January at the Movies

Monday, January 31, 2005

It's been a rather disappointing month at the movies, but then again I can't recall the last time January stood out as a worthy time to go to the theather. So here it is folks, the current Top 10 of 2005. Obviously it's a short list. Click on the link for full review.

1. Assault on Precinct 13 B
How surprised I was to walk out of the theater having enjoyed this fun thriller about a small crew of correctional officers requiring the assistance of the three inmates to fight off corrupt cops out to kill everyone inside the jail.

2. Coach Carter B
Not the first inspirational sports movie and certainly not the best, Samuel L. Jackson pumps fresh life into the tired genre as a basketball coach in an inner city California school who puts grades before games. When the students don't perform in the classroom, he locks the gym and cancels games despite mob protest by the community. Based on a true story.


3. Hide and Seek C-
A severely disappointing and predictable plot-twist at the end kills all the momentum the amazing 11-year-old Dakota Fanning was able to muster in this inept thriller co-starring Robert DeNiro as a father trying to get his daughter to move past the tragic suicide of her mother. Situations get sticky when a mysterious "friend" named Charlie shows up to play a game that turns deadly. Sit this one out.

4. White Noise C-
An equally disappointing thriller that's all snores and no scares. Michael Keaton plays an architect who just lost his wife to a tragic car crash. Soon after he begins to receive messages from the other side; some from his wife and others from more hostile entities. No fun here.

5. Elektra D+
In my review I describe the "Daredevil" sequel as a "gyno-triangle feminist fantasy" where sexy women in even sexier outfits fight in the same arena as men. Insert formulaic story and overacting into a plot with generic superheroes/villains and you’ve got "Elektra." How sad the best feature of "Daredevil" gets an entire movie of her own which turns out to be infinitely worse.

6. Alone in the Dark D-
Two words is all you have to know about this film: Uwe Boll. Few people saw his atrocious 2003 film, "House of the Dead" - I doubt half has many will attempt to get through another game-to-movie adaptation by Mr. Boll. Perhaps I hack up Tara Reid too much in my review, but it was a lot of fun saying her wardrobe malfunction at P. Diddy's party -- unbeknownst to the drunken party girl – was a better performance by Ms. Reid than her portrayal as a "smart" anthropologist. Take a drink every time she mangles a four-syllable world.

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Silent Leftist Bloggers

Liberals have been conveniently quiet on the blogging front, probably because the immensely high voter turnout in Iraq is a big victory for President Bush. Even the New York Times editorial page couldn't muster enough mud to throw at him.

And what do you, the major of Baghdad wants to erect a statue of our leader. What is becoming of this world?

Rough Day Today

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

The U.S. is looking at a record-high $427 billion budget deficit according to the latest official White House projections.

Thirty-seven soldiers died today in Iraq after a horrible helicopter crash and ambush by Iraqi insurgents in order to spoil the upcoming elections.

Ten people died today and 180 were injured in California after some idiot left his SUV on the train tracks.

In still sad news (for the victims anyway), a store owner used a gun to save his wife's life from two robbers who planned to kill her and rob the store. Fortunately Georgia allows law-abiding citizens to own and carry guns.

Coulter Calls for Stronger Roe v. Wade Opinion From Bush

Ann Coulter comes close to conceding to liberals that Bush is an idiot for his weak stance on abortion on the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. As always, her new column is smoking.

(Abridged)

Maybe he is an idiot. On the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade this past Monday – I was going to say "birthday of Roe v. Wade," but that would be too grimly ironic even for me – President Bush told a pro-life rally in Washington that a "culture of life cannot be sustained solely by changing laws. We need, most of all, to change hearts."

Actually, what we need least of all is to "change hearts." Maybe it's my law background, but I think it's time we changed a few judges.

