Tobacco Goes Up in Smoke at Disney
Jul 25, 2007 Uncategorized
Disney has decided that none of its movies will feature people who smoke. Disney took the decision because it believes that children are influenced by those they see in movies and that smoking characters lead our youth to take up that nasty habit. Disney said that it would like some of its other studio labels. It might be difficult because those entities put out movies for older audiences but Disney said it is willing to fight that fight. This is where I am baffled.
I can understand Disney not having smoking in its films. They are usually suitable for entire families and feature wholesome or lighthearted themes. Except for a very few, their films are not violent (though when I saw Bambi as a wee tot I cried when the mother got killed) and they promote decent things. Miramax, on the other hand, has films that are not for everyone in the family. Some contain a lot of violence and other things that children should not see.
If smoking encourages children to smoke does not violence encourage them to be violent? If Disney is willing to fight to cut smoking from all studio labels should they not be fighting all those labels to remove violence from their films so as not to encourage our kids to be violent? While we are at it, should not Disney ensure that no one in the movies drinks alcohol so that children are not encouraged to drink?
I am not trying to be flippant or dismissive of their efforts but I would like to know how far they are willing to go to save the children on this planet. It is one thing for them to ban smoking in their products because they are generally good for kids to view but to impose this smoking ban on other studio labels without addressing the other issues makes no sense and makes them appear as disingenuous.
Of course it might be a moot point anyway because the rating folks are going to take smoking in a film into consideration when they rate the films.
Disney should worry about policing up its own Mickey Mouse operation and let the other studios take their own decisions.
Source:
FT.com
Tags: Commentary, General
Rosie Attacks Elisabeth in Cowardly Fashion
Jul 12, 2007 Uncategorized
Rosie O’Donnell left the television show The View about a month before her contract was up because of an on air spat with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the show’s only conservative host. Rosie had bullied Elisabeth for the past year and then made a comment calling our US troops terrorists. Rosie was incensed that Elisabeth did not defend her for what she said. Later that day, one of Rosie’s staff drew a mustache on a picture of Elisabeth and was asked to leave and not return. Rosie made light of the issue, no big deal kind of thing.
It would seem that Rosie is unable to confront people with whom she disagrees. Instead, she waits until they are not around to defend themselves and then attacks them. The word for this kind of person is coward. Before people accuse me of cowardice for attacking Rosie (or anyone else I write about) it would do you well to remember that I do not know and have never met them. I would be more than happy to tell any of them to their faces exactly what I think.
Rosie was on a cruise for gay families (is that ship called a Ferry) and she blasted Elisabeth and showed a picture of her as Satan (horns, mustache, beard) and made fun of her saying her only claim to fame was bring on Survivor (what exactly is Rosie’s claim to fame). Rosie said the on air feud was nothing because she can not force herself to attack pregnant women. That is a load of bunk because Rosie continually provoked Elisabeth. To clear things up, I have never watched the show, just the clips on the Internet.
I believe that O’Donnell attacked Hasselbeck in this cowardly fashion in order to boost her own self esteem. She obviously leads a life that is drastically different from most others in this country (I bet her parents are proud) and she believes in double standards when it comes to how she lives her life and how she thinks we should live ours. She suffers from mental health issues and it often appears as if her medications are not working.
Nice going Rosie you coward.
Source:
US Magazine
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Should We Execute Our Corrupt Politicians?
Jul 10, 2007 Uncategorized
China’s ex-food and drug chief was executed for taking bribes with regard to the approval of a medication that has been linked to a number of deaths. There has also, in recent weeks, been a surge in poisoned food products and health and beauty aids with pet food and toothpaste on that list. Observers indicate that even though China executes more people than most other countries combined, this was a particularly harsh sentence.
If this guy took bribes and his greed was responsible for others dying then maybe it was not so harsh after all but I will bet the next guy to have this job will walk a straight line. In any event, perhaps we should consider changing our laws so that politicians involved in corruption can be executed for their crimes. There would be a huge house cleaning at first but it would die off (pun intended) and people would get into office knowing that if they become corrupt, they will suffer the same fate.
This should keep politicians honest and keep temptation down but there will be those who think they can cheat the system and get away with it. A public execution will keep the others in line. Imagine the headline: Senator Schmuckatelli was hanged today in front of the Capitol for taking bribes from a lobbyist in order to secure his vote on an immigration amnesty bill.
Now this is an idea that will make America safer with less government intrusion.
Tags: General
Caucus of Corruption; Interview with Margolis and Noonan
Jun 28, 2007 Uncategorized
I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Margolis and Mark Noonan, the authors of Caucus of Corruption, a great book that levels the playing field by pointing out the corruption in the Democratic Party. I read and thoroughly enjoyed the book and reviewed it here.
