Jon Stewart at the Oscars
March 6, 2006 by Joe
Overheard During the 78th Annual Oscars
I didn’t watch the Oscars last night 1) because I never do any ways and 2) none of the movies being hyped as potential award winners by the media did not seem to merit being award winners to me.
I will have to say however I heard Jon Stewart was pretty good as host and got in a very funny and very much so true line in.
“I have to say it is a little shocking to see all these big names here, these huge stars. The Oscars is really I guess the one night of the year when you can see all your favorite stars without having to donate any money to the Democratic Party. And it’s exciting for the stars as well because it’s the first time many of you have ever voted for a winner.”
While Stewart as well as the show he hosts on Comedy Central are obviously left-leaning, I’ve always admired him, not as much like I admire Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the creators of South Park) for being able to bash everyone equally, however.
Colorado “Geography” Teacher
March 6, 2006 by Joe
The first amendment to the U.S. constitution preserves the right of free speech in our country.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
No law shall be made by congress prohibiting the free exercise of beliefs. That means that the republication of political cartoons deemed offensive by Muslims should not be barred from being published, that means that no matter how offensive and vulgar their viewpoints are neo-nazi groups are allowed to rally, as long as its done peaceably. That also means that people can write articles or publish books or film documentaries that are inflammatory in nature to the U.S. government and/or the President of the United States.
Freedom of speech is part of what makes this a great country.
The comments made by Jay Bennish in an Aurora, Colorado 10th grade “Human Geography” classroom, do not fall under the constitutional protection of freedom of speech however. He was employed by the school district to instruct a class based on the curriculum of that class. If his class was titled something such as ‘a critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy from a non-western perspective’ then comments he reportedly made in his class such as comparing President George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler or claiming that Hamas was not a terrorist organization would probably fit with the curriculum.
Jay Bennish is allowed to possess any personal viewpoint that he may wish to hold, furthermore he is allowed to express those views and make them known. He is not allowed however, to make statements that do not fall in line with the curriculum he was hired to teach. Comparing Bush to Hitler and making statements such as
“…well then don’t the Peruvians and the Iranians and the Chinese have the right to invade America and drop chemical weapons over North Carolina to destroy the tobacco plants …”
should not be allowed to be spoken in front of a captive audience of 10th grade students, just as saying something like ‘those who preach Islam should be eradicated from the planet’ should not be allowed to be uttered.
Asking students to question authority is one thing, as a matter of fact in my opinion it is something that should be applauded. I think our educational system should allow and encourage students to develop independent minds, draw conclusions and develop opinions on their own. When teaching a subject matter both sides of an argument should be presented and laid out without a slant towards any direction, to allow students to develop and draw their own opinions. It is clear by listening to the twenty minute audio recording that Mr. Bennish’s lecture was not doing this. He lecture was clearly an attempt at an indoctrination of his personal beliefs and not education.
The (new) Dodge Challenger
March 5, 2006 by Joe
Detroit finaly did something right.
[edit. next day]
The above picture was sent in yesterday via my mobile phone’s camera from the Cleveland Auto show.
This car made me drool like a little kid seeing his first boob. I am just so glad that the era of blandness in American car styling seems to finally be over.
Great Band Name
March 4, 2006 by Joe
Great band name
RIP Harry Browne
March 3, 2006 by Joe
A great American has gone on to the hereafter this week as Harry Browne; the Libertarian Party candidate for President in 1996 and 2000 has succumbed to Lou Gehrig’s disease this past week. He was 72 years old.
In a time when I was still slightly jaded as to the view of the world in which I live, I thought that I was a Libertarian and actually voted for Browne in the election of 2000 along with 384,430 other American voters.
I no longer consider myself a Libertarian, shortly after 9/11 disagreeing with the lp’s views on the war in Afghanistan and the war on Terror, I realized that my values, while somewhat Libertarian leaning, were not in line with the parties.
I still however, hold Mr. Browne in high regard as a great American thinker, a great economist and a champion of a smaller Federal government. While I disagree with his viewpoints on foreign policy, homeland security and immigration, he had some excellent ideas for Social Security reform, and for lessoning the size of the federal government.
During Mr. Browne’s time as a candidate, he made the Libertarian party the only 3rd party that was worth paying any attention to. RIP, Mr. Browne.
An Ivy League Talibani
March 3, 2006 by Joe
I wonder where all the feminist outcries are now. An employee of one of the most ruthless regimes in modern history, one that subjugated and brutalized women in despicable ways — not to mention harbored the perpetrators of 9/11, is attending an American University, an Ivy League one no less.
Here is just a small sample from a 1998 report via the Physicians for Human Rights about Women under the Taliban regime. This does not even mention gang raping, lust murders, abductions of young females, blackmail of families with eligible daughters, etc.
- women are regularly and brutally beaten for walking on the street without a male chaperone or without a garment (burqa) that covers their bodies from head to toe;
- women who once contributed to the support of their families have become destitute, and must now beg because they are forbidden from working;
- women cannot obtain health care from many facilities and cannot be examined by a male doctor without a chaperone; yet female doctors and nurses are severely restricted from practicing, and many have fled the country; and schools for women and girls have closed their doors, with the exception of Qur’anic training for girls under eight, leaving the female population hopeless about their futures.
Why aren’t the feminist groups or any group for that matter at Yale protesting his privileged education?
John Fund of the Wall Street Journal has a great article about the talibani student, as does a student at Yale.
Nap time on the Supreme Court
March 3, 2006 by Joe
I know that listening to oral arguments over political redistricting in Texas is probably about as exciting as watching paint dry, I’m sure that I’d probably be snoring away were I forced to sit in a room and have to listen to the banter. I however am not a Supreme Court Justice, so I think it so I think it would be okay for me to take my nap time during such an event, well if I were watching it on television or something not in the actual court room.
I guess serving on the highest court in the land is not an exciting experience for one Supreme Court Justice — as according to an Associated Press report, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell asleep while listening to the oral arguments.
The subject matter was extremely technical, and near the end of the argument Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dozed in her chair. Justices David Souter and Samuel Alito, who flank the 72-year-old, looked at her but did not give her a nudge.
According to Dana Milbank a columnist for the Washington Post, the snoozing lasted for a quarter hour.
I’m sure glad to see our Supreme Court Justices taking their jobs seriously, I’m sure we can all feel safe with her deciding on important issues.
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