The "changing hearts" portion of the abortion debate is over. ATTENTION, PASSENGERS: We're now entering the "minds" portion of the "hearts and minds" journey on abortion. We've been talking about abortion for 32 years. All the hearts that can be changed have been changed. By some estimates, 35 million human hearts (and counting) have been "changed" by abortion.

Judging by her comments this week calling abortion a "sad, even tragic choice," we've even changed Hillary Clinton's heart. (And who would know better than the sad, even tragic choice offered to New York voters in 2000 herself?)

Hillary went so far as to say she had "respect" for those who believe that "there are no circumstances under which any abortion should ever be available."

I've never heard of anyone who thinks abortion should not be "available" to save the life of the mother. There was never a law in any state that prohibited abortion to save the life of the mother. If Hillary "respects" even this (nonexistent) lunatic fringe of the pro-life movement, she must adore the rest of us!

Abortion was not terribly popular when Roe v. Wade was first concocted in 1973 – by seven male justices and their mostly male law clerks. We know it wasn't popular with actual Americans back then because 46 states had outlawed it in a once-common procedure known as "representative democracy."

In the intervening 32 years, abortion has only become less popular. People have seen sonograms of smiling fetuses, they've seen the mangled remains of aborted babies, they've heard the ghastly arguments from NARAL termagants, and they've seen untold women marking the birth dates of their terminated children with weeping and despair.

In a Los Angeles Times poll a few years ago, 57 percent of respondents said they believed abortion was "murder." Seventy-two percent of women and 58 percent of men said they thought abortion should be illegal after the first trimester. (Among men currently listed on NBA rosters, the figure was even lower.)

Note that men in the poll were more supportive of abortion than women, which is perfectly in keeping with the pro-abortion orthodoxy that men should have no say in this matter, unless they're saying "yes, dear." Once again, NARAL and I are in agreement! It's a "woman's issue"; could you men please just butt out?

Despite the fact that feminists cry and try to make people feel guilty about opposing a "woman's right" to abortion, men always support abortion more than women – no matter who takes the poll or how the questions are asked. Curiously, single men aged 18-34 are the cohort most dearly devoted to a woman's "right to choose."

Oscar Flubs & Snubs

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

A constant argument I always engage myself in with fellow film intellectuals (if such a title exists) is the validity of the Academy Awards. Take for instance this year's nominations for Best Picture:

• THE AVIATOR (Miramax)
• FINDING NEVERLAND (Miramax)
• MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Warner Bros.)
• RAY (Universal Pictures)
• SIDEWAYS (Fox Searchlight)

Now this is the first time in a couple of years I haven't seen all the nominated films -- my work load has been increasingly arduous and time consuming this year and my film partner has gone AWOL (no one else likes to see more than three movies in a given day) -- so I won't make a personal selection, but I have seen two: "The Aviator" and "Finding Neverland."

The former garnered 11 nominations confirming yet again the short-term memory problem of the Academy. As "The Aviator" is playing now, it is up for more awards than any other film. Yes, the Scorsese film was impressive but not worthy of so many nominations. Eleven awards is "Return of the King" caliber and "The Aviator" was no "Lord of the Rings."

"Finding Neverland" was a great film, one that touched me emotionally and deserves to be nominated. But aren't a few films missing?

Wasn't there that movie about Jesus that made over $300,000,000 at the box-office? Why did "Passion of the Christ" only get three nominations in lesser categories: cinematography, makeup and original score? No best actor for Jim Caviezel?

And before you liberals start smiling, Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" got snubbed completely. Not a single nomination! No best picture nomination for the controversial film "Kinsey," "Garden State" fell completely below the radar and the Academy must have forgotten that Jim Carrey was pretty damn good in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

There are only two good things about the Academy Awards this year: "Tupac: Resurrection" is surprisingly up for Best Documentary, and the presentation will be hosted by one of my favorite comedians, Chris Rock.

Other than that, let the self-loving and pretentiousness begin.