BIG DOG: Your book, Caucus of Corruption: The Truth about the New Democratic Majority, focuses on corruption within the Democratic Party. What do you say to critics who might claim the book is partisan and ignores the corruption within the Republican Party?
MATT: First, I would tell them to read the book, because we do recognize that there is corruption in the Republican Party and we do say that corrupt Republicans should be removed from power and kicked out of the party. The problem with those critics is they don’t want people to know about corruption in the Democratic Party. They’d sooner keep the corrupt Democrats in power than risk letting honest Republicans have any political advantage or control.
MARK: We can be sure that those who are accusing us of being unfairly partisan weren’t at all upset as the way the MSM – and the Democratic leadership – ruthlessly ignored the facts of Democratic corruption. One longstanding Democratic tactic in these matters is misdirection – like when Clinton was wrapped up in his adultery scandals, Democrats were all about how this or that Republican did it, too. We’re not doing that – what we’re doing is acknowledging the totality of corruption in our politics by highlighting the long-ignored Democratic aspect of it.
BIG DOG: You point out the corruption involving William Jefferson of Louisiana, a case that has been building for nearly two years. In the book you discuss the fact that the Democrats failed to remove him from his committee seat until after it was reported by the AP that a video of criminal activity existed. How do you address critics who feel Jefferson is innocent until proven guilty and that if the people of Louisiana put him back in office despite the allegations, he should be left alone unless he is convicted?
MATT: It’s amusing to see Democrats pull the “innocent until proven guilty” line now because any time a Republican is accused of wrongdoing, whether the charges are unfounded or not, they immediately label that Republican as guilty. Howard Dean was calling for Tom DeLay to go back to Houston and serve his jail sentence four months before DeLay was even indicted… and it was a bogus indictment no less.
MARK: There is also a matter of our good judgment; while Democrats were scattershot in their condemnations of any hint of GOP scandal, what people really need to do it take a look at the situation and see what sort of action is warranted. In DeLay’s case, the specious nature of the accusations coupled with the clear partisan bias of the prosecutor should, in the minds of rational people, have resulted in everyone ignoring the charges or at least questioning their validity – in Jefferson’s case, the fact that two people have already pled guilty to bribing him, plus the videotape evidence puts the accusations against him in a much stronger light, and bring with it the requirement for much sterner action to protect the people against corruption.
BIG DOG: So many supporters of the Democratic Party seem to buy into the idea that their elected leaders have done no wrong and that anyone who questions their acts is just launching a partisan attack. To what do you attribute this blind loyalty?
MARK: Obviously people want to believe their party holds the moral high ground, because they’re the ones that best represent their beliefs in Congress. The problem is when party loyalty blinds you to the truth about those people who are supposed to be representing you. We would like to believe that Democrats will read our book with an open mind and then ask themselves if they really want these crooks representing them.
MATT: We know this is wishful thinking given the track record rank-and-file Democrats have in re-electing people who are demonstrably corrupt.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: General
Palestinians Rocket to Israel for Help
Jun 20, 2007 Uncategorized
It would seem that it is a good thing that Iran has not wiped Israel off the map because without Israel a lot of people in Gaza would be in a real fix. The Israelis, the people who are called pigs and apes by Muslims, have opened their border to those in Gaza who require medical attention. No one could blame them if they closed their eyes and allowed the sick to just die but that is not the kind of people they are. Despite their kind gesture a human rights group is in court demanding that Israel take care of some critically ill people hospitalized in Gaza. I don’t know how anyone can demand that Israel (or any other country) take care of folks that are not their citizens. If Israel wants to care for them fine but if not that is fine as well. Why doesn’t this human rights group contact Syria or Iran to get care for the critically ill?
There are people holed up in a tunnel begging Israel to allow them in so they can get to the West Bank. Isn’t it amazing that these people are asking Israel for help when, on any given day, they would be happy to see Israelis killed? The Palestinians have launched rockets into Israel over and over again and now that they are in a bad way they are asking Israel for help.
One can bet that if the shoe were on the other foot the Palestinians would not show mercy to the Israelis. One can also bet that after this crisis passes the Palestinians will just as quickly attack the hand that reached out to them in a time of crisis.
I have an idea. Why don’t these Palestinians and this human rights group contact Jimmy Carter and ask him for help? I am sure he can send some of his election monitoring people over there to lend a hand. Of course, Carter would probably get there and encourage the Palestinians to attack Israel.
He is such a Nobel person…
Source:
My Way News
Tags: General