that, Simpsons aficionados got their gaydar on and began winnowing down the list of potential suspects.

The early favorite appears to be billionaire Monty Burns' ever-devoted sidekick, Waylon Smithers, who--aside from being a yes-man--has been known to collect Malibu Stacy dolls, lives in the gay part of town (where Homer once shacked up with two gay guys), has a Mr. Burns screensaver and dreams of a naked Mr. Burns jumping out of a birthday cake.

But that might be too easy. According to online fan scuttlebutt, there are other characters who might be secretly having a gay old time in Springfield, including Homer's regular-guy cohorts at the nuclear plant, Carl and Lenny, as well as Moe the bartender, the Reverend Lovejoy, Principal Skinner and Comic Book Guy. Of course, the producers didn't rule out a lesbian wedding, either.

If it's not Smithers, I'll be shocked.

Meanwhile, in Red America...

By Jim Dallas

We break from our usually scheduled program to bring you this mundane news from Texas.

I was down at Wal-Mart (still breaking in the moped; when I have her chugging along nicely, I'll revert back to my usual Target-patronizing, Wal-Mart-bashing virtuousity) -- and so anyway I saw a big sign advertising the first season of The Jeff Foxworthy Show on DVD.

Now I remember seeing about one episode of that show and I recall I was not pleased. Not as formulaic and unfunny as many sit-coms, but still, it was not a good career move for Jeff Foxworthy. You know, kinda why you didn't see Foxworthy between 1996 (the peak of "You Might Be A Redneck"-itis) and the early-2000s Blue Collar Comedy Tour.

At any rate, I see the sign, and what do I see -- pre-Sixth Sense Haley Joel Osment! Could it be that tinseltown's favorite tyke was in that stinker sitcom?!?

Yes. But I guess everyone must start somewhere. (Also pre-Jerry McGuire Jonathan Lipnicki had a part in the second season.)

Now, back to enlightening BOR Boston blog-a-rama from K-T and Byron!

Books for Boston

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

I just bought about $15 worth of books online on Amazon for the "Campaign for Literacy- Books for Boston Project" for Boston Public Schools. It's on of the mailings that came with all the Convention Invitations and me, being me, could not turn down a chance to do some 'service above self'. So I bought them The Scarlet Letter and The Giver. Yep, the book I can't stand the most and one that I love the best. I figure their needs before my tastes.

Red or Blue

By Byron LaMasters

Surprise, surprise... I'm in the middle on this one.

Take the Red or Blue test from Slate.

Via Greg's Opinion

Update: I happen to agree with several commenters that found this test to be utterly silly. But, I always find tests interesting for their questions and methodology. Whatever you think of these types of tests, go ahead and take a look at it, and decide for yourself. If you're outraged, do what one commenter did, and email the author of the test your distaste. If you find it interesting, let me know how you scored.

Digital Cameras are Really Cool

By Byron LaMasters

My parents gave me a digital camera yesterday as one of my birthday presents. I'm really excited about it, because tomorrow I'm heading to Vancouver with them for a family vacation, and then of course the week after next I'll be headed to Boston for the convention. Anyway, I decided to test out the camera tonight at our Dallas County Young Democrats meeting. There were a few kinks, and I still have to figure out how to use all the features on the camera, but I'm excited to have it. I'm certainly looking forward to the opportunity to get as many pictures as I can of politicians and celebrities at the convention. Anyway, tell me what you think so far....

DCYD Treasurer David Hardt, State Rep. candidate Katy Hubener and yours truly (DCYD Executive Director).

My friends David (at his house before the meeting), Ali and Andy (all from the UT Democrats). Notice their shirts. David's is the hero (accompanied by a picture of John Kerry in uniform) / zero (with Dubya) shirt. Ali is wearing her Good Bush / Bad Bush t-shirt, and Andy is wearing his "I support the Homosexual Agenda" shirt.

Them again.

The Elbow Room sign on Gaston Ave. in east Dallas where we have our monthly DCYD meetings.

DCYD Vice President, Kara Engstrom.

Dallas County Democratic Party Executive Director Daniel Clayton speaks to the club.

Dallas for Kerry organizer Danny Henley speaks to the DCYD's about their groups efforts.

State Rep. Candidate Katy Hubener speaks with DCYD Treasurer David Hardt after the meeting.

SCLM Coddles Racist

By Andrew Dobbs

Tired of hearing wingers tell you that Fox News has to be conservative to balance out that awful liberal CNN? Well bust this out on them. On Lou Dobbs (no relation, thank God) this evening they had a whole segment about our "broken borders"- the crisis of immigration. Now, talking about immigration isn't a bad thing, its an important issue that gets little talk time because it is so rife with controversy. But the foundation of the segment was an interview with an immigration expert named Otis G