Courts Say 'No' to Choose Life Plates

From the Associated Press:

The Supreme Court declined Monday to consider whether states may offer license plates with anti-abortion messages, leaving lower courts divided over whether the programs in a dozen states unconstitutionally restrict dissenting views.

Without comment, justices let stand a lower court ruling that said South Carolina's license plates, which bear the slogan "Choose Life," violate the First Amendment because abortion rights supporters weren't given a similar forum to express their beliefs.
Say what?? Now the First Amendment guarantees all sides a fair voice? Where were liberals when Ralf Nader wanted such equality? And who on Earth could possibly have a problem with someone who paid $70 that went to a local crisis pregnancy program for an anti-abortion license plate?

Oh that's right. The dastardly people at Planned Parenthood. Because no one should be allowed to express an opinion that challenges the beliefs of the American Left.

March Against Death

Monday, January 24, 2005

This past weekend marked the 32-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that gave way for the imminent slaughter of 43 million unborn children across the country in the name of "women's rights."

Today, thousands of pro-life crusaders will participate in the March for Life in Washington D.C., to honor the defenseless children and hope for an eventual Supreme Court reversal.

A reversal would not only be a victory for those who value life, but also for the woman once known as Jane Roe -- now a passionate pro-life advocate trying to get the Supreme Court to overturn the case she once represented.

Michelle Malkin has the goods on the March as well as links to other resources.

Michael Moore Hates (But Not His) Guns

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Anti-gun activist Michael Moore, who made a documentary in 2003 exposing America’s gun obsession, apparently doesn’t mind them so much when they’re for his own protection.

His bodyguard, Patrick Burke, was arrested for carrying an unlicensed weapon in New York's JFK airport last night. Burke is licensed to carry a firearm in Florida and California, but not in New York. He was taken to Queens central booking and could potentially be charged with a felony for the incident.

I guess someone forgot to tell Burke that a license to carry in Florida is not valid in New York because its citizens have senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer to protect them.

What Those Who Open for Hilary Duff Shout

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Everyone's getting panty-twisted over the F-bomb incident that took place at the inaugural bash for President Bush, hosted by twins Jenna and Barbara.

During his band's set, Fuel singer Brett Scallions shouted, "Welcome to the greatest f---ing country in the world!"

Ironically, conservative moralists did everything they could to prevent Kid Rock from performing, because he isn't exactly the cleanest of musicians.

All the other acts at the celebration behaved themselves, and included Hilary Duff, Ryan Cabrera, 3 Doors Down, JoJo and Ruben Studdard.

I dunno, with that kind of talent lineup -- save for 3 Doors Down -- I in the audience would have appreciated an f-word or two. Something dirty. Anything.

What Security?


One cannot go this morning to the homepage of ESPN, Sports Illustrated or Yahoo! Sports without reading the headlines of last night's brillant game. The FSU basketball team, in overtime beat, Wake Forrest, the third best team in the country.

ESPN has the video highlights of the game and briefly shows the fans rushing the court after the final buzzer.

I was among the students who overtook security and found a way (I jumped over the rafters) to get on the court and rush the victorious Seminoles. I'm surprised I can talk this morning after what was one of the most exhilarating games I've ever been to.

Just Because You Don't Like Nazis…

Monday, January 17, 2005

The European Union is considering a ban on the swastika symbol after Britain's Prince Harry wore such a display on an armband to a costume party. Franco Frattini, the EU's justice and home affairs commissioner, said he was open to discussing the issue at a Jan. 27 meeting of EU justice ministers. "It may be worth looking into the possibility of a total ban, a Europe-wide ban," his spokesman told reporters Monday. The ban would affect the 25 member nations.

And I'm glad America isn't one of them. The government has no business taking away our symbols of any kind; political, religious, unpopular or even hate. Europe is losing its freedoms and it may be a matter of time before we're next.

There's Always Plan B

Sunday, January 16, 2005

The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to make morning-after birth control available without a prescription. The FDA may decide as soon as this week whether drug stores can sell the emergency contraception known as Plan B without a prescription to women age 16 and older.

Here is where I break with my conservative base and support the availability of Plan B which can prevent pregnancy for up to 72 hours after sex. With an 89% success rate, we can be optimistic that we are on the right path to ending unwanted pregnancy that doesn't involve a scalpel or suction tube.

Conservatives say people will be less reluctant to have risky and unprotected sex if they've got a box of B under the nightstand where condoms traditionally collect. But I would rather Plan B be used to prevent pregnancy than the liberals' preferred method; a fork in the head and a knife to the spinal cord.

The Grinch Loses Again

Friday, January 14, 2005

From the Associated Press:

An atheist who tried to remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance lost a bid Friday to bar the saying of a Christian prayer at President Bush's inauguration.

Newdow argued that saying a Christian prayer at the Jan. 20 ceremony would violate the Constitution by forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs.

Attorneys representing Bush and his inaugural committee argued that prayers have been widely accepted at inaugurals for more than 200 years and that Bush's decision to have a minister recite the invocation was a personal choice the court had no power to prevent.
Forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs? No wonder you can't win an argument against a secularist. They believe any inclusion of religious beliefs in one's own personal ceremony is somehow an operation to indoctrinate the hoi polloi.

Brady Campaign Fails Nation With "Report Cards"

Thursday, January 13, 2005

In a horribly deceitful manner, the Brady Campaign has released "report cards" for every state on their gun laws that supposedly shield children from gun violence. Thirty-one states received either a "D" or an "F" from the anti-gun group. I've got all the goods in a new article I wrote for GunControlPolicy.com. Not surprisingly my home state of Florida received a "D+" for reasons that are just plain laughable and of course have nothing to do with kids.

No Gay Adoption in Florida

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Bill O'Reilly, the man liberals love to hate, grilled the president of the Liberty Counsel who defended Florida's law that prevents gay couples from adopting; even though there's a stipulation permitting temporary foster-care placement.

I tend to agree with Mr. O'Reilly that while a gay couple is not ideal for raising children -- because neither is a single parent home -- a loving couple willing to nurture a child is much better for his or her upbringing than Florida's notoriously inept child custody services.

If the couple has a clean and proven record, as is the case of the couple whose lawsuit won't be heard by the Supreme Court, then I'm not going to make an argument against a child's life that will most likely be better in the home of two homosexuals than an institution that has a record of losing children.

Just Lost It

Eminem, for whom I have respect when he's not rapping about beating and killing women, believes he could have won the election for John Kerry had he released his album sooner. From WebIndia123:

According to Rate the music, Eminem released 'Mosh' just before the election, but he fears he could have swung the vote against the President if the track was released two weeks earlier.

"I do got a little bit of regrets about that. We got it out there as soon as we could. It was one of the first songs we mixed. We were trying to get JUST LOSE IT out there. We didn't want to get Mosh out there and come off too political. I never been the militant-type political rapper.

"We did our best to get it out as soon as we could. But do I wish it could have come out two weeks earlier? Yes."
Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and say Eminem probably wouldn't have had much influence on the election regardless of when his CD became available.

Feminism and Murder

Monday, January 10, 2005

The brilliant Vox Day has a new column out similar to what I've been writing about; China's penchant for murder. I wish I could write stuff this good.

The communist government of China is the most bloody-minded government in the history of mankind. Long before tanks were mashing bicycles and students into lifeless red pulp at Tiananmen Square, Chairman Mao's left-wing revolutionaries killed an estimated 35 million people in the Great Leap Forward and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

And yet, even these most merciless of men are beginning to recoil at the murderous extremism of the abortionettes now that the feminist logic has finally reached a long-expected milestone. It is no secret that parents traditionally prefer male babies to female – the availability of pre-natal sex identification technology combined with pro-abortion extremism has resulted in a 16 percent shortfall of baby girls from the natural ratio, which approximates 50-50.

To put it into terms that feminists might understand, a girl baby in China earns only 84 cents on the boy baby's dollar. Except in this case, the dear girl isn't out 16 cents of spending money, she's just dead.

The truth is that with over 45 million American abortions committed since 1973, (and adding another 800,000 to the body count every year), the abortionettes have proven themselves to be the most lethal organization of the 20th century. I have said before that calling a feminist a feminazi is an insult to National Socialism. Now, it is clear that even Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot are second-rate killers in comparison with Ms. Sanger, Ms. Friedan and Ms. Steinem.

The ideology of feminism represents the triumph of death over life. It is a societal suicide pact as Europe, where the birth rate has fallen almost 30 percent below replacement levels, is demonstrating in real-time. It is not so much an abdication of motherhood as a rejection of the concept that women have an integral role to play in the continuance of civilization.

The great contradiction of feminism is that as women attempt to reduce themselves into nothing more than men with chromosome variants, they make themselves increasingly unnecessary. Science-fiction writers and life-partners in lesbianism have suggested that artificial insemination might eliminate the need for men, but once technology allows the replacement of the womb with artificial birth chambers and the science of cloning is sufficiently improved, women will become equally irrelevant to the propagation of the race.

An unconscionably stupid ideology, feminism's only redeeming characteristic is that it will likely eliminate itself before it eliminates society. Forget the Bible, even from a secular scientific perspective, it is an obvious evolutionary cul-de-sac, as delaying reproduction, embracing homosexuality and a harboring a predilection for murdering one's young are not exactly the traits of a Darwinian survivor.

American society does not need even one more woman lawyer, professor or junior executive. Frivolous lawsuits will be filed, students will be brainwashed with leftist propaganda, and tedious PowerPoint demonstrations will be assembled with or without female assistance. Instead, what American society needs is women strong enough to be the anchors of their marriages, the foundation of their children's lives and the bedrock of our civilization.

Feminists Face 'Tough Times'

An amusing story from the Associated Press discusses the hardships women face in the remaining four years of President Bush's presidency.

America's feminist leaders and their critics agree on at least one current political fact: These are daunting times for the women's movement as it braces for another term of an administration it desperately wanted to topple.

"The next four years are going to be tough, so we must be tougher," National Organization for Women president Kim Gandy recently told supporters. "Our health, our rights, and our democracy are teetering on the brink."

NOW, the Feminist Majority Foundation and numerous like-minded groups campaigned zealously against President Bush, contending that his economic agenda would inflict disproportionate harm on women and that his potential judicial appointments could jeopardize abortion rights.
What the story doesn't emphasis, of course, is that NOW is the wonderful organization that supports the freedom of psycho mass child murderer Andrea Yates, who drowned her six children one by one in her bathtub. Just how does NOW find the time to both protest George Bush and fund the defense of child killers?

To the feminists' dismay, Bush not only won — but he sharply reduced the Democrats' "gender gap" edge among women voters. Republicans also increased their majorities in Congress; new GOP senators include several staunch foes of abortion.
Glorious times.
Many of the conservative activists and organizations that cheered the GOP triumph — and now claim expanded influence in Washington — are stridently anti-feminist. The Rev. Jerry Falwell, for example, recently referred to NOW as "The National Order of Witches"

Bush, of course, can make a strong case that he respects women — his new Cabinet will likely have four, including Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, and women for years have been among his closest political and legal advisers.

Beyond Washington, meanwhile, women are making impressive professional gains — as big-city police chiefs and university presidents, for example. They now comprise roughly half the enrollment in U.S. medical schools. And though a wage gap persists, woman now earn 80 percent of what men do, compared to 62 percent in 1980.

"Feminist leaders have failed to keep up with the times," said Christina Hoff Sommers, a resident scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, whose writings are often critical of groups like NOW.

"Women have achieved parity with men in most fields," she said. "You'd think the feminists and women's studies professors would be celebrating, but in many ways they've never been more despondent."

Another conservative analyst of women's issues, Carrie Lukas of the Independent Women's Forum, said feminists "have increasingly marginalized themselves" by embracing an agenda that doesn't reflect most American women's priorities.

"They see government as the answer to all problems — as the national health care provider and day care provider," Lukas said. "And they have made unfettered access to abortion the absolute centerpiece of their movement... Their 'March for Women's Lives' last year seemed like a celebration of abortion."
Indeed it was. But that was the only celebrating you'll see because now feminists are back to work. And while they complain that the clock is being turned backwards, President Bush is giving a black woman the prestigious title of secretary of state.

But feminists show all their for love President Clinton, the man who famously stained an intern's dress and has been accused of harassing scores of women during his tenure. So who's the real chauvinist here?

Action at GunControlPolicy.com

Sunday, January 09, 2005

I published a new article at GunControlPolicy.com on John R. Lott Jr.'s reaction to the 328-page report on gun control laws released by the National Academy of Sciences. It basically found gun control ineffective.

I also activated a newsletter feature that will allow readers to be notified by e-mail when a new article is published.

Dangerous Colors

Planned Parenthood, one of the worst organizations in the country, has been distributing poor condoms -- which liberals believe should be freely available in all high school clinics nationwide -- according to Consumer Reports which released its rankings this week. From Sun-Sentinal:

Two of the three types of free condoms offered by Planned Parenthood received poor ratings, according to rankings that appear in the February issue of Consumer Reports, which hits newsstands Wednesday.

Planned Parenthood has since redesigned its "Honeydew" condom, which was the magazine's lowest-ranked brand with two "poor" ratings in strength and reliability. The group resubmitted all three of its brands for independent testing and received "excellent results," said Karen Pearl, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Nassau County. The group's "Assorted Colors" brand was ranked next-to-last with a "poor" mark for strength but an "excellent" for reliability. The "Lollipop" got an overall "excellent" rating.
Pretty scary that poorly rated condoms have been available to teens, both those looking for free sex and those who happen to attend public school. Even worse, it took a whistleblower to get Planned Parenthood to strengthen its product.

Lollipop anyone?

Now We'll Just Kill Boys

Friday, January 07, 2005

The blood red nation of China is trying to curb the effects of a devastating 20-year-old policy that outlawed women from having more than one child. As a result, only about 100 girls are born for every 119 boys, because couples traditionally favor males.

Beijing has set a goal of reversing the imbalance by 2010, and to do this they will outlaw the selective abortion of female fetuses to correct an imbalance in the ratio of boys to girls. So now by killing the males they can hopefully narrow the gender gap. What a country!

From Reuters:

Sex-selective abortion is already banned but technologies such as ultrasound have made it easier to know a baby's gender in advance, increasing the chances for aborting girls.

Despite a desire to curb the sex imbalance and a relaxation in recent years that allows rural families to have two children if the first is a girl, China has shown no sign of abandoning the one-child policy and cracks down on those who advocate against it.

One such activist is Mao Hengfeng, who was dismissed in 1988 from her job at a Shanghai soap factory after becoming pregnant a second time.

Last April, the Shanghai public security bureau sentenced her to 18 months in a labor camp for campaigning against the one-child policy.
In other news: feminists still believe they're second-class citizens in the United States.

Newdow Revives Fight Against Christianity

Michael Newdow is back in the limelight again. The atheist who sued a California school district last year because he did not want his young daughter exposed to the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, has filed a suit to bar the saying of a prayer at President Bush's inauguration.

In a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Newdow says the use of a prayer is unconstitutional, noting that two ministers delivered Christian invocations at Bush's first inaugural ceremony in 2001, and that plans call for a minister to do the same before Bush takes the oath of office Jan. 20.

Last year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of tossed out the same ridiculous lawsuit, saying Newdow did not suffer "a sufficiently concrete and specific injury." Newdow is hoping for a different ruling from the D.C. circuit.

This guy needs some serious help. Because President Bush wants a minister to deliver invocations at his inaugural ceremony, Mr. Newdow believes it is somehow an example of Congress establishing a law respecting a religion.

Secularists need to get over this and quickly. Bush does not rule with a divine pen. He never has and never will, so stop persecuting him because he wants a Christian minister present at his…own…personal…ceremony.

Mass Child Killer Gets New Trial

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Feminists have a reason to celebrate today as an appeals court just threw out the convictions of their martyr, Andrea Yates, by ruling that one of the prosecutor's expert witnesses gave false testimony at her trial.

Yates, in case you have forgotten, is the women from Texas who heinously drowned her five kids, aged 6 months to 7 years, one by one, in her bathtub. Liberal feminist organizations rushed to Yates' defense, most notably the National Organization for Women, which provided money for her defense fund and held candlelight vigils. No such ceremonies were held for her five dead children.

In 2002 a jury sentenced Yates to life in prison for the deaths of three of her children. She was not tried in the deaths of the other two. Today the 1st Court of Appeals overturned the convictions and ordered a new trial. We can only hope for the same verdict.

Hard to Stomach

A Cleveland man is suing NBC after witnessing something awful on their hit program, "Fear Factor." If you can believe it, humans were shown eating mean. How horrible that "Fear Factor" would pass off the idea that humans are carnivores. From Reuters:

Watching contestants eat dead rats on NBC's gross-out stunt show "Fear Factor" so disgusted a Cleveland man that he has sued NBC for $2.5 million, saying he could not stomach what he saw.

In a handwritten four-page lawsuit filed in federal court in Cleveland on Tuesday, paralegal Austin Aitken said, "To have the individuals on the show eat (yes) and drink dead rats was crazy and from a viewer's point of view made me throw-up as well an another in the house at the same time."

His suit added, "NBC is sending the wrong message to its TV watchers that cash can make or have people do just about anything beyond reasoning (sic) and in most cases against their will."

He said the show caused his blood pressure to rise so high that he became dizzy and light-headed, and when he ran away to his room, he bumped his head into the doorway.

In a brief telephone interview with Reuters, Aitken said, "I am not at liberty to discuss the complaint unless it is a paid-interview situation."
So NBC is sending the wrong message by having "people do just about anything beyond reasoning…" How about suing a company for $2.5 million because you didn't like what you saw when you voluntarily watched a program notorious for showing people eating all kinds of stuff mainstream society deems "crazy."

Moreover, this idiot won't grant an interview unless he's paid for it. I guess getting the message across about bad TV isn't such a high priority after all.

What's next: vegetarians sue Food Network for showing hamburger meat grilling?

Fear the .50-Cal

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

I just published an article over at GunControlPolicy.com on California's recent ban of the .50-caliber BMG rifle. I point out arguments made by both the pro and con sides, though I'm sure you won't have doubts as to which side I'm on.

Throw in the Towel

Perhaps Father Simpson was too busy telling reporters how hot he thinks his daughter, Jessica, is to wake and up and realize that his other daughter, Ashlee, is making a complete fool of herself.

Back in November I linked to this fraud's malfunctioned SNL performance when a technical glitch caused the vocal track from her first song to repeat during the second, proving she lip-synchs, even though she has been quoted saying she doesn't.

The humiliation and assault-on-music continued last night, when for some reason she decided to use her own voice in a wretched halftime performance at the Orange Bowl which ended in a shower of boos. You can see the video here if you can stand to watch a young no-talent wannabe continue to humiliate herself in public.

The best thing Ms. Simpson can do at this point is to just stop trying and end her music career. She has already made enough money from her debut album (never again) to live out the rest of her life in some secluded California mansion. There is nothing more to the